Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After Jia Lian left his seat, Wu Zhirong and other Yangzhou officials followed him out.

The group exchanged glances, and finally Wu Zhirong stepped forward and said, "Although we know that you mean well, sir, we are concerned about their well-being, but merchants are driven by profit, and we are afraid they may not fully understand your good intentions."

Wu Zhirong and the others felt that Jia Lian was asking for far too much. They also received considerable profits from the salt merchants every year, but compared to Jia Lian, it was all insignificant.

This further fueled their pursuit of power. They even fantasized that one day they could reach Jia Lian's level, daring to demand millions of taels of silver from others!

Even Wu Zhirong, the prefect of Yangzhou, knew that he wouldn't dare to do what Jia Lian did.

Let alone a million or several million, even if he dared to extort 100,000, those salt merchants would probably find a way to get rid of him. Don't be fooled by their usual respect and fear of the officials; they're all ruthless characters. If you really push them too far, it wouldn't be difficult for them to remove several prefectural or even provincial officials from office.

Take himself as an example. Because of his lucrative post in Yangzhou, he has made a fortune over the years, but he himself is also becoming a puppet and henchman of those salt merchants.

Otherwise, Jia Lian, an imperial envoy sent to supervise the salt administration, and he, a prefect, would only have the obligation to receive him, but would not need to run around like a grandson.

"I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shone on the ditch... It's something I can't help but do."

It's rare that Lord Wu can understand my good intentions.

That's true. Right now, they probably still think I'm a corrupt official who's deliberately extorting them. These lowly merchants have no idea how things work out in officialdom.

They've caused such a huge mess that the court is in an uproar. Which of those high-ranking civil and military officials standing at the front of the imperial court is easy to talk to? Without enough money, how could they possibly turn a blind eye to this?

"If those powerful figures don't relinquish their power, even if I wanted to protect them, I would be powerless to do so."

Jia Lian shook his head as he walked forward, seemingly convinced that Wu Zhirong was right and that he had truly put in a lot of effort.

Wu Zhirong and the others exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to say. Well, had this guy overacted and fooled himself?

They believed the first three million might genuinely be intended to appease the Emperor. But the remaining one million—he was definitely going to embezzle it. At most, he might use a small portion to silence the other ministers…

Don't be blinded by the extravagance of the salt merchants; many of the officials in the capital lived miserable lives. After all, even a high-ranking official of the second or third rank only received a few hundred taels of silver a year, and with some stipends and benefits, the total value barely exceeded a thousand taels.

Given this premise, it's actually not that difficult to get the adults to speak well of their subordinates. They're used to doing this kind of thing, so they naturally know what's going on.

As they escorted him outside the camp, seeing Jia Lian staring blankly at the imperial envoy's guards and the quietly standing carriage, Wu Zhirong quickly smiled and said:

"That was Miss Shen Pan'er's carriage... and it was also a token of appreciation from Chairman Zhou and others to you, sir."

They all knew that the lord had come south without many servants, and because of the salt administration, he hadn't even disembarked from his carriage. They couldn't bear to see him suffer at the Censorate, so they specially requested that Miss Pan'er go and serve him.

Hearing Wu Zhirong's words, Jia Lian looked back at him and said, "This isn't a good idea..."

In fact, when Jia Lian saw Shen Pan'er today, he had already guessed that it was probably one of the benefits prepared for him by the salt merchants.

He thought that if things went well, it would be only natural for the other party to send him the beauty. But to his surprise, even though they hadn't reached an agreement, the other party still sent the beauty over, which made him feel rather embarrassed.

Little did Jia Lian know that the salt merchants were confident of victory and had already prepared all the benefits for him well in advance.

Take Shen Pan'er for example. After toasting Jia Lian, she waited here.

After Jia Lian made an exorbitant demand and left the table, the salt merchants couldn't possibly send someone to chase after him and take the beauty away.

After all, compared to the benefits Jia Lian demanded, a courtesan was really nothing.

"My lord, there is no need to worry. Although this Miss Pan'er is famous in Yangzhou and even the whole of Jiangnan, she is only seventeen years old this year and has not yet married."

The music academy would never have agreed to release such a renowned courtesan under normal circumstances. They only relented because of Zhou Boru and others, and because they knew she was to be presented to the lord. Therefore, if the lord likes her, why not keep her by his side as a tea-serving and music-playing maid? That would be a wonderful thing…”

Wu Zhirong was afraid that Jia Lian would dislike women of the night, so he quickly pointed out her identity as a courtesan.

In fact, whether in the capital or the bustling Jiangnan region, only courtesans (male prostitutes) command high prices in brothels. Even the most beautiful and talented women, once married and forced into prostitution, experience a sharp drop in value.

Therefore, in those famous brothels, the true courtesans, especially during their prime, were strictly protected by the brothels to ensure huge profits. Otherwise, if the courtesans, whom they had invested so much in training and cultivating, were sold off cheaply, wouldn't they be losing money? This was true for brothels, and the same applied to music and dance halls.

Although Jia Lian had never been to a brothel, his predecessor had extensive experience, so Jia Lian naturally understood the reasons behind it.

After thinking for a moment, he didn't say anything, but simply asked Wu Zhirong and the others to stay, and then got into his car and left.

Upon arriving at the Salt Commissioner's office, seeing Zhao'er and the others directing the carriages behind them to detour through a side gate to enter the office, Jia Lian stopped them and instructed, "Send a few men to escort Miss Pan'er back to the music academy."

After saying this, Jia Lian was about to step into the yamen.

It wasn't that Jia Lian didn't find the woman attractive, nor that he looked down on women of the night; Jia Lian simply didn't want any trouble.

First, this person was sent by a salt merchant. Second, this woman is different from the married woman Xu. She took advantage of Xu, and it was consensual, with no consequences for either of them afterward. But this kind of upright official, once he gets involved, will be hard to get rid of.

After all, she might have had a tragic past, and he couldn't bear to bully a weak woman.

"Sir, please wait~"

Jia Lian, who had just stepped onto the steps, stopped and looked back. Sure enough, it was Shen Pan'er, who looked pitiful and delicate. She lifted the carriage curtain with her fair hand and called out to him.

"May I say a few words, sir?"

After seeing Jia Lian nod, Shen Pan'er disregarded the many soldiers and guards around her, got off the carriage, and walked towards Jia Lian, smiling generously, "Sir, you've brought me all this way, yet you won't let me in and want to send me away? Do you think I'm too plain-looking to meet your standards?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Miss, you are naturally beautiful and have an unparalleled appearance. I'm afraid there is no man in the world who would dare to dislike you. Even I wouldn't dare to say that, otherwise, my close attendants would all think I'm hypocritical."

The guards and soldiers around him all smiled knowingly, secretly marveling at the astonishing charm of their lord.

Even a courtesan of such beauty from Jiangnan was captivated by the Marquis at first sight, and even after being chased away, she disregarded all decorum and tried to persuade him to stay.

If it were any other woman, she would probably have shown her weakness in this situation. But Shen Pan'er knew that she could not back down now; if she did, she would lose everything. So she suppressed her shame and smiled sweetly, "So you think Pan'er's singing was too bad and offended your ears, sir?"

"No, not at all. Whether it's dancing or singing, this young lady has reached a state of perfection, incomparable to ordinary women. She truly deserves the title of being beautiful and talented."

"If that's the case, why did you send Pan'er away, sir?"

Shen Pan'er was very confident in herself. As the jewel of the Southern Music Academy, she enjoyed a great reputation throughout Jiangnan. After being sent to Yangzhou, she quickly earned the title of Yangzhou's number one dancer within a year, truly at the peak of her youth and fame.

The ancient saying, "Her jeweled hairpin and silver comb shattered as she struck the rhythm, her blood-red silk skirt stained with wine," describes her even more.

But unlike ordinary courtesans, she did not indulge in the glory of being adored by thousands. She knew that if she did not choose a good place for herself while she was at the height of her fame, she would suffer the same fate as countless predecessors once her beauty faded and she was sold for a high price by the brothel.

The eldest daughter was fortunate to marry a merchant; if she had married the wrong person, any fate could have been hers. There's no limit to how tragic it could be.

She had always been looking for someone she could entrust her life to, and had secretly considered a few potential partners, but they were neither too high nor too low, so she remained indecisive.

Unexpectedly, before she could make a decision, she heard from her governess that the group of incredibly wealthy salt merchants wanted to redeem her. Crucially, the brothel that had always treated her like a treasure had actually agreed.

Although this was the situation she least wanted to see, she was powerless to change it and could only silently accept her fate.

Who knew that after waiting quietly for quite some time, she would find out that the salt merchants had paid a huge price to redeem her in order to present her to the imperial envoy who was handling a case in Yangzhou!

She breathed a slight sigh of relief. Since he was an imperial envoy, he was naturally a noble person, at least better than those extravagant, vulgar, and base salt merchants.

When she saw Jia Lian at the banquet, although she was able to remain calm on the surface, the joy in her heart had already made her dizzy.

He wasn't an old man, nor was he a crude or ugly person; instead, he was such a young and handsome man!

Tell me, is there any courtesan in the world with better luck than her?

She thought to herself, being offered to such a handsome man, even if he had many wives and concubines and didn't value her, would be much better than serving such a pleasing person than serving those old geezers!

So, after arriving at the main gate of the military compound by carriage, she immediately had her maid take some money and go to befriend the idle soldiers who were waiting, inquiring about Jia Lian's whereabouts. The few results she obtained made her even more pleasantly surprised.

Last year, in order to cover up the negative reputation caused by the court's wrong decisions, Emperor Ningkang deliberately had someone promote Jia Lian's heroic reputation.

Even in Anxi Prefecture, Jia Lian's good name was widely known. As the most prosperous region in the world, Jiangnan was bound to receive rumors about Jia Lian.

In the prefectures and cities of Jiangnan, the most famous courtesans from renowned brothels vied to compose lyrics and songs for Jia Lian, hoping to ride his coattails.

She knew all of this, but she never expected that Jia Lian, whose reputation was known throughout the brothels of Jiangnan, would be sent by the emperor as an imperial envoy to Yangzhou to supervise the salt administration!

She regretted not receiving the news sooner; otherwise, she should have made better preparations earlier.

It was, in fact, fate. The salt merchants were naturally among the first to learn of Jia Lian's journey south as an imperial envoy, so they had already prepared the essential "honey trap" to deal with the young and vigorous envoy. Therefore, regardless of whether news of Jia Lian's arrival in Yangzhou spread there, even if it did, Shen Pan'er, who was already being kept in the imperial camp, would have no way of knowing.

Shen Pan'er regretted her actions and only thought that after being taken back to the mansion by Jia Lian, she would definitely behave well in order to win Jia Lian's favor. Who knew that as soon as the car stopped, she heard Jia Lian say that he would send her back to the brothel without asking her anything.

In her haste, she disregarded everything else and immediately called out to Jia Lian.

(End of this chapter)