I am a prince in Zhutian Films

Chapter 377 Trouble is coming
The next day.

There are obviously fewer people in the teahouse than before, and it is obvious that many customers have been lost to the cheaper and more affordable Chatang Lane.

"Madam Zhao, there are a lot fewer customers today." Mr. Zhuo Shi was a regular customer with his face half covered. He greeted Zhao Pan'er as soon as he entered the door.

Zhao Pan'er nodded and smiled nonchalantly, "It's true that there are fewer. I heard that the peach blossom drinks in Chatang Lane are much cheaper and more cost-effective, and Su Niang who plays the pipa is not bad either. I should go to Chatang Lane."

Before he finished speaking, another regular customer, Yuan Tuntian, walked in and took over the conversation, saying, "I also tried it yesterday. Their peach blossom fruit is much worse than yours."

As Yuan Tuntian spoke, he looked at Zhao Pan'er, who was beaming with joy, and said with some surprise, "I see, Madam Zhao, you don't seem to mind them imitating the tea and fruit of your teahouse?"

Yes, Zhao Paner didn’t care at all.

Firstly, she had anticipated this and had a plan in mind.

Besides, she had already decided to be with Zhao Wei, which meant that she could no longer continue to show up in public to run the teahouse.

Of course, even if she didn't run the teahouse, she would make arrangements for Sun Sanniang and Song Yinzhang in advance.

"The law does not stipulate that they cannot imitate. The fact that Mr. Yuan can come to our teahouse again shows that we still have advantages. In addition, business is inherently competitive, and only with competition can there be growth. If I were angry about this, I would have died of anger a long time ago."

"Mrs. Zhao is very open-minded." Yuan Tuntian was full of admiration. He found another familiar face and greeted him, "Hey, Xiao Du, you are here too?"

Du Changfeng didn't wear glasses. He stretched his neck to carefully identify the person in front of him for a while before he could see clearly. He bowed and said, "Mr. Yuan, Mr. Zhuo Shi, good morning. The academy is closed today, and it's rare that there are fewer people with half-covered faces, so I came here."

Zhao Pan'er didn't have a good impression of Du Changfeng and didn't chat much. She just said hello and went to greet other guests.

"Miss Zhao."

Hearing the shout, Zhao Pan'er turned around and looked over: "Sir, what would you like to drink?"

The one who called her was a man dressed as a servant, with a proud face, "Madam Zhao, my family's young master is hosting a banquet and would like to invite you to join us. Here is the invitation."

During the days when the teahouse was reopened, in addition to scholars like Yuan Tuntian, there were also many children of powerful and wealthy people, among whom there were naturally some who coveted their beauty.

Is someone finally unable to bear it anymore?

Zhao Pan'er sighed silently, and did not take the invitation handed over by the servant. She said indifferently: "I don't know who your master is, but I already have a lover. Please go back and tell your master to thank him for his kindness."

"Madam Zhao, are you going to refuse my toast and drink the wine for punishment?" the servant sneered.

Zhao Paner's face also turned cold: "We are not easy to mess with even if we cover our faces halfway."

"Interesting, let's wait and see." The servant smiled coldly and hurried away with his companions.

Mr. Zhuo Shi glanced at them and said, "Madam Zhao, they should be from the Xiao Mansion. I heard that Xiao Qinyan is about to return to the capital. The Xiao Mansion is very powerful now, so you have to be careful."

"Although the Xiao family is powerful, we are not easy to bully. But thank you Mr. Zhuoshi for your advice." Zhao Pan'er bowed and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhuoshi, today's tea money is on me."

"Then I won't be polite to Madam Zhao."

Zhao Pan'er was talking to Mr. Zhuo Shi and did not notice that there was a pair of eyes fixed on her outside the teahouse. That cold look came from Gao Hui's wet nurse, Jiang.

During this period, some rumors about Zhao Pan'er and Ouyang Xu appeared in the Gao Mansion, which made Gao Hui lose her appetite. Also, due to the seasonal weather, her stomach was upset and she vomited for several days.

Jiang saw it all and felt pain in her heart. She beat the maids who were delivering the flowers half to death and threw them to the human traffickers. This was a way of making an example of them and stopping the rumors. She was also worried that Gao Hui would not eat well, so she thought about buying some unique snacks outside.

He learned from his daughter Chuntao that the most delicious fruit in Tokyo City was at the Banzhaimian on Ma Xing Street, so he came here early in the morning to buy some. However, he did not expect that the half-covered shopkeeper was the woman who was flirting with Ouyang Xu outside the house.

Jiang looked at Zhao Pan'er with resentment for a long time, but in the end, she left quietly without saying anything.

At the same time, at the Xiao Mansion.

Xiao Wei, who was under house arrest by Xiao Qinyan because he had joined forces with Yu Quanzhong from the Imperial City Division to cause trouble for Gu Qianfan, was boredly observing the trajectory of the candle wax flowing down. In front of him was an open copy of "The Analects of Confucius", but in fact, he had not turned a single page since he woke up in the morning.

"Yanei, Yanei."

Hearing the shouting outside, Xiao Wei came back to his senses, straightened his sitting posture, and then shouted, "Come in."

A man dressed as a book boy came in from outside, bowed, and said in a low voice: "Yanei, I just got the news that the second young master sent someone to cover his face."

Xiao Wei was stunned when he heard this, then he sneered: "What an idiot, he dared to attack the shopkeeper's wife without even finding out the situation of the half-covered face. He really never lets me down."

"Yanei, what about us?"

"You go to the Han Palace in person to inform Zhao Changshi, and write a letter to father." Xiao Ren smiled coldly: "If you offend the Han Palace Changshi, the second brother will be finished."

Obviously, Xiao Wei also thought that Zhao Pan'er had a relationship with Zhao Huai'en.

Of course, it's not surprising that Xiao Wei thought so. After all, Zhao Pan'er had appeared with Zhao Huai'en before the teahouse reopened. Plus, both of them had the surname Zhao, so it was hard not to misunderstand that they were relatives.

The servant boy took the order and left. Not long after, shouting was heard from outside again.

"Yanei, Yanei, great joy!"

The visitor was a young male servant, who happily delivered the message: "Young Master, the emperor has just issued an edict to formally summon the prime minister to the capital."

Xiao Wei stood up and punched the wall excitedly, "Great! As soon as father returns to the court, the position of Prime Minister will be in my pocket. Pass on my order to increase the salary of half a month for the whole government."

"Yes!"

The servant was about to leave with a look of excitement on his face, but Xiao Wei suddenly thought of something and called out to him, "Wait."

"What else do you want to tell me?"

"Are you Uncle Zhong's son? Your name is Yuanlu?" Xiao Wei asked.

Yuanlu bowed and replied, "Yes, I am Yuanlu, I came back to the capital with my father."

Xiao Wei's eyes flickered: "Have you ever seen Gu Qianfan before?"

Although Yuanlu promised his father that he would not meddle in other people's business, since Xiao Wei asked this, he naturally had to answer as a servant. After a brief hesitation, he nodded.

"What does he look like?"

Thinking about how his father punished his own son because of an outsider, and that the two of them might have an extremely difficult relationship, Xiao Wei was a little embarrassed to speak: "Is it, is it something weird?"

Yuan Lu was stunned for a moment before he understood what Xiao Wei meant, and quickly denied it, "What are you thinking, Young Master? Although the Prime Minister treats Deputy Envoy Gu well, he treats him more like an old friend and nephew."

Xiao Wei's previous thoughts were overturned, and he began to think again: "Old friend's nephew? But because of him, my father doesn't even want to acknowledge me as his biological son... Could it be..."

He suddenly thought of something, stepped forward quickly, grabbed Yuanlu's collar, and asked, "Does Gu Qianfan look like my father?"

Yuan Lu shook his head quickly: "Not really. To be disrespectful, if Deputy Envoy Gu is really the son of your husband's mistress, I'm afraid he would not be able to please you in time. If he can be recognized by the Xiao family, this glory..."

Xiao Wei suddenly stretched out his hand to stop Yuanlu from continuing to speak and affecting his thinking.

"No, I still feel something is wrong. Please help me arrange it. I want to leave the house. I have to meet that Gu Qianfan to feel at ease."

Yuan Lu felt that he had said something wrong, and fearing the responsibility, he quickly persuaded him: "Yanei, no, you are still under house arrest." Xiao Wei didn't care about that, and said without question: "I don't care what method you use to help me avoid your father and the people in the mansion, anyway, I must leave the mansion, between offending your father and offending me, you can choose which one."

Yuanluo opened his mouth weakly, and in the end he could only blame himself for his bad luck and replied dejectedly, "Yes".

On the half-covered side, Zhao Pan'er drove away the Xiao family's servants, but she didn't expect that trouble would come again.

The recent popularity of half-masked clothes, coupled with He Si and others going to Chatang Lane to promote and solicit customers, has aroused hostility from many teahouse owners in Chatang Lane.

In particular, Manager Hu of Qingmingfang not only belittled Zhao Pan'er and Banzhaimian, but also threatened that none of the 27 teahouses in Chatang Lane would entertain any customers who had consumed at Banzhaimian.

This surprised all the tea drinkers present. Although they liked the half-covered tea fruit, they still went to Chatang Lane most of the time and naturally did not want the two sides to quarrel, so someone came out to smooth things over.

For example, Yuan Tuntian looked at the shopkeepers in Chatang Lane with embarrassment: "This, this, why is it so? Even if we are only half-covered, we will go to Chatang Lane with our relatives and friends from time to time."

Mr. Zhuo Shi also wanted to make a big deal out of a small matter, so he advised kindly: "It is said that harmony brings wealth, don't go to this, don't go to this."

Unfortunately, Manager Hu did not give them face, which made Zhao Paner and the others angry.

After some debate, both sides decided to discuss the issue over tea.

Ban Zhaimian and all the tea shop owners in Chatang Lane agreed to have a tea-breathing competition, and the news soon spread throughout Chatang Lane and Maxing Street.

In order to watch the fun, many people gathered at Banzai Mian. The store was full of people both inside and outside, making the entire Banzai Mian packed.

It is no exaggeration to say that even when the half-covered store opened, there was not such a grand occasion.

This is a great publicity opportunity for Banzhaimian, but the prerequisite is that he must defeat all the shopkeepers in Chatang Lane who come to provoke him.

If they lose, it goes without saying that the business of Half-Mask will plummet.

After all, many people live for their face, especially the mainstream customers who half-cover their faces. Those self-important literati and scholars will most likely not half-cover their faces again.

Zhao Pan'er knew very well that this tea contest was both an opportunity and a crisis, and she had no way out. She had to compete with the owner of Chatang Lane today.

Of course, she could also go find Zhao Wei.

But if Zhao Wei had to step in for such a small matter, she would look down on herself.

However, Zhao Pan'er didn't know that while she was competing in tea drinking with Cha Tangxiang, Zhao Wei, who had just finished his court session, had quietly come to the second floor.

Chinese culture is broad and profound. Even if it is just a tea-fighting competition, it is all-encompassing and has countless schools.

Zhao Wei stood on the second floor and looked down at the tea-drinking contest between the two parties, feeling quite emotional.

In modern society, many people think that the tea ceremony is too complicated. Most people drink tea just to quench their thirst and refresh themselves. Only a small number of people in the south will truly study the tea ceremony passed down by their ancestors.

On the contrary, we learned a little bit from our great country, took it as a treasure, and passed it down.

Of course, Zhao Wei could understand why the Chinese people did not take it seriously.

After all, the pace of life in modern society is too fast. Everyone is busy making money to support their families. They can't even support themselves and their families, so how can they have time to study the tea ceremony?

Even if they have time, they spend it playing with their phones, going to bars, playing the piano, talking about love, etc.

In this turbulent society, it is difficult for people to calm down.

Unlike this era, there are many people who drink tea and understand tea, especially those literati and scholars. If they don’t know a little about the tea ceremony, they will feel embarrassed to say hello to others.

For these literati and scholars, if you don't have some skills, they won't be willing to come to you for tea.

Tea-fighting is a very interesting thing, but it takes a long time. Zhao Wei watched from upstairs for a long time before the result was determined.

The result was not surprising, Zhao Paner won.

However, although Zhao Pan'er won, she did not show any pride on her face, and still said to the shopkeepers of Chatang Lane in a generous and polite manner: "Dear shopkeepers, the so-called tea ceremony, as long as you follow its principles, you can be like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing his or her ability.

It is true that I was once reduced to a musician because of my father's crime, but now I have long been freed from this status. I also like to use the singing and dancing skills I learned since childhood when making tea. However, it is said that tea is like people and people are like tea. As long as the tea soup itself has a lingering fragrance, it will naturally attract people who appreciate it.

In this case, why should we care whether it was born in the Imperial Tea Garden or on the bank of Qiantang Mountain? "

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent. Both the tea drinkers and the tea shop owner who came to cause trouble nodded slightly.

The leader, Shopkeeper Hu, was deeply touched by these words. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Madam Zhao, for your words to wake me up. I am not as skilled as you, so I will admit defeat. In the future, Madam Zhao is welcome to come to Chatang Lane often."

Seeing the shopkeepers of Chatang Lane turn around and leave, the crowd instantly erupted in warm cheers.

Sun Sanniang happily greeted the guests loudly: "Thank you all for coming. Please go to the main hall in front. We have a new Huangzhong Cake Autumn Chrysanthemum Drink. Please taste it for free. Yinzhang, you can also help."

"Okay, Sister Sanniang."

Upon hearing that there would be free tea and fruit, everyone present was very excited and rushed into the main hall.

Zhao Pan'er didn't move. She stood in the backyard, watching the hustle and bustle in the main hall, and laughed happily.

After all, the victory in the tea-tea contest with Chatangxiang established their position as the number one teahouse in Tokyo.

In addition, because the owner of Chatang Lane came to cause trouble, she also found a way out for Song Yinzhang.

This is what makes her happiest.

Zhao Paner couldn't help but make a few dance poses, then picked a pomegranate flower from the branch and began to sing while dancing: "The pomegranate flowers in May are bright in the eyes, and Zichu City can be seen among the branches from time to time. It's a pity that there are no carriages and horses here, and the moss is upside down..."

Under the pomegranate flowers, Zhao Pan'er has bright eyes and white teeth, a radiant look, a soft figure and a graceful waist. Against the backdrop of red flowers and green leaves, she is dressed in plain clothes and looks like a fairy who has fallen into the mortal world.

Zhao Wei did not disturb her. After the dance ended, he looked at the dragon robe he was wearing. Finally, he decided to go back home first, so he did not go down to say hello to Zhao Pan'er and the others. He left directly from the half-covered room.

As it approached noon, the tea drinkers gradually dispersed.

While Zhao Pan'er was tidying up the tables and chairs, she called out to Sun Sanniang, "Sanniang, we won't be open today. Go back and cook some delicious dishes so we can celebrate. Xiao Cui, you can come too."

Xiao Cui was a helper they hired and also lived in Anyefang, but Zhao Pan'er and the others didn't know that Xiao Cui was a guard arranged by Zhao Wei to be by their side.

"Then I won't be polite to the shopkeeper."

"Why are you being polite? We have been working hard these days thanks to you, otherwise we would be too busy."

"Yes, yes, we are all our sisters. Xiao Cui, please don't be polite to us."

Sun Sanniang nodded in agreement and pushed Zhao Pan'er onto the chair, saying, "Take a rest. It's all thanks to you today. In fact, when Yin Zhang agreed to compete this morning, I was a little nervous. After all, they are all experts in Chatang Lane with many years of experience."

Zhao Paner smiled and said, "I was a little unsure at the beginning, but I was forced to do it, so I had to give it my all."

Sun Sanniang was about to say something else when she saw Song Yinzhang rushing in and said in panic, "Sister Pan'er, Sister Sanniang, I was just sending the guests out and I felt something was wrong outside!"

(End of this chapter)