Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

Xiao Jue handed the plaque to Cui Yuan with both hands, beaming.

"Congratulations, Your Excellency Duke. From this day forward, the Cui family will also be imperial merchants of our Great Yong Dynasty."

Cui Yuan accepted the plaque with both hands and weighed it in his hand.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Cui Ming was laughing so hard his mouth almost reached his ears.

Imperial merchants.

In the Yong Dynasty, these two words represented not only face, but also a protective shell.

With this plaque, the Cui family's business would henceforth be "operating by imperial decree," and anyone who didn't want to follow them would have to think twice.

After the signing was completed, King Qi set off back to the capital with his convoy of silver notes.

The big fish has taken the bait; now it's just a matter of waiting for Mr. Gu to make his move.

……

The news that the Cui family had taken over the commodity city spread throughout Lingzhou in less than half a day.

This level of transaction is considered top-tier even in the entire Dayong Dynasty.

Cui Yuan immediately decided to hold a grand banquet, inviting prominent families from Lingzhou and the surrounding three prefectures.

Ostensibly, it was to celebrate the Cui family's selection as imperial merchants, but Cui Yuan actually had other plans.

Seventy million is no small sum.

Although the Cui family could afford it, investing so much cash at once would strain their cash flow.

Adding to the 20 million that had been invested in purchasing grain, the Cui family now had less than 30 million in readily available cash.

Thirty million may seem like a lot, but to maintain the normal operation of the Cui family's various businesses throughout Dayong, this amount of money can only barely keep them afloat.

If the Cui family wants to continue dominating the grain market, they need to set aside some money for a final round of buying.

Therefore, this banquet was not just a dinner party, but also a business scheme to recruit people to join the group.

Cui Yuan's plan was shrewd. The profits from the commodity city were a long-term business; he would allocate a small portion to the minor and medium-sized nobles in Jiangnan, getting them to invest their money.

This would both recoup some of their cash and keep these people tied to the Cui family's cause.

From now on, since they will be eating the Cui family's food, they will naturally have to speak and act on behalf of the Cui family.

Today, twelve tables of food were set up in the main hall of the Cui residence.

Almost all the local nobles, both big and small, came, and several large merchants from the surrounding Yuezhou and Tongzhou also sent people.

Shen Yanqing was also there.

He was seated at the third table.

The Cui family has always been lukewarm towards the Shen family, so it's quite rare that they've given them the honor of being seated at the third table today.

Shen Yanqing knew perfectly well that Cui Yuan was extending goodwill.

After several rounds of drinks...

Cui Yuan stood up, holding his wine glass.

"Thank you all for gracing us with your presence today! My Cui family is fortunate to have shared His Majesty's burdens by securing the commodity city project, which will surely lead to great achievements in the future."

The old man smiled kindly, but his tone revealed a condescending condescension.

"Those of you here are all noble families from Jiangnan, bound by common ties. If you ever need the Cui family's support in business, just ask!"

Everyone present took it as mere politeness and responded with smiles, raising their glasses in unison.

But Shen Yanqing understood the meaning behind the words.

According to Gu Dongjia's deduction, if the Cui family is short of money, they will definitely split a portion of the project's profits and bring in minor nobles.

That was the time for them to intervene.

Shen Yanqing suddenly stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Cui Yuan, and was very humble and gentle.

"My lord."

His words immediately silenced the noisy crowd, and dozens of eyes turned to him.

Shen Yanqing remained calm and asked in a loud voice:

"If I may be so bold as to ask, does Your Excellency have any intention of allocating a small portion of this enormous project to support our long-standing kinship and aristocratic families in Jiangnan?"

"With Your Excellency in charge, even if each of our families can only share a little meat soup with you, it is still a blessing from our ancestors' good deeds."

Cui Yuan's hand, holding the wine glass, paused for an extremely slight moment.

Shen Yanqing's words were like a soft pillow delivered to a sleepy man, hitting him right where it hurt!

This is exactly the effect he wanted from the banquet he hosted today.

However, the fact that it was the Duke himself who shamelessly brought up the matter of asking for money made it seem as if the Cui family was so poor they couldn't afford food and were begging for help everywhere.

But now that it's being asked for by this junior member of the Shen family, the nature of the situation has completely changed.

This turned into the Jiangnan gentry crying and begging the Cui family for a meal, a situation where "the younger generation carried the sedan chair for their elders"!

Cui Yuan was extremely satisfied with Shen Yanqing.

"Yanqing, you're very thoughtful. The Shen family certainly has a long-term vision."

He suppressed the wildly upturned corners of his lips and nodded approvingly.

"This is not impossible. Have your steward contact the Cui family's accountant later, and we can discuss the details further."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Those nobles who were originally observing were afraid that if they were a step too late, they would miss out on a share of the meat.

Just three days later, a hundred or so minor nobles from Jiangnan, all eager for this so-called "immense wealth," eagerly joined the Cui family's commodity city project, carrying boxes full of thick silver notes.

Unbeknownst to them, the Cui family gradually walked into the inescapable trap laid by Gu Mingyue.

……

Meanwhile, in Kyoto.

These past few days, the Cui family's spies in Kyoto have been keeping a close eye on Pujitang.

Gu Mingyue's desire to meet with the emperor to discuss the follow-up matters has become a problem.

The two could only communicate through Gu Mingli.

King Qi has finished his business at the commodity market in Lingzhou and is returning to the capital today.

The emperor, under the pretext of hosting a family banquet in the palace to welcome him, sent Gu Mingli and his "Gu family servants" to the palace to prepare a hot pot feast.

Gu Mingyue is dressed as a man today, dressed as a servant.

Her eyebrows and eyes were deliberately made up, giving her a somewhat masculine look, which made her resemble Gu Mingli even more.

The brother and sister, accompanied by several servants, entered the palace with copper pots and fresh ingredients.

Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The Dragon Scale Guards stood watch at the courtyard gate, while the brother and sister led people to set up the dining table inside the hall.

When Xiao Ye returned to his bedchamber, a round brass pot was already placed on the table inside.

This time, the hot pot was different from the ones I'd had before. The red and white broth in the pot was bubbling away.

The spicy flavor is very strong.

At dusk, Xiao Jue rushed back to the capital from Lingzhou and went straight to the palace.

When we arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a hot pot was already prepared.

Xiao Ye sat in the main seat.

Gu Mingli and Gu Mingyue sat to the emperor's right, while the seat to his left was reserved for him.

Xiao Jue stepped forward to greet the emperor and first reported on his work.

"Brother, the big fish has taken the bait."

"The Cui family won the bid for the commodity city project for 70 million, and 50 million taels of silver have already been transported back to the palace."

Xiao Ye nodded calmly and raised his hand to greet him.

"Wash your hands first, then sit down and eat."

"good!"

Xiao Jue washed his hands and sat down next to the emperor.

The two brothers discussed the bidding process.

Gu Mingli listened quietly from the side.

Holding a pair of long chopsticks, he was putting thinly sliced ​​mutton into the red soup.

After listening to the bidding process, Xiao Ye turned to look at Gu Mingyue.

"Cui Yuan is the kind of person who won't act until he sees a clear benefit. To be able to extract so much cash from him, Master Gu must have really figured out Cui Yuan very well."