The person in the portrait?

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liu stood up suddenly, forgetting the teacup in his hand, and spilled tea all over himself.

He didn't bother to wipe the tea off his body.

"The portrait that Miss Jun gave me?" he asked to confirm.

The clerk nodded.

Shopkeeper Liu turned around and took down an account book from a nearby shelf, from which he pulled out a piece of paper. The paper was only the size of a palm, and on it were descriptions of two figures.

A man with fair complexion, who looked like Yuan Bao from the palace just now.

One of them had a mustache and looked exactly like Yuan Bao who had just walked in.

After Miss Jun left the capital, she sent the portrait to all branches of Deshengchang, and the receptionists were asked to memorize the person in the portrait and report it immediately if they found the person.

"That's the one." The waiter pointed at the one with the mustache in the portrait. "He just exchanged some money and walked out. He speaks with a Shandong accent and looks like a foreigner, but he's not unfamiliar with Beijing. He's just pretending."

The guys who greet customers in Deshengchang are not apprentices who have just entered the industry. Instead, they are apprentices who have undergone at least three years of training. The job is more demanding than that of the guys at the counter.

They are trained to read people's expressions and deal with all kinds of guests.

Shopkeeper Liu nodded and put the portrait away.

"Come with me to see Miss Jun," he said.

…

At this time in the palace, the emperor was flipping through a memorial while looking at Lu Yunqi who was standing in front of him.

The curtains in the room have been drawn, the doors and windows are wide open, and there is still a slight cool breeze lingering in the summer morning.

"Mr. Huang said that these refugees were sponsored by Deshengchang and not planned by Duke Chengguo." The emperor said slowly, "Is that true?"

In view of the accumulated grudge between Huang Cheng and Duke Cheng, the emperor did not believe what Huang Cheng reported and only used it when he needed it.

For now, he does not want to take action against Duke Cheng. The ministers can be his knives, and he does not want to be used as a knife by the ministers.

Lu Yunqi looked at the memorial in the emperor's hand.

I thought of the borrowed carriage.

He allowed Huang Cheng to use the carriage, but did not specify whether it was a loan.

To lend or not to lend?

The emperor also looked at him.

"Hmm?" He frowned slightly, "Isn't it?"

"I don't know what to say." Lu Yunqi raised his head and said.

"Say whatever you want to say." The emperor threw the memorial on the table and said with some displeasure, "Is there anything you can't say? Or do you not want to say it?"

Kneel down and bow your head under Lu Yun’s banner.

"It was indeed Deshengchang who was responsible for sending the refugees to the capital," he said, "but it was not necessarily planned by Duke Cheng."

The emperor nodded.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Lu Yunqi raised his head.

"Miss Jun is now Duke Cheng's daughter-in-law-to-be," he said.

The emperor said "oh" and knocked on the table.

"So it was Duke Cheng who asked Deshengchang to do this?" he said, "because they are a family now."

Lu Yunqi lowered his head and said nothing.

He only provided the emperor with the information he wanted, and did not draw conclusions for the emperor, let alone express his opinions.

The emperor's expression became increasingly gloomy as he read the memorial.

"One family." He repeated, "De Shengchang and Cheng Guogong will become one family."

He stroked the table.

"In the beginning, was it this Miss Jun who cured the illness of the young master of the Fang family?" he suddenly asked again.

This story is very long and has been widely circulated in the market. If I tell it again, it can take a long time and become very complicated, with many interpretations.

Lu Yunqi lowered his eyes.

"Yes," he said.

The emperor smiled.

"What a grateful family!" he said, "We must repay this lifesaver with all our heart."

"Yes." Lu Yunqi said again, "The money used to provide relief to the disaster victims in the north and to manufacture armor and weapons was all funded by Deshengchang. As a result, all the vaults of the 17 Deshengchang banks in the north were emptied."

The emperor grabbed the memorial and threw it at Lu Yunqi.

"Why aren't these things reported!" he roared.

The emperor had never been so angry with Lu Yunqi before. The eunuchs standing outside the palace gate were frightened and hurriedly retreated away from the gate.

Lu Yunqi lowered his head and did not move.

"Your Majesty has ordered that we should not interfere in the affairs of De Shengchang. I did not dare to stop him nor did I dare to ask more questions," he said.

That is true.

The emperor, who was about to smash a memorial, stopped. Moreover, De Shengchang also had the imperial edict of the previous emperor.

However, Lu Yunqi did not say that he did not dare to ask because of the previous emperor's decree.

He just didn't ask because he was told not to ask too much.

No matter what, at least for now, no one is more trustworthy than Lu Yunqi.

The emperor threw the memorial on the table.

"You're right. You shouldn't ask about De Sheng Chang's affairs." He said, "There's nothing to ask about De Sheng Chang's affairs. The root of everything is because of Duke Cheng's war in the north."

He waved his hand.

"You go and take good care of Duke Cheng."

Lu Yunqi answered yes, bowed and walked out.

Seeing Lu Yunqi coming out, Jiang Qianhu and others who were waiting outside the palace gate hurried over to greet him.

"Sir, are you okay?" they asked in a low voice.

The emperor's roar just now had already been heard outside the palace, and they all knew about it.

"You're not angry with me," said Lu Yunqi.

Jiang Qianhu and others breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is that?" he asked.

Lu Yunqi stood in front of the horse and climbed onto it.

"Duke Cheng," he said, "Concentrate all your forces and keep an eye on Duke Cheng."

Jiang Qianhu smiled immediately.

"This is a good thing," he said, raising his hand to call everyone, "Get on the horses and get to work."

Lu Yunqi looked forward with a blank expression, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

But the emperor, who was sitting alone in his bedroom at this time, did not have a smile on his face. He sat in front of the desk in a stern manner. His expression suddenly became fierce. He raised his hands and swept all the memorials on the desk to the ground.

"What God's will? It turns out it's all man-made." He roared in a low voice.

They should have died, but their fate was ruined by this guy named Jun!

And because of this guy named Jun, Duke Cheng, who deserved to die, also ruined everything!

And got such a great credit!

With his money, he got such great credit!

This is all his credit!

Deshengchang, how dare you use my money to take away my credit!

You businessmen have lost your duty!

If you are unjust, don't blame me for being unkind!

"Someone come here," he shouted, "Call Eunuch Yuan here."

…

Eunuch Yuan.

Miss Jun stroked the portrait that Shopkeeper Liu had handed over to her.

It was indeed Yuan Bao, and he appeared in the capital.

"We don't know where he came from or where he's going." Shopkeeper Liu whispered, "But as long as he takes our money and spends it, we can find his whereabouts."

Each ticket number had its own silver ingot mark, making it easy to track down a person if they wanted to.

He either just came out of the palace or was about to go to the palace. In any case, he was definitely not just an old acquaintance of the emperor.

If what Deshengchang did in the north was done by other banks, it would be fine. They would just be considered to be instructed by Duke Cheng, and they would also gain a reputation for being public-spirited and doing good for the country, the people and the emperor.

But in view of the unknown secret between Deshengchang and the royal family, the emperor had bad thoughts.

"I'll write a letter to Chengyu, please have someone send it back immediately." Miss Jun said.

The shopkeeper Liu responded with "yes".

Important notice from Mania

All the written documents are lost, and there will be no update tomorrow... I'll calm down first.