Dragon's Origin

The Imperial Guards and the ceremonial guard were all under the direct command of the Emperor. Linking these to the name of Chief Steward Li easily brought to mind a figure whom almost all important officials in the capital would instruct their families never to offend—the current Grand Eunuch Li, the chief steward of the inner palace.

If it were that old monster, the crown prince's body would already be trembling. As for Guang Yuan, who had been spouting harsh words all along, he couldn't help but shiver at the mere mention of the name. The young nobleman was slightly better, but his face had turned completely pale, devoid of any color.

In terms of cultivation, Chief Steward Li was said to have already entered the legendary realm. The entire Changshan Prince's Mansion couldn't find a master who could contend with Chief Steward Li. In other words, if a real fight broke out, Chief Steward Li alone could wipe out the entire Changshan Prince's family.

In terms of status, Chief Steward Li was the Grand Eunuch, the Emperor's most favored person. It was said that the suggestions for the Grand Ritual came from Chief Steward Li. The crown prince was just a crown prince, not yet a prince. Even his father, the Changshan Prince, was just a nominal prince.

The titles in the world that were personally conferred by the Emperor were only those of the rulers of the vassal states. It seemed that there were dukes, marquises, earls, viscounts, and barons, but within the royal family, princes, kings, and princes of the commandery were all just nominal titles, not real titles, just appellations. It was precisely because of this that the Grand Ritual was able to gain the recognition of the feudal lords.

Titles with people and territories were the real titles recognized by the Emperor. These within the royal family were just appellations of status, nominal titles. Otherwise, if any son of the Emperor dared to stand on the heads of the feudal lords and act arbitrarily, would the royal family still want to survive?

A nominal prince, and a two-character prince at that, comparing status with the Emperor's close confidant? Wasn't that just being full and having nothing better to do? Was he tired of living?

In terms of ruthlessness? The Changshan Prince's heir was only capable of engaging in activities such as bullying the market, seizing by trickery, and at most, snatching people into the Prince's Mansion to abuse them, killing a few who didn't obey. In the end, he was just a second-generation纨绔, how could he compare ruthlessness with a eunuch like Chief Steward Li, who had emerged from a sea of corpses and blood?

Not to mention Chief Steward Li, just pulling out any eunuch from the imperial city, their methods of torturing people could make them wish they were dead. As for Chief Steward Li himself, just a few months ago, he had calmly ordered the execution of hundreds of people in the capital, including the Seventh Prince and four important officials. Even if all the people in the Changshan Prince's Mansion were added up, they might not be able to reach that number.

If the backer of this store was this master, the crown prince, recalling the words he had said earlier about smashing the signboard and forcibly buying 90% of the shares, wished he could smash his head on the ground and die. Unfortunately, he was not willing to die.

In the distance, at the street entrance, three riders finally appeared. Their faces were not clear from afar, but their clothing could be seen clearly. At just one glance, the hearts of the three princes sank to the bottom of the valley—the attire of the inner palace.

Now, they could only hope that Chief Steward Li was another Chief Steward Li with the surname Li serving in the imperial palace, and not the Chief Steward Li they were imagining.

As the three riders got closer and closer, and their faces gradually became clear, Guang Yuan and the young nobleman, the two followers, could see the faces of the three knights, but they were not qualified to have met Chief Steward Li, so they felt okay. But the crown prince was already trembling beside him, almost unable to stand.

What they feared came true—this Chief Steward Li was actually Grand Eunuch Li, the chief steward by the Emperor's side!

Smashing the plaque sent by the Imperial Guard on the spot? Waiting until it was hung up before smashing it? Just kidding, who in the entire capital, with one exception which is the Emperor himself, would have the guts to remove the signboard personally hung by Chief Steward Li after it was hung up?

Not to mention within the capital, counting the whole world, how many people would dare to remove the signboard he personally hung up in the capital? Chief Steward Li's fame wasn't just because of his power, but also because of his cultivation and ruthlessness. Back then, he had only gone to Worry-Free City once, and the entire inner city of Worry-Free City was silent. How many people dared to make a loud noise in front of him?

The crown prince's resentful gaze instantly fixed on Mei'er and Uncle Liu. It was all their fault for not showing their deep backing, clearly deliberately leading him into the trap! If you have a backer and aren't afraid, why don't you show it? At this time, the crown prince completely forgot that from beginning to end, neither Mei'er nor Uncle Liu had shown the slightest fear.

The three horses trotted along, and soon arrived not far away. While still more than ten zhang away, Chief Steward Li had already reined in his horse, dismounted, and walked over with two serving eunuchs.

"Boss, Shopkeeper, congratulations, congratulations!" Completely different from the hideous old monster in everyone's mind, the current Chief Steward Li was simply extremely amiable, and the smile on his face was simply like a spring breeze.

Now, Chief Steward Li only had Mei'er and Uncle Liu in his eyes, or rather, only Mei'er. As for the others, who were they?

"The Emperor said that it's just a merchant's signboard, and there's no need for those rules of three kneelings and nine prostrations, it's just a signboard!" After congratulating, Chief Steward Li began to explain the reason for his late arrival: "Therefore, this old servant won't put on that airs of an imperial envoy, I'll send the things over first, and this old servant will hang it up myself."

If they were to do the whole Emperor-bestowed thing, then every customer who entered the door would have to kowtow and salute the signboard first, who could stand that? So the Emperor also knew it was not good, and directly didn't do that, and specially stated that it was just a signboard. Since it wasn't Emperor-bestowed, then naturally Chief Steward Li couldn't personally send it over, being slightly later, seeming casual.

The crown prince was already about to cry listening from the side. How was the Emperor involved in this? What relationship did the Emperor have with this store?

Chief Steward Li didn't care who these people were or what they were doing. After explaining, he asked if the time had arrived. Without saying a word, he held up the signboard with both hands, stomped his feet, and soared into the air, turning lightly in the air, accurately placing the signboard on the bracket above the door frame. Only the red cloth on top was not yet pulled down, and the crowd couldn't see the name of the signboard.

The action was dashing and neat, and this one action made the surrounding crowd shout "Good!" in unison.

"The matter of unveiling the signboard has to be done by the boss herself." After hanging up the signboard, Chief Steward Li invited Mei'er to come and unveil it.

This was her own business, and Mei'er knew that this was what Wang Sheng had asked the Emperor for, so she didn't stand on ceremony. She stepped forward, pulled the long red cloth, and slowly pulled it open, revealing the true face of the signboard.

The three large characters of "Qian Sheng Yuan", upright and peaceful, instantly appeared before everyone's eyes. The three characters were written with flowing strokes, as steady as a mountain, truly wonderful.

"Good! Good characters!" There was another burst of cheers from the crowd, this time from those who knew the goods, praising the three large characters.

The crown prince certainly saw the three characters of Qian Sheng Yuan, but he was more careful and looked at the small print of the inscription next to it. The three small seal characters of Su Honglie, people who were illiterate really couldn't recognize them.

Su Honglie, wasn't that the name of the current Emperor? The crown prince's heart trembled, and he sat directly on the ground.