I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 579 Xie Jue's Storyline: Deep Kiss

Although she was still unconscious, she swallowed the soup little by little.

With soup still clinging to her lips, Xie Jue gently wiped it away and then carefully laid her back down on the bed.

He said to the maids beside him, "She's asleep. You may all leave now. Don't disturb her."

Several maids responded and quietly withdrew.

The room fell silent again. Xie Jue sat by the bed, looking at her sleeping face with eyes so soft they seemed to melt.

She was fast asleep, her cheeks still flushed slightly from the alcohol, her lips slightly parted, soft and glistening with moisture.

Xie Jue's gaze lingered on those red lips, his eyes darkening slightly.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and finally he couldn't resist and slowly bent down.

His lips pressed against hers, warm and soft. He breathed softly, took her lips in his mouth, and gently kissed them.

He slowly deepened his kiss, holding her lower lip in his mouth and kissing it tenderly.

Gao Wanzhi breathed softly a few times in her sleep, and a soft hum came from the tip of her nose.

He finally released her lips only when her breathing became increasingly rapid.

On the carriage back home.

Xie Jue leaned against the soft cushion, his fingertips casually stroking the jade pendant in his hand.

"The performances today were quite good; I'll give them a generous reward later."

Changqing quickly replied, "Yes, young master."

After saying that, he quietly raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Previously, my young master was like a block of wood; he clearly liked the princess, but he just couldn't understand it.

But once he got the hang of it, he had so many tricks up his sleeve that he could hardly keep up...

Today's performance was entirely arranged by the young master, who booked the entire theater; there were no other guests in the other boxes.

It was all just for the princess to perform this play.

Normal theaters would never perform plays like this.

Changqing clicked his tongue twice in his heart and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

When these two met, they both fell apart.

Jiang Mansion, Study.

The long mahogany table was filled with accountants and shopkeepers, each with their heads down, flipping through ledgers and whispering among themselves. The only sounds in the room were the rustling of papers and the soft scratching of pens on paper.

Sitting at the head of the table, Jiang Huaiyu frowned, holding a teacup but not taking a single sip.

The flickering candlelight deepened the shadows in his eyes.

Although the usury issue was embarrassing, it was eventually resolved. The Jiang family still had some assets, and selling a few properties would give them some breathing room.

What really bothered him was the losses incurred by these three shops.

These three shops in the capital are the Jiang family's biggest monthly income businesses and have always been the most profitable.

At first, the problem was just getting supplies, then the loss of customers, and even the delivery carts were frequently involved in accidents.

Xie Jue was clearly behind all this!

He was determined not to let Xie Jue have his way!

It's just doing business, right? Xie Jue can do it, and he might not be so bad at it!

After a long silence, Jiang Huaiyu finally spoke, "If we don't find a way to deal with those three shops, they will ruin the Jiang family's reputation sooner or later."

“I don’t care what you plan to do. Starting tomorrow, bring out all the goods, ledgers, and transaction details, and check them word by word.”

"Also, investigate thoroughly all those stewards and apprentices who are secretly close to the Xie family. Replace those who need to be replaced and eliminate those who need to be eliminated without showing any leniency."

"Find me a solution as soon as possible."

“Young master,” an older shopkeeper stepped forward with a bow, “This old servant dares to suggest that if we want to stabilize the situation, we might start with the clothing shop. Compared to the other two tea shops and rouge shops, the clothing shop started the earliest and has the strongest foundation. If we can manage to launch a promotion and build a reputation, we might be able to recover quickly.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

"Yes, the clothing store is well-known and located at the entrance of West Street, so it naturally has more customers."

Jiang Huaiyu raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping over everyone as she listened to their suggestions gradually come together, her expression becoming calmer.

"Do it this way."

Prince's Mansion, Tinghe Pavilion.

Changqing leaned down and whispered, "Jiang Huaiyu has made a move. I found out that they plan to start with the clothing shops and restock their stock."

Upon hearing this, Xie Jue's lips curled into a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.

The clothing store seems to have the most hope, but in reality, it is the most vulnerable.

"Their clothing shop sources 70% of its fabrics from merchants in Jiangnan. I had already instructed people to keep that batch of goods at the waterway entrance and not rush to transport them into the capital."

A glint flashed in his eyes. "I've recently driven up the price of cloth by 20% in several private shops. If he buys in large quantities now, he'll be stuck in a dead end, buying high and selling low, with his funds drying up."

"Have someone keep an eye on the Jiang family's three shops, and report the daily accounts without fail."

Changqing nodded immediately: "Yes. So, when shall we make our move?"

"No rush, we just need to hold back and observe the situation."

The next day, on the second floor of Fuyu Tower.

Xie Jue was sitting behind his desk, reviewing the accounts, while several managers stood by, waiting for orders, not daring to move.

A short while later, Changqing quietly entered: "Young Master, Miss Lu is downstairs and says she has something to discuss."

Xie Jue didn't raise his eyes. "Please invite her up."

A moment later, Lu Xinghe walked in, her eyes filled with an unusual seriousness.

"Young master, I have an idea that I'd like to discuss with you."

Xie Jue nodded, gesturing for her to sit down: "Speak."

Then he glanced at the shopkeepers beside him, who tactfully bowed and left.

Lu Xinghe gathered her thoughts and got straight to the point: "I want to open a teahouse that only sells tea, milk tea and snacks."

"The price of milk has never come down, and the price of milk tea cannot be lowered, so this teahouse is positioned to cater to the powerful and wealthy. It provides them with a quiet and comfortable place to discuss business."

Xie Jue raised an eyebrow, remained silent, and listened quietly as she continued.

Lu Xinghe continued, "Fuyulou is certainly good, but it is a restaurant, which requires land, staff, and ingredients, and often starts at tens of thousands of taels of silver. It is suitable as a benchmark, but not suitable for promotion."

“But this kind of small teahouse is different. The decoration materials are simpler, the staff ratio is streamlined, and the cost is only one-twentieth of that of Fuyulou.”

“In the capital, there can be one or two branches of Fuyulou.”

“But such teahouses can open one in each of the East Market, West Street, South Gate, and North Ward at the same time, and customers will be more willing to come to our teahouses.”

Her eyes shone with barely concealed excitement: "It will be much easier to promote this to other places in the future."

We'll open a nationwide chain!

Xie Jue tapped the table lightly with his fingertips. "A very good idea."

"Then I'll leave this to you. Try one of them first."

Lu Xinghe's eyes lit up, and she sat up straight excitedly: "Really?"

"real."

She pursed her lips, unable to hide her smile, "Then we need to come up with a name. It can't be too common, nor too strange. It has to be elegant and easy to remember."

"How about we call it Half a Day of Leisure? It's perfect for the powerful and wealthy to come here for tea and a rest, and enjoy some peace and quiet."

Xie Jue read it aloud in a low voice, "Not bad, the name has a beautiful meaning."

"Then it's settled!" Lu Xinghe's face immediately lit up with a bright smile.

The eldest princess.

Gao Wanzhi opened her eyes, feeling a wave of dizziness.

She stirred and realized she was lying in bed, but even sitting up felt difficult.

How much did she drink last night?

A few fragmented images flashed through my mind: a stage, fruit wine, and...