"Manager Liu, this large batch of grape wine has been brewed. Please inspect it." A servant said diligently.
Manager Liu, with a big belly, walked with a swagger. Hearing this, he touched his stomach and said with an air of authority, "Did you strictly follow the requirements given by our master? This grape wine is very precious, and it will be sent to the palace later. There must not be any negligence."
"Rest assured, steward, we have been very careful and followed the instructions. Although this is our first time brewing, there are no mistakes. In order to make the wine more mellow, we even used a warm room with forty degrees high temperature for the brewing process! There is absolutely no problem!"
As the servant spoke, he opened the lid of one of the large jars of grape wine. Upon taking the initial whiff, there was indeed a hint of its characteristic aroma.
However, after scooping and tasting, Manager Liu couldn’t help frowning slightly.
"How does Manager Liu find it?" The servant hurriedly asked.
Manager Liu frowned, "Why do I feel that there is something slightly off about the taste?"
"There’s nothing wrong, we followed the steps!"
"I feel that the wine taste is a bit stronger." As someone who advanced to this position, Manager Liu was a skilled wine taster.
The brewing process of the grape wine involved the addition of white wine, which naturally resulted in a stronger white wine flavor.
However, grape wine is a rare commodity, and even the palace only receives three jars per year. He had only tasted it once, a tiny sip, and although he remembered the taste, he might have forgotten over the years.
This taste was not completely wrong, but he couldn’t say exactly what was wrong with it either.
Manager Liu waved his hand, "Forget it, since this is the brewing formula personally sent by our master, it must be correct."
"Exactly. Doesn’t a stronger wine taste mean that our grape wine is even more mellow than that of the tribute from foreign countries?" The servant tried to please.
Who would care about such a minor difference in taste?
Manager Liu thought this made sense. "Then hurry up and send it to the palace to avoid any complications."
He was afraid that Guilin House would come up with tricks to sabotage their business, so Manager Liu wanted to send the wine to the palace as soon as possible.
"Yes, I will do it right away!" The servant said happily.
---
A spacious and luxurious horse carriage slowly drove down the street. The Wang Family winery’s convoy, delivering grape wine to the palace, met this carriage head-on.
The servant escorting the wine quickly got down from the carriage, knelt down in front of the luxurious carriage and said in a flattering tone, "It turns out to be Old Man Chen’s carriage. It is very impressive even from a distance. I have come to pay my respects."
This servant had no idea who was inside the carriage but easily offered his knee just by seeing the carriage, which showed the Chen family’s influence in the capital and how spineless the Wang Family’s servants were.
No one in the carriage spoke; only a little maid slightly opened the curtain and peeked out. Impatiently, she said, "Why don’t you hurry and make way?"
"Ah! Yes, yes! I will make way for you right away!" The servant quickly got up, called the convoy behind him to move aside, and let the luxurious carriage pass first.
As he watched the carriage disappear, the coachman behind him couldn’t help but ask, "Do you know who was in the carriage that you called them nobility?"
"You fool, didn’t you see the little maid who spoke just now? She’s the personal maid of Old Man Chen’s legitimate daughter, Chen Yining. Who do you think is in the carriage?" The servant snorted.
"I see! No wonder you were so attentive!"
The servant slapped his head, "You better learn. In the capital city, nobility is everywhere. Be more careful and clever, or one day you might offend someone and not even know how you die!"
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Hurry up, don’t waste time. Send the carriage to the palace!"
The servant quickly urged the Wang Family winery’s servants to set off.
The luxurious carriage had already left the busiest street.
Inside the carriage, Chen Yining sat calmly, but her expression was somewhat heavy, "Who just passed by?"
Her personal maid Rui Xue said, "Miss doesn’t know, it was the royal merchant Wang Family’s servants, the ones that supply the palace with wine, fruits, and vegetables, their servants are just spineless and try to please everyone, disturbing Miss."
"I heard that their family seemed to have retired and returned to their hometown. Why are they still sending things to the palace?"
"Although they said they’ve retired, they are just avoiding trouble in their hometown. They used to be part of the Crown Prince’s faction, after all." Rui Xue lowered her voice.
Chen Yining didn’t care about that; she just murmured, "The Wang family’s hometown is in Lanshan City? That’s also where he disappeared."
"Lanshan City is huge, Miss. How can you be sure they’ll come across each other? Besides, if Mu Xiang is really still alive, he wouldn’t choose to stay in Lanshan City where people are after him, would he?"
Chen Yining shook her head, "You don’t understand him, he’s never been afraid of death, and if he doesn’t come back, there must be a reason he doesn’t want to."
"What could that reason be?"
Chen Yining’s face turned even uglier, "I don’t know, but I’ve been feeling more and more unsettled these days. I have a feeling that something I don’t know is about to happen."
"Miss, don’t worry. Mu Xiang is very capable. Since he escaped death once, he won’t easily fall into danger again. Maybe after he is done with his secret mission, he will come back. Miss, you should think positively. Next month, on the seventh, it’s Princess Chaoyang’s wedding day. Mu Xiang hasn’t come back yet, but maybe this will trick Princess Chaoyang into marrying someone else, so she will finally stop thinking about him?" The little maid looked quite pleased.
Chen Yining’s lips curled in a mocking smile, "You think I ever cared for her? It’s the end of the month already, and soon it will be her wedding day. After the marriage, I want to see her try to make a fuss."
---
Wang Family’s wine has been sent to the palace, and Guilin House’s wine, shipped from Lian’an Town, has also safely arrived in the capital city. Everything seemed calm and peaceful.
Until this day, the auspicious date of the third day of the third month.
"Master! Master! Someone is coming from the palace! They seem to be personally delivering His Majesty’s decree. This huge move suggests that they are going to bestow significant rewards!" An excited servant waved the letter in his hand as he ran in.
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