The First Lackey Under The Empress

So direct? Really this direct!

Zhao Du'an had spent his previous life around leaders, and through constant exposure, had naturally mastered some conversational techniques.

Currently, he was in a disadvantageous position. Being alone in this two-on-one situation, many gentle methods were difficult to implement, so he simply chose a straightforward and blunt approach.

As his rather blunt words were delivered, both the Prince of Huai'an and his daughter fell silent.

"Misunderstanding?"

The portly Prince of Huai'an seemed to chuckle, saying softly:

"This is the Huai River region, and I am the Prince of Huai'an. Why should I care what others think about me dining with someone on my own territory?"

Keep boasting… Am I supposed to believe you or that you're Qin Shi Huang?

Zhao Du'an mentally scoffed.

As expected, the Prince of Huai'an changed the subject, saying:

"Besides, how could anything in this world be changed by a single meal?"

Zhao Du'an remained silent, assessing the reasons behind this meeting with the father and daughter.

Publicly booking the entire Great Wind Pavilion was an action that inherently meant the Prince of Huai'an was deliberately sending a signal to everyone.

What signal?

Expressing his closeness to the imperial court? No… of course not.

The Prince of Huai'an didn't choose to directly send an invitation. Instead, he had the Princess, who was familiar with him, "trick" him into coming here, and in their conversation, they defined the meeting as between "elder" and "junior."

This inherently expressed that it was a private meeting.

Moreover, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision after Prince Jing had met with him.

Combining this with the Prince of Huai'an's notorious "weather vane" stance and the three-way situation in Lake Pavilion that Feng Ju had revealed to him,

Zhao Du'an's heart gradually settled down. He roughly understood.

The Prince of Huai'an's meeting with him today was, outwardly, for Prince Jing's benefit.

It was to express a state of being neither too close nor too distant from the imperial court.

It was conceivable that after Prince Jing learned about his meeting with him, he would definitely worry that the Prince of Huai'an's position would lean towards the Empress, affecting the success or failure of the "market opening."

Thus, he would offer further enticements and promises.

Internally, the Prince of Huai'an also wanted to use this conversation to gauge the imperial court's bottom line. His attitude, representing the Empress's presence in Lake Pavilion this time, would reflect the Empress's attitude to a certain extent…

As a massive weather vane, the Prince of Huai'an was clearly using his influence over the market opening as a bargaining chip to probe the imperial court's thoughts and sincerity.

His earlier statement, "This is the Huai River region," implied that as a local power, the Prince of Huai'an's stance would greatly influence the attitude of the neutral faction, thereby affecting the success or failure of the imperial court's market opening this time.

On a smaller scale, this was a meeting concerning the "Lake Pavilion Market Opening."

On a larger scale, it might involve negotiations on which side the Prince of Huai'an would ultimately lean towards.

Of course, the sentence "Nothing in this world can be changed by a single meal" also had a double meaning.

It meant that the negotiations with Zhao Du'an would not determine his final position.

It could only be said that none of the Eight Princes were easy to deal with, and this gourmand in front of him was a riddle-speaker whose every word contained multiple layers of meaning.

Whether one could understand the other party's implied meaning was also a test of the weight of Zhao Du'an's position as "Inspector."

…

"Your Highness, the fish is ready."

Suddenly, a maid's voice came from the bottom of the stairs, followed by servants from the Prince's mansion carrying the freshly cooked big black carp.

The steaming fresh fish once again interrupted the rhythm of the conversation between the two parties.

The three of them paused their conversation, waiting for the black carp, drizzled with golden sauce and sprinkled with crisp scallion and bamboo shoot slices, to be placed in the center of the Eight Immortals table.

All the servants retreated downstairs, leaving only the three of them on the entire floor.

"Haha, we've been talking too much. Take your chopsticks and have a taste,"

The Prince of Huai'an chuckled, rolled up his sleeves, picked up his wooden chopsticks, and urged:

"The best thing about river fish is its freshness. If it's alive before being slaughtered on the cutting board, it must not be stewed for too long after being put in the pot, or it will become tough."

Zhao Du'an also picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of the fish, and found it indeed extremely delicious.

It brightened his eyes, and he had a huge change in his impression of the Great Yu Dynasty's cuisine.

Although the seasonings in this world were far inferior to those of his previous life, it couldn't compare to the original flavor of top-notch ingredients. He didn't know how this fish was raised, but it had no fishy smell at all, and its flesh was exceptionally delicious.

The dining table fell silent for a moment, with only the three of them focusing on tasting the food.

After a while, Zhao Du'an took a sip of the fish soup, put down the spoon, wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, and proactively proposed a toast.

Then he praised:

"I've long heard that the river delicacies of the Huai River are the most beautiful, and today I've finally seen it. Although the imperial chefs in the capital are strong, unfortunately, the ingredients are already lacking when transported there."

Xu Junling smiled and pursed her lips:

"Why doesn't Envoy Zhao try the other side dishes? This table of side dishes is very particular."

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."

The Prince of Huai'an put down his wine cup and pointed to the eight different river delicacies around the fresh fish on the table, saying:

"These eight items are all different, but they are all representative of river delicacies. They have the elegant name of 'Eight River Delicacies'. Although they are delicious when tasted alone, they are always lacking. Only when paired with the freshly cooked stewed fish are they the best."

Zhao Du'an looked at the eight plates of river delicacies on the table, forming a "encircling" formation.

He then looked at the large black carp in the center of the "eight delicacies", which tasted very delicious and had several bites of meat torn off, and his expression became strange.

It's just…

It had the feel of the Eight Princes besieging the Empress.

With this in mind, looking at the side dishes on the entire Eight Immortals table, it really had the air of the mainland territory.

"They are indeed delicious and mouthwatering," Zhao Du'an sighed, "It's just a pity that one fish is not enough for a few people to eat, so we still have to rely on these eight delicacies to fill our stomachs."

The Prince of Huai'an didn't say anything.

The table fell silent for a moment. Seeing this, Xu Junling smiled and took the initiative to liven up the atmosphere:

"Speaking of which, I bet with my brother before that Envoy Zhao would definitely come to this market opening. After all, it is rumored that the idea of this new policy market opening came from Envoy Zhao."

Zhao Du'an smiled and humbly said:

"It's just a rumor. I only put forward a few ideas, which were fortunate enough to be referenced by Grand Tutor Dong and many scholars in the Institute for the Advancement of Literature. I don't know anything about the specific details. I didn't expect that at the Dharma Assembly, Han Banshan and others insisted on supporting me, and exaggerated it as if it was all my credit."

Well, he only formulated the entire framework policy, and didn't participate in the details at all.

He only did a little bit of minor work.

He wasn't lying.

The father and daughter exchanged a glance, and the Prince of Huai'an said with a faint smile:

"Although that's the case, it's already extraordinary to have such insight at a young age. This time, His Majesty has appointed you to come to Lake Pavilion to supervise, and I don't know how many people in the city are staring at you.

As a close minister of the Emperor, every move is inevitably speculated by others. This Prince also has a slight understanding of the current situation in Lake Pavilion, and being a few years older, I also have some words to say."

Zhao Du'an said seriously: "I'm all ears."

The Prince of Huai'an paused, his eyes seeming to see through him, and said calmly:

"When you entered the city today, whether you suppressed Xu Jinglong or embarrassed Prince Jing in the Unsuccessful Politician's Garden, it seemed rude, but there was a method. This Prince knows that you did it deliberately, and the purpose is to show the imperial court's majesty and make the merchants in the city who are wavering believe that the imperial court is stronger.

This move may be effective, but in this Prince's opinion, it's of little significance.

You seem to have won on the surface, but Prince Jing is secretly contacting all parties and knocking on them one by one. After all, the capital is too far away. To ordinary people, the Emperor's power is far inferior to the magistrate in front of them.

Now in the city, the agents of Prince Mu, Prince Heng, and others are all here, and their secret coercion on many merchants is far beyond what you, the Inspector, can compare to."

This gourmand prince stared at him and said seriously:

"In such a situation, have you thought about how to break the situation?"

These words were extremely straightforward, almost laying everything out on the table.

Clearly one of the Eight Princes, he spoke in a tone of a kind elder, considering Zhao Du'an's situation.

Zhao Du'an's expression was a little strange, but he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he folded his hands over his lower abdomen and leaned back.

He remained silent for a while, until the father and daughter frowned slightly, wanting to ask.

Only then did the corners of his mouth curl up slightly, revealing a bright smile:

"As long as Your Highness expresses your support for the new policy, I believe the situation will be easily resolved, won't it?"

…

ps: I found that the negotiation content can't be finished in two chapters… It's October, during the double period, whispering to ask for a guaranteed monthly ticket.