The most dissolute couple in the capital

Baihe Xiangfang was the most famous spice shop in Chang'an. It had a three-courtyard facade with blue bricks and gray tiles, and a string of small copper bells hanging from the eaves, which jingled when the wind blew.

Li Chengjing went out today to prepare goods for the new shop. The two of them stayed up all night yesterday to finalize several recipes and make a list.

In the morning, Cui Qingyi was impatient to get up early, so Li Chengjing brought Liu Lu out.

As I walked past the counter, I saw two groups of people arguing.

To be precise, one group is criticizing the other.

"...Does the He family even deserve to use safflower from the Western Regions? Those crudely made sachets in your mansion would be enough with just some mugwort; why waste such fine things?"

The speaker was a middle-aged servant wearing an indigo round-necked robe, with a waist tag from the Zheng family of Xingyang tied around his waist, and a mean-looking face.

The servant who was being scolded was younger, dressed simply but neatly, his face flushed, his fists clenched but he dared not talk back. The name tag on his waist had the character "贺" (He) engraved on it.

The manager of Baihexiangfang stood behind the counter, looking troubled, unable to offend either side.

Li Chengjing leaned against the door frame and watched with great interest for a while.

Liu Lu leaned closer and whispered, "Your Highness, the one in the blue robe is the purchasing manager of the Zheng family, surnamed Zhou. That one over there is a servant of the He family. The He family... is the family of Lord He, who was newly promoted to Vice Censor-in-Chief this year."

"The He family?" Li Chengjing thought for a moment. "Is it the He family that investigated the Chengnan granary case?"

"Indeed. Lord He came from a humble background, entered officialdom through the imperial examination, and was known for his integrity and uprightness."

Li Chengjing nodded, then shifted his gaze back to the Zheng family servant.

Manager Zhou slammed his hand on the counter and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper Qian, please prioritize the things our Zheng family needs. I want all of this batch of Western Region safflower."

"Manager Zhou, this..." Manager Qian said with a bitter face, "This batch of safflower only weighs one pound. The young man from the He family arrived first and has already paid a deposit—"

"What's a deposit?" Manager Zhou sneered. "I'll pay double, no, triple."

The servant of the He family finally couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward, saying, "Steward Zhou, my master only needs two taels, which is not much. The rest can be kept by your Zheng family—"

"Who gave you the right to interrupt?" Steward Zhou glared at him. "The He family's status? Do you think you're worthy to compete with the Zheng family for things? Your Lord He, wasn't he just a poor scholar auditing classes in our Zheng family's private school back then? Now you're dressed in official robes, and you dare to try and steal spices from your master?"

That was an extremely harsh remark.

The servant boy from the He family turned ashen-faced, his lips trembling for a long time before finally gritting his teeth and lowering his head.

The He family's foundation was still shallow, and he was just a lowly servant. How could he dare to clash with a powerful family?

Just then, a lazy voice drifted in from the doorway.

"Wow, it's so lively!"

Steward Zhou and the servant boy from the He family turned their heads at the same time.

A young man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe strolled in, his hands behind his back, followed by a eunuch carrying a box. The young man was extremely handsome, with a nonchalant air about him, and a slight upturn at the corner of his mouth, as if he were watching some interesting trick.

Manager Qian was the first to recognize the person and scrambled forward to greet him: "Your Highness Prince Liang! Why have you come in person? I'll be right there..."

"Don't rush." ​​Li Chengjing waved his hand, his gaze falling on the several packets of safflower wrapped in oil paper on the counter. "Is this the newly arrived safflower from the Western Regions?"

"Indeed, indeed." Manager Qian wiped his sweat. "It was just delivered by a caravan from the Western Regions. The quality is excellent; it's the best batch this year."

Li Chengjing walked over, picked up a small pinch, smelled it, then crushed the texture of the petals with his fingertips and nodded slightly.

"The quality is indeed excellent. To make good rouge, safflower must be from Uzbekistan in the Western Regions; the petals are thick, and the pigment settles well. This batch should be the first harvest of autumn, right?"

Shopkeeper Qian nodded repeatedly, "Your Highness has an excellent eye! This is indeed the first batch!"

Manager Zhou stood by for a long time, and seeing that Li Chengjing was only focused on looking at the flowers, he began to feel uneasy.

He naturally recognized the King of Liang—who in the entire city of Chang'an didn't know this living Yama?

But he was, after all, from the Zheng family of Xingyang, one of the five surnames and seven prominent families, with his protégés and former officials all over the court. Even the King of Liang wouldn't risk a falling out with the Zheng family over a little bit of spices... right?

He composed himself, forced a smile, and stepped forward to bow: "Your Highness, I greet you. If Your Highness also desires safflower and blue flowers, our Zheng family... is willing to offer some."

Li Chengjing, still smiling, asked, "Give way?"

Manager Zhou sensed the unfriendly tone in the other party's voice, and sweat began to bead on his back.

Before he could change his mind, Li Chengjing turned to Manager Qian and said, "I'll take all of these safflower flowers. Pay the market price."

Manager Qian didn't dare look at Steward Zhou standing to the side, and just buried his head in packing: "Yes, yes, I'll pack it right away."

Manager Zhou's face turned pale and then flushed.

He had worked for the Zheng family for many years, relying on his master's name to act arrogantly in the East Market. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

But this is the Prince of Liang. Even if his master came, he couldn't argue with him and could only swallow his anger.

He gritted his teeth and forced out, "Does Your Highness need so many safflowers?"

"Whether I need it or not is none of your business," Li Chengjing glanced at him. "It's none of your concern whether I buy it to feed the chickens."

Manager Zhou's lips twitched slightly.

Liu Lu stood to the side with his head down, expressionless, but his shoulders trembled slightly.

Manager Qian quickly sorted the red and blue flowers and neatly packed them into the box that Liu Lu had brought.

Lee Seung-kyung took the last package, weighed it in his hand, and suddenly turned around.

The servant of the He family was still standing there, his face full of embarrassment and awkwardness. He had seen the whole scene just now. Prince Liang had vented his anger for him, but he also knew that the flowers had nothing to do with him anymore—they were going to buy them all, and there was no mention of sharing them with him.

Just as he was about to bow and quietly slip away, a package suddenly fell into his arms.

"then."

The servant was stunned. He looked down and saw that he was holding a small packet of safflower and blue flowers.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

King Liang didn't even glance at him: "Take it back and use it, don't be shy."

The servant boy from the He family immediately knelt down: "Your Highness's great kindness—"

"Alright, alright, stop kneeling." Li Chengjing waved his hand without turning his head. "Hurry up and move along, don't block the way."

The servant boy from the He family bowed deeply once, then turned and quickly left Baihexiangfang.

Looking at Li Chengjing's nonchalant attitude, Manager Zhou felt a tightness in his chest.

He gritted his teeth and gave a stiff bow: "This humble servant takes his leave."

Li Chengjing didn't even glance at him.

After everyone had gone some distance, Liu Lucai spoke up, "Your Highness, the Zheng family will likely hold a grudge against you for this move."

"Holding a grudge?" Li Chengjing scoffed. "The Zheng family, they're upright and honest, the best family in the world. Why would they stoop to the level of someone as unreasonable as me?"

He shoved the last box into Liu Lu's arms and walked out.

-

Inside the Zheng family mansion, the study was filled with the gentle fragrance of sandalwood incense.

With a bitter face, Steward Zhou reported that Prince Liang had packed up the spices as soon as he entered the room.

Zheng Wenhan chuckled first, then quickly composed himself and coughed to cover it up.

Zheng Wenyuan's expression remained unreadable: "What did you say to the He family at Baihexiangfang Pavilion?"

Manager Zhou instinctively tried to defend himself: "I was just... urging the manager to prioritize the Zheng family's goods—"

"Should I ask the shopkeeper to come back and confront us?" Zheng Wenyuan said coldly.

Manager Zhou's back stiffened for a moment, and he obediently repeated the argument with the He family.

Zheng Wenyuan: "Censor He is a censor personally appointed by the current emperor, enjoying great favor. Tomorrow in court, if Censor He impeaches the Zheng family of Xingyang for abusing their power, will your life be enough to pay for it?"

"Young...Young Master, this humble one—"

"Get out of here. Go back and collect twenty strokes of the cane; this month's allowance will be deducted."

Manager Zhou felt as if he had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of the room.

After the door closed, Zheng Wenhan slowly spoke: "My elder brother has a good temper; he only punished him with twenty strokes of the cane. If it were me, I would have sent him straight to the estate. This kind of fool will cause trouble for the family sooner or later."

Zheng Wenyuan did not respond to this.

Prince Liang, Cui Qingyi.

My mother had privately revealed that she wanted to arrange a marriage for herself with this woman from a collateral branch of the Cui family in Qinghe.

He had also caught a glimpse of her from afar; she was beautiful and talented. Zheng Wenyuan was already satisfied with this virtuous and gentle woman. As the matriarch of the Zheng family, he needed a virtuous and forbearing wife like her.

However, something unexpected happened at the flower-viewing banquet later.

Cui Qingyi saved the Prince of Liang from drowning, and their physical contact damaged her reputation, so the marriage was quietly put on hold. Later, the emperor granted her a marriage, and Cui Qingyi became the Princess of Liang.

Zheng Wenyuan felt something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Forget it, this couple isn't worth his trouble.

"Brother," Zheng Wenhan's voice interrupted his thoughts, "since we can't buy safflower, what about the sachets for the autumn hunt?"

"Let's choose something else." Zheng Wenyuan's tone returned to its usual calm. "The autumn hunt is just around the corner, and Second Brother should focus his attention on important matters."

Upon hearing the words "serious business," Zheng Wenhan's expression turned grim.

His father had given him a firm order: he must shine at the autumn hunt and win the princess's favor.

But who ever asked him if he was willing to marry into the family?

He lowered his head to hide his turbulent emotions, and said coldly, "Only a son born out of wedlock like me can take on such a 'good job'."

Zheng Wenyuan sensed the resentment in his words, frowned slightly, and reprimanded him, "Both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor. To be favored by the royal family is a blessing for the Zheng family. Furthermore, your father is doing this for your own good. If you become the imperial son-in-law, you will certainly enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of your life. How can you be so ungrateful?"

Wenhan suppressed his anger: "Since I couldn't buy the spices, I won't disturb you any longer. I need to prepare the horses and clothes, so I'll take my leave now."

Having said that, he turned and left.