Chapter Thirty-Four: Defense

  One kiss, fragrance fills the air.

  Song Kai was slightly intoxicated.

  Liu Yuyan was completely stunned, and then she suddenly pushed Song Kai away.

  At this time, Song Kai was no longer the weak bookworm of the past. After ten days of bitter training, his strength far surpassed that of Liu Yuxiang.

  No push.

  My lips feel a bit itchy.

  Song Kai's breath sprayed wildly onto his face.

  Liu Yuxuan was getting a bit anxious, opening her mouth and biting down on Song Kai's lips with her two rows of silver teeth.

  "Ouch!"

  Song Kai hummed and didn't let go, but instead kissed for a full ten seconds before leaving, with the fresh blood from his lips flowing into Liu Yuxuan's mouth.

  Liu Yuyan leaned against the door panel, staring blankly at Song Kai.

  "Let's say goodbye," Song Kai stared into Liu Yuxuan's eyes.

  "You rascal," Liu Yuvan raised her hand high and then gently fell on Song Kai's shoulder.

  Song Kai felt that he was really moved, the woman in front of him, not only beautiful and elegant, but also had the independence and freedom that women of this era did not have.

  "Wait for me," Song Kai said softly, "If you meet someone you like, then so be it. If not, wait for me, I'll find you, I will definitely find you, Yu Cai. I want you to be my woman, not just a friend."

  "...Liu Yuyuan's eyes were filled with a few parts of surprise and confusion, slowly, she raised her head, touched Song Kai's face, "Okay, Song Kai, I'm leaving, take care of yourself, and I'll be at ease."

  After finishing speaking, Liu Yuvan turned around and left, her footsteps were a bit staggering at first, but soon returned to normal and quickly walked away.

  "Nie Ling!" Song Kai saw Liu Yujuan leave, and only then slowly turned around, calling out to the back of the pillar.

  "Ah!...... Ah? I'm not here, I'm not here," a voice came from behind the pillar.

  "Your whole hoof is exposed, what are you hiding?" Song Kai said, rubbing his nose.

  Brush

  The slender little foot that had been exposed was quickly withdrawn.

  Then a figure slowly emerged from behind the pillar, it was Nie Lingdang with a dog skin plaster.

  "You're the one with horse legs! No! You have wolf legs! The leg of a colored wolf!" Nie Lingdang cursed.

  "Did you sneak a peek?" Song Kai retorted.

  "I... I didn't peek, I didn't see anything, I... I still have to go take care of the accounts," said Nie Lingdang, hastily rushing towards the front hall. In reality, after Liu Yuxiang entered Song Kai's room, Nie Lingdang had been snooping around by the window, and when Song Kai forcefully kissed Liu Yuxiang, it directly stunned Nie Lingdang. This... this Tang Dynasty's men and women are too crazy! Even crazier and bolder than those of the Turkic people!

  Song Kai burst out laughing and turned around to pour away the water, tidied himself up a bit, and also headed towards the front hall.

  In the front hall, Nie Lingdang saw Song Kai and hastily lowered his head, randomly manipulating the abacus with his fingers.

  Upstairs, Xue Wei Hai was sipping tea, occasionally cracking a peanut, holding a book in his hand, reading with relish.

  Song Kai went upstairs to the second floor and sat down opposite Xue Weihai, pouring himself a cup with great self-awareness.

  "Listening to Zhou Wei, you're training is not bad," Xue Weihai put down the book and looked at Song Kai, "It seems that I also have times when I misjudge, Song Lang, you really want to pursue that husband's bravery."

  It's unclear whether his words were praise or criticism.

  Song Kai shook his head, "It's not about being a hero, just wanting to live a bit safer, how's the tea today?"

  "Haha, indeed it's good tea. As soon as I take a sip, my troubled mind calms down immediately," Xue Weihai laughed and said, "But, it seems that your inn business isn't doing well."

  Song Kai sighed, "Not everyone has the taste of Mr. Xue, I originally planned to sell this tea exclusively and attract customers to the store, but it seems I was wrong, not many people like this kind of tea."

  "No," Xue Wei said with a mysterious smile, "this tea, as long as it's promoted, will definitely be well-received. At least, it'll be liked by scholars, officials, and merchants. Now, not many people know about it, and the price is high, so naturally there are few who drink it."

  "Promotion?" Song Kai muttered to himself, then burst out laughing. "Thanks to Old Xue for giving me confidence, as long as everyone likes drinking it, that's all that matters. As for promotion, this is my specialty. I'll just set up a tea ceremony, write a few poems about tea, and send some tea leaves to the Censor and the Magistrate to try. And on top of that, I'll get the madam of the brothel to help me promote it. Guaranteed success."

  Xue Weihai's originally smiling old face gradually solidified, he stared at Song Kai, then coughed twice, and bitterly smiled: "Good, good, indeed all are good ideas, only, this tea ceremony, tea poetry, how will you do it?"

  "These two things are easy, what I'm worried about is how to get along with those officials and build a relationship. Giving gifts isn't easy either," Song Kai sighed.

  "This... this old man might be able to help you, but in the future, this position will have to be reserved for me, and all tea water from now on must be free." Xue Wei Hai also learned to haggle, immediately said.

  "No problem at all. One look and I knew you, Old Xue, are a high-ranking official in the government. In the future, if you're entertaining on public funds, feel free to come to my shop," said Song Kai with a smile.

  "Embezzlement..." Xue Weihai naturally understood the meaning of this word, and couldn't help but glance at Song Kai, "Song Lang, you really aren't a serious scholar."

  The two people then talked about their experience of tasting tea. Song Kai didn't understand much, but he had more contact with tea culture than Xue Weihai, and the two chatted happily.

  Nie Lingling quietly walked up and beckoned to Song Kai, indicating that she had something to say to him.

  Song Kai pointed to the side of the table and said: "If you have something to say, this Mr. Xue is one of us."

  Xue Wei Hai suddenly shut his mouth, when did he become Song Kai's own person?

  Nie Lingdang sat up, smiled at Xue Weihai, and then looked at Song Kai. Although Xue Weihai did have the aura of a powerful shareholder, Nie Lingdang was after all the princess of the Turkic Holy City, and she was also accustomed to seeing the Turkic Khan, so she didn't fear Xue Weihai.

  "Song Kai, I've been feeling lately that my back is freezing," Nie Lingdang said in a low voice, staring at Song Kai.

  Song Kai was taken aback for a moment, then said in a low voice: "What's wrong? Did you catch a cold?"

  "What's going on!" Nie Lingdang waved his hand and said seriously: "In the past few days, our hotel business has been declining rapidly. At first, I thought it was because Zhao Tieshan's cooking was not good enough, but later, after asking Fu Bo to investigate, I found out that other hotels and restaurants have learned how to make our signature dishes."

  "Piracy?" Song Kai pursed his lips, "This is also an unavoidable thing."

  "Listen to me!" Nie Lingdang stretched out his hand, pinched a peanut and put it in his mouth. "Think about it, a wine house doing our guesthouse's dishes is normal, I asked Zhao Tieshan, he said these dishes are not complicated to make, ten days' time definitely some wine house can steal our dishes. But what's suspicious is that now all eighteen wine houses around us can do our store's signature dishes, such as braised pork belly, red-braised pig trotters, drunken duck, old vinegar peanuts and so on, it seems like other wine houses all learned at the same time!"

  Song Kai's expression also turned serious, "I understand, it seems that someone has stolen our restaurant's signature dish recipe and sold it to other restaurants at the same time."

  "Hmm," Nie Ling nodded heavily.

  "This person is not from any of the other eighteen restaurants, otherwise he would have taken our store's signature dish recipe and wouldn't sell it, but instead use it in his own restaurant to attract customers. Since this person did this, one possibility is that he wants to make more money, and another bigger possibility is that he is intentionally going against our customer base," Song Kai muttered to himself, quickly thinking of a name, Yang Huaiyan.

  Nie Ling Tong continued in a low voice: "Song Kai, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like there have been people lurking around our inn recently."

  Song Kai looked at Nie Lingdang, and the first thing that came to mind was the issue of Nie's identity. Since he had offended Yang Huaiyan, he would definitely have to face it, and on his side, the biggest loophole was indeed Nie's identity. Although Zhao Tieshan was also an escaped prisoner, he was after all a citizen of the Tang Dynasty and a harmless chef; if caught, he could just be fined and then supplement the Suzhou City Governor's seal.

  But Nie Lingdang was different, her identity was too sensitive. Moreover, if Nie Lingdang were to be caught, Song Kai would definitely feel heartbroken. After all, this little girl had been living with him for almost a month and was quite stubborn, but if she were to be captured, she would surely suffer from severe torture, humiliation, and persecution.

  Nodding his head, Song Kai said: "You go down first, I'll handle these things."

  Nie Lingdang nodded and left.

  "What's wrong with your face, shopkeeper? Why are you sticking dog skin plaster on it all day?" Xue Weihai asked.

  "Ah, I've got leprosy, can't see anyone without a dog skin plaster," Song Kai casually made up an excuse, drank a cup of tea, thought for a moment, and decided to ask Xue Weihai anyway.

  "Xue Lao, I have something to ask you," Song Kai said.

  "Ask away,"

  "If there is a person who has no official road guide and no identity certificate, how can he become a legitimate citizen of the Tang Dynasty?" Song Kai asked.

  Xue Weihai smiled easily, "What's difficult about this? Every year there are refugees drifting everywhere. After being caught by the government, most of them will be deported back to their hometowns. However, some people sign a contract selling themselves into slavery and get proof from the government, or they can stay after passing the government's examination and do business or work as laborers."

  Song Kai shook his head and said in a low voice, "If this person's identity is a bit sensitive, it will definitely not pass the official side."

  "Could she be a wanted fugitive?" Xue Weihai's expression turned solemn for a moment, and he subconsciously glanced at the place where Nie Ling had been sitting earlier. Then, he laughed to himself - such a delicate girl, how could she possibly be a notorious criminal?

  "No, not a wanted man, anyway it's... anyway it's just this kind of situation, how can I have a legitimate identity?" Song Kai asked with difficulty. Although he knew that Xue Weihai was an official, he also understood that this old Xue was not a stubborn and unyielding person, and for such things, he must be clear about what path to take.

  "It seems... the black market is fine," Xue Weihai smiled, "Don't ask me for specifics, I'm an upright and honest person, never doing anything sneaky..."

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