Daqian Night Emperor

Chapter 192: Secret Confrontation
Ji Haoyu picked up the tea cake and put it under his nose and sniffed it.

A hint of intoxication appeared on his face, but soon it darkened. He slammed the tea cake heavily on the table in front of Zhao Qinan and said in a low voice: "Not long ago, I spent 15,000 taels to buy one tael of this enlightenment tea. Haiqing, this is not a small amount!"

"But who would have thought that someone would give me a whole kilogram of the Enlightenment Tea, which I treasured so much and spent a lot of money to buy?"

"One catty! If this is converted into silver, would it be worth 150,000 taels?"

Zhao Qi'an's eyes gradually became serious.

He could already tell that Ji Haoyu's tone was wrong.

Today, the Second Prince... is here to call for punishment!

Scarcity makes things valuable. One ounce of Wudao tea can be sold for fifteen thousand ounces of silver.

But what if the Enlightenment Tea is not such a precious thing?
What if someone could give away a pound of this thing at will?
Ji Haoyu looked at Zhao Qian'an, his brows tightly furrowed, and he remained silent for a long time.

He seemed to be waiting for Zhao Qi'an to give him an answer.

But Zhao Qi'an just calmly pushed back the tea cake thrown in front of him and asked, "What do you mean by this, Second Prince?"

Ji Haoyu stared at him for a long time, then slowly said, "I heard that among the birthday gifts sent by the Zhao family this time, there is a whole tea tree for enlightenment!"

This... is the real purpose of Ruan Yu meeting the second prince!

It was not until this time that Ji Haoyu realized that he had been tricked by the Zhao family.

If at the birthday banquet, he presented the one or two cups of Enlightenment Tea to his father as a treasure without noticing, and then the Zhao family directly presented a whole Enlightenment Tea tree...

Then he will be the biggest joke of the entire birthday banquet!

Ji Haoyu has been backstabbed enough times during this period, which is why he looks up to Zhao Qi'an, an "honest man", and even often invites him to family dinners. He gradually comes to regard Zhao Qi'an as his own.

But precisely because of this, he really couldn't stand the backstab from Zhao Qian'an!

This seemingly honest man actually set up such a vicious trap to frame him?

When Ji Haoyu learned the news brought by Ruan Yu, he was immediately furious and even wanted to attack Zhao Qi'an.

But soon, he calmed down.

Why?

Because Zhao Qi'an had offended the third prince to death because of the "trafficking of good people case", it was impossible for him to stand on the side of the third prince, so he had no reason to do this to himself.

What does Zhao Qi'an want to achieve by digging his own grave?
Are you ready to support his elder brother-in-law Ji Qingkong in his bid for the throne?
It was because of these thoughts that Ji Haoyu finally calmed down and was willing to listen to Zhao Qi'an's explanation.

When Zhao Qi'an learned from Ji Haoyu that the Zhao family of the East China Sea was going to present the Wudao tea tree as a birthday gift to Emperor Tianwu, his brows furrowed tightly and his expression became more solemn.

This matter...he was actually unaware of it!
He has sent Gou Xiangxi, with the cooperation of Zhao Linyuan, to count the things delivered from the birthday gift.

But there is no tea tree for Wudao Tea inside!
Does the Zhao family have the Wudao tea tree?

Indeed there is.

When Zhao Qi'an was galloping across the East China Sea, he discovered a "Yangxian" cave, which was the cave where "Feng Xiao" lived after his death.

He obtained a lot of things in the Yangxian Cave.

Among them is the Wudao tea tree.

There are two plants in total, one big and one small.

The Wudao tea tree has difficulty growing, and even the ones that do grow can only be picked once every ten years, and each time only a few hundred kilograms are picked.

However, under Zhao Qi'an's deliberate control, the amount of Wudao tea entering the market is extremely scarce.

One ounce of tea for a thousand ounces of gold, that's indeed the price.

Although Ji Haoyu spent 15,000 taels of silver to buy that one tael of tea, according to the ratio of 1:8 between gold and silver, it was 2,000 taels of gold. It seemed expensive, but considering the approaching birthday banquet, this price was actually within a reasonable range.

But the premise is that the Zhao family did not present a whole tea tree as a gift to Emperor Tianwu. Otherwise, the Second Prince presented a pound of tea leaves as a treasure, and then the Zhao family presented a whole tea tree... Then the Second Prince's face would be completely thrown on the ground and trampled on.

Zhao Qi'an calmed himself down, although he didn't know how Ruan Yu was able to get the enlightenment tea tree that he left in Yangxian Cave.

But the most urgent task is to calm Ji Haoyu's anger.

Now is not the time to fall out with the Second Prince.

Thinking of this, he looked at Ji Haoyu and asked, "Did Ruan Gongsheng tell Your Highness about these things?"

Ji Haoyu snorted and said, "Who else could it be if not him?"

Zhao Qi'an asked, "Did Ruan Gongfeng say anything else?"

Ji Haoyu looked at Zhao Qi'an deeply, and after a long while, he said impatiently, "He told me that he was willing to give me the Enlightenment Tea Tree, and asked me to present it to my father at the Longevity Banquet. Do you know what this means?"

Is Ruan Yu trying to get in touch with the Second Prince?

Originally, as a tribute to the Zhao family, he should have returned to Haiqing City in the East China Sea after delivering the birthday gift.

But just from this move of his, it can be seen that Ruan Yu had no intention of leaving Kyoto City at all!

But Zhao Qi'an quickly laughed and asked, "Your Highness, have you ever thought that Ruan Yu is just a worshiper. What right does he have to give a spiritual treasure like the Enlightenment Tea Tree to Your Highness?"

Ji Haoyu was slightly stunned.

Zhao Qi'an seemed to be hinting at something: "How could I not know that it was the turn of a foreign priest to make comments about the Zhao family in the East Sea? Moreover, when he spoke up, didn't he know that it would be disadvantageous to me, the young master of the family?"

Ji Haoyu seemed to be thinking: "The Duke of Donghai is at odds with you?"

"Your Highness." Zhao Qian'an reminded him tactfully, "Even if there is still discord, I am the only child of my father, and I am the only legitimate descendant of the Zhao family who can inherit the family business."

This sentence woke Ji Haoyu up.

Yes, a priest of the Zhao family and the young master of the Zhao family... everyone can answer this multiple-choice question, right?

Even though Zhao Qi'an and Zhao Wanjin, father and son, were not on good terms, it was impossible for the Zhao family's property to end up in the hands of a man named Ruan.

Even if I want to bet, I should bet on Zhao Qi'an.

Thinking of this, Ji Haoyu's expression eased a lot: "Then this enlightenment tea tree..."

Zhao Qi'an immediately said: "The Enlightenment Tea Tree will not appear at the Longevity Banquet!"

Ji Haoyu finally smiled, and just reminded Zhao Qian: "As an outsider, I won't interfere in your family's affairs. But this Ruan Yu... you should send someone to leave Jingdu City as soon as possible. Today, they only found me. If they found someone else, who knows what trouble might happen."

Zhao Qian understood what he meant, bowed his head and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness."

But when he lowered his head, no one noticed that there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

This Ruan Yu...really has bad intentions.

……

"Clap!"

Ruan Yuman finished a glass of wine, put the glass on the table, then stood up and said to the people behind him: "Let's go."

The fellow disciple behind him couldn't help but look surprised: "Brother, don't you want to meet the Second Prince? He hasn't even met him yet."

Ruan Yu glanced in the direction of the screen and smiled self-deprecatingly.

The moment he saw Zhao Qi'an appear beside Ji Haoyu, he knew that his first move had been silently resolved by Zhao Qi'an.

Then is there any need to meet the Second Prince?
"No fun, let's go."

My grandma was ill and hospitalized. I wrote this in an Internet cafe and have re-polished it.
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(End of this chapter)