I am the champion of palace intrigue, and even the proud prince bows his head in submission.

Chapter 580 Xie Jue's Storyline: Half a Day of Leisure

Gao Wanzhi pressed her temples, not daring to think about it further.

At that moment, the curtain was lifted, and two maids entered carrying trays.

"Princess, are you awake? Are you still dizzy?" the maid asked.

Another maid carefully placed a steaming bowl of hangover soup on the table. "It was prepared by the kitchen this morning. His Highness specifically instructed me to bring it to you as soon as you woke up."

Gao Wanzhi sat up, propped herself up on the edge of the bed, took the soup bowl, and drank it. Only then did she feel much better.

"Prepare the carriage; I'm going to the palace."

Half an hour later, the carriage entered the palace gate.

Inside the hall, Gao Che was sitting in front of a low table, holding and playing with a snow-white little lion cat. When he saw her arrive, his eyes lit up.

"Cousin, what brings you here?"

Gao Wanzhi said gently, "I've come to request an imperial decree to annul the engagement."

The marriage with Jiang Huaiyu can't be delayed any longer.

The southern part of the capital city.

A teahouse facing the street is about to be sold.

This teahouse is in an excellent location and its business was originally quite good, but recently a transfer notice was posted because the owner urgently needed money.

Many people were interested, but only Lu Xinghe actually made a deal with him.

"The shop may be old, but the location is good, and the backyard is spacious, so it's worth the price." The owner insisted on a certain number, his tone firm.

Lu Xinghe just smiled and said slowly, "The price you quoted is indeed not high. But your kitchen exhaust duct has been in disrepair for many years and there are hidden dangers in the kitchen drainage. I need to repair all of these. In addition, the tea set, tables and chairs, and curtains almost all need to be replaced."

"In addition, we need to hire new staff, so the initial investment is not small."

"I won't pressure you. I'll lower the price by 30% and do a cash transaction. This will save you the trouble of going back and forth. Why not?"

After several rounds, Lu Xinghe finally won the entire teahouse at a price far below the market value.

After acquiring the teahouse, she didn't rush into decorating it, but instead drew a few sketches first.

She redesigned the layout of the teahouse, turning the first floor into an open seating area for guests to sit and drink at their leisure, while the second floor was set up as private rooms for dignitaries to have private conversations.

She also reorganized the kitchen layout, and specially designated a work area for making milk tea.

"The front desk should be spacious but not noisy, and behind the counter, a cabinet should be set up to display some of the freshly made pastries."

"The milk tea is sealed in a bamboo tube for easy carrying..."

She continued talking to herself, completely unaware that the craftsmen and apprentices beside her were listening in stunned silence.

This was the first time they had ever seen a shop decorated like this.

As evening fell, Xie Jue arrived at Nanfang. The signboard outside the teahouse had not yet been changed, but several layers of curtains had been erected in front of the door, and it was vaguely visible that renovations were underway inside.

Several workers were carrying timber in and out.

As soon as he stepped across the threshold, he smelled a faint scent of wood, and the floor tiles under his feet had been replaced with gray-blue plain stones.

A row of low tables lined the wall, with a custom-made order counter in front. Tea and snacks were displayed separately, and the operating area was moved to the back, yet it was still easy to see at a glance.

A hint of surprise flashed across Xie Jue's eyes.

At this moment, Lu Xinghe came out.

She rolled up her sleeves, a few beads of sweat still clinging to her forehead. "Young master, what brings you here?"

Xie Jue's gaze swept across the entire hall, then looked at her. "I've never seen such a layout before. You've done a great job."

"From now on, you will be in charge of all the things that are free for half a day."

A bright light shone in Lu Xinghe's eyes, and her smile couldn't be hidden. "Okay, I definitely won't let you down."

Just as she was about to say something more, she suddenly heard light footsteps outside.

Before long, Changqing strode in and whispered in Xie Jue's ear, "Young Master, Princess Wanzhi has arrived."

A warm light instantly appeared in Xie Jue's eyes, and he asked in a low voice, "Where is he?"

Before he could finish speaking, the curtain was lifted.

Gao Wanzhi stood under the curtain in a light-colored dress, a hairpin swaying gently in her hair. Her eyes were clear and bright. She looked into the room and her eyes met Xie Jue's.

In that instant, her cheeks flushed uncontrollably.

She recalled the events of last night: the drunkenness, the stage, the carriage.

And... that vague, intimate moment.

She forced herself to look away, but her cheeks still felt unbearably hot.

Xie Jue quickly came to greet him, his face beaming with undisguised joy. "Why are you here?"

"I have something very important to tell you."

"I have already requested permission to annul the engagement. My marriage to the Jiang family is hereby terminated from this day forward."

"Really?" Xie Jue was pleasantly surprised.

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you about something like this?"

Xie Jue looked at her, his expression softening. "However, if the Jiang family agrees to annul the engagement, the two families can reconcile, which would be more effective and would avoid much criticism from the public."

Gao Wanzhi frowned. "But the problem now is that the Jiang family refuses to back down."

"I have a way to do this."

As he spoke, he blinked. "Come closer, and I'll tell you."

Gao Wanzhi leaned closer, half believing and half doubting.

Xie Jue leaned close to her ear and whispered something.

Her eyes widened slightly as she listened, and she couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Seeing the two so naturally intimate, Lu Xinghe couldn't help but chuckle softly. She then turned around and quietly slipped away.

Embroidery Workshop.

Jiang Huaiyu sat in the inner hall on the second floor, with a thick stack of account books spread out in his hands. He flipped through them slowly, but he was no longer as at a loss as he had been at the beginning.

During this period, as soon as his affairs in the court were over, he would rush to the shop, almost every day without fail.

Now, he is proficient in understanding sales and purchase reconciliation, allocating funds, and calculating profits and losses.

Jiang Huaiyu closed the ledger, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

That's all there is to doing business.

What Xie Jue can do, Jiang Huaiyu can do too, and he will do it even better.

He waved to the shopkeeper and asked, "How's business today?"

The shopkeeper cupped his hands and replied, "Young master, we recently lowered our prices, which has attracted many customers. Sales were excellent today; we sold more than ten sets of those best-selling embroidery items alone. We're also seeing more and more repeat customers, many of whom are new customers brought in by our old clients."

Jiang Huaiyu's expression brightened. "Alright, let's continue."

"Go and get more fabric. Once business picks up, we'll definitely run out of cloth. We can't let this business, which has finally taken off, go downhill like this."

After listening, the shopkeeper hesitated slightly and advised in a low voice, "Young master, the price of cloth is already trending upwards. If you buy in large quantities now, while we're still offering low prices, I'm afraid..."

He carefully chose his words, "If this continues, we're likely to lose even more."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huaiyu remained unmoved, saying, "I have already considered this issue."