It’s hard to break a phoenix’s destiny

Chapter 696: The New Wealthy Neighbor

"It should be okay?" Cui Xi and Liu Gu had already walked out of the courtyard. She thought that the girl had a poor appetite these days, so she could cook a pot of chicken soup tonight and drink it tomorrow morning. "I remember that before we left, Manager Liu ordered a lot of new things, right? The girl likes those porcelain bowls very much, so she ordered some too, right?"

"Yes, I specially made two sets of fine porcelain bowls." Liu Gu nodded, "It is said that the craftsmanship is able to make them flawless and white."

"The price is not cheap, is it?" Cui Xi asked casually. At this time, the two maids who came with them came over, took the copper basin from Cui Xi's hand, and whispered, "Aunt Cui Xi, I found two fatter chickens and cleaned them."

Another maid also said: "The seasonings you need are ready, and the fire is lit."

"Yeah." Cui Xi freed her hands and thought it would be better to wash them first.

Liu Gu was also extremely polite to Cui Xi and did not dare to neglect her at all. He immediately went to the well and scooped a bucket of clean water to help her wash her hands.

Cui Xi smiled, ignored him, turned around and went to the small kitchen to make chicken soup.

She didn't need anyone else to serve her, and only left two maids to serve. Seeing that the firewood was not very strong, she asked the two to go to the firewood room nearby to find some firewood.

Finally, she was the only one left in front of the stove.

The crackling sound of the burning fire highlights the tranquility of the long night.

She quietly unfolded the letter from Yang Xiankang. The two were husband and wife, so it was normal for them to send letters to each other. However, she saw a small sheep's head pattern in the corner of the letter, and knew that the letter must be extremely important.

I wanted to watch it with Yang Xianrong, but I thought it would be unsafe with so many people around her. After thinking it over, I decided to watch it alone first.

In fact, after a careful reading of the contents, there was no confidential information. Instead, Yang Xiankang told her about the children's situation and what happened in Chang'an City in a very brisk tone. For example, a new neighbor moved into the mansion next to Yang's house. He must be a wealthy businessman who could afford to buy this place.

Speaking of this wealthy businessman, he is not from Chang'an City.

I heard that they were from Anyang and moved here because they were doing the work of purchasing, selecting and supplying items for the palace.

His last name is Ye, his given name is Ke Ke, and he looks like a middle-aged man with a big belly.

Ye Xueke was very smart and capable, and he liked to travel all over the country. He had connections, sources of goods, and even some workshops that specialized in doing things for him. He took on this job because there was a problem with the supply of porcelain to the Pingyang Palace.

Later, Liu Yao asked Liu Gu to bring all the old people from Pingyang Palace to Chang'an Palace, and they were treated the same as before. So these merchants who were engaged in supply and purchase also followed, and of course, they also brought prosperous trade into Chang'an City.

The past few years have been relatively stable, and their development has been extremely fast, and everyone seems to have become wealthy. Especially Ye Xueke, because the palace, officials, and famous families have begun to use porcelain, the business is too numerous to count, and he has also made a lot of money.

When you have money, you naturally want to show off a big house.

Moreover, he had just taken in a beautiful young concubine, and he was in a very happy mood, even walking briskly. He boasted to his business partners in the restaurant about his still sharp skills, which made everyone laugh and tease him. There were not many suitable houses in Chang'an City, and he searched for several months before he found a courtyard next to the Yang family. This was originally the home of a wealthy merchant, but the whole family ran away because of the war.

When Liu Yao first moved into the palace, he asked Yang Xiankang whether he wanted to include the house next door in his own mansion. Yang Xiankang was lazy and didn't want to add slaves to the house, so he refused to agree.

Later, when Xu Henian arrived, Liu Yao thought it would be better to tear down the house and build a Taoist temple for Xu Henian.

But Xu Henian insisted on living in the palace and refused to leave Yang Xianrong even a step.

Therefore, the matter was put on hold.

Later, the house was still registered under the name of Chang'an Prefecture and could be bought and sold at any time.

So, after looking at houses several times, Ye Xueke discovered this place and was extremely satisfied with the layout of the pavilions and towers here. What's more, next door was the home of the queen who was most favored by the emperor. This was a fate that could not be bought with money.

For this reason, he sent a valuable gift to the Yang family before moving in, saying that they would be neighbors and should take care of each other. But the Yang family's doorman refused to accept it and even sent a gift to Ye Xueke, asking him not to bother them in the future.

Ye Xueke was not ashamed, but was very happy, saying that the Yang family was really polite.

In fact, Yang Xiankang really hated having a wealthy businessman as a neighbor. He even told Xu Henian about this when he came to drink tea, but Xu Henian still said that he only wanted to live in the palace and didn't care about any Taoist temple at all.

However, when he stood under the courtyard wall separating the two houses, he suddenly frowned, and asked Yang Xiankang to burn some paper money quickly, and asked Yang Ruoxi and his brothers to kneel here and kowtow three times.

Yang Xiankang didn't dare to ask more questions, he just felt it was very strange.

Of course, anything that happens in the Yang family will spread quickly now, but no one cares too much.

Two days later, Ye Xueke picked an auspicious day and moved into the new home with his family of more than 100 people, young and old. They did not build a large building, but just renovated it and moved in.

That night, Ye Xueke also invited a group of business partners to come over for a drink, which was also a warm-up for the new house. Everyone had a great time together. The lights were bright, and the wine and meat smelled very bad. It was not until midnight that everyone dispersed.

Unexpectedly, when leaving the table, his mother, Old Lady Ye, suddenly fell ill with phlegm when she walked to the wall. She died without even taking a breath. Everyone was shocked and quickly asked other guests to go home first. But a wealthy businessman drank too much and fell headfirst from his horse. He was fat and too heavy. His brain burst out and his death was extremely tragic.

Two lives were lost in succession, and the banquet for celebrating a housewarming turned into a funeral banquet. Ye Xueke felt extremely unlucky and was in a very bad mood. He smashed a lot of porcelain, saying that he wanted to make some noise to get rid of the bad spirit.

Early the next morning, before he had time to find a shop to do the funeral, a bailiff from Chang'an Prefecture came to his door and said that the prefect, Mao Hongbin, wanted to see him about something.

Upon hearing that it was a government matter, Ye Xueke did not dare to neglect it. He could only rush to the Chang'an government office with dark circles under his eyes and a tired face.

Seeing him like this, Mao Hongbin couldn't help but ask a few more questions, only to find out that such a big thing had happened in his family. "This... seems a bit inappropriate to talk about it now."