The sudden absence of one person from their trio made Princess Xinyue feel unaccustomed.
Having been out of the palace for so long and experienced all the fun, Princess Xinyue was gradually becoming bored.
"Xiao Chenzi, Xiao Chenzi, teach me martial arts quickly!" Princess Xinyue pouted and said, "You promised to teach me kung fu before, but you only taught me that one move. I've already mastered it!"
Chu Chen put down the brush and paper in his hand and shook his head helplessly, "Your Highness, this humble servant is still busy and has no time for now."
"Why don't you let Miss Chen teach you kung fu?"
Chen Shengnan quickly waved her hands, "I wouldn't dare teach her kung fu. If my father found out, he'd beat me to death."
"This is so boring!" Princess Xinyue sighed. "Why are you always writing and drawing every day? Are these things really that interesting?"
Chu Chen gave a wry smile, "Of course, they're not interesting, but this is this humble servant's duty, so I must complete it well."
"However, if Your Highness is truly bored, why not try opening a milk tea shop yourself?" Chu Chen suggested with a smile.
"I will provide the capital. As long as I have thirty percent of the shares, the profits will be yours, and the losses will be mine. How about it?"
"Miss Chen can also contribute some money to buy a share."
Chen Shengnan's face turned slightly red, "I'll pass. I don't have that much money."
"Money is just a token of sincerity," Chu Chen waved his hand. "Just give me one tael of silver symbolically. The main thing is that I hope you can keep an eye on Her Highness, she's a bit impulsive, and probably can't run this milk tea shop alone."
"Then you two can split the profits of the milk tea shop equally."
Chen Shengnan hesitated, "This doesn't seem right..."
"Am I taking too much advantage?"
"Oh, what advantage or disadvantage, do we sisters need to care about this?" Princess Xinyue said with a giggle.
"It's decided then!"
"Xiao Chenzi, hurry up and give me the money, the money! We're going to find a place and prepare to open the shop!"
Chu Chen smiled helplessly, then had someone fetch three thousand taels of silver notes.
For a milk tea shop, this amount of money was sufficient.
With the silver notes in hand, Princess Xinyue no longer pestered Chu Chen and happily took Chen Shengnan with her to prepare to open the shop.
Chen Shengnan was skilled in martial arts and had ample guards and servants around her. Chu Chen was not worried about Princess Xinyue's safety.
Even if she were to be swindled, it wouldn't matter. Understanding the hardships of the common people and the wickedness of human hearts would be beneficial for Princess Xinyue.
Just as Chu Chen was about to continue with his other affairs, he suddenly received an invitation from the Prime Minister.
Chu Chen couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
It seemed the Prime Minister was still persistent and wanted to win him over.
For the dignified Prime Minister to invite a mere eunuch, if Chu Chen refused, it would be considered ungrateful.
Before he could disregard the Prime Minister's authority, Chu Chen dared not do anything so outrageous.
He also couldn't directly state that he was the Emperor's man. If he provoked the Prime Minister, it would be a small matter if it only affected him, but if the Prime Minister directly launched a coup, that would be a huge problem.
Thinking of this, Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh.
It was also thanks to the fact that information exchange was not so smooth currently, and various parties had their own agendas, which gave him room to maneuver.
Otherwise, with his current act of constantly switching between the Empress and the Prime Minister, he would have been dead many times over.
In the Empress's eyes, Chu Chen was undoubtedly her own person.
And in Xue Yun's eyes, Chu Chen was just a eunuch who had gained the Princess's favor and luckily achieved some minor success.
In the Prime Minister's eyes, Chu Chen's achievements were impressive, and he was a capable subordinate of Xue Yun.
However, Chu Chen had no clear grasp of this, and was someone who could be swayed.
If even one of these three parties harbored ill intentions, Chu Chen's schemes would be completely exposed.
Despite his internal complaints, Chu Chen had to accept the Prime Minister's invitation.
Prime Minister's Mansion.
"Eunuch Chu, it's been a long time. How have you been recently?" Chen Yuanliang greeted him with a smile.
"Thanks to His Majesty's blessings, I've been doing well lately," Chu Chen replied with a hint of pride.
Chen Yuanliang immediately noticed Chu Chen's slightly different attitude.
"Is Eunuch Chu feeling invigorated by good fortune?" Chen Yuanliang asked tentatively.
"Hehe, isn't that so?" Chu Chen said with a touch of pride, "Does Prime Minister know about the soap and milk tea that have been causing such a stir recently?"
"These are all my doing!"
"Oh?" Chen Yuanliang feigned surprise, "So these were all your ideas, Eunuch? Truly remarkable!"
As he spoke, Chen Yuanliang suddenly sighed, "This soap has been incredibly popular lately!"
"I've tried to have someone buy some many times, but each time it's sold out. Eunuch Chu, you must save some for me next time."
"What difficulty is there in that?" Chu Chen said with a smile, "I've brought twenty pieces of excellent soap with me this time. Please accept them, Prime Minister!"
"No, no, this is too much," Chen Yuanliang repeatedly waved his hands in refusal. "This must be worth over a hundred taels of silver. I absolutely cannot accept this."
"A mere hundred taels of silver, just for me..."
Chu Chen suddenly stopped speaking, his expression awkward, as if he had said something wrong.
"What is it, Eunuch..." Chen Yuanliang's expression remained unchanged, and he smiled slightly.
"I misspoke, I misspoke," Chu Chen said awkwardly. "Since Prime Minister doesn't want it, I'll take it back."
Chen Yuanliang did not respond but smiled and said, "I heard before that you have a good relationship with Director Xue?"
"I wonder if Eunuch could introduce me?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Chen showed surprise, "Prime Minister, who is second only to His Majesty, still needs to... with..."
He showed an apologetic expression, "It's not that I have any objections to Director Xue, it's just... I don't quite understand."
"It's alright," Chen Yuanliang waved his hand. "One can never be sure about court matters."
"If someone in the palace could leak a little information when necessary, then..."
Chu Chen immediately understood.
"In that case, Prime Minister is one of us," Chu Chen smiled slightly. "I can rest assured then."
"Rest assured? Rest assured about what?" Chen Yuanliang feigned surprise.
Chu Chen smiled sheepishly, "Prime Minister, you know I misspoke just now, right?"
As he spoke, Chu Chen deliberately lowered his voice, "To be honest, my soap shop earns fifteen hundred taels of silver a day!"
"But I told His Majesty that it only earns eight hundred taels, and I keep another two hundred. The rest goes to Director Xue."
"I'm telling you this because I consider you one of us. You absolutely must not let this leak," Chu Chen said earnestly.
"However, I'm not afraid of you spreading rumors," Chu Chen glanced at Chen Yuanliang.