Chapter 489 Buying Information at the Corner Tower
After listening to one play, during a break between performances of a new play, Qiao Qinghe asked A Shuang to call over the waiters in the building.
"What can I do for you, esteemed guest?" The waiter was quick-witted and knew that the guests in this private room had ordered two plays, so he was extremely respectful.
The corner tower has its own daily program, and when no one requests a play, the performances are all performed according to the program.
A scene will only be inserted midway through a play when someone requests it at the last minute.
This is a special service, and the price is naturally very expensive.
The two plays that Qiao Qinghe and Madam Zheng ordered today, without even mentioning the lead actors, have already cost four hundred taels of silver.
Add in tea and snacks, and well, five hundred taels are gone.
Anyone who can afford to spend five hundred taels of silver to watch a play at the corner tower in a single day must be a big spender.
"I have some questions I'd like to ask the building manager. Could you please inform him?"
As she spoke, Qiao Qinghe gave A Shuang a wink.
Ah Shuang quickly took out two taels of silver and handed it to the waiter.
The waiter smiled and took the silver, then politely asked, "May I ask who your esteemed guest is...?"
Ah Shuang, being perceptive, revealed Qiao Qinghe's identity.
Upon hearing this, the waiter smiled without changing his expression and went out to inform the messenger.
Before long, Wu Yuan, the manager of the building, knocked on the door and entered the private room.
"This old man greets Madam Qinghe." Wu Yuan respectfully finished his greetings, then turned to Madam Zheng and bowed, "Greetings to the Duke's Dowager Madam!"
Madam Zheng waved her hand and looked at Qiao Qinghe curiously, "What do you want with Steward Wu?"
Qiao Qinghe gave Madam Zheng a reassuring look before turning to Wu Yuan, "I heard that your building also sells information?"
Wu Yuan's lips twitched, and he wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, hurriedly saying, "Madam is joking. Huajiaolou is just a theater and has no idea what news you are talking about."
Madam Zheng also looked at Qiao Qinghe strangely, "How do you know they're selling information? What information? Where did they get it? Information can be bought and sold?"
Qiao Qinghe had no intention of hiding it from Madam Zheng, so she explained with a smile, "Think about it, how many high-ranking officials and nobles come and go at the Painted Corner Tower? With everyone talking back and forth, aren't they all spreading rumors?"
Madam Zheng choked. It seemed that was indeed the case.
"And another thing, with so many famous actors at the Painted Corner Tower, who wouldn't invite a couple of them to their birthday celebration or banquet?"
Qiao Qinghe said with a confident expression that she knew everything: "We can't be short-handed for odd jobs, can we? With people coming and going, whether they're the hosts or the guests, you can easily overhear a little bit of what they're saying."
"Collect, collect, filter, and summarize—isn't that just ready-made firsthand information?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Zheng suddenly understood, "What you said is absolutely right."
As she spoke, she looked at Wu Yuan and asked with a surprised expression, "So, your Huajiaolou really does have information for sale?"
Seeing that everything had been exposed, Wu Yuan stopped trying to dodge the question and said politely, "Hehe, we do indeed offer this secret service."
"However, there are a few conditions for purchasing information from the Corner Tower."
Qiao Qinghe asked with great interest, "Tell me about it."
Wu Yuan smiled and held up three fingers. "First, the price for the information is up to Huajiaolou. No bargaining."
Qiao Qinghe nodded: "That's only right."
"Secondly," Wu Yuan continued, "the Corner Tower only sells information, not the source of the information. Guests are not allowed to ask where the information comes from."
Qiao Qinghe nodded again: "Of course."
If you sell information, you're also selling the source of the information. Wouldn't that be selling the spies and informants of the Painted Corner Tower as well?
Wu Yuan's smile deepened, and he finally said, "Third, and most importantly, the Corner Tower only provides information; the guests must judge for themselves whether the information is true or false."
Upon hearing this, Madam Zheng was dumbfounded. "You dare to sell out information that's not even sure if it's true? Isn't that deceiving people?"
Madam Zheng found this very incomprehensible. "Instead of spending money to buy information that may not be true, it would be better to send a servant from the manor to sit in a teahouse or tavern. They might get more information that way."
Wu Yuan did not refute, but instead echoed, "What the Grand Madam says is true. Therefore, the Painted Corner Tower does not publicly announce its sale. It only waits for those who need it to come and buy it."
Madam Zheng pursed her lips, about to say something more, but Qiao Qinghe interrupted her with a smile, "Why are you arguing with Steward Wu?"
"To put it bluntly, this kind of thing is simply a matter of one party being willing to give and the other being willing to receive."
"If you're not willing, there are plenty of others who are."
Madam Zheng glared at Qiao Qinghe with annoyance, "Are you trying to say that you're the kind of sucker who willingly comes to be fleeced?"
Qiao Qinghe smiled and ignored Madam Zheng.
She understood that Madam Zheng was afraid she would be deceived.
However, there are some things she still can't explain to her too clearly.
For example, there might be someone eavesdropping in the Painted Corner Tower; for example, the Painted Corner Tower might be an intelligence gathering agency used by Emperor Xiaozhao; for example, she might have been authorized by Emperor Xiaozhao to come here to purchase information...
In short, things that can be bought with money are not a big deal.
Qiao Qinghe turned to Wu Yuan, "I want to buy some information. Manager Wu, would you like to discuss this here, or perhaps find a quieter place?"
Wu Yuan looked at Madam Zheng apologetically, "Please come upstairs with me, Madam."
Qiao Qinghe didn't stand on ceremony. She told Madam Zheng and then took A Shuang and Wu Yuan to the private room upstairs.
Ah Shuang was left outside the door.
Once inside, Wu Yuan invited Qiao Qinghe to sit down. "I wonder what kind of information the old lady would like to buy?"
Qiao Qinghe thought for a moment and then asked a simple question: "How did Jiang Huai get to the capital?"
Qiao Qinghe already knew the answer to this question. She brought it up again mainly to see if Huajiaolou would try to fool her, or rather, to see if Huajiaolou had the ability to obtain real information.
Wu Yuan smiled and held out one hand, "This news costs one hundred taels. Please pay the bill first, Madam."
Qiao Qinghe nodded. "It's not expensive."
Only after saying that did he realize that all the money was on Ah Shuang.
Wu Yuan seemed to have noticed as well, and immediately walked to the door, opened it, and said with a smile to Ah Shuang at the door, "The old lady is looking for you."
Ah Shuang hurriedly entered the house, "Madam?"
Qiao Qinghe: "Give me all the silver notes you have on you."
A Shuang was taken aback, then took out a stack of silver notes from her bosom.
Qiao Qinghe came today specifically to buy inside information. Since she didn't know the price of inside information, she brought extra money with her.
After taking the silver note and sending Ah Shuang away, Qiao Qinghe readily handed over a hundred-tael silver note.
Wu Yuan also recounted Jiang Huai's journey to the capital in a frank and straightforward manner.
The information was roughly the same as what Qiao Qinghe learned from Min Yuexi. However, the details were even more elaborate.
For example, when Min Pan'er asked the King of Chu for help, she used the excuse that Jiang Hongling had taken a knife for her in Da'e and was injured. She felt guilty and wanted to repay Jiang Hongling.
So he begged the King of Chu to help transfer Jiang Hongling's father to the capital.
Before this, Min Pan'er had already written a letter back to Huizhou, stating that she would help the Jiang family go to the capital. The condition was that the Jiang family would acknowledge her as their daughter. Therefore, the scene of recognizing relatives at the Jiang family's door occurred on the day the Jiang family arrived in the capital.
After listening to Wu Yuan's account, Qiao Qinghe was suddenly horrified to discover that Emperor Xiaozhao probably had far more spies than she had imagined.
It's one thing for several princes to have people from Emperor Xiaozhao around them, but even Min Pan'er has someone by her side.
No, the houses Min Pan'er lived in before moving to the Jiang residence were all bestowed by Emperor Xiaozhao. It's not surprising that they would know what Min Pan'er had done.
But Min Pan'er's intentions are so obvious, does Emperor Xiaozhao not care at all?
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