Chapter 50: Moral Duty, Old Affection

Shangguan Ya'er was momentarily stunned when she saw the glass cups inside the box. "Young Master Chu, you had so many of these hidden away?"

"Naturally," Chu Nan said with a smug expression. "I told you before, these are limited editions. Supply can barely meet demand."

Shangguan Ya'er stared at him for a long while before finally letting out a helpless chuckle. "Very well, Young Master Chu. I agree to your terms this time. I will mention your dividend requirements to Her Majesty later."

"However, let's get one thing straight: how the profits are split is entirely up to Her Majesty to decide."

"Deal!" Chu Nan clapped his hands. "With those words from you, I can rest easy. Lady Shangguan, I leave these cups in your capable hands."

Shangguan Ya'er nodded and gestured for her attendants to lift the box.

Then, turning back to give Chu Nan a playful smirk, she said, "You certainly drive a hard bargain, Young Master Chu. Aren't you afraid Yang Ruyan will come looking to settle accounts once she learns the truth?"

"Afraid of her?" Chu Nan let out a cold snort, leaning back in his chair with a nonchalant posture.

"She was the one who snatched my cup; I haven't even settled accounts with her yet."

"Besides, even if she finds out, what can she possibly do? Is she going to storm in here and beat me up?"

Early the next morning, the major teahouses and wine taverns in the capital were bustling with noise, and a fresh wave of heated discussions swept through the streets and alleys.

"Have you heard? Her Majesty has brought out another batch of 'Jade Glaze' cups and is preparing to put them up for public auction!"

"What?! Weren't there only one of those Jade Glaze cups in existence? How could another batch suddenly appear?"

"Hah, that's where you're out of the loop. Word is that these Jade Glaze pieces were shipped from overseas by foreign merchants, and there are plenty of them."

"Her Majesty had a stash reserved all along, and she's only releasing them in batches now!"

"Then what about that 'one-of-a-kind' piece the Yang family spent thirty thousand taels of gold on previously..."

Someone changed the subject, their face brimming with gloating amusement. "Looks like it's worthless now!"

"Worthless is an understatement! I heard that in order to buy that Jade Glaze cup, Yang Tiejin sold off several ancestral estates in the suburbs and even pawned off multiple deeds to the family's best farmland."

"And yet, it turns out the thing isn't unique at all! It's utterly hilarious!"

"Hahaha, the Yang family has truly made a complete laughingstock of themselves this time!"

The news spread throughout the capital. In less than half a day, the Yang family plummeted from being a favored military noble household to becoming the biggest joke in the city.

Inside the main hall of the Yang residence, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt as though it could drip water.

Yang Tiejin slammed his palm down onto the table with a fierce crash, his roar causing the hall to tremble slightly. "Outrageous! Simply outrageous! How could Her Majesty toy with the Yang family like this?"

His complexion was ashen, his eyes wide with fury, as if he might smash the teacups on the table to pieces at any moment.

Sitting beside him, Yang Ruyan wore a heavy frown, her expression cold and stern.

"Father," Yang Ruyan said in a deep voice, "anger serves no purpose now."

"The crucial point is that this matter has already spread throughout the entire city, and our Yang family has become the target of public mockery."

"Ruyan, tell me! Was this that bastard Chu Nan's doing?"

Yang Tiejin glared at his daughter with blazing fury. "This Jade Glaze is not some peerless treasure at all, just an ordinary cup! He actually dared to swindle the imperial court, causing our Yang family to suffer massive losses!"

Yang Ruyan looked coldly at her father, her voice low yet carrying a trace of chill. "Father, if Her Majesty was truly swindled, why would she put another batch of Jade Glaze up for auction?"

"Do you really think she wouldn't know the truth behind it?"

Yang Tiejin choked upon hearing this, his lips parting, but no words came out.

He was not a dull-witted man. Once he calmed down, he naturally understood that a minor merchant like Chu Nan could never manipulate such a scheme entirely on his own.

"However, the price at this auction..." Yang Ruyan continued, "has dropped to ten thousand taels of gold per cup."

"This shows that Her Majesty's objective is very clear: she is using the Jade Glaze to amass wealth and ease the military expenditure pressure of the northern border campaign."

"That 'sky-high price' of thirty thousand taels was merely a gimmick."

"Damnable!" Yang Tiejin clenched his fists tightly, his eyes practically spitting fire.

"Hasn't our Yang family become the laughingstock of the capital!"

Yang Ruyan did not reply. She raised her eyes to look out the window, her gaze profound.

Meanwhile, inside Chu Nan's small shop, the atmosphere was completely opposite.

Chu Nan was lazily leaning back behind the counter, a blade of grass dangling from his lips as he casually flipped through an account book.

The commotion drifting in from the street put him in high spirits, and his smile became uncontrollable whenever commoners passing by his shop mentioned the Yang family's scandal.

"The Yang family spent thirty thousand taels of gold on a cup that's now worth only ten thousand. Tsk tsk, that depreciation sure happened fast!"

Chu Nan grinned, his eyes filled with schadenfreude. "I honestly wonder if Yang Tiejin still has any face left to show."

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside.

He raised his head, his lips instinctively parting to blurt out, "Welcome."

However, the moment he saw the person entering, the smile on his face froze.

"Chu Nan!" With a sharp cry, Yang Ruyan strode into the shop. She was dressed in martial attire, her sword-like brows slightly arched, and an undercurrent of suppressed fury radiated from her features.

"Oh." Chu Nan immediately straightened his posture, forcefully swallowing back his smile.

He adopted an expression of utter innocence. "Well, if it isn't Lady Shangguan—ah, Miss Yang! What a rare guest. What wind blew you in?"

"You still dare to laugh?" Seeing the suppressed smile on his face, Yang Ruyan felt the anger in her chest flare up fiercely. She gritted her teeth and said, "Chu Nan, you are utterly devoid of decency!"

"Uh..." Chu Nan blinked. Although he had already guessed why she was here, he intentionally played dumb.

"How am I devoid of decency? Miss Yang has honored my humble shop with her presence, and I am extending a warm welcome without the slightest bit of neglect."

"Cut the crap!" Her face flushed red with anger, Yang Ruyan pulled a crystal-clear glass cup from her robes and slammed it down onto the counter.

Chu Nan glanced down and almost laughed out loud.

Wasn't this the exact cup she had "lifted" from his shop earlier?

She was the one who had snatched it by force, yet here she was acting like an aggrieved accuser coming to settle scores.

He couldn't help rolling his eyes. "Miss Yang, didn't you take this yourself back then? What is the meaning of bringing it back now?"

Yang Ruyan's tone faltered for a moment, but she quickly hardened her resolve. "It was my fault for taking it then, but you knew what these cups were all about all along!"

"You knew full well that Her Majesty was selling these things, so why didn't you warn us?!"

Chu Nan was practically amused to the point of laughter by her unreasonableness. "Warn you? Miss Yang, me selling cups to Her Majesty is Her Majesty's business, and you taking my cup is your business."

"Yang Tiejin spending thirty thousand taels of gold was the Yang family's business. What does any of that have to do with me?"

"You!" Yang Ruyan was momentarily at a loss for words, but quickly gritted her teeth and said, "Chu Nan, let's be straightforward. Whether you bear responsibility in this matter or not, you are ultimately tied to it."

"Even if you don't care about our past acquaintance, surely you have some sense of moral decency?"

"Oh?" Chu Nan raised an eyebrow, leaning back into his chair with his arms crossed. "Miss Yang, your words are starting to confuse me."

"What past acquaintance? And what moral decency?"