Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 778 One in a Thousand
Gao Shiming's words sent a chill down Liu Kejing's spine. He involuntarily shivered and subconsciously glanced at Fang Zhenghua beside him. At that moment, Fang Zhenghua was sitting calmly and steadily, his gaze fixed on Liu Kejing opposite him. Liu Kejing glanced over and met his eyes in a direct eye contact.

Liu Kejing hurriedly looked away, trying to laugh awkwardly to cover up the slight embarrassment, but unexpectedly a ticklish sensation rose in his throat, and he immediately started coughing.

Liu Kejing coughed violently several times, his shoulders trembling, and his face turned even paler than before.

"Godfather!" Upon seeing this, Liu Dian quickly stepped forward, gently patting Liu Kejing's back, his voice filled with worry. "Are you alright?"

After coughing for a while, Liu Kejing finally caught his breath. He raised his hand to push Liu Dian away and waved to Gao Shiming and the others who were about to show concern for him, saying, "It's nothing, it's nothing. I just have a dry, itchy throat. It's nothing serious. I'll just drink some tea to soothe my throat."

After saying that, Liu Kejing picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and then tilted his head back to gulp down a large mouthful, drinking half of the tea in the cup.

Just as he put down his teacup, Gao Shiming's concerned voice drifted over: "Brother Xingjian, are you really alright? If you really can't hold on and feel unwell, go back to your room and rest. We can talk another day."

Liu Kejing licked his slightly pale lips and forced a smile: "It's alright, really alright. I know my own body. Besides, once Brother Yongsheng goes to Fujian and Guangdong, I'm afraid we won't see each other again until next year. Since we've met, we should have a good chat."

"Go to Fujian and Guangdong?" Gao Shiming was taken aback by Liu Kejing's words. "I'm not going to Fujian and Guangdong."

"Huh?" Liu Kejing was also taken aback. "Not going to Fujian and Guangdong?"

“Yes, I’m only going to Tianjin this time,” Gao Shiming said. “Why do you think I would go there?”

"Brother Yongsheng, didn't you just say you wanted to split up the Maritime Trade Office and establish a separate customs office?" Liu Kejing asked. "The Maritime Trade Office is located in Fujian and Guangdong, so wouldn't that mean we'd have to make arrangements in Fujian and Guangdong?"

"Alas. That's all for the future." Gao Shiming waved his hand with a smile. "Right now, the General Administration hasn't been officially established yet, and things in Tianjin haven't been sorted out. For the time being, the Maritime Trade Offices in Fujian and Guangdong will remain as they are, and will be handled according to the old practices."

"So, Brother Yongsheng is going to Tianjin?" Liu Kejing coughed twice more, but this time it was much shorter than before.

"With the help of officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance, the batch of foreign goods was inspected and sent to Liaodong," Gao Shiming said. "And the subsequent import and export regulations were finalized."

At this moment, Liu Dian saw that everyone present had finished drinking tea, so he quietly called over the two eunuchs with double buns who had been there earlier to refill everyone's water.

One child carried a ceramic teapot, while the other followed empty-handed, ready to help remove the lid and move the teacup. The two children approached quietly, first standing behind Liu Kejing. Before they could even begin to move, Liu Kejing spoke again.

"Brother Yongsheng, the foreign goods you mentioned," Liu Kejing glanced at the eunuch who had moved his teacup, "are you referring to the grain that Westerners transported from the South Seas, right?"

Gao Shiming nodded and added, "And crude iron."

"Why do we need to buy crude iron?" Liu Kejing asked疑惑地. "It's transported all this way, the price must be higher than if we mined and smelted it ourselves, right?"

“In ordinary years, it’s naturally very unprofitable,” Gao Shiming sighed. “But the demand in Liaodong is just too great. Casting cannons, guns, armor, and swords. Suddenly, there’s a shortage of over a million catties. The Ministry of War and the Bureau of Armory are almost empty of their stockpiles, and even the ironworks in Zunhua can’t keep up with the demand, no matter how hard they try. Since iron mines can be opened up in Southeast Asia and produce crude iron to fill the gap, it’s okay to raise the price a bit more. The same goes for grain. Although it can be produced all over the country and grown anywhere, buying some from outside can also ease the burden on the people.”

Liu Kejing nodded thoughtfully, his gaze unconsciously following the two eunuchs who were silently adding water for half a circle before finally landing on Gao Shiming: "What does the court intend to use to exchange for these grains and crude iron?"

Gao Shiming proactively lifted the lid of the teacup and pushed it towards the eunuch, his voice softening with the movement: "This year, and perhaps next year, we'll probably use the items we recently seized to trade with those Westerners for grain and iron. Later, the palace will open weaving and firing factories in Tianjin, specifically to produce goods for export. Then, we'll use these things to trade." As he spoke, Gao Shiming glanced sideways at Pang Tianshou beside him.

Liu Kejing followed his gaze and asked with a smile, "So, Eunuch Pang and Eunuch Fang are also going to Tianjin?"

“That’s right, they’re also going to Tianjin.” Gao Shiming picked up the cup of tea that had just been refilled and took a sip. “But they each have their own tasks.”

"Inspection and auditing. Judging from your titles, you're there to do the accounting," Liu Kejing joked.

Pang Tianshou smiled, but he only nodded and didn't say anything.

Fang Zhenghua finally spoke. However, instead of continuing Liu Kejing's words about his own duties, he stared at the two eunuchs who were serving him water and asked Liu Kejing, "Eunuch Liu, these two children are probably not registered palace eunuchs, are they?"

Liu Kejing's expression froze, his smile fading. "They...this...I..." His lips moved, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

Just then, Liu Ce, who had been waiting by the door, strode in and bowed to Fang Zhenghua, who was much younger than him: "According to Fang Ji's investigation, these two children are indeed not registered palace eunuchs. They are self-castrated boys that I bought in Henan."

The two eunuchs were so startled by the sudden tension that their hands trembled, spilling a few drops of water from the ceramic teapot onto the coffee table, creating small damp patches. Even so, they still shakily refilled Fang Zhenghua's teacup.

Fang Zhenghua turned to look at Liu Ce, his eyes filled with scrutiny: "Does this senior brother not know that the palace no longer allows the private purchase of castrated boys?"

“We…” Liu Dian walked to his senior brother’s side and explained in a low voice, “We took them in because we saw that they were orphans and helpless.”

"Being alone and helpless is not a reason. There is no reason." Fang Zhenghua looked at Liu Dian, his tone not softening in the slightest. "Rules are rules, and not accepting them is not accepting them."

Seeing the atmosphere about to become tense, Gao Shiming stepped in to smooth things over. He leaned forward, resting on the armrest, and looked at Fang Zhenghua gently, saying, "Inspector Fang, it's a well-established rule in the palace that forbids the private acceptance of eunuchs; no one dares to break it. But it shouldn't be a problem if they buy the children to serve as their own servants, to attend to their daily needs, right?" As he spoke, Gao Shiming gave Liu Kejing a look, "Brother Xingjian, what do you think?" Liu Kejing's expression immediately softened upon hearing Gao Shiming's words. He quickly chimed in, nodding repeatedly, "Yes, yes. My godson bought these two children precisely to serve as servants. He would never dare bring them into the palace!"

“If they are just kept at home to serve, the palace will certainly not interfere.” Fang Zhenghua blinked, his sharpness softening, and his tone became gentler: “I’m just reminding you that there is such a rule in the palace. As long as the eunuchs can afford it, it’s fine.”

Liu Kejing breathed a sigh of relief, raised his hand to press his heavy forehead, and smiled, "It's just providing food; our salaries can still cover it."

"Hehe. Alright, alright, let's not just talk about our business." Seeing that the atmosphere had eased, Gao Shiming seized the opportunity and, with a smile, tried to smooth things over by steer the conversation towards Liu Kejing's mission: "Brother Xingjian, how smoothly did your trip south to choose a bride go?"

Liu Kejing quickly chimed in, "It went very smoothly. Local officials didn't dare to be negligent, arranging food and lodging and delivering messages very thoroughly, saving us a lot of trouble. Moreover, there were so many girls who came to participate in the selection that they practically wore out the threshold of the examination hall."

During the imperial examinations, the examination halls naturally served as examination venues. In their spare time, the examination halls in various provinces would undertake public activities. Liu Kejing and his group mostly stayed at the examination halls for initial interviews and selections when they went out to choose wives.

"Oh? Is it really that exaggerated?" Gao Shiming asked curiously.

“Cough cough,” Liu Kejing said, pressing his tight throat and coughing twice before saying, “It’s that exaggerated. After I arrived in the area, I traveled from Fengyang to Xuzhou and then to Henan for nearly a month. I saw at least two or three thousand women of marriageable age.”

"Two or three thousand people?" Gao Shiming raised an eyebrow slightly. "So how many ladies were ultimately chosen?"

Liu Kejing raised his hand, held up two fingers, and waved them in the air: "I've carefully selected two on my side. Yang Ruxie has chosen one. I'm not too clear about the situation of the other marriage envoys."

"Three ladies?" Fang Zhenghua, who had been silent for a short while, suddenly interrupted, "Just three ladies, could they cause such a big commotion?"

Liu Kejing's heart skipped a beat, and his relaxed nerves tensed up again. He coughed even more violently than before: "What... such a big commotion?"

"You two fathers-in-law, plus three ladies, actually managed to gather three hundred people, filling the entire Hexi Wushui Post Station with just one courtyard." Fang Zhenghua's gaze fell on Liu Kejing's face, devoid of emotion, yet adding a touch of stagnation to the air. "Isn't this entourage a bit too many?"

"Hey, hey." Liu Kejing gave a wry smile and quickly explained, "Inspector Fang, you may not know this, but although there are only three ladies, their parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, and other relatives will all be going to the capital to participate in this grand event. Add to that the servants, coachmen, horse feeders, and guards sent by the government, and it wouldn't be surprising if you put together a group of two hundred and sixty or seventy people, would it?"

"The expenses along the way must have been quite high, right?" Fang Zhenghua asked again.

Liu Kejing shook his head, waved his hand and laughed, "Hey, Inspector Fang, don't worry. This mission doesn't require any money from the palace. The food, lodging and carriages along the way are all covered by the local government. We only received a travel allowance when we left the capital. We still have quite a bit of that allowance left, and we're thinking of returning it when we get back to the capital."

Seeing that Fang Zhenghua was about to ask more questions, Gao Shiming quickly changed the subject to avoid the atmosphere becoming awkward again: "Let's not talk about these things. Brother Xingjian, what do you think of the two ladies you chose? After all, they are the Crown Princesses chosen for me, so we can't be careless."

Upon hearing this, Liu Kejing's expression immediately became solemn. After a moment's thought, he said, "His Majesty trusts me so much, entrusting me with such an important matter as choosing a spouse. How could I dare not do my best? Both of those ladies are beautiful, of good character, and well-educated!"

Just then, amidst the pattering rain, a clanging sound of metal and wood colliding suddenly came. Upon closer listening, it turned out to be the sound of a door knocker hitting the door.

Liu Kejing's brows furrowed, and he turned to Liu Dian, gesturing with his chin: "Go and see who's here."

"Yes," Liu Dian replied, and immediately started walking down the corridor towards the main entrance.

Liu Kejing rubbed his throat and explained to Gao Shiming and the other two, "It should be Dr. Xie who has been treating me these past two days. When you came just now, I thought it was him."

“Since the doctor has arrived, we won’t disturb you any longer.” Upon hearing this, Gao Shiming slowly stood up from his chair, cupped his hands, and smiled at Liu Kejing, saying, “You should focus on recovering. Once I return to the capital to report, we can have a proper chat.”

Liu Kejing had long since given up on getting entangled with Fang Zhenghua. But for now, he pretended to persuade him to stay, saying, "It's alright! The doctor is just here to take your pulse and prescribe medicine. It won't interfere with our conversation. Please sit for a while longer."

Gao Shiming walked to the window and looked at the courtyard gate through the rain curtain. He saw that Liu Dian had already reached out and removed the door latch: "Recovery is not something that can be achieved just by seeing a doctor and getting a prescription. You still need to rest in bed to recover quickly."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Liu Dian's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Godfather, Doctor Xie is here!"

"Quickly invite them in!" Gao Shiming called out, then turned around and, with Fang Zhenghua and Pang Tianshou who had already walked to his side, bowed to Liu Kejing to say goodbye: "Brother Xingjian, we'll go visit Brother Ruxie next, so we'll take our leave now."

“Alright,” Liu Kejing said, leaning on the armrest of his chair and struggling to stand up, intending to see them to the door. “I’ll see you out.”

"Don't see me off, don't see me off." Gao Shiming quickly looked up and stopped him. "You're not feeling well, and the rain hasn't stopped. If you catch a cold, it will be troublesome. Just stay inside and wait for the doctor to see you." After saying that, Gao Shiming picked up the umbrella and left the reception room with Fang Zhenghua and Pang Tianshou.

Liu Kejing did not follow them, but watched the three of them until they nodded to Doctor Xie, who was carrying a medicine box, and passed by. Only then did he slowly sit down.

Liu Kejing raised his hand and pressed his heavy forehead. Being questioned by Fang Zhenghua several times was more tiring than talking to someone for half a day.

(End of this chapter)