After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Cui Cui's wife's second uncle arrived.

His wife told him about this last night, saying that her second uncle would be coming over for dinner today.

That's why he rushed home as early as possible today, but he didn't expect to be a step too late; others had arrived first.

That's rather impolite.

Upon entering the flower hall, two middle-aged men were sitting in chairs enjoying tea. The maid Chunyu was carefully carrying a wooden tray as she retreated. As she passed by him, she exclaimed with delight, "Master!" Upon hearing this, the two middle-aged men also looked up.

The middle-aged man on the left was dressed in a black thick robe, with a valuable jade belt around his waist. He had a short beard, and his eyes were wide and piercing. He was also quite tall, even when sitting, he was half a head taller than the middle-aged man on the right.

The middle-aged man on the right is dressed as a scholar, wearing white, with a smile on his lips, and holding a white fan in his hand.

Ning Nan smiled and went up to greet him.

"Junior Ning Nan, Second Uncle, is honored to have you grace my humble abode. However, I have failed to greet you properly. My apologies..." He didn't know which one was his wife's second uncle, so he called out to see who would respond first.

"Hahaha—" The tall man at the head of the table on the left indeed stood up, stepped forward to offer a helping hand, and laughed heartily, "My dear nephew-in-law, you are too polite. We arrived early today, so there is no need for you to feel guilty. My niece Cuiwei went to cook herself, and I am overjoyed. I think my niece is truly virtuous and capable."

She'll only do this once... Ning Nan smiled and said, "Second Uncle, you're too kind. Since you're here, it's only right that my wife cooks for me. I just hope that if her cooking skills aren't good, you'll appreciate her good intentions and not blame her."

"Hey—" Prince Qi, Zhu Ensong, feigned displeasure, "What are you saying, my dear nephew-in-law? My niece cooked for her uncle herself, and no matter how well she did, there's absolutely no reason to blame her."

The two exchanged pleasantries.

Then, his second uncle introduced him to another middle-aged man named Dou Yuan, who was his second uncle's closest shopkeeper... His second uncle ran a trading company, traveling all over the country, and his business was quite large.

Ning Nan smiled and clasped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Mr. Dou."

Dou Yuan smiled and said, "Young Master Ning is a handsome and talented man, and he and your wife are truly a perfect match."

Ning Nan replied with a smile, "Mr. Dou, you flatter me."

They just went through the motions, giving perfunctory answers back and forth.

They handle such situations with ease and speak fluently and appropriately.

But since he was still a young man and had not yet come of age, he gave the other party the right to speak as much as possible, and his face showed a bit of embarrassment and shyness.

This way, you can pretend to be clueless when faced with some awkward situations.

This was somewhat unexpected for him.

I originally thought my second uncle was a businessman, someone like Chen Ruhai, a shrewd and worldly person, not exactly slick, but at least someone who kept his sharp edges hidden.

However, after exchanging a few more words, it became clear that my second uncle possessed a certain air of authority.

Compared to a businessman, my second uncle seemed more like an official; his words and demeanor exuded an indescribable air of authority.

Not long after.

Cui Cui's wife, along with Chef Xu and two maids, began serving the dishes.

When Ning Nan sat down to eat, he noticed that the relationship between his second uncle and Cui Cui's wife was a bit strange.

I originally thought that Cui Cui's parents had died early, so since she had this second uncle, they must be quite close.

But you can tell from the dishes she makes that Cuicui's wife and her second uncle don't have a very good relationship.

Four dishes.

It was all vegetarian dishes.

Ning Nan was a little embarrassed and said awkwardly with a smile, "My wife hasn't been liking meat lately, so why don't you ask the cook to prepare a few more dishes?"

King Qi forced a smile and said, "It's alright, it's alright. Since it was my niece who invited me to be her guest, I should naturally follow her lead. Whatever dishes my niece cooks, I will eat."

Ning Nan felt a little helpless and glanced at Cuicui, but Cuicui remained expressionless, holding her bowl and picking up food without even looking at him.

My second uncle and that Mr. Dou also started eating, and even praised Cui Cui's wife's cooking skills, so he didn't want to cause any trouble.

"Second Uncle," said Cui Cui's wife calmly, "I was injured a while ago, and my injuries have not yet healed, so I cannot eat meat. Please forgive me, Second Uncle."

King Zhu Ensong of Qi laughed and said, "My niece is overthinking it. Seeing that you have suffered such a great calamity but have miraculously turned it into good fortune, your uncle is overjoyed and would never blame you."

"That's good……"

Zhu Cuiwei picked up a piece of cabbage: "Before, when I wasn't in charge of the household, I didn't know how expensive tea, rice, oil, and salt were. Now that I am in charge, I realize how difficult it was for you to manage the household last year, brother."

"Hehe," King Qi said with a smile, holding his bowl. "Of course, of course. The difficulty of managing a household and the hardship of maintaining an estate have always been the same. Your second uncle knows this, which is why he has always been worried. I hope my niece will not resent your second uncle."

"Since my elder brother has spoken, I naturally do not blame my second uncle." Zhu Cuiwei placed a piece of cabbage on the plate of the young doctor next to her. "I was just expressing my feelings. At the same time," she said, glancing at the vegetarian dishes on the table, "I am also worried that my second uncle is working too hard managing the family business, so I wanted to help him share the burden."

King Qi silently put down his chopsticks, glanced at his niece's calm profile, and forced a smile, "I wonder which part of the property you're referring to, niece? And how do you intend to help your second uncle share the burden?"

Zhu Cuiwei turned to the young doctor and smiled, "Didn't you recently want to open a trading company?"

Huh? What's going on? Ning Nan chewed on his bland white rice, his eyes widening in surprise. Why am I involved?

Upright officials can hardly break housework.

Just now I overheard that Cui Cui's wife seemed to be at odds with her second uncle, and that her brother-in-law was also involved.

Thinking it was probably a family matter, I simply ignored everything and quietly ate my meal.

But unexpectedly, this woman still dragged him into it.

He basically tells everything to Cuicui's wife.

I had naturally told my wife about my desire to open a business, make some money, and give my aunt Beizhi a 30% stake.

"Mm." Ning Nan nodded.

But the thought that Cui Cui's wife might want her second uncle to give her some pointers on doing business gave Ning Nan a headache again.

He quickly smiled at his second uncle and said, "It's just for fun, nothing serious." ...No guidance is needed.

"Running a business is a serious matter; there's no reason to joke about it."

Cui Cui's wife ignored him, retorted briefly, and then smiled sweetly at her second uncle, saying, "I've heard that your silk shop has been losing money lately, hasn't it?"

Losing money? Which shop is losing money? How could it possibly be losing money? ...King Qi frowned, sighing inwardly, but smiling broadly, he said, "Your Majesty... Well, there is indeed a silk shop in the manor that isn't doing very well, and your second uncle has long wanted to get rid of this burden... If my niece is interested..."

"Only one?" Zhu Cuiwei interrupted. "What I heard is that my second uncle's three silk shops on Datong Street, the cloth shop outside the city, and the two weaving workshops in Suzhou are all losing money?" The woman's voice was indifferent, and she frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt in her voice.

Qi King Zhu Ensong's lips moved slightly, then he stopped, remained silent, his face twitched a few times, then calmed down, and finally put down his chopsticks.

At this moment, the white-robed scholar, Mr. Dou, hurriedly said with a smile, "Madam truly has discerning eyes." He then sighed, "Second Master has actually been deeply worried about this matter. After all, Second Master has over a thousand female workers in his two weaving workshops in Suzhou, and Sujin Pavilion Cloth Shop is an imperial merchant, so the matter is of great importance. Even though it has been losing money, he dares not let up. If Madam is willing to help Second Master share his burdens, I think—" Mr. Dou said to Prince Qi with a smile, "Second Master would naturally be more than happy to do so."

King Qi's eyes twitched slightly, and he forced a smile, saying, "Mr. Dou is right. If my niece is truly willing to share the burden, your second uncle is naturally willing... but—" He narrowed his eyes slightly, "My niece should be careful. In this world, people and things are always divided by kinship. As long as you side with your relatives, I think your brother and all the uncles in the family will also side with you."

"There's a distinction between close and distant relationships..."

Zhu Cuiwei smiled faintly and said, "Second Uncle is absolutely right... Some people wanted to kill me, while others saved me... Cuiwei knows perfectly well who killed me and who saved me, who is close to me and who is distant. My brother and the elders in the family... of course, they all know perfectly well as well as I do."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ensong's slightly brownish pupils immediately contracted slightly.