The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Chapter 111

07/06/2023 - currently been edited. if found any mistakes, please comment the sentence. 

As the Emperor, Shang Junlin naturally knew the difference between the two situations.

"I originally thought that you staged this play just to make the people more receptive to donations. I didn't expect there to be a deeper meaning. When you said to delay for a bit, you were waiting for this opportunity," Shang Junlin said.

Shen Yu nodded. "I always felt like those people had a backup plan. They took away a batch of supplies, so they definitely wouldn't just sit and watch us raise enough supplies to send to Subei again."

"I am most worried that the people from the Beimo have infiltrated the officials in Subei. According to the intelligence from the Hidden Dragon Guard, they haven't found any traces of people from the Beimo yet," Shang Junlin said.

"If we talk about who is most benefited from the severe disaster in Subei, it is undoubtedly the Beimo. Without the threat of the Subei army, Subei is undoubtedly a treasure trove for the Beimo. Do you think it's strange that there may be Beimo's involvement in this matter? But I'm more inclined to believe that this was done by some people from Da Huan. Your Majesty, don't forget, the King of Yue is still in the dungeon," Shen Yu said.

"Does Ah Yu suspect that someone behind the King of Yue did this?" Shang Junlin asked.

"If the King of Yue wants that position, he needs both food and silver. Has His Majesty sent anyone to the King of Yue's fiefdom?" Shen Yu asked.

The King of Yue has been held in the capital for so long, and there has been no movement on his fiefdom, which is already abnormal.

"His Majesty can use the excuse of the donation to investigate the King of Yue's fiefdom thoroughly."

----

After a cup of tea, the second half of the play began, and the discussions below gradually disappeared, and everyone's attention returned to the play.

In another elegant room, noticing that Physician Gu was visibly absent-minded, Physician Qian poured him a cup of tea and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Just now it seemed like I saw someone I know," Physician Gu paused for a moment and took the teacup. "I'm not sure if I saw wrong."

"Is it your friend? Why not invite them over for a chat?"

Physician Gu shook his head. "No need, they probably don't want to be disturbed."

Seeing this, Physician Qian didn't say anything more.

After the performance, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

"This ending is really satisfying. Corrupt officials should be beheaded and displayed to the public!"

"Li Niang finally reunites with her lover after going through so many hardships. True love prevails in the end, and I am satisfied."

"Li Niang's efforts were not in vain. The evil is punished, the good is rewarded, the disaster is resolved in time, and the enemy who wanted to take advantage of it was also defeated. It's really satisfying!"

Men and women came to watch the play, with different focuses, but regardless of which side, they were all very satisfied with this ending.

Shen Yu and Shang Junlin walked out of the theater, and they could hear the surrounding people's discussions all the way.

Besides the story itself, what was talked about the most was Li Niang's actions in the play.

Li Niang was the embodiment of all the beauty of women in the world. She had both the tenderness and delicacy of a woman and the courage and determination not inferior to that of a man. Her fearless and decisive character had touched countless people.

"Since Li Niang succeeded in the play, does it mean that this method is feasible?"

"I'm also considering this issue. You and I are both merchants. We know that Da Huan's treatment of merchants is much better than that of other dynasties, but due to various inherent concepts, the status of merchants is not high. Li Niang's situation in the play was so difficult, but she still succeeded. And because of their actions, they changed the situation of merchants at that time. If we can contribute to Subei, can't we also change people's perception of merchants?"

The concepts passed down from generation to generation of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants are not easily changed. Even though Da Huan is not harsh on merchants, due to various inherent concepts, the status of merchants is not high.

"They can have as much money as they want, but if they don't spend a lot of money to bribe others, those who have ill intentions can easily cause them to suffer a great loss. Even if they spend money to buy peace of mind and security, they are still willing to do so.

However, in most cases, even if money is spent and relationships are established, the other party can still back out at any time.

The sponsorships and donations proposed by Shen Yu can avoid this situation.

Shen Yu's play has already been performed in the capital for several days, and other theater troupes in different regions have started to perform this play. For each theater troupe, as long as there are people watching, it doesn't matter what play they perform.

There are also storytellers who see the business opportunity and tell the story of Li Niang in restaurants and teahouses. Customers love to listen, and they are happy to talk more.

After several days of fermenting, the government received a petition from the public.

Not only one government office, but several places such as the Grand Court and the Ministry of Revenue also received the petition.

At the early morning court, the Minister of Revenue directly presented the petition, "Your Majesty, I have received some letters from the public."

Several other ministers also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, we have received them too."

"Let me see."

Outside the palace, at the Yingxing House.

Yan Zheng and more than a dozen businessmen of all sizes were sitting in a private room, with a refined man in his thirties as the leader. They had just written a joint letter and submitted it to the court.

On the other side were several ordinary people, all of whom were well-respected in their neighborhoods. They gathered here for the purpose of submitting a joint letter as well.

"Don't worry, I have some connections with a senior official from the Ministry of Revenue. He said that the Minister of Revenue will inform His Majesty of our request today," the refined man spoke.

"We naturally believe in what Master Jin says," others also spoke up.

Master Jin is quite influential among the businessmen in the capital. He is reliable and trustworthy, and everyone believes in him. This time, they nominated him to take charge of this matter.

After comforting everyone, Master Jin walked up to Yan Zheng and whispered, "If it weren't for you telling me about all this, I wouldn't dare to take on this matter. This cup is for you."

"Jin-xiong, you're too kind. When I first arrived in the capital, you helped me, and I never got a chance to properly thank you. This time, I only shared some information that I knew, which isn't much." Yan Zheng replied.

When Shen Yu tried to decline the plan, Shang Junlin hid the information again. Unlike government officials, ordinary people and businessmen wouldn't know about this imperial court news without connections. Yan Zheng knew because the Ministry of Public Works unintentionally leaked some information to him and another reason.

Yan Zheng was waiting for the imperial court to issue an order, and then he would donate a sum of money. He didn't expect that this matter would be raised by them proactively, but it was better this way since it was more beneficial to both the court and them.

When he first read "The Return of Spring," Yan Zheng had some speculations. Later, the streets and alleys were all talking about this matter, which made his thoughts clearer. Later on, when he talked to Xu shopkeeper about cooperation, Xu mentioned it casually, and Yan Zheng knew that this was a perfect opportunity for him to penetrate the inner circle of the capital's businessmen.

Each small group of businessmen in every place was exclusive, and the capital was even more so. He had been there for a while and still couldn't truly integrate until now.

He knew who Xu shopkeeper belonged to, and the information that Xu revealed must have been told to him through Xu by the person behind him. With an accurate answer, Yan Zheng privately contacted Master Jin.

After a detailed discussion, he finally met the core figure in the capital's business circle for the first time. If this matter goes smoothly, he can slowly establish himself through this.

The waiting time always seemed particularly long. As the sun gradually rose, a servant ran in with a happy expression on his face, "That Lord has replied, and the Emperor has agreed!"

Everyone's faces showed joy.

"That's great. After this, our merchant group should face fewer constraints."

After discussing the specific donation matters, the group went back to arrange things. Master Jin walked at the back, with a relaxed smile on his face.

He was a born businessman, always sensitive to the court's wind direction, but this time, if it weren't for Yan Zheng giving him a confidence boost, he wouldn't dare to take such a big risk.

Helping Yan Zheng out that day was just something he did casually, but he didn't expect it to leave him with such great karma.

Shen Yu was tending to the flowers in the Yu Zhang Palace.

Except for one pot sent by Physician Gu, the rest were all sent by Shang Junlin. There were precious varieties and those were sent simply because they were growing well.

Unlike Shang Junlin, who had a lot of free time every day, Shen Yu personally tended to these flowers and plants every few days.

Watering, loosening the soil, pruning, and so on.

Mu Xi stood aside with a clean handkerchief. "Young Master, Xu shopkeeper sent a message saying that they have a preliminary agreement with Yan Gongzi for cooperation. He also revealed the message as you instructed. It is said that the merchants and people of the capital have jointly petitioned the government in these two days."

"There should be a conclusion today. This play has been performed for so long, it's time to end it."

Li, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Revenue, only learned today what the court's plan was. Except for a few senior officials such as the Minister of Revenue and the Prime Minister, the news has not been leaked to the outside world. Even what Shen Yu told Yan Zheng was only part of it.

After the morning court session, Li paced anxiously in his study. Eventually, he made up his mind, hastily wrote something with a pen, and put it into his pocket before the ink dried.

As the study door opened, Official Li widened his eyes suddenly.

"You... "

"Where does Official Li want to go?" The visitor sneered. "Or, does Official Li want to pass on information to someone?"

"I...I don't know what you are talking about."

"No need for you to know. Take him away."

Li was taken away silently.

After the morning court session, Shang Junlin left the Prime Minister and the Minister of Revenue to discuss the specific details of the donation. Meng Gonggong walked in from outside and whispered, "Your Majesty, the hidden line buried in the Ministry of Revenue has been caught."

"Send it to the Grand Court for investigation. I want to see who is behind the plot."

When Shang Junlin returned to Yu Zhang Palace, Shen Yu was still taking care of the flowers.

"The Hidden Dragon Guards caught a spy buried in the Ministry of Revenue. I handed him over to the Grand Court and hope they can get some information out of him." Shang Junlin walked over.

"It's not normal that everything is so calm now. Every time there is something happening in the court, there are always people spreading rumors against Your Majesty. Have you investigated who did it?" Shen Yu put down the small shovel in his hand.

"I did investigate."

"And?"

"Nothing," Shang Junlin smiled. "If they want to do something again, they will only end up losing more than they gain."

Shen Yu knew what those people would say. They would blame all the disasters on Shang Junlin. Perhaps they were waiting for the best time to strike, but they didn't know that Shen Yu was also waiting for them to make their move.

He not only would not let those people succeed but also wanted to return the dirty water they had poured on Shang Junlin before.

"You take care of these flowers so well, Ah Yu." Shang Junlin picked up the small shovel on the stone table and loosened the soil around the flower that had not been dug up.

"As they are flowers given by His Majesty, I naturally have to take good care of them."

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