Gu Yanxi glanced at Xiao Liu and said as if to say that the weather was good today: "It's better to choose a day than to wait for the day. Let's drink the apprenticeship tea today."
Hua Zhi was still thinking about possible candidates for cooperation among the aristocratic families in the capital, so she was a beat slow to react when she heard this. Xiao Liu quickly picked up the steaming hot tea that Liu Xiang had brewed earlier and knelt in front of Sister Hua, holding the teacup high and looking at the stunned person with nervousness and anticipation.
Hua Zhi wanted to avoid the bow, as she could not bear the prince's gift, but Yan Xi held her back, and considering his wound, she did not dare to struggle.
"Azhi, I remember you once said a word, win-win." Gu Yanxi tightened her hands, "You and Xiaoliu have decided to be teacher and student, which is a win-win situation."
She understood the truth, but she originally thought it was just a verbal thing, not such a serious matter. Seeing the child so nervous that he even showed a hint of fear, Hua Zhi's heart softened. She sighed, took the tea, drank a sip under the child's ecstatic gaze, and raised her head and said, "I'm hesitant not because I don't want to accept you as my student. In fact, we have developed a teacher-student relationship over the past year, but I didn't think it should be so... serious. I thought it would be fine if we each knew it in our hearts."
Xiaoliu immediately smiled.
Hua Zhi also smiled, bent down and lifted the man up, saying, "Forget about those empty words. I haven't prepared the apprenticeship gift either. You can't blame me because you didn't give me time to prepare."
"Don't blame me, I've already gotten a lot." Xiao Liu looked a little excited, "So should I call Sister Hua my master from now on?"
Hua Zhi was about to say that it was fine when she heard Yan Xi say, "That's right. I'll spread the news after a few days when the storm has calmed down. If you call Ah Zhi "Master" more often, they won't even need to verify it."
Xiaoliu naturally had no choice but to accept the invitation. A brother who was not related by blood but had a different surname could not be as close as a teacher and student, not to mention that he was his sister's only student.
Hua Zhi turned around and looked at the man, "Does it need to be spread deliberately? Will it anger the emperor even more?"
"That's why I didn't let anyone spread the news right away. When he calms down, he will realize that having you as the prince's teacher is a much better idea than the bad idea suggested by others. Even for Xiaoliu, you would not hide anything. All he wants is for you to earn twice as much money for him, not for you to enter the palace." Gu Yanxi's eyes were cold. He would not let go of this disaster caused by Haoyue.
Hua Zhi knew that she didn't understand the emperor better than Yan Xi, so she no longer had any objections after hearing what he said.
"Azhi, go to the Lu family tomorrow." Gu Yanxi said honestly, "Rumors are spreading outside, they must be very worried, but they can't come to their house. Please go and explain my situation and the transportation to them, so that they can arrange it as soon as possible."
Transportation matters are of utmost priority to the Lu family, and indeed only with the Lu family in charge can she feel at ease, but she also has concerns.
"Yan Xi, I always like to speak out the ugly truth up front, and this is no different. The Lu family already has a share in the salt business, and if they also get a large share in the transportation business, it will be very convenient for them to embezzle from it."
"If the world is peaceful and there are no external or internal troubles, then let the Lu family withdraw from one of the matters." Gu Yanxi looked at Xiaoliu. "When Duke Anguo learned that the Lu family was to take charge of the transportation, he took the initiative to mention this issue and also promised to hand over the transportation when the opportunity is right. The Lu family always knows what is hot and can be used when needed."
Xiaoliu nodded in agreement.
"Xiao Liu's disadvantage is that he is too young. He has not had time to develop his own power. You must make some achievements as soon as possible to attract the court officials to you. Before that, you must quickly turn the Sun family's power into yours."
"I understand. If I can bring back salt this time, and then enter the Seventh Division legitimately, people will come to join me."
"It is better to have nothing than to have something of poor quality. You cannot accept everything that is rotten and smelly."
Xiaoliu agreed with a smile, Sister Hua... No, the master has always had moral requirements for the people she interacts with, which can be seen from her choice of business partners.
After talking for a while, Hua Zhi left to go about her business. Although there were no elders at home, nephews and nieces from various families came to pay New Year's greetings. Several of her younger sisters remembered her words well, and as soon as they left, they would come over to tell her the purpose of their visit. She wanted to see the attitudes of each family through these.
Inside the house, Xiaoliu broke the silence, "Let Sister Hua go to the Lu family. Brother Yanxi wants to use this method to inform everyone of your relationship?"
Gu Yanxi smiled, obviously in a good mood, "Why not?"
"If the emperor knew, he would be unhappy. After all, he just said that he wanted to accept flowers... Master to enter the palace."
"It was just the emperor's test of Ah Zhi. I was too impulsive and misunderstood the emperor. I didn't understand his painstaking efforts."
"..." Xiaoliu twitched his lips. This was too much of a lie.
Gu Yanxi gently stroked the wound. No matter whether others believed it or not, as long as the matter could be resolved, it would be fine. The emperor probably didn't want his family's disgrace to be made public. This way of handling the matter not only saved his face, but also changed their conflict into a more acceptable way, which had nothing to do with ethics.
What's more, he had long wanted to announce to the world that Ah Zhi was his. What a great opportunity.
***
Hua Zhi's movements in recent days have been watched by many people. No one was surprised to know that she went to the Zhu family and the Qin family. After all, these two families are very close to the Hua family.
But no one expected that her next stop would be the Duke of Anguo's Mansion, where she had lunch before leaving.
There were all kinds of rumors at once, and Gu Yanxi's people immediately led the way secretly. After mid-afternoon, the whole capital was rumored to have arranged that the big event was that the emperor knew that the prince was in love with the eldest daughter of the Hua family and was unhappy about it, so he arranged that big event. If the eldest daughter was shaken in the slightest, the emperor would never agree to their marriage. The prince was not informed of this matter in advance, which led to his misunderstanding.
Now that the eldest daughter of the Hua family has come to the Lu family so openly, it is obvious that the misunderstanding has been resolved and the two are about to get married.
The emperor had an unpredictable expression in the imperial study, and Lai Fu lowered his head and dared not move.
"The prince has not come out yet?"
"Yes, according to the information I received, Miss Shaoyao has been taking care of me personally, and the fever she had previously had has subsided."
Even though he was injured like that, he was still able to manipulate the rumors in the capital and resolve the situation like this. All the intelligence of the Gu family was probably concentrated on that kid.
Yes, if he didn't have this ability, how could he be in charge of the Seven Stars at such a young age.
"Go to the warehouse and pick out some good herbs for him. Tell him that I don't care about Hua Zhi and there's no need to be so impatient to declare ownership. Also, the Qisu Division cannot be disbanded for now. Tell him to come back as soon as he recovers from his injury to manage the affairs."
Lai Fu bowed and responded, his heart finally settling down.
PS: When I was revising the second chapter, I found that the whole chapter was nonsense and the plot did not progress at all. I decided to rewrite it and make up for it tomorrow. I would be very anxious if I didn’t advance the plot.