Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

"I hope so!"

Seeing Zhao Yuanyan's pretentious act, Zhou Feng didn't bother to expose him, but in front of him, he curled his lip in disdain: "Although I am merely an envoy and have not yet ascended to the ranks of immortals, I do possess some methods. If any unscrupulous individuals were to set their sights on my fiancée, it wouldn't be impossible for me to use some tricks in this capital city. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Zhao Yuanyan, who was being stared at by Zhou Feng, swallowed hard and forced a smile: "Master is joking. No matter where these petty villains are from, I will immediately send people to arrest them and bring them to justice."

Some things are better left unsaid, so Zhou Feng didn't continue speaking. Instead, he followed Zhao Yuanyan into the main hall of the Prince's mansion, where the two took their seats as host and guest.

"The Celestial Master has been in Tokyo for some time now. Are you getting used to living in the Celestial Master's Mansion? If there is anything lacking, please feel free to tell me."

Zhao Yuanyan personally poured Zhou Feng a cup of hot tea and then turned the conversation to business.

He had a smiling expression, as if he were having a casual chat with Zhou Feng.

"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness. The arrangements at the Celestial Master's Mansion are very thoughtful. If you need anything, I will not hesitate to ask."

"That's good, that's good."

Zhao Yuanyan squinted and nodded, then suddenly changed the subject: "A few days ago, when I went to the palace to meet the Emperor, he mentioned the Celestial Master. He said the Celestial Master was incredibly powerful, not only presenting many magical treasures, but even the artifacts in his mansion were the work of immortals, which even the Emperor envied. However—"

At this point, Zhao Yuanyan deliberately drew out the last syllable, but Zhou Feng calmly sipped his tea, seemingly oblivious to his suspense.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhao Yuanran spoke first: "His Majesty also said that the Celestial Master is a celestial being banished from heaven. Now that he has entered the mortal realm, he should, in principle, enjoy more of a life of leisure. Some business matters involving salt and sugar are indeed vulgar; how can they be soiled by the Celestial Master's hands?"

Zhou Feng's expression remained unchanged. He slowly took a sip of tea before meeting Zhao Yuanyan's gaze, his smile unchanged: "What Your Highness says is true. The way of merchants is indeed somewhat crude, but salt, sugar, and grain are necessities for the survival of the people. I brought a large amount of supplies from Penglai using teleportation techniques, also to benefit the people of this region."

Zhou Feng spoke very frankly, without any attempt to avoid addressing the issue Zhao Yuanran had just raised.

However, his emphasis had nothing to do with the principles of commerce; instead, he brought up the matter of benefiting the people.

No matter how dissatisfied Zhao Heng and Zhao Yuanran were with Zhou Feng's actions, his prioritization of the people was absolutely reasonable and beyond reproach.

"Can…"

Zhao Yuanran only uttered one word before falling silent. He didn't know what to say in this situation. On the contrary, Zhou Feng put down his teacup, looked intently into Zhao Yuanran's eyes, and his tone became more even.

"What brings you here, Your Majesty, from Penglai across the sea?"

His question left Zhao Yuanyan momentarily bewildered.

Wasn't he testing Zhou Feng? Why does it feel like the roles have reversed?

However, at this point, the rhythm of their conversation had already slipped out of Zhao Yuanyan's control, and he could only helplessly watch as Zhou Feng spoke again: "When I was in Penglai, I had already observed the fortunes of the human world. The Great Song Dynasty has been established for decades. Although it has a strong army and a prosperous culture, the Liao people occupy the north, the Tanguts are eyeing it covetously, the South Seas are not open, and the sea frontier is blocked. The land of the Great Song Dynasty can no longer support its people. Therefore, I have come here only to open a door for the people of the Great Song Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanyan's expression also became serious.

If anyone else had dared to say such things, they would have been beaten out with sticks or thrown into jail long ago!

But it was Zhou Feng who said this, and even the officials acknowledged that he was an immortal descended from Penglai!

"I have not heard of what the Celestial Master has said. However, the Celestial Master's secret relocation of market stalls will inevitably lead to a sharp decrease in the court's commercial taxes. How will the Celestial Master bear this responsibility?"

Since he couldn't subdue Zhou Feng through righteous indignation, Zhao Yuanyan changed his strategy and sought a different path through procedural justice.

"Has Your Highness ever considered that if I, in my capacity as the Celestial Master, were to petition the Emperor to exchange the salt, sugar, and grain of the common people for goods from Penglai, would the Emperor grant my request?"

Zhao Yuanran wanted to say that the Emperor would definitely agree, but he knew that sometimes the Emperor's will was not the most important thing.

The things Zhou Feng did did not infringe upon the interests of the government the most, but rather the civil service group that had previously made a fortune by monopolizing and smuggling various necessities.

If Zhou Feng were to actually release these supplies, the ones who would truly break through the defenses would undoubtedly be these so-called loyal civil officials.

Then Zhou Feng's request will be passed around, with each side unwilling to take responsibility, and in the end, nothing will be resolved.

Whether those peasants could afford it or had enough to eat was of no concern to them whatsoever.

Zhao Yuanran remained silent, but Zhou Feng showed no intention of stopping, and simply laid out the issue directly: "Your Highness and the Emperor need not be so suspicious. I have come here only to benefit the people, and will not harm anyone in the Zhao family. If I truly harbored ulterior motives, there are many other countries in this world besides the Song Dynasty, aren't there?"

These words were quite blunt; in fact, from birth until now, Zhao Yuanyan had never heard anyone dare to say anything about "your Zhao family" to his face...

If this were to be investigated seriously, he would certainly be charged with insulting the royal family!

"If there's nothing else, Your Highness, I'll take my leave now. However, Your Highness should still be mindful of your personal attendants in the future."

"The two who caused trouble at the Half-Covered Face shop entered the store almost simultaneously with the eunuch from the Prince Xian's residence. Your servant kept a close eye on them the entire time!"

"If the Wise Prince wishes to contact me in the future, he can simply send someone to the Celestial Master's Mansion to deliver a letter. Why go through all this trouble and have two ruffians disturb my fiancée's shop?"

The air in the hall froze instantly. Zhao Yuanyan's hand, holding the teacup, hung in mid-air as he watched Zhou Feng's retreating figure. He wished he could smash the cup as a signal to summon all the guards in the palace and beat the guy to death on the spot.

This is so embarrassing! For the dignified Eighth Prince to be pointed at like this by Zhou Feng is utterly humiliating!

After gritting his teeth and remaining silent for a few seconds, Zhao Yuanran sighed and shook his head with a wry smile: "What the Celestial Master said is true, but I only sent someone to test the waters. I really don't know how my subordinates actually carried out the operation."

That's what he said, but Zhao Yuanyan's hands under his sleeves were already clenched into fists.

The eunuch under his command had his every move clearly recorded, yet he still had the nerve to come back and claim a reward!

After this guy leaves, I'll skin him alive!

"Since the wise prince says he doesn't know, then he certainly doesn't know. I'll take my leave!"

Without even exchanging greetings, Zhou Feng led Chen Xiao and the others away from the Prince's Mansion.

"Sir, the Eighth Prince is smashing things in his mansion! That eunuch who tried to stop you was beaten with a board in the back courtyard—tsk tsk tsk, he's a bloody mess!"

Lin Yin's voice came through the Bluetooth headset, and Zhou Feng nodded almost imperceptibly, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard behind him.

With a large number of drones hovering overhead, Zhou Feng, at least in Tokyo, seemed to have a god-like perspective, able to gather intelligence on everything, big or small, immediately.

Even if no one noticed it at the time, clues could be found when reviewing the drone footage.