The great collector Xiang Yuanbian was dark, short, fat, and had a very bad temper.
He once fell in love with a prostitute in the Qinhuai River. When they parted, the prostitute was reluctant to part with him and said many times that she would not marry anyone else.
After returning home, Old Xiang could not forget the prostitute, so he spent a huge amount of money to buy a large piece of agarwood and asked skilled craftsmen to make a thousand-work bed. He also took enough gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin as a betrothal gift to Nanjing to redeem the prostitute.
Who would have thought that after not seeing each other for a few months, the other party had actually forgotten about the short and ugly Xiang Yuanbian, leaving him aside and going to greet other guests.
Xiang Yuanbian didn't know whether to stay or leave, so he had to introduce himself again. The female guest... Oh no, the lady then remembered her financial sponsor, and hurriedly drove the guest away, then washed up and greeted him.
He had the gifts carried off the boat and placed on Chaoku Street by the Qinhuai River, attracting countless people to watch. Famous Qinhuai prostitutes also ran over to congratulate the lady and congratulate her on finding her true love.
The lady was also very happy, and quickly took out money to prepare a banquet to celebrate. When everyone urged her to toast Xiang Yuanbian, Xiang Yuanbian poured the wine on the ground, pointed at her and cursed: "People say that prostitutes are unfeeling and fickle. I didn't believe it at first, thinking that I had met a lover. Who knew that I had to believe it even if I didn't want to!"
He ordered his men to pile all the silks and satins on the agarwood pile and set it on fire. As a result, the whole Chaoku Street was filled with a strange fragrance that lasted for four or five days.
So Chaoku Street was renamed "Chenxiang Street" because of this idiot.
After that fight, Xiang Yuanbian never set foot in a brothel again, and his temperament became more introverted and irritable.
Seeing that Master Zhao was so arrogant and wanted to force people to take sides during their first contact, he wanted to confront him on the spot.
Qian Ruoshui, who was white, tall and thin, shook his head gently, signaling him to be patient. They were invited here today to find out the truth, not to get angry.
There's no need to take this kind of trick seriously. So what if you drank it? Just play dumb and deny it afterwards.
He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and praised, "Good tea."
Seeing this, Xiang Yuanbian had no choice but to take a sip perfunctorily, and said angrily: "The tea is good, but the name 'Scary Fragrance' is not worthy of being served on the table."
"That's what the villagers of Xishan Island originally called it." Liu Zhengqi smiled and continued, "Didn't you say last time that you wanted to give it a more elegant name?"
"Let's get started. Let's hear what it's like." Young Master Zhao nodded and said with a smile, "How about Biluochun?"
I thought to myself, I'm sorry, Ma Zi, your father has no chance to enter the customs anyway, so the naming rights belong to me.
"Biluochun?" Everyone praised it. "What a good name, you are worthy of being a young master!"
"This tea will surely be as famous as Tianchi tea and Huqiu tea, and become another famous tea of Suzhou!"
"The name alone overshadows the other two. Biluochun must be the best tea in Suzhou, competing with Hangzhou Longjing!"
"Biluochun tea is divided into five grades." Young Master Zhao took a sip of tea and said leisurely:
"The best tea leaves are slender, curled into a spiral, covered with fine hairs, and silver-green with a hint of emerald green. They are indeed as good as Longjing tea. Because of its bright and moist color, and because Lin Zhongcheng also likes to drink it, I call it 'Run Tea'."
As he said this, his eyes suddenly turned red and he said, "I wonder if Zhong Cheng can drink Runcha again."
The whole room fell silent immediately, and no one dared to respond to him.
Everyone present was well-informed, and no one was unaware of what had happened to Governor Lin. Everyone knew that a storm was about to hit Suzhou and Songjiang, so who would dare to speak up at this time?
Young Master Zhao put down his teacup, glanced at everyone in the room and said, "You are all either shareholders of Jiangnan Group or our creditors. We all prosper together and suffer together."
Xiang Yuanbian was about to say, I am nothing, I am just an ordinary saver, I just have a lot of money saved...
But Zhao Hao said in a deep voice: "Some things I will say directly!"
Everyone nodded, focused their minds and listened attentively.
Xiang Yuanbian also resisted the urge to mock him and listened to what he said first.
~~
"I think everyone already knows that something happened to Lin Zhongcheng in Shanghai." Zhao Hao said in a low voice, full of deep anger:
"Jiangnan Hospital has been trying to save him for three days and three nights, but he is still unconscious."
"Mr. Zhao, can Prime Minister Lin be saved?" everyone asked hurriedly.
"I can only pray to God for mercy." Young Master Zhao sighed softly.
"It is said that Deputy Envoy Zheng has also gone crazy. What is going on?" The guests were full of questions, and finally someone answered them.
Zhao Hao's eyes slowly swept over the crowd and he said in shock, "He is just pretending to be crazy."
"Hiss... what?" The nobles gasped. "A dignified fourth-rank official is actually pretending to be crazy and stupid?"
"Is it an unfortunate tragedy or another hidden story behind all this?" Everyone was waiting for Mr. Zhao's answer.
"There is another hidden story!" Zhao Hao said frankly without hiding anything:
"Because he was the one who was instigated by Xu Fan to murder Lin Zhongcheng! Afterwards, he was worried that the Xu family and the court would not let him go, so he pretended to be crazy and tried to get away with it. Unfortunately, he was not strong enough and told the truth after being scared by this young master!"
Brother Gao, who was standing behind him, twitched his lips and thought, was that a scare? It was so scary that it almost scared people to death, okay?
"ah?"
"What?"
“Oh my God!”
Some of the guests opened their mouths wide, some stared with their eyes wide open, some stood up from their chairs, some crossed their arms across their chests...one by one, they were almost frightened to the point of having a heart attack.
Everyone found it unbelievable that the Xu family had the guts to go against the will of the world and harm a governor!
What was even more unbelievable to them was that Master Zhao actually dared to break the unspoken rules and speak the matter out loud in public!
For this truth that can never be made public, shouldn't those who know about it keep silent, or at most make some veiled hints?
Why did Mr. Zhao say this? Who gave him the courage?
Is he preparing for a fight to the death with the Xu family?
Now even Xiang Yuanbian turned pale and lost the courage to challenge Zhao Hao.
It’s better not to provoke such a fierce guy...
~~
Zhao Hao looked at the frightened gentry with an expressionless face, suppressed the slight disgust in his heart, and ordered people to show the testimony signed by Zheng Yuanshao to everyone.
What? Wasn't the confession sent to the capital? How could one copy of such a useful weapon be enough? Young Master Zhao had three copies made, each with Zheng Yuanshao's autograph and red handprint.
"This is tantamount to treason," Xu Bangrui said with fear after reading the confession. "These people are so crazy."
"Yes, I didn't expect that Lord Xu's fame would be ruined by his two sons." Grand Tutor Hua shook his head and sighed, "Why don't you accept Lord Yan's lesson?"
"Once this confession is made public, the Xu family will immediately become the target of public criticism." Wang Mengxiang also twirled his beard and pondered, "But I guess, Master, you also think that doing this will do more harm than good, right?"
"Yes, sir..." All the members of the eight major families were a little panicked.
ps. There is one more chapter.