Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 101 Liu Jianjun's Sudden Reprimand (Bonus Chapter)
This time, Manager Wang didn't dare say another word. His pupils contracted sharply, and ignoring the excruciating pain in his abdomen, he hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, begging for mercy from Li Xian: "Your Highness Prince Pei! This humble...this humble one was blind and did not know that Your Highness had arrived..."

Before Li Xian could speak, Aisha whispered from behind Liu Jianjun, "Chief Secretary, I didn't mention you were the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Pei's residence... mainly because Manager Wang didn't let me say so before kicking me out..."

Li Xian was about to laugh when he suddenly saw Liu Jianjun pull Aisha into his arms, glancing at Manager Wang out of the corner of his eye, and say, "My woman, no need to explain to others!"

Then, ignoring Aisha's suddenly wide eyes, he stared at Manager Wang and asked, "Where is Wu Youji?"

"My general is on duty at the Golden Gate!" Manager Wang answered honestly.

"Tsk tsk, with the master not here, there's no point in bullying a slave like you. Where's Aisha's grandfather's contract?" Liu Jianjun seemed unwilling to argue with a pawnshop manager any longer and urged, "Hurry up and bring it here. The money was already paid!"

Manager Wang glanced at Li Xian for instructions, but Li Xian snorted coldly and said nothing.

So, Manager Wang quickly winked at the servants behind him, signaling them to go and get Aisha's contract.

A short while later, a servant came over carrying a document.

Manager Wang took the document, bent down, and presented it to Li Xian with both hands. Li Xian gestured towards Liu Jianjun with his lips, and then presented the document to Liu Jianjun.

Liu Jianjun glanced at the contract, seemingly checking its contents, then casually put his arm around Aisha's waist and asked, "Is this your grandfather's fingerprint...?"

"Forget it, I doubt he'd dare to take a fake one!"

After saying that, Liu Jianjun haphazardly stuffed the document into Aisha's blouse.

Liu Jianjun's actions were too rough, and the girl from the Western Regions had very fair skin, so her blushing face was particularly noticeable.

Li Xian thought to himself, "Liu Jianjun is too impatient."

But then, Liu Jianjun winked at him.

Li Xian instantly understood and coldly snorted, "Alright, now that the matter is resolved, let's go back!"

Liu Jianjun hurriedly joined the group of guards and loudly replied, "Yes, sir."

As they left Yongchang Pawnshop, Liu Jianjun still had his arm around Aisha, but his face remained grim the entire way. Only when they returned to Aisha's grandfather's flower and bird shop did he release her and sternly rebuke her, "Did I just tell you to speak?!"

Liu Jianjun's sudden outburst startled Li Xian, and also made Aisha, who was originally too shy to speak, raise her head in astonishment. It even made the old Hu merchant stop his hurried steps and stand there helplessly.

Just now, the old merchant from the Hu region saw Aisha being held in Liu Jianjun's arms and looked flustered.

"Liu Jianjun..." Li Xian called out hesitantly.

"That woman's mention of 'Chief Clerk' just now almost gave us away!"

Li Xian was taken aback, then suddenly realized.

If Aisha were Liu Jianjun's woman, she shouldn't have addressed him as "Chief Historian" in front of outsiders.

But then I felt that Liu Jianjun was being a bit too cautious.

"I know what you're thinking, but don't be soft-hearted."

Liu Jianjun suddenly looked at Li Xian with a solemn expression: "Yes, this Manager Wang is just a nobody. Even if he reports this matter to Wu Youji, that good-for-nothing Wu Youji won't notice a problem with the way he addresses people."

"Not to mention that they would report this matter to Empress Wu without any further explanation."

"But today it's Manager Wang, what if next it's Wu Youji himself? Or perhaps Empress Wu!"
"Rules must be established starting with small things!"

Liu Jianjun's tone was exceptionally serious.

This time, Li Xian didn't waste a single word and asked, "So what do you intend to do?"

Liu Jianjun turned to Aisha, who was standing there dumbfounded, and scolded her, "This is a one-time thing, and there will be no next time!"

Aisha was terrified and dared not speak. The old merchant didn't know what had happened either, but judging from Liu Jianjun's tone, he guessed that Aisha had made a mistake. So he hurriedly ran to Aisha's side, bowing and scraping as he apologized to Liu Jianjun, repeatedly saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Chief Secretary! Thank you for your kindness, Chief Secretary!"

Liu Jianjun gave a noncommittal "hmm" and then said, "I've gotten your contract back for you. From now on, you and Aisha can work peacefully at the Prince Pei's residence. I don't want to see her make the same mistake again!"

The elderly merchant nodded hurriedly.

Liu Jianjun's expression softened considerably, and he asked, "What's your name?"

The old merchant bowed and replied, "Reporting to the Chief Secretary, my name is Adil, and I also have a Tang Dynasty name, Bai Yuanli."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianjun raised an eyebrow: "Bai Yuanli? That's an interesting name. Since you're from the Western Regions, we'll use your Tang Dynasty name in the Prince's residence from now on; it'll be more convenient."

Adil, or rather Bai Yuanli, quickly bowed and replied, "Yes, yes, I will obey the orders of the Chief Secretary."

Liu Jianjun's expression softened slightly, and he turned to Li Xian, saying, "Xianzi, now that things are settled, we should head back. Don't keep your wife waiting too long."

Li Xian looked up at the sun. It was noon when the two of them came out, and it was almost late afternoon. If they didn't go back to Chang'an soon, the curfew would be imposed again.

Li Xian nodded and said to Bai Yuanli, who was still in shock, "In that case, quickly pack up and go back with the Prince's caravan."

"Yes, yes! Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Chief Secretary!"

Bai Yuanli responded repeatedly, pulling his daughter Aisha along, and almost using both hands and feet to speed up the packing process.

Before long, several donkey carts carrying the few belongings of Bai Yuanli and his daughter, escorted by a troop of cavalry from the Prince of Pei's residence, left the somewhat deserted West Market and headed towards the Prince of Pei's residence.

……

By the time they returned to the Prince of Pei's residence, the sun had already begun to set.

Liu Jianjun directed the servants to temporarily house Bai Yuanli and his daughter in a secluded courtyard on the outskirts of the palace, and instructed the servants to take good care of them and ensure that their needs were met.

Liu Jianjun carried the cotton bag back to his yard like a precious treasure.

Looking at his cautious manner, Li Xian couldn't help but laugh and said, "It's just a dozen catties of cotton, why are you so nervous? If the nearly one hundred acres of land in Nanyuan really have a bumper harvest, the cotton will pile up like mountains. What will you do then?"

Liu Jianjun, however, said with a serious expression: "Xianzi, you don't understand. I brought this bag of cotton to experiment with how to turn cotton into cotton thread, and even cotton cloth."

"I need to make a sample first to verify the idea. Once the cotton in Nanyuan is ripe, we can start scaling up directly!"

"Moreover, this bag of cotton has another use, and that's where our real money-making plan lies!"

Li Xian nodded, roughly understanding Liu Jianjun's meaning. He didn't press Liu Jianjun about the other uses for the cotton, but instead asked, "Did you really only rebuke Aisha today because she made a mistake?"

Before Liu Jianjun could answer, Li Xian continued, "On the way back from Yongchang Pesticide Warehouse, I saw that your hands were never still!"

Liu Jianjun immediately gave an awkward smile: "By the way, by the way... it's mainly because not everyone is as smart as Shangguan Wan'er."

Li Xian shook his head in annoyance, knowing that Liu Jianjun would never change his lecherous nature.

"So...Aisha, what are your plans for the future?"

“Let her stay in that courtyard at night, and let her come over to help with the work during the day.”

"helper?"

"Of course not, I'm a grown man, I don't know how to spin yarn!"

Liu Jianjun said it as a matter of course.

……

(End of this chapter)