At this point, rather than investigating the cause of the leak, the top priority right now is obviously to prevent the situation from getting worse.

"Are you scared now?" Xu Pengju glanced at his good-for-nothing younger son.

"I know..." Xu Bangning hung his head in dejection, no longer showing the arrogance he had just shown.

He and his mother are in the same boat. If Zheng's imperial edict is taken away, he will forget about dreaming of inheriting the title.

Xu Pengju said unhappily: "If you know you're scared, just go and apologize!"

"Ah?" Xu Bangning pointed at his nose and said in disbelief, "Me? The descendant of the King of Zhongshan, the son of the Duke, going to apologize to a commoner? Don't even think about it!"

"Even if I fail to become a duke, and my elder brother kills me, or I die of poverty and starvation, I will never apologize!"

~~

Caijiaxiang, the food is very delicious.

Although Zhao Hao tried his best to dispel the anxiety yesterday, the uneasy atmosphere still lingered inside and outside the restaurant.

From the shopkeeper Fang to the staff, everyone was forcing themselves to smile and were absent-minded today. They all shuddered in fear at the slightest movement outside the door, fearing that someone from the Duke of Wei's mansion had come to take revenge.

Even the wealthy and the noble were affected. After nearly three months of opening, Wei Ji Xian had empty tables again... In fact, the customers had paid three days ago, but they were afraid of being affected and would rather waste five taels of silver than come to eat.

Of course, only a few dared not come, and most of the customers came to Wei Ji Xian early, impatiently urging Shopkeeper Fang to serve the dishes. They were not there to support the store, but they were worried that if the Duke of Wei's mansion made a scene, they would not be able to eat the delicious food of Wei Ji Xian for a long time.

The guests enjoyed the delicious dishes as if they were having their last meal, but the more they enjoyed the meal, the more regretful they felt.

"It's such a delicious dish, but it's already at its end. I'm afraid I won't be able to eat something this delicious again. How can I live like this..."

"If it doesn't work, let's see who can talk to the Duke and help persuade him."

"Originally, we could have persuaded him by talking to him nicely, but yesterday Young Master Zhao beat up the servant of the Xu family. How could the Xu family let it go without regaining their face?"

"Alas, Mr. Zhao is extremely talented, but he is inevitably young and hot-tempered. He must know that there are some people he cannot afford to offend. Even if his grandfather, Minister Zhao, was still in office, he could not embarrass the Xu family like this."

"Hey, I think this time, it's more dangerous than good..."

In all likelihood, diners have already sentenced Wei Ji Xian to death in their hearts.

There was a patron who was kind and considerate to Ma Xianglan, who was still playing the piano, and whispered, "Miss Ma, please stop playing. This is already a place of trouble. Pack up and leave quickly."

Ma Xianglan nodded and smiled to express her gratitude, but was not moved at all. She calmly stroked the strings of the zither and played the song "Ding Fengbo".

After the prelude, she opened her red lips and sang the sound of nature:

"Don't listen to the sound of leaves being blown by the wind, why not hum and walk slowly. A bamboo stick and straw sandals are lighter than a horse, who is afraid? A raincoat will protect me in the rain."

This is her first time to sing in her three-month residency at Weijixian.

As the guests listened, they became mesmerized and no more noisy sounds were heard in the hall.

~~

On the second floor, in the private room called "Spring".

Master and disciple Zhao Hao, Wu Kangyuan and monk Xuelang also stopped talking and listened to Ma Xianglan's soothing singing.

"The chilly spring breeze sobers me up, a little chilly, but the slanting sunlight on the mountaintops greets me. Looking back at the desolate place, I return, neither wind nor rain nor clear..."

"Miss Ma is saying that she wants to stand by you, young master."

After a long while, Wu Kangyuan sighed leisurely and said, "I often envy the jade carving man in the world, and God gave me a sweet girl. It's really enviable that Mr. Zhao has such a confidante..."

"Puff..." Zhao Hao almost sprayed water on his face and quickly turned his head away and coughed continuously.

Wang Wuyang quickly massaged his master's back, looked at Wu Kangyuan unhappily and said, "My master is still young, Senior Wu's words are rude."

"A confidant has nothing to do with gender or age." Xuelang has the sensitivity of a poet, so he naturally feels more deeply than Wu Kangyuan. He sighed and said, "The Qinhuai River is almost forgetting the name of Miss Ma."

Zhao Hao couldn't help but nod slightly. He admitted that he had indeed gone too far when it came to Ma Xianglan's matter, and now the situation was very tricky.

"Xuelang, are you here to help or to cause trouble?" Young Master Hua Shuyang had a bad temper, so he was naturally more impolite in his words.

"Okay, I won't say anything." Xuelang knew he was in the wrong, so he quickly changed the subject and said, "Let's get back to business. I suggest you report this to the authorities and ask Yingtian Prefecture to protect Wei Ji Xian."

"Is Yingtian Mansion owned by your family?" Hua Shuyang rolled his eyes at him.

"Although I didn't open it, Yingtian Prefecture owes our Da Baoen Temple 10,000 taels of silver for repairing the temple," Xuelang said with a smile, "If I agree to waive this 10,000 taels, I believe the prefect should be willing to help, right?"

Wu Kangyuan's eyes lit up, and he asked uncertainly, "You are not the abbot, so what you say counts?"

"I'm sorry, but I have raised 50,000 taels. Now I am the boss to repay your kindness." Xuelang raised his head slightly with a hint of pride.

"That's great! As long as Yingtian Prefecture can help delay it for a month or so, there will be a response from the capital!" Wu Kangyuan clasped his hands together happily towards Xuelang.

"It's true that a single thread cannot make a line, and a single tree cannot make a forest." Zhao Hao raised his glass of water with emotion and thanked the two people, "No matter what the result is, I, Zhao Hao, will remember your kindness in helping them in their time of need."

"I don't want your box either. Just give me a poem..." Xuelang took advantage of every opportunity and took the opportunity to do so.

As they were talking, the door of the box was suddenly pushed open and a waiter ran in with a pale face.

"Dong, Dongjia, the young master is here."

In Beijing, the term "young master" does not necessarily refer to a specific person. But in Nanjing, there is only one young master, and that is Xu Bangning, the youngest son of Duke Wei.

"You're here so soon?" Wu Kangyuan was surprised. He thought that no matter how anxious the Xu family was, they would take two days to retaliate. Unexpectedly, just the next day, Xu Bangning came to kill him in person. "It seems that this time I have touched the young master's sore spot, Mr. Zhao, please go out the back door."

Wu Kangyuan is proud of his status and has never been afraid of anything, but he still wants to persuade Zhao Hao to stay out of the spotlight for the time being.

Xu Pengju served as the garrison commander of Nanjing for nearly fifty years. The Xu family's businesses were spread throughout Jinling and beyond, and they had more than tens of thousands of slaves.

He is a hereditary duke, and his family has a red-lettered iron certificate that can exempt him from death nine times. Looking at the whole city of Nanjing, who can compete with them?

"Yes, a wise man never suffers a loss in front of him." Xuelang agreed and said, "I will take you to the Great Baoen Temple to hide. No matter how arrogant the Xu family is, they dare not act wildly there."

"Master, please stay upstairs. The two of us will go downstairs to stop him. No matter whether he is a young master or a young prince, don't even think about touching Master!" Wang Wuyang and Hua Shuyang rolled up their sleeves, revealing their slender arms.

"Let's wait and see." Zhao Hao got rid of the first two people, grabbed the last two people, and walked downstairs calmly.

~~

In the lobby, the diners stopped eating and looked at the young master who walked into the restaurant with a gloomy face.

Even though they didn't take this second-generation rich guy seriously behind his back, they didn't even dare to breathe in front of Xu Bangning.

Ma Xianglan also stopped playing the piano, stood up and looked at the stairs nervously.

As soon as Zhao Hao went downstairs, he saw her anxiously waving at him secretly, obviously wanting him to stay out of the spotlight for a while.

He stopped in the middle of the stairs, held the railing and gave Ma Xianglan a reassuring smile, then looked down at Xu Bangning in the hall.

Xu Bangning also looked at him expressionlessly.

The delicious air froze and everyone's heart was in their throat.

Then, they saw Xu Bangning suddenly bowed deeply to Zhao Hao, clasped his hands together and raised them above his head, saying:

"Mr. Zhao, I was wrong..."

ps. The second update is here. Please vote for me, please add me to your collection, and please comment on the chapter~~