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

The next morning, before the sky was fully bright.

When Gu Mingli got out of bed, his mind was still foggy.

Last night's bed was indeed comfortable, the cotton was so fluffy it felt like sleeping on a cloud, so much so that he almost forgot he had the task of "accompanying the driver".

He quickly washed up, put on his coat, and left the room.

The corridor was paved with thick blue bricks, which felt cool to the touch.

The morning breeze drifted in through the row of carved window lattices under the eaves, carrying the moisture from the river and the aroma of oil from the breakfast stalls in the distance.

Gu Mingli was walking towards the stairwell when he suddenly heard voices coming from around the corner.

"Brother Pei, it's been so long! What brings you to this remote and impoverished place?"

"This is no remote, impoverished place; this Peach Blossom Spring is now quite famous. My younger sister admires the literary atmosphere here and insists on coming to see it. As her older brother, I have no choice but to accompany her."

"So your younger sister is here too? I've long heard of the Pei family's renowned talent..."

Gu Mingli stopped in his tracks.

The Pei family?!

Wasn't this the target of his mission, "Peach Blossom Slash"?

Gu Mingli immediately regained his senses.

With his back against the wall, he turned slightly to the corner and squinted as he glanced over there.

At the end of the corridor, two young men were standing there exchanging pleasantries.

One of them was tall and slender, wearing a dark blue brocade robe with a white jade pendant hanging from his waist.

He had a handsome face and an extraordinary demeanor.

Two women who looked like maids were also following beside them.

Gu Mingli pulled his head back.

【Ding! 】

A line of Barbie pink text popped up in front of me.

[Competition for Favor Warning: A rival has appeared within a 50-meter radius of you. Host, please be vigilant and firmly occupy the center of the Emperor's field of vision.]

Competitors...

Gu Mingli turned off the notification without expression.

Occupying the center position sounds like vying for the spotlight in a group photo.

However, with the appearance of his target, he definitely needed to be careful.

But how can we prevent the emperor from paying attention to the Pei family's daughter?

As he was pondering what to do, he was suddenly poked in the back.

"hiss!"

Gu Mingli almost jumped up and turned around abruptly.

Gu Mingyue stood behind him, her finger still poking him, looking completely innocent.

"Bro, what are you doing squatting here so suspiciously?"

"you!"

Gu Mingli clutched his chest, rolled his eyes, lowered his voice, and poked Gu Mingyue's forehead.

"Don't you walk silently? You're trying to scare your brother to death!"

"I'm wearing soft-soled shoes."

Gu Mingyue said matter-of-factly. She peeked around the corner, her pupils contracting slightly.

"Looking at the girls?"

"Hiss, what are you saying!"

Gu Mingli leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

"That's the young master of the Pei family, he's here with his sister. My rival!"

Gu Mingyue gasped.

"They're appearing so early? Didn't the system say the river-falling scene wouldn't start for another three days?"

Gu Mingli frowned slightly. "Could it be that their encounter with the emperor... was a fateful one?"

Gu Mingyue: "..."

What a coincidence!

She had been thinking about something before.

How could someone as vigilant and suspicious as the emperor easily fall for a honey trap?

It turns out the Pei family had been following them for quite some time.

From Kyoto to Jiangzhou, and then from Jiangzhou to Peach Blossom Spring.

This move was made early enough.

"Brother." Gu Mingyue lowered her voice and leaned close to his ear.

"The drowning incident mentioned in the future headlines will occur three days later on the Dragon Boat Festival."

Gu Mingli nodded.

"It seems the plan needs to be moved up. For the next three days, you will stay by the Emperor's side the entire time. Don't leave his side for a moment. Absolutely do not let the Emperor notice the Pei family girl."

"it is good."

"You have to follow me when I eat, when I go shopping, and when I drink tea."

"clear."

"They even follow me to the toilet."

"..." Gu Mingli's lips twitched. "It's not that bad."

Gu Mingli took a deep breath and straightened his chest.

"In short, when it comes to missions, I'm a professional! I'm His Majesty's Peach Blossom Slayer!"

Gu Mingyue patted his shoulder and nodded in satisfaction.

"Go now, it's time for the emperor to rise."

Gu Mingli straightened his collar and turned to walk up to the third floor.

Gu Mingyue watched her brother go up the stairs before turning around and walking down to the first floor.

Before we even reached the bottom, we saw a figure already standing at the lobby entrance.

It's Wen Yanzhi, the head manager of Peach Blossom Spring!

Today, Wen Yanzhi was wearing a faded blue cloth robe with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. He was holding a roll of blueprints in his hand, and his face showed an excited expression of "I've finally waited for you."

The down-on-his-luck scholar who was dressed in rags three months ago has now become handsome and refined, full of energy and radiant.

"Boss!"

Wen Yanzhi strode forward, his voice low, but his eyes shone like lamps.

"You've finally arrived! I received the news last night and wanted to come see you, but I was afraid of disturbing you too late. So I waited for you before dawn this morning."

Looking at his energetic expression, Gu Mingyue felt a sense of foreboding.

Wen Yanzhi couldn't wait to step forward and lead Gu Mingyue to the inn's private office room.

He invited Gu Mingyue to sit in the armchair, and then moved a small round stool to sit opposite her.

He spread the drawings out on the table and pointed to the dense markings on them.

"Boss, things have changed a lot in the three months since you left."

His voice was tinged with excitement.

"Let's talk about occupancy rate first. All 320 shops on our commercial street are currently fully leased. There are also more than 140 shops waiting in line for vacancies."

Gu Mingyue pinched the towel with her fingers.

"Regarding passenger flow, I've created a table based on the statistical methods you previously provided."

As he spoke, he pulled out another statistics sheet.

"Last month's statistics showed an average of 3,000 tourists per day. On the first and fifteenth of each lunar month, the number can reach 5,000."

Gu Mingyue began to rub her temples.

"Then there's total revenue."

Wen Yanzhi turned to the next page of the drawing, which contained a line graph.

The lines run from the bottom left corner all the way to the top right corner.

"This image is a copy of the sample image you provided."

"Our Peach Blossom Spring has generated a total revenue of 520,000 taels over three months. After deducting all costs, the net profit is 406,000 taels."

Gu Mingyue closed her eyes.

I made a profit again.

Wen Yanzhi was still talking.

"Moreover, recently many literati and artists from other places have come to visit. Some write poems, some paint, and some sing. They have taken a liking to the reputation of our Peach Blossom Spring and have come to stay here."

He gestured with his finger to the right side of the drawing.

"On the west bank of the river, I specially opened up a 'Scholars' Lane'."

"They provided lodging and writing materials specifically for those literati. They set their own rules: anyone living in Peach Blossom Spring had to submit a poem or a painting every month for a competition."

"And guess what happened? After those poems and paintings got out, many high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital sent people to buy them. One landscape painting even sold for three hundred taels of silver."

Gu Mingyue took a deep breath and placed the hot towel on her face.

Wen Yanzhi finally stopped and looked at his employer cautiously.

"Master? Are you... alright?"

Gu Mingyue waved her hand in a muffled voice from behind the towel and said, "It's okay, you can continue."