Chapter 354: Something Went Wrong

When the Money Shop was mentioned, Li Chengqian leaned his seat forward slightly, clearly taking it very seriously.

And indeed that was the case; Chen Yan's vision of the future painted with the Money Shop was overly splendid—let alone Li Chengqian, even Li Shimin placed great importance on it.

They hoped Chen Yan could speed up.

"My plan is to open after the Lantern Festival; I've already chosen the location, and I may need you to be present then, make the fanfare a bit grander, you understand, right?"

Li Chengqian nodded repeatedly, "Understood—use my name to create momentum, so the people will believe it."

"But is it necessary to make such a big spectacle?"

"Of course!" Chen Yan looked at him with a clueless stare, "If you don't make the spectacle bigger, bring some palace maids and eunuchs, how will the people believe you're the Crown Prince?"

"They've never even seen you!"

"... Fine!" Li Chengqian was persuaded, thought for a moment, then asked, "But would doing this be unwise? What if someone slaps a reputation of profiteering off me?"

"Why care what others say?" Chen Yan replied disdainfully, "As long as you produce results, I believe they'll learn to shut up."

"Moreover, we can briefly borrow the Ministry of Revenue's name then; what's there to worry about?"

Chen Yan paused, then continued, "If you're truly afraid of that, I can handle it myself; at least in Weinan County I still have some reputation."

Li Chengqian, upon hearing, hurried, "Zi Anxiong, don't misunderstand, I'm not afraid!"

"You should know, some people are that troublesome—risking their lives over a title. When Father Emperor granted me Weinan County as a fief last year, I wonder how many died pleading counsel."

"Hmm?" Chen Yan's attention shifted, curiously asking, "What happened to those people afterward?"

Li Chengqian smiled, "Father Emperor satisfied them, and precisely because his stance was strong, the matter was suppressed."

"Tsk tsk!" Chen Yan lamented, "What a pity we didn't see their expressions then; I bet it would have been fascinating."

"Enough, let's not talk about that."

Chen Yan smiled lightly, "When you go, you can say you're going to see me, or to inspect your own territory—just find any excuse."

"Later, you can claim I forced you over there, and then I shamelessly used your name to run the Money Shop; considering my sister's face, you shouldn't mind anything."

"Wouldn't that make you fine then?"

Li Chengqian, after listening, was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head, "Zi Anxiong, you've already helped me enough; I feel deeply indebted, and now you ask me to bear the bad reputation while I reap all the benefits—I simply don't have the face for that."

"Father Emperor and Empress, once they know, will surely be disappointed in me."

"Do whatever you must; to get something, you must first endure something. There's no free lunch in the world, isn't that what you said?"

"... Hmm, Brother Cheng Qian, you're becoming a truly qualified heir." Chen Yan first agreed, then shifted, "But my view has changed; I think there are still good things that fall from the sky like pies."

"At least both of our wives came to us of their own accord."

Li Chengqian: "......"

"......"

"Lizhi, I must thank you this time as well."

Crown Princess Su clasped Li Lizhi's hand, speaking with full gratitude.

"Sister-in-law need not be so," Li Lizhi said with a smile at the corner of her mouth, "I only mentioned it once in front of my husband; brother did indeed go too far, how could he seek so many women during your pregnancy?"

Crown Princess sighed, "I'm not opposed to the Crown Prince seeking women; after all I'm currently quite inconvenient... it's just that he seeks too many..."

"I worry that His Majesty, once informed, will be displeased with the Crown Prince, so I asked you to have the Marquis of Weinan advise him."

"By the way!"

Crown Princess seemed unwilling to linger on the matter and changed the subject, "Yesterday the Crown Prince returned from His Majesty and mentioned, apparently, that the Marquis of Weinan is to be promoted."

"Then I must first congratulate you both."

Promotion?

Li Lizhi was a bit surprised, but then found it quite natural.

Given Chen Yan's merits, not even a princely title—he could become a Duke.

But for various reasons, and because Chen Yan himself didn't want it, the matter kept being postponed.

However, at the New Year's Day grand court, Chen Yan presented the White Tiger and the Imperial Jade Seal before so many officials, achieving such a great feat; if he weren't promoted again, it would truly be indefensible.

Li Lizhi blinked, "Does sister-in-law know what rank Father Emperor intends to grant my husband?"

"I don't know that," Crown Princess said, "But I think at least a Commandery Duke; after all the Chen family only got a county marquis before, which was already a grievance. Now with the Marquis of Weinan's merits, if he can't become a Duke, could he not become a Commandery Duke?"

"Commandery Duke..." Li Lizhi murmured, indicating she understood.

It's not that she's dissatisfied; she simply doesn't care at all.

Moreover, she knows Chen Yan's thinking well; attaining such a title at this age through merit isn't necessarily a good thing.

While the two couples discussed matters, a eunuch suddenly reported.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, the young master Du of Cai Duke's household seeks an audience outside, saying it's urgent."

Young master Du?

Du Gou?

Li Chengqian, upon hearing, hurried, "Let Brother Du in!"

After the eunuch left, Chen Yan was puzzled, "Didn't Brother Du go back to Weinan County yesterday?"

"Why this early morning come to you, saying there's urgent business?"

"Ah?" Li Chengqian was puzzled by Chen Yan's remark.

"I... don't know, let's discuss when Brother Du arrives."

"Alright."

They didn't wait long before Du Gou rushed in; Li Chengqian and Chen Yan had intended to exchange a few words, but as soon as Du Gou arrived, he said to Chen Yan:

"Zi Anxiong, you may need to return to Weinan County; something's happened!"

Chen Yan's smile froze; recalling Du Ruhui's warning, his complexion gradually darkened.

"What happened?"

Du Gou said: "Last night, one of our silk-producing workshops caught fire. Because it was discovered late, by the time we got the news, the workshop had already become ruins."

"We found two charred corpses inside; they were probably the night guards responsible for guarding the warehouse, and everything else was burned."

".........."

"Fire?"

Chen Yan burst out laughing in anger, "All our workshops are built beside the Wei River, and it's the middle of winter—you're telling me they caught fire?"

Du Gou fell silent.

Chen Yan added, "Such a large workshop caught fire, and by the time you got the news it had already burned to ruins?"

What the hell kind of fire is this?

".........."