Chapter 14

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"Master Song, I entrust the batch of Songjiang cloth to your family!" In the elegant room on the second floor of Fengyou Teahouse, the girl named Lingyun sat in front of the tea table, gently opening her red lips to remind him.

Although Songjiang was a small place, it had a famous specialty known nationwide: Songjiang cotton cloth. Since the Yuan Dynasty, Huang Daopo brought advanced textile technology from Hainan and taught it to the people in her hometown, Songjiang. Since then, Songjiang cloth has been renowned for its excellent quality and beautiful patterns. By the Ming Dynasty, there was a saying: "There is no end to buying Songjiang cloth, and no end to collecting Weitang silk."

After Emperor Zhengde ascended the throne, Songjiang cloth was officially listed as a tribute, further enhancing its reputation. Merchants from all over the country vied to purchase it, making Songjiang cloth highly sought after. Without connections, even local merchants found it difficult to obtain the cloth. The Song family, controlling a significant portion of Songjiang cloth production, became a well-known wealthy merchant in Songjiang Prefecture.

The second young master of the Song family sat opposite Lingyun, his face full of infatuation. After knowing each other for so many days, this was the first time they were sitting together to drink tea and the first time they were so close. The fragrance from her body and the beauty of her face made the second young master feel as if he were in a fairyland. He readily agreed to Lingyun's instructions: "Lingyun, rest assured. The batch of cloth will be collected the day after tomorrow and will be delivered to the Xie family's warehouse!"

Hearing him call her name so intimately, a trace of displeasure flashed across Lingyun's face. However, considering that the source of the cloth was in the hands of the Song family, she had to suppress her discomfort and smiled brightly: "Master Song is truly trustworthy. I, on behalf of the Xie family, thank you!"

"Lingyun, you are too polite. With the relationship between our two families, there's no need for such formalities," the second young master said, looking at Lingyun's bright smile and listening to her gentle words. He felt as if he were in a cloud, his mind blank, with only one thought: to marry Lingyun in this life. As for the wastrel Zhou Chong's sister, although he had never met her, he was sure she was not even worthy of tying Lingyun's shoes!

Xie Lingyun, looking at the second young master who seemed eager to devour her, felt a flash of disgust in her eyes. If not for the importance of this business, she would have no interest in flattering this lecherous second young master. Now, she only hoped to quickly obtain the batch of Songjiang cloth she needed, and then she would never have to deal with this disgusting man again.

The Xie family, where Xie Lingyun came from, was also a prominent wealthy merchant in Songjiang Prefecture. However, their ancestral home was not in Songjiang City but in Huating County under Songjiang Prefecture. The family had been engaged in commerce for generations, mainly dealing in maritime goods, which essentially meant smuggling. Every year, the Xie family's fleet transported large quantities of goods, earning them enormous wealth. However, the Xie family was always very low-key, and few people knew the extent of their assets.

Although the Xie family was extremely wealthy, their family was not very prosperous. For three generations, they had only one heir. By the time Xie Lingyun's father came along, he could not even have a son. After marrying over a dozen concubines, his wife finally gave birth to a daughter.

Xie Lingyun, although a girl, was exceptionally intelligent from a young age. Her father was also quite open-minded and often took her to business talks. From the age of thirteen, Xie Lingyun gradually took over the family business. Now, nearly half of the Xie family's business was managed by this young lady, and this was even celebrated as a beautiful story. Since the Xie family had only one daughter, whoever married her would inherit the vast family estate, making her a highly sought-after bride among the young masters of Songjiang Prefecture.

The Xie family had previously done a lot of business with the Zhou family, such as buying cloth from them. However, when the Zhou family suddenly collapsed, the Xie family's supply was cut off. Out of necessity, Xie Lingyun had to turn to the less reputable Song family for supplies. Unexpectedly, she encountered the second young master of the Song family, who then began to纠缠 her.

Moreover, the Song family's patriarch was actively promoting the match. However, Xie Lingyun saw through their intentions clearly. The Song family wanted to marry her for the Xie family's wealth, so she would never marry them. But now, to obtain the batch of Songjiang cloth, she had to play along with them.

With the second young master's assurance, Xie Lingyun did not want to stay any longer. While making small talk with him, she subtly nudged the pretty maid standing behind her. The maid's name was unique, called Suanzhu. She had grown up with Xie Lingyun, and although they were master and servant in name, they were more like sisters. They understood each other so well that sometimes they didn't even need to speak to know what the other was thinking.

Suanzhu, sensing her mistress's signal, immediately understood. The clever little maid stepped forward and interrupted the enthusiastic second young master: "Miss, your father instructed you yesterday to inspect the cotton cloth sent from Ying Prefecture this afternoon. Although the quality of this cotton cloth is not as good as Songjiang cloth, it needs to be transported to Japan, and you need to inspect it personally!"

Hearing Suanzhu's words, Xie Lingyun immediately stood up to say goodbye: "Master Song, it's getting late. I need to go inspect the goods, so I must take my leave!"

The second young master, hearing Xie Lingyun's words, had to stop his incessant chatter, looking disappointed: "Lingyun, you are always so busy, even without time for a cup of tea. You must take care of your health!"

"Thank you for your concern, Master Song!" Although Xie Lingyun disliked him, she maintained proper etiquette. After a few more polite exchanges, she prepared to leave.

The second young master was also a regular at Fengyou Teahouse, and the private room had a dedicated attendant. Seeing that he was about to leave, the attendant came forward to settle the bill: "Master Song, the cost of today's tea and pastries is seventy-one taels. The owner has said to waive the one tael, so you only need to pay seventy taels."

"Seventy taels!" The second young master shouted in shock, then roared in anger, "Are you trying to go out of business, Fengyou Teahouse? We only ordered one pot of tea and two pastries, and you want seventy taels?"

Hearing the second young master's roar, Xie Lingyun also stopped, looking at him in surprise. This made the second young master realize that his behavior was inappropriate in front of her. He quickly adjusted his emotions, trying to sound calm: "Seventy taels is not much to me, but you must have made a mistake. Call the owner here!"

The attendant had been upstairs and received the bill from someone else, so he did not know where the seventy taels came from. Given his low status, he did not dare to argue with the second young master. He immediately ran downstairs to inform the owner to come and explain.

Soon, the owner, who had been hiding in the kitchen due to Zhou Chong, quickly ran upstairs and bowed to the second young master and Xie Lingyun. Before the owner could speak, the second young master interrupted: "Enough, owner, I need an explanation. A pot of tea costs seventy taels? Even the best tea for the emperor doesn't cost that much!"

At this, Xie Lingyun also showed a curious expression. She was very interested to know how the reputable Fengyou Teahouse could charge them seventy taels for tea. If they did not provide a reasonable explanation, the teahouse's reputation would be ruined, and no one would come to drink tea anymore.

The owner smiled bitterly: "Master Song, you misunderstood. The top-grade Longjing tea you ordered only costs one tael, and the pastries are not expensive. The seventy taels are mainly because you said you would treat Zhou Chong downstairs to tea. His expenses in our teahouse alone amounted to nearly seventy taels of silver. So, you see..."

"Zhou Chong! You despicable scoundrel!" Hearing that it was Zhou Chong again, the second young master was so angry that his whole body trembled, his pale face turning red. He gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage. He had seen despicable people before, but never one as despicable as Zhou Chong. If Zhou Chong were standing in front of him, the second young master would probably pounce and bite him to avenge his anger.

Xie Lingyun, hearing that it was Zhou Chong, opened her cherry lips in surprise, her usually sharp eyes showing a moment of shock. She never imagined that the famous prodigy of Songjiang, who had passed the scholar examination at the age of fourteen, would use such despicable means to trick people. Drinking tea once and spending seventy taels was enough to cause a sensation throughout Songjiang Prefecture.

The owner then explained that Zhou Chong had invited everyone downstairs to drink tea and even took thirty pounds of pastries back with him. This made Xie Lingyun and the others understand the situation and gain a deeper appreciation of Zhou Chong's despicable nature.

However, the second young master was torn between anger and frustration. He had already said downstairs that he would pay for Zhou Chong's tea, but now Zhou Chong had shamelessly used his offer to treat everyone downstairs to tea, and even ordered Wuyi rock tea, which he himself would not even drink.

If it were any other time, he could have refused to pay and argued that he only agreed to treat Zhou Chong, not everyone downstairs. But with Xie Lingyun, the girl he admired, standing beside him, he could not bring himself to do such a dishonorable thing.

Xie Lingyun, being very intelligent, could see the second young master's dilemma. She also admired Zhou Chong for including her in his scheme. Although his cunning was still somewhat immature, his despicability was shocking. Only those who had been in business for decades could match Zhou Chong in this aspect. This made her both admire and become curious about this bankrupt young master.