Chapter 122: Why Form an Alliance

  The most famous wine house in Taizhou City is the Drunken Fragrance Building. This place, which Qin Dai thinks has a name that sounds like ***, has a good location, excellent position, luxurious decoration, and does not cater to ordinary people. The dishes at the Drunken Fragrance Building are exquisite, with fresh ingredients, and all of them have been carefully researched by their head chef Shi. What the Drunken Fragrance Building is most famous for is its wine, known as a good wine produced by a hundred-year-old old brand, which can only be found in this wine house and cannot be bought elsewhere even with money, showing how rare it is. Therefore, this is a place where rich and noble families come to enjoy themselves, and ordinary people are better off staying away from here.

  The usually bustling Zui Xiang Lou, with its beautifully dressed patrons coming and going, unexpectedly closed for a day without warning. Many passersby looked at the tightly shut doors and windows, where only a note on the door read "The master has something to attend to, closed for a day". They couldn't help but wonder what kind of big deal the master had that would cause him to close up shop, losing who knows how much money!

  They didn't know that behind the unremarkable courtyard gate in the alley, several tall and sturdy men with dark faces were standing guard, their broad shoulders and waists as robust as a bull's, vigilantly watching the surroundings. And that unremarkable courtyard was actually the backyard of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion.

  In the most luxurious private room on the second floor of the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, several people dressed in elegant attire, looking either wealthy or noble, were sitting together drinking and chatting.

  The first one was a young man wearing a blue robe with a Confucian collar, no more than thirty years old, with a dark face and no beard, his hair tied up in a jade crown, and a white jade belt embroidered with brocade around his waist. Although he was dressed in the attire of a wealthy family's scholar, his fingers were long and slender, with distinct joints, and there were calluses on his palms and finger joints, which an insider could see at a glance that he had been holding a sword for many years. His eyes were sharp and had a rare edge, showing that this person not only practiced martial arts for many years but also killed many people.

  To his left sat an old man in his fifties, with a round face and long whiskers, shining with gold all over. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that he not only wore white jade thumb rings and green jade rings like emerald waves, but even the fabric of his clothes had auspicious golden embroidery, let alone the four or five taels heavy solid gold longevity peach branch hairpin on his head.

  This man has a lucky face, with a white and round chubby face that has grown a pair of narrow and long eyes. The whole person looks kind and amiable, but in fact, he is nicknamed "smiling tiger" by people, who is good at hiding knives in his smile and keeping secrets. Few people who have dealt with him can escape unscathed.

  But at this moment, there was no calculating glint in his eyes, and his face wore a flattering expression, fearing that the young man in front of him would be displeased and destroy the foundation he had worked hard to establish for his life.

  "Gao Daren, I offer you a toast." The white fatty had a flattering expression on his face as he personally poured wine for the young man in blue clothes beside him. Then he poured another cup for himself and said: "I'll drink first to show respect, Gao Daren please." After finishing speaking, he raised the wine cup in his hand and drank it all in one gulp.

  The young man smiled slightly, saying: "Master Qi, why be so polite? You and I both serve the prince, there's no need to be so formal." After finishing speaking, he also drained his cup of wine.

  This white and chubby kid, isn't he just Qifugui?

  The Qi family was a large clan in the north, originally relying on cargo transportation business, selling mountain goods and fur. Later, they took advantage of their geographical location, relying on the continuous mountains in the north, to start a medicinal material business. At first, it was just small-scale, providing medicinal materials to some pharmacies. As the business grew bigger and bigger, not only did the team of medicine collectors expand, but also the number of masters processing medicinal materials increased. The Qi family decided to go all out, not only supplying medicinal materials to major pharmaceutical merchants in the south and north but also keeping the high-quality goods for themselves, connecting every link, and delivering them to the palace. In the end, the Qi family steadily became a royal merchant, specializing in supplying the palace with top-grade ginseng and other precious medicinal materials.

  Qī Fù Guì had truly become wealthy and noble, with the Qī family occupying one of the four major families in Dà Yōng country. To others, this seemed like a life of boundless glory and beauty, but Qī Fù Guì didn't find it particularly enjoyable. After all, the Qī family was merely a merchant family that served the imperial court; aside from their wealth, how high could their status possibly rise? In the eyes of those powerful and esteemed individuals, the Qī family were nothing more than nouveau riche with the stench of copper still lingering on them.

  Qī Fùguì now wants not only wealth and nobility, but also hopes that the Qī family can produce a jinshi. The three legitimate sons are all good, if he can open up some connections, with the talent of the Qī family's descendants, it is hard to guarantee that there won't be a future marquis or prime minister emerging. Thinking about this, Qī Fùguì's spirit lifted even more, as if he had already seen the day when he would lead the Qī family's descendants to glory and honor.

  "High official, these words are quite wrong!" Qi Fugui said: "How can we be mentioned in the same breath as High Official? I am just a humble and weak light, being able to serve the prince is truly a blessing of three lifetimes! High Official is both literary and martial, he is the first trusted aide by the prince's side, we are honored to drink with High Official together, it is truly an utmost honor."

  "That's right."

  He echoed the man, sitting on the right side of Gao Liren, in his mid-twenties to late twenties, with a pair of red lips and white teeth, looking like a jade-faced young master. His hair was tied up high with a golden hairpin, and he wore a white silk shirt with a water-ink landscape embroidered on it. Over the shirt, he wore a light blue thin gauze outer garment. Although the fabric was not expensive, it was of good quality. What was rare was that his clothes were embroidered with exquisite craftsmanship, unique style, and meticulous workmanship, from the thread to the technique, which was not something an ordinary person could embroider. It must have taken several famous embroidery women working together for several months to create such a piece.

  This man was none other than Li Zhi, the eldest son of the Li family from Jiangdong. Although the Li family of Jiangdong was one of the four major families, Li Zhi was still a junior and had to address Qi Fugui as "Uncle". He naturally sat down at the lower right seat of Gao Liren.

  "Uncle Qi's words are reasonable, the prestige and reputation of High Lord is known throughout the four seas, who doesn't know? Why must High Lord be overly modest?" The Li family from Jiangdong has produced many talents, this Li Zhi may not be a virtuous talent, but he is also not an ordinary person. Although this Gao Liren may not be as good as they say, on the surface, it's still necessary to say some polite words, in the business world, it's hard to distinguish between true and false, let alone this matter which may directly affect the relationship between the Li family and the King of Qing'an. It's a big deal, so he naturally has to respond with great enthusiasm.

  Isn't this tall and imposing man High Constable Gao Li Ren, who led the search of the Qin Manor?

  Gao Liren has been in the officialdom for many years and can't see that these two people have ulterior motives, their relationship is just mutual use, it's not necessary to uncover these superficial words.

  "You two are overpraising me, I'm just doing my duty and following Prince Wang's side diligently."

  Zi Fu Gui continued, "This is even more rare. In this day and age, everything is easy to do, but being a decent person is difficult. Director Gao is in a high position now, yet he remains humble. How can I not admire him?" After finishing speaking, he gave a glance to a young man beside him. The spotlight couldn't be let to be stolen by someone with the surname Li!

  "Father, you're absolutely right. Lord Gao, despite your young age, you've already achieved so much, it's truly making me feel ashamed." Qi Meng was the second son of Qi Fugui and had come to Taizhou with his father this time to broaden his horizons. In the past, he had interacted with various officials, big and small, who either looked down on him or tried to curry favor with the Qi family in hopes of gaining some benefits. Opportunities like today's, where he could gain something and make connections, were truly rare.

  Li Zhi smiled and said quietly, "Don't worry, Qi Xian Di. Gao Da Ren is a spoiled brat who will definitely achieve great things and make a big name for himself. How can anyone compare to him?"

  Why didn't Zhi Meng know that his words were sarcastic? He couldn't lose his temper in front of Gao Liren, so he had to hold back. In his heart, he secretly made a note on Li Zheng's account, thinking that it was still uncertain who would win or lose in the future!

  Gao Liren always smiled, maintaining an attitude of being unimpressed, just now the Qi and Li families were still harmonious, but now they secretly competed with each other, it can be seen that profit is paramount, where is the true feeling?

  Gao Lidaren said, "This wine is good, but it's also very strong. I drank a bit too much today and my head is spinning. Don't laugh at me, I'm not used to drinking, and I really can't handle the effects of the alcohol."

  "How dare we? How dare we."

  "Since you're not feeling well, we'll take our leave first," said Qi Fugui.

  "Gao Liren bowed his fist and said: 'Sorry, everyone. I ruined the mood today. Another day, I will definitely set up another banquet and drink with you all to your heart's content.'"

  The crowd thanked him again and quickly dispersed, the gifts had been prepared early on. Although Gao Liren repeatedly declined, they were eventually placed in his carriage.

  Qigui was wealthy and fat, it took him half a day to stand firm, probably also because he had drunk wine, and he even had three points of intoxication. Li Zhi saw him, secretly ridiculed him for a moment, only bid farewell to Gao Liren with a bow, and politely said a few words to the Qi family, then turned around and went downstairs.

  After the man had walked far away, Qi Fugui gave Qi Meng a signal with his eyes. The latter understood and went to the side of the stairs to look at the wind. Qi Fugui turned around and handed a vermilion-lacquered box about one foot long to Gao Liren, which was placed under his seat because he was fat and his robe was wide and large, so it didn't show that he had hidden something.

  "Mr. Qi, what's the meaning of this?" Gao Liren feigned surprise and confusion, but in fact he was very clear in his heart that Qi Fugui did this for that matter.

  "Don't be surprised, it's just a small thought, not worth much respect." Qi Fugui carefully untied the red string on the box and opened it, revealing a slender ginseng with all four limbs intact.

  Qī Fù Guì lightly handed it over in front of Gāo Lì Rén and said: "Sir, please take a look."

  Gao Liren saw that this ginseng had five shapes and six bodies, all of which were excellent. He knew it was a top-grade product. A ginseng like this must have been grown for many years.

  "This ginseng is long, old and tough, with a round and smooth shape, its skin is old and shiny, with coarse horizontal lines." Qi Fugui smiled, "This ginseng has been growing for a hundred years."

  It's really good tea.

  Qī Fù Guì's face was filled with a mixture of emotions, but upon seeing Gāo Lì Rén not rejecting him, he beamed with joy and immediately asked: "Sir, I only want to ask one question, why did the prince arrange for my Qī family to form an alliance with the Qín family through marriage?"

  PS: Sorry everyone, there was a big snowstorm yesterday and the electricity in my home had some issues. My child is still young, so I couldn't go to an internet cafe!