Looking in the direction of the voice, Fang Yang couldn't help but frown.
No other reason.
The one who arrived was none other than Xie Ping, the Marquis Yongping's son, his nemesis who had often mocked his original self.
Seeing the other party's arrogant demeanor,
Fang Yang directly lifted his own foot and looked at it.
Then he looked at Lian'er and said, "Lian'er, look at the sole of your shoe."
"Ah? What's wrong, Young Master?"
Lian'er had a face full of questions, but she still obediently lifted her foot.
Fang Yang glanced at it, then stroked his chin and mused, "Strange, I didn't step in any shit, so why is a dog barking madly?"
"You!"
He, the dignified Marquis Yongping's son, was thus insulted by this Spendthrift, and immediately became furious.
He angrily said, "Bah! Good for you, Fang Yang, am I giving you too much face or what!"
"What are you doing? Want to fight?" Fang Yang narrowed his eyes and immediately rolled up his sleeves.
Seeing this, Xie Ping was instantly startled.
Bickering was fine, but he absolutely dared not lay a hand on him; this Spendthrift was famously reckless, and his brute strength was basically unrivaled among the second generation of nobles.
"What? You're already scared? A mere Marquis's son dares to challenge This Young Master? Even if I hit you, it'd be for nothing. Let me tell you, my father is the Duke!"
Fang Yang looked at Xie Ping with an arrogant expression.
"You!"
Xie Ping's hands trembled with anger.
After a while, he coldly said, "Hmph! What's so arrogant about a Duke who's been sidelined? You want to do business here, right? Watch closely, that's my restaurant ahead. I'll make sure you lose everything!"
Looking at the spot Xie Ping pointed to,
Fang Yang's mouth twitched: "Restaurant? What a coincidence. But Xie Ping, This Young Master advises you to change professions soon, otherwise, This Young Master's Tianxian Zui Restaurant opens tomorrow, and you'll definitely be the one to go out of business!"
"Haha! celestial intoxication, so the rhymes outside were all spread by you, Fang Yang, you're really naive."
Xie Ping's mouth showed a hint of disdain, and then he continued, "Oh, right, I forgot, you just had your engagement broken off by Miss Song. I guess that must have driven you crazy, right? My Xie family's shop going out of business? Who doesn't know that my Marquis Yongping family's brewed wine is an old brand in the capital!"
Xie Ping laughed heartily.
Fang Yang frowned slightly: "How did you know I was unengaged?"
"Haha, who doesn't know? Miss Song has long been flirting with Cui Zhuangyuan. When you were advised to withdraw from Imperial Academy, Miss Song said she wanted to break off the engagement before your father left the capital. I guess it has nothing to do with you now!"
Xie Ping's mouth was full of mockery.
Fang Yang, however, said indifferently, "Tsk, if it's broken, then it's broken. I, the dignified Duke Chengguo's son, want to find a woman, where can I not find one?"
"Alright, just keep being stubborn. You still want to do restaurant business? I'm waiting to see you lose even your underwear."
Xie Ping finished speaking with a chuckle and then turned and left.
Lian'er, who was beside him, frowned deeply.
Looking at the three-story building not far opposite, her face immediately filled with worry.
"Young Master, the Xie family's wine business is famous in the capital. When Master was home, he often had the servants of the Guo Gong Fu (Duke's Residence) purchase Xie family's brewed wine. Now that the other party is targeting us, should we do something else?"
"No need, This Young Master is determined to sell this wine. In a few days, I'll let that dog know why flowers are so red."
"But..."
"There are no more 'buts'."
Fang Yang waved his hand, tossing the rent to the real estate agent.
Then he arranged for the servants to start cleaning and ordered a plaque. After that, he took Lian'er home.
...
Night was deepening.
Xie Ping had already gathered with a group of his cronies.
"Haha, Xie Ping, you're late, you must drink three penalty cups!"
Hearing this, Xie Ping immediately smiled.
He casually picked up three cups of wine from the table and drank them all.
Then he squeezed in and sat next to the person closest to him.
He said with a chuckle, "Gentlemen, guess what fun thing I encountered today?"
"Oh? Did Brother Xie meet a girl he fell in love with at first sight?" one person asked.
Xie Ping smiled and shook his head.
"Brother Xie, did you find money? Then you'll have to pay tonight!" another person said.
"More fun than that."
Xie Ping smiled mysteriously and continued, "That Spendthrift has started doing business again!"
Everyone was stunned.
"Spendthrift? That Fang Yang? Doing business again?"
Xie Ping nodded.
Then he said with a half-smile, "That Spendthrift, whom even dogs shake their heads at, is actually going into the wine business this time, but he doesn't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is."
"Tsk, this Duke of Cheng is really unlucky to have such a Spendthrift son."
Everyone shook their heads.
Although they felt something was a bit off, their faces were all full of schadenfreude.
Their faces were suddenly full of disdain.
Xie Ping also laughed heartily and said, "Did you hear about that saying, 'If one doesn't drink celestial intoxication in this life, even becoming a Prime Minister is in vain'?"
A friend said, "I heard it. I'm really curious, what kind of wine can make a Prime Minister feel in vain?"
"Haha, no need to be curious, that wine was made by that Spendthrift," Xie Ping replied with a hearty laugh.
"Oh? It was him? Then I must go and watch the show." Xie Ping's cronies all had expressions of contempt on their faces.
Xie Ping drained the wine in his hand, a glint flashing in his eyes.
"Speaking of wine, in the capital, if my Xie family claims second place, absolutely no one dares to claim first. Tomorrow, let's go together. This time, I must thoroughly humiliate this fellow."
They all expressed that they would definitely go to watch the show when Fang Yang's business opened tomorrow.
Song Residence.
"What's wrong? Did something happen at the poetry gathering today?"
Song Li asked, looking at Song Yiran, who was sullenly writing something.
Song Yiran told her father about what happened at the poetry gathering.
Song Li glanced at the poems Song Yiran had written, and his brows immediately furrowed.
"You mean, these two poems are..."
Song Yiran nodded.
Song Li then said after a while, "This Fang Yang, I'm afraid he has something..."
Song Yiran was unconvinced: "Father, these poems must have been copied by Fang Yang! If he truly had talent, why would he have been a Spendthrift for so many years!"
Song Li shook his head slightly.
"Even if they weren't copied, then they were bought with money. A Spendthrift like him, an incompetent person who couldn't even stay in Imperial Academy, absolutely could not have written these two poems."
...
Early the next morning.
The entire Duke Chengguo Residence was much quieter.
No other reason, because last night Fang Yang had assigned tasks to the servants in the outer courtyard, having them moonlight as restaurant waiters.
Early this morning, all the servants had already gone to the shop Fang Yang rented in the East Market to prepare.
As for the restaurant manager, Fang Yang had arranged for the mansion's accountant to take on the role.
After all, a manager needed to know how to keep accounts.
After eating breakfast, Fang Yang lazily stretched.
Then he grabbed the folding fan placed beside him and called out, "Lian'er, let's go. The restaurant is opening today, let's go take a look."
"Young Master, we only rented the shop yesterday, and it's opening today. Isn't that a bit too hasty? And we haven't prepared anything for the opening," Lian'er asked with a worried expression.
"Prepare what? The tables and chairs are already there, the plaque is hung, This Young Master has already had the mansion's chef bring the ingredients, everything is ready."
Fang Yang said with a nonchalant air.
Only Lian'er was full of worry, as she had never heard of anyone opening a business without even consulting a master for an auspicious opening day, just opening it on a whim.
It was really too much like child's play.
So Lian'er continued, "Then Young Master, shouldn't we find someone to pick a date? After all, opening a business is no small matter."
Fang Yang smiled slightly, appearing as if everything was under his control.
"Lian'er, don't worry. Consulting someone for auspiciousness is ultimately a minor detail. As long as This Young Master's product quality is excellent and the advertising is in place, nothing else is a problem."
Lian'er was utterly confused, truly not knowing where her Young Master came up with so many strange words.
She simply stopped talking and just followed Fang Yang out.
And Fang Yang, as he walked, spoke with a mouth full of bravado: "Lian'er, trust This Young Master. From today onwards, This Young Master will make sure that in this capital, even a copper coin dropped on the ground will bear the Fang surname!"