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墨書 Inktalez
Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by.
The treasures of the Ninth Princess! One treasure from the Langya Prince!
As they arrived at Jiang Han's shop, it was noted that two more treasures from the Langya Prince were still on their way and had not yet been delivered. Jiang Han was not in a hurry and accepted the three treasures for now.
However, Cen Ya suggested, " Shopkeeper Jiang, we haven't seen any of Langya Wangfu's carriages coming to the capital. This indicates that these treasures are not being transported from various places as the Langya Prince claimed. Clearly, these treasures are actually all from Langya Wangfu."
The Langya Prince was indeed quite unscrupulous; he always offered just a little bit, never straightforward. She worried that Jiang Han might not receive the remaining two treasures.
Yan Dong chimed in, " Shopkeeper Jiang, given this situation, should we apply a bit more pressure on the Langya Prince? Just like we did with the Ninth Princess?"
Otherwise, if they waited for the Langya Prince to voluntarily deliver the other two treasures, it could take an eternity!
Jiang Han waved his hand with a smile playing at the corners of his lips and said, "There's no rush. The Langya Prince is like a piece of fatty meat. When needed, just squeeze a little, and oil will come out. We can't force him to bring out all his treasures at once, even if that would be advantageous."
After all, each treasure was worth its weight in gold; it was only natural for him to hesitate in parting with them. He planned to wait a while before taking action again. He understood the Langya Prince's mindset well and knew there was no need to rush. Besides, Langya Wangfu wasn't going anywhere.
If after half a month or a month there were still no more treasures delivered from Langya Wangfu, then it would be time to act against the Langya Prince. For now, their restaurant was opening today; they should focus on serving their customers!
The logistics team he had hired was quite impressive. Jiang Han greeted the two women and coordinated with the staff as they welcomed guests entering the establishment.
This logistics team consisted of chefs and waitstaff who had all come over from Su Qianxue’s Female Guard.
On the first day of opening, they welcomed a large number of diners. As soon as Jiang Han's prepared dishes were served at the tables, they immediately garnered praise from various customers.
This drew many nobles and dignitaries in the afternoon who came to savor the delicacies.
Listening to the buzz around them, Che Chengyun and the Ninth Princess caught sight of Jiang Han's bustling restaurant down the street and felt somewhat displeased by the constant stream of customers.
Especially the Ninth Princess, watching the flow of customers at the entrance of the tavern, couldn't help but recall the incident when Quan Gai Su Wen was stung by a swarm of wasps right outside.
She clenched her fists in anger and murmured, "Che Chengyun, don’t you feel that your position as Heir is becoming unstable?"
"Isn't that thanks to you?" Che Chengyun retorted.
"There’s a way to make your position as Heir as solid as a mountain! Do you want it?" the Ninth Princess asked with a smile.
Although Che Chengyun wasn't particularly clever, he sensed an ominous atmosphere. He took the initiative to say, "I’m not going to gamble anymore. I lose every time, and I don’t want to do this anymore. If you want to challenge Jiang Han, please go ahead yourself."
"It’s not about gambling! Jiang Han runs a tavern, doesn’t he? What if someone dies from eating there?" The Ninth Princess said with a wicked smile.
Che Chengyun waved his hand and replied, "Princess, in just a few days, your Confucian Envoy from Xia Kingdom will arrive. It would be better to take a break for now."
He truly didn’t want to participate again, fearing he would lose to Jiang Han once more.
"What if one of my Confucian Envoy's people dies from food poisoning at Jiang Han's tavern?" the Ninth Princess said playfully.
"Crazy!" Che Chengyun quickly waved his hands, indicating he wanted no part in it. To frame Jiang Han by even risking the lives of his own countrymen—truly, the Ninth Princess was insane.
"Che Chengyun! Stop right there!" The Ninth Princess called out to him and continued, "Your three younger brothers will be back in a few days. Are you willing to give up your position as Heir? Your family doesn’t think highly of you. If we can cooperate, you must not become another Su Wen! You cannot be just my guest."
"Ninth Princess, I know my own worth," Che Chengyun said while shaking his head. After sizing her up again, he added, "You are indeed beautiful. As far as I know, there’s someone else in your circle who is also an old flame of yours! I believe that the prince of Little Kingdom does not deserve your affection; I will not be your guest."
With that, Che Chengyun turned and left.
The Ninth Princess was furious, her face turning pale at his refusal. She shot him a fierce glare before turning away in anger.
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and Jiang Han's tavern continued to thrive.
The Confucian Envoy from the Xia Kingdom had also arrived in the hall to pay respects to Su Qianxue, led by Hong Qianjun, the Grand Scholar of the Xia National Confucian Academy.
Hong Qianjun bowed slightly to Su Qianxue and said, "Your Majesty, I am the ritual wine bearer of the Xia National Confucian Academy. Our Xia Kingdom aims to be the foremost literary authority among all nations, a sacred place in the hearts of scholars! Our monarch has dispatched us to various countries with the intention of selecting Confucian Scholars for a poetry competition. If we win, your nation will need to honor us as the sacred ground of Confucianism! Furthermore, your kingdom's top scholar from the imperial examination must come to our country for training each year! And your imperial examination must also be overseen by us!"
Su Qianxue maintained a calm expression on the surface, but inwardly she loathed this old man. "You wish to oversee our imperial examination? Then wouldn't all our talents be taken away by you?" With only a few days left until the Spring Imperial Examination, if they were to lose and have their examinations supervised by them, it would spell disaster.
Generally speaking, feudal dynasties replenish their fresh blood through imperial examinations. These exams do not consider one's background or region; they only assess ability. The only downside is that students taking the imperial examination tend to defer entirely to the chief examiner and automatically regard themselves as his students. If all the examiners were replaced by Ru Scholars from the Xia Kingdom, during their supervision, they would take any talented individuals they discovered back to Xia Kingdom.
Over time, wouldn't that spell doom for the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Suppressing her anger, Su Qianxue scrutinized Hong Qianjun and said after a moment's thought, "Since we are to make friends through poetry, let us begin tomorrow! Envoy Hong, you have just arrived; please rest at the Royal Post Station for now. Your nation's Ninth Princess is also there!"
After bowing slightly again to Su Qianxue, Hong Qianjun took his leave. The other Ru Scholars from Xia Kingdom followed suit. They held great respect for Su Qianxue but completely disregarded the civil and military officials of the Great Zhou Court.
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