After being expelled from the mansion, I changed the dynasty by writing novels.

So Ye Yuwu mustered her courage and asked in a loud voice, "Gentlemen, we don't have any grudges against you, do we? Why are you vandalizing our teahouse?"

The group, seeing the young woman standing not far away, showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, they sneered at Ye Yuwu, "A woman dares to do business? Has she forgotten to pay her respects to the local lords? She hasn't even paid her respects, yet she dreams of opening a business?!"

Ye Yuwu frowned, puzzled by their meaning. She had never heard of worshipping any 'mountain stronghold' before, and this was the first time she had encountered such a thing.

These men were extremely arrogant, perhaps because they often did such things. Seeing that it was almost time, they knew that the officials would be arriving soon after they sent someone to report to the authorities, so they quickly left with their sticks.

No one tried to stop them, or rather, no one dared to stop them, since they were armed, and yet they actually managed to escape.

The government officials arrived late and could only see the mess on the ground. They told Ye Yuwu that they couldn't find anyone for the time being, as those people were very shrewd.

Unable to find anyone, and with everything vandalized for nothing, Ye Yuwu felt a surge of anger, caught between a rock and a hard place.

What do they mean by "paying homage to the mountain chief"?

Ye Yuwu had new tables and chairs bought and rearranged so as not to delay business today. Perhaps because of what happened today, there were far fewer people, probably because they were afraid that the group would come again.

"Manager, I heard that a chamber of commerce was established today, and many restaurants and other businesses have joined."

"What kind of chamber of commerce is this? It's so powerful that it can mobilize so many businesses to join."

"I heard it was the Fifth Prince who spearheaded this. These merchants, even if they don't respect the Buddha, would still respect the monk, so how could they dare to offend the Fifth Prince?"

"So these people today were also sent by the Fifth Prince?" Ye Yuwu was furious. Wasn't this a forced sale?!

"I don't know about that, but I heard that the head of the Chamber of Commerce is currently the head of Ji Baozhai."

She knew about Ji Bao Zhai. Many rare treasures came from Ji Bao Zhai. She heard that you had to pay money to enter Ji Bao Zhai to select treasures. It was also a place that many high-ranking officials and nobles liked to go.

"I don't believe that the head of Ji Baozhai is unaware of what happened today." It seems to be intentional, but he's using such extreme methods to force these small merchants to join the Chamber of Commerce.

Before long, Manager Shi also arrived at Chayunhe.

He had heard about what had happened to Ye Yuwu that day, which is why he rushed over to see if she was alright.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was alright.

Taking this opportunity, Ye Yuwu told him about what had happened that day, and then asked him, "Did Manager Shi encounter this matter?"

"To be honest, this chamber of commerce came to me. My steward told us not to cause any trouble, so we had no choice but to join. A few days ago, we visited the chamber of commerce. Unexpectedly, they made exorbitant demands, requiring us to pay three-tenths of our teahouse's monthly revenue. We had no choice but to grit our teeth and agree."

At this point, Manager Shi shook his head, expressing his helplessness.

"This was facilitated by the Fifth Prince. I heard that the Fifth Prince wanted to impress the Emperor and proposed this method in order to better manage the shops and promote the development of merchants."

Shopkeeper Shi didn't dare to speak too loudly, so he spoke to Ye Yuwu in a volume that only the two of them could hear.

"We're just taking the money for peace of mind. Manager Ye, don't even think about running into trouble. After all, they are royalty, not ordinary people like us. It's just that we'll suffer and have to play along with them."

Shopkeeper Shi said this because he was afraid Ye Yuwu would act impulsively, so he said these words to try and persuade her.

Seeing Ye Yuwu's resentful expression, he remembered His Highness's instructions. Even His Highness had instructed them to back down and not confront her directly. Manager Shi understood this principle, which is why he spoke to Ye Yuwu.

Ye Yuwu was grateful to Manager Shi for speaking so frankly and comforting her. At present, she was no match for these powerful and influential people, so she naturally wouldn't be so foolish as to try to get close to them.

"I also heard that it wasn't just your family; many other families were vandalized."

Ye Yuwu lowered her head and pondered. It seemed that she should pay a visit. This was not a bad thing. Spending money to get to know the various merchants in the Chamber of Commerce would be a way to show her face and gain a foothold in Bianjing.

But there is still one thing that needs to be done right now.

"Manager Shi, are you free tonight? I'd like to invite you to Tea Rhyme and dinner."

Shopkeeper Shi was always available; he would never dare to refuse anything Ye Yuwu asked.

As the sun gradually set and a white moon quietly hung on the branches, Manager Shi finally finished dealing with the teahouse's affairs.

Although Manager Shi arrived late, it wasn't too late.

The dishes had already been prepared for everyone in one of the private rooms at Chayunhe.

Ye Yuwu invited people she had known for a long time. The private room was large enough to fit two tables, one for female guests and one for male guests, with a screen between the two tables as a partition.

In the very center of each of the two tables was a strange cauldron.

Everyone who enters the private room is drawn to this strange cauldron.

Around the cauldron were various kinds of vegetables and meat.

Since not everyone had arrived yet, no charcoal had been burned inside the cauldron, and it was covered with a special lid, so no one could see what was inside.

Hua Ping and Qi Jingyue also arrived. Unlike the others, they didn't stare at the cauldron incessantly, since they had already tasted the delicious food cooked in it before this group.

Seeing the people's uncontrollable curiosity, Qi Jingyue and Hua Ping inexplicably felt a sense of superiority and sat up straight.

Huaping also boasted to her sisters that she had eaten it before and described it as delicious.

This piqued the interest of Zhang Rouyan and the others.

Ye Yuwu, who was standing to the side, naturally heard Huaping's praise, but smiled without saying a word, her eyes filled with a hint of mystery.

He silently grumbled to himself, "Stupid Huaping, how can the Wen Ding from last time compare to this one? Hehe, I'll definitely shock you again later."

Hua Ping, completely oblivious to Ye Yuwu's expression, continued speaking, but she knew she had to maintain an air of mystery, only offering descriptions and praise without revealing any details.

Bai Zunxing and Liang Suxin knew before they arrived that they were going to eat Wen Ding (a type of hot pot).

They had eaten there a few times in the palace and thought the taste was okay, not as exaggerated as Huaping described.

It's probably because it was Huaping's first time eating a Wen Ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel), and this particular vessel was quite unique. She found it novel and exciting, which is why she thought it tasted good. So, the other two weren't too interested in the food; they were more interested in the peculiar vessel itself than the food.

Just as everyone was chatting, the last shopkeeper, Mr. Shi, arrived. Before he even opened the door, the first thing he saw was his own Crown Prince dressed as a woman. No matter how many times he had seen the prince in women's clothing, he never dared to look.

The thought that they could actually eat in the same private room made him breathless, and his legs even went weak. It didn't matter that these people didn't know His Highness's true identity, but he did.

So his leg weakness isn't his problem!

"Manager Ye, I'd better eat standing up."

Ye Yuwu: Huh?