When the Second Prince was put under house arrest in the Prince's Residence, Fang Yuan was detained and awaiting beheading in autumn, while the Fang family remained silent to nurture a new successor.
The intricate situation in Fengjing was now focused on the He family.
First, the second son of the He family had a high-profile wedding, parading through the city three times with his new wife, scattering copper coins to earn the blessings of thousands of commoners.
Later, the third son of the He family proposed to the Princess, both being shy without showing any reluctance.
When the news spread to the small courtyard, the siblings were discussing the name of the lamb restaurant.
"How come there is still no movement from the He family, could they have changed their minds?" Jiang Sheng leaned his cheek on his hand and asked.
Xu Mo didn’t even turn his head back, "Don't worry, the He family is just building up momentum."
With an old, cunning patriarch leading the family, and outstanding younger generation following behind, the He family must take full advantage of this confrontation to ruin He Yunyao’s reputation completely.
"That's right, worrying so much at such a young age." Zheng Ruqian's face was red with excitement as he flicked his sister’s cheek, "Only my big brother understands me, knowing that I changed my original plan to open a lamb restaurant."
Previously, inviting He Yunyao to eat meat was an introduction, sending lamb legs to the He family attracted customers, and now he’s contributing ideas for the signboard.
My big brother is the best!
The moment his voice fell, three big characters appeared on the light yellow stationery paper in a flying dragon and dancing phoenix style — "Hundred Tastes of Life".
To have the gallbladder to taste, the hundreds of tastes of life between heaven and earth.
When the words turned into a signboard, Jiang Sheng and the three siblings had smiling faces as they welcomed customers.
The Jiang family came, the Yao family came, the Dou family came, the He family came, the Qi family came, the Zhao family came, even the Chu family came.
Almost all families who were not hostile came to show their support.
Some were classmates and brothers with Xu Mo, some were noble friends, some admired and appreciated him, and some tried to pull him over to their side.
The young man whom no one asked about in the past was now integrated among the sons of prominent families, toasting and chatting cheerfully.
The voices coming from the hall made commoners talk enthusiastically, while also making Zheng Ruqian a little absent-minded.
"What's wrong, little Qian?" Master Kong who came to help asked while wiping his sweat, "Are you jealous of your big brother?"
With two brothers, one tasting tea leisurely in the elegant room while the other was busy working hard outside, feeling a little lost was normal.
Everyone walked different paths, ate different hardships, and naturally enjoyed different glories.
Master Kong rolled up his sleeves, ready to have a good heart-to-heart with this kid.
But Zheng Ruqian had already opened his mouth feeling emotional, "I'm happy, happy that our siblings are getting better and better, happy that my big brother's ten years of hard work has paid off, and happy that I’ve come to where I am today."
"Don’t worry, Master, I would never be jealous of my big brother. He thrives smoothly in court while how could I fall short of that?"
The first customers of this Hundred Tastes of Life came from Xu Mo's connections, but the follow-ups returned because of the taste and meat quality.
Not to mention the cargo donkey carts that were almost ubiquitous throughout the Dayu Dynasty, Zheng the young master’s identity was finally no longer just his own boast, the number of long-term workers under him was already nearly a hundred.
Anshui Prefecture, Shang Commandery, Fengjing, Anyang Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, almost all cities had Zheng’s long-term workers stationed there.
He spent all those years feeling around, and money was always earned and spent without much savings.
But the network and connections he built along the way were extraordinary.
Once bursting out, it prospered everywhere.
"The lamb meat and lychee businesses will be the pillars of all my industries, but I will continue to do transportation. I also want to transport seafood from the south, and dried fruits from the north." Zheng Ruqian was full of confidence, "I want the people of Dayu to enjoy thousands of flavors without leaving their home."
To fill plates and bowls as a businessman.
To wear silk as a businessman.
People look so good when they are confident, vigorous and unparalleled.
From the toasting Xu Mo, to the aspiring Zheng Ruqian, to the striving Fang Heng, to Wen Zhiyun who listened to the heartstrings, to the banquet of orchestrating everything.
Finally, back to Jiang Sheng under that shiny signboard, turning his head with a light smile.
They will eventually get better and better.
Three months later, the third son of the He family who was engaged to the Princess suddenly walked on the street with bruised face, crying to passersby that the Princess was tyrannical and irritable. She not only verbally abused but even battered him physically.
He was frantically shouting about the terror of women, no longer willing to let any female servant get close, only allowing young eunuchs to serve and take care of him.
Gradually, rumors spread that the Princess forced He Yunyao to change his preferences. And people bumped into him whispering intimately with his male friends several times.
Instinctively, commoners blamed the He family. However, as the increasingly violent temperament of the Princess spread, they fell silent again.
No one was willing to marry a tigress back home. But she was a royal princess who could boss around arrogantly.
It was just pitiful for the third son of He family who was supposed to continue the family line, but now instead fell in love with his male friend hardheartedly, causing sentimental people to sigh, and also provoking anger from the He family.
Soon, He Yunyao was imprisoned in the Ancestral Shrine.
The Ju family pleaded earnestly again and again, still hoping to make this marriage happen.
The He family patriarch always expressed his willingness. But when he looked back and saw his son curling his orchid finger, he cried sorrowfully blaming himself, crying out that he shouldn’t have delayed the Princess’ whole life. If he really harmed the Princess, he must pay with his life.
Speaking to this point, coercing marriage would be too overt. The Ju family could only leave in anger.
He Yunyao felt refreshed in his heart. He made appointments with three or five friends to eat lamb and drink lamb soup in Hundred Tastes of Life. When they talked excitedly, he patted his friends lightly on the shoulder, allowing passersby to glimpse through the door cracks.
So the reputation of this delicate He son became more and more outrageous.
He Yunyao: "..."
Perhaps this is the meaning of planting a willow without intention that ends up providing shade. But from then on, it’s probably going to be impossible for brothers to put their arms around each other’s shoulders.
He felt sad, and could only lift the big bowl to drink the sweet and delicious meat soup.
It’s said that scent of meat permeates despite the depth of an alley. Initially still relying on connections to attract customers, Hundred Tastes of Life boomed in demand within months, even attracting specialized purchasers from the imperial city.
It was that gloomy eunuch again, directly asking for twenty sheep as soon as he opened his mouth.
It was mercilessly rejected by Zheng Ruqian.
In the past, they were young, even selling some lychees made them nervous and scared Jiang Sheng.
Now with abundant confidence, they dared to bargain with the eunuch.
"Twenty sheep is definitely impossible. I only have twenty sheep in total now. It will take half a year for the next batch to arrive after transport." He was nonchalant, "I can sell two sheep at most. Try it out first then come back for more.”
The expression of Eunuch in black was cold. After a long pause, he nodded, "Fine."
From then on, the reputation of Hundred Tastes of Life’s lamb meat became more and more renowned. Countless businesses tried to imitate but could never grasp the essence.
