No Good Impression

Seeing his elder brother's unwavering decision not to marry and his mother's complete obedience to him, Fu Yunlang felt deeply uncomfortable. That's why, at Fifth Master's suggestion, he took on these mundane tasks, vowing to achieve something significant to earn his mother's respect for his ideas.

At the same time, he let Zhao Ruyu know that he was the most outstanding man in the world. If she didn't marry him, she would definitely regret it.

And all of this originated from this country girl named Xu Xi.

If it weren't for her appearance, how could Zhao Ruyu have found herself in such a difficult situation in the Marquis's mansion, how could she have become the subject of gossip throughout the capital, and how could their marriage have encountered such turmoil?

Because he was thinking from Zhao Ruyu's perspective, Fu Yunlang had no good feelings towards Xu Xi, the real heiress, from the very beginning.

When Huang Xing brought up this matter, Fu Yunlang thought of Xu Xi's upbringing and snorted coldly.

A woman who grew up in the city and the countryside probably hasn't seen many kinds of jewelry, so how could she design a good jewelry design? That little bird jewelry design was either drawn by accident or stolen from someone else to sell for money.

"Hmph, ignore that person. I'll explain to Fifth Master." Fu Yunlang said.

Seeing that Fu Yunlang's expression was very bad, Huang Xing didn't dare to ask a single question, only saying, "Yes, Second Young Master." He breathed a sigh of relief.

For him, it was naturally better to avoid trouble.

Fu Yunlang did not immediately return to the banquet. Instead, he stood outside for a while, thought about his words, and then returned to the table.

"Second Master, Fifth Master, Shopkeeper Huang called me out just now because he contacted that Miss Xu," he said.

Xiao Lingyan raised his head, seemingly unconcerned.

"Have you heard about the incident where the Marquis of Huanping's Residence switched babies? That Miss Xu from the Marquis's family who was switched at birth and grew up in the countryside."

"Oh?" Xiao Lingyan became interested. "She's the girl who was switched with your fiancée?"

Fu Yunlang coughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I'm not engaged to Sixth Miss Zhao yet, so she can't be considered my fiancée."

After explaining that sentence, he nodded again. "It is indeed that one."

He gave a wry smile, "So when that young lady learned that Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion was my property, she said she was unwilling to cooperate with me. She said that all her jewelry designs had been bought by the County Princess of Qingyang."

"I see." Xiao Lingyan waved his hand dismissively. "It's alright, she's not the only one who can design jewelry. As long as you're aware of it, that's good."

The Second Prince, Xiao Lingpu, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up, "The Imperial Concubine has quite a few novel pieces of jewelry. I'll ask her who designed them and find out so she can draw some designs for your jewelry shop. However, the styles will definitely be different from what the Imperial Concubine wears."

Consort Lady Cen, from the prestigious Cen Family family of the capital, is the mother of the Second Prince Xiao Lingpu and the Fifth Prince Xiao Lingyan. The person qualified to make jewelry for her must be the most outstanding jewelry craftsman.

Fu Yunlang was overjoyed and stood up, bowing deeply to Xiao Lingpu: "Thank you, Second Master." He then bowed again to Xiao Lingyan, "Thank you, Fifth Master."

Xiao Lingyan waved his hand and said with a grin, "From what you've said, doing business seems quite fun. If you're planning to open a jewelry store in the capital, I'd like to invest as well."

As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Lingpu, "Second brother, I'm just playing around with this. Don't tell Mother, or she'll scold me again, saying I'm competing with the people for profit."

Xiao Lingpu glanced at his younger brother, his gaze filled with a mixture of doting affection and helplessness.

He turned to Fu Yunlang and said, "If you'd like, Fu Er, you can let Fifth Prince have some fun. But you know the royal rules; we princes aren't allowed to do business in private. Fifth Prince can provide the money and give you advice, but on the surface, your business has nothing to do with him."

"Yes. Fifth Master is clever and does everything exceptionally well. With Fifth Master secretly giving us ideas, our business will definitely grow bigger and better." Fu Yunlang said this with a face full of joy.

His Gao Xing wasn't feigned.

He also knew that because of their position as Marquis of Pingnan, they had some influence with the Emperor. To stabilize the border, the Emperor would always mention the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence when giving rewards or commendations. But there were countless imperial relatives and powerful families in the capital. If he wanted to open a jewelry store in the capital and compete with other jewelry stores, no one would give him, a Marquis of Pingnan's Residence's residence, any face.

There will surely be a bloody storm then.

But if they have the Fifth Prince backing them up, it's a different story. As long as the Fifth Prince says a word, others will give them some face.

Most importantly, wasn't his elder brother on good terms with the Second Prince? Now, through business dealings, Fu Yunlang has also befriended the Fifth Prince. Doesn't that mean he now has connections within the royal family, just like his brother? Even if he's not as powerful as his brother, he's at least on par, isn't he?

"Originally, I was planning to first establish the business of the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion before expanding to the capital. Now, with Fifth Master's words, I feel I can take bigger steps. What do you think, Fifth Master?" He immediately seized the opportunity and began discussing business strategies with Xiao Lingyan.

"That's a bit hasty. We can expand once Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion's business is more stable." Xiao Lingyan his hand.

"Yes."

Fu Yunlang bowed and secretly resolved to visit Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion more often during this period to urge Shopkeeper Huang to make the jewelry business even better.

After the meal, the group returned to the capital.

After entering the city gate, everyone parted ways. Xiao Lingpu and Xiao Lingyan to the palace, while the Fu Family brothers returned to the Marquis of Pingnan's Residence.

Fu Yunlang glanced at the sky and said to his elder brother, "Brother, you go back first. I have something to do, I'll be home later."

Fu Yunkai guessed that his younger brother was planning to visit the sixth young lady of the Marquis of Huanping's Residence again. However, he did not stop him. He just snorted, waved his hand, and rode off with his servants.

Fu Yunlang went to a teahouse that Zhao Ruyu always passed by on her way home from school. His servant, familiar with the place, stood at the intersection some distance from the teahouse, waiting for Zhao Ruyu's carriage to pass by.

The Capital Women's Academy always dismissed students on time, and soon a carriage bearing the insignia of the Marquis of Suiping's Residence slowly drove up.

As they approached the intersection, Fushu lifted the carriage curtain and looked out. Seeing Fu Yunlang's servant, she quickly turned to Zhao Ruyu inside the carriage and whispered, "Miss, Changping is at the intersection."

Zhao Ruyu glanced outside and instructed the driver, "Stop at the teahouse up ahead."

Changping followed the carriage for a few steps, and when it stopped, Zhao Ruyu led Fushu into the teahouse. No one else followed, so he quickly went upstairs as well.

Fu Yunlang had reserved a private room in this teahouse for years because he needed to meet with Zhao Ruyu. After Changping went upstairs, he didn't go in but waited at the door.