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

The entire capital city was abuzz with excitement the day the competition announcement was posted.

"Have you heard? The imperial court is going to hold a national Cuju (ancient Chinese football) tournament!"

"That's really something new! How many tourists from other places will come to Kyoto then?"

"Can Kyoto accommodate them?"

Pei Yu didn't care whether he could accept it or not.

Anyway, this bunch of spoiled brats were in a frenzy.

The invitation letter was delivered even faster than the imperial court's official gazette.

Don't be fooled by their seemingly idle lifestyle of cockfighting and dog racing.

Behind each of them lies a deeply entrenched circle of wealthy and influential friends.

Once this force is combined, it becomes like a spider web.

It accurately covered the wealthy young men of various prefectures and counties in Dayong.

For a time, the threshold of Pujitang's main branch was almost worn down by all sorts of commissioners.

They were all teams representing the aristocratic families of various states who had come to register for the competition.

In just ten days, more than forty teams have signed up to participate!

The support groups that followed these teams to watch the games and spend money to cheer them on were even more numerous, numbering in the tens of thousands.

……

At the same time, inside the study of the Cui family residence.

The finest agarwood wafted upwards, and Zhao Pei, the Minister of Works, stood at the lower end with his hands at his sides.

He repeated the news about the Cuju tournament to Cui Ming.

"The emperor is clearly desperate because he can't win over our powerful clans."

"It's laughable that they would hire this bunch of greenhorn brats to fill the seats."

Zhao Pei gave a disdainful "humph".

"Those纨绔 (spoiled brats) are mostly born out of wedlock, or good-for-nothing legitimate sons of minor noble families."

"Their family doesn't even have the right to stand in court and listen to the proceedings. Even if the emperor were to recruit them all, what kind of trouble could they possibly cause?"

Sitting in the armchair, Cui Ming slowly twirled the exquisite sandalwood prayer beads in his hand.

A glint of light flashed in his cloudy old eyes, and he gave a mocking smile from above.

"It's good to rest in the shade of a big tree. No matter how much grass there is, it can't block out the sun."

He picked up the teacup beside him, gently skimmed off the foam, and took a sip.

When he looked up again, his eyes were cold and sinister.

"Pujitang has been arrogant along the canal for so many days, and has submitted enough memorials to the imperial court."

"Tomorrow, have someone put more pressure on the young emperor and let him know who the backbone of the Great Yong is."

At this point, Cui Ming seemed to remember something else.

He narrowed his eyes and said casually:

"Furthermore, that Gu Mingli has been moving around in front of the Emperor far too frequently lately. He even dared to block Consort Cui's path without any sense of propriety."

"Send more people and find an opportunity to get rid of him."

A swordsman standing nearby coldly replied, "Yes."

Sitting below, Zhou Qiao asked again, "Second Master, what about the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) competition?"

"I heard they've gathered over a thousand young noblemen. If they succeed, wouldn't that enhance the Emperor's prestige?"

"Did you get it done?"

Cui Ming chuckled sinisterly, as if he had heard the funniest joke.

"Since they want a big crowd and a lively atmosphere, let them make it a complete mess!"

……

The next morning, it was broad daylight.

Gu Mingyue had just stepped into the office in the logistics park, without even having a sip of tea.

Lu Qinghe arrived in a great hurry.

"Boss! Something terrible has happened!"

"Yesterday we just finalized agreements with Yuebinlou in the east of the city, as well as the ten largest inns on Tongji Street, but this morning they all suddenly announced they're fully booked for the time being!"

"The hundreds of rooms we booked for the competition have all been unilaterally cancelled!"

Gu Mingyue paused slightly in her teacup, listening quietly.

However, she didn't even frown.

Although I was a little angry, I wasn't surprised.

In business, it's common to encounter rivals joining forces to attack you from the ground up.

What's more, this time they've provoked the powerful Cui family, who wield immense influence in the court.

She gently blew on the steam rising from the rim of the cup, calmly raised her chin, and gestured for Master Lu to continue.

Lu Qinghe raised his hand and hastily wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Not just accommodations... but also the five large restaurants that will be responsible for providing meals during our competition!"

"Just now, they all sent people to return the deposits! They said they're not taking the order anymore!"

Gu Mingyue put down her teacup and took the form from Lu Qinghe.

I took a look.

There are seven major items listed above, and without exception, they are all marked with an X.

All cancelled.

The office was quiet for a moment.

Lu Qinghe waited for a while, then finally broke down and spoke:

"Master, look at this... what should we do?"

Gu Mingyue casually folded the form and tossed it onto the table.

"The only ones capable of this are the Cui family. They've issued an ultimatum to these shop owners."

Gu Mingyue spoke calmly, showing no sign of panic.

"A month later, more than a thousand pampered young masters flooded into the capital."

"Nowhere to sleep, nowhere to eat. The Cui family is trying to turn the competition into chaos so that the emperor can't save face."

Master Lu was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, his brows furrowed deeply.

"Now that the boss has seen through it, how does he plan to deal with it?"

"Those young noblemen can be more troublesome than refugees if they cause trouble."

As the two were talking, a series of rapid footsteps came from outside the door, followed by the curtain being suddenly flung open.

"elder brother?"

Gu Mingyue looked up and was somewhat surprised to see Gu Mingli walking in with a menacing expression:

"Why are you here?"

Her brother is now a very busy man in Beijing.

He spends half the day on official business before the emperor, half the day leading the team in training, and the next day he has to find time to come to the construction site to inspect the progress.

Gu Mingli ignored Lu Qinghe beside her and angrily dragged a grand chair down and sat down.

He suddenly flicked his sleeve, his sword-like eyebrows standing on end.

"I heard someone is bullying you?"

Gu Mingyue looked at her brother, who seemed ready to grab a weapon and fight to the death at any moment.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Um."

She casually handed over the form she had just received, her tone carrying a hint of playful complaint.

"The Cui family is bullying me."

Gu Mingli, with a cold face, grabbed the form.

He was prepared to see what kind of inescapable trap or life-or-death situation he might encounter.

Upon closer inspection...

Ten inns and five restaurants refunded their deposits.

Gu Mingli stared at the paper for a while, his tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxing.

"this one?"

Gu Mingli flipped the form over, utterly speechless.

He held it up to the light and looked at it a couple more times.

They seemed to want to see if there was a treacherous plot written in invisible ink hidden inside.

After confirming that it was really just a cancellation of the inn reservation, he looked at Lu Qinghe, who was anxiously on the verge of going crazy, with disbelief on his face.

"Master Lu, you were just yelling that the master was being bullied and that something terrible had happened, and this is... such a trivial matter?"

"Such a small matter?!"

Lu Qinghe stared in astonishment, thinking that the brother and sister were simply insane.

Is this Young Master Gu truly detached from worldly affairs?!

How could he consider something so critical as a "minor matter"?

Lu Qinghe clapped his hands in frustration.

"If we can't arrange accommodations and meals for thousands of wealthy and influential people coming to the capital, it will cause huge chaos!"

Gu Mingli, however, waved his hand calmly, gesturing for Lu Qinghe to sit down.

"Master Lu, there's no need to rush."

His sister was too lazy to bother organizing such a small, shabby event before.

If his sister had taken charge, it wouldn't have been this large-scale.

The Cui family is ridiculous. They think they can cripple her sister by cutting off her food and lodging?

Who are you underestimating?