Female-dominated society: Striving for the position of powerful minister, doting on Xiao Yunqing

Upon hearing this, the people present began to discuss it animatedly.

Seeing their surprised expressions, Song Qi'an secretly felt smug. "What? You don't believe in my abilities?"

"No, no, it's just..."

"But what?" Song Qi'an put down his wine cup, raised an eyebrow and said, "Gentlemen, please speak frankly. I am all ears."

No one dared to speak, afraid of offending anyone. They all lowered their heads, and some even tried to find an excuse to escape, but Song Qi'an stopped them.

"Where are you going?" Song Qi'an chuckled, pressing the person back into their seat, his tone teasing. "Why are you all running? Don't worry, this Marquis won't eat you."

“What you say is true, Your Excellency,” a man in blue robes said, covering his face, “but my mother at home, she…”

"What's wrong with her?" Song Qi'an moved his hand away and smiled, "Oh, I understand. All of you young masters are filial, so naturally you should ask your mother's opinion first."

“However,” he leaned closer to the crowd and lowered his voice, “my restaurant is one of a kind in the capital. If you miss this opportunity, you’ll never have another one.”

“Yes, yes, yes, what the Marquis says is true,” the crowd echoed, “The Marquis’s restaurant is naturally unique!”

"Yes, yes, we'll definitely be there!"

"We will naturally patronize Lord Marquis's restaurant!"

"I'll definitely come!"

"Haha, good!" Song Qi'an was overjoyed to see everyone agree. He cupped his hands and said, "This Marquis thanks you all in advance! Please remember to come!" After exchanging a few more pleasantries with everyone, he returned to his seat. "Xiao Yu, have you seen Mu Dong?"

“Mu Dong?” Pan Yu looked around and replied, “I’ve been waiting here the whole time, but I haven’t seen him.”

"Where did they go?" Song Qi'an asked drunkenly. "Could it be that they were kidnapped?"

“Your Excellency is joking,” Pan Yu said, supporting him. “Mu Dong is not a child, how could he be kidnapped?”

"Then why can't I find him?" Song Qi'an shook off Pan Yu's hand and stumbled towards the door. "I need to...I need to find Mu Dong..."

"My lord!" Pan Yu hurriedly caught up with him.

Song Qi'an winked at him and whispered, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Pan Yu understood and made way for him.

Song Qi'an stepped out the door, seemingly unsteady, but his steps were actually quite steady.

After walking for a while, he swaggered towards the Xie residence.

_

Xie Mansion

A man in white leaned against the doorway, his black hair loosely draped over his shoulders. His slender fingers held a white porcelain teacup, the steaming tea reflecting his handsome face.

Upon seeing Song Qi'an arrive, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh!" Song Qi'an took off his shoe and threw it at him. "Xie Yanzhou! You lied to me again!"

Xie Yanzhou caught the boots with his hand and said calmly, "You've forgotten again, a gentleman has manners."

"I don't care what you're like," Song Qi'an said angrily, "Didn't you promise you'd come? Why aren't you here?"

He said, "I have family matters to attend to and simply cannot spare the time."

Song Qi'an glanced at the teacup on the ground and questioned, "Is this what you mean by 'something's wrong at home'? In your heart, am I not even worth a cup of tea?"

"My mother came back early today, and I was in the study helping her copy scriptures, which is why I couldn't go," Xie Yanzhou explained. "I didn't mean to lie to you."

"Copying scriptures again?" Song Qi'an said angrily, "What's so great about copying a worthless scripture? Will copying it make the gods and Buddhas bless you? Is it that powerful that you have to copy it!"

Xie Yanzhou's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "One must not be disrespectful to gods and Buddhas."

"I only said a few words, how was that disrespectful?"

“You don’t understand,” Xie Yanzhou handed the boots back to him and said, “Put your shoes on first, it’s cold in winter.”

"I know," Song Qi'an muttered as he put on his shoes, "Even if you really can't get away, you should at least let me know. I always have to come to you."

"Qi An, I am sorry for what happened today."

“It’s alright,” Song Qi’an waved his hand and said, “It’s nothing serious, I’m used to it.”

Xie Yanzhou turned to look at him and asked, "Did you escape today?"

"Otherwise what? Do you think I can fly out?" Song Qi'an made a gesture of spreading his wings like a roc and laughed, "Don't be silly, if only I could really fly! I could go wherever I want! Nobody could stop me! I could take you to the North Sea, to Lingzhou Mountain, and then bring you back! Or I could just throw you into the sea and run away! Leaving you all alone there!"

“Then remember to bring the nectar,” Xie Yanzhou said. “The water in the North Sea is bitter, and without the nectar, I’m afraid I won’t survive more than three days.”

"Dream on," Song Qi'an scoffed. "Taking you to Beihai is already good enough. You still want nectar? Hmph, you're pushing your luck!"

"It's just a jar of honey, and you won't even give it to me?"

“How could I be reluctant?” Song Qi’an said generously, “If you really can go to Beihai, I, the Marquis, will give you a hundred jars of honey! You can eat your fill!”

"That's great, but it's a pity..." Xie Yanzhou sighed, "It's a pity that Song Qi'an can't fly, and Xie Yanzhou can't go to Beihai either."

"Who said that? It's just Beihai!" Song Qi'an patted his chest and said, "Once I've saved up enough money, I'll take you there first!"

“You said it yourself,” Xie Yanzhou held out his hand to him and said softly, “Pinky promise, I’m a dog if I lie.”

Song Qi'an hooked his hand back and said, "Pinky promise, I'm a dog if I lie!"

"Alright," Xie Yanzhou released his hand and said, "You probably came to see me for more than just the banquet, right?"

“Of course,” Song Qi’an unfolded the layout diagram and said, “Take a look, is there anything wrong with it?”

Xie Yanzhou lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "This pillar shouldn't be here."

"Why?"

“Think about it,” Shen Chenxi said, pointing to the layout plan, “This is the kitchen, and this is the front hall. If a pillar is placed across the middle, firstly, guests won’t be able to pass through, and secondly, the waiters upstairs won’t be able to carry the dishes properly. How can this work?”

“Yes!” Song Qi’an clapped his hands and said, “I was so focused on how good it looked that I didn’t even think about these things. Yan Zhou, you’re my savior.”

Xie Yanzhou just smiled and said, "The rest are all fine. Let's get started."

"We've been working on it for a while now," Song Qi'an said. "If nothing unexpected happens, it should be finished after the New Year. But I haven't decided on a name yet. Yan Zhou, what do you think would be a good name?"

“I think the original name was fine,” he said, “but Qi’an, are you really sure? Doing business is not easy, especially since you are a man… I’m really worried about you.”

“I’ve made up my mind, and I won’t regret it,” Song Qi’an reassured him. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be careful. Besides, I’m a marquis, and if anyone dares to say a word against me, I’ll tear their mouth apart!”

Seeing that he was determined, Xie Yanzhou didn't want to stop him, so he said, "It's good that you have a plan. If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to me anytime."

"Alright!" Song Qi'an stood up and said, "I still have guests at my residence, so I must go back now. I'll come to find you again in a few days!"

Xie Yanzhou nodded and watched him leave.

As soon as he turned his head, he met Xie Sicun's indifferent expression. He hurriedly said, "Greetings, Mother."

"What did you say to him?" she asked coldly.

“Nothing was said,” Xie Yanzhou said respectfully, “just a few words of casual conversation, nothing else.”

“Dumb Slave,” Xie Sicun said in a deep voice, “I have warned you more than once not to associate with this person, why do you insist on not listening?”

Xie Yanzhou lowered his head and whispered, "Mother... he is the mute slave's only playmate."

"Playmate? You were sent to Kyoto just to have fun?" she reminded him. "Don't forget how your father died."

"The mute servant dares not forget."

“If you can’t forget him, then stay away from him. You and he are not on the same path.” Xie Sicun said this and then turned and left.

Xie Yanzhou stared at her blankly, his eyes filled with tears.

How could he know they weren't on the same path? But in this world, no one but Song Qi'an treated him like a human being.

He was taciturn from childhood, and had a withdrawn and timid nature. Everyone called him the Mute Slave, but only Song Qi'an called him Yan Zhou.

I vaguely remember that year, the trees were lush and the grass was green. A boy in red sat astride a branch and threw a bunch of green plums at him.

He was wronged, and then his childhood friend hit him on the forehead, making him cry his heart out.

"Why are you still crying?" The boy jumped down from the tree, his arms full of green plums, and awkwardly coaxed, "Don't cry, I'll give you all the plums!"

He was both angry and in pain, so he pushed the person to the ground and yelled, "Who wants your lousy plum! Waaah, you're all bullying me!"

The plums rolled everywhere, and the boy fell flat on his back, but he didn't make a fuss. He just said, "This time you're the one who's wronged me."

He snorted coldly, raised his hand to wipe the blood from his forehead, and ignored the boy with a stern face.

The boy leaned closer to him again: "What's your name?"

"Don't tell you!"

"Why didn't you tell me?" The boy handed him a handkerchief embroidered with azaleas and said gently, "You've lost a lot of blood, wipe it off quickly!"

"Waaaaah, it's all your fault!" he cried. "It's all your fault for throwing the plum at me!"

"Nonsense!" the boy said. "Meizi is so light, how could she have hurt you like this? You must have fallen on your own!"

"I don't care! Your plums hurt me!" he said shamelessly. "You have to take responsibility, sob sob sob, if you don't take responsibility, I'll tell your mother!"

"That won't do," the boy panicked, took off his money pouch and threw it into his arms, hurriedly saying, "I'll give you the money, but you can't tell my mother!"

Thinking of this, Xie Yanzhou suddenly laughed. At that time, he had no idea who Song Qi'an's mother was.

They didn't know Song Qi'an's identity, nor did they know the significance of that azalea-patterned handkerchief to the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion.

So that night, when he returned home with the handkerchief, his father chased and beat him all night.

"Tell me, where did you steal this from!"

"I didn't steal it!"

"Still denying it? You've learned to lie at such a young age, what will become of you!" The stick struck him again and again, and he grimaced in pain. "I didn't steal anything!"

"You didn't steal it? Then where did it come from? Don't tell me you found it. This is a handkerchief personally bestowed by His Majesty! How did you find it?"

He cried and shouted over and over that he hadn't stolen it, but no one believed him.

It was on that day that he learned the meaning of the azalea handkerchief; such a sacred object was indeed not something he could touch.

The next morning, he was taken to the Marquis of Zhongyi's residence to apologize, and the little boy knelt in the spacious courtyard.

He only felt that the floor of the Marquis's mansion was very cold and the threshold was very high.

He did nothing wrong, so why make him kneel?

Feeling wronged and resentful, he couldn't help but cry again.

The boy sneaked up to him and sneered, "Why are you crying again? You look so ugly when you cry."

"You're the ugly one!"

“Okay, okay, I’m ugly, I’m ugly,” the boy asked, “Then why are you kneeling here? Did you do something wrong?”

He shook his head.

“Since you’re not wrong, there’s no need to kneel,” the boy said, reaching out to help him up. “That’s what my mother said!”

"really?"

“Of course it’s true!” The boy turned to look at him. “I don’t even know your name yet!”

He was about to speak when his father's voice called from afar, "Dumb slave! Dumb slave! Dumb slave!"

"Dumb slave! Where have you run off to again?"

The mute servant's repeated cries made him feel utterly ashamed.

He asked, "Did you hear that? That's my name."

The boy frowned and said, "Who has that name? I don't believe it. You must have another name! Tell me quickly!"

His eyes flickered slightly, and he said weakly, "My name is Xie Yanzhou."

"Xie Yanzhou?" the boy exclaimed. "What a lovely name! I'll call you Yanzhou from now on!"

Banquet boat, banquet boat, going to the banquet becomes a boat.

He was a mute slave, a mute slave, a slave in body but a mute in body. He didn't want to be a mute slave; he wanted to be Xie Yanzhou.

_

Prime Minister's Mansion

Fanglan Garden

Xiangqin held the prepared medicine to Muyan's lips and said softly, "Master, the medicine is ready."

"Okay," Mu Yan pretended to take a sip of medicine, then spat it out when she saw debris falling from the beam.

"master!"

"I'm fine," Mu Yan waved her hand and said, "Just throw away the rest of the medicine."

“This…” Xiangqin hesitated, “But you’ve only taken a sip.”

She whispered, "There's something wrong with this medicine."

Xiangqin's eyes widened in shock, and she immediately knelt down. "My lord, you are wise! I had no intention of harming you!"

Mu Yan looked down and saw that the person in front of her was trembling with fear, her fingers tightly gripping her dress, and her face was not good.

"Are you afraid of me?" she asked.

"This servant..." Xiangqin stammered, "This servant is not afraid, this servant is only afraid that master will misunderstand me." She knelt down in front of Muyan, tears welling in her eyes, "Master, this servant did not know that there was a problem with the medicine, but this servant really never thought of harming you, please believe me..."

“I trust you,” Mu Yan said, “but this medicine cannot be stopped for the time being. When you are decocting the medicine these days, please keep an eye on the people in the kitchen for me.”

Xiangqin nodded: "Don't worry, Master, I will pay close attention."

“Hmm,” Mu Yan took something out of her bosom and handed it to her, instructing, “Put this in my breakfast three days later.”

"Yes!" Xiangqin replied without even looking at what it was.

"Alright, you can leave now," Mu Yan said. "I'm going to take a nap."

Xiangqin closed the door and left as instructed.

_

Shen House

Shen Chenxi had dinner with Mu Yunqing before leading them to a private room upstairs.

The building was dimly lit, with only a lone lamp shining overhead.

Shen Chenxi raised his hand and knocked on the door. After a while, the door slowly opened.

An old man stood in front of the door, his face gloomy and he didn't seem easy to get along with.

“Sir,” Shen Chenxi said respectfully, “this is the friend I was telling you about.”