Although Zhou Wan disagreed, after careful consideration, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
...
That being said, since Xu Yuehuai already had the idea of opening a shop in the Mingyue Kingdom, she naturally had to make arrangements. However, since she was unfamiliar with the place, she planned to take Zhang Ting with her.
When Zhang Ting heard this, she couldn't believe her ears.
"Manager Xu, are you sure you want me to come with you?" Her face was full of shock.
Xu Yuehua nodded: "Of course."
“Although you’ve always lived on Chessboard Peak, you must have also lived in the Underworld Moon Kingdom for a period of time, so you naturally know more about this place than we do,” she said with a smile. “Since I’ve kept you by my side, it’s natural that I acknowledge your abilities.”
Her words were clearly intended to gradually break down Zhang Ting's psychological defenses.
Zhang Ting immediately nodded and smiled, "Manager Xu, don't worry. I grew up in the mud pits of the Underworld Moon Kingdom. I know better than anyone which shops are the best. I'll ask Yin Fang to negotiate the price for you, and we'll definitely be able to get the shop easily."
Although she only started interacting with Tie Xiong and the others later, she could still see their resistance towards her. She had originally planned to get rid of Xu Yuehuai in Chang'an, but their vigilance was too high, and they didn't give her a chance to make a move. Now it seemed that if she wanted to accomplish something, she had to gain their trust first.
Therefore, she was extremely careful when choosing a shop.
...
Consort Jia was resting and preparing for her pregnancy at the Duke of Zhenguo's residence, and everything was going smoothly. After all, this was her own territory, and if something happened in her own home, there would really be no one to reason with.
One day, the Duchess of Zhenguo found a folk remedy from somewhere, saying that pregnant women could eat more walnuts and their children would be very smart.
She bought a large bag of walnuts and peeled and ate them with Consort Jia. For Consort Jia, this was the only exercise that the Duchess of Zhenguo had asked her to do in the several days since she returned.
The two ate while chatting about recent events, when Yinhu walked over with a worried expression, almost knocking over the walnuts placed between them.
"What's wrong, Yinhu? Why do you look so uneasy? Has something happened?" The Duchess of Zhenguo was not angry when she saw this, but stopped Yinhu and asked her.
Yin Hu then regained her composure and replied with an apologetic smile, "Madam, I just heard about the birthday banquet of the Marquis of Ningyuan's heir. He actually invited Tianxiang Restaurant to be in charge of the catering for the banquet. Do you think there is some kind of conspiracy involved? Does the Marquis of Ningyuan seem like such a kind person? Would he give such a big order to Tianxiang Restaurant?"
“I don’t think Marquis Ningyuan has any bad intentions. After all, there were quite a few high-ranking officials and nobles there that day. I don’t think he would do something that would hurt the enemy a thousand while hurting himself eight hundred.” Consort Jia said, popping a walnut into her mouth and chewing on it.
The Duchess of Zhenguo felt that things were not right and was very worried about the safety of San Niang and Zhou Wan. She stood up and prepared to go to Tianxiang Tower to persuade the two to stay.
"Sister, please sit down. Do you really want to provoke the Marquis of Ningyuan? It's his young master's birthday banquet. If you lose face, won't he hold a grudge against you?" Consort Jia pulled the Duchess of Zhenguo aside and persuaded her, even stuffing a walnut into her hand.
The Duchess of Zhenguo was in no mood to eat, but she couldn't directly refute Consort Jia, since Consort Jia was pregnant with the emperor's child and she couldn't afford to get angry.
Seeing that the Duchess of Zhenguo looked distracted, Yin Hu leaned close to her ear and said, "Madam, don't worry. The Duke of Zhenguo has already gone there, so there shouldn't be any problems."
Lady Zhenguo was finally relieved.
At the same time, the Duke of Zhenguo also arrived at Tianxiang Tower.
"Third Sister, Zhou Wan, you'd better cancel this birthday banquet. What kind of place is the Ningyuan Marquis's residence? If you go there rashly, wouldn't you be sending lambs to the slaughter?" The Duke of Zhenguo spoke earnestly, and as soon as he entered, he went straight to the point and suggested that Third Sister and Zhou Wan cancel the birthday banquet.
However, now that San Niang and her group are in a situation where they have no choice but to act, they naturally cannot easily back down.
She could only grit her teeth and explain, "Don't worry, Duke Zhenguo. We also want to rescue Anan. Besides, Marquis Ningyuan can deal with us anytime. I don't think he will choose the day of the young master's birthday banquet alone."
“That is true, but Marquis Ningyuan has always been treacherous and cunning. What if he wants to take advantage of your belief that he won’t make a move at his son’s birthday banquet? How would you deal with that?” The Duke of Zhenguo felt that things were still not quite right.
“We also have a plan for dealing with this. We will observe carefully first, and if there is any sign of something amiss, we will rush to the center of the banquet. After all, he is certainly capable of tearing off the mask, but his heir is a man who cares about his reputation and will certainly not let Marquis Ningyuan act recklessly.” Third Sister had naturally taken this situation into consideration.
"In that case..." Upon hearing this, the Duke of Zhenguo pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Very well, east, west, south, and north."
"My lord." Four strong and muscular men immediately appeared and bowed to the Duke of Zhenguo.
"Third Sister, take these four with you. They can protect you if you encounter danger."
"Thank you, Duke Zhenguo," Third Sister hurriedly said.
The Duke of Zhenguo waved his hand and said, "I will also be there on the day of your birthday banquet. I will hold off Marquis Ningyuan for you, but remember not to act rashly. If you find anything amiss, protect yourself first. If you encounter any trouble, come to me immediately."
After giving his instructions, the Duke of Zhenguo returned to his residence.
Zhang Ting and Xu Yuehuai were very quick; in just one afternoon, they had toured the entire eastern part of the Mingyue Kingdom, but none of the shops there were satisfactory.
Just when Zhang Ting thought the shop deal was about to fall through, Xu Yuehuai unexpectedly discovered a shop in a great location, but it didn't have many customers. This made her suspicious. After all, food is the most important thing for people, and unless the food is really bad, restaurants rarely have such a business.
Upon getting closer, I noticed a "For Rent" sign in front of the door, indicating that the business was indeed struggling.
Xu Yuehua nodded, and just as she was about to go in, Zhang Ting grabbed her sleeve.
"What's wrong?" Xu Yuehuai looked at him suspiciously.
"Manager Xu, the feng shui of this shop might be bad, otherwise no one would come to eat here," Zhang Ting whispered mysteriously in Xu Yuehuai's ear.
Xu Yuehuai naturally disregarded Zhang Ting's feng shui, as she disliked such superstitious things and always believed that people were the most important factor.
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