Fu Man'er recently noticed something was off. She always had a vague feeling that someone was following her, but when she turned around, she found that there was no one there.
"How strange, am I just overthinking it?" After turning back to check again, Fu Man'er frowned.
Lu Sheng had already seen Fu Man'er downstairs from the second floor, but she hadn't come up yet, so Lu Sheng simply went down to greet her.
As soon as I went downstairs, I saw Fu Man'er's distressed little face. "Man'er, what's wrong?"
Fu Man'er shook her head, deciding to put what had just happened aside for now, as she had more important things to do.
"Sister Lu Sheng, has Brother Zi Xuan arrived?" Fu Man'er asked affectionately, linking arms with Lu Sheng and following her upstairs like a little bird.
When Cao Zixuan was mentioned, a hint of unease flashed across Lu Sheng's face. "No."
"Huh?" The two walked to the table and sat down facing each other. "Didn't you come with Brother Zixuan?"
Both of them had set off from the Cao family's escort agency, and Fu Man'er thought they would come together.
Lu Sheng didn't speak, but picked up the glazed white teacup and played with it in her hands. Her hands had done all kinds of rough work, plus martial arts training.
There were many calluses on her fingertips, not as white and tender as Fu Man'er's, but her knuckles were also very long, and it was clear that they were a pair of strong hands.
Fu Man'er suddenly leaned on the table and asked mysteriously, "Sister Lu Sheng, how are things going between you and Brother Zixuan?"
Ever since Cao Zixuan's little secret about liking Lu Sheng was exposed, Lu Sheng rushed off to escort goods the very next day, and this trip lasted for almost a month.
Fu Man'er was incredibly curious, and she had to ask Cao Zixuan quickly before he arrived.
Lu Sheng stopped playing with the teacup, picked up the teapot and poured in tea, the steam immediately enveloping the two of them.
"Nothing special. He's the young master of the Cao family, and I'm a bodyguard for the Cao family." Their statuses are not equal, so how could she dare to have any designs on him?
"But~" Fu Man'er hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sister Lu Sheng, do you like Brother Zixuan?"
After taking a sip of hot tea, Lu Sheng said without thinking, "I don't like it."
"Ah." Fu Man'er's little face was filled with disappointment. "Brother Zixuan likes you so much."
Lu Sheng is aloof and indifferent to everyone. She doesn't like to interact with people, except for Fu Man'er, who can make her smile a little more.
Cao Zixuan saw this point. Although he was focused on Fu Man'er, it was actually all to get closer to Lu Sheng.
Cao Zixuan knew that if he were alone, it would be difficult to get Lu Sheng to say even a few words.
Although Fu Man'er felt regretful, she knew that feelings couldn't be forced. She just wondered how Zixuan would feel upon hearing this answer.
The two girls chatted about other things with their heads down, neither noticing Cao Zixuan standing at the top of the stairs. He remained silent for a while before deliberately making a sound and walking over.
He had only been there a short while when those northern merchants dressed in strange clothes came in.
Today, Lu Sheng and Cao Zixuan were both hired helpers by Fu Man'er. If they wanted to take away the Chu family's business, then a bigger and better cloth merchant would have to appear.
Such people are hard to find. Fu Man'er thought that since she couldn't find them, she would just make them up out of thin air. As long as she could bring down this group of merchants, she could make the Chu family's inventory worthless.
People can be created out of thin air, but you have to be able to produce decent goods. Previously, Fu Man'er had already sent out various people to secretly buy up the cloth from the small vendors in the town.
These small vendors are just trying to make ends meet, so they're overjoyed to have met such a big spender.
Even though Fu Man'er had already lowered the price considerably, many people still sold their cloth.
But how much cloth could those small vendors have? Even if they bought it all, it would only amount to half of what the Chu family possessed, which was far from enough for those merchants from the north.
At this dinner, Lu Sheng acted as a visiting cloth merchant, while Cao Zixuan served as an intermediary.
Those northern merchants are shrewd. If someone suddenly approaches them, they will be wary and resistant because they need time to get to know strangers.
But having a middleman makes all the difference, especially since this middleman is the only son of the Cao family of Zhenyuan Escort Agency.
"Boss Lu is very generous. He arranged for us to stay in the hotel before we even met, and he also had someone show us the beauty of the South."
"Come on, let's toast Boss Lu." As they were talking, someone suddenly raised their glass.
Lu Sheng glanced at Fu Man'er discreetly; she had no idea what this person was talking about.
Fu Man'er slapped her forehead. Oh dear, she was so busy asking those love-related questions that she forgot to tell Lu Sheng about this.
On the first day these northern merchants arrived in Lan Town, Fu Man'er, in Lu Sheng's name, made arrangements for them, including their food, clothing, lodging, and transportation.
This made these northern businessmen feel favorably toward this Boss Lu, whom they had never met before.
Cao Zixuan seemed quite at ease at the dinner table. He immediately chimed in, "Boss Lu prepared so quickly, I couldn't compete with him."
"However, I do have a good place to go next. You gentlemen have given face to Boss Lu, so you should also give me, Cao, some face."
Hearing him so naturally state the next task, Fu Man'er almost wanted to clap her hands and cheer.
"Where is Young Master Cao referring to?" Some people's attention was immediately drawn to this question.
“This place is a town away from us, and it’s quite a distance, but I can guarantee it’s definitely better than the place Boss Lu arranged for you.”
Cao Zixuan had also traveled to various places, so if he said it was good, then it really was good.
Some people hesitated, saying, "It sounds tempting, but after we reach an agreement today, we'll be loading the goods tomorrow, and then we'll be heading back the day after."
"What's the rush? You've seen the fabrics this time; they're all top-quality. They'll definitely sell very well once we take them back."
"Although I introduced you to Boss Lu, as the middleman, I, Cao, will definitely make sure that you don't make a wasted trip."
"Alright, tomorrow I'll have someone take you on a trip. You can leave one or two capable subordinates with me. They'll inspect each shipment as it's delivered, making sure there are absolutely no problems with the goods you bring back this time."
"Boss Lu, you have no objections to what I'm about to say, right?" Cao Zixuan's gaze fell on Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng immediately understood. "Of course I have no objection. This is my first time working with you all, so I must make sure you feel at ease. I will need your help in the future."
Her demeanor pleased the northern merchants greatly. Coupled with Cao Zixuan's genuine concern for them and his warm invitation, the merchants were so moved that they were almost in tears.
They were all holding wine glasses, some were brothers, some were sisters, and their relationship couldn't be better.
"I won't say much more; it's all in this glass of wine."
Fu Man'er, a mere maid, stood in the corner watching them eat and drink. In truth, taking these people to other places was an essential step.
Otherwise, how could she have bought the cloth from the Chu family's warehouse at a low price? If she couldn't buy it all, the whole performance wouldn't have been perfect.
This was the first time she had discovered that Zixuan had the potential to be a shrewd businessman, especially when he was talking nonsense with a straight face.
The meal didn't end until late at night, and Fu Man'er had already arranged for carriages to send everyone back.
When they returned to the second floor, they found that only Lu Sheng and Cao Zixuan were there.
Cao Zixuan drank quite a bit of wine, some with others and some on behalf of Lu Sheng. Fu Man'er witnessed Cao Zixuan snatching the wine glass from Lu Sheng and drinking it for her.
Many of these northern merchants were married. Seeing this, they all looked at the two with ambiguous eyes, understanding why Cao Zixuan was acting as a matchmaker. It turned out that his real intention was not what he seemed.
So later on, all these people came to Lu Sheng for drinks, and anyway, all the wine ended up in Cao Zixuan's stomach.
"Cao Zixuan, stand firm." Lu Sheng glanced at Cao Zixuan, who was swaying from side to side, and couldn't help but pull him up.
This pull was too much for Cao Zixuan to bear; he seemed to have no bones and fell straight into Lu Sheng's arms.
"Lu Sheng, don't be afraid, I'll drink, you don't drink." The man reeked of alcohol, and it was hard to tell how much sober he still was, but he was still muttering these words.
"Phew." Lu Sheng pushed him into the chair with both hands and glanced at the wine pot on the table and the floor.
Cao Zixuan really is...
After becoming an apprentice of Master Hu, she not only learned martial arts, but also mastered about 90% of drinking skills.
She could only get drunk if she drank all the alcohol in the room combined, while Cao Zixuan, who has little alcohol tolerance, could still drink faster than her.
"Lu Sheng, Lu Sheng." Cao Zixuan, who had been pushed into a chair, barely opened his eyes. His fair face was flushed, and his peach blossom eyes were even more alluring under the influence of alcohol.
Especially when he looked at him, Lu Sheng felt he almost lost himself in those eyes.
"Lu Sheng." These calls, like a cat constantly scratching at his heart, made Lu Sheng look away uncomfortably.
Man'er is downstairs seeing someone off, why isn't she coming up yet? Is she going to send the person back to the north overnight?
Lu Sheng became increasingly agitated. She glanced at Cao Zixuan and was about to turn and leave when, just as she turned around...
Cao Zixuan stood up, but he was so drunk that he couldn't stand steadily and only knew to follow Lu Sheng.
Just as the man was about to fall again, Lu Sheng darted back and caught him.
"Hmm." Fu Man'er, who was hiding to the side and peeking, quickly covered her eyes. Oh dear, they were hugging each other.
No, it was Sister Lu who picked up Brother Zixuan in one go.
It seems that Brother Zixuan hasn't woken up from the drama yet. Fu Man'er smiled and walked downstairs quietly. She had just finished giving instructions to her attendant when she saw Xu Yi waiting at the door.
"Brother!" Fu Man'er ran towards Xu Yi like a fledgling.
Xu Yi caught the little girl precisely. "Have they all gone back?"
"No." Fu Man'er shook her head. "Brother, let me tell you, Brother Zixuan is too immersed in his role and can't get out of it."
"Huh?" Xu Yi was completely confused.
Fu Man'er just smiled and said, "It's an even better show."
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