The Red Mansion Big Liar

Chapter 39 Watertight

Zhang Yunyi knew nothing about what had happened at home.

When he arrived at the inner palace, he gathered his men.

"The snowflake candy has already started to be produced. I am new here and have been busy with production recently. I don't know how the inner court will sell the output."

He asked the question even though he already knew the answer. Although the imperial palace had no output in the past, the imperial merchants still used the imperial treasury to purchase goods to fill the Guangchusi.

Therefore, even if this sales business did not exist before, it would be impossible for the imperial merchants to ignore it and spend time and effort to find another way.

Therefore, the sales rights of this white sugar will most likely fall into the hands of various royal merchants.

Unlike modern times, ancient times emphasized free trade, and silk, leather, porcelain, tea, salt, iron, ginseng, etc. were all government-run projects.

The imperial merchants did not do business for the royal family, but instead used the imperial treasury to make purchases to fill the various warehouses of the Guangchusi for use in the palace.

Not only is there no profit to be made here, but a lot of subsidies are required every year.

But once you have the title of royal merchant, you will also obtain the authorization for those exclusive projects, which is a very profitable business.

Although he wanted to find out about the Xue family's problems, asking too directly would not only put him at a disadvantage, but also make it easy for others to see through his intentions.

Therefore, although it seemed that he was asking about the sales of sugar, he was actually directing the topic to the imperial merchants.

Sure enough, a clerk below said, "Yesterday, Zhao Changshi and Dong Guangrun, the general doctor of the Guangchusi, came to visit together. It was probably for this matter, but they didn't get to see you."

"Yes!" Zhang Yunyi nodded and said, "What's your name?"

The man was flattered and said, "Your Excellency, I am Gu Wenhui."

"Okay! Come with me to the Guangchusi now."

"Hey! I will lead the way, sir!"

Of course, he didn't like Gu Wenhui so he called out his name.

A Biteshi was only a low-ranking official in charge of paperwork, but Gu Wenhui not only knew the names of Zhongshun Wang Changshi and Guangchusi Langzhong, but also knew their purpose of visit, which shows that his identity might not be simple.

Although he is only a sixth-rank official now, he has the emperor's favor and the Tiangong Academy is related to the so-called immortal skills. It is normal for him to place some people there before he becomes successful.

He does not reject this point. On the contrary, if these people use it well, there will be unexpected results.

If no one remembers you, you are a mediocre person.

As he expected, Gu Wenhui led him all the way with a nod and a bow, and they arrived at the Guangchusi smoothly.

"I am waiting here for you, sir!" Gu Wenhui stopped in front of the main hall and bowed.

Zhang Yunyi stepped into the hall and shouted, "Master Dong made a wasted trip yesterday. Your humble servant Zhang Yunyi has come to apologize!"

He then exclaimed, "Hey! Zhao Changshi is here too?"

"Master Zhang, you've arrived just in time. I have something to discuss with you."

The two of them immediately invited Zhang Yunyi in.

"Is it about the sale of snowflake cotton candy?" Zhang Yunyi said with a smile, "I was just asking about this matter at the government office, and I learned that the two gentlemen visited yesterday, so I took the liberty to come here."

After some polite talk, the two of them got straight to the point: "It would be time-consuming and laborious to find another way. It would be better to let the imperial merchants sell the snowflake candy, which would save a lot of trouble..."

I have said a lot, but it is nothing more than how to make things convenient.

Zhang Yunyi did not show any impatience. He waited until they finished talking before saying, "I wonder how many imperial merchants there are in the inner court now?"

Dong Guangrun said, "The inner court has always been composed of eight imperial merchants. Even if one of them is relieved of its duties, there will be routine replacements. Is there anything wrong with Lord Zhang asking this?"

Zhang Yunyi keenly grasped the words "routine supplement", but said without revealing it, "No, no! Please forgive me, Master Dong, for making fun of you. This is my first assignment, and I am afraid of failing to honor you, so I am being extra cautious!"

"So that's how it is!" Zhao Lianggong said with a smile, "Don't worry, Lord Zhang. The emperor has high hopes for Tiangong Academy, and no one will dare to slack off."

"That's good, that's good! However, please forgive me, sir. Please show me the list of these families."

After hearing this, Zhao Lianggong and Dong Guangrun looked at each other, and the latter immediately said, "Okay! Okay!"

Then he winked at a clerk in the hall, and the clerk immediately trotted out.

After a while, he came in holding a booklet.

Zhang Yunyi took it and looked through it. It contained records of the purchases made by the eight imperial merchants in the past three years.

However, on a list attached on the last page, several families had already signed and verified, except for the Xue family's column which remained empty.

Seeing this, he already understood the Xue family’s problems.

After the gourd case, Xue Pan had nominally become a living dead. How could he dare to come to the inner court for a review in broad daylight?

Since Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were women, it was naturally impossible for the court to recognize them.

However, although he saw the problem, he pretended not to know. Instead, he pointed at the list and said with a smile: "Could this Jinling Xue family be the Xue family that is related to the Rongguo Mansion by marriage?"

"Eh! I forgot about that. It seems that Lord Zhang and the Xue family are also old acquaintances?"

"To be honest, my Lord, this is what I'm afraid of." Zhang Yunyi bowed to the two of them and said, "Everything else is fine, but I have an unreasonable request, and I hope you two Lords can fulfill it."

"Master Zhang, please speak."

"The Xue family and I are related, and now they want to take over the sales of snowflake cotton candy. In order to avoid gossip, I think we can give them 10% of the share. What do you think?"

He didn't want to get involved in Xue Pan's case, and he didn't want to leave any lingering thoughts about the review.

Therefore, while the other party had not yet raised the issue, they used the excuse of avoiding suspicion to finalize a 10% share for the Xue family. As long as the other party agreed to this 10% share, they would take care of the rest of the secret operations.

Moreover, this 10% share was not given to the Xue family, but to the You family.

I had promised to give Youshi some shares before, and I planned to make them into notes similar to salt permits and sell them, but now I can kill two birds with one stone.

Not only could the Xue family take the opportunity to retain their title of imperial merchant, they also had channels for sales. In fact, this was a lot more than previously expected.

After all, there were only eight imperial merchants, and as the chief officer, he only allocated a 10% share, and it was still selected within the designated range. He didn't have to worry about the consequences no matter where he took the money.

As for the Xue family, they were lucky enough to keep the title of imperial merchant, so how could they dare to make any more demands?

What's more, there are subsequent trade routes for soda ash.

Zhao Lianggong and Dong Guangrun naturally would not ignore Zhang Yun逸's interpersonal relationships.

The reason why I brought the review list was to bargain with him.

Officialdom requires one to blend in with others and keep a low profile, but Zhang Yunyi had just entered officialdom, and they were still not sure about his style of doing things. In addition, his cheap father Zhang Changqing had threatened to die in order to dissuade him from doing so, and they were also worried that he would follow the family tradition and cause some trouble.

Although the two had the support of Prince Zhongshun and their official positions were higher than Zhang Yun逸's, the sugar was after all produced by Zhang Yun逸. As the chief official, he was highly regarded by the emperor, so it was not convenient for the two to suppress it by force.

Therefore, it had been discussed before that as long as Zhang Yunyi agreed to let the Royal Merchants sell on his behalf, even if he asked for more benefits, he would agree to it.

Unexpectedly, not only did he not make any demands, but he only gave the Xue family 10% of the share.

The two looked at each other, fearing that there would be no further complications, and made the decision immediately.

Zhang Yunyi bowed and said, "Thank you very much, my Lords. However, although I am related to the Xue family, everything must be in accordance with the rules and regulations. Please do not sacrifice public interests for personal gain because of this relationship!"

"Naturally!"

Although it is necessary to exaggerate the difficulty of helping others in order to make them grateful, that is only possible when the other party asks for help.

Now, the Xue family hasn't even opened their mouths yet, but I have already done the job. Not only will this not make them look down on me, but it will leave them with an impression of being unfathomable.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 40 Kill two birds with one stone

Three poles in the sun.

A four-wheeled carriage with the Ning Mansion logo on it drove into the Xuanzhen Temple.

Jia Zhen hurriedly got off the car and headed straight for the hall at the back.

"Master!" He shouted as he stepped into the hall, "The old lady and the mistress went to Huifang Garden for an outing yesterday and came to see my cousin."

Jia Jing narrowed his eyes and said indifferently: "The emperor has established the Tiangong Academy. It's not surprising that they know about such a big move."

Jia Zhen sighed, "Master, you don't know. Yesterday I saw that the way the lady looked at my cousin was not right. Before the New Year, the old lady mentioned intentionally or unintentionally that my elder sister was leaving the palace. Could it be that..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Jia Jing suddenly opened his eyes.

"Didn't my son come to report to the master early in the morning?" He looked up at Jia Jing and said slowly, "My son thought that even if they didn't have this plan now, if they delay any further, they might not have much choice."

"If you have any ideas, why not tell me first."

In recent years, he has been devoted to practicing Taoism and has neglected to discipline Jia Zhen. He would test him whenever he had the chance.

"In my son's opinion, Master, you might as well do the West Mansion a favor and take the eldest sister out of the palace as soon as possible." He paused, and then said, "As long as Yun Yi can use filial piety to control her, and the eldest sister is old, if she is taken out earlier, I believe the West Mansion will not have to waste three years."

Jia Jing pondered and said, "It's not that what you said is unreasonable, but if we don't find a suitable candidate within these three years, I'm afraid the West Mansion will have to rely on your cousin."

"But my son carefully calculated last night. If my elder sister leaves the palace when she is old enough, it will be after my cousin's mourning period is over. How could the West Mansion not make plans in advance by then?"

Jia Jing did not comment. After a long silence, he suddenly asked, "Has he behaved in any unusual way in the mansion recently?"

"Abnormal behavior?" Jia Zhen asked doubtfully, "Master, what do you mean?"

"I'm asking you if he has any suspicions?"

"How could that be possible? Don't worry, sir. I haven't even asked, let alone doubted it."

At this point, he hesitated a little and asked, "Could it be that he did something wrong outside and the master heard about it?"

"No, I've just been feeling a little upset lately..."

"Could something have happened?"

"Not really." Jia Jing pondered, "It's just that he reported the method of the immortals, which would have been fine, but he had to bring up such merits and virtues, which made the emperor practice less. Now that I think about it carefully, I'm afraid he is trying to dig up our roots, right?"

"Uh..." Jia Zhen could not help but be stunned, then he said with relief, "Master, I'm afraid you are worrying too much. There is something that I haven't reported yet. A while ago, my son just asked his wife to take care of him more, and he was so grateful that he even offered to give his wife a share of the sugar to help with the expenses."

He didn't dare tell Jia Jing that he had instigated Youshi to seduce Zhang Yunyi. However, in order to dispel his doubts, he could only whitewash his actions a little.

"Oh? Is this happening?"

"How can it be false?"

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Thinking of his previous suspicion, Jia Jing felt a little embarrassed and yelled, "You made me suspicious!"

"My son hasn't had time to report it yet, so I want to talk about the most important things first!" Jia Zhen hesitated and said, "Besides... he is just being considerate of his sister-in-law, and my son doesn't have the nerve to ask for help..."

"As long as the benefits fall on our family, these are all minor matters. The key is that he has this intention." Jia Jing waved his hand, "In this case, we should really make plans for the West Mansion."

"Master, do you have a better way?"

Jia Jing said calmly, "Prince Ning sent someone to find me a while ago, wanting me to help win over your cousin, but I dissuaded him..."

"Why is this?" Jia Zhen was quite puzzled.

"Stupid! If he knew about our relationship with Prince Ning, and suspected the death of your uncle and himself, wouldn't that be counterproductive?"

At this point, he showed a smug look on his face, and then changed the subject: "However, now we can kill two birds with one stone."

"Kill two birds with one stone?" Jia Zhen couldn't help but fall into deep thought, but after thinking for a long time he still couldn't figure it out, so he looked up at Jia Jing.

"You! You still need to learn more from your father. It is not convenient for us to come forward, but what if the West Mansion comes forward?"

Jia Jing said, "Although the prince should avoid the women in the harem, the emperor is busy with his cultivation and has no time to take care of the harem. Moreover, the eldest girl has always been with Concubine Zhen. She is the birth mother of Prince Ning. If she proposes to give the eldest girl to Prince Ning as a concubine, wouldn't it be justified?"

"Great! Master, this move really impresses your son!" Jia Zhen couldn't help but applaud, "If he can become the concubine of Prince Ning, the West Palace will no longer miss my cousin."

"That's not all!" Jia Jing stroked his beard, shook his head, and said ostentatiously, "By then, we can ask the Western Mansion to help Prince Ning win over your cousin. That way, even if he knows about our relationship with Prince Ning in the future, he won't think too much about it."

"Yes, yes, yes! Father is wise, and I have learned a lot from him." Jia Zhen hesitated a little and said, "But, will Prince Ning disagree? After all, my elder sister is already in her early twenties."

"Don't worry about this. As a prince, he can have any woman he wants. How can he be so superficial? She is just a concubine. If she can win over your cousin's money bag, what's the harm in taking her back as a decoration?"

Jia Jing explained: "Now that white sugar has been produced, the emperor has set up the Tiangong Academy for it. Who can't see that there is a lot of money to be made from it?"

"So when does father plan to go and negotiate with Prince Ning?"

Jia Jing shook his head and said, "Everything has to be prioritized. After all, this is the business of the West Mansion, and we can't just do it. Go back and talk to the old lady, and ask them to follow the Zhen family's lead."

Jia Zhen nodded heavily, and said in agreement: "Father is right. We have done such a big favor to the West Mansion this time. I believe they will not be embarrassed to compete with us for my cousin's marriage in the future."

His words reminded Jia Jing, who hurriedly said, "You might as well speak out this time, especially in front of the old lady. Cunzhou is a man of honor. Since we have helped this time, there is no need to worry. We are just afraid that..."

Although he hadn't said what he was afraid of, Jia Zhen had already understood and said with deep conviction, "Yes, yes, yes! Son, don't worry. Uncle She is a money-grubber, so how can he not be jealous? My second sister is almost reaching the age of marriage, so this matter has to be suppressed by the old lady."