Three days quickly passed. The queues outside had noticeably shortened, but the braised food shop still sold out and closed early every day. Business at the milk tea shop was non-stop from morning till night, and during meal times, there was never an empty table at the Crossing-the-Bridge Noodles restaurant.
Before the people on Qipan Street could even react, Song Jinzhao's barbecue restaurant in Wuyi Alley and her hotpot restaurant on Zhuque Street opened for business.
The identical promotional tactics immediately made the city's residents associate them with the other three newly opened shops.
With a mentality of giving it a try, they felt they simply had to go and taste the food.
The greenhouse vegetables grown at Daohua Manor and Shiquan Manor were carted away by the hotpot restaurant's staff in horse-drawn carriages before the two managers could even find buyers for them.
For a full ten days, Song Jinzhao shuttled back and forth among the five shops, adjusting the inventory based on their daily sales.
After the Lantern Festival, more and more scholars arrived in the capital to participate in the spring imperial examinations. The shops' business did not decline; instead, it reached another small peak.
Inside a classroom at the Imperial College, Dongfang Yukun held a new beverage from the tea shop and said to Song Qiming, "You must come with me to the poetry and wine gathering tomorrow. You absolutely cannot be absent."
After pushing his essay to Song Gaoli, Song Qiming turned to look at him helplessly. "Do you really care that much about Cui Zhengyang?"
Taking the essay, Song Gaoli saw the two start talking, so he silently turned and returned to his seat at the very back to reflect on the suggestions Song Qiming had just given him regarding his writing.
Dongfang Yukun shook his head and quibbled, "It's not that I care about him; it's that I don't want to lose."
"You don't understand. Cui Zhengyang hasn't even arrived in the capital yet, but the scholars from Jiangnan are already swearing that he will definitely be the top scorer this time. I have to knock him down a peg, otherwise, people will think I'm afraid of him."
Song Qiming stared at Dongfang Yukun's face, a face that captivated thousands of young maidens. "Whether it's age or talent, he can't compare to you. What you actually care about is his face."
He reached out his right hand, rested it on Dongfang Yukun's shoulder, and gave it a firm squeeze. "Yukun, listen to me. The empty title of the most handsome man in the Dongzhao Kingdom isn't important at all. What you should care about is the spring examination. As long as you score first place, even if Cui Zhengyang is better looking than you, he will forever be beneath you."
Dongfang Yukun reached up and grasped Song Qiming's hand. His lips tightened, and his gaze carried a sense of earnest persistence.
"Don't you want to see him too? This poetry and wine gathering might be the last banquet before the spring exams. If we don't go, we won't have another chance."
Song Qiming tilted his chin up, rolling his stiff neck. He withdrew his hand and said, "Tomorrow I have to go to my teacher's house. I don't have time for the gathering."
Dongfang Yukun pressed Song Qiming's retreating hand onto the desk. "The court doesn't have a day off tomorrow. By the time Lord Ye returns from the Censorate, it will already be afternoon. We can go in the morning and leave at noon. It won't delay you."
Thinking of his classmates' various evaluations of Cui Zhengyang, especially how deeply entangled the matter was with Dongfang Yukun, Song Qiming finally agreed. "Fine, we'll go tomorrow. I'll ask Gaoli to come along."
Having achieved his goal, Dongfang Yukun immediately set the time. "We'll meet tomorrow at the hour of Si. Don't go too early; we need to arrive a bit late."
After the Lantern Festival, several heavy snowfalls blanketed the capital again, dropping the temperature even lower than it was during the New Year.
Just past the second watch of the night, Xiao Chengjing, who was still reviewing memorials in the Imperial Study, placed the final document onto a mountain-like pile of memorials.
He wearily closed his eyes and leaned back against the dragon throne. After a while, he opened his eyes and asked, "Is Fan Guanshan on night duty today?"
The head eunuch lowered his head slightly and replied, "Yes."
Xiao Chengjing sat up straight. "Summon him here."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Half a quarter of an hour later, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Fan Guanshan, walked into the Imperial Study wearing a full suit of armor and knelt. "This humble official, Fan Guanshan, greets Your Majesty."
Xiao Chengjing looked at him and asked, "What has County Princess Linghui been doing lately?"
The head eunuch standing to the side instantly tensed his back. Is it finally coming?
Although Fan Guanshan didn't understand why the Emperor was asking about Song Jinzhao, he still relayed what he knew.
"Recently, aside from visiting the Duke of Zhenguo's estate once every seven days, County Princess Linghui has spent the rest of her time busy with her shop businesses."
Xiao Chengjing asked in confusion, "What businesses? Is the gold I rewarded her not enough to spend?"
Fan Guanshan answered hesitantly, "Perhaps it is to pass the time. County Princess Linghui has opened five shops in the capital, all selling food, and business is quite good."
Xiao Chengjing leaned back, pressing his spine against the dragon throne in thought.
"I heard Song Jinzhao opened quite a few shops in Anyang Prefecture, so it isn't strange for her to acquire some properties now that she is in the capital. You may leave."
A completely bewildered Fan Guanshan bowed and turned to leave. He called me over specifically just to ask about this minor matter—what is the Emperor planning? Does it have something to do with County Princess Linghui?
Fan Guanshan kept a watchful eye for three days, but seeing that nothing happened, he gradually put the matter out of his mind.
On the day of the poetry and wine gathering, Dongfang Yukun, Song Qiming, and the others arrived at the banquet on time. Upon entering, they noticed that Cui Zhengyang had not yet arrived.
Dongfang Yukun regretfully pounded his fist into his palm. "If I had known, we should have come even later."
Song Qiming gave him a side-eye. "Any later, and we'd just be having lunch."
Most of the attendees for the poetry and wine gathering had already arrived, and the familiar faces were essentially all present.
After mingling and chatting with the crowd, Song Gaoli returned and said, "They say Cui Zhengyang unfortunately caught a cold on the road from Jiangnan and won't be able to make it today."
The expression on Dongfang Yukun's face instantly vanished, turning serious. "He had such a long journey from Jiangnan to the capital, and he still hasn't recovered?"
Song Gaoli shook his head. "I heard that after he entered the capital yesterday, the Cui residence immediately called for a doctor. They say he's been taking medicine for half a month with no sign of improvement."
"Now they're all discussing that Cui Zhengyang might underperform in this spring examination."
