Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

On the morning of the second day, Wu Zhirong, the prefect of Yangzhou, arrived at the Salt Commissioner's office very early to invite Jia Lian to a welcoming banquet at his residence.

He also prepared a very luxurious two-horse carriage, which looked at least three times the size of an ordinary carriage. He said it was specially prepared for Jia Lian by his colleagues in Yangzhou so that he could travel more easily while he was supervising the salt administration in Yangzhou.

While Jia Lian and Wu Zhirong were talking, Zhao Sheng and his men forcefully pushed aside the constables surrounding the carriage, thoroughly inspected it inside and out, and then took their place as guards around the carriage. This scene undoubtedly made Wu Zhirong and the others' eyes flicker, but they dared not say anything.

"In that case, thank you very much, Lord Wu and my colleagues in Yangzhou."

Jia Lian, of course, wouldn't stand on ceremony at this point. After all, he didn't need to maintain his reputation or advocate frugality in this luxurious and privileged place. However, once he boarded the carriage, he was still somewhat surprised by its extravagance.

The spacious carriage is fully equipped with tables, chairs, and other amenities, exuding luxury.

Most importantly, there were two young and beautiful maids kneeling among them, dressed only in thin and elegant clothes in the cold weather, making them look delicate and lovable.

Jia Lian was wondering why Zhao Sheng and the others hadn't chased the two women out when he saw Aqi and Aqin following him in. He realized that they probably knew there were other people in the carriage, so they came in to keep them company.

So Jia Lian did nothing, sitting in the main seat, sipping tea, enjoying the smooth ride of the carriage, and admiring the beautiful ladies. Soon they arrived at the imperial envoy's residence that the Yangzhou government had prepared for him.

A large group of people waited outside the camp to greet him. Jia Lian couldn't tell who was who; they were probably just Yangzhou officials and representatives of the more than twenty salt merchants.

"What do you think of this garden, sir?"

As the local official, Wu Zhirong had no one to compete with him for the first position beside Jia Lian at this time. Therefore, while walking in the camp, Wu Zhirong asked with a smile when Jia Lian was most interested in admiring the scenery in the garden.

"Indeed, I have long heard that Suzhou gardens are the best in the world, and I have even had the privilege of seeing some of them. But I never imagined that the gardens of Yangzhou would be just as good as those of Suzhou."

Of all the gardens in Jiangnan that I have ever seen, this is the best.

"Hehehe, this is a garden owned by Chairman Zhou of the local salt industry. Chairman Zhou has long heard of your esteemed reputation. Hearing that you are coming down to inspect the salt administration, he voluntarily offered this garden as a place to receive you."

Wu Zhirong briefly introduced the origins of the garden, and then took the opportunity to introduce Chairman Zhou, the head of the salt merchants, to Jia Lian.

Zhou Boru, the head of the Yangzhou Salt Guild, was a man in his fifties of medium build who appeared to be very shrewd.

Seeing Jia Lian's gaze sweep over him, he quickly adopted a fawning demeanor, and after praising Jia Lian's past glories, he smiled and said, "This garden was passed down from my father. In recent years, not only has no one lived in it, but every year a lot of manpower and money have been spent on its maintenance and guarding."

"It's rare that you find it quite nice, sir. If you don't mind, I'll gift this garden to you. This would ease the burden on my Zhou family, and also provide you with a simple place to stay when you travel to Yangzhou in the future."

Salt administration was an important tax policy of the imperial court, and the entire Great Wei Dynasty had a total of four circuits of salt inspectors.

These four most important salt guild leaders were not simply privately established entities, but were supervised by the imperial court. The president and vice-president were both officials with nominal positions in the Ministry of Revenue. Although their official ranks were low, they did not need to refer to themselves as commoners when meeting officials.

When they heard him offer Jia Lian a garden upon their first meeting, even the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture were taken aback.

The garden chosen by them to welcome the imperial envoy must be first-rate in both size and scale.

Such a garden is worth at least 100,000 taels of silver, yet Zhou Boru offered it as a gift the moment they met.

Even if the Zhou family were the largest salt merchants in Yangzhou, or even the whole country, they wouldn't be this arrogant, would they? For a moment, Wu Zhirong and the others were both envious of the Zhou family's wealth and admiring. This old man's courage was indeed unmatched by the other salt merchants. No wonder the Zhou family had been able to stand tall in the Yangzhou salt industry for decades since the time of the retired emperor.

Jia Lian was naturally taken aback.

In his opinion, this garden, in terms of both size and beauty, should be among the best in the world. And the Zhou family wants to give it to him right after meeting him?

It's important to understand that building such a garden would be a tremendous burden for any family in the world. Just look at how even when the imperial family wanted to build a garden for their own enjoyment, they were easily obstructed by court officials on the grounds that it would excessively deplete the national treasury—this gives us an idea of ​​the situation.

Not to mention, the Jia family practically emptied their coffers to build the Grand View Garden.

Of course, while this garden is no less beautiful than the Grand View Garden, its construction cost is definitely far lower.

The gardens of Jiangnan emphasize delicate beauty, while those of the capital emphasize grandeur and magnificence. Take the Grand View Garden for example; the main hall of the Grand View Pavilion alone—the future palace of Yuan Chun—would be enough to build a garden like this in Jiangnan.

But no matter what, this garden is worth at least 100,000 taels, and possibly even more than 200,000 taels.

Such a wonderful thing, I believe no one in the world would dislike it.

Jia Lian was immediately tempted and even unconsciously developed some affection for Zhou Boru, but after thinking about it, he shook his head.

One's perspective is determined by one's own position. Although the value of this garden may be greater than all his current assets, it's not enough to make him lose his head.

Given his current status, if he's truly committed to making money, he'll have plenty of opportunities in the future.

The key is to first secure your position, to stand tall and sit firmly.

He didn't want to give anyone such a huge handle to use against him right from the start. This was a brightly lit garden, not a place where money could come in one hand and go out the other.

Even if he's a shameless scoundrel who takes over this garden and continues to ruthlessly target the Yangzhou salt merchants, Emperor Ningkang will likely doubt his impartiality. There will certainly be those in court who impeach and attack him for this.

In other words, if he were to be bought off by a garden right away while he was on the orders of Emperor Ningkang to go south, then his status as the Marquis of Zhenyuan would be far too low.

Seeing Jia Lian shake his head and smile without responding, clearly indicating his disagreement, Zhou Boru didn't dare to press the matter, but inwardly held Jia Lian in higher regard.

We arrived at the spacious central hall in the garden, which had five tables.

Jia Lian naturally sat at the main table, where he was seated. Besides Prefect Wu Zhirong, there were two or three officials of the fifth rank, including the Prefectural Assistant. Among the salt merchants, only the chairman Zhou Boru and the vice chairman Wang Shanxiang were barely qualified to sit with him.

The other salt merchants sat on either side.

After everyone toasted Jia Lian with the first cup of wine, Zhou Boru clapped his hands, and immediately string and bamboo music began. Then, some beautiful dancers in long sleeves and narrow skirts slowly walked into the lower hall in front to perform a dance.

Whether it was bribery with money or beautiful women, Jia Lian had anticipated it all, so he wasn't surprised. He simply acted like he was enjoying a drink and watching a play, quietly appreciating this rare Jiangnan dance.

Jia Lian could only inwardly admire the stunning beauty and extraordinary dancing skills of the leading dancer, but he showed no outward expression.

After the song ended, Wu Zhirong and the others asked about the dance and the beauty of the dancers. Jia Lian praised them briefly, saying that the dances of Jiangnan had a unique flavor and were even better than those in the capital in terms of freshness and elegance.

Jia Lian's evaluation naturally made Wu Zhirong and others quite pleased with themselves.

The Jiangnan region was prosperous and peaceful, with singing and dancing, so most officials from all over the country were willing to take up their posts there. This resulted in the people and officials of Jiangnan generally having a sense of superiority.

However, this advantage is only relative to other poor and remote provinces and regions. When dealing with people from the capital, things are still somewhat complicated.

In terms of wealth and influence among scholars, Jiangnan was in no way inferior to the capital. However, power ultimately resided in the capital, and a single word from a powerful figure there could alter the entire landscape of Jiangnan. Therefore, they were very pleased to receive praise for the culture and customs of Jiangnan from Jia Lian, a genuine powerful figure from the capital.

"What did you think of the woman who led the dance just now, sir? Was her singing and dancing pleasing to your ears?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "The Wu dialect is soft and melodious, and the woman is graceful and charming, with a dance like a fairy. Such a woman is one in a million. I suppose there are very few like her in the entire Jiangnan region. You are very kind."

No sooner had Jia Lian finished speaking than a clear and melodious voice came from the outer corridor.

"You flatter me, sir. I am but an ordinary courtesan from the Jiangnan Music Bureau. If the other girls in the bureau heard you praising me so highly, they would probably be jealous of me."

Jia Lian looked up and saw that it was indeed the dancer who had performed earlier. She had now changed out of her dance skirt and into a gorgeous lady's dress, and was carrying a pipa.

"This humble servant, Shen Pan'er, greets Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy, and all the officials and gentlemen."

This woman truly lived up to Jia Lian's praise. Upon arriving at the central courtyard, she simply greeted the people at the banquet and immediately attracted the attention of a group of powerful and wealthy officials. Some of them even couldn't help but reveal their greedy expressions.

Wu Zhirong laughed and said, "Miss Shen Pan'er is the most prized possession of the Jiangnan Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). Her dance skills are unparalleled in Jiangnan, and she is known as the number one dancer in Yangzhou. Normally, it would be extremely difficult for us to see her, even if it cost a fortune. But today, since you are here, we have specially spent a lot of money to invite her to sing and dance for you."

"Your Excellency is too kind. I am unworthy of the title of the most prized concubine of the Imperial Music Academy, let alone the title of the number one dancer in Yangzhou."

It was clear that Shen Pan'er had experienced many such scenes, so she was quite natural in the face of everyone's comments and could even respond with a smile.

After Wu Zhirong finished speaking, and because Jia Lian, who was at the head of the table, remained silent, no one dared to respond, and the scene fell silent for a moment. She then turned her gaze and, surprisingly, bowed slightly to Jia Lian, smiling as she asked, "Is this your first time in Yangzhou, sir?"

Jia Lian was quite friendly towards beautiful women, so he didn't put on airs and make them feel awkward or embarrassed.

"It's not the first time."

"Oh, what kind of music does the gentleman like to listen to?"

"I am not very familiar with the famous songs of Jiangnan, so Miss Pan'er, just pick a couple that you like to play."

Jia Lian said casually with a smile, and then gave Shen Pan'er a slight smile.

The imposing presence of the wealthy gentlemen in the room did not frighten Shen Pan'er, but Jia Lian's smile almost made her lose her footing.

After finally calming herself down, she smiled sweetly: "In that case, I will first play a piece called 'Spring Breeze Song' and another piece called 'Leaving a Legacy of Blessings' for you gentlemen."

Shen Pan'er had already been instructed that all she had to do today was to please Jia Lian.

As a famous courtesan in Jiangnan, she brought in countless riches for the brothel. Putting aside everything else, she held a certain status in the world of pleasure, and even high-ranking officials from various prefectures treated her with great respect.

However, this did not mean she dared to slight someone like Jia Lian. Even in Yangzhou, it was rare to see an imperial envoy come down for several years at a time, and she had only been in the industry for a few years. This was her first time performing for a specially appointed imperial envoy, so she had prepared carefully.

Who would have thought that the imperial envoy, whom all the officials and wealthy merchants of Yangzhou were bowing and scraping to receive, was such a young and handsome man! When she glimpsed Jia Lian sitting in the center of the table during the dance, she thought she was seeing things and checked several times. If the dance music hadn't been sung countless times, she probably would have made a mistake.

As she spoke with Jia Lian, a servant brought her a round stool into the hall. Seeing that the servants had placed her next to Jia Lian, she understood the situation at the table even more. So she let out a sigh of relief, bowed slightly to Jia Lian, walked to the round stool, sat down sideways, put down her pipa, and as she plucked the strings, her lips parted slightly, and a melodious song, as beautiful as a nightingale's, came from her lips.

The people at the main table were all refined and cultured, and seeing Jia Lian listening attentively to the famous music, they were naturally happy to join in.

Those at other tables, of lower status, dared not disturb the music, so the wealthy guests in the hall ignored the delicacies on their tables and listened quietly to the beautiful music.

After the two songs were sung, Shen Pan'er simply stepped forward to offer Jia Lian a cup of wine before retreating from the room.

Wu Zhirong scrutinized Jia Lian's expression and found that he showed no sign of reluctance or attachment. He was somewhat puzzled, frowned slightly, but decided not to dwell on it.

Now that the atmosphere has been built up to this point, it's time to get down to business.

Therefore, he dismissed the servants, raised his wine cup to Jia Lian, and said, "Sir, you have traveled a long way south to Yangzhou to carry out your duties for the court. Your hard work and merits are great. We, your humble servants, would like to offer you a toast first."

After finishing his drink, he said, "I just don't know if you have any difficulties with the salt administration in Jiangnan? Today, I have specially gathered all the salt merchants in Yangzhou and several colleagues from the Salt Transport Office here to help you sort out the salt administration."

Therefore, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. If they have done anything that displeases the court, please do not hesitate to teach them.

As soon as Wu Zhirong began speaking, everyone knew that the main topic had arrived, so they all sat up straight and looked intently at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian's attitude concerns the fate of the entire Yangzhou salt trade, and no one here is indifferent to it.

(End of this chapter)