I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

Chen Chengsong looked at Chen Shijin.

"Go to the villa where the Prince of Jin's heir is staying tomorrow and make the Chen family's position clear. Since you've decided to go with him, then stop putting on airs."

Chen Shijin nodded.

"So when he asks us what our plans are, how should we answer?"

Chen Chengsong leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the clump of ashes on the table.

"His goal is simply to make things difficult for the Song family and Xu Qing, so let's start with their studies and the county examination. Xu Qing is going to take the county examination, right? Let's make sure he can't get through it in the examination hall."

But now their bra business has expanded too much and is coming on strong. If we don't curb their expansion now, it will be even more difficult to take action once they've established themselves.

Chen Chengbo chimed in from the side.

"The Prince of Jin's heir has connections in both the prefectural city and the capital. If we can use him to block part of the bra distribution channels, we can catch our breath."

Chen Chengsong nodded and looked at Chen Shijin.

"Transmit all these messages to him. Now that the Chen family has boarded the ship, they won't get on empty-handed."

Chen Shijin nodded. "Understood. I'll go first thing tomorrow morning."

Chen Chengsong stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked to the window. It was already late outside, and the lights in the distance were sparse. He looked at them for a while, then lowered his voice.

"This time, it's either overturn or sink; there's no third way."

The ashes were still on the table behind me, and the wind blew in through the cracks in the window, scattering the ash into the air...

……

The next morning, Chen Shijin changed into a newly made moon-white brocade robe, carefully stroked his hair in front of the bronze mirror before going out.

The carriage traveled eastward along the streets and alleys of Hengyang City, passing through the bustling morning market and turning into a quiet alley, where it stopped in front of a black lacquered gate.

There was no plaque above the door, but a pair of stone lions squatted at the entrance. The carvings were exquisite, and their manes were perfectly neat, making them far more impressive than those of ordinary officials' homes.

Chen Shijin got out of the car, straightened his clothes, and went up to knock on the door knocker.

The door opened a crack, and a doorman wearing a gray-blue short jacket poked half his face out, looked him up and down, and spoke with some impatience.

"What are you doing so early in the morning?"

Chen Shijin opened his folding fan, fanned himself, and spoke casually.

"Please inform him that Chen Shijin of the Chen family requests an audience with the heir apparent."

The doorman leaned against the doorframe, showing no intention of moving aside. He raised his eyelids and glanced at him, a hint of arrogance in his eyes.

"Young Master Chen? Which Chen family? There are plenty of people with the surname Chen in the world."

Chen Shijin felt a lump in his throat, but he still suppressed his anger and gave his name.

"Chen Shijin, son of County Magistrate Chen Chengsong".

The doorman then gave an "oh" and slowly straightened up.

Chen Shijin frowned.

"May I ask what difficulties you are facing? Why didn't you go and inform him? I have urgent business with the young master."

At this point, the gatekeeper still didn't immediately turn around to report, but instead crossed his arms and looked him up and down a few times.

"Who do you think you are? The son of a county magistrate, daring to put on airs here? Rushing...rushing after just three sentences."

He gestured towards the door behind him.

"Do you know where this is? The heir of the Prince of Jin, the most powerful prince family under the current emperor. Even a third-rank official has to stand before the prime minister. How dare you, a nobody's son, act so arrogantly here?"

As he finished speaking, spittle flew out of his mouth and landed on Chen Shijin's sleeve.

Chen Shijin clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug into his palm.

He's used to being a tyrant in Hengyang County, always making things difficult for others. He's never been the one getting his comeuppance before.

but……

He finally took a deep breath, forced down his anger, and managed to force a smile, lowering his voice and attitude.

"I apologize for my abruptness. Please inform him that Chen Shijin has something to see."

As he spoke, he handed over a silver ingot.

The gatekeeper took the silver, weighed it in his hand, glanced at him a couple more times, and then slowly turned and left, leaving the door ajar.

Chen Shijin stood at the door, clenching his fists, staring at the light shining through the crack.

He muttered to himself: "Bastard, a mere gatekeeper dares to act so arrogantly. I'll get my hands on you someday."

After a while, the gatekeeper finally came out. His tone was slightly better than before, but only slightly.

"Go inside, the young master is waiting for you in the back hall."

When Chen Shijin stepped through the door, he quickened his pace, as if afraid that the doorman would stop him again.

The back hall was brightly lit. Li Jinghuan reclined in a large armchair, holding a teapot in his hand. He didn't drink from it, he just held it simply.

When Chen Shijin came in, he didn't get up or even sit up straight; he just slightly raised his eyelids and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

"Young Master Chen, you actually came. You're just lucky today... If you had come a day earlier or a day later, you wouldn't have seen me."

He placed the small teapot on the small table next to him and leaned forward slightly.

"What's wrong... it seems your plan isn't going well? You haven't caused Xu Qing and the Song family any trouble. Are they too capable, or is your Chen family... too stupid?"

Chen Shijin tensed up after hearing this.

He was standing in the hall, still bowing with his hands clasped in greeting, when he heard those words, his movements slowed down by a beat.

It gritted its teeth, suppressing the rising anger, and tried to make its voice sound calm.

"Your Highness is too kind. We took action after you left last time. We just didn't expect Xu Qing to get involved with the Xiao family and bring in Su Man and Gu Zhiyi to start a bra business. Now their influence in Hengyang City is much greater than that of my Chen family."

Ok……

Li Jinghuan responded, but did not speak.

Chen Shijin took half a step forward and lowered his voice slightly.

"So we've come here today to ask the young master to intervene and curb their arrogance by focusing on the bra issue. As for their studies and the county examination, our Chen family has ways to handle that."

Li Jinghuan looked at his fingers, fiddled with them a few times, and did not answer immediately.

Then, he looked at him with great interest.

"Hmm, you know what, I heard about that thing a few days ago... It looks quite interesting. Okay, tell me your plan."

Chen Shijin breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he hadn't directly refused, and quickly explained his plan.

"That silk merchant in the prefectural city had his silk business taken away from Chunhong Courtyard by the Xiao family a while ago. He and the Xiao family are now mortal enemies. They have now produced imitation bras and are distributing them."

What I mean is... we'll pay to order a batch from them, and then sell it at a lower price than the Xiao family, even if we lose money, as long as we can squeeze out the Xiao family's business, it's worth it."

After listening, Li Jinghuan raised his eyebrows slightly.

"They'll agree to a fire sale? You're hurting the enemy eight hundred while injuring yourself sixteen thousand."

Chen Shijin quickly replied.

"Your Highness, rest assured, as long as we can defeat the Xiao family, they will be happy to do so, and besides..."

Chen Shijin moved a little closer.

"We're paying for it, they won't lose a single hair, and they have no reason to refuse. Once the Xiao family collapses, we can slowly raise the price and make a profit."

Li Jinghuan picked up the teapot, took a sip, and when he put it down, his tone suddenly changed.

"You're implying something deeper, aren't you?"