Chapter Ten Shenxi Creek

  Liuli Chang, Bogu Zhai.

  "This is my family's Zhu Gongzi, also the owner of those ten transparent crystal cups." Shi Kefa introduced according to Zhu Yinglong's instructions.

  The shopkeeper of this antique shop was a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a square face and a full forehead. His eyes occasionally flashed with sharp glances, and at first glance, he looked like an extraordinary businessman. When he saw Zhu Yinglong and Shi Kefa, he quickly put down the ancient jade in his hand and smiled to welcome them. He rushed over to Zhu Yinglong and clasped his fists together in greeting: "I am Shen Xi, nice to meet you, Master Zhu!"

  "May I have a word with you, Mr. Shen?" Zhu Yinglong asked in a low voice.

  Shen Creek naturally understood that this was a matter of importance and hastily said: "Master Zhu, please, there is a quiet room in the back, just right for a detailed discussion."

  Three people sat down, Shen Creek had someone serve fragrant tea. Zhu Yinglong also loved drinking tea in his later years, but he was too embarrassed to buy good tea leaves because they were too expensive. Now that he's in this time and space, he has the opportunity to drink a lot of good tea. To be honest, the so-called tribute tea he drank wasn't much better than the tea leaves from his own time, because he always gulped down his tea. Seeing the floating tea leaves in the cup, they were green and looked great, and smelled of a light tea fragrance. After taking a sip, he suddenly felt a sweet aftertaste that lingered on his tongue, completely different from the tea he used to drink. He asked in surprise: "Shen boss, what kind of tea is this?"

  Shen Creek's spirit shook, and he said with a hint of self-satisfaction: "This is a kind of tea that I personally blended, named Green Robe. It's brewed with the spring water from Jiangnan. I'm afraid it's a bit slow to serve you, please forgive me, Mr. Zhu and Mr. Shi."

  Zhu Yinglong suddenly realized, I said why the tea tasted different, it turned out that it was brewed with spring water from Jiangnan. He praised it highly and their relationship became much closer. Especially Zhu Yinglong's business experience made Shen Qiu admire him greatly. At the same time, Zhu Yinglong gained a deeper understanding of the status and situation of merchants in this era. They were very wealthy but had no social standing. Most merchants who got rich through business liked to buy land, and with officials and the imperial family's estates, land was concentrated in the hands of these people, accounting for about 80% of the total. Merchants only occupied a small part, although they had money, they couldn't buy land, and their property often didn't get effective protection. The Ming dynasty law punished heavily for false reporting of land taxes, if an official coveted your land, a false report would be enough to take it away. However, despite this, land was still the most valuable wealth in society. The Ming dynasty's maritime trade was also very developed, and pirates were as numerous as hairs on an ox. Along the coast of Fujian, there were dozens of large and small pirate organizations, the largest being Zheng Zhilong, who had married a Japanese wife and dominated the Taiwan Strait like a small feudal lord.

  Shi Ke Fa still didn't want Zhu Ying Long to have too much contact with Shen Xi, and was somewhat restless. Zhu Ying Long also knew that sometimes ideas couldn't be changed overnight. Shen Xi had made a good impression on Zhu Ying Long, who needed someone with business talent to help him. He thought Shen Xi was a great candidate, but he hadn't made any rash decisions yet. Instead, they agreed to meet again at the auction, and Zhu Ying Long wanted to learn more about Shen Xi first.

  It's rare to come out, Zhu Yinglong pulled Shi Kefa into the most famous old-brand wine house in Beijing: Zui Xian Lou. Zhu Yinglong is a regular here, and he often comes with Xu Yingyuan. The shopkeeper and waiters all know him, but they don't know that he's actually the "foolish prince" who's been rumored to be crazy in Beijing.

  "Old man, you haven't been here for days." A familiar fellow immediately recognized Zhu Yinglong and hurriedly greeted him with a smile.

  "A good wine, two sets of bowls and chopsticks, the dishes are the same!" Zhu Yinglong smiled.

  "Just wait, I'll bring it right up." The shop assistant ran in happily.

  Zhu Yinglong and Shi Kefa found a quiet table to sit down, Shi Kefa asked in a low voice: "The king seems to be very interested in that Shen Zhuanggui?"

  "Yes, what's wrong?" After drinking that 'green robe', ordinary tea water tastes bland, but it's good at quenching thirst.

  "Your Highness, aren't you thinking of going into business?" Shi Kefa finally asked the question he had been guessing at for a long time.

  "Where did you see it from?" This sentence already answered Shi Kefa's question.

  "His Excellency just now listened to every word of what Mr. Shen said, and if His Excellency were to engage in business, I'm afraid there wouldn't be a single merchant under the sky who could be his match!" Shi Kefa said.

  "Oh, Brother Xian is indeed giving me a high hat. I am just an ordinary person, and there are many talented people in the world, how can I be compared to others?" Zhu Yinglong said with a smile.

  "Ke Fa has a question and would like to ask for your advice, Your Majesty." Shi Ke Fa suddenly became serious and asked.

  "Brother Xian, please speak your mind. I, the king, will not hide anything and will say everything." Zhu Yinglong also took it seriously, vaguely guessing that this matter was related to whether Shi Kefa would become a loyal person to him.

  "May I ask, Your Majesty, how you acquired such extraordinary knowledge and insight? You are still young and living in the palace, yet your understanding far surpasses mine. I have spent over a decade studying, but apart from some enlightenment on human nature, most of what I've learned seems useless. On the other hand, it's as if the strange and unconventional skills you possess are closely related to life itself. How did you come to know these things? Where did you learn them?" Shi Kefa's eyes were fixed intently on Zhu Yinglong, and the more he interacted with this young king, the more he felt his own knowledge was shallow.

  "Does Brother Qian believe that imperial power is divinely ordained?" Zhu Yinglong asked instead of answering directly.

  "Of course, I naturally believe it!" Shi Ke Fa said with certainty.

  "Does Brother Na believe that our great Ming will perish?" Zhu Yinglong asked calmly.

  "Your Highness..." Shi Kefa's whole body trembled as if he had been punched, his voice shaking slightly.

  "Tell me, do you believe?" Zhu Yinglong gazed at Shi Kefa with an even stare, Shi Kefa's reaction was already within his expectations, he waited for his response.

  "This, this is not something I dare say." Facing Zhu Yinglong's intimidating gaze, Shi Kefa had already broken out in a cold sweat behind his back.

  "But I firmly believe that our great Ming dynasty will one day perish." Zhu Yinglong said with an unusual calmness.

  "Your Highness, you can't say that..." Shi Kefa was even more shocked and speechless, fortunately there were no people around.

  "This king has been studying in the palace for many years and came to a conclusion that if he wants the great Ming dynasty not to perish, there is only one way to go, which is to change the law. Can his brother help this king with one arm?" Zhu Yinglong said very seriously, these words he dare not say in the palace, in this bustling tavern, even if someone is monitoring, as long as they are not nearby, their conversation will not be overheard by others, so he took a risk to try, the purpose is naturally to win over Shi Kefa for his own use."

  "This morning, the imperial edict stipulated that without an imperial decree, vassal kings were not allowed to interfere in politics. Wang Ye...” Shi Kefa was thoroughly shocked, his tongue was tied and he couldn't speak fluently anymore. He believed that Wang Ye's powerful ambition was obvious, how could he not see it?

  Zhu Yinglong gave Shi Kefa time to consider, and after the wine and dishes arrived, Zhu Yinglong was indeed enjoying himself, but Shi Kefa was tasteless and hesitant in his heart. His mentor had taught him to be loyal to the emperor and love the country, but the current monarch was not the young king in front of him. If he accepted the invitation of the Prince of Xin, Emperor Tianqi did not have an heir, and it would be fine for the Prince of Xin to inherit the throne in the future. However, if the Prince of Xin could not inherit the throne, judging from his tone, it seemed like a plot to overthrow the emperor. If things failed, he would also become a rebellious minister, which would lead to the extermination of nine clans. The lives of dozens of people were in his hands, and he dared not easily agree.

  "Zhu Gongzi." A sudden deep voice sounded beside Zhu Yinglong.

  "Who are you?" Zhu Yinglong looked at a strange face in surprise, somewhat familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen him before. However, the other party didn't reveal his identity, showing that he was a meticulous person.

  "Master Zhu doesn't remember what happened that night..." The young man hinted with a gesture of hitting.

  "Oh, you're the one who beat up Zuo Qianhu's Jin Yiwei Bai Hu?" Zhu Yinglong suddenly remembered that it was this middle-aged man who had taken action when he beat up Zuo Qianhu that night.

  "Does Zhu Gongzi still remember me?" asked Bai Hu with a smile.

  "How could I forget? Come, sit down and have a drink?" Zhu Yinglong was first impressed by his courage to beat the evil Left Qianhu, secondly he was very clever and knew how to conceal his identity, so he called out to his partner to add another bowl and chopsticks.

  "I don't dare!" The hundred households pushed back, but was still pulled down by Zhu Yinglong.

  Zhu Yinglong was worried that he couldn't find the insider in Beizhen Fu's house, but unexpectedly this person delivered himself to his doorstep. This hundred households dared to stand up and hit Zuo Qianhu, must be a hero, still a hundred households, belonging to the kind of people who can get close to serious offenders. This is the person chosen by heaven, how could Zhu Yinglong let him go?

  "That hundred households sat down and suddenly said in a low voice to Zhu Yinglong: 'Thank you, Your Majesty, for protecting the loyal and righteous. I am grateful.'"

  Zhu Yinglong's whole body shook, and he stared at the Jin Yiwei Bai Hu in plain clothes in surprise, exclaiming: "What did you say?"

  "Your Highness, please don't worry. Lord Xiong had a favor for me many years ago, and I followed that Left Thousand Household just to help Miss Xiong out. Who knew the miss had already been rescued by Your Highness?" said the brocade-clad guard captain.

  Zhu Yinglong's vigilance had not been put down yet, and he pretended to be surprised: "What Miss Xiong is in our royal mansion? Is General Bai mistaken?"

  "Your Highness, please forgive me. My surname is Zhou and my name is Huai'an. However, our family's fortunes declined, and Lord Xiong was a close friend of my father's before he passed away. I was only ten years old when my father died, but fortunately, Uncle Xiong helped us out. As I grew up, I enjoyed martial arts, so Lord Xiong recommended me to become a Jin Yi Wei officer. The Xiong siblings were afraid of implicating me, so they didn't inform me about the jailbreak..." explained Zhou Huai'an, a thirty-year-old Jin Yi Wei officer.

  As soon as Zhu Yinglong heard the three words "Zhou Huai'an", his brain short-circuited. Except for Wei Zhongxian and Zhu Youjian, all the characters in "New Dragon Gate Inn" are fictional, but he didn't expect to meet someone named Zhou Huai'an in this time and space, who is also a Jin Yiwei Baihu. Apart from sighing at the coincidence, there's probably no other word to describe his feelings at this moment.

  There is a saying that "no cleverness can be achieved without cunning", and Zhou Huan's appearance undoubtedly brought a major turning point to Zhu Yinglong's plan to steal the beam, Zhou Huan was a hundred households of the Jin Yiwei under the Beizhen Fu Si, he should have access to imperial offenders like Xiong Tingyi, if he were to carry out this plan, it would be the most suitable candidate, however, "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", Zhu Yinglong did not immediately inform Zhou Huan about the plan, but only inquired about his address, so as to send someone to find him.

  Before leaving, Zhou Huanan secretly told Zhu Yinglong that the Eunuch Party seemed to suspect that he had colluded with the assassin who broke into the prison that night, but there was no evidence. Moreover, more people were dispatched to monitor his movements. Fortunately, the person in charge of monitoring today was Zhou Huanan. As Zhu Yinglong walked out of the wine tower, his palms were sweating and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his back. Thinking about it, he felt like he had been being monitored these past few days at the mansion, feeling a chill in his heart. It seemed that he had underestimated the Eunuch Party's abilities.

  "Are you still going to Bugu Zhai, Prince Wang?" Shi Kefa asked cautiously, noticing that Zhu Yinglong's expression was not quite right.

  Zhu Yinglong thought for a moment, and finally decided to go. He was also one of the invited bidders, and now he had Zhou Huai'an as an insider. He believed that Zhou would know what to do. Since he wanted to achieve great things, how could he be timid?

  The auction was held at a tea house and was quite successful, with good publicity. At least half of the wealthy merchants and corrupt officials in Beijing attended. The ten transparent cups were not considered rare treasures by the people of this time and space, but they were still considered precious items. They were sold for an average price of nearly 10,000 taels per cup, with a commission of 2%, which was over 2,000 taels. This made Shen Creek extremely happy, beaming from ear to ear. Zhu Yinglong did not attend the auction because he knew most of the people inside, including Wei Zhongxian's henchmen, Xu Xianchun, Tian Ergeng, Wei Guangwei, Cui Chengxiu, and Zhou Yingqiu. The ten cups were originally meant to swindle these idiots, and Zhu Yinglong was delighted to have cheated them out of their money. He hoped that he could turn all the gold, silver, and jewels of Wei Zhongxian and his henchmen into glass, and then mass-produce it, making everything in their possession worthless.

  "Shen Zhanggui, how much silver can your antique shop make in a year?" Zhu Yinglong secretly met with Shen Xi, the owner of the antique shop, under the arrangement of Shi Kefa after the auction.

  "About 20,000 yuan." Shen Xi frankly told him, seeing the huge benefits that Zhu Yinglong had brought to him.

  "If I were to give you ten times that amount, would Shopkeeper Shen still be unwilling to deal with me?" asked Zhu Yinglong.

  "Tenfold?" Shen Xi muttered to himself.

  "This young master knew that Shen Wansan's descendants would not care about this small amount of money, it was just a trifle. Master Shen? Hmm... It wouldn't be difficult to investigate the owner of a small antique shop, just ask Zhou Huai'an and he would know. What didn't the archives of the Jin Yiwei, the largest secret service agency of the Ming dynasty, have?"

  "What kind of person are you?" Shen Xi exclaimed, ordinary people wouldn't know that he was a descendant of Shen Wan San. From the beginning when Mr. Shi handed him ten precious transparent glass cups, he had a bad feeling, but he was attracted by the huge benefits and thought to himself, "I'm just a thread puller, nothing big will happen," but he didn't expect things to go so wrong, and trouble came knocking on his door after all.

  "My surname is Zhu, and my name is Youjian." said Zhu Yinglong with a serious expression.

  Shen Creek fell to the ground with a thud, although he had sent an invitation to the Xinfeng Palace, but he didn't know if King Xinfeng would come. Moreover, Zhu Youjian was wearing casual clothes, and only a few officials might recognize him. Shen Creek naturally didn't recognize him, and hastily trembled, saying: "This humble one, Shen Creek, has eyes but doesn't recognize Mount Tai, didn't know that Your Highness had arrived, this humble one deserves to die. This humble one doesn't want the 2,000 taels of silver reward."

  Zhu Yinglong felt amused, and said with a drink: "Shen Xi, get up for Ben Wang. Ben Wang didn't find you for the sake of that little commission. Ben Wang has found you for another matter."

  "Your Highness, you said!" Shen Xi's heart was greatly settled.

  Zhu Yinglong said, "Merchants have been looked down upon for thousands of years, resulting in this self-deprecating mindset. Think about the glory of Lü Buwei from the Qin Empire! But after Lü Buwei, the status of merchants has only declined day by day. It's truly lamentable. If our ancestors had valued commerce enough, those so-called 'Empires where the sun never sets' in the West would have become 'Empires where the sun has set'. He straightened his thoughts and said, "I want to buy your Bogu Pavilion..."

  As soon as Zhu Yinglong said this, Shen Xi's face turned into a pitiful bitter melon shape: "Your Highness, you can't!"

  "Let me finish speaking." Zhu Yinglong said displeased, "I'll buy your Bugu Zhai and let you run it. I'll also give you 200,000 taels of silver as a reward every year. However, in return, you have to do things for me, things that I cannot do myself. Do you understand?"

  The sky won't drop meat pies, Shen Creek wouldn't be unaware of this principle, but the annual income of 200,000 taels of silver might not have been glanced at during Shen Wan San's lifetime. However, in Shen Creek's eyes now, it has infinite temptation. The 20,000 taels of silver he earns each year can support a large family. Apart from the circulating capital in the store, he really doesn't have much money. 200,000 is enough to open Bogu Zhai for ten years. If he isn't tempted, that's just weird. These royal relatives and princes secretly engage in commerce, smuggling, and private salt sales. The court also turns a blind eye. Although the risk is slightly higher, this Prince Xin is still the current emperor's younger brother. Why not take a gamble and rely on Prince Xin, this big tree, to enjoy the cool breeze?

  "Your Highness, I have agreed." Shen Xi announced his decision, as if he had removed a huge boulder that was pressing on his chest.

  "Alright, Shen Zhanggui, from now on you'll be one of my people. Ten thousand taels should be enough to buy out your Bogu Zhai, right?" Zhu Yinglong also let out a sigh of relief and said with delight.

  "That's enough, that's enough..." Shen Xi also said with a joyful expression, 100,000 taels is enough to buy two Bo Gu Zhai, how can it not be enough? It seems that this move was made correctly.

  At the moment, Zhu Yinglong left a silver ticket and took away the deed of Bogu Zhai, the house contract, as well as the employment contract that was almost equivalent to selling himself. Shen Xi signed the contract in a daze, although the remuneration was frighteningly high.

  Chang Feng had also considered joint venture, but he eventually gave up on the idea. Joint ventures were not reliable and carried too much risk, making it easy to generate disputes over interests. Under the current imperfect legal protection, the existing Da Ming law could not provide much guarantee for joint ventures. Moreover, Zhu Yinglong's intentions went beyond mere business ambitions, with some unmentionable purposes attached. Therefore, Zhu Yinglong chose to have complete control, having Shen Xi work for him as a kind of chief executive officer in today's terms.