aware
The banquet was not held in the Yu Mansion, but in a courtyard reserved in a restaurant owned by the Yu family.
When he arrived at the banquet, the room was full of people Mingyu didn't know.
There was only Yu Tongan sitting in the main seat, talking to someone else.
Seeing Mingyu coming, Yu Tongan said a few words to the people next to him, then turned around and greeted Mingyu.
"You're here."
"Brother! I brought the teacher here." Yu Tongxin quickly came to Yu Tongan, and Xiaoya and Cuizhu also greeted him.
Yu Tongan raised his hand and touched Yu Tongxin's head, praising her with a smile on his face.
"Well done, your second brother is over there, I'll be there soon."
"Okay." After saying that, Yu Tongxin didn't have any attachment to her brother at all. She turned around and happily took Xiaoya with her.
Mingyu, who stayed where he was, looked at Yu Tongan and sighed.
"Could you tell me in advance next time?"
"If I tell you directly, will you come?" Yu Tongan asked back.
“Not necessarily.”
"But this way you will definitely come."
"Why? Do you think I can refuse Tong Xin?"
Yu Tongan chuckled and said, "Not really. It seems you haven't seen my little sister playing tricks yet. She's very good at teasing people."
She had indeed never seen this before. Yu Tongxin was always very obedient in big matters, and she would usually go along with Yu Tongxin in small matters.
Mingyu watched Yu Tongxin walk to a table nearby. The second son of the Yu family, Yu Boyan, was already sitting at the table. He was talking to the person who had just spoken to Yu Tongan.
"Second Young Master?" Mingyu glanced around at the noisy crowd. She didn't recognize any of them.
"It seems like this is a welcome ceremony for the Second Young Master?"
"That's the intention. We're using this as an excuse to let everyone relax. We might not have this opportunity again later."
Hearing this, Mingyu glanced at Yu Tongan. Yu Tongan still had a smile on his face and there was no difference.
"Then I can enjoy this banquet thanks to the Second Young Master."
"Tell this to Yu Boyan." Yu Tongan signaled Mingyu to look at the person who was talking to Yu Boyan.
The man was in his forties or fifties, with a plump appearance. I don't know what he said, but he was laughing so hard that his eyes were just slits. However, Yu Boyan beside him seemed to have a forced smile.
"Yu Xianle is my deputy, the second-in-command in the Yu family. He followed Grandpa from the capital. I've already greeted him. If you have anything, you can go directly to him."
"Why does this sound so wrong to me?"
Yu Tongan retorted without even asking what was wrong, but simply said, "After all, you are more sensitive to some things, so you need to pay more attention."
"Sir, can we serve the dishes now?" The owner of the restaurant came forward and asked Yu Tongan if they could start the meal.
"Well, go ahead."
Servants carrying dishes came in one after another, and the banquet became very lively for a while.
Yu Tongan raised his hand to signal Mingyu to go first.
"Let's take our seats too."
Mingyu said nothing more.
"I see."
When they sat down at the table, Yu Boyan was a little surprised to see Mingyu, and looked at Yu Tongan with some disbelief.
Maybe he didn't expect Yu Tongan to let her run around.
Everyone at this table was known to Mingyu, including Yu Tongxin and the others, as well as Wu Ren, Wu Pi, and Yu Yao.
It was a banquet to reward traveling merchants, so there weren't so many rules.
"Miss Gubei, thank you for taking care of my son before." Yu Xianle spoke to Mingyu skillfully.
Mingyu was stunned for a moment before he remembered that Gu Bei was a pseudonym he had chosen for the convenience of his actions.
Mingyu came to his senses and immediately responded to Yu Xianle, only to find out that Yu Yao and Yu Xianle were father and son.
"No, it's just that I want to thank you for your care."
"My son's experience is not as rich as yours. If there is anything inappropriate, please give me some advice, Miss Gubei."
Originally, Mingyu was still wondering whether Yu Xianle knew her true situation, but after Yu Xianle said this, she realized that he did know.
"You're so kind. I'll need your help later."
Yu Xianle seems to be cheerful with everyone, which is quite different from Yu Yao.
"Is Bai Yan adapting to business this time?"
On the other side, Yu Tongan was talking to Yu Boyan.
"I can adapt." Yu Baiyan answered Yu Tongan cautiously with an expressionless face.
"Oh, the second young master is very suitable for business. He did a good job on his first try." Yu Xianle continued with a smile.
"That's good. I was worried that Bai Yan would cause trouble for Shopkeeper Yu."
"Oh, that's not the case. The Second Young Master is very diligent."
Yu Tongan changed the subject.
"That's a relief. I was originally hesitant about whether to let you go into business so soon, but now it seems I can finally make up my mind."
"Doing business?" Yu Boyan paused, obviously not expecting this.
"Yes, after Liu Ning's wedding banquet is over, you can go with the caravan to learn about the overall operation procedures of the Chamber of Commerce."
Yu Liuning is the eldest daughter of the Yu family, and Mingyu doesn’t know the details of her marriage.
Speaking of Yu Boyan, I have something to say.
"Let's forget about the eldest sister's marriage. It was already decided long ago, and she's of the right age to get married now. Why is the eldest sister suddenly in such a hurry to get married too?"
"Why are you asking me this? My eldest sister also got engaged at this age, so why is it so surprising for my second sister?" Yu Tongan frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt. "It's the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. You can ask grandpa."
Mingyu ate quietly and watched the two brothers interacting with each other.
This directly skips Master Yu, their father.
"I asked, but Grandpa wouldn't say anything. He clearly never mentioned arranging a marriage for my eldest sister before."
Yu Tongan comforted Yu Boyan: "I know you are all from Aunt Zhao's family, so you are right to worry. But don't worry, the one you settled with is Tongzhou Su Hu. He has always been on good terms with us, and we know his son well. Do you think there is anything wrong with that?"
"That's not what I'm asking."
Yu Boyan knew that his mother was very dissatisfied with the Su family. Compared with the Yu family, the Su family was just a small family, not a wealthy family. But he felt that it would be enough to find a safe and stable family for his sister and treat her well.
It's just that he has been sheltering the fugitive Mingyu recently, Yu Liuning's early marriage and his sister's engagement, there are often people entering and leaving his grandfather's study recently, and now he has to go on a long business trip, he feels something is not right.
"Well, this matter is not up to me. If you don't want to go as a merchant, I can arrange it for you. But if you don't want to go, there's nothing I can do for you."
Yu Boyan swallowed his doubts and replied stiffly, "I will go."
After the banquet, Mingyu did not go back with Yu Tongxin, but waited for the banquet to end.
She was not the host of the party and should not have left last, but she was waiting for Yu Tongan.
Yu Tongan was not surprised to see her. When Yu Boyan asked these questions, he could sense that something was wrong, let alone Mingyu.
"I'll tell you when we get back to the study."
Everyone had left, and the two of them walked slowly under the moonlight, heading towards Yu Mansion together.
"I plan to find a new husband for my little sister."
"Not surprising." Having already participated in the Third Prince's plan, Mingyu couldn't stay in the Yu Mansion for a long time.
"I'd feel guilty if you accepted it so readily."
"You're asking for a lot?"
Yu Tongan chuckled, as if Mingyu had said something very funny.
Mingyu was a little speechless, and accused Yu Tongan in a flat and dry tone.
"Damn it, does Master Yu treat me as someone who can come and go at will? I want compensation, I want subsidies."
"Where did you learn that? That's not your style."
"Storybooks. When you have nothing to do, just read some storybooks." The master's bookshelf is full of boring history books, star maps, fortune-telling books, etc. I am tired of reading them and I have no choice but to ask the master to buy some storybooks.
Yu Tongan was a little curious: "Do you still read storybooks?"
"Well, don't you watch it? What do you do in your free time?" Don't rich kids bother to watch these things?
Yu Tongan recalled that he rarely had free time.
"I started doing business with Manager Yu when I was young. My grandfather got older, and my father..." Yu Tongan's expression was hard to describe. Out of filial piety, he still didn't say anything bad about his father.
"They were anxious to find someone to take over my grandfather's job, so I had no choice but to rush in."
"I'm reading thousands of books, and you're traveling thousands of miles, so there's not much difference."
Yu Tongan felt a lot more relaxed.
"rational."
Talking and laughing, the two returned to Yu Mansion and got back to business.
Mingyu came to Yu Tongan's study for the first time. It was neat and tidy, with very little decoration. The bookshelves were densely packed with books.
"Grandpa called me into his study today for one thing: the Emperor wants Grandpa to return to the court."
Mingyu thought deeply about it and finally understood.
"It seems that our emperor is having a hard time at court."
"How do you say that?"
After all, Yu Tongan is not a member of the imperial court, so no matter how he collects intelligence, he cannot compare to those who come from the capital.
"It is quite surprising that Prince An rebelled against me."
Mingyu thought for a while and decided to start from the beginning.
"The Third Prince must be surprised too."
Yu Tongan agreed.
"Because there were absolutely no signs, not even many people in the court mentioned Prince An. Simply put, Prince An's power in the court was well controlled by Emperor Dewen, and not many people were on Prince An's side."
Mingyu folded his arms and looked at Yu Tongan.
"In a well-managed court, regardless of the distribution of power, most people are generally loyal to the emperor. But once the leadership suddenly changes, it will begin to fall apart and act independently."
Yu Tongan understood: "Are you saying that the emperor is no longer capable of commanding them?"
"Yes. Even the Third Prince would have encountered this problem if he had ascended to the throne. However, Prince An's reputation is not good, so his problems are definitely greater than the Third Prince's. Everything he does will make the people in the court overly vigilant."
Mingyu spread his hands and continued, "The quickest way to solve this problem is to find someone reputable to help him, but that won't work within the court."
"So I went to find grandpa." Yu Tongan continued.
"You're afraid your influence will be too great, but the Emperor is now eager for your influence to be even greater." Mingyu snorted, "The new emperor humbly invites old ministers back to the court. This reputation is quite good."
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