Just then, the theater manager knocked and entered. Upon seeing the two, he bowed and said to Shu Zhan, "Young Master, the Prefect has arrived."
Shu Zhan was in a bad mood and didn't even hear what he said clearly before saying, "What kind of incompetent governor is he? Get them all out of here!"
Upon hearing his shocking words, the shopkeeper's eyes widened in alarm. He quickly looked around, frowned, and whispered, "You mustn't! You mustn't, young master! If we offend the prefect, our Shuji shop will be finished in Dongcheng!"
Lu Huai lazily lifted his eyelids, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Shu Zhan with amusement, "You want to drive the dignified Prefect of Dongcheng out?"
He deliberately prolonged the sound when he said the last few words.
"..."
Shu Zhan then realized what he had just said, opened his mouth, and quickly grabbed the shopkeeper, "Nonsense! What I just said was all nonsense! Don't kick them out! We still need to make money!"
After all, their philosophy is "all guests are welcome, and those who pay are treated like royalty!"
The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his brow, and carefully asked Shuzhan, "Then what do you think of this..."
Shu Zhan quickly turned his pleading gaze to the person opposite him.
Lu Huai chuckled lightly, lowered his head to blow the steam rising from the teacup in his hand, and said casually, "Tell him that business is so good that he has to open his original private room to welcome guests. However, there are only two of us, so please forgive him and let us watch the opera together."
Anyway, he had said before that if the theater was packed, he would open up his private room.
The shopkeeper was taken aback for a moment, then quickly agreed, "Okay, sure."
A short while later, footsteps were heard outside the door.
"Sir, please come in."
"Thank you for your trouble."
Lu Huai and Shu Zhan exchanged a glance, and then they heard a rhythmic but not abrupt knocking on the door.
"Knock knock knock—"
Lu Huai raised an eyebrow at Shu Zhan, who then cleared his throat and said loudly, "Please come in."
"Creak—"
The wooden door was pushed open with a slight sound. The two men immediately stood up and bowed to Prefect Qu as he entered. Lu Huai smiled and said, "This humble subject, Cai Fengyin, greets Your Excellency, Prefect."
Shu Zhan blushed and stammered, "This humble subject, Chu Wangbei, greets Your Excellency the Prefect."
That's right, the names the two casually picked when they entered the city were Cai Fengyin and Chu Wangbei.
Prefect Qu looked at the two polite young men and nodded with satisfaction. "So you are Young Master Cai and Young Master Chu. No need for such formalities."
He walked to the table and sat down, and Lu Huai poured him a cup of tea, about seven-tenths full. He raised his eyes, a smile on his lips, "I have long admired the Prefect's reputation, and seeing you today, I can confirm that it is indeed well-deserved."
Prefect Qu laughed heartily, picked up the tea that was handed to him, held it in front of him, and said to the two men, "Young Master Cai, Young Master Chu, it's a pleasure to meet you both. I'll offer you tea instead of wine."
Lu Huai also picked up his teacup, "Please, sir."
Shuzhan followed closely behind.
The group chatted for a while. The more Prefect Qu looked at the two young men, the more he liked them. Especially Cai Fengyin, whose words were honest and pleasant to hear. He answered fluently on astronomy, geography, people's livelihood, and human relationships, his words always hitting the nail on the head.
If it weren't for the abruptness, he would have liked to become sworn brothers with the other person and become close friends despite the age difference.
"Haha, young man, you don't know as much about opera as I do." Prefect Qu chuckled, pleased to have discovered Lu Huai's weakness.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
