Chapter 320: The Concubine Does Not Harm the Country, She Only Wants to Harm the Imperial Master (Twenty-Four)

Invitations were sent to officials and big merchants in the capital to attend the housewarming party of the Imperial Master's Mansion.

Everyone who received the invitation was very excited. Even though Yu Huo had only been in the capital for a little over a month, the monarch listened to him and everyone attached great importance to this banquet.

The officials and merchants who came all brought valuable gifts.

Although the sun was already at its zenith when Yu Huo got up, fortunately he did not miss the banquet.

As the vehicle slowly drove out of the palace wall, Xiao Zhuzi subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

For some reason, after leaving the four-sided sky, he always had the illusion of being reborn as a human being, and he no longer had that cautious spirit in him.

I have to say that although the palace is very depressing, it can make people grow rapidly.

Now Xiao Zhuzi can stand at the door of the Imperial Master's Mansion and greet people. Even when facing high-ranking officials, he will not bend over to look up at the other party. He can even stand on the steps of the Imperial Master's Mansion and glance down at the long queue of carriages and their owners outside the door.

Guests came to pay a visit based on the rank of their official, followed by merchants.

Currently, the ten largest merchants in the capital are at the end of the team. They cooperate with each other, but are also wary of each other.

For example, the Qian family is the most financially powerful merchant family besides the three imperial merchants. On the one hand, he has to curry favor with the three imperial merchant families of Zhao, Sun and Li, and on the other hand, he secretly makes arrangements everywhere, wishing to pull one of them down and replace them.

The Zhao family's Patriarch narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead at the bustling Imperial Preceptor's residence, a sigh flashing across his eyes. "The Imperial Preceptor's housewarming party was truly a blast. Who knows when it will be our turn."

The head of the Li family curled his lips and said, "Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, no matter how rich we are, we still have to rank behind the poor Hanlin."

The head of the Sun family laughed stiffly. "But putting aside this noble Hanlin, which of the other officials isn't incredibly wealthy? A county magistrate can earn a hundred thousand silver coins after ten years of service. All our hard work and effort goes into the pockets of these officials."

The head of the Qian family stepped forward and skillfully smoothed things over: "But the world is difficult these days. If we don't take care of the higher-ups, there's no way we can do this business."

The Li family's head glanced at him with disdain and deliberately asked, "How much has the Qian family's head prepared for the Imperial Master?"

The smile on the Qian family's head froze for a moment: "Not much, one thousand taels of silver."

After he finished speaking, the other three imperial merchants breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had prepared two thousand.

Fortunately, this guy is sensible. If he dares to do anything wrong, Qian Shiren will suffer the consequences.

The sun was at its highest, and after chatting for a few minutes, everyone lost interest in talking and returned to their own carriages to take a nap and wait.

As I was drowsy, I heard a faint shouting sound from the front.

The heads of several families didn't take the calls of Mr. Huang and Mr. Chen seriously, thinking it was just a simple compliment and calling out their names. They were secretly amazed. The voice of this door was really loud!

The long procession advanced slowly. When the merchant's carriage reached the gate of the Imperial Master's Mansion, the servant knocked on the carriage wall and called out to the people inside, "Master, it's time to get off."

Upon hearing this, the three heads of the Zhao, Sun and Li families lifted the curtain and stepped down from the carriage. Then they took the gift box handed to them by the servant and walked towards the gate of the Imperial Master's Mansion with smiles on their faces.

The little pillar outside the door was wearing a Taoist robe. He took the gift boxes from the three people one by one, but did not make way for them. Instead, he opened the gift boxes naturally, revealing the yellow and white objects inside.

The three imperial merchants frowned as they watched, secretly cursing the young Taoist priest who was guarding the Imperial Master's residence for being too ignorant of the rules and actually putting the bribe out in the open like that.

Xiao Zhuzi ignored their slightly changing expressions, but took the note in his hand and handed the bribe to the Imperial Master's Mansion to the accountant next to him.

The accountant was busy for a long time, wiping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief while counting the silver and ornaments in his hands.

After finishing the inventory, he whispered a few words to Xiao Zhuzi. After receiving the other party's nod, he took the note and coughed lightly, singing: "The Imperial Merchant Zhao family - donated 2,000 taels of silver, the Imperial Merchant Li family - donated 2,000 taels of silver..."

The head of the Li family suspected that he had heard it wrong.

What is a donation?

Who did you donate to?

The Zhao family head, standing nearby, had a flash of realization when he heard this. He whispered in the Li family head's ear, "The Imperial Preceptor is from the Taoist school, so he probably feels embarrassed to accept bribes privately. That's why he's using the name of a donation, just like donating incense. Let's keep it a secret and save the Imperial Preceptor's reputation."

The head of the Li family looked at me with disdain, and thought to himself: This state teacher is really a double-faced person. He has taken the money, but still insists on pulling out a fig leaf.

If it wasn't for the money, how could someone with such status send invitations to merchants like them?

They really didn't want to come, but they were afraid that this guy would make things difficult for them behind their backs.

Because, it's obvious that this money will be wasted!

The two were so busy being angry that they didn't notice the guilty look on the face of the Sun family's patriarch.

At this moment, the accountant, who had just finished drinking tea to moisten his throat, sang again: "The head of the Sun family—donated 3,000 taels of silver and a piece of top-grade cold jade..."

The Zhao and Li families immediately looked at the head of the Sun family, their eyes full of accusations.

Wasn't it agreed that every family would donate 2,000 taels of silver, just to prevent this greedy imperial tutor from getting hold of any evidence?!

Why did you donate 3,000 taels? And... something as priceless as top-grade cold jade, you just gave it away like that?

traitor!

The head of the Sun family quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and laughed dryly: "It's just an extra thousand taels and a broken stone. It's not that serious. It's about the same."

The Zhao and Li families: "..."

That's a lot worse!

The three people, each with their own thoughts, were led into the house by Xiao Zhuzi. When Mr. Qian behind them saw that everyone had left, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He quickly handed the bribe he had prepared to Xiao Zhuzi. After verifying it, he heard the accountant's call: "Mr. Qian Shiren—donate 5,000 taels of silver and a piece of jade coral!"

scare!

When the six merchants behind him heard this number, their hearts suddenly tightened.

Five thousand taels is nothing. The jade and coral are very valuable. I didn’t expect that Mr. Qian would spend so much money to curry favor with the Imperial Master!

Without the three imperial merchants around, Master Qian felt the shocked gazes of the others with pride.

Just as he was feeling elated, he heard Xiao Zhuzi's questioning voice: "Why are the three masters back again?"

Qian Shiren felt a chill on his back, and slowly looked at the three Huangshang business owners, Zhao, Sun and Li, who had returned, and immediately gave a polite yet awkward smile.

The three royal merchants glared at him and looked at Xiao Zhuzi flatteringly.

The Zhao family patriarch took out a thousand taels of silver note he had brought with him and handed it to Xiao Zhuzi: "Young Taoist priest, I would like to add another thousand taels of silver to the incense money. Can you please give me some convenience?"

The accompanying Li family head also reluctantly gave out a thousand taels of silver note and handed it forward: "Excuse me, young Taoist priest."

The scene was somewhat comical. Yu Huo, who was hiding in the shadows, chuckled softly upon seeing this. He bent his elbow and nudged Xiang Zhige, who had sneaked out of the palace, "Are you relieved now?"

Xiang Zhige was stunned for a moment, still worried: "But this money is not enough..."

Yu Huo sighed, "What are you afraid of? I'll definitely gather all the military funds and food for you today, so you don't have to worry about anything. If you have this much time, why not go to the battlefield to review the troops and get ready to set off?"

Xiang Zhige glanced at Yu Huo and said, "Okay, when I return triumphantly, I'll treat you to a drink!"

Yu Huo: "It's a deal!"