The customers on the first and second floors all stopped their conversations and looked up at her. They were all curious about who this person was, daring to cause trouble on the day of the princess's shop opening.
Under the stares of so many pairs of eyes, Lady Li let out a cold snort. "What are you all looking at? Haven't you ever seen a beauty like me? Keep looking and I'll dig your eyes out!"
"Mother, please shut up!" Zhang Fengya shook Lady Li's arm. If it weren't for so many people watching, she would have wanted to cover Lady Li's mouth directly.
This wasn't Youzhou! This was Chang'an!
Although her father held a high position and was one of the twenty - four meritorious officials in Lingyan Pavilion, in Chang'an, it wasn't up to him.
As she was speaking, several strong servants came over and surrounded Zhang Fengya and her mother menacingly. They looked as if they could punch someone into the wall and not be able to pull them out.
Li Jingyun had wanted to take a nap, but the noise was too loud. When she came out to check, Princess Gaoyang had already sent people to "invite" Lady Li and Zhang Fengya out. Her own mother was right at the door of the private room on the third floor, witnessing everything.
With the mother - daughter pair gone, the entire Warm Building became much quieter.
Empress Zhangsun was sipping milk tea and giving instructions. "From now on, no matter how many Warm Buildings or Ice Buildings we open, they are never allowed to enter again."
"Yes, Mother. Daughter understands," Princess Gaoyang replied.
At the entrance of the Warm Building, Lady Li was still reluctant to give up and wanted to scold. Princess Xinxing, Li You, and Li Yin were just coming in. No one knew what Princess Xinxing said to Lady Li, but it made the mother - daughter pair leave.
Princess Gaoyang came down to greet Princess Xinxing. The two walked in front, arm in arm.
Li You laughed. "Gaoyang is really virtuous and capable. She has such a good relationship with Xinxing. They don't seem like sisters but more like a couple. The Ice Building and the Warm Building even sound like a pair just from their names."
"If you can't talk properly, just shut up," Princess Xinxing turned her head and gave Li You a cold stare.
He didn't even show up for the opening of the Ice Building. She met him on the street this time and thought he had turned over a new leaf, but it turned out he was still the same.
"Look at you. You're so narrow - minded. I just said one sentence. Did it hit a sore spot?" Li You continued. His words were like adding fuel to the fire.
"Come here quickly," Li Yin dragged Li You into the next private room forcefully and slammed the door shut.
Where no one could see, Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes so hard it seemed they would turn to the sky. No wonder this guy never attended any banquets. He should be worried that if he spoke inappropriately outside the imperial city, someone would put a sack over his head and beat him up.
His mouth was always so annoying.
She used to think he and the sixth brother, Li Yin, were a pair of oddballs, but now she realized that the sixth brother was much better than him. They were like heaven and earth.
In the private room, Empress Zhangsun, of course, also knew what had happened and heard Li You's words. She comforted Princess Gaoyang and Princess Xinxing and then coaxed Li Jingyun to sleep.
Her face was calm as usual, and it was impossible to tell what was on her mind.
In fact, she was so worried that she kept sighing.
Raising children was really a difficult problem. Li You's biological mother, Lady Yin, was originally Li Yuanji's wife. So this child had been extremely naughty since he was three or five years old. No matter how many knowledgeable and gentle teachers she and the emperor had sent to discipline him, it was of no use.
Those teachers either left in anger or resigned themselves, thinking Li You was a hopeless case. Even Mr. Kong Yingda from Hongwen Hall, after teaching Li You for less than seven days, rebuked Li You in front of her and the emperor in Taihe Hall for more than an hour. He cited classics and made every word well - founded.
After that, the emperor had arranged several excellent bodyguards around him, for fear that he would do something to harm the common people.
The effect of arranging bodyguards was quite significant. Li You didn't do anything bad, but his mouth was so sharp.
No one knew what would come out of his mouth next, and it could make people so angry that they couldn't even eat.
Princess Gaoyang and Princess Xinxing weren't angry for long. Then they each got busy with their business. A boss who needed ice came to Princess Gaoyang's side, and Princess Xinxing went to arrange which customer's place the clerk should go to first to teach how to make milk tea.
Li Jingyun couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep in the private room. The private room was completely quiet. No one even dared to breathe loudly.
In the next private room, Li Yin grabbed Li You's clothes and pushed him onto the bench. He lowered his voice. "Are you crazy? How could you say such things casually?"
"Why are you acting like this? We're not born of the same mother and don't often stay together. Why are you pretending to have deep sister - brother feelings? Let go of me quickly," Li You pushed Li Yin away, straightened his clothes, and let out a cold snort.
"Surely you're not worried about being blamed by the emperor and the empress? Don't worry. It won't be blamed on you. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Li You changed to a comfortable position, crossing his legs. Seeing Li Yin's expression, he suddenly laughed and picked up the candied fruits on the table and ate them on his own.
Li Yin yawned. Seeing that Li You was so stubborn, he was too lazy to say anything more.
He always valued family affection very much. It was true that he didn't like reading and just wanted to be a carefree and wealthy prince. People could say he was good - for - nothing, but he couldn't stand Li You's current behavior. He was so out of place in the royal family.
"By the way, I heard you have a good relationship with Li Jingyun. You also have a share in the profits of this Warm Building. I'll tell you a shocking secret. How about you give me half of your one - tenth share of the profits?" Li You patted Li Yin and proposed excitedly.
After hearing this, Li Yin bit into an apple and turned around, not wanting to look at him anymore.
What shocking secret could there be? Could he be telling him that he was Li Yuanji's son?
If someone else said this, he might have echoed a few words, but since it was Li You who said it, it was completely untrustworthy.
"Short - sighted. You're not fit to discuss great matters with," Li You mumbled and stopped talking.
The autumn rain was desolate. It had rained all day, but the sky cleared up in the evening. The setting sun dyed half of the sky red.
Li Jingyun opened her eyes groggily and found herself in her mother's arms. There was also a hibiscus quilt from the Warm Building covering her. Sister Mingda was sitting opposite, smiling at her.
She quickly sat up straight. From her mother and Sister Mingda, she learned what had just happened.
It included Zhang Fengya and her mother, as well as Li You's words.
Now that Zhang Liang knew about this, he had confined the mother - daughter pair to their home and submitted a memorial to her father to plead guilty.
And the fifth brother, Li You, had also returned to the palace. Her mother had ordered him to copy "Mengqiu" a hundred times and handed him over to Concubine Yin for strict supervision.
"Fifth brother? I always feel that fifth brother doesn't seem to like me," Li Jingyun said softly.
Empress Zhangsun let out a long sigh and stroked her little daughter's head. "Don't think about it. You've slept long enough. Let's go back to the palace. Just now, someone came to deliver a message that there's something wrong at the border. Your father is very worried. Let's go and have a look."
"Okay, Mother."
Li Jingyun wasn't fully awake yet. Although there were still many questions she wanted to ask, she was taken away by her mother just like that.
The Warm Building was still crowded with people. There were even more customers than when it first opened. Some people who couldn't find a seat simply stood in the open space and drank. Each of the stewards took away at least dozens of cups of milk tea. The shopkeeper was grinning from ear to ear.
Afterward, Princess Xinxing showed Li Jingyun the revenue on the opening day. It was a full 120,000 cash, an extremely astonishing amount anywhere.