The old housekeeper arranged for someone to start preparing dinner for the master and planned to speak to the young master about the old master that evening.
The old housekeeper didn’t know that despite his meticulous efforts, those in the Capital who were keeping an eye on their family were completely in the dark.
The new young master’s family might be the buyers of their estate, which could be dangerous!
For dinner, they still gathered together in the grand living room to eat. The old housekeeper felt this was livelier, as the estate had been quiet for over twenty years.
Over these years, he ate with some workers, and occasionally alone in his room—the meals were tasteless and just passed by.
At this moment, the family of the new master, in his mind, was the family of the young master, now referred to as the family of the Young Master.
Since he began seeing the new master as the young master, the old housekeeper had already regarded himself as the housekeeper of this family. The new master, faithful to them, and the workers who came with them, became loyal to the new master.
During dinner, Mr. Zhao and the housekeeper also came over, ready to take their leave. Accompanied by their entourage, they planned to return to their hometown the next day.
Mr. Zhao had already resigned from his official post, but his background was not simple. It was his decision to have his two sons take positions in their hometown to escape from the forefront of the Capital.
They were preserving their strength by leaving this place of conflict, which did not mean they lacked power. By doing so, they also did not weaken their team’s strength in the eyes of the Emperor above.
Mr. Zhao was about to leave, and Housekeeper Ye could hardly bear it, his eyes turning red, just like Housekeeper Zhao’s. Both old men’s eyes hid tears.
They were old partners and companions, friends for many years, and now they had to say goodbye, which was, of course, very hard to let go.
Helpless to do otherwise for their teams’ survival, they had to leave this place of controversy.
The Emperor didn’t favor the old, and with 15 princes grown into adults without a Crown Prince appointed, their ambitions fueled fierce competition. They formed teams, pulling court ministers to their side with the rule: those who followed prospered; those who opposed perished.
The princes were vigorously competing for power, and with an Emperor still in command, the court was a place of tumultuous change. It felt like taking sides, whether with the Emperor or one of the princes, was dangerous and without prospects.
One could end up as cannon fodder, so it was better to leave Capital City and live somewhere less oppressive.
Apart from the Emperor and the princes, few others knew of Mr. Zhao’s background, including many current ministers, as his identity was shrouded in mystery.
Over the years, Mr. Zhao had greatly assisted General Ye, undoubtedly for the nation’s security. However, those above and others unaware only saw them as good friends with unique statuses, and secret investigations dared not proceed.
After dinner, Ye Shiqi knew that Mr. Zhao and his entourage were leaving for his hometown the next day. That afternoon, she had already decided to compensate Mr. Zhao for the loophole they had found.
Ye Shiqi instructed her young uncle to take some honey and grain from their luggage, which was what they brought from their hometown, and send a portion to Mr. Zhao’s family.
These past years, she eschewed empty gestures like brewing medicinal liquor. The honey produced by the space bees was the best nutritional product.
It was a product for health and beauty, better than the top ten tonic wines!
When Mr. Zhao learned that this young girl, Ye Shiqi, had people send him honey and grain, he appreciated their thoughtfulness. He also knew that they had just settled in Capital City and had borrowed money to buy their property.
He thought they should have sold these fine products to make money. Honey and grain could be bought in his hometown; why ship them such a long distance?
The honey and grain were not worth much anyway.
"Your thoughtfulness is appreciated, but it’s not necessary. We still have some baggage, and the journey is long. Sending goods to such a distant hometown is impractical. Keep these items for your own consumption or to sell!"
Ye Shiqi, upon hearing that Mr. Zhao had postponed, didn’t say much and immediately asked her Young Uncle to carry out a five-pound jar of honey from the storage room in her younger brother’s courtyard.
Her little brother’s courtyard wasn’t far from the main hall, and Li Zhihao, used to running and walking quickly on the mountain estate, would be able to complete the task very soon.
"Mr. Zhao, this is the honey my niece wants to give you. As for the grains, you don’t have to accept them, but please accept this honey."
"No need, no need, keep the honey to make pastries and brew tea!"
Mr. Zhao still declined, feeling that they were being too polite, knowing that after they had visited the estate and shop, they felt they had gotten a bargain, and that this visit was to thank them.
Yet, he did not believe selling the houses, stores, and estate to them at a low price was a loss for him.
People always value fate, and this might be descendants of old friends; they were new to Capital City, and giving them some guidance was possible.
Mr. Zhao wasn’t concerned about this bit of money, nor did he mind that in the Capital City this little property was on his name; in fact, he owned properties all over the place.
Only, these properties weren’t in his name but in the names of his wife and children, and even in the names of his servants, to keep others from knowing how much wealth his family possessed.
It also thwarted any missteps the person above might make someday, driving General Ye and other generals in the border city into a corner.
This definitely presented an opportunity for other countries. Although Nanyue Country was a large nation surrounded by several smaller nations as well as larger ones that threatened their country, these threats extended from naval routes in faraway places, also impacting their overseas trade.
Li Zhihao didn’t say much, simply opening the lid of the honey jar.
A sweet smell wafted from the jar, attracting everyone in the living room.
Housekeeper Zhao and Mr. Zhao, smelling it, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.
They never knew that one day they would find this sweet smell so tempting, even more so than those who loved liquor.
"What a fine thing, housekeeper, hurry, get a cup and pour some warm water; I want to try this honey."
Mr. Zhao, who always enjoyed health drinks and tea, thought of brewing the honey, equivalent to drinking honey tea.
"Grandpa Zhao, I have some chrysanthemum flowers here, would you like to brew a cup of chrysanthemum honey tea?"
"Yes, yes!" Mr. Zhao thought that these were urgent and hot days, and drinking chrysanthemum tea would also relieve the heat!
Ye Shiqi, with Yu Ye near her, took out several large bags of chrysanthemum flowers from their courtyard’s storeroom, each bag weighing about a pound.
Yu Ye and the other maids also found it strange, as they had been in the Lady’s courtyard early in the morning, before the Lady had woken up, and naturally, they had also checked all the rooms in her courtyard.
This was to facilitate their work, for the housekeeper had arranged their rooms as well.
Since time was tight and they could not wake their master, they all decided on their own living quarters and had also checked the young master’s storeroom.
The room was full of goods, and they did not know whether these were bought by the housekeeper or transported from their old home.
They had heard that they arrived with only two horse-drawn carriages, so how could they transport so much stuff?
The only explanation was that before they came to Capital City, a group of people had secretly transported things here beforehand.