General Sun didn't know how he got out of the Imperial Study; he probably floated out.

As soon as he arrived home, Madam Sun came to greet him.

What did His Majesty say?

"...His Majesty didn't say anything, he just looked at me with a complicated expression."

Recalling the old emperor's shocked yet absurd and incredulous gaze, General Sun's back instantly became soaked with sweat.

Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. It's one thing to be cautious normally, but I never imagined that even sending money to His Majesty would bring such pressure.

"Then, what does His Majesty mean? He hasn't given any indication. What should we do next?"

"Let's listen to Wan'er. Anyway, the Liuli recipe originally belonged to her."

As General Sun spoke, he pressed his forehead, his head throbbing violently. He felt he had never had such a headache, not even during the most intense battles of the past.

It's hard to understand how Jiang Shuwan, a woman who has never seen anything like this, could come up with such an incredible idea.

Bribing the emperor? How could she even think of that?

On the other hand, Jiang Shuwan remained calm upon receiving the news.

"As long as they don't refuse, it's fine."

Qingxing and Naige, however, were so trembling that they could barely speak.

"Miss, is what the messenger from the General's Mansion said true? You plan to give His Majesty 20% of the glass business?"

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Shuwan looked over curiously, thinking that the two of them had relapsed into their stingy ways. Just as she was about to say something to them, she saw that their legs went weak and they knelt down.

"Miss, I... I can't take it anymore! We were just doing some business, how did we get involved with His Majesty..."

Qingxing looked like she was about to cry, and Brother Nai also had a shocked look in disbelief. Since the preparation for Donglai Street began, he had seen a lot of the world.

However, no one told him to get involved with His Majesty.

"What's wrong? Are you nervous?"

Jiang Shuwan quickly pulled them up and sat them down, comforting them, "Don't be nervous, it's just working for His Majesty! There's nothing to be nervous about."

Qingxing: "..."

Milk Bro: "..."

Both of them looked at her with expressions that suggested they were about to cry.

"Miss, what you're saying is pointless. How can you not be nervous working for His Majesty?"

"Miss, do you think if we don't do a good job, His Majesty might push us off and kill us?"

"Yes, miss, I haven't gotten married yet."

"Hahahaha!" Hearing what Brother Nai said, Jiang Shuwan burst out laughing.

"We're not stopping you from getting married, so go ahead and get married now."

“Miss, can you be serious for once? That’s His Majesty. We’re just doing some business. How did we get involved with His Majesty? Besides, our initial plan was to become the president of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce. I’ve never heard you mention cooperating with His Majesty before…” The man who said this was trembling all over, his voice shaking.

The word "cooperation" was taught to him by Jiang Shuwan.

Initially, this term was used to describe Song Yi. They collaborated with Song Yi, who fully supported his daughter's candidacy for the next president of the Beijing Chamber of Commerce.

Song Yi is now the vice president of the East City Association. He has a feeling that as his daughter becomes stronger, her partners will also become more powerful.

But he never imagined that the object of his affections would be the current emperor.

What kind of collaboration is this...?

In his mind, the world belonged to the emperor, and so did they.

How could they possibly cooperate with the emperor?

How dare they cooperate with the emperor?

If the emperor takes a liking to something, giving it to him is considered a stroke of good fortune from their ancestors' graves.

Hearing what Brother Nai said, Jiang Shuwan smiled slightly.

She poured a cup of tea for Brother Nai herself and said softly with a smile, "Brother Nai, you can't do this. What do you mean by saying that giving it away to His Majesty for free is a stroke of good luck?"

"The entire court of civil and military officials governs through both civil and military means. The emperor and all the officials govern the country in a cooperative manner."

“Our cooperation with His Majesty is also a form of cooperation, so why should Brother Nai look down on himself?”

“Miss, how can these be compared? They are officials, while we are merchants. How can we compare with the officials of the court?”

"Who said we're merchants?"

"Huh? Aren't we? Haven't we always been in business?"

"No, we're tech people, we just do business on the side."

"???"

Seeing that Qingxing and Brother Nai both looked puzzled, Jiang Shuwan suddenly realized that the affairs of the modern world had always been a secret, so they naturally had no way of knowing that she used to be a science and engineering technician who later switched to management.

"This is hard to explain. Let me give you an analogy. Do you remember the ice shop that Jiang Yao opened a while ago? Everyone knows that making ice with saltpeter is a magic trick, but it's not a magic trick. It's a kind of transformation. The person who masters transformation can change the world."

"So you don't need to be so afraid of imperial power. We just need to do our jobs well."

"Or do you lack confidence in our glass workshop?"

The two perked up immediately when the glass workshop was mentioned.

After all, glass is more expensive than jade, but its cost is incredibly low.

If an ice shop business can already attract competition from higher-ups, then glass will only draw even more attention.

Put aside your fears for now; the most important thing right now is to get the business going.

"Miss, Donglai Street will be open for business tomorrow. We should hold a ceremony. This time, we have the support of merchants from all over the country, so the opening ceremony will definitely be a great success."

"No need, just set off a couple of strings of firecrackers. Our products are our greatest strength. You just need to prepare a few more boxes."

Why prepare the boxes?

"To store silver!"

The next day, Donglai Street set off two strings of firecrackers and opened for business.

At first, it didn't cause much of a stir.

After all, it was closed off during the renovation, so outsiders couldn't see what was inside. Ordinary people only knew that it was a luxury street selling expensive items, which they couldn't afford, so they didn't pay any attention to Donglai Street.

As for those nobles, no one sent them any messages, so they had no idea that Donglai Street had reopened.

But when the first rays of morning sunlight reflected off the stained glass windows, casting a stunning glow, the entire city of Kyoto was abuzz.

"What did you say?"

"Donglai Street has opened?"

"The owner of Donglai Street is quite wealthy. The doors and windows are all made of glass, and the shops have many glass utensils, which are even better made than those of the Persian merchants?"

No one believed it, after all, glass is a foreign import in this day and age.

Although the Great Jing Dynasty also had its own glass workshops, the quality of the finished products was not even half that of the Persians.

Most people buy glass from Persia, which is quite expensive. Because of its rarity, some high-quality glass can sometimes be more expensive than jade.

Wealthy families in the capital city had no shortage of jade, but they lacked glass. Generally, if a family had a pair of glass wine cups, they could show them off.

So at first, nobody believed these rumors, until more and more people flocked to Tung Lai Street.

The high-ranking officials and nobles could no longer sit still.

"Let's go, let's go take a look."