After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

The Zhou family residence is located in Liushu Hutong, east of the city.

Zhou Youcai was holding a teacup, listening to Manager Li recount the results of the past two days.

"President Zhou, I've made all the arrangements. I sent more than a dozen people to return the goods today, taking turns. If we don't finish returning them in one day, we'll continue the next day. In less than three days, her shop will have to close down."

Zhou Youcai nodded, a smile appearing on his face.

"I trust Manager Li to handle things."

Manager Li cupped his hands in thanks: "It's all thanks to the chairman's strategic planning that everyone has been able to make money all this time."

Several shopkeepers nearby chimed in, and the room was filled with laughter.

Just then, the door was kicked open with a bang.

Everyone was startled and turned to look.

Liu Yong, accompanied by seven or eight constables and carrying broadswords at his waist, strode in.

He glanced at everyone in the room and said in a deep voice, "In the Shuntian Prefecture's investigation, who is Li Gui?"

Manager Li was stunned for a moment, and the smile on his face froze: "I...I am."

Liu Yong waved his hand: "Take it down!"

Two constables pounced on him like wolves and grabbed Manager Li's arm.

Manager Li's face turned deathly pale as he struggled desperately, shouting, "What right do you have to arrest me? What law have I broken?"

Liu Yong sneered, "You'll find out when we get to Shuntian Prefecture!"

Manager Li was being twisted and pushed out. He turned to look at Zhou Youcai and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Chairman Zhou! Chairman Zhou, save me!"

Zhou Youcai's face turned ashen. He stepped forward and blocked their way.

"Officer Liu, do you recognize this old man?"

Liu Yong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "President Zhou, I'm sorry, the Shuntian Prefecture is handling a case, I've disturbed you."

Zhou Youcai, suppressing his anger, said, "Liu Quan is also in our guild. He often mentions you, but why is he going against us today?"

Liu Yong looked at him, neither humble nor arrogant: "President Zhou, you flatter me! I was merely following orders and have no intention of opposing anyone. However, please tell Liu Quan to behave himself. If he does anything illegal, I will arrest him anyway."

Zhou Youcai's face turned even uglier.

He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "If I didn't give Liu Quan face today, wouldn't my old face be enough? Can't you say what you have to say properly? Why do you have to resort to violence to arrest someone and ruin the harmony?"

Liu Yong clasped his hands and said, "Of course we have to give Chairman Zhou face, so I only arrested Manager Li."

Zhou Youcai was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Liu Yong glanced at everyone in the room and said slowly, "If we were to investigate further, everyone here would probably have to come with me."

The room fell silent instantly.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, and some quietly shrank back.

Zhou Youcai's face turned green with anger: "Even your Prefect has to give me some face. How dare you, a mere constable, be so arrogant?"

Liu Yong was not annoyed, he simply cupped his hands in greeting: "Since Chairman Zhou and the Prefect have a relationship, then go and talk to the Prefect! If the Prefect orders their release, I will release them immediately."

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Take him away!"

The constables escorted Manager Li away.

The door was wide open, and a cold wind was blowing in.

Zhou Youcai stood there, his chest heaving violently.

Manager Sun leaned closer and cautiously asked, "President Zhou, could that widow be... connected to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture?"

Zhou Youcai remained silent, and the others frowned deeply, creating a moment of silence in the room.

Manager Sun asked cautiously, "President Zhou, what should we do now?"

Zhou Youcai finally spoke: "No matter who it is, I can't swallow this insult of showing such disrespect to our guild. Let's go see the old guild leader!"

Half an hour later, in Huai Shu Hutong in the inner city.

A quiet courtyard with two old locust trees at the entrance, their branches bare, stretching towards the gray sky.

Zhou Youcai led Manager Sun and the others through the gate.

After passing the screen wall and through the hanging flower gate of the side courtyard, you arrive at the backyard.

An elderly man was pruning the branches of wintersweet in the yard; it was none other than the former president, Yang Chunhua.

He was wearing a worn cotton robe, his hair was gray, and his hands moved slowly and deliberately, trimming very carefully.

Zhou Youcai stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Chairman Yang."

Manager Sun and the others also bowed in greeting.

Yang Chunhua didn't even look up, only humming in response.

He made a few more cuts before putting down the scissors, taking a handkerchief from a servant to wipe his hands, and said slowly, "You're wealthy, have a seat."

A servant brought tea, and Yang Chunhua, sitting at the head of the table, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Zhou Youcai stood up and didn't dare to sit down.

Yang Chunhua glanced at him and waved her hand: "Sit down, what are you standing for?"

Zhou Youcai then sat down and recounted in detail what had happened recently.

Yang Chunhua put down her teacup and said slowly, "Youcai, I told you three years ago that I was getting old and the burden of the guild needed to be shouldered by you. How could you cause such a mess at the very end?"

Zhou Youcai lowered his head: "President Yang is right, it was my oversight."

Yang Chunhua took another sip of tea and said slowly, "They're in the wool business, we're in the cloth and silk business. We're just keeping to ourselves, so why are you arguing with them?"

Zhou Youcai sighed and said, "President Yang, you may not know this, but sweaters have a huge impact on our industry. Just take the first month of winter for example, sales of cotton-padded coats dropped by a full 50%!"

Yang Chunhua remained silent for a long time.

The room was so quiet that you could hear the soft rustling of the winter plum branches swaying in the wind outside the window.

Manager Sun opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but was stopped by a look from Zhou Youcai.

After a long silence, Yang Chunhua slowly and deliberately spoke: "This matter is not easy to handle!"

Zhou Youcai's heart tightened, and he tentatively asked, "Could the chairman say a word to the Shuntian Prefecture?"

Yang Chunhua said, "I can pass on a message to the Shuntian Prefecture. But judging from what you just said, the constable dared to be so arrogant, so I'm afraid he has more than just the Shuntian Prefecture Governor behind him."

Zhou Youcai was taken aback: "What does the old chairman mean...?"

Yang Chunhua pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "This matter can only be handled by Grand Tutor Yang."

Manager Sun asked Zhou Youcai in a low voice, "Who is Yang Zhanshi?"

Zhou Youcai waved his hand at him, signaling him not to say anything more.

Then he stood up and bowed deeply to Yang Chunhua: "With the help of Master Yang, this matter will surely succeed. We will go back and wait for good news. If the Chairman needs anything, please let us know."

Yang Chunhua nodded and picked up the teacup.

Zhou Youcai and his men withdrew.

As they walked out the door, Manager Sun couldn't help but ask again, "Chairman Zhou, who exactly is Supervisor Yang?"

Zhou Youcai glared at him: "Yang Zhanshi is Yang Tinghe, the Junior Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. He is Chairman Yang's cousin. Let me tell you, being able to enter the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is equivalent to having one foot in the cabinet. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the future Grand Secretary."

Manager Sun gasped, "Such a high-ranking official?"

Zhou Youcai snorted coldly: "What do you think? If no one is protecting us, how can our guild survive? There are dozens of cloth and silk shops in the capital, with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver flowing in every year. Without a backer, we would have been eaten up long ago, leaving not even bones."

Manager Sun exclaimed excitedly, "That's right, that's right! This time it'll definitely work!"