Chapter 56: Making Money Yu'er has a good way to make money, you...
After spending the night in the Qianqing Palace, Xiu Yu returned to the Yikun Palace with a noticeable weight on her mind. Xiao Tao had lived in the inner palace for years, and had long since mastered the art of reading people's expressions, not to mention her master being a master of appearances.
"Are you worried about something? It's hard to tell." Xiao Tao asked as he placed fruits on the tea table.
Xiu Yu was indeed waving her fan in a daze. Hearing Xiao Tao's question, she smiled and said, "Did you figure it out?"
"You, please hang up your photo!" Xiao Tao also picked up a round fan and gently fanned Xiu Yu: "Is it about the emperor?"
Since there was no one else in the warm room at this time, Xiu Yu said, "Xiao Tao, you've been in the palace longer. If we want to send some things outside the palace to sell, will it be easy?"
"Huh?" Xiao Tao really didn't expect his master to have such an idea. He said bluntly, "We don't lack money."
Xiu Yu shook his head. "Who would complain about having too much money? Besides, earning more money isn't just for myself."
Xiao Tao's eyes rolled, and he immediately realized: "If you are not doing this for yourself, then it is for the emperor. In that case, this silver only needs a little bit!"
Xiu Yu nodded, then stood up and walked to the front of the Duobao Pavilion. He opened a drawer and took out a large roll of paper. He said, "Logically, the national treasury should have the most silver, but from what the emperor said, it seems like there's not much."
Xiao Tao took the paper that Xiu Yu brought out, unfolded it and looked at it, and said, "Is this a design drawing? Aren't you a road and bridge professional?" She looked at the pavilions and towers on the drawing and was surprised.
Xiu Yu waved her fan again and said, "Civil engineering isn't that difficult, as it's a skill you can master. I've read the book 'Construction Methods'." Confidence shone through Xiu Yu's eyes as he spoke of his expertise. "The emperor said a few days ago that he wanted to renovate Li Wei's garden. I thought that when the project is finally completed, I might be able to contribute my best efforts."
Xiao Tao flipped through the drawings in his hand and couldn't help but wonder: "Master, I follow you every day. When did you draw these drawings?"
Xiu Yu suppressed a smile and said, "You made the rules while you were asleep. Let's not talk about that anymore. Do you think these blueprints can earn you some money?"
Xiao Tao hesitated. She thought for a long time before she said, "It's not difficult to give it away, but it's hard to find a buyer. If, three hundred years later, your name is spread out, I guess even if it's a blank piece of paper, someone will buy it. But..." But now is the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty...
"Then..." Xiu Yu paused, the corners of his mouth curling up. Knowing that only Xiao Tao and he were in the warm room, he lowered his voice and said, "If it was stamped with the seal of a famous person in the dynasty, would it be worth a lot of money?"
"Celebrities of the current dynasty? Aren't those who are well-born all trying to get into the court?" Xiao Tao immediately reacted: "Are you planning to recruit the emperor?"
Xiu Yu looked helpless. "There's no other way. If we don't get the major shareholder from the Forbidden City to join us, I'm afraid many things won't be accomplished. If we get this major shareholder to join us, many things will probably fall into place naturally."
"Aren't you afraid the Emperor will ask you where you got these drawings?" Xiao Tao was naturally worried. "You can dismantle a telescope and cook, all of which you can say you learned from families outside the Great Wall. But these... these are the designs for pavilions and towers. No matter how capable Lord Sanguan Bao is, he can't teach you this, right?" Xiu Yu frowned and said, "He's indeed short of money. Selling these drawings to a wealthy merchant would indeed bring in a lot of money. It would be a pity to abandon this path out of fear that he might become suspicious."
"But this is too risky." Xiao Tao still disagreed: "Maybe there are other ways and channels?"
"Neither you nor I can leave this Forbidden City." Xiu Yu was also helpless: "If we can leave, that's fine. If not, getting the emperor aboard is the most conservative approach. It's better than trying to get Empress Tong or something like that, right?"
Xiao Tao heard what her master said and knew that he was determined to do it. No matter how she tried to persuade him, she could not change his mind. She could only smile bitterly and say, "Of course, it is better to pull the emperor than to pull Empress Tong."
"Then..." Xiu Yu became interested and simply turned around and walked out of the palace, "Holding these pictures, let's go find the emperor."
"Okay, whatever you say." Xiao Tao followed Xiu Yu, clutching the blueprints. Suddenly, she remembered that Emperor Kangxi's Ninth Prince was a master at making money, and his mother was none other than her mistress's wife. Thinking of this, Xiao Tao couldn't help but gaze at Xiu Yu's back. It seemed the saying, "Like father, like father," was truly true. Her master, whether three hundred years in the future or now, was a tireless savior.
In the Qianqing Palace, Xuanye was reviewing memorials in the warm room. He was surprised to hear Liang Jiugong announce that Princess Yu had arrived. Xiu Yu was extremely sensible. If she didn't have something important to do at this hour, she definitely wouldn't be in the Qianqing Palace. So what was her important matter?
Xuanye was thinking this as Xiuyu had already come in and paid her respects. After Xiao Tao paid her respects, she put down the blueprints and went with Liang Jiugong to the outside of the warm room to set the rules.
Xuanye put down the red brush in his hand, beckoned Xiuyu to sit beside him, and asked with a smile, "You never come out to see me at this time of the day. Today is so special. What big thing happened?"
"There is indeed an important matter I want to discuss with you." Xiu Yu was actually nervous, but she forced herself to enter the Palace of Heavenly Purity in order to leave no way out. The bow had been drawn, and the arrow could not be turned back.
Xuanye closed the memorial and said, "Then go ahead. I am listening carefully."
"You are short of silver." Xiu Yu said bluntly, "I'm not short of silver for daily use, I'm short of boxes and boxes of silver ingots."
Hearing Xiu Yu say this, Xuanye's face was somewhat embarrassed: "Didn't I say that this is my business?"
"Yu'er has a good idea for making money. Would you like to hear it?" Xiu Yu said as he pulled Xuanye to his feet and walked over to the scroll of blueprints. "My teacher outside the Great Wall was quite talented. He enjoyed reading 'Yingzaofashi' (Construction Methods), so I read some of it, too. If you think these blueprints are good, perhaps you could send them outside the palace and exchange them for some silver?"
Xiu Yu certainly understood Xiao Tao's concerns, but if she didn't do what she wanted to do, she'd be miserable. As for an excuse, it would be safest to say she'd learned it 'back then.' Besides, she had indeed read the "Construction Methods" outside the Great Wall, just three hundred years later. That wouldn't count as deceiving the emperor, right?
Xuanye unfolded the blueprint, puzzled. Soon, surprise overwhelmed his doubts, and he praised, "Exquisite and exquisite, even more talented than that kid from the Lei family!"
Xiu Yu was quite pleased to be praised by Xuanye. "Since you said so, it seems that I can exchange these drawings of mine for silver? I guess you... wouldn't object, right?"
To a certain extent, Xuanye wasn't a closed-minded person. He naturally understood Xiuyu's good intentions: "If you want a good price for this drawing, you need a seal on it, right? The wealthier merchants are probably more interested in the seal in the corner than the quality of the drawing, right?"
Xiu Yu smiled sweetly: "Yu'er thinks that what you said is right. So..."
Xuanye frowned: "You don't want my seal?"
"I dare not." Xiu Yu hurriedly shook his head: "All you need to do is give the order and ask 'that kid from the old Lei family' to stamp it."
Xuanye smiled and said, "You mean, if the designs of the royal craftsmen were sold outside the Forbidden City, they would naturally be worth a lot of money?"
"That's very likely." Xiu Yu suddenly had an idea and grabbed Xuanye's sleeve, saying, "Your Majesty, how about we open a store in the capital?"
"Huh?" Xuanye was confused by Xiu Yu: "Open a shop to sell your blueprint?"
"You'll still have to figure out the blueprints. As for opening a shop..." Xiu Yu thought of those little gadgets from three hundred years later and felt that this sudden idea was a good one. "Your Majesty, do you think selling some Forbidden City 'peripherals' would damage the royal dignity?"
"Around?" Xuanye was even more confused this time: "What is it?"
"For example, how about the perm pattern for the Hall of Supreme Harmony?" Xiu Yu simply became more bold. "It doesn't have to be as detailed as the one presented to you. It doesn't even need to be done by the Lei family. I'll do it! Also, what about the things your concubines like to use? They don't have to be exactly the same. A close resemblance can be a good way to attract attention. I'm not afraid that the ladies of the noble families won't be tempted."
This idea was so bold that Xuanye found it hard to digest it. "Yu'er, you're being a bit too imaginative... If others knew about this..."
Xiu Yu said, "The key to the problem lies in whether you agree or not. As long as you agree, and we keep it a secret for a while, this thing will definitely be accomplished."
Xuanye was a clever man, not one for rigidity. He quickly deduced the feasibility of Xiuyu's bold idea and its potential benefits. Before agreeing, he sat down on the couch, looked up at Xiuyu, and said, "Those ministers in charge of finances under my command are probably too bookish to be smart. They can't even match the intelligence of a young princess like you, fresh from the border."
Xiu Yu understood the meaning behind Xuanye's words. She sat down next to him and said, "According to you, a young princess from outside the Great Wall shouldn't be smarter than the ministers of your previous dynasty?"
"Of course, that's not what I meant." Xuanye decided not to be distracted by Xiu Yu this time. "I'm just curious. How could you think of all this? And even be able to do all this?"
"Hmm..." Xiu Yu pondered for a moment, then looked Xuanye in the eye and asked, "If I were to ask you how you came up with the idea of abolishing the Three Feudatories and then taking Taiwan, what would you say to me?"
Xuanye said without hesitation, "This is the only way for my Qing Dynasty to unify the world and achieve peace and prosperity. If we keep the Three Feudatories, it will take who knows how long for the national treasury to be full, and the people of the world will suffer for it."
Xiu Yu nodded. "You're thinking about the world, and I'm thinking about you. You need money, so naturally I'm thinking about how to get it. So, if I can come up with this idea, it's actually not that difficult. Do you agree or not?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
