The world was big, but not as big as the monarch. When the monarch was not present, the teacher was great. When the teacher was far away, the gentleman was the greatest. The so-called gentleman was not the opposite of a petty person. Rather, it was a proper son of the monarch. In other words, the Third Prince, who was still a petty person, was the greatest in Suzhou, so Shi Chanli was not worried. After pretending to be distressed for a moment, he finally agreed to the Prince's request.
The Third Prince fiercely ordered the old nannies and eunuchs who had just hurried over from the Palace to stay in the manor. He casually brought Shi Chanli and a few guards out of the manor. Seeing the young master disappear through the door, the eunuchs and nannies all trembled in fear. They thought that the commissioner was not here, and the world was about to turn upside down. They couldn't resist silently praying for the commissioner to hurry back. They had no idea that Fan Xian was going to use the Third Prince's identity to suppress them.
It was rare for the Third Prince to have such an opportunity to have fun, so he was not in a hurry. The group of people changed clothes and pretended to be rich young masters on a trip. Shi Chanli fearfully was given the role of the older brother. Naturally, the Third Prince was the younger brother. Sitting in the carriage, they circled around Suzhou and saw some good scenery. They also gathered on the lake to look at a few pleasure boats. The Third Prince's interest finally weakened.
"The weather is too cold, and the girls are wearing too much. How can I see the romance?" The noble young master furrowed his brows. "Let's go pick a good place first. I have to put in a lot of effort for the business that Fan Xian wants to do. Otherwise, if I say you're taking me around blindly, I'm afraid he'll be angry."
Shi Chanli thought to himself that it should have been like this a long time ago.
The problem of choosing a location was easy to solve. In any case, it was the busiest place in Suzhou. The group of people desperately dove in and found the busiest street. They looked around and found that many brothels had opened. It was already a developed and familiar place. Thus, they decided on a general direction.
Then, in this large area, they picked the clearest building to look at. They looked at the most imposing one. This group of people easily found their target. It was a restaurant that took up the best position on the street. It was an extravagant three-story building. The building was wide, and behind it, one could faintly see the walls of the courtyard. It took up a lot of space.
The Third Prince waved his hand and said, "Stop looking. I think this is the best location."
Shi Chanli's heart was filled with joy. He had been managing the Baoyue Brothel in the capital for a while now, but he never thought that picking a location for a store with a prince would be as efficient as this. With money and power, he did things efficiently and efficiently.
But as he stood at the entrance of the restaurant, he thought of something and said in a low voice, "This place is too eye-catching. I think there must be someone behind it."
The Third Prince was taken aback and asked, "Who in this world has a more powerful background than my family?"
Shi Chanli opened his mouth wide and didn't say anything for a while. He forcefully swallowed the mouthful of blood and carefully said, "What if … there are people from the governor's manor or the inspector's family? Although Your Highness doesn't care much, you still have to give these officials some face."
Although the Third Prince was young, he was not a muddle-headed person. He thought that this was indeed the case. Governor Xue Qing was not someone he could easily offend. Besides, his group of people had come thousands of li from Jingdou. If they wanted to steal the face of the Jiangnan officials, it would probably not look good.
But, he looked at the location of the restaurant. The more he looked, the more his heart itched. The more he looked, the more beautiful it seemed. He furrowed his thin brows and thought for a while. He then said, "We still have to ask. If we let go of this place with good feng shui, even if Fan Xian doesn't feel bad about it, I will feel bad for many days."
This group of people had already stood outside the restaurant for a while. Just by looking at the layout, they blocked the entrance of the restaurant. They didn't eat and only sniffed. Although Suzhou was mixed with all sorts of people, there was no such thing. The group of people pointed and whispered at the entrance of the restaurant. They immediately attracted the attention of the people on the street. However, seeing the other party's bright clothing and powerful guards, they did not look like jianghu figures. Thus, the merchants on the street restrained their gossiping hearts.
Only the shopkeeper of the restaurant had no choice but to walk out. Piling on a professional smile, he asked, "Everyone, would you like to come in and try our signature dishes? Our Bamboo Garden Restaurant and Jiangnan Restaurant are known as the second floor of Suzhou. We do indeed have some pretty good food. "
He saw that the people in front of the building seemed to be foreigners, and their statuses should not be ordinary, so he responded carefully. This Bamboo Garden Restaurant had its own background, but businessmen naturally had a clever heart. He only talked about business, and his words did not have the slightest intention of blaming the other party for blocking the entrance of the building.
Shi Chanli was surprised. He smiled warmly and said, "I am truly sorry. I was distracted for a moment. Please don't blame me, shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper quickly said, "You are too polite." The Third Prince was impatient to take things so slowly and said, "Let's go in and sit and talk." He led the group of people into the restaurant. At the end, he threw out a few words, "Shopkeeper, arrange for a quiet room. There are some things I would like to ask for advice on."
The shopkeeper was surprised. He thought, Your elder brother hasn't said anything yet, why did I speak first? Shi Chanli coughed a few times to cover it up and followed him into the restaurant.
The group had yet to sit down in a room in the restaurant when the shopkeeper personally came in to greet them. The Third Prince didn't waste words and asked straightforwardly, "Shopkeeper, are you selling this restaurant or not?"
The shopkeeper was quite surprised today. He thought to himself that this young master's tone was not small at all. However, he had dealt with many difficult matters in this life. He smiled humbly and said, "Young master, the business of this restaurant is quite good. The owner doesn't seem to have any intention of turning the tables."
"May I ask for the owner's name?" Shi Chanli was secretly angry at the Prince's impatience and changed the subject to ask warmly.
The shopkeeper replied neither humbly nor overbearingly, "The owner's surname is Qian."
…
…
After the shopkeeper left, Shi Chanli furrowed his brows and said, "This is my first time in Suzhou. I have no idea what the relationship is, and I don't know who the Qian person is."
The Third Prince stood up and pushed open the window in the room. His expression couldn't help but freeze as if he had seen something strange.
Shi Chanli was suspicious and walked behind him to look out the window. For a moment, he couldn't help but freeze where he was.
Outside the window was the back garden of Zhuyuan Restaurant. In the garden was a flat lake. Although the surface of the lake was not wide, it was quiet and secluded. There were courtyard walls on both sides that separated it from the busy market. The grass in the courtyard was not green, but one could imagine the beautiful scenery of spring.
"It really is like …"
The two of them opened their mouths and sighed at the same time. The "like" here was, of course, referring to the setup of the back of the building that was very similar to the setup of Baoyue Brothel in Jingdou, particularly on the grass. If a few quiet and secluded courtyards were built, they would probably become twins with Baoyue Brothel in Jingdou.
Looking at the back garden of Zhuyuan Restaurant, the two managers of Baoyue Brothel were both moved. They had to buy this building!
"Buy it!"
The Third Prince and Shi Chanli spoke at the same time with great tacit understanding. They then chuckled. The rest of the matter was simple. After they returned, they would think of a way to find out the background of this Zhuyuan Restaurant. They could only hope that the other party's background was not too powerful. If it involved high-ranking officials, the matter would be more troublesome.
The Third Prince was young, but it was unknown where he got all these sighs from. "If Fan Sizhe was here, I'm afraid he would have to fight a lawsuit with the owner of this restaurant. He would point at their nose and scold them for shamelessly copying their design."
Shi Chanli thought about it. Second young master Fan was indeed like this. He couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" The Third Prince glared at him. "My second cousin is even more sinister than my eldest cousin. Of course, neither of them are kind people. They forcefully played the trick of a cicada shedding its carapace. They bullied me because I was young and stole my shares. Don't forget, you also had a part in this!"
Shi Chanli shrank back and did not dare to reply.
The group of them had a meal in the private room and were very impressed with the culinary skills of this restaurant. The Third Prince even had the thought of hiring the original chef over.
After the meal, just as everyone was preparing to leave, they saw the shopkeeper hurriedly walk into the private room. With a face full of sweat, he bowed again. As he wiped away his sweat, he said in a gentle voice, "Dear guests, earlier we talked about buying the building. Could we discuss it again?"
The Third Prince and his group were very strange. This restaurant's business was clearly very good. Furthermore, when they had asked earlier, the other party had clearly been on guard. Why had their attitude suddenly changed so much?
Shi Chanli probingly asked, "Shopkeeper, what do you mean?"
The shopkeeper laughed dryly and said, "Earlier, the owner heard of this matter and thought that business has not been as good as in previous years. Since there were honored guests who made a bid, they simply let it out. They only hope that the honored guests can give a suitable price. Also … they hope that after the sale, the honored guests can take good care of this building."
Shi Chanli became more and more curious. He was just about to ask something when the Third Prince said with a smile, "Of course, we are also people who do business. Of course, we will take good care of this building. However, you said a suitable price earlier. What kind of price would be suitable?"
The private room immediately fell silent.
The shopkeeper's eyes froze. He thought to himself, How dare he ask this young master to make a bid just like that? But, the owner didn't have any orders. How could he make a bid? Looking at the owner's intentions, he was certainly planning on giving it away with both hands, but the other party didn't seem to notice … was he going to make a bid himself?
The sweat on his forehead seeped faster and faster. His face was red and swollen. It was as if the chilly early spring weather had turned into the middle of the summer. After holding it in for a while, the shopkeeper finally gathered his courage and extended four fingers.
Shi Chanli paused. The guards in the room paused again. They thought to themselves, 40,000 liang? No matter how famous the lion's head of this place was, it shouldn't be so exorbitant!
The shopkeeper saw that the other party didn't respond and felt even more afraid. He quickly pulled back three fingers, leaving only his index finger standing pitifully.
Shi Chanli almost spat out blood again. This price was really strange. He didn't need to say anything, and in the blink of an eye, it had gone from 40,000 liang to 10,000 liang. After thinking about it, he felt that this price was actually not bad. He nodded and said, "Although 10,000 liang of silver is not much … but …"
The shopkeeper's legs went soft and he almost cried. "Mister, you're wrong, you're wrong."
Shi Chanli asked in surprise, "How is it wrong?"
"It is … 1,000 liang." The shopkeeper forced out an innocent smile. "Not 10,000 liang."
Shi Chanli swallowed back his third mouthful of blood today. Before he had time to say anything, the Third Prince had already said, "Bring the contract." Looking at his expression, it seemed that he had a card up his sleeve.
The shopkeeper seemed to have long been prepared. He immediately went out to invite a person recognized by the government to enter and began to write the contract. When he wrote down the amount of the transaction, the Third Prince smiled sweetly and said, "16,000 liang. I won't take advantage of you. I'll give you an extra 20% of the silver. Presumably, your owner won't be willing to sell, so count this 20% as buying medicine for him."
Although the Third Prince was wearing commoner's clothing today, he naturally exuded a noble aura. Although the shopkeeper was greatly surprised, he did not dare to say anything. After writing the contract, the two parties pressed their fingerprints and agreed to settle the transaction tomorrow.
Carefully seeing this group of people out of the restaurant, the shopkeeper let out a breath and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with some fear. After calming his mind, he walked to the third floor and entered a quiet room. He handed the contract in his pocket to a young man.
This young man's face was clear and upright, and his eyes were warm and spirited. It was the young master of the Ming family who had appeared at the West Lake Restaurant in Hangzhou, Ming Lanshi.
He accepted the contract and glanced at it. A glimmer of hatred and disappointment flashed through his eyes. With the back of his hand, he slapped the shopkeeper across the face. With a slap, the shopkeeper covered his face and looked fearfully at the young master. He didn't know what he had done wrong.
"Useless thing!" Ming Lanshi was angry in his heart, but his expression remained warm. A chill seeped through his words. "Even if I wanted you to give me money, you wouldn't be able to!"
After the family meeting, Ming Lanshi had stayed in Suzhou. Suddenly, he heard the shopkeeper say that someone wanted to buy the restaurant. Hearing the other person's description and attire, this successor of the Ming family vaguely guessed something. When the waiter later overheard the name Fan Sizhe, he immediately confirmed the other person's identity. He reacted quickly and prepared to hand over the Bamboo Garden Restaurant with both hands …
Unexpectedly, the other person did not take any advantage at all. 16,000 liang of silver was not a small amount.
Not only did this amount not take advantage of the Ming family, on the contrary, it was much higher than the market price. But, how could the Ming family lack this little bit of money? Ming Lanshi wanted to take advantage of the fact that the Third Prince did not know who the owner of the Bamboo Garden Restaurant was to be the first to give this restaurant away, even if it was sold cheaply.
His main goal was, of course, to curry favor with the other party. If the other party did not acknowledge this small favor in the future … sending this contract to Jingdou would be proof that Fan Xian and the Third Prince were using their power to forcefully buy private property. In the future, it would be a good reason for the Eldest Princess to sue the Emperor.
Who would have thought that the young Third Prince would not be willing to take advantage of this … were the rumors in Jingdou false? Was this prince not as greedy and ruthless as the rumors said?
Ming Lanshi sank into deep thought. He once again realized that the people the family was going to face this time were truly difficult to grasp. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. In a quiet voice, he ordered, "Sir Fan's thoughts are very simple. He wants to open a brothel … send down the order, no brothel is allowed to sell girls to them, no matter how high the price!"
The shopkeeper made a sound of acknowledgment and immediately smiled bitterly. "Young master, it's only our own girls that are not for sale … there are many people in this business in Suzhou. Those people would certainly not want to offend Sir Fan."
"Do they have good girls in their hands?" Ming Lanshi smiled slightly. "The good girls are all in our Yuan master's hands … let them go buy them. How can leftovers attract customers?"
— — —
A carriage left the Bamboo Garden Restaurant. The surrounding merchants did not know that the Ming family had suffered a loss. This most famous restaurant in Suzhou was going to change hands tomorrow. Although Shi Chanli rarely did such shady things, he had finally come to his senses. Furrowing his brows, he said, "Your Highness, it looks like they know your identity."
A glimmer of annoyance flashed across the Third Prince's childish face. "At least they are smart."
Shi Chanli thought for a bit and couldn't resist opening his mouth to ask, "Your Highness, the price they offered earlier was 1,000 liang, why …"
"Why do I have to raise the price myself?" The Third Prince smiled coldly. "Those who are unaccountably solicitous are hiding evil intentions. After guessing my identity, they wish they could offer up this restaurant with both hands … what about in the future? I'm afraid what they are asking for is not as simple as this restaurant. If they put on a smiling face, of course, it would not be good for us to slap them in the face, but there is also no need to put our faces up to be intimate with them … how many people in this world have the right to make friends with me? "
Shi Chanli shook his head and said, "I wonder who the owner behind that restaurant is. They sure see the opportunity quickly."
The Third Prince said, "Who cares who they are. If they want me to take advantage of them, they must be someone who wants to take advantage of me. You have to remember this. In the future, when you go out, don't randomly take advantage of others. Be careful of bringing trouble for Fan Xian."
Shi Chanli admired the little prince in front of him from the bottom of his heart. He sighed in admiration and said, "Your Highness's words are simple, but they are very deep."
The Third Prince scolded in a clear and childish voice, "Don't flatter me. It's not easy for me to pretend to be a commoner, and now I've been seen through. I don't feel good about it."
Shi Chanli thought to himself, You want to buy the restaurant as soon as you enter at such a young age. Is this the tone you should use to hide your identity? He also thought that the prince in front of him was so young, yet he was able to resist not taking advantage of tens of thousands of liang of silver. It seemed to be a far cry from the sinister personality he had when he was in Baoyue Brothel. A glimmer of doubt involuntarily flashed through his eyes.
He didn't know if the Third Prince saw his expression, but he continued, "Fan Xian once said, whenever I take advantage of the people of this world, in the end, the people of this world will take advantage of the court, and I … if the court is taken advantage of by others, then I am an idiot who is willing to take out my own silver for others to spend."
Shi Chanli was silent. He was secretly worried for his teacher. As a prince, he had established this kind of thinking. Naturally, it was telling this prince that the interests of the court … would be his own interests in the future. What did this mean?
The Crown Prince was still on the throne.
…
…
Not noticing the fear in Shi Chanli's heart, the Third Prince smiled shyly and said, "Teacher once said that a gentleman loves money and takes it in a proper way. The wealth of a ruler is hidden under the heavens. Why take it?"
Shi Chanli swallowed back the fourth mouthful of blood from his hidden injury. His eyes stared at the green banner that floated endlessly outside the carriage window. Forcefully suppressing the hidden fear in his heart, he pretended he hadn't heard these words.
"Doing business can be seen as a hobby," the Third Prince chuckled. The Third Prince chuckled and said, "Old Shi, your courage is much smaller than that of my two cousins. You are not made for doing business."
Shi Chanli shifted his body to let the slightly damp clothes on his back breathe in. Smiling bitterly, he replied, "Your Highness is right."
The Third Prince called for the carriage to stop and said, "We have arrived at the money house. You go do your work. I will return to the manor first."
A sinister smile rose to the child's face. No one knew what he was proud of.
Watching the carriage leave into the distance, Shi Chanli quietly let out a breath and called for the two guards following him to wait outside. He tidied up his clothes slightly and walked toward a branch of Taiping money house.
Not far behind him was the Zhaoshang money house that had just opened a few months ago. Although the entrance was cold and deserted, it exuded an aura of nobility. The brand new green banner seemed to be mocking Shi Chanli's pedantry and ignorance.
… … …
Chicken has two yolks. Eat half first. Putting aside what new and surprising things Shi Chanli would encounter in the money house, outside the jurisdiction of the palace treasury transport company far away from Suzhou, there was a massive group of carriages carrying over a hundred people. It was currently moving forward with difficulty in the dark and cold rain of early spring.
The palace treasury transport company was different from the salt and tea companies. First of all, they had more work to do and their profits were greater. Furthermore, they were the only one of the three that had actual land. The palace treasury produced all kinds of factories and workshops, which required a large amount of land. Ever since the court carved out a piece of land in North Min many years ago, it had gradually become a special region. Its area was larger than a small province, and its position was very special.
Because they were worried that the palace treasury's manufacturing techniques would flow out of the country, the Qing court had put in a lot of effort in the work of protecting the palace treasury. For the territory the palace treasury governed, the Qing Kingdom carried out a completely sealed management. They had set up a total of five blockade lines. The outermost line was the local Jiangnan army and navy. The inner four lines were each set by the Qing military and the Overwatch Council. They monitored each other like a multi-layered fruit cake.
As for the transportation lines going out, other than the strict supervision on the surface, there were countless spies planted in them. Countless eyes, whether in the light or in the dark, were watching the Cui family, the Ming family, or some other giant agent merchant.
Even though the Qing Kingdom had spent so much power, it still could not stop the greedy gazes of other countries. During these decades, countless things had happened to the palace treasury, and the Qing Kingdom had paid a heavy price for it. First, it had to spend a great deal of silver each year to station troops and defend. Secondly, during these decades, for the sake of the Qing Kingdom's prosperity, thousands of lives had been lost. The battle of stealing intelligence and anti-commercial espionage was particularly bloody in this world.
It seemed that this battle would never end. The Overwatch Council was the organization that had paid the greatest price in this battle. No one knew how many spies had died in the dark. Fortunately, it ensured that the palace treasury was still safe up to this day.
The previous head of the Fourth Bureau, Yan Ruohai, and the current head of the Jingdou garrison, Qin Heng's brother, Qin Shan, were the people in charge of setting up the defenses. The two of them had once boasted that other than being unable to do anything to a Great Grandmaster, not even a mosquito that had been stained with perfume could fly out of the palace treasury's defenses.
The group of carriages was undergoing the last inspection. Fan Xian lifted the curtain and looked at the hydraulic machinery by the river not far away. His eyes narrowed slightly. Although it was just some initial and crude industry, the need for power could not be separated from water.
A chill appeared in his narrowed eyes. He didn't turn around. Warmly, he said, "I brought you in for my own safety. I don't want you to go into the various workshops to watch the excitement. If you are discovered, you should know how serious the consequences are. Even if you are a superior ninth-level ace, you may not be able to escape the pursuit of the power here. Furthermore, although my injuries are only half-healed, I will still personally act. "
Behind him, Haitang, disguised as a serving girl, smiled slightly and glanced at Sisi beside her. She didn't say anything.
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(Want a monthly ticket, want a monthly ticket, want a monthly ticket, want a monthly ticket: P)
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