Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

Changshoufang, the residence of Yan Liben.

Yan Liben, the chief secretary of the Imperial Academy, and Yan Lide, the junior craftsman, sat side by side, marveling at an incredibly clear map of the Duke of Zan's mansion.

"The fallen white banners, the felled trees, the crumbling waterside pavilion, the filthy pond—it's all so realistic! This imagery is so in line with my style..."

Yan Liben chuckled.

His style is realistic and emphasizes individuality, with rounded faces and simple yet heavy clothing, which is quite similar to the printed images.

"Erlang, have some self-respect! This is clearly my style."

Yan Lide said sarcastically.

His brothers have always had a good relationship and share similar interests; their achievements in architecture and painting are among the best in the world.

But we're too familiar with each other; we can tell what a fart smells like just by looking at it.

After a bit of commotion, Yan Lide sighed softly, "The painting is exquisite, but it lacks spirit and energy, making it inferior."

Yan Liben laughed and said, "Let's talk about something other than painting skills. The tragic state of the Duke of Zan's mansion is absolutely accurate."

"This Dou Fengjie is also a ruthless person. He just left the damaged Duke Zan's mansion standing there and refused to lower himself and admit defeat."

The brothers looked at each other and smiled.

As the sons of Princess Qingdu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the two of them were very knowledgeable about the so-called imperial lineage.

Yan Liben didn't bring up Dou Fengjie without reason.

As the chief physician in charge of the title, Dou Fengjie had to pass through his hands to inherit the title, and he was fully aware of the shady dealings involved.

Even if Li Shimin agreed to grant Dou Fengjie a title at the New Year's Day grand court assembly, it remains to be seen whether it will be the inherited title of Duke of Zan or a lower-ranking one.

A duke is a duke, a prefectural duke is a duke, and a county duke is still a duke.

Yan Lide said solemnly, "So his refusal to repair the damaged Duke Zan's mansion, and even his threat to convert it into a temple, is also a way of putting pressure on the imperial court."

Despite having nothing, Dou Fengjie still managed to create cards out of thin air; at least he learned some of the essence of "making great again."

Coincidentally, Li Shimin, who had become emperor and Heavenly Khan, was currently in a period where he cared about his reputation and could not yet send Dou Fengjie to be hung up and dangled in a precarious position.

"What a coincidence! The Chief of the Bureau of Nobility received an imperial edict from our superior, instructing us to carefully consider the matter of bestowing a title upon Dou Fengjie."

"Brother, I think we can reconsider Aunt's marriage the year after next, since the six rites haven't been performed yet."

"King Tai of Yue was not a good match."

Yan Liben looked around and blinked.

Leaving aside Yan Wan's young age, the more important issue is that Li Tai is unstable.

"King Yue inherited the throne from King Xuanba of Wei in his early years, and legally speaking, he was no longer qualified to inherit the throne."

Yan Lide sighed.

That alone would have been fine, but Li Shimin's move to have Li Tai reside in the Wude Hall of the Taiji Palace stirred up a storm.

Whether Yan Wan's marriage to Li Tai was a blessing or a curse remains to be seen.

However, Yan Lide's eldest son, Yan Xuansui, relayed a message to Dou Fengjie, a classmate at the Imperial Academy.

"The finest glazed pottery from the Imperial Workshop can be purchased at a high price and traded for an equivalent amount of new grain."

When Yan Lide heard this news, he had to gasp in shock.

The pottery produced by the Zhen official's office was mainly funerary objects, that is, funerary items, or burial goods.

The glaze colors include single color, double color, and triple color, but the technique of triple color is not yet fully mature.

However, the number and level of burial items varied for officials of different ranks; even a duke was only entitled to ninety items as burial goods.

Therefore, Dou Fengjie's actions were definitely not to increase Dou Gui's burial goods; he was not that filial.

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Taiyuan Yuan had not been able to find any suspicious information, and he relaxed a lot by the beginning of October.

Therefore, no one paid any attention when Yan Xuansui brought the tricolor glazed pottery horse into Longzheng Ward.

Yan Xuansui sipped the strange-tasting tea soup with litsea cubeba oil, muttering casually, "I don't know why you want this unlucky stuff."

"This ceremonial saddle and horse is of mediocre craftsmanship, with a loose and brittle body and poor waterproof performance. If it is not properly stored, it will easily break."

Dou Fengjie chuckled lightly: "No one gets up early for nothing. Now that Father has passed away, we still need to make a living."

"Next to your family's residence in Xinghua Ward is a separate property owned by my father, containing 500 shi of new grain, which is a small gift I would give to thank Official Zhen."

It sounds nice, but it's essentially an exchange.

Based on the restored rate of 20 coins per dou of rice, the grain given by Dou Fengjie was equivalent to about 100,000 coins, or 100 guan.

The price wasn't set by Dou Fengjie; the warehousing system has its own set of standards.

Yan Xuansui blushed and said, "How can that be? We were classmates, are we not even worth a piece of pottery?"

She's still young and has a youthful appearance.

"I'm not just looking for one person; if I don't offer them something in return, there won't be a next time."

"Besides, your household isn't short of money; the artisans need to make a little extra income, don't they?"

Dou Fengjie patiently and skillfully guided him.

Unfortunately, the trial period for the online shopping system has ended. If you want to get any more benefits, you'll have to resort to barter.

Sancai (three-color) glazed pottery, which was not highly valued during the Tang Dynasty but whose value skyrocketed in later generations, must be among them.

The jeweled ornaments, ceremonial regalia, and saddle horses were not of high value in Tang tri-color pottery, but they could be exchanged for 500 shi of rice. The illicit trading system even deducted half of that and gave it to Dou Fengjie as reserve funds.

Yan Xuansui brought this pottery as a test by Yan Lide to see if it was reliable.

The ceremonial regalia and saddle horses could only sell for twenty or thirty strings of cash outside, and that was with the added bonus of being officially made.

Although the grain given by Dou Fengjie would incur losses when converted to cash, it was still much more profitable than reselling it privately.

"Alright! Then I will accept the blame on behalf of the craftsmen of the Imperial Workshop."

"As you know, very few of the medicinal herbs produced by the Zhen Bureau can be sold, and the best quality ones are even rarer. Don't expect too much."

Yan Xuansui didn't dwell on it.

After all, he was just a middleman.

The artisans at the Zhenguan Bureau were struggling to make ends meet and were hoping for extra income to help them out.

If it weren't for the inconvenience of speaking up, Dou Xi, who was refilling the tea, would have liked to ask when they had a house in Xinghua Ward and whether there was any grain inside.

For more than a month, the young master hasn't even left the house!

The young master's extraordinary abilities are becoming more and more apparent.

Dou Shang presented the key to the other property, nodded slightly, indicating that Taiyuan Yuan had been invited by Fang Zheng Tang Bugu to go for drinks.

No matter how high Yuan Cong's status was, he could not distance himself from a local tyrant like the neighborhood head.

"I'll say something out of respect for our friendship: being the Princess Consort of Yue isn't easy. The sweetness won't last long, but the consequences will be long-lasting."

Dou Fengjie added an extra comment.

After all, it's truly regrettable that such a beautiful young woman like Yan Wan plunged headlong into Li Tai's fiery pit.

Yan Lide and Yan Xuansui were not unaware of the drawbacks, but they tried to take advantage of the situation and ended up making a mess of things.

After all, who doesn't like to take a gamble in life?

Yan Xuansui tucked the key into his sleeve: "I will convey Brother Dou's opinion to Father in its entirety."

"Regarding Auntie's marriage, I will advise Father to let go and allow her to choose the person she loves."

Dou Fengjie held back what he was about to say.

After all, Yan Xuansui is not married yet, so it's not appropriate to advise him to abandon his child to become a monk like Xiao Yu did; he might get beaten up.