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

Chapter 478

You should know that every glass in Zuixianlou is very valuable, and you have to pay fifty taels of silver for each one you break.

To be honest, this is already a very reasonable price. The same glassware would only cost more on the market, not less.

Mao Shou broke three wine glasses and one glass plate for dessert. The plate was much more expensive than the wine glasses, and he had to pay two hundred taels for each one.

These three items alone will cost more than three hundred taels of silver.

"These broken plates and wine glasses will cost an extra three hundred and fifty taels."

Sun Qiang looked at everyone with a big smile.

Upon hearing this, Mao Shou's face immediately fell.

"Do you know who I am? You dare ask me to pay you back?"

Mao Shou was already drunk and had no recollection of anyone paying the bill. Even if he did remember, he was the one who broke the items, so he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"No matter who you are, if you break something, you have to pay for it."

When Sun Qiang said this, he still had a smile on his face, but his tone had become much tougher.

"Second Master, Second Master, it's nothing, nothing at all. I'll pay for it, I'll pay for it."

One of the officials who was hosting the dinner hurriedly said.

"Stop your damn nonsense. When did it become your place to act like a big shot? I broke a few glasses, but they're just a few broken wine glasses. How could they be worth so much money? You dare to rip me off? You're asking for trouble."

Mao Shou showed no appreciation whatsoever. He first cursed the official who had tried to curry favor with him, then looked at Sun Qiang with a tough expression.

Upon hearing this, Sun Qiang's smile vanished instantly.

"If this is your attitude, then we need to settle the score."

As Sun Qiang spoke, he gathered the abacus in his hand. Meanwhile, Chu Liu, who was standing nearby, left the restaurant without anyone noticing and headed straight for Zhou Chu's house.

At this time, Zhou Chu's home was very lively. After Lu Wei's wedding, most of the princes and princesses had left the capital, leaving only Zhu Xianrong, Mu Yunping, and Zhu Siying who shamelessly insisted on staying at Zhou's residence.

Zhu Xianrong and Mu Yunping were alright, since they were nominally Zhou Chu's students, lived in the Zhou residence, and learned things from Zhou Chu, which was understandable.

Zhu Siying, however, was unwilling to acknowledge Zhou Chu as her teacher. After all, she still harbored improper thoughts about Zhou Chu. Zhou Chu was helpless against Zhu Siying's persistent attempts to stay, and could only pretend to be deaf and dumb. After all, Zhu Siying was a princess of the Prince of Dai's mansion, and Zhou Chu could not nominally order her around. Moreover, given the relationship between Zhou Chu and Prince Zhu Junzhang of Dai, he had no reason to make things difficult for her.

What Zhu Xianrong most wanted to learn from Zhou Chu was not anything else, but the way of business. When he was in Zhangjia Village, he specifically asked Chu Li about it, and only then did he learn that Chu Li's business skills were all learned from this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When Zhu Xianrong heard the news, he was shocked. He never expected that there was such a person who was good at everything, proficient in everything, and did everything to the extreme.

During his military campaigns, Zhu Xianrong had heard about Zhou Chu's suppression of the Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirate problem, which had plagued the Ming Dynasty for over a hundred years, was completely resolved by this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in just six months.

As the heir of the Chu Prince's Mansion, Zhu Xianrong had always known that the root cause of the unresolved Japanese pirate problem lay not with the pirates themselves, but with smuggling groups in Jiangnan.

Once the smuggling rings in Jiangnan are thoroughly investigated, resolving the Japanese pirate problem will be a natural outcome.

But this is easier said than done.

Have you not heard that the late Emperor Zhu Houzhao only made a trip to Jiangnan, and died of illness six months after returning to the capital?

Zhu Xianrong doesn't believe there's no problem with this.

Zhu Xianrong's understanding of Zhou Chu went beyond this. Zhu Siying, Zhu Xianrong, and Mu Yunping had mentioned Zhou Chu's actions in Datong more than once, and they were all amazed by Zhou Chu's ability to lead troops into battle.