Long En had just left home early in the morning when Zui Xian Fang welcomed its first big customer of the day. Who could it be?
This morning, after accompanying and serving the owner breakfast, the shopkeeper ordered the shop assistant to bring over a thick stack of account books from the counter for the owner to review. However, seeing that the owner had been chatting happily with someone last night, the shopkeeper did not bother him further.
However, Long En didn't even glance at him. He took a sip of tea, said only, "If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them," then patted his bottom, got up, and walked out the door with unprecedentedly light and breezy steps.
Seeing his employer in an unusually good mood as he went out into the street, the shopkeeper, also filled with curiosity, followed him out. Standing at the door, staring at that tall, imposing, familiar yet unfamiliar back, he remained stunned for a long while before looking up at the rising sun overhead and muttering to himself, "Did the sun rise in the west today?"
He then shook his head, still puzzled, and hurriedly went back to work with several young employees to start preparing for opening the store.
Just as everything was tidied up, two shop assistants dressed in robes bearing the words "Chengnan Painting Workshop" arrived carrying a tray containing a brocade box mysteriously covered by a red silk cloth. They said, "Manager, the painting you requested has been expedited. Where should we hang it for you?"
Hearing the sound, the shopkeeper looked up sharply towards the door, and as he climbed down from the counter, he exclaimed with delight, "It's finished so quickly! That's wonderful! Our boss is here too, perfect for a surprise!"
As he spoke, he eagerly lifted the red silk to open the elegant and exquisite brocade box, took out the scroll inside and unfurled it. He was immediately stunned by the ingenious and lifelike portrait, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Look, this painting studio in the south of the city is truly extraordinary. This portrait is so lifelike, it perfectly captures the spirit of our master, as if it were carved from the same mold as the real person."
"Yes, it's very well drawn, it really looks like the real thing!" Several other staff members also came over to praise it.
After a moment, the shopkeeper finally came to his senses and thanked the two deliverymen, saying, "Thank you both for going to the trouble of making this trip. I can hang it myself. Thank you!"
The shopkeeper had just seen off the painting shop assistant and was now happily admiring the hard-won portrait in a corner when he glanced up at the door and saw a familiar, elegant young man stepping in. He immediately rushed over with a smile and greeted him, "Oh my, what a rare guest! What brings you here today, Young Master Lu? Please come in, please come in!"
This elegant young man, who had traveled a long way and arrived after hearing so much about the place, was none other than Lu Tianlin, the young master of Xiqin Academy. However, he wasn't here for drinks this time.
As the innkeeper followed him to his seat, he quickly winked at the waiter beside him and ordered, "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and prepare some good tea and snacks for this distinguished guest!"
"Oh!" So, still confused and stunned, the waiter hurriedly dropped the rag in his hand and went to prepare.
Soon, she came up with a tea tray and neatly arranged the fragrant tea and snacks on it. She added, "Please enjoy your meal, guest." She glanced at the shopkeeper and saw that he finally looked somewhat satisfied before she left.
At this moment, the innkeeper poured him tea while jokingly saying, "Young Master Lu, it's been quite a while since you've been to our Drunken Immortal Pavilion. If I think about it... it must have been more than half a year, right? Is it... that you and the daughter of the Prime Minister's mansion are about to get married?"
The shopkeeper, with a fawning smile, presented the teacup with both hands. Seeing that the man had remained silent since entering, he paused briefly before continuing, "When will we be having your wedding banquet? And surely it will all be supplied by our Drunken Immortal Pavilion, right?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Lu Tianlin suddenly turned around and glared at the shopkeeper with an extremely cold and fierce look, angrily saying, "Don't talk nonsense! What daughter of the Prime Minister? This is all hearsay and fabrication! I have no connection with the Prime Minister's mansion. I have never had one before, and I never will."
Lu Tianlin had endured this for far too long: everyone thought he was a snob who broke off his engagement with the Yi family to marry into the Prime Minister's family. In reality, he had simply intervened to help the Prime Minister's daughter, who was nearly raped by bandits.
That spoiled young lady was arrogant and extravagant. Even if Lu Tianlin was not the best, he was still born into a scholarly family and wouldn't marry such a wretched woman. Although the young lady was quite fond of him and even pestered him relentlessly, he had already cleverly used his carefree and idle lifestyle, pretending to be a womanizer, to completely dispel her thoughts.
But now, the result is that gossip is a fearsome thing. What kind of status does the Prime Minister's family hold? The Prime Minister's daughter, heartbroken in love, secretly ordered people to spread rumors everywhere, making everyone believe that he was such a dissolute playboy. How could he not know that on the surface, he is still the dashing and glamorous young master of Xiqin Academy, but behind his back, he is being gossiped about and cursed?
In this life, he will probably never be able to turn things around.
As for Yi Shangyun, she was already a pitiful and innocent woman, and he naturally didn't want to implicate her, ruin her life, or have her be cursed, despised, and disrespected along with him. So, coincidentally, while she was unconscious, he took this as an excuse and unilaterally decided to annul the engagement.
Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. That's all.
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper's smile immediately froze on his face, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Ah? So it was all a rumor! I knew it! Young Master Lu is so handsome and has always been strict with his family. How could he do something so ungrateful and disloyal as to break off the engagement without permission?"
Unexpectedly, Lu Tianlin seemed to grit his teeth, his eyes instantly turning as cold as ten thousand years of ice, mixed with pain, and he said in a deep voice: "You heard me right, I, Lu Tianlin, and Yi Shangyun, the eldest daughter of the Yi family in the west of the city, have already broken off our engagement. From now on, we will part ways and each find our own happiness."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper quickly lowered his bewildered old face and turned away, wishing there was a mouse hole in the ground he could crawl into. This was supposed to be a beautiful day, but he couldn't understand why he kept saying the wrong thing.
Suddenly, he was startled, as if he had realized something: "Yi Shangyun? I only heard that Young Master Lu personally went to break off the engagement, but I never expected that Young Master Lu's betrothed was actually the eldest daughter of the Yi family, whom the Prince Qin's Mansion is now searching for with a bounty across the land. Young Master Lu, the Yi family, which you broke off the engagement with, is now truly famous throughout the world!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Tianlin silently sipped his tea, thinking to himself: Yes, perhaps only he is the only person in this world who truly has the ability to protect her!
After a while, Lu Tianlin suddenly remembered his business and said, "By the way, I came here to order the academy's next season's wine. I wanted to ask you if Zuixianfang has any newly brewed Daughter's Red wine."
"Oh, no wonder Young Master Lu came in person this time, it turns out he wanted to try something new!" the shopkeeper exclaimed in sudden realization.
Lu Tianlin raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued, and asked, "So, does it exist or not?"
The shopkeeper thought carefully for a moment and said, "Xi Qin Academy has been a regular customer of our Drunken Immortal Pavilion for many years, and they should have tried all the varieties. If we're talking about something new... the owner does have a new recipe, but only a few jars have been produced so far, and the owner is drinking them himself. He said he wants to test them further and it will be a while before he can brew and sell them in bulk. How about I bring some for you to enjoy first?"
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Tianlin waved impatiently, signaling him to hurry up and get it.
Lu Tianlin didn't taste the drink; he merely brought it close to his nose and took a light sniff. He then excitedly stood up, grabbed the shopkeeper's arm tightly, and exclaimed with delight, "That's it! ...Where is your boss? I want to see him! When will he come? Or where can I find him?"
"Young Master Lu, don't be anxious. It's quite a coincidence. Our master is usually elusive, but he suddenly returned late last night, and then went out again this morning, saying he was going to the street to pick up the jewelry he ordered yesterday." The shopkeeper said as he helped Lu Tianlin back to his seat.
"It seems your master treats your wife very well?" Lu Tianlin asked tentatively.
The shopkeeper handed the tea to him again, then moved toward the scroll in the corner and said with a smile, "Hehe... I did ask him once, but the owner said he was all alone, so he had no fixed abode and wandered around, and had no wife or concubines."
"Oh? Then why did he order jewelry?" Lu Tianlin seemed to have some doubts in his mind.
"Perhaps, could it be that he has recently met a woman he likes?" As the shopkeeper was speaking, Lu Tianlin had unknowingly arrived beside him. Upon seeing the imposing and dignified man in the portrait, he said, "Is this the owner of this Drunken Fragrance Shop?"
The shopkeeper said with a proud look on his face, "That's right, this is our master himself! Thanks to the master's patronage over the years, we finally managed to hire the best painter in the city with several jars of fine wine. Based on my memory, I painted a portrait of the master as a gift. Young master, what do you think?"
However, Lu Tianlin's heart was already restless, and he murmured to himself, "Jewelry shop... could it be that Miss Yi ordered it?"
With that, he strode quickly toward the door.
The shopkeeper, realizing what was happening, hurriedly called out to his retreating figure, "Hey, Young Master Lu, why are you leaving? We haven't even discussed how to order this wine yet. If you want it, the price will be..."
"Price doesn't matter, quantity as usual. Once the wine is ready, have someone deliver it to Xiqin Academy, and then ask my father to pay!" Before the words had even faded, the person had already vanished in a flash.
The shopkeeper shook his head and sighed repeatedly as he watched the man's retreating figure, "What a mess this is!"
As soon as Lu Tianlin came out of Zuixianfang, he searched through all the famous jewelry stores in the south of the city.
After leaving the last house, he still hadn't seen the man in the portrait. Standing on the bustling street, unsure of where to go, he suddenly heard the thunderous sound of horses' hooves, and then three men on horseback galloped past him.
Lu Tianlin looked up suddenly and saw that the person sandwiched between the other two was none other than the man in the portrait!
"What are they rushing off to?" he wondered, as he spotted a fine horse parked next to a large tree.
So he strode over, stuffed a gleaming silver ingot into the servant's arms, snatched the reins from his hand, leaped onto the horse's back, shouted "Giddy up!" and followed closely behind.
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