The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 269

Even if Chen Wanyan were to go to Zuixianlou, he wouldn't pay for it himself. He was originally a penniless, pedantic scholar, and an old one at that, and had always been stingy.

Even though the Chen family and Chen Wanyan are very wealthy now, Chen Wanyan would still feel extremely pained if he had to spend his own money at a place like Zuixianlou.

Given Chen Wanyan's current status, there are naturally many people eager to treat him to a meal at Zuixianlou. Not everyone looks down on Chen Wanyan like Yang Shen does. Even if many people secretly despise Chen Wanyan, they still have to flatter and fawn over him in order to get promoted and make money.

This is reality. Looking at the court, how many truly honest officials are there besides the Six Ministries and Yang Shen? Even the likes of Han Jie and Sun Hong were not immune to corruption.

Flattery and sycophancy are the norm in officialdom. Even if Chen Wanyan had not been granted the title of Earl or Marquis, the fact that his daughter is the Empress would have attracted countless officials to try to curry favor with him.

This is one of the most important reasons why the empress dowagers were not allowed to interfere in politics during the Ming Dynasty. Once the maternal relatives had the opportunity to gain power, countless people would flock to them, making it very easy for them to become too powerful to control.

Chen Wanyan returned to his residence and randomly selected one from among countless visiting cards.

"Go and send a reply, saying that you'll be going to Zuixianlou later."

Chen Wanyan handed the visiting card to the steward of the Chen family.

Many of the servants in the Chen family were bought after the Chen family became wealthy that year. However, the steward was different. Although the Chen family was poor before, they were not ordinary people. This steward had been with the Chen family for many years, and Chen Wanyan trusted him very much.

The owner of this post is a fifth-rank official named Li Zhaofan. He is nearly forty years old but is still a fifth-rank official. He is neither from the Jiangnan Group nor from Yang Yiqing's lineage. He had thought about using connections before, but he could not establish connections with either side.

Nobody wanted to play with him.

Now that Chen Wanyan has risen to prominence, he sees an opportunity. He knows very well that the emperor's bestowal of the title of Earl upon Chen Wanyan and the generous rewards he has given him must mean that he has a very good relationship with the empress. Isn't this a golden opportunity for him?

So Li Zhaofan sent a visiting card to the Chen residence every day for the past few days, and finally received a response, which made him extremely happy. Most importantly, the emperor had conferred a marquisate upon Chen Wanyan today. If he could get close to him, wouldn't promotion and wealth be just around the corner?

As for Zuixianlou? That's a minor matter. For Li Zhaofan, he wasn't afraid of Chen Wanyan choosing an expensive place to meet; he was afraid of having money but not being able to spend it. Zuixianlou was actually the easiest place to reach an agreement.

Upon receiving the news, Li Zhaofan rode in a sedan chair straight to Zuixianlou Restaurant. When inviting a leader to dinner, one must make the most of one's manners and not let the leader arrive before oneself.

"Manager Sun, please make a private room."

Li Zhaofan was a regular at Zuixianlou Restaurant, but in the past, it was always the merchants or officials who asked him for favors who invited him to dinner; he rarely invited others to dinner.

It wasn't that he didn't want to invite them, but that he didn't have the opportunity.

"Alright, private room number three in room A, please make yourself at home."

As Sun Qiang spoke, he handed a sign for a private room to the waitress and asked her to hang it up to indicate that the room was occupied.

After Sun Qiang finished speaking, he ignored Li Zhaofan. Usually, the people who frequented Zuixianlou were high-ranking officials and nobles, and Li Zhaofan was someone they saw every day. There was nothing special about him, so there was no need to pay him too much attention.

Just do the proper etiquette.

Li Zhaofan didn't rush into the private room. Instead, he stood at the entrance of Zuixianlou, eagerly waiting. His arrogant attitude at first and then obsequious was somewhat laughable, but this was exactly what those in power liked to see. Most people in power enjoyed seeing their subordinates fawning over them in an attempt to please them.