When Xiao Jingnan returned, he saw two people sitting by the window of the wine shop. Li Wanming stood to one side, sometimes gnashing her teeth in anger, sometimes sighing in melancholy. Her expression was extremely complex.
When he saw their faces clearly, he was startled and almost blurted out, "Why are you here?"
The young man in green clothes saw him coming back, smiled, stood up, and said to Li Wanming, "Miss Cheng, I came here today not to provoke you, but to discuss a big business with you."
"What kind of business?"
Li Wanming had been severely hit, and her voice was a bit hoarse.
"In September, an elder in my family will return to the capital. I'd like to hold a welcoming banquet for him."
"If Miss Cheng can brew the wine I want, then the wine for this welcoming banquet will be provided by the Li Family Wine Shop."
"Oh."
Li Wanming said listlessly, "You can choose the Pear Blossom White or the Heavy Green Wine. Those two kinds of wine have been popular in the capital for many years. Even the palace drinks them. Or you can choose the self - made wine from the Cloud - Admiring Pavilion..."
"I'd like to order three thousand jars."
Li Wanming was still talking absent - mindedly when suddenly she was stunned as if struck by lightning. She looked up in surprise. "… H - how many?"
"Three thousand jars."
The young man remained calm.
"I can pay you half of the deposit first."
He slightly raised his hand, and immediately a discreet servant walked in from beside the carriage outside, holding a small redwood box in his hand.
When it was opened, two layers of neatly stacked gold ingots were revealed.
In an instant, the whole room was lit up.
The dazzling golden light was truly the most beautiful color in the world.
Li Wanming's eyes were fixed on it.
"So, Miss Cheng, do you dare to take this business?" the young man asked with a smile.
"Yes, I do!" Li Wanming said hastily.
The young man gently closed his folding fan, and the servant placed the box on the table.
"Then, I'll come to check Miss Cheng's wine in five days. If it fails to satisfy me, I'll take back the whole deposit."
"Of course!"
Li Wanming shook off her previous dejection. She reluctantly withdrew her gaze from the box, clenched her fists, and promised, "I will surely study hard and brew the wine that will satisfy you!"
"Then, I'll be waiting for good news from Miss Cheng."
The young man smiled and took his leave. He got into the carriage with his guard and disappeared into the thickening night.
"We're rich! We're rich!"
Li Wanming couldn't help screaming with joy. She jumped up and down with Chuntao and didn't notice that Xiao Jingnan, who had just returned, had left the shop again...
As soon as the carriage turned the corner of the alley, a figure sprang up.
Xiao Jingnan first slapped the black - clothed guard on the shoulder and cursed through gritted teeth, "Are you crazy to take him out of the palace at this time?"
Then, he knelt on one knee and saluted the young man in green clothes. "Your subject, Xiao Jingnan, pays respects to Your Majesty."
The young man laughed heartily. "Cousin, we're outside the palace. There's no need for such formalities."
He was none other than the current emperor, Zhao Yanke.
Zhao Yanke's biological mother, Concubine Hui, was from the Langya Cheng Clan and was the younger sister of the Princess of Ning.
So according to the Cheng Clan's seniority, he had to call Xiao Jingnan cousin.
When he hadn't been made the crown prince, he often came to the Prince of Ning's Mansion to play. He had basically grown up with Xiao Jingnan and Feng Xiao.
Back then, no one had expected that this little kid who always followed them around, calling them "brother", would one day become the emperor.
From then on, they all had to pay the courtesy due to a monarch when they saw him.
Feng Xiao said aggrievedly, "How could you keep such a big thing as your wedding a secret? His Majesty insisted that I bring him to see sister - in - law. What could I do..."
Zhao Yanke pointed at Feng Xiao. "When he told me about it, I didn't believe him at first."
"At the beginning of this year, the Princess of Ning came to the palace specifically to see me. She said that she had finally found a girl with a strong life for you and asked me to arrange a marriage for you to save your life..."
"Who would have thought that before the imperial edict for the arranged marriage could be issued, that girl quickly caught a husband right after the imperial examination and got married."
"I thought your marriage was doomed to fail again and was disappointed for a long time... But I didn't expect that the husband she caught was actually you!"
He couldn't help clapping his hands and laughing. "Going round and round, we're back to where we started! It's really full of twists and turns. Not even a storyteller would dare to write like this!"
"Do you think sister - in - law would be surprised if she knew that the husband she tried so hard to avoid was actually caught by herself?"
Xiao Jingnan threatened, "Don't talk nonsense to her... If you make my wife angry and she leaves, I won't let you off!"
"Don't worry." Zhao Yanke said, "I know that your marriage is related to your life. I won't act recklessly."
Suddenly, he leaned closer, carefully observed Xiao Jingnan's complexion, and murmured, "But I have to say, after not seeing you for a few months, your complexion has really improved a lot. You at least look like a normal person now..."
Xiao Jingnan pushed him away. "You're just jealous that I've taken away your title of the most handsome man in the capital!"
The carriage wobbled along the streets and alleys in the twilight.
Xiao Jingnan said, "But this time you guys took too big a risk. Why did you come out at this hour? The palace gates will be locked soon. What if you can't get back in time?"
Feng Xiao said with a bitter face, "What could I do? He insisted on coming out..."
When Zhao Yanke heard this question, he immediately lost his spirit and slumped back onto the embroidered couch.
"It's all because of the Empress Dowager. I was supposed to come out at noon, but she dragged me to talk about the candidate for the empress and delayed me until now."
Xiao Jingnan's expression tightened slightly. "Is the Empress Dowager still insisting on the daughter of Grand Tutor Lü?"
"Exactly! Grand Tutor Lü is her man. Of course, she wants his daughter to be the empress. She stuffed a lady - in - waiting and a concubine into the palace the year before last, and she still isn't satisfied!"
Zhao Yanke sprawled on the embroidered couch, looking nonchalant, but there was a dark glint in his slightly lowered eyes, like a small wild animal in the forest waiting for an opportunity to move.
"But it's not appropriate to leave the position of the empress vacant for too long..." Xiao Jingnan pondered for a moment and then asked, "Do you have a candidate in mind?"
Zhao Yanke said with a frown, "The people we've cultivated haven't gained enough influence yet. If we rashly choose their daughters as the empress, it will surely arouse the Empress Dowager's suspicion..."
"I don't mean that."
Xiao Jingnan raised his eyes and looked directly at him. "I mean, do you have a girl you like?"
"Without considering family background, political future, or even the struggle with the Empress Dowager, just following your heart... Do you have a girl you like?"
As a subject, he hoped that the emperor would be a wise one, ensuring a stable court and a clear government.
But as a cousin who had watched him grow up, he hoped that the emperor could find a girl he truly liked and live a happy and sweet life with her.
"A girl I like..."
Zhao Yanke propped his chin up and thought seriously for a while. "Not yet. But I've decided that I want to find an interesting girl."
An interesting girl?
A bad premonition welled up in Xiao Jingnan's heart. Before he could say anything, he heard Zhao Yanke say, "Just like sister - in - law, who can strip others' clothes off!"
Xiao Jingnan raised his hand and hit Feng Xiao. "You even told him this, didn't you!"
Feng Xiao covered his head and dodged his fists in the narrow carriage.
"He insisted on asking. What could I do? If I didn't tell him, wouldn't I be deceiving the emperor?"
Zhao Yanke slapped his thigh and laughed uncontrollably. "Right, right, right. Deceiving the emperor is a serious crime! I'll execute your nine generations of kin!"
Xiao Jingnan turned around and said disdainfully, "You're in my nine generations of kin. Try executing me!"