You Yuecheng now had a headache and his cold eyes fell on the waiter in front of him. Although he was not angry, his imposing manner had made the waiter tremble with fear. At first glance, he knew that the man in front of him was not only rich but also n.o.ble. How could he dare to offend him? Even when he heard that the young master asked his shopkeeper to come out to meet him, he did not dare to say anything and kept agreeing.
Helping You Yuecheng sit down, he served tea. Noticing that the young master’s two manservants were waiting at the door, the waiter knew that he had nothing to do here. He turned around and looked for the shopkeeper. He was secretly regretful. Why was he so frightened by the young master’s imposing manner that he could not even speak clearly? The shopkeeper was busy now. The young owner had come, so he did not have time to meet customers.
Usually, the shopkeeper was a nice person, thinking that amiability attracted riches, and he was clever in dealing with people. But things might be different today as the young owner was here. The young owner was not an ordinary person, but the one the shopkeeper admired most in his life. It was rare for the young owner to come here today. The shopkeeper must be fussed around him and asked for advice. If he went to the shopkeeper at this time, he would be scolded.
But he had to find the shopkeeper as he had promised the young master, and the man didn’t seem to be easy to get along with. The waiter walked around outside a few times and came to the door at a corner. He forced himself to knock on the door with a bitter face. He was really doomed today. How could he offhandedly agree to this matter on behalf of the shopkeeper…
You Yuecheng had just taken a few sips of tea when he saw a manservant running in from outside. “Your Excellency, those people said that they did not find anything. There was nothing unusual by the window. It’s the shopkeeper’s room, but the shopkeeper was entertaining customers in the front of the shop at that time. There was a madam who came to take a set of jade products. It was big business, so the shopkeeper greeted her personally. At that time, many people saw the shopkeeper outside.”
It was normal for the shopkeeper to meet customers when there was big business. Moreover, when the people outside saw the shopkeeper there, You Yuecheng felt a little relieved. Then he waved his hand, and the manservant understood and left.
You Yuecheng had felt very upset about what had happened today. When he thought that the Sixth Princess insisted on coming to see him in private without his permission, he got furious. The failure of the last matter had made him angry with her. What happened this time made him even more dissatisfied with the Sixth Princess.
He was supposed to take a day off today and was going to have a meal with a few colleagues of the imperial guards. As soon as he got here, he suddenly heard that the Sixth Princess had sneaked out of the palace and asked to see him. He had no choice but to go to the place that the Sixth Princess had appointed. When he heard the Sixth Princess complaining for a while, he became more and more annoyed.
He was about to think of a way to leave when he suddenly sensed someone pa.s.sing by on the roof. He did not hesitate and asked the Sixth Princess to leave through the back door. Unexpectedly, Hu Qianyue had already stood at the door and was waiting for the Sixth Princess to go over. The Sixth Princess, who had always been calm, talked to Hu Qianyue under someone else’s window. You Yuecheng became angry as he watched them from the upstairs of the pharmacy.
In order to help the Sixth Princess, he had no choice but to put out a card that he had not intended to take out at this time.
It was too early for You Yuecheng to expose his trump card. He was very upset. However, he was more worried about the Sixth Princess’s exposure. She had been so careless earlier and had spoken to Hu Qianyue under the window without even seeing if there was someone inside. If others heard about it, it would be a big deal. The Sixth Princess was going to marry into another country. If something happened to her, it would be a matter related to the two countries.
You Yuecheng was even more unwilling to get involved in this matter. The current Emperor did not seem to be very outstanding, but his intelligence was unquestionable and his methods were vicious. If he knew that he had an affair with the Sixth Princess, and the Sixth Princess wanted to escape from the marriage, the whole Mingguo Manor would be implicated.
Originally, he thought that the Sixth Princess was still useful, so he did not say anything about the Sixth Princess’s feelings for him. Now, You Yuecheng had made a new decision. If the Sixth Princess asked for meeting him again in the future, he would not agree anymore. He had thought that if the Sixth Princess had enough ability to pull Ling Mingyan out of the position, he did not mind changing a smart and useful wife.
However, the Sixth Princess could not be of any help to him now. Furthermore, she had become a looming obstacle to him, and even his stumbling block. How could You Yuecheng still expect anything from the Sixth Princess? The most important thing he needed to do was find out the one who had heard the conservation between the Sixth Princess and Hu Qianyue.
Only by getting rid of the scourge could he rest a.s.sured.
Although his people did not find anything in the jade shop, You Yuecheng always felt that it was not that simple. At that time, from his angle, he saw the window gauze move. He was a martial arts pract.i.tioner, so his eyes were sharper. Although the gauze had isolated everything, there seemed to be a figure swaying.
As Mo Xuetong did not expect You Yuecheng to be upstairs opposite, she was so careless.
“Your Excellency, Academician Qin is here.” The manservant came over and reported.
Academician Qin? Qin Yufeng? You Yuecheng was not unfamiliar with this new Number One Scholar who was favored by Emperor Zongwen. Qin Yufeng used to be a famous scholar in the capital. It was normal for You Yuecheng to get to know him. Even though Qin Yufeng did not pick a suitable lady in the royal banquet, You Yuecheng had heard in private that Emperor Zongwen admired him very much.
There were civil officials and military officials. Military officials would be promoted according to their military achievements, and civil officials got into the court with their knowledge and talents. In the Qin Kingdom, there was a saying that those who entered the cabinet must come from the Imperial Academy. Therefore, everyone in the imperial court was very respectful to those who came from the Imperial Academy where made no profit. Who knew that one day, this person would soar high, enter the cabinet and become a minister?
Therefore, even though You Yuecheng did not understand why Qin Yufeng had come, he still stood up politely.
When the door opened, Qin Yufeng, who was dressed in a blue robe and appeared tall and straight, stood at the door. He stared at You Yuecheng with a gentle smile on his handsome face.
You Yuecheng suppressed his worries and went forward to salute. Then, they sat down together. The waiter served tea again and left with the manservant.
“So it’s you, Marquess Mingguo. I wonder why you want to see the shopkeeper?” Qin Yufeng asked directly. The smile on his mouth was gentle as he asked in surprise.
“I have some small things to ask him. Why are you here at this time, Academician Qin?” You Yuecheng was wondering why Qin Yufeng had come as he wanted to meet the shopkeeper, so he raised his head and asked with a faint smile.
“This teahouse belongs to my family. I have nothing to do today, so I came here to have a look. Coincidentally, I met you,” Qin Yufeng explained with a slight smile.
This teahouse belonged to the Qin family. You Yuecheng was stunned for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face. “I didn’t expect that your family is so rich. In such a downtown area, you own such a teahouse and a jade shop. You are very powerful. You once said that your family didn’t have any property in the capital, and now it turns out to be an excuse.”
You Yuecheng referred to when Qin Yufeng had just come to the capital, he met a bully at a meeting with his friends. The bully pointed at Qin Yufeng and said that he was a useless person. Qin Yufeng did not mind and ignored that man. At that time, Feng Yuxuan, Feng Yulei, and You Yuecheng were also present. Feng Yuxuan appreciated his temperament and even specially called him over to ask about his family. He wanted to give him a place to live and settle down.
That was what Qin Yufeng had said back then. He claimed that even though his family didn’t have a house in the capital, they still had some money. Then he had rejected Feng Yuxuan’s good intentions. You Yuecheng had wanted Feng Yulei to draw Qin Yufeng over to his side. However, Feng Yuxuan had already tried to collect him on the spot. If he also did it, it would seem as if he was against Feng Yuxuan.
It did not matter how King Chu and King Yan fought in private. On the surface, everyone should be on good terms with each other. Feng Yulei could not do something so disrespectful to Feng Yuxuan. Furthermore, Feng Yuxuan was his eldest brother. After that, You Yuecheng wanted to draw Qin Yufeng over to their side. However, he found that the young man had been rather close to Feng Yuxuan. Thus, he was no longer in the mood to do so.
Qin Yufeng could not help laughing when he thought of what happened that day. He picked up the cup of tea on the table and took a sip before explaining, “Your Excellency, you must be joking. What I said that day was not an excuse. I really don’t want to compare myself to others. Furthermore, I had just arrived in the capital then and didn’t want to be someone’s enemy. So what if I laughed at the poverty of others? You can’t take it seriously!”
“Moreover, Your Excellency, you were wrong. The jade shop next door is not our Qin family’s. Although it’s next to this shop, we sell different things and the business goes in different directions. We don’t know each other very well. I don’t know why you misunderstood it.”
The jade shop was not owned by the Qin family, which meant that the two shops didn’t have the same boss. Since they didn’t have the same boss, there was no way for them to have a direct access to each other. Of course, it was also impossible for someone to come from the secret staircase to the teahouse. Was he really wrong? Was it that there was no one by the window, but the gauze was blown by the wind? Or was it just his suspicion…
“Do you know who owns the shop next door, Academician Qin?” You Yuecheng asked. He could not get rid of his doubts.
“I don’t know. Our shopkeeper might know. Do you want to ask someone to invite him over?” Qin Yufeng was not the one who managed affairs here. He usually did not care about this kind of thing. When he heard You Yuecheng’s detailed question, he frowned with embarra.s.sment and threw the question to the shopkeeper.
He did not even ask You Yuecheng about the reason, which made You Yuecheng have a better impression of Qin Yufeng. He wanted to ask the shopkeeper, but did not have a chance. Hearing Qin Yufeng’s words, he nodded immediately. The waiter outside the door answered and went to invite the shopkeeper. The two inside the room chatted and waited for the shopkeeper to come.
“Why did you say that the shopkeeper might know, Academician Qin?” Since he could ask the shopkeeper later, You Yuecheng was just having chitchat. He asked according to Qin Yufeng’s words, with a smile on his face, as if he was interested in the topic.
“It was half a year ago. At that time, there was a dispute between the shopkeepers of the teahouse and the jade shop. It was originally brought up by a madam who came to the jade shop. She said that if customers could drink tea and wait slowly while choosing jade from the jade shop, it would be more comfortable. When the shopkeeper of the jade shop heard this, he was very interested in this idea and felt that it was a way to make money. So he immediately went to talk to our shopkeeper.”
“He meant to discuss with us whether we could make a small staircase between the jade shop and the teahouse, which would allow people to go straight up or down the stairs. Then the customers of the jade shop can directly come up and drink tea and the customers of the teahouse can go down and choose jade. This is killing two birds with one stone. Both shops would benefit.”
You Yuecheng’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyes, which were originally idle, became cold and gloomy unconsciously. “A small staircase that would allow people to go straight up or down the stairs. Is there really such a secret staircase…?”
