Chapter 54 Taking advantage of someone and leaving them with nothing.
Seeing Jin Yunnian staring intently at the wine in his cup without drinking, Chen Junyan couldn't help but ask softly, "Brother, why aren't you drinking?"
The implication in her tone that she should drink quickly was obvious. Meng Qingci knew she couldn't delay any longer, so she took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, steeled herself, picked up the wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.
But Meng Qingci still played a trick, deliberately letting the wine overflow from the rim of the cup, slide down her chin, flow over her slender, fair neck, and finally disappear into the collar of her inner garment.
She thought to herself, "If she keeps acting like this and is clearly drunk, Chen Junyan can't very well force her to drink more."
With her eyes glazed over, she slammed the empty glass onto the table. Meng Qingci's clumsy movements knocked the glass over, and it rolled halfway across the table, but she was oblivious, only muttering indistinctly, "Seventh Brother's wine is really strong."
Her body went limp, and she was about to collapse onto the table, but the alcohol took effect. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she lost her balance. Her arm slipped off the edge of the table, and she lost her center of gravity, falling headfirst off the table.
"Watch out!" Chen Junyan was caught off guard when he saw Jin Yunnian's forehead about to hit the corner of the table. He quickly leaned forward, supporting her falling arm with one hand and grabbing her thin shoulder with the other, managing to steady her.
Meng Qingci's entire weight rested on Chen Junyan's hand. Only then did Chen Junyan realize how incredibly light Jin Yunnian was, so light and soft that he seemed unlike a man. Jin Yunnian was impeccably dressed, and even through his clothes, his slender and well-proportioned muscles were still evident. Chen Junyan's fingertips felt slightly warm, and he was reluctant to let go.
This startled Meng Qingci, bringing her to her senses. She rubbed her temples, then pulled away from his grasp, creating some distance between them.
"Thank you, Seventh Brother, but I really can't drink anymore." Meng Qingci's voice was slightly hoarse. Taking the opportunity to show weakness, she swayed her body, feeling dizzy, and finally collapsed onto the table, resting her head on one arm, unable to even open her eyes. Only her lips were slightly parted, exhaling warm breath from the alcohol.
His slightly parted lips were moist and glistening, his cheeks were flushed, like a jade mountain about to topple, his face full of spring, he looked half-drunk in spring, and he was also handsome in a green robe and jade crown, exuding an indescribable charm, making people unable to look away.
Chen Junyan's eyes darkened at the sight, and he couldn't help but lick his slightly dry upper lip, a burning sensation rising within him. Chen Junyan had never imagined that a man could be so beautiful as to make him infatuated, so irresistibly attracted, and so restless.
Fortunately, the table provided cover, preventing Jin Yunnian from seeing his disheveled and ferocious state beneath his robes.
Chen Junyan was not a mediocre person who indulged in lust. Although he was aroused, he still had some rationality. He leaned back in his chair and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "I have also heard that you are a woman who is just as capable as men. The Tencel cotton is your creation."
He paused slightly, then changed the subject: "The Cen family has been deeply involved in Duan inkstone production in Zhaoqing Prefecture for generations. I wonder where your excellent weaving skills come from? I heard that you not only run a weaving workshop, but also a papermaking workshop. This year, you've also been buying up sugarcane from the surrounding areas of Zhaoqing Prefecture. I wonder what your plans are?"
After saying that, he chuckled and teased, half-jokingly, "If you ever find a way to make money, don't forget your brother. Since you call me Seventh Brother, I naturally can't take advantage of you for nothing. With your brother here to protect you, I'll make sure you don't suffer any losses."
The effects of the alcohol surged up, making Meng Qingci's head throb and pound. She heard every word Chen Junyan said, her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
At this time, although Zhaoqing Prefecture is close to Guangzhou, information flow is also very limited. They keep a low profile in making sugar in Zhaoqing Prefecture, and news cannot possibly get through.
She had only met Chen Junyan last night, and yet, in just one night, he had managed to find out everything about her.
Meng Qingci thought to himself: As expected of a relative by marriage of the Zhejiang prefect, he really has a lot of information and connections thanks to Fu Heng's influence. He's getting away with this very easily.
From Chen Junyan's words, Meng Qingci also realized that Chen Junyan was no ordinary merchant. He had a sharp and keen eye and an extraordinary vision. Every question he asked hit the nail on the head and was so insightful that it was astonishing.
Just as Meng Qingci was thinking about how to make excuses, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.
"Oh dear, how much have you drunk? You smell like alcohol! You were drunk last night, and it's only past noon. Why are you drinking again? If I hadn't happened to pass by, you probably would have been passed out in some brothel without even realizing it!" Zhu Youyi frowned in disgust, constantly waving her round fan.
Chen Junyan was taken aback at first. He tilted his chin slightly back, leaned back lazily, and subtly observed the uninvited woman with a half-smile, this extraordinary woman who was rumored to have extraordinary methods and dared to take in a live-in son-in-law.
Upon hearing this sound, Meng Qingci's drunkenness vanished instantly, and she almost reflexively jumped up from her seat. The chair legs scraped against the floor with a screeching sound, but she seemed oblivious, like a mouse seeing a cat. She bowed deeply to Zhu Youyi, her tone seven parts pleading and three parts fawning: "Please forgive me, Madam! Please forgive me, Madam!"
As if pleading for help, she turned to Chen Junyan, winking and smiling, and introduced him: "Seventh Brother, this is my wife." Then she turned around, fawningly helping Zhu Youyi up, and introduced her: "This is the Seventh Master of the Chen family that I told you about. Quickly, call him Seventh Brother."
Zhu Youyi seemed to only then notice that there were other people in the room. Her gaze fixed on Chen Junyan, her beautiful eyes widened in surprise. She half-covered her mouth with a round fan, then her eyes curved into a smile. She gave a full curtsy and said in a clear voice, "Sister-in-law greets Seventh Brother."
Before Chen Junyan could speak, a clear and pleasant voice said, "I have long heard of Seventh Brother's great name, and I have wanted to get to know him for a long time. Alas." As she spoke, Zhu Youyi sighed softly, as if regretting and lamenting, "If I had gotten to know Seventh Brother earlier, I wouldn't have had to go around asking for favors to get to the Governor first."
"But it's not too late to get to know Seventh Brother now." Zhu Youyi smiled happily again: "Sister-in-law has recently developed a kind of paper that is as white as snow, stronger and thinner, absorbs ink and does not smudge easily. It is just right to present it to the Governor through Seventh Brother, so that we can do our part for the Governor."
Chen Junyan smiled faintly and said, "You are too kind, sister-in-law. Since you have asked, I will naturally not refuse."
Meng Qingci suddenly covered his mouth and hiccuped, leaning his weight on Zhu Youyi.
Zhu Youyi quickly helped him up, while urging the maid Zhenzhu: "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and help your master back. If he loses his composure, people will laugh at you."
"Yes, Madam," Pearl replied, and hurriedly stepped forward to help Meng Qingci walk out.
With unsteady steps, Meng Qingci bid farewell to Chen Junyan with a sense of helplessness: "Seventh Brother, you flatter me. I'll be going back today." She dared not suggest continuing the conversation another day. She glanced warily at Zhu Youyi's retreating figure, gave Chen Junyan an awkward and apologetic smile, and then left with Pearl's support.
Zhu Youyi, however, did not rush to leave. Instead, she continued, "I have disturbed Seventh Brother's enjoyment today. Another day, I, your sister-in-law, will host a dinner party so that Seventh Brother can have a good time."
Chen Junyan slightly raised the corners of his lips: "It's alright."
"Thank you for your understanding, Seventh Brother." Zhu Youyi curtsied to Chen Junyan and said, "He is useless. Another day, sister-in-law, another day you will invite Seventh Brother to your residence, and I will definitely keep you company with a few drinks."
The meaning was: My husband is not fit, but if he wants to drink, I'll drink with him until he's had his fill. After saying this, Zhu Youyi turned and left without looking back.
Chen Junyan said leisurely, "Take care, sister-in-law."
Chen Junyan stood by the window of the private room and saw the couple get into the carriage. Madam Cen actually refused Jin Yunnian's servant and personally helped Jin Yunnian into the carriage. Her careful and tender manner made it impossible for anyone to tell that he was her son-in-law.
Chen Junyan suddenly found the couple very interesting, quite different from what he had imagined and from the rumors.
Was today a coincidence? Is she feeling sorry for her son-in-law being forced to drink? Heh, this is getting more and more interesting.
Inside the carriage, Meng Qingci leaned back against the cushions, her breath reeking of alcohol, a smell she found utterly repulsive.
Zhu Youyi tenderly dampened a handkerchief and wiped her forehead, then scolded her irritably, "You're such a heartless wretch! You actually forced me to drink, look how you've treated me! Are you feeling alright?"
"I'm only half-drunk," Meng Qingci sighed lazily. "This Seventh Master Chen is quite shrewd. He's trying to get information out of me. He represents Fu Heng, so we should treat him with more courtesy and respect."
Zhu Youyi sneered: "Who cares who he is? These powerful families and wealthy merchants from Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, aren't they all the governor's men? You wait, next time, I'll get him drunk and avenge you for today's grudge."
Seeing her puffed-up face, Meng Qingci couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head, then suddenly felt extremely dizzy.
Zhu Youyi quickly told Meng Qingci to rest her head on her lap, and gently rubbed her temples with tenderness, saying softly, "With your alcohol tolerance, if I hadn't had time to get you drunk today, even if Yan Jiang, that blockhead, had taken advantage of you inside, he wouldn't have known. Next time you meet him, just lead him to your home, and I'll see how much he can drink."
Meng Qingci chuckled lightly: "My lady is truly awe-inspiring, able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk. I admire you."
Yan Jiang was pushed off the carriage by Pearl and could only follow behind. Yan Jiang was a little confused: today he was actually disliked by the madam, who wouldn't even let him touch a single piece of his clothes. She treated him as if he were something dirty and smelly, and if she touched him, he would get dirty.
Pearl rolled her eyes at him several times, but Yan Jiang had no idea what he had done to offend her.
After parting ways with Meng Qingci at the opera house, Gu Yuchen returned dejectedly to the two-courtyard house he had temporarily rented in Guangzhou. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, a servant came to report that there were two letters from him.
A letter from Grand Tutor Gu in the capital. The letter mostly reprimanded him for "neglecting his duties" and "lacking ambition," and mentioned that the capital was currently in turmoil. Considering his mentorship with Fu Heng, the governor of Minzhou, he urged him to go and seek refuge there as soon as possible, and not to waste any more time.
Unbeknownst to anyone, he had already secretly connected with Fu Heng. Fu Heng's rapid mastery of gunpowder technology was entirely due to his support.
When Gu Yuchen first arrived in Guangzhou, he overheard a rumor circulating in the streets: Fu Heng's wife had died unexpectedly in a Taoist temple. At that time, there was a loud bang, the hall collapsed and caught fire, and the alchemy furnace was also broken into pieces.
Gu Yuchen was always sensitive to his profession and immediately made a guess. After all, it was nothing more than that if the pill-refining residue caused the furnace to explode.
Later, he heard that Fu Heng had sealed off the Taoist temple and was investigating the cause of the loud noise. By then, he had found Meng Qingci, and she was no longer in a daze. Considering the delicate situation in the court at the time, Gu Yuchen keenly sensed something unusual.
Based on what he had seen and heard in Guangzhou, and with his later perspective, he realized that Fu Heng had become a powerful regional ruler, firmly controlling Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. Not only did local gentry and powerful families follow his lead, but the common people were also gradually becoming familiar with the governor but not the emperor.
Over the years, Fu Heng has continuously amassed enormous wealth in the three regions, and I would never have believed it if it weren't for the fact that he was raising a private army.
At that time, the capital was already in turmoil, and the eldest prince's wolfish ambitions were obvious. Gu Yuchen assessed the situation and, relying on the original owner's slight relationship with Fu Heng, decided to place his bet on Fu Heng.
So he wrote to Fu Heng, enclosing the gunpowder formula that the latter desperately wanted. From then on, he officially boarded Fu Heng's ship.
The other letter was written by Fu Heng himself, urging him to go to Minzhou, saying that the time was right and inviting him to join him in planning a great undertaking.
Gu Yuchen placed the two letters side by side on his desk in his study and sat alone for the entire night. It wasn't until the dawn broke and the morning light shone on the newly grown gray stubble on his chin that his stiff figure trembled slightly, as if he had come back to life.
His gaze swept over the two letters again, and he had already made up his mind.
Regardless of how Qingci views him now, in this unfamiliar world, they have only each other. No one is more worthy of her trust than him; he must become her solid support.
However, based solely on his status as the eldest son of the Gu family, he was actually "of little influence" within the clan, and Grand Tutor Gu could dismiss him with a single word.
He needed real power, which required him to achieve great things, break free from the empty title of "eldest son of the Gu family," and establish power that transcended the family. The quickest shortcut was for him to support Fu Heng and gain merit in supporting the emperor.
At that time, Qingci will no longer need to have any worries, will no longer be bound by worldly rules, and will no longer need to worry about the Fu family or anyone else's opinion. He can still take care of her and protect her as before.
One day, she will understand his true feelings, forgive him, and return to his side. They will be as wonderful as before.
After all, he is now a healthy person, worthy of her. He can stand by her side openly and honestly, and give her the best of everything.
They could start over, make up for all the regrets of the past, and correct his mistakes.
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Author's Note: [Heart emoji] I wrote a little too much, so it's getting late. I'll never say what time I'll update again next time. [Crinkling emoji]
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