Chapter 62: My Father is the Mayor of the Capital

Inside the Imperial Hospital, within a book pavilion filled with the rich fragrance of herbs.

"Achoo!"

An Changming touched his nose, a puzzled look on his face as he muttered, "Why did I sneeze out of nowhere? Could I have caught a chill recently? That shouldn't be!"

"Dean An! There is a medicinal herb here that everyone cannot quite agree on. Would you mind coming over to take a look?"

Just as An Changming was letting his imagination run wild, a voice suddenly rang out from a distance.

"You're looking for the old man again! Am I your father or your mother? Can't you just flip through your books and look it up yourselves? If you keep going on like this, when will you ever become qualified healers?!"

An Changming frowned and could not help shouting back over his shoulder.

"Th-then, are you coming or not, sir?"

The person's voice noticeably paused for a moment before speaking again with a slightly hesitant tone.

"Wait a moment! I'll be right over!" An Changming said, looking displeased.

"Little Friend Shen is the only one who truly puts one's mind at ease. I wonder how Miaoyu is doing over there? But given my granddaughter's looks, I imagine she must have that young man completely wrapped around her finger by now."

As he thought about it, An Changming could not stop a smile from spreading across his face, his eyes full of smug satisfaction.

Yet, little could An Changming ever imagine that the one wrapped around anyone's finger was not Shen Xuan, but his own precious granddaughter.

Pulling his thoughts together, An Changming walked toward the other section, still grumbling under his breath.

"Let this dean see what kind of medicinal herb has you bunch of little rascals stumped. If it's too simple, you'll be copying medical texts for me!"

Over at Jun You Lai, Shen Xuan was sitting leisurely on a rocking chair, reading a book and occasionally guiding An Miaoyu through some minor medical dilemmas. One could say his days were exceptionally peaceful.

In the outside world, however, the capital was buzzing with excitement because of the events that had transpired that morning at Jun You Lai.

Originally, news of the medicinal cuisine had circulated only among a small circle of people, but after the commotion caused by that short-stout man, virtually all the wealthy folks throughout the capital learned of the news and began preparing for tonight's auction.

Time quietly slipped away, and soon it was the Hour of *Xu*, which was seven o'clock in the evening.

Inside Jun You Lai, lights blazed brightly, and a square, elevated stage had mysteriously risen from the ground at some point.

"Welcome, honored guest, to Jun You Lai. Please hold onto this paddle. Just let a waiter know if you wish to order anything, and the auction will begin shortly."

Gu An stood at the entrance of the tavern, greeting every arriving guest with a face full of smiles.

Beside him sat a wicker basket. Whenever a guest arrived, he would pick up a hand-held bidding paddle and present it to them with his own hands.

"What is this thing? Why does it have numbers on it?"

A tall, upright young man accepted the paddle and looked at Gu An with curiosity.

"It is like this, honored guest. Since our tavern is not a formal auction house after all, everyone's seating is rather casual."

"Therefore, our proprietor came up with the idea of using bidding paddles. When the auction starts, as long as you raise your paddle, we will know which guest number is making the bid, and the item you win will be delivered directly to you. It makes things much more convenient."

Clearly, this was not the first time Gu An was explaining this, yet his expression remained smiling and devoid of any impatience.

"So that's how it is. Manager Shen truly has brilliant ideas!"

The tall young man clicked his tongue in praise, his tone filled with admiration.

With that, he and his good friend, who had also taken a paddle, walked inside together.

"It's so lively in here, Young Master! The line is so long, why don't we go inside and take a look?"

Not far from Jun You Lai, a man dressed in servant attire flattered the person beside him.

"Although the decor is a bit lacking, I happen to be bored, so going in for a look wouldn't hurt."

The person addressed was a chubby young man dripping with gold and jade ornaments.

Looking at the bustling tavern before him, the fat man said with a satisfied nod.

"Then let's head on in, Young Master. This humble servant will clear the way for you."

The flattering servant smiled, bowed slightly, and led the way.

The chubby young man nodded with satisfaction, and guided by his servant, he forcefully shoved his way into the crowd.

"What the hell, who pushed me?!"

"Damn it, don't shove! Can't you see we're waiting in line?!"

"Ah! Which bastard stepped on my foot?!"

One had to hand it to this servant; he certainly possessed plenty of brute strength. Swinging his arms wide, before the people in front could even react, he easily shoved them aside.

With the master and servant forcibly cutting in line, the scene quickly descended into chaos.

"Here is your hand paddle, honored guest."

At the tavern entrance, Gu An was handing out paddles to the guests before him. Catching sight of the rowdy crowd behind, his brows knitted in puzzlement as he spoke to Lin Gui beside him.

"Little Lin, what is going on back there?"

Lin Gui craned his neck to look, saying with some uncertainty, "Mr. Gu, it looks like someone is cutting in line."

Hearing this, Gu An's expression darkened. Today was Jun You Lai's very first auction, and quite a few big figures were in attendance. To think someone would actually dare come here to stir up trouble?

"Little Lin, go sort them out. Our tavern does not welcome guests with such poor manners."

Gu An waved his hand dismissively and spoke unconcernedly.

In his opinion, it was likely just some spoiled young master who didn't know the rules. Sending him packing would be enough; it didn't warrant his personal intervention.

"You got it."

Lin Gui acknowledged the order and strode toward the back of the crowd.

The chubby young man paced leisurely, watching his domestic servant shove yet another passerby aside.

Seeing the man's face contorted with anger yet not daring to utter a single peep, a complacent smile spread across the fat face.

"Everyone is waiting in line. Why are the two of you acting so discourteously?"

Just as the servant pushed aside another bystander, his path was blocked by a tall, sturdy youth.

Lin Gui looked at the master and servant before him, his face stern as he spoke.

"Who the hell are you, kid? How we behave has what to do with you? If you know what's good for you, get out of my young master's way immediately! My father is the Chief of the Capital Gendarmerie!"

The chubby man narrowed his eyes, stared at Lin Gui, and spoke impatiently.

"Sorry, I'm a worker at this tavern, and your actions have severely disrupted the other guests. So you'd better leave right now. We at Jun You Lai do not welcome you!"

Lin Gui wore a solemn expression. He cared not what background this fat man had, and directly sought to drive them away.

"You foolish brat, is that any way to speak to my young master? Our young master is going inside today, so get out of our way right now!"

Seeing his young master's displeased expression, the servant's face sank instantly as he barked angrily.

The commotion had long since attracted the other people waiting in line, who now cast looks filled with indignation toward the master and servant.

Yet, upon hearing that the fat man was none other than the young master of the Capital Gendarmerie's household, none of them dared to step closer.

Even those with extraordinary status felt, upon weighing the pros and cons, that it wasn't worth offending a fourth-rank official just for the sake of Jun You Lai. Consequently, they abandoned any thoughts of playing the hero.