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Shopkeeper Shen figured that the current tea was not worth much, and it wouldn’t harm to give a few pounds of tea leaves to Master Xu to experiment with.

“All of it,” Wei Ruo replied.

“All…all of it?” Shopkeeper Shen gave a surprised look.

“Yes. More precisely, leave as many tea leaves unprocessed as can be stored. If there are not enough baskets or not enough space for storage, then it can’t be helped,” said Wei Ruo.

“This…” Shopkeeper Shen had a difficult expression on his face.

Leaving all unprocessed would mean a significant loss in silver.

“No problem, you can go and ask your master first. We will only do this after he agrees,” Wei Ruo suggested.

“Master Xu, please excuse me for a moment while I consult my master,” Shopkeeper Shen said.

“Okay, there’s no rush for now. Continue accompanying me while I look around. After I finish, you can go and find your master,” Wei Ruo suggested.

Wei Ruo needed to understand the Yusheng Tea Garden more comprehensively.

“Okay.” Shopkeeper Shen smiled and agreed, then continued to lead Wei Ruo around the tea garden.

While Wei Ruo was visiting the tea garden, somewhere in the Yusheng Tea Garden, in a special courtyard situated in the Tea Mountain, Fan Chengxu was entertaining an “unexpected guest.”

It was Chu Lan, who did not want to stay in the official residence.

Chu Lan did not want to stay in the official residence, but desired a quiet place. Therefore, Fan Chengxu vacated this small courtyard on Tea Mountain to provide a temporary residence for Chu Lan.

At the moment, the two were sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard, drinking tea.

Chu Lan put down his teacup and looked at Fan Chengxu, “You seem somewhat distracted.”

“Distracted? Not at all, just a little lazy today,” Fan Chengxu refuted.

While he denied verbally, in reality, he was indeed somewhat distracted. Compared to accompanying Chu Lan, Fan Chengxu was more interested in knowing about Xu Heyou’s circumstances.

Initially, he had planned to accompany Xu Heyou personally that day. He wanted to hear on the spot what unique insights Xu Heyou could offer.

However, Chu Lan wanted his company, and he couldn’t refuse, so he had to send his subordinate to go instead.

For fear that Chu Lan might notice something, Fan Chengxu started a new topic: “Prince, I heard that Lord Wei had a great fortune. He escaped death at the Ghost Gate and was miraculously saved.”

“Indeed, he is very lucky. At that time, we thought that his injury was incurable and asked a military doctor to escort him home to the Wei Family, thinking that he might want to see his family one last time,” Chu Lan shared the true situation at that time.

“There is a common saying that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ I wonder if Lord Wei will have the opportunity to be promoted after this battle.”

Although Wei Mingting was promoted twice in a short span last year, military officers during wartime get promoted based on their merits. As long as they perform well, no one would object to their rapid promotion.

“It shouldn’t be the case this time,” Chu Lan denied Fan Chengxu’s assumption.

“Why? Is it because the battle caused heavy losses?”

“The battle was not victorious, it was barely won. Also, the court has reservations about our defense being insufficient against the onslaught of the Japanese pirates,” Chu Lan explained.

” How can you blame your defense? Taizhou Prefecture’ s coastal defense is severely lacking in personnel, medicine and weapons. The fact that you managed to this point is already very commendable,” Fan Chengxu couldn’t help but comment.

“Well, you should ask your good uncle about this. In this battle, your uncle took the lead in blaming the Taizhou army for their weak defense,” Chu Lan retorted.

Hearing this, Fan Chengxu lightly touched his nose and said no more.

He was well aware of his uncle’s temperament. His uncle was indeed the type of person who would do such things.

Just then, Shopkeeper Shen approached and whispered something in Fan Chengxu’s ear.

“Oh? Is that so?” Fan Chengxu asked with interest.

“Yes, that’s exactly what he said,” Shopkeeper Shen confirmed.

“Well, let us proceed as he suggests. Anyhow, the tea leaves at this time are rather worthless. I’d like to see what he can do with them,” Fan Chengxu immediately made up his mind without hesitation.

“Then I will instruct the people in the garden immediately.”

Shopkeeper Shen was about to leave but was stopped by Chu Lan.

“Hold on.”

Shopkeeper Shen immediately halted.

Chu Lan then looked towards Fan Chengxu and asked, “Were you guys talking about Xu Heyou?”

“Prince, you are too sharp. Neither Shopkeeper Shen nor I mentioned anything related to Master Xu, yet you managed to guess that we were discussing him?” Fan Chengxu exclaimed in astonishment.

Chu Lan did not know why, but he just had a hunch, plus recently, Fan Chengxu had indeed been getting closer to Xu Heyou.

“It seems you two are quite close,” Chu Lan said.

“Prince, please don’t misunderstand. My relationship with Master Xu is purely about business,” Fan Chengxu explained.

“If you are doing business with him, why not discuss it face to face?” Chu Lan asked.

Fan Chengxu thought: Talking about business doesn’t necessarily require face- to-face discussion, is it that the 7th prince wants to meet Master Xu?

However, this thought he could only keep to himself, and on the surface, he had to go along with Chu Lan’s intentions.

“You are right, Prince. Shopkeeper Shen, go and invite Master Xu here,” Fan Chengxu instructed Shopkeeper Shen.

“Yes, sir.”

Shopkeeper Shen hurried back to find Wei Ruo.

At this moment, Wei Ruo was squatting in the field of the tea garden, examining the soil and tea leaves.

Shopkeeper Shen rushed over and from a distance, he only saw Xiumei. When he got closer, he saw Wei Ruo squatting on the ground.

“Master Xu, my master invites you to join him for tea and discuss further.” “Didn’t your master have other things to do?” Wei Ruo asked.

“Well…” Shopkeeper Shen didn’t knowhow to explain this issue. The minds of his master and Prince Chu Lan were not something he could fathom.

After a moment of thought, Shopkeeper Shen explained, “Indeed, my master was occupied before, but he is free now. When he found out that Master Xu was still in the garden, he asked me to invite you.”

“Alright then, I will go with you.”

Wei Ruo also recognized that it would be more direct to discuss the matter with Fan Chengxu. Also, besides the tea leaves that needed to be picked today, she also needed to discuss other issues related to the production of black tea which involved more details. It would be more cumbersome to convey everything through Shopkeeper Shen.

Weir Ruo followed Shopkeeper Shen to the small courtyard in the middle of Tea Mountain.

The courtyard was built amidst green surroundings, and stepping out from there, one would be greeted by the undulating hills of the Tea Mountain. It was quite a picturesque scene.

Upon entering the courtyard and passing through the veranda, she arrived in front of a pavilion.

Seeing the two figures sitting inside the pavilion, Wei Ruo paused and looked closely, realizing that Chu Lan was the other person.

Wei Ruo’s heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously wanted to turn around and leave.

However, by this time Chu Lan had already turned his gaze towards her. It was too late for Wei Ruo to flee.

When Wei Ruo remained standing in place, Fan Chengxu got up and walked over to her, “Master Xu, this way please.”

Wei Ruo averted her gaze from Chu Lan and followed Fan Chengxu into the pavilion.

New teacups have been placed on the table, clearly prepared for her.