The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

After framing the calligraphy gifted by Lord Liang, Su Qianqian made it into a plaque and hung it at the entrance of Gu's Restaurant.

This attracted a large group of readers to gather around and comment.

Everyone at Qingsong Academy knows that Grand Secretary Liang's calligraphy is renowned throughout the four kingdoms and unmatched by anyone.

"Look, the seal on it really is Liang Dashi's, it's genuine."

"The owner of Gu's shop, Mr. Su, is really prestigious. He even received a plaque personally written by Grand Secretary Liang."

Some people even traveled a long way from nearby cities just to catch a glimpse of Grand Secretary Liang's calligraphy.

Gu Ying: "Cousin, you're amazing to have acquired such a precious piece of calligraphy. Be careful that it's not stolen or damaged by someone with malicious intent after you close the door at night.

Su Qianqian thought it made a lot of sense, so she assigned Mo Xiaobei the task of taking down the signboard and putting it inside the shop every night before closing time, and then hanging it up again in the morning.

For this, Mo Xiaobei was given a reward: two packets of flower tea.

Mo Xiaobei really wanted to enjoy the two packets of flower tea by herself, but after a fierce internal struggle, she decided to give the flower tea to the prince.

Mo Xiaobei was lost in self-pity: "Your Highness, my loyalty to you is truly beyond question!"

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At dinner time, Gu's Restaurant was packed.

Fang Cheng was also there, sitting with several classmates. Ever since he tasted Gu Ji's dishes, he could no longer eat food from other restaurants.

However, there's a downside to eating here: it's too expensive. So every few days, he would ask Tang Yuerao for money.

Fang Cheng stared at Lord Liang at the next table, his mind racing with calculations.

He took five hundred taels of silver from Tang Yuerao and has already paid people to go to Tiger Mountain to find flowers.

Lord Liang loves flowers more than life itself. If we could find a top-quality Cymbidium faberi like the Crystal Cymbidium, perhaps we could persuade Lord Liang to take me on as his personal disciple.

Lord Liang's three-year mourning period is over, and he will soon be reinstated. At that time, his disciple, with such a powerful backer, will surely have a prosperous official career.

Su Qianqian specifically instructed the waiter that she would serve the tea to Fang Cheng's table.

"Guests, complimentary herbal tea is served!"

While pouring the tea, she secretly flicked the croton powder from her fingertip into Fang Cheng's teacup.

Fang Cheng was momentarily dazzled by Su Qianqian's smile.

Since the engagement was called off, the girl no longer looks malnourished; she's become more and more beautiful.

Fang Cheng was absolutely confident that Su Qianqian definitely had feelings for him.

After all, there are very few people in the world as smart as him; only a fool wouldn't like him.

After Su Qianqian walked away, the scholars at the table started gossiping about her.

"This Miss Su from Gu's shop is really beautiful. I heard she's not engaged yet."

It was Qin, Su Qianqian's aunt, who said it a few days ago. She was telling it to some of the teachers who came to the academy for dinner. Qin wanted the teachers to recommend someone better than Fang Cheng for Qianqian. However, a few scholars overheard it.

The mere mention of Su Qianqian prompted Fang Cheng to kick her while she was down: "It's not that she wasn't engaged, but rather that the man rejected her and the engagement was called off—"

She wanted to say that it was the man she had broken off the engagement with, but before she could say it, her voice was drowned out by Mr. Zhang at the next table.

Master Zhang looked surprised and suddenly stood up, loudly questioning Lord Liang: "What? Lord Liang, you intend to take Miss Su's younger brother as your personal disciple?"

Master Xu was also surprised: "Lord Liang, didn't you say before that you would never accept a personal disciple in your life?"

The news of Lord Liang accepting a personal disciple has not yet spread widely, so neither Master Zhang nor Master Xu know about it, nor does Fang Cheng.

Lord Liang replied, "Everything in the world is subject to change. For example, in the past, only the Southern Yue Kingdom had one pot of this Crystal Orchid, but now our Great Qi Kingdom also has one."

Lord Zhang nodded in agreement. "For example, Lord Liang, you said you would return to the capital tomorrow, but you've said it three times already and still haven't returned. Unexpected changes are truly everywhere. So, Lord Liang, you've already given in to a potted flower? You've already agreed to take Miss Su's brother as your personal disciple?"

Lord Zhang knew perfectly well that Lord Liang, like him, was hopelessly addicted to Gu Ji's delicacies and flower tea, and therefore reluctant to leave Qinghe County, despite saying he wanted to leave several times.

However, Lord Liang was even more obsessed with one thing than him: orchids.

Lord Liang glanced at the crystal orchid beside him, smiled without saying a word, "You all don't understand, this flower has extraordinary significance for me."

Every time I look at these flowers, I think of my wife's gentle and beautiful smile.

Since Lord Liang did not refute it, it was tantamount to acquiescing to Lord Zhang's suggestion of taking on a disciple.

The students sitting at the same table as Fang Cheng were quite agitated after listening to the conversation between the teachers.

During the three years of mourning that Lord Liang was in, he often taught part-time at Qingsong Academy.

The students of Qingsong Academy all knew of Lord Liang's influence in the imperial court, and they also knew that Lord Liang was a renowned calligrapher who was famous throughout the four kingdoms. Everyone wanted to become Lord Liang's personal disciple.

However, Lord Liang once publicly declared that he would not only never marry again in his life, but also would not accept any disciples.

But now Lord Liang is actually going to take on a personal disciple, which is truly astonishing.

Fang Cheng clenched his left fist under the table. Lord Liang actually took that idiot Su Xiaobao as his personal disciple. Why couldn't he see the outstanding one like him?

He clearly gets excellent grades in every test, big or small.

Fang Cheng asked angrily, "Why? Why Su Xiaobao?"

The classmate replied, "Of course it's because she has a great older sister. If you had a great older sister like that, you could do it too."

Fang Cheng suddenly felt his stomach churning and quickly got up and rushed to the outhouse.

When Fang Cheng returned, he asked the others, "Did any of you have diarrhea?"

"no."

If anyone else had diarrhea like him, they could go to the shopkeeper and ask him to compensate them. But it turned out that he was the only one with diarrhea.

The scholars sitting at the same table as Fang Cheng still couldn't help but envy Miss Su's younger brother.

"Miss Su is truly remarkable; she actually found such a skilled master for her younger brother. Brother Fang, judging from your tone just now, it seems you know which fool broke off the engagement with Miss Su. Tell me quickly, which idiot was it?"

"Exactly, how could there be such a fool! If he hadn't broken off the engagement and was a scholar, he might have been able to benefit from Miss Su's connections and become Lord Liang's personal disciple."

"That's right, Miss Su is so amazing. She created a flower tea that's all the rage in our Qinghe County. I heard that merchants from the capital wanted to buy it wholesale at a high price, but Miss Su wouldn't sell it to them. What kind of idiot is that! How could they abandon such an outstanding Miss Su?"

"Miss Su has even cultivated a rare and exquisite flower like the Crystal Orchid, and Lord Liang has gifted her a precious piece of calligraphy. What kind of person is so blind as to break off the engagement with Miss Su? If I were engaged to Miss Su, I would never break off the engagement even if you beat me to death."

Fang Cheng felt as if his classmates' words were knives stabbing into his heart, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

Of course, he wouldn't admit in public that he was the idiot, otherwise he would definitely be mercilessly ridiculed by his classmates.

A wave of nausea washed over him, and Fang Cheng rushed to the outhouse again.

While squatting in the outhouse, Fang Cheng was lost in thought.

After breaking off the engagement with Su Qianqian, he began to doubt himself for the first time, wondering if his decision to break off the engagement was right or wrong.

Before he sold Su Qianqian to human traffickers, the third branch of the Su family would send anything of value to the Fang family as a gesture of goodwill.

Gu's Restaurant is making a fortune every day. If he hadn't broken off his engagement with Su Qianqian, he would definitely have received a lot of wealth from the third branch of the Su family, just like before.

If he hadn't broken off his engagement with Su Qianqian, he wouldn't need to pay anything to eat at Gu's Restaurant. He wouldn't need to be frugal when ordering; he could just order whatever he wanted.

You can also treat others to a free meal at Gu Ji's restaurant to improve your interpersonal relationships, and you might even get a piece of calligraphy by Grand Secretary Liang.

If he hadn't broken off his engagement with Su Qianqian, he could have as much of that flower tea as he wanted, which he could use to give to his teachers and classmates, earning countless favors in return.

You can also resell flower tea to earn lots and lots of money, which you can use to bribe your way into an official position after passing the imperial examinations.

If he hadn't broken off his engagement with Su Qianqian and had asked the Su family for the Crystal Orchid, the Su family certainly wouldn't have refused. If he then gave it to Lord Liang, he would have a great chance of becoming Lord Liang's last disciple.

But so what? The relationship has ended, and we should look forward.

Moreover, Fang Cheng was confident that Su Qianqian's feelings for him would not change; she was just upset that he was engaged to Tang Yuerao.

At worst, once she passes the imperial examination and becomes an official, she can be granted the position of a noble concubine. I don't believe she won't be tempted.

Even the most successful merchant is still just a merchant. Among the social classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants have the lowest social status.

Su Qianqian can only achieve a true upward social mobility by marrying him.

Fang Cheng stood up and had just stepped out of the outhouse when he realized, oh no, he'd soiled himself again, and his clothes were soaked. He was doomed; he'd have to go home to change.