A month later, at dusk, in a teahouse somewhere in Gengxin City, Qiuniu took one final sip of tea and said to Dai Mubai across from him:
"Your Highness, I have greatly enjoyed our conversation today. It is getting late, so let us continue another time!"
Dai Mubai paused, pretended to glance out the window, then rose with a somewhat surprised expression and said apologetically:
"My sincerest apologies. I had not realized it had gotten so late. Please forgive me, Senior Qiuniu! Allow me to see you off."
"There is no need. Your Highness is of noble status; I can return on my own." After speaking, Qiuniu gave a farewell salute and left the teahouse.
Once Qiuniu had completely vanished from his sight, Dai Mubai immediately slumped back into his seat in relief, panting heavily. Clearly, he was utterly incapable of handling such official-style conversation with ease.
"Mubai, how did it go? Did you get any useful information?" At that moment, Tang San and Flender appeared behind Dai Mubai.
Earlier, they had been seated in spots within the teahouse where Dai Mubai could see them but Qiuniu could not.
They had constantly been giving Dai Mubai all sorts of prompts. Flender, that old hand, had even prepared lines for him before every meeting with Qiuniu.
However, Dai Mubai's talent for official rhetoric was practically nonexistent. Even with Flender's prepared lines, he had still made a major blunder during his first chat with Qiuniu.
Had Qiuniu not been good-natured, and had Dai Mubai not possessed such a high status, Dai Mubai's plan to befriend Qiuniu and establish ties with Grace Hall would have fallen apart long ago.
Thus, during the next several outings where Dai Mubai and Qiuniu engaged in various activities to strengthen their relationship, Flender had always needed to