Liang Shangshu Mansion

 

“Father, this is what happened…”

 

Liu Qingcheng cautiously recounted the events at the Zhuangyuan Lou, quietly observing his father’s expression.

 

Liu Yiqian, the Minister of Personnel, was silent for a long time.

 

“You lost to Li Wuling?”

 

“Yes…”

 

“Fool!”

 

Liu Yiqian snorted, his face showing clear disapproval of his son.

 

“Li Wuling, what kind of person is he? Everyone in the capital knows his name!”

 

“If he had such talent, why did he have to make money from those lowly books earlier?”

 

Liu Qingcheng was stunned, speechless.

 

“Who is his servant, what is his background?” Liu Yiqian suddenly asked, targeting the key point.

 

“Uh… I don’t know, father…” Liu Qingcheng lowered his head.

 

“You’re a useless fool!”

 

Liu Yiqian couldn’t help but scold him, “You can’t even outdo a person with talent, yet you’ve managed to read yourself into stupidity!”

 

“Father, please calm down, I know my mistake…” Liu Qingcheng meekly responded, not daring to retort.

 

“Hmph…”

 

After a cold snort, Liu Yiqian fell into deep thought, “This situation can’t be this coincidental…”

 

“Today in the court, the Emperor and Li Xuanwu introduced some ‘Little Poet Immortal,’ and then at Zhuangyuan Lou, Li Xuanwu’s grandson shined thanks to a servant…”

 

Liu Qingcheng finally realized, “Father means… that servant is the ‘Little Poet Immortal’?!”

 

“Very likely,” Liu Yiqian’s eyes flickered, “Immediately investigate this person’s background, don’t overlook any detail!”

 

“Yes!”

 

“The Rouran envoy is coming soon, and with the Emperor now completely supporting the war, our dealings are in jeopardy. We must change the Emperor’s mind before the envoy arrives! The key lies with this ‘Little Poet Immortal.’ This must be handled quickly!”

 

“I understand, father!”

 

Three days passed in a flash.

 

Ye Chuan had fully taken over Shengde Lou.

 

The Ye family understood the importance of the situation and didn’t dare pull any tricks. Ye Chuan’s takeover was smooth.

 

After inspecting the place, Ye Chuan immediately began his sweeping reforms.

 

Shengde Lou had always done good business, but it still lagged behind Zhuangyuan Lou.

 

Ye Chuan carefully examined every dish, drink, and environment. In fact, they were not worse than Zhuangyuan Lou.

 

What they lacked was better business management.

 

At this moment, in the main hall at the counter, Ye Chuan was discussing a new menu with the shopkeeper, mainly adjusting the prices.

 

Ye Ying’er stood nearby, attentively assisting, occasionally fanning Ye Chuan or pouring him water, taking care of every detail.

 

Li Wuling was also there.

 

Since that day and the various events, this kid had been following Ye Chuan everywhere. His admiration for Ye Chuan had grown endlessly, calling him “Big Brother” in a high-pitched voice with every chance.

 

“Big Brother, I have something I don’t understand!”

 

Li Wuling pointed to a section of the new menu, “In the ‘Popular Home Cooking’ section, this Yangchun noodles is five copper coins per bowl, and a tea egg is two copper coins per egg…”

 

“So, if you add a tea egg to the Yangchun noodles, it’s only six copper coins, isn’t that a loss?”

 

Li Wuling blinked his big eyes, his gaze filled with innocent confusion.

 

Ye Chuan smiled slightly and glanced at the shopkeeper next to him, “Do you understand?”

 

“Understood!”

 

Clearly, over the past few days, the shopkeeper had developed a deep respect for Ye Chuan’s reforms, nodding with a smile, “Master, your methods may seem simple, but we never thought of them before.”

 

And this was just the tip of the iceberg.

 

Other strategies included “exclusive membership benefits,” “lottery meal vouchers,” “group buying discounts,” “check-in rewards,” and so on—methods that the shopkeeper had never even heard of.

 

But once he thought about it, they were all brilliant ideas!

 

Not bad at all!

 

This third young master of the Ye family, whom everyone had once called a waste, turned out to be a commercial genius!

 

“Master, Ying’er understands too!”

 

Ye Ying’er, standing nearby, couldn’t help but raise her charming face, a bit proud.

 

“Ying’er is clever, come, let me reward you~”

 

Ye Chuan almost moved in to kiss Ye Ying’er’s delicate cheek.

 

“Oh! Master! If you don’t behave, Ying’er won’t talk to you!”

 

Ye Ying’er’s cheeks flushed bright red, embarrassed, but anyone could see the delight in her eyes, with no resistance, only joy.

 

The shopkeeper and Li Wuling, standing nearby, exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing—Our master (big brother) is excellent at everything… except his slightly carefree, unrestrained manner…

 

“Ahem, Big Brother, I don’t understand!” Li Wuling couldn’t help but speak.

 

“If you understood, why would you be asking?!” Ye Chuan rolled his eyes, “Go sit over there!”

 

Li Wuling gave a white-eyed glance but didn’t get angry. He had mostly gotten used to it.

 

“Ye Brother!”

 

At that moment, a tall and broad figure entered Shengde Lou’s main hall.

 

Ye Chuan furrowed his brows when he heard the voice.

 

“Master, you stay here and watch, I’ll go check on the renovation work in the back yard!”

 

Ye Chuan turned to run.

 

“Hey!”

 

But the newcomer, with long arms, grabbed Ye Chuan’s arm over the counter before he could escape.

 

“Ye Brother, we have no grudge, why treat me like this?”

 

Lin Zhao wore a smile that was too thick for comfort.

 

Ye Chuan realized he couldn’t run away, so he rolled his eyes in resignation.

 

Of course, he remembered this Lin Zhao, the bodyguard by the side of the old summer lord.

 

He didn’t know what had gotten into the man. Ever since three days ago, he’d suddenly come to him and asked him to participate in the imperial exam.

 

Become the top scholar?

 

Forget it, you can keep that title!

 

In this current state of the Daxia court, who would care about being a top scholar?

 

Who knew whether it was the summer lord’s idea or Li Xuanwu’s?

 

It really seemed that you couldn’t be too outstanding!

 

Once you stand out, people just start targeting you!

 

Ye Chuan silently sighed.

 

“Oh, it’s you, Lin Brother!”

 

Since he couldn’t escape, Ye Chuan took the initiative to greet him with a bright smile, handing over the newly drafted menu, “This shop is being revamped, we’ve just reopened, Lin Brother, why don’t you pick a seat and see what you’d like to eat?”

 

Lin Zhao looked speechless, his heart helpless.

 

He knew it—this guy just couldn’t be dealt with!

 

How could someone like him be handled by a simple honest person like me? I’m just no match for him…

 

“Ye Brother, I didn’t come here to eat…”

 

“Not eating?” Ye Chuan didn’t give him a chance to speak, “I run a restaurant. You come to a restaurant and won’t eat, then I have no time to entertain you!”

 

“Alright, alright, I’ll eat, I’ll eat, is that okay?”

 

Lin Zhao laughed awkwardly, secretly wondering if the palace would reimburse for the meal…

 

Just as he was helplessly flipping through the menu, the diners in the hall suddenly stirred.

 

Everyone looked up toward the entrance.

 

Ye Chuan, curious, raised his head, only to freeze.

 

A breathtaking beauty entered the shop, dressed in a light yellow and white wide-sleeved gauze gown, her figure graceful and slender, walking with perfect elegance.

 

An exquisite beauty!

 

Her face was delicate, her hair flowing like clouds, skin as soft as lamb’s fat, her body light and tall, yet perfectly shaped.

 

She walked with poise, exuding a natural grace, her expression calm and composed, as if nothing in the world could shake her.

 

Everyone around the counter, except for Ye Chuan, was completely stunned.

 

Even Ye Ying’er, as a woman, gazed at her with envy and awe.

 

“Little… little…”

 

Li Wuling stared at the woman as she approached the counter, stammering, his eyes wide open.

 

“Aunt?!”