Upon hearing this, Qi Yong immediately thought of Han Yun.

He was exceptionally clueless and lacked any sense of propriety, yet he couldn't bring himself to dislike him; on the contrary, he found him quite endearing.

How bizarre!

“Then let’s see,” Ji Xuan nodded. “If he is capable, it wouldn’t hurt to give him some opportunities. We can discuss these things later. It’s getting late, and I need to make my arrangements.”

"My lady, I'll go get you the medicine right away."

"No need, I won't drink those medicinal soups today," Qi Yong said, clutching his chest. "I don't feel as sluggish as before."

I hadn't paid attention to these things before because I was preoccupied with other things, but now that I think about it, my body feels much more relaxed after eating.

No, it seems that things changed after drinking alcohol.

But my mind was elsewhere, and I didn't pay attention.

"Master," Qi Yong looked up in surprise, "Is this true?"

“Hmm,” Ji Xuan lowered her eyes, thought for a moment, and then instructed, “Go find the manager of Juquanlou and buy as much of the health-preserving wine we drank today as possible.”

I initially thought it was just that the taste was better, and even if it was rare, there was no need to be too demanding.

Now that we've discovered its health benefits, we absolutely can't miss out on it.

“Master, this matter is of great importance,” Qi Yong said solemnly. “If this wine is indeed of great use, we must keep it in our own hands.”

"Don't worry," Ji Xuan nodded gently, "I know what's important!"

When it comes to his own health, he won't be pedantic.

In any case, the land built by our ancestors cannot be lost in his hands.

Upon hearing this, Qi Yong breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that Ji Xuan would remain stubborn.

fortunately!

"Please wait a moment, my lord. I'll be right back."

Go!

A moment later, Qi Yong returned with a grim expression. "No wonder the old saying goes, 'No merchant is without guile!'"

"What? You didn't manage to buy any?"

"We only managed to buy two jars," Qi Yong explained with a dark face. "We brought 60,000 taels of silver notes with us when we came out, but we only spent less than 10,000. The remaining money wasn't even enough to buy three jars of wine."

In the afternoon, it was said that a jar of silver cost 10,000 taels, but by evening the price had doubled.

This is outrageous!

When we get back to the capital, we must have this shady shop shut down.

"Not enough silver?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Xuan was both anxious and furious. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation: not having enough money.

Ji Xuan, who had never worried about money before, now deeply regretted not bringing more money with her.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth and spat out a sentence, "Twenty thousand taels of silver, that's more than the entire Ministry of Revenue's annual salary, and he really dares to ask for it."

He thought that ten thousand taels of silver was the limit for wine, but who knew that others could sell it for twenty thousand taels.

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of taels of silver were in hand; such blatant violence was simply enviable.

If the imperial court could do the same, the military pay for the Northwest army, the cost of changing the course of the Yellow River, the subsidies for disaster relief in Shandong, and even the expenses for building the Huangling Mausoleum...

All of that will no longer be a problem.

"No wonder Grandfather always said that merchants are fat sheep and should be slaughtered without hesitation. These are not fat sheep, but mountains of silver."

The annual tax revenue of Ping'an County is unknown, but it is estimated to be no more than 20,000 taels.

"Master, it's time to regulate the merchants!"

If every family were as profitable as the Han family, how much silver could they collect?

Just thinking about it made Qi Yong's breathing quicken.

“It really needs to be rectified,” Ji Xuan’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “Merchants are so greedy that they forget morality; they cannot be let off lightly!”

Upon seeing this, Qi Yong's heart skipped a beat; it seemed the Emperor was preparing to crack down on merchants.

After a moment, he tentatively asked in a low voice, "The Han family's side?"

"I'll inquire about the situation tomorrow," Ji Xuan said, standing with his hands behind his back and his eyes slightly closed. "I hope I haven't misjudged you this time."

Otherwise, he wouldn't mind washing away the humiliation of a monarch with blood.

The next morning, upon seeing Han Yi arrive, Qi Yong immediately invited him over.

Seeing Qi Yong's gloomy face first thing in the morning, Han Yi felt very strange. "Uncle Qi, have I offended you?"

"Han Yi, let me give you some advice: stay true to your place!"

"What do you mean?" Han Yi asked, puzzled. "When did I ever fail to fulfill my duties?"

That's a strange statement.

After leaving Huangjiakou, he went straight back to his old house to sleep. Heaven and earth can bear witness that he did nothing.

"In short, remember this saying," Qi Yong said meaningfully, "One thought can lead to heaven or hell. You'd better watch yourself."

Because of what happened last night, Ji Xuan was not as enthusiastic towards Han Yi as she was yesterday. After meeting, she nodded indifferently and then sat down.

Is there anything you want to tell me?

Han Yi was completely confused by what he heard.

Even though it was the master and servant who came to find me, they insisted on asking me what I had to say.

This feels like I've made a huge mistake and have to explain myself!

However, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out what went wrong.

"What does Brother Wang want me to say?"

What do you think?

"What do I mean?" Han Yi asked, puzzled. "What exactly happened?"

They were fine yesterday, but they've become distant today?

He didn't have time to do anything.

"Qi Yong, you speak."

After saying this, Ji Xuan turned her head to the side.

Han Yi has not admitted his mistake to this day, which disappoints him greatly!

It's rare for him to feel close to someone, only to find that he misjudged them. This disappointment made him irritable.

"Young Master Han," Qi Yong said bluntly, "wine that costs ten thousand taels a jar, why are you selling it to us for twenty thousand taels a jar? Are you treating my master like a fat sheep to be slaughtered?"

"A jar of wine costing 20,000 taels?" Han Yi realized. "Are you talking about the kind we drank yesterday?"

“That’s right, I asked them myself, and the manager of Juquanlou said it himself.”

This statement clearly tells Han Yi that he has evidence.

"I see," Han Yi explained with a smile. "That wine won't be sold to the public for the time being. No matter how much money you offer, you can't buy it. The manager is just using this as an excuse to get rid of people."

"I see," Ji Xuan's expression softened. "I was wondering why it was so expensive!"

"Twenty thousand for a jar is expensive?" Han Yi shook his head. "It's worth the price!"

"Whether it's worth it or not is another matter," Qi Yong asked, frowning. "You said before that it was ten thousand taels of silver per jar, so how come the price doubled in just a few hours?"

"What I'm talking about is the cost. This wine is made with precious medicinal herbs and is even better than the best medicinal wine on the market."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xuan asked hesitantly, "Is that really true?"

"right!"

Han Yi's voice showed no sign of guilt.

Regardless of the Huang family's cost or profit, he did indeed spend ten thousand taels of silver to buy it.

The cost is exorbitant, no problem.

"Even so, you can't sell it for 20,000!" Qi Yong said unhappily. Making 10,000 yuan profit from just one jar of wine was utterly unscrupulous.

A few jars of wine earned the tax revenue of an entire county—that's terrifying!

"Qi Yong, do not be rude. Brother Han has already explained that 20,000 yuan per jar was just a polite way of refusing others."

After saying that, Ji Xuan turned his head and said, "Brother Han, this wine will be of great use to me. I will take all of it, however much is left."

Furthermore, someone wants to buy the formula!