Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

"That sentence sounds so familiar!"

Chu Lanyin raised her head, wondering where she had heard of it before.

Yuan Zhi didn't hear clearly and asked, "What?"

"It's nothing, cousin-in-law. You're so easygoing and I enjoy being with you." She took Yuan Zhi's hand. "What's the name of the restaurant? I'll bring my best friends to support you another day!"

Yuan Zhi said, "Wei Yan Lou will open on the fifth day of the tenth month. If you're coming, I'll definitely save you a good spot."

"Thank you, cousin-in-law!"

Chu Lanyin smiled and asked, “Weiyang Street, Weiyan Tower, is that from Qu Yuan’s line, ‘While the years are not yet late, the time is still not yet over’?”

“Exactly.” Yuan Zhi stroked the pattern on the sachet. “Youth fades quickly, half a lifetime is wasted, and thirty thousand days are spent in a drunken dream, rarely waking up. If one can seize the opportunity to achieve lofty ambitions, even if one grows old, it is not too late.”

Wei Xueyao scoffed, "With such a pretentious name, anyone who didn't know better would think you run a bookstore."

Wei Xueyao's half-sister chimed in, "Has Madam Xiao never been to a restaurant? If you had, you'd know it's a filthy place, a melting pot of all sorts of people, with shirtless men and foul language everywhere. Inviting female guests there would only ruin their reputations, wouldn't it?"

Yuan Zhi retorted, "I've never been to the kind of restaurant Miss Wei described. Judging from your description, you must have been there quite a few times. A virgin going to a restaurant to watch naked men, tsk tsk, the world is going to the dogs!"

"you!"

A strange look fell upon her, and the woman blushed, denying it as she said, "I...I haven't been there, I only heard about it!"

"I heard?" Chu Lanyin retorted, "In any aristocratic family, which servant would dare to utter such vulgar language in front of Miss? Who is in charge of the Wei family now, that they have raised their daughter to be like this!"

Wei Xueyao's lips twitched. The head of the family was her mother.

She snapped, "You shameless thing, get back here and sit down!"

Once the two of them calmed down, the other women gathered around and chatted with Yuan Zhi and Chu Lanyin.

In fact, these people were mainly trying to curry favor with Chu Lanyin. The Marquis of Changping's mansion had many men, including many officials, making it a powerful and deeply entrenched household whose position was difficult to challenge.

The prominent families of Shengjing City, eyeing the Changping Marquis's family's strong foundation, tried every means to forge a marriage alliance with the Chu family. However, the old patriarch declared that the Chu family's sons would choose wives not based on social status, but solely on personal preference.

Therefore, apart from Xiao Yin, the second wife, who came from a noble family, the wives of the other two wives did not come from high social standing.

Everyone starts from the same point, so it all depends on the fate of the children. The noble ladies are showing goodwill to Chu Lanyin in order to create opportunities for their daughters. The more they interact, the more likely they are to meet the Chu family's sons.

"Madam Xiao, I wonder if your restaurant still has any good seats? My daughter and I would like to take a look."

Yuan Zhi said happily, "There are plenty of private rooms! If Madam Li and her daughter are coming, I'll pick one with a good view for you."

"Madam Xiao, my daughter is also clamoring to go, but I don't know if your restaurant is as chaotic as Miss Wei described?"

Yuan Zhi explained, "Madam, rest assured, the threshold of Wei Yan Lou is high, and illiterate people will never be able to enter. Moreover, I have hired a few thugs, and if anyone is drunk and causing trouble, they will be kicked out directly, and they will never offend the noble ladies and young ladies."

Madam Liang clapped her hands, "That's wonderful! Madam Xiao, please reserve one for me too. I'll come and support you on opening day!"

"Thank you very much!"

"Madam Xiao, my husband, sister-in-law, and I are going together. Can we sit at the same table? Or should we sit separately?"

Yuan Zhi smiled and replied, "Of course we can sit together, I'll make the arrangements!"

……

After securing several orders, Yuan Zhi squeezed Chu Lanyin's hand and said, "Thank you so much, little lucky star, you've been a great help to me!"

Chu Lanyin said proudly, "It's just a trivial matter, not worth mentioning!"

Wei Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Are you here for a banquet or to do business?"

Given Yuan Zhi's usual temper, she would have already argued with Wei Xueyao, but she was in a good mood today and didn't bother with her.

After the ceremony concluded, the banquet began.

As Yuan Zhi ate, he was calculating in his mind. With so many ladies and young misses supporting him, making a fortune every day was not a dream!

Just as she was overjoyed, Chu Lan nudged her arm and whispered in her ear, "Sister-in-law, after dinner, go find my cousin and make sure you keep an eye on him!"

Yuan Zhi was completely confused. "Why?"

Chu Lan clicked her tongue and said in a voice that could only be heard by the two of them, "Haven't you heard, sister-in-law? His Majesty is going to select concubines! Now every family is trying to hurry up and marry off their daughters. Those noble ladies who were trying to curry favor with me just now were doing it for this reason."

"My cousin is handsome and a favorite of the emperor; many people are envious. With Yuan Ying's example as a precedent, someone might follow suit and climb into my cousin's bed."

Yuan Zhi chuckled; someone had already climbed up.

She changed the subject: "The general election is held every three years, and the draft is next July. Why is it starting now?"

"It was all the work of the Imperial Observatory! His Majesty's old illness relapsed, and the Director of the Observatory provided a remedy for replenishing yang energy by absorbing yin energy. The key ingredient was a young girl with virgin yin energy. His Majesty wanted to select from the palace maids, but the Director of the Observatory said that the palace maids were not pure of heart, so he held a small-scale selection in Shengjing."

Yuan Zhi felt disgusted and put down her chopsticks.

My aunt is a female official in the Department of Pharmacy, so she must have already received the news and sent it home.

Her father values ​​reputation and would not allow Yuan Ying to do anything that would disgrace the family. Once the imperial decree for the selection of concubines is issued, he will definitely send her to the palace.

Yuan Ying's seduction of the Prince of Wu was likely her stepmother's idea. In the palace, where danger lurks at every turn, every step is fraught with peril; what mother would willingly watch her daughter die?

She plotted against the King of Wu, but inadvertently helped Yuan Ying; it's quite funny when you think about it.

In her past life, she indirectly caused Yuan Ying to be married off to a distant place. Consider this gift as an apology!

Yuan Zhi sighed deeply: "How many women will suffer because of this!"

Chu Lanyin chimed in, "That's right. Luckily, I'm not old enough, otherwise my mother would have been just like Wei Xueyao's mother, so angry that she couldn't get out of bed!"

Yuan Zhi glanced at Wei Xueyao, who was quietly eating her food. "I've seen her come to banquets several times with her father and brothers. I assumed her mother was just busy with mundane affairs. I never expected she was actually sick from anger."

Chu Lanyin also put down her chopsticks. "Don't be fooled by her calm expression now; who knows what she's plotting! So, sister-in-law, you must stay close to my brother at all times. I don't want to see her in your backyard!"

Yuan Zhi clinked glasses with her, holding a wine cup.

"What a coincidence, I didn't want to either."

After dinner, Yuan Zhi intended to go find Xiao Zong to warn him, but Yuan Ying sent a maid to invite her to the bridal chamber instead.

Concubines are forbidden from wearing bright red. Yuan Zhi stared at her veil, finding it unsettling. She could be the principal wife, yet she chose to be a concubine. Did Yuan Ying really believe the Prince of Wu could inherit the throne?

Anyway, in her previous life, the old emperor never appointed the King of Wu until her death.

The emperor's heart is unfathomable; she had served him for so long, yet she still couldn't see through his thoughts.

Seeing Yuan Ying sitting silently by the bed, Yuan Zhi asked, "Fourth Sister, did you call me here to make a ruckus in the bridal chamber?"

"What kind of trouble does my little sister want to cause?"

Yuan Ying's voice sounded somewhat muffled through the veil.

"I've never done this before, I have no experience. How about I call over a few ladies? They have lots of ideas, they're sure to satisfy Fourth Sister."

Yuan Ying grinned maliciously: "Why bother with all that trouble? Let me teach you."

She clapped her hands, and several burly maids rushed in, grabbed Yuan Zhi, and forced her to kneel.

Yuanzhi grabbed one of the maids' hands and bit down hard.

Teeth dug into flesh, and the thick hand was instantly covered in blood. The screams of agony continued, but Yuan Zhi still wouldn't let go, his eyes gleaming with ferocity, like a wild beast that eats raw meat and drinks blood.

Yuan Ying lifted her veil and shouted at the other maids, "Are they all dead? Slap her mouth!"