Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Tuoba Ke looked at the person in front of him, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

If it weren't for Chen Chang'an's sudden emergence, the Yan Kingdom would have absolutely crushed Da Ning this time, washed away the decline in literature and art, and replaced Ning Kingdom as the leader in literature and art.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Ningguo produced such a brilliant and talented individual who, single-handedly, turned the tide several times, suppressing the entire Yanguo to the point of being unable to lift its head.

Chen Chang'an looked at the Yan princess before him, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and asked, "So, you sent someone to assassinate me?"

Tuoba Ke first shook his head, then a hint of apology appeared on his face as he said, "I am also very sorry about Young Master Chen's injury. It was not done by the Yan Kingdom's court, but by someone out of personal grudge. Our Yan Kingdom's court values ​​talent and would never do anything to destroy such a person..."

She didn't continue the topic, but looked at Chen Chang'an again and said, "I've come to say goodbye to Young Master Chen..."

Chen Chang'an remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

Tuoba Ke took off a wolf tooth pendant from his neck and handed it to Chen Chang'an, saying, "This wolf tooth was obtained when I was nine years old, after killing a wolf king. I am giving it to you today, young master."

Chen Chang'an did not accept it, but Tuoba Ke forcibly shoved the wolf tooth pendant into his hand.

Then she spoke again: "The Ningguo court is rife with factions and unpredictable events. You were granted a title at a young age, and your brilliance is too dazzling, inevitably making you enemies..."

Her gaze towards Chen Chang'an held undisguised admiration as she said, "Let's take this wolf fang as our witness. If you ever find yourself in trouble in Ning Kingdom, with nowhere to stand, or grow weary of court intrigues, you can come to our Yan Kingdom. I, Tuoba Ke, guarantee that the Yan Kingdom's Academy will always have its doors open for you..."

After saying that, without waiting for Chen Chang'an's response, she decisively turned and left, never looking at Chen Chang'an again.

Chen Chang'an watched her retreating figure, then looked at the wolf fang pendant in his hand, which still carried the warmth of the Yan princess, and his gaze flickered slightly.

Her words, though somewhat offensive, were not without merit.

He made a superficial reconciliation with the Chen family, but in reality, there were irreconcilable conflicts between them. The Zhao family hated him to the bone, and they dominated the court. Behind them was also the Third Prince...

The situation in the Great Ning court is complex, with various parties constantly vying for power. Chen Chang'an cannot guarantee that he will be able to maintain his position in the court in the future.

Although he did not want to get involved in the power struggles within the court, sometimes when you are caught up in it, you have no choice but to act.

If you really reach a dead end, this can be your last resort.

Watching Tuoba Ke's figure disappear into the crowd, Chen Chang'an put the wolf tooth pendant into his sleeve, turned around and walked into the courtyard.

Indeed, someone gave a gift, but it wasn't from the courtesan. Chen Chang'an shook his head, offering no further explanation. Qing Shuang, however, pursed her lips and said, "Don't you think you're too popular with women?"

Chen Chang'an nodded and said, "I think so..."

He was obviously very popular with women, even excessively so. Qing Shuang, Gong Yue, the top ten courtesans, the princess of Yan Kingdom—most of the people he spent time with were young women…

But he was popular with women and did not violate the laws of Da Ning.

Qing Shuang crossed her arms and said, "You haven't forgotten that you and Her Highness the Princess are still engaged, have you? That engagement hasn't been canceled. As the future prince consort, shouldn't you... shouldn't you be a little more careful and stop attracting so many admirers all the time..."

Chen Chang'an looked at her thoughtfully.

Qing Shuang thought he had finally come to his senses, and before she could even feel happy, Chen Chang'an looked at her and Princess Zhaoyue, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "You mean, I should have less contact with you?"

Qing Shuang: "..."

……

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, half of the Yan Kingdom delegation left the capital and embarked on their journey home.

The other half of the envoys remained inside the embassy.

Previously, the Yan people assassinated Chen Chang'an, almost causing his death. In a fit of anger, His Majesty expelled the Yan delegation. In principle, these Yan envoys should not remain in the embassy until His Majesty rescinds the expulsion order.

However, from the imperial court to the common people, everyone in Da Ning seemed to tacitly approve of this, as if the order to expel the envoy did not exist.

The reason they were so generous to the State of Yan was because the State of Yan was exceptionally generous this time.

Two border cities were handed over to Da Ning without any additional conditions. Da Ning was able to expand its territory without losing a single soldier or shedding a drop of blood.

This is the best gift to celebrate the centennial of Daning.

If they were to expel the Yan envoys, it would be a sign that Da Ning was being unreasonable.

Over the next few days, Chen Chang'an was not idle.

Qing Shuang Fang has been operating normally. Chen Chang'an has entrusted almost all business-related matters to Miss Gong Yue, and he himself hardly gets involved.

Now, he has long since passed the stage of worrying about money.

With a large house and maids, and more money than he could ever spend, Chen Chang'an didn't need to put too much effort into it. He gave all the money he earned from the shop to Miss Gong Yue to expand the workshop.

During the centennial celebration of Da Ning, envoys from various countries gathered in the capital, including some multinational businessmen.

Merchants from more than ten countries, including Yan, Siam, Liang, and Dashi, have placed orders with them. From now on, Qing Shuang Fang's Qing Shuang Lu, soaps, and perfumes will never lack a market.

In addition, Chen Chang'an had another way to make money.

Previously, in order to fight against Chen Wenyuan, he raised a theatrical troupe specifically to leverage the power of public opinion. After finding this method extremely effective, he raised several more troupes, paying their members a fixed salary and occasionally having them copy a few excerpts from new plays...

The plays he gave to the opera troupe had all been proven in another world, and almost every play became a huge hit. The opera troupe, which was originally struggling to survive, quickly recovered and almost every performance was sold out...

Chen Chang'an did not ask them for script fees, and even gave them a considerable salary every month.

These opera troupes voluntarily handed over half of their profits to Chen Chang'an, and the other half as dividends for the troupe members. However, Chen Chang'an didn't care about those profits at all; he didn't accept them but instead let them use them for the expansion of the theater.

Few people know that he owns all ten of the largest and most popular theaters in Beijing today.

Chen Chang'an himself wouldn't publicize such a thing; only Qing Shuang and Gong Yue knew a little about the inside story.

Chen Chang'an also took some time to visit the academy. Except for two days of work stoppage on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the craftsmen worked almost day and night to complete the framework of the school buildings and dormitories. The first batch of students will be officially enrolled in the spring.

However, that will be at least two months from now.

For Chen Chang'an right now, there is one most pressing matter.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month, the New Year celebrations were over for officials in the capital. This was the day all government offices officially reopened, and Chen Chang'an also needed to report to the Hanlin Academy...