Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

At dusk, the carriage caravan entered Jiangzhou City.

The evening breeze slipped in through the gaps in the carriage curtains, carrying with it a warm, smoky aroma.

Gu Mingyue reached out and lifted the carriage curtain, peeking out with half her head out.

She hasn't been to Jiangzhou for three months.

When I left last time, the city was a mess from the flood.

The mud on the street was trampled into a mess, and most of the shop doors were nailed shut.

Groups of three or five people squatted by the roadside, their eyes sunken and their cheeks covered in ash.

Back then, the air was filled with the smell of dampness and mold, mixed with the acidic odor of mud and rotten wood.

The entire main street was deserted, with hardly any customers.

But it's different now.

The road beneath our feet was paved with smooth, even bluestone slabs, and the wheels of the carriage made a steady thud as they rolled over it.

The shops along the street had their doors wide open, and the shop assistants stood at the entrances shouting out their wares, their voices booming and one after another.

An old man selling watermelons from a cart passed by the intersection; the watermelons on the cart were stacked three layers high, round and plump.

He was humming a little tune, off-key, but he was humming happily.

A young woman carrying a bamboo basket on her back walks along the roadside with her child in her hand.

The child was clutching a sugar figurine in his hand, half of his cheek was sticky, and half-melted syrup clung to the corner of his mouth as he grinned.

Seven or eight people were sitting at a tea stall on the street corner, with teacups, chopsticks, and plates laid out on the table.

They were talking about how the ducks they raised at home had recently been released from their coop.

He earns a lot and has plenty of work; his voice exudes a sense of steadfastness.

Gu Mingyue looked at the lively scene.

It's completely different from three months ago.

She felt a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe.

I'm happy for them.

He turned his gaze back and was about to lower the carriage curtain.

Suddenly, a commotion of voices arose ahead.

Gong Huo rode back from the front, pulled on the reins, leaned towards the carriage, and said in a low voice, "Miss, there's a traffic jam ahead."

"Is it congested?"

Gu Mingyue leaned half her body out and looked ahead.

On the street ahead, a long queue stretched from the intersection to the end of the road.

Men, women, young and old were all crammed together.

Some people tiptoed forward to reach, while others squatted by the roadside fanning themselves, carrying oil paper packages or bamboo baskets in their hands.

The expression on his face, both impatient and reluctant to leave, suggested he was waiting for something incredible.

At the end of the line was a shop with three fronts.

The shop was steaming hot.

The smell of cooking oil and soy sauce wafted into her nose on the wind.

The flavor was rich and intense, with the unique aroma of spicy sauce.

It wafts heavily into your nasal cavity; just one sniff tells you the meat inside has been braised for a long time.

My mouth inexplicably started producing a lot of saliva.

A guy wearing a gray apron was maintaining order at the door, his voice booming like thunder.

"Line up! Two per person! We only have 300 braised ducks left today!"

The team immediately erupted in chaos.

"Why is there so little left again?"

"Three hundred isn't enough! I came yesterday but couldn't buy any, and today I queued for an hour again!"

"You're lucky. I'm from the next county; I set off before dawn!"

"I'm ordering this for my boss. He needs a hundred to be shipped to Yanhang! Restaurants there are offering three times the price to buy them..."

"Three times the price?" An older woman next to me exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Then I'll buy a few more and take them back to my parents' house to resell."

The guy in front shouted again, "Two per person! No more! If you want to order a large quantity, register with the manager in the back!"

Gu Mingyue's left eyelid twitched twice.

I have a bad feeling.

I looked up at the shop's signboard.

Five large characters hung under the eaves, painted with a glossy sheen.

"Pujitang Cooked Food".

Gu Mingyue: "..."

Calm down! Stay calm!

Take a deep breath and calm yourself down.

She slowly lowered the carriage curtain and sat back in the carriage.

It's just that business is booming!

It's okay! It's just selling some cooked food; I won't make much money.

The curtain of the carriage behind was also lifted.

The emperor's voice drifted from behind.

"This shop is doing really well. What are they selling that has such a long queue?"

Gu Mingyue looked at the car behind her, but before she could explain, Xiao Jue's voice came through.

"Brother, what a coincidence! This shop belongs to Master Gu."

His tone was tinged with amusement, and he glanced at Gu Mingyue in the car in front of him.

Gu Mingyue glared at him furtively, like a dog!

But then he timidly shrank back into the carriage.

I looked down at the half-eaten cold meat bun in my hand.

Suddenly, I really wanted to smear this bun on Xiao Jue's face.

You really know how to bring up the most sensitive topic!

"Oh?" Xiao Ye's voice came again.

"Since it's the Gu family's business, we should go and see how they make so much money, managing to come up with 400,000 taels of spare cash every month."

Gu Mingli sat with the emperor in the carriage.

Hearing this, he turned to look out the window, pretending not to have heard.

Xiao Jue, sitting on the other side of the carriage, added another blow:

"I've heard that Mr. Gu is always low-key and never mentions how well his shop does. He must be afraid of others being envious."

Gu Mingli listened to Qi Wang's words and secretly scoffed.

What's so special about this little bit of business?

His sister is a female CEO who can manage projects worth hundreds of millions!

If it weren't for the system mission he was carrying, his sister wouldn't be hiding it like this.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the King of Qi.

He let out a soft "heh".

The emperor looked at him upon hearing the sound.

"What's on Gu Qing's mind now?"

"I miss Yelang."

"..."

The horse-drawn carriage caravan stopped in front of the Pujitang cooked food shop.

The emperor alighted from his carriage.

Behind him were more than thirty people, some dismounting, some getting off their vehicles.

They followed closely behind Xiao Ye and Xiao Jue.

The people queuing on the street turned around, their eyes first falling on Xiao Ye, who was walking at the very front.

He was wearing a silver-trimmed, moon-white long robe with a neatly gathered collar and a silver belt around his waist.

He was not wearing any items that could reveal his identity.

Keep your shoulders and back straight when you walk.

He was nothing like the ordinary wealthy young men on the street.

That kind of demeanor isn't something you can buy with money; it comes from within.

People in the group started whispering among themselves.

"Which family's young master is he?"

"He's probably a big merchant from Kyoto."

"Look at those followers behind them, they all look fierce..."

The person next to him tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to keep his voice down.

The people spontaneously made way for them.

Xiao Ye walked ahead, his gaze sweeping over the shops and streets on both sides without making a sound.

He glanced at the brand-new bluestone slabs on the road, and then at the long queues outside the shops.

His face was expressionless, but his eyes revealed a sense of relief.

Gu Mingyue quickly stepped forward to accompany her.

The closer you get to the shop, the stronger the aroma becomes.

Xiao Ye glanced around at the size of the shops.

"Hmm, this location, this size, this decoration, it must have cost a lot of money."

Of course, it cost a lot of money.

Because Gu Mingyue opened this shop in the first place to spend money.