The Frontier Prince: Starting From Scratch - Chapter 29 - A Turn of Events

“I’ve called you here today because I have some good news for you.”

After exchanging pleasantries and flattering one another for a while, Zhao Xu finally got to the point.

Dong An, Yang He, and Lv Chang perked up at his words.

Ever since Prince Yan recovered from his illness, first introducing the art of ice making and now unveiling this exquisite liquor, their admiration for him had only grown.

More importantly, he had established a personal guard, survived an assassination attempt, and taken control of the prefectural troops in Yan Prefecture.

The Prince’s Mansion now stood unshaken in Yan City.

Collaborating with such a powerhouse meant that, with the Prince’s backing, they no longer had to fear the Zhang Family.

“The new liquor from the Prince’s Mansion-you’ve seen it. Production has ramped up, but supplies of green-mote liquor, coal briquettes, and liquor jars are insufficient. I intend to entrust these three businesses to you, so you can supply them exclusively to the mansion. What do you think?” Zhao Xu said slowly.

The three men were overjoyed at his proposal.

Dong An was quick to speak up. “Your Highness, let the green-mote liquor be handled by the Dong Family. We used to run a brewery, but it was shut down after being suppressed by the Zhang Family. Now we can restart operations.”

Yang He immediately objected. “Dong An, that’s not fair! Of the three, green-mote liquor is the most profitable, and you’re snatching it for yourself!”

“Does your family have a brewery? Do you even know how to make liquor?” Dong An retorted, mocking him.

“You-Your Highness, you can’t play favorites here!” Yang He turned to Zhao Xu, practically pleading.

Lv Chang, standing silently to the side, kept his thoughts to himself. He was no fool-being placed in charge of the prefectural troops by Prince Yan was already a significant favor to his family. He had no intention of asking for more.

Zhao Xu was more than happy to see the three families harboring their own ambitions. As long as they remained loyal to him, a little competition among them was something he welcomed.

With a wave of his hand, he declared, “Since the Dong Family has a brewery, the green-mote liquor will go to them. The liquor jar business will be yours, Yang He, and the coal briquettes will be handled by the Lv Family.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” Dong An said gleefully, shooting a smug glance at Yang He.

Lv Chang nodded in agreement, showing no objections, while Yang He sulked, clearly dissatisfied.

Zhao Xu continued, “There will be plenty of business opportunities from the Prince’s Mansion in the future. I’ll make sure the Yang Family gets its fair share.”

Yang He’s mood instantly brightened, and the three men left satisfied.

After discussing delivery schedules and other details, they each returned to their respective homes.

News of the Prince’s Mansion handing out lucrative business opportunities spread quickly, bringing joy to the three families, who wasted no time preparing for the tasks ahead.

The rumors stirred up quite a commotion among the regional magnates.

In a secluded villa outside Yan City, several family heads gathered for drinks.

After a few rounds, one of them spoke up. “I heard that the Dong Family, Yang Family, and Lv Family have landed yet another deal with the Prince’s Mansion. It’s truly enviable.”

“Indeed. First, they got the contract for the personal guard’s military uniforms, which was already a profitable venture. Now, these three new businesses seem just as lucrative.”

“Say, do you think we made a mistake siding with the Zhang Family against the Prince’s Mansion? When the Zhang Family was in power, they never shared any benefits with us. They kept all the profitable ventures to themselves.”

“Exactly. Back then, we submitted to their dominance out of fear. But now that Prince Yan has solidified his position in Yan Prefecture, continuing down this path might not be wise,” another chimed in.

“Not to mention, the Zhang Family and the Prince’s Mansion are now at each other’s throats. If the Zhang Family is eventually crushed by Prince Yan, we’ll suffer the consequences too. Perhaps it’s time to secretly approach the Prince, offer some gifts, and hedge our bets.”

“Agreed, agreed. Once we return, we’ll make arrangements.”

Having reached a consensus, the group resumed their drinking and revelry.

The Zhang Family.

The dealings between Prince Yan’s Mansion and the Dong, Yang, and Lv families were like a thorn in the side for Zhang Qian and his brother Zhang Kang.

Seeing the Prince’s brewery established and producing large quantities of liquor daily made Zhang Qian feel even more uneasy.

“If only we had acted decisively when Prince Yan recovered from his illness, we could have eliminated him at the Mansion and prevented him from growing so powerful today,” Zhang Qian said, slamming his teacup onto the table.

Zhang Kang had long harbored resentment towards his brother’s greed, which had allowed Prince Yan to solidify his position in Yan Prefecture.

Moreover, with Tuoba Lie ordering him to control Yan Prefecture and eliminate Prince Yan, his hatred grew even deeper.

Given the current situation, destroying Prince Yan’s Mansion was no easy task.

“It’s all because of brother’s greed that things went awry; otherwise, how could Prince Yan’s Mansion have turned the tables?” Zhang Kang blurted out in frustration.

Zhang Qian, as the eldest son of the Zhang Family, had always looked down on Zhang Kang since childhood.

In the Dasong Dynasty, the son of a concubine held a lowly status and was not considered respectable.

If it weren’t for Zhang Kang’s good fortune in marrying a daughter of the Yuan Family, he wouldn’t even be worthy of sitting at the same table.

Seeing Zhang Kang’s disrespect and daring to reprimand him, Zhang Qian’s accumulated resentment over the years exploded, and he shouted, “You insolent fool, how dare you reprimand me? Kneel!”

A flash of ruthlessness passed through Zhang Kang’s eyes.

He had never forgotten the bullying and hardships he endured in the Zhang Family as a child.

He felt no brotherly affection for Zhang Qian.

Unfortunately, despite being the prefect of Yan Prefecture and a son-in-law of the Yuan Family, he had no soldiers under his command and had to rely on the Zhang Family’s power.

Faced with Zhang Qian’s accusations, he reluctantly knelt before him, saying, “Brother, your foolish sibling is merely frustrated with Prince Yan’s Mansion.”

Zhang Qian, still seething with anger, ignored his explanation and sneered, “Don’t think I don’t know your ambitions. I’m the head of the Zhang Family, and you dreaming of taking my place is sheer folly.”

“Brother, why would you say such things? Under the heavens, your foolish sibling has never harbored such thoughts,” Zhang Kang protested, feeling aggrieved yet inwardly resentful.

He thought to himself that with such a foolish person leading the Zhang Family, its downfall was only a matter of time.

“You better not,” Zhang Qian said, flicking his sleeve and turning away, commanding, “Get out.”

Zhang Kang rose but did not leave; his earlier submission was merely to lull Zhang Qian into complacency.