Chapter 19
Lu Hanzhi didn’t pay much attention to the first half of the sentence, but the second half made his eyes light up with excitement— a 50% discount coupon!
Just moments ago, he had been stressing over the remaining nine exchange points he needed, but now he had this discount coupon.
Unfortunately, it was a one-time-use coupon, and he only had eleven exchange points in hand.
What could he do?
He had no choice but to open the exchange store immediately and use it in the magic artifact section to redeem a single-target permanent spiritual attack talisman.
With the one remaining exchange point, he exchanged for four cans of infant formula suited to Ah Chan’s current stage.
Afterward, he glanced over the instructions for the talisman. He had actually already read them before, but he reviewed them once more.
This type of talisman could be attached to any medium.
Lu Hanzhi planned to use the first earnings he had just made to buy a jade bracelet for Madam Lu and attach the talisman to it.
After all, other jewelry might be removed at night while sleeping, but a jade bracelet was something one could wear all the time.
If he paired it with a few sweet words, he was sure he could make Madam Lu so happy that she wouldn’t want to take it off.
Over the past few days, with Lu Hanzhi’s three daily doses of antibacterial medicine and twice-daily injections, the Eldest Prince’s illness had finally improved.
The inflammation was now under control, and after a few more days of medication, he should fully recover.
At the same time, rumors had started circulating at court— the Emperor’s wind illness had flared up again, and for the past two days, he had shut himself off from visitors and even skipped morning court sessions.
The Crown Prince was temporarily handling government affairs. His intentions were clear.
This was a quiet purge of other factions, paving the way for the Crown Prince’s rule.
Then, another explosive piece of news shook the capital— General Wuwei, Rong Di, was ambushed at Chenghan Pass, left gravely injured, and now lay unconscious on the brink of death.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor flew into a rage and immediately dispatched investigators to look into the matter.
When the news reached the estate in the southern suburbs, Lu Hanzhi was utterly stunned.
In the original novel, this event had been mentioned, but there had been no mention of Rong Di being so gravely wounded or falling into a coma.
Back then, Third Prince Yuwen Jing had indeed ordered his foreign uncle to send assassins to Chenghan Pass to kill Rong Di. But Rong Di was the Great Zhao Dynasty’s strongest warrior— did they think he was that easy to assassinate?
If Lu Hanzhi remembered correctly, Rong Di had repelled the foreign warrior and even killed several of the attackers.
The assassins had done their work discreetly, leaving no identifying marks behind.
But this time was different— the corpses were found carrying hidden weapons and waist tokens engraved with the word “Wolf”.
This was the mark of the Wolf King Tribe, the clan of Third Prince Yuwen Jing’s uncle, Tuoba Hong, the chieftain of the Wolf King Tribe.
However, this wasn’t public knowledge in the capital— Lu Hanzhi only learned of it while administering injections to the Eldest Prince.
He overheard the two brothers discussing it. By now, the two princes had already begun treating Lu Hanzhi as one of their own, so they didn’t bother hiding anything when talking in front of him.
Lu Hanzhi was completely shocked. Was the story really supposed to be going in this direction? Was this really how it was supposed to go? Really?
But whether it was or not, it had nothing to do with him.
As the plot continued spiraling out of control, Lu Hanzhi took on his second mission from the task panel.
“Expand to three franchise stores and increase the area’s daily GDP to 100 taels. Bonus: Host gains a 200% revenue boost while the mission is active. Buff ends when the mission is completed.
Lu Hanzhi was very satisfied with this buff. It seemed his previous mission also included a revenue-boosting buff.
However, achieving 100 taels of daily revenue was definitely going to be a challenge.
He checked his current earnings. Excluding the 500 taels from that mysterious clean-shaven customer, his actual daily GDP was only 35 taels.
To hit 100 taels per day, he would need a few more big-spending customers.
But where was he supposed to find those miracle clients? Big spenders didn’t just fall from the sky!
Lu Hanzhi sighed, realizing that excluding storefront costs and material expenses, reaching that 100 taels daily goal wouldn’t be easy.
No more talking— it was time to get to work.
That afternoon, he sent Zai Yu to look for store locations.
This time, he didn’t limit his search to the outskirts— instead, he aimed for the heart of the capital.
He didn’t want to rely on the Lu family’s businesses— otherwise, people would say he was mooching off his family’s connections.
If he wanted to be a true man, he had to make it on his own.
Even though, technically, he wasn’t actually a “true man.”
After Zai Yu left, Lu Hanzhi sent He Ming to invite the manager of Yongxing County’s Treasure Pavilion to bring a selection of fine jade bracelets for him to choose from.
Madam Lu’s birthday was coming up soon. He had to make sure she wore the bracelet that day.
If he remembered correctly, in the original novel, Madam Lu’s birthday had been a pivotal moment in her attitude toward him.
In the book, after Lu Hanzhi married into the Crown Prince’s household, he hadn’t returned to visit his family. But he did attend Madam Lu’s birthday banquet— looking extremely irritable the entire time.
He arrogantly believed that marrying into the Crown Prince’s residence made him superior to others, disregarding his own family and even breaking Madam Lu’s heart in front of all the guests.
Su Wan’ning, on the other hand, acted like a considerate and dutiful daughter-in-law. When Madam Lu’s gout flared up, she personally gifted her an embroidered forehead cloth.
Madam Lu grew increasingly fond of her. Upon learning that she harbored feelings for the Crown Prince, she disregarded her younger son’s status in the prince’s household and tacitly approved of their relationship.
While Su Wan’ning struggled internally, her relationship with the Crown Prince became more passionate. Eventually, she succumbed to temptation and conceived his child.
Just as Lu Hanzhi sat staring blankly at a pile of jade bracelets and jewelry, Yuwen Min silently entered the room once again.
With a metallic clang, the heavy sword dropped to the ground. Yuwen Min lowered his gaze, glanced at the jade bracelet in Lu Hanzhi’s hand, and remarked, “These are all low-quality trinkets, not worth much.”
Lu Hanzhi was startled. He hastily placed the jade bracelet back, composed himself, and said, “Do you have to keep sneaking around? You know scaring people to death is a real thing, right?”
Yuwen Min raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So you’re not calling me ‘Your Highness’ anymore? And no longer addressing yourself as a mere commoner?”
Lu Hanzhi: …
Can’t I just drop the act after a few days?
He shut the jewelry box and said, “This is just a small, rural county. What kind of fine goods can you expect?”
He had assumed that Yuwen Min had come just to mock him again.
After all, in the original story, Lu Hanzhi was someone who strangled his own child for the sake of wealth and status, marrying into the Crown Prince’s household.
It was only natural that the aloof and proud Fourth Prince would look down on such a person.
But to his surprise, Yuwen Min pulled a handkerchief from his robes and held it out to him. “Consider this a token of thanks for your help this time. I just grabbed it from my mother’s jewelry box—no need to be polite.”
As he spoke, he shoved the handkerchief into Lu Hanzhi’s hand, picked up his heavy sword, and left.
Even after Yuwen Min was gone, Lu Hanzhi remained somewhat dazed. He unfolded the handkerchief and found inside a pure white jade bracelet.
He stared at it in astonishment, completely caught off guard.
Wasn’t the Fourth Prince supposed to be cold and unfeeling, incapable of gratitude? Why had he given him such a valuable gift just for helping him once?
This jade bracelet was clearly no ordinary item. Moreover, the handkerchief wrapped around it had a single embroidered character—“Die”.
Note: it’s Die in Chinese not die in English.
That character wasn’t from Concubine Rong.
Concubine Rong was the only daughter of General Rong. Even her name carried an air of heroism—Rong Sa.
The “Die” character belonged to the late consort who had been stripped of her title and whose child had been allowed to live while she perished.
Lu Hanzhi didn’t recall her full name. After all, she was only briefly mentioned in the book. The fact that he even remembered this detail was already impressive.
Should he feel touched, or should he be afraid?
This was an heirloom from the future tyrant’s deceased mother!
Even if Yuwen Min had just casually taken it from his mother’s jewelry box, it must have been an imperial gift from the late emperor.
That consort, known as Noble Lady Die, had entered the palace during the late emperor’s final years. She had been significantly younger than the current emperor.
Because of her youth and beauty, the late emperor had felt guilty toward her and granted her many lavish rewards, even directly elevating her to the rank of consort.
During the late emperor’s reign, she had no favor. But after his passing, she was left at the mercy of her son.
And that son had been ruthless—he took advantage of his own stepmother and then discarded her, allowing her to die while keeping her child.
Lu Hanzhi sighed and silently accepted the bracelet.
Compared to the ones beneath it, this jade bracelet made the rest look like mere worthless stones.
Not just his mother—even the consorts in the palace would undoubtedly love it.
Without hesitation, he pulled out a permanent personality charm from his robes. Following the instructions in the manual, he pressed the charm onto the jade bracelet.
A flash of white light enveloped it, and the charm was seamlessly embedded within.
Lu Hanzhi then found a more presentable silk box, carefully placed the jade bracelet inside, and set it aside for Madam Lu’s upcoming birthday.
That evening, when Zai Yu returned, he handed Lu Hanzhi two property deeds.
One shop was located on East Main Street, the other on West Main Street—both bustling commercial areas.
These locations had high foot traffic, but the rent was exorbitant. Compared to the small county, the cost was more than three times higher for the same shop size.
Lu Hanzhi watched as his daily GDP plummeted from eighty taels per day to seventy and felt an instant pang of heartache.
This time, the mission reward was the same as before—five exchange points and a beginner treasure chest.
He decided to focus for now and instructed Zai Yu to recruit more tenant farmers and workers. They needed to produce at least a thousand pieces of various fragrant soaps within three days.
By the time all this was done, the sky had darkened.
Ah Chan had been sunbathing in the corridor while Ah Man held him, and now he was finally brought inside.
Lu Hanzhi quickly took him into his arms, nearly dropping him in shock at his weight.
Wait a minute—if he remembered correctly, wasn’t Ah Chan not even two months old yet?
Why did this two-month-old baby weigh as much as a six-month-old?!
And why was his tiny head already so steady? Wasn’t he supposed to only start holding his head up at three months?
So this was what happened when a baby ate and slept well—he grew fast!
Holding the chubby Little Fatty Chan, Lu Hanzhi muttered, “You really take after your father. The older you get, the more you look like him.” At this thought, he felt a little anxious. What if Yuwen Min found out? This child was his biological son, after all. There had to be some kind of father-son instinct.
Fortunately, Yuwen Min hadn’t paid much attention to the child. Otherwise, with their constant eye contact every day, things would have been hard to hide.
The next day, Lu Hanzhi awaited a major client who had come to pick up an order.
The visitor was once again that pale-faced, beardless middle-aged man. This time, however, Lu Hanzhi observed him carefully. The man’s back was slightly hunched, his voice was sharp, and when he walked, his feet turned inward.
There was a high chance he was a eunuch.
A eunuch buying his fragrant soaps?
If he really was one, then who was his master?
Fragrant soaps were mostly used by women.
Yet, the imperial concubines of the Great Zhao Dynasty were not allowed to leave the palace privately.
If someone had come all the way to the capital’s outskirts for this, then there were only two possibilities…
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