What's the difference between this and giving it away for free!
Xia Fuyang whispered in Xi Zixing's ear, "What's going on?"
They hadn't even launched a proper offensive, and the other side surrendered just like that?
Xi Zixing: "Who knows."
The person behind the screen spoke again: "Le Tian, please escort Young Master Xia, Young Master Xi, and that Young Master Xiao Yuan out. I have some words to say with this young master alone."
Xue Letian pointed at his own nose. "Me too? I go out as well?"
"Yes."
"Alright then."
He stood up and gestured politely. "Shall we go, gentlemen?"
Xia Fuyang smiled and moved to stand beside Qu Dubian. "You say 'go out' and we just go out? My brother here is so young. Leaving him alone, what if you kidnap him?"
Da Hei barked loudly.
Ye Xiao Yuan said, "Our young master is indeed too young to be left alone. It is improper."
Qu Dubian glanced towards the screen, then patted the hand Ye Banban had placed on his shoulder. "It's fine, Brother Xiao Yuan, you go out first. Da Hei is with me."
Ye Xiao Yuan thought of Liu Liu and nodded. "Call me if anything happens. I'll be right outside."
He said to Xia Fuyang and Xi Zixing, "Let's go."
Since even Ye Xiao Yuan was leaving, they naturally didn't insist on staying. Xia Fuyang whispered, "Are you sure about this?"
Ye Xiao Yuan: "The young master has his own reasons for what he does."
After the others left, they thoughtfully closed the door.
Qu Dubian stroked Da Hei's head. "Mysterious proprietor, you can come out now."
The sound of a wheelchair turning came from behind the screen. Xu Tingfeng, dressed in a blue robe, wheeled himself out and stopped not far from Qu Dubian. He smiled and said, "The mysterious proprietor is out. Is the young master satisfied?"
Qu Dubian looked at his legs.
In the middle of summer, this man still had a light blanket over his legs, yet not a single drop of sweat showed on his face.
Xu Tingfeng: "I was injured a few years ago. Can't stand up anymore."
Qu Dubian averted his gaze. "My apologies."
A few seconds later, he couldn't help but look at Xu Tingfeng again.
This man was rather good-looking, and he seemed strangely familiar.
Xu Tingfeng picked up the half-finished contract draft from the table and glanced at it casually. "There are many traps in this contract. One careless step and you'd fall right in."
Qu Dubian: "That's exactly why I said that person earlier had no sincerity in cooperating."
Xu Tingfeng raised his eyes, a hint of a smile hidden within them. "The contract draft didn't have so many traps initially. I was the one who added quite a few."
Qu Dubian: "?"
Xu Tingfeng: "Business is like warfare. One must always keep a backup plan."
Qu Dubian: "If the intention was to trick us, why were you suddenly so accommodating just now?"
Xu Tingfeng folded the contract draft neatly and tucked it into his sleeve. "Cangwen Bookshop and Young Master Xi's small study have joined forces. While you currently hold the upper hand, you are ultimately outnumbered and isolated. If you anger the other bookshops, it will only backfire."
"This time, we are actually here to negotiate on behalf of the other major bookshops."
For the contract terms to shift from a 10-90 split to a 90-10 split... that would be a serious betrayal. Qu Dubian thought that if he were the owner of those other bookshops, he'd probably be furious enough to spit blood.
"So, what are you doing now?"
Xu Tingfeng: "Actually, a 90-10 split isn't very reasonable either."
Qu Dubian also thought it was a bit outrageous. He nodded. "We can negotiate further."
"I'll give you the shops directly," Xu Tingfeng said with a smile. "As for the other bookshops, no need to worry about them either. We can take this opportunity to bring them under control. I'll negotiate on your behalf; they'll listen eventually."
"..."
The mediocre incense in the private room burned quietly, emitting a faint scent.
Qu Dubian sneezed.
His expression shifted from confusion to conflict to suspicion. Stroking Da Hei's head, he said cautiously, "It sounds good, but there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Xu Tingfeng: "Naturally, there isn't."
He wheeled himself a bit closer, stopping within an arm's reach of Qu Dubian. Under Da Hei's watchful glare, his warm hand grasped the child's wrist.
"However, this is your uncle's gift to you—a rather informal meeting present."
Qu Dubian was shocked. "Uncle?!"
Xu Tingfeng responded with a beaming smile. "Yes, my dear nephew."
-
Next door.
In another private room.
Xia Fuyang was as restless as if he were sitting on pins and needles, unable to settle down, his anxiety clearly written on his face.
"What could they be talking about for so long? Brother Xiao Yuan... Brother, how can you be so at ease leaving him alone in there? Shouldn't we go in and check?"
Xue Letian: "What's the hurry? The proprietor isn't going to eat your brother."
Xia Fuyang squatted cross-legged on the table, biting his thumb irritably. "Ah, you don't understand."
Xi Zixing calmly interjected, "If he's a child of the imperial family, there's even less to worry about."
Xue Letian spat out his tea. "Who?? A child of the imperial family?"
Xi Zixing glanced at the stunned Xia Fuyang and the 'Brother Xiao Yuan' who showed no reaction beneath his bamboo hat.
During their first meeting, he had sensed something off. 'Brother Xiao Yuan's' voice was soft and gentle; he initially thought it might be a young lady from some family disguised as a man, out for fun.
Later, he investigated privately. Xia Fuyang's family only had an adopted younger sister, no younger brother at all.
The members of the collateral branches were mostly in Jizhou, none had come to the capital.
And among the people Xia Fuyang usually played with, they were either his age or older; there was never any mention of him bringing along a young child.
Recently, however, there was a rumor that the Seventh Prince had gotten into a fight with Xia Fuyang at the Grand Prince's banquet.
Moreover, he had heard his father mention at home that the Seventh Prince kept a dog and often brought it to the academy.
Seeing Xia Fuyang's reaction now, the last shred of uncertainty in his mind vanished.
Ye Xiao Yuan remained silent, giving Xi Zixing another look.
Not very old, but quite sharp.
Xue Letian pressed a hand to his chest, looking towards the next room. He knew Xu Tingfeng's identity.
No wonder! That overly generous, almost worthless act earlier... So he had recognized the child as his own nephew, right?
He had been grimacing and feeling heartache for so long, but it turned out the other had seen through it from the start. It was just family dealing with family.
-
Inside the room.
With Qu Dubian present, no atmosphere could stay cold for long.
In just a short while, the room had become a scene of affectionate familiarity.
"Uncle, are you really giving this to me?"
Qu Dubian sidled up close to his uncle, looking at the new, informal contract draft Xu Tingfeng had just written—merely a rough outline.
Xu Tingfeng said gently, "I'll give you a few shops first, though they can't be registered under your name, of course. If you need money, just have someone ask Xue Letian for it. Don't stand on ceremony."
He felt a pang of tenderness.
His younger sister Yueqing had some martial skills for self-defense, and his uncle was strong and a highly skilled martial artist. This was his first time meeting his little nephew. Although he had heard the Seventh Prince had been sickly since childhood and was mentally prepared, seeing him in person, he still thought the child looked too thin.
Frail.
"Your uncle has a bit of money left, but it's earmarked for other purposes, so I can't give it to you for now."
Qu Dubian waved his hands repeatedly. "I don't want it. This is already more than enough, and I actually have quite a bit of money myself." Getting a few shops for free was already like manna from heaven.
Moreover, his uncle was here in the capital all by himself, with legs in this condition, scholarly and frail, struggling in the business world. It must be very hard.
He didn't really have anything to repay him with at the moment.
Qu Dubian glanced around, then hopped off the stool. He ran to the small table, fetched the prepared pastries from it, and diligently offered them to Xu Tingfeng. "Uncle—"
His foot caught on a stool leg.
The child lost his balance, the plate in his hand tilted, and he pitched headfirst toward the ground.
Xu Tingfeng's eyes narrowed. Gathering true energy in his hand, he swiftly reached out to grab the collar of Qu Dubian's clothes!
But then he saw his little nephew slap a palm against the floor, his body rebounding upward. He tossed the plate aside, flipped himself upright, and the plate fell neatly back into his palm.
Steady as a rock.
Xu Tingfeng: ? His little nephew didn't seem to match the legend of being sickly and frail.
Qu Dubian looked at the swirling currents of energy around his uncle: ? Uncle didn't seem to be a pitiful, sickly invalid.
Uncle and nephew stared at each other.
Xu Tingfeng couldn't help but laugh. "Not bad at all. Very much like a member of the Xu family."
Qu Dubian said, "Uncle knows martial arts too."
Xu Tingfeng replied, "Yes, taught bit by bit by your grandfather."
He cheerfully accepted his nephew's somewhat perfunctory act of filial piety, picking up a pastry. "Later, there was an accident, and I ended up like this. My legs can't support me, so I can't train anymore. The true energy is still there, but who knows how much of my skill remains."
Qu Dubian asked, "Uncle, is there any chance your legs could recover?"
"Recover..." The smile at the corner of Xu Tingfeng's lips faded slightly. "The best time for treatment has already passed."
His expression turned complex for a moment. Qu Dubian faintly glimpsed a trace of cold mockery in his uncle's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced again by gentleness.
"Enough, let's not talk about this. Come, let me see which school's internal energy cultivation you're practicing." Xu Tingfeng took Qu Dubian's hand, pressing two fingers to his wrist pulse and sending in a faint thread of internal energy.
Qu Dubian circulated the first part of the Longevity Technique within his body. He still hadn't been willing to buy the second part.
Mainly because his dantian hadn't been opened yet. Even if he bought the second part, it wouldn't be of much use.
A balanced, enduring, and gentle true energy transmitted back through his fingertips. Xu Tingfeng was slightly surprised. "Such vibrant true energy."
It was calm as water, devoid of any aggressiveness, seemingly capable of embracing all things.
He had thought it would be one of those common, widely circulated basic internal energy manuals. He wanted to check his nephew's pulse to see which type of cultivation method suited him, to find a better one. Not aiming to open the dantian or store true energy internally, but just to strengthen his body.
He hadn't expected his nephew to not need it.
Xu Tingfeng asked, "Where did you find this internal energy manual? It's quite remarkable."
Qu Dubian answered, "Da Hei dug it out from the old bookstore."
Da Hei glanced at his young charge and yawned.
Xu Tingfeng looked at the dog lying at his little nephew's feet and raised an eyebrow. "Then your luck is very good. It was probably from some master's collection. But if there's a next time, don't practice so readily on your own. Find someone to take a look at it for you."
Qu Dubian said, "Alright, I'll ask Uncle more in the future."
Xu Tingfeng hummed in agreement. "You can come to me, but don't be too obvious about it. Keep it discreet. Hmm... Regarding today's meeting, those who know, know. Those who don't, there's no need to go out of your way to tell them."
Over the past three years, with the First Prince, Second Prince, and Third Prince all established at court, the attention of the vast majority has essentially been fixed on those three.
The scrutiny on the remaining princes has diminished considerably.
So, his contact with Little Seventh wouldn't attract too much notice.
However, on the surface, the relationship between the third branch of the Xu family and the Sword-Holding Marquis's residence is still strained. And overall, it's better for him to remain in the shadows.
It makes handling certain... unsavory matters more convenient. Like last time, helping dispose of the body of the Ministry of Revenue Vice Minister's son.
He explained a few more sentences to Qu Dubian, worried his little nephew might not understand, or might think this uncle didn't want to be close to him.
Like Qu Dubian's maternal grandparents, Xu Tingfeng also treated Qu Dubian as a normal child.
But Qu Dubian patted his hand and blinked. "Uncle, no need to say more. I'm very clever. I understand everything."
Xu Tingfeng was taken aback.
He belatedly remembered something he had completely forgotten: this child, along with two other youngsters not much older, had challenged the bosses of several major publishing houses, even reaching the point where Xue Letian stepped in to negotiate on their behalf.
He smiled, then pinched Qu Dubian's cheek. Looking into the child's clear, intelligent eyes, his heart ached with pity again.
"Alright. If anything happens, don't overthink it. Tell me, and I'll handle it for you."
