Zhong Gang looked at his nephew and involuntarily shuddered. He also didn’t know why but something told him that this wasn’t a good idea at all. Ah, this must be because his wife was already sold on the idea of having Jing Yi marry Guanyu. He would have a really hard time explaining this to her. So, it was much better to politely let this woman know that nothing of the like would happen.

He turned back to the woman at the table and gave a strained smile. "I’m sorry. I’m afraid there’s some misunderstanding. I don’t have a son, only a daughter. The —"

"Don’t lie!" The woman straightened up and raised her chin. "I have received this information from an extremely trustworthy source. So don’t try to talk your way out of this. Anyway, it’s like it’d be your loss." She looked around the teahouse and curled her lips. "I can see that you have tried hard but this just isn’t up to the standard of the truly important people of the capital. If you let your son marry my daughter, my family could help you make this place a little more … sophisticated." She smiled as if she was doing him a great favor.

Zhong Gang smiled wryly in response. What this woman thought of as 'sophisticated' he could imagine. And it certainly wasn’t what he had had in mind when he came up with the idea for this teahouse. It was precisely running so well because it was a little less conspicuous and more simple in nature. That was what the customers liked and it was what he had thought of from the very beginning.

Still, even though he didn’t want to accept this woman’s proposal, he couldn’t be too harsh in rejecting it either. He couldn’t cause a scene, after all. If he did, that would only impact his own establishment. How could he treat himself so badly?

Thus Zhong Gang cleared his throat. "Well, there was indeed somebody from my family returning home yesterday. It just wasn’t my son but my nephew. Anyway, I’m afraid —"

"Well, whether he’s your son or your nephew, nobody cares. The important thing is that the two of them get married as fast as possible. Matters like this shouldn’t be drawn out for too long."

Zhong Gang stared at the woman disbelieving. Had she just … just said that for real? He could hardly believe it! Did this woman know no shame? He forced himself to continue smiling. "Madam, I’m afraid that won’t be possible, You see, my nephew —"

The woman raised her brows at him. "Do you have any idea who my husband is?"

Zhong Gang looked at her and tried to remember if he had ever seen her somewhere. Unfortunately, he came up with a blank. Well, she wouldn’t be trying to make a scene in this teahouse if her husband wielded actual power. He could at most have some money. That wasn’t anything he was afraid of.

Both his teahouse and his restaurant were going very well. In fact, he had even been considering whether he should open up another place. There were always opportunities in trying something new and if the things you had done before were already running smoothly, then doing so would be even easier and associated with less risk.

The only problem was that he didn’t know who he could out in charge of this new project. After all, his cousin was now dead and Jing Yi had left. He could only hope that the boy stayed in the capital after he married Guanyu. That would certainly be for the best. Then, he could take care of that establishment and when they had a child, then that could take over in the teahouse one day when Jing Yi’s mother got too old to take care of matters there. Ah, it would be great if they could have two children! Or maybe he could have Guanyu take over the teahouse, put Jing Yi in charge of the new establishment and have their son take over the restaurant from him?

Zhong Gang fell into deep thoughts, making the woman at the table feel that she was only one step away from agreeing. Of course, she had never doubted this result. Why would anybody ever refuse to form a relationship with her family?

Meanwhile, Jing Yi had also heard what this matter was about. Seeing his uncle so deep in thought, he couldn’t help but think the same way as this woman. Panic gripped his heart, making cold sweat coat his forehead. He hadn’t been sure when Qiu Ling asked him to marry him but he wasn’t completely against it. It was just a matter of getting to know each other a bit more before he could decide completely.

But … this was different. Something told him that he definitely didn’t want to marry this girl. No, he couldn’t let that happen! He swiveled around to his mother, begging her with his eyes to stop his uncle. He definitely couldn’t agree to this!

Madam Zhong looked at her son who seemed to panic and then looked at her husband’s cousin. She also didn’t want her son to marry into that kind of family. They might be able to provide him with a comfortable life but would it be a happy one? After all, they obviously didn’t regard people with lower status than themselves highly. It really made her wonder why this woman would want her daughter to marry Jing Yi. This just didn’t seem to add up. Still, whatever the reason, this couldn’t happen.

She straightened up and walked over. In the worst case, she would have to use her husband’s name to make Zhong Gang relent. Those old feelings should still be worth that much, shouldn’t they? Well, if they weren’t … she could probably only ask Qiu Ling for help. If her son wasn’t around, then no wedding could happen. It was as simple as that.

Reassured like that, she stepped up to the table but before she could say anything the woman sitting there shot her a vicious glare.

"What are you doing here again? Can’t you see that we’re discussing important business? Get lost!"

At that time, a resounding crack sounded in the teahouse. Several heads turned in the direction. When Jing Yi glanced over as well, he saw a broken tray and Qiu Ling with a livid expression whose gaze had zeroed in on the woman that had just yelled at his mother. Obviously, he wasn’t willing to take this any longer.