Chapter 3597 The Imperial Concubine’s Private Property
Although the emperor and the imperial concubine had both gone back, the people below immediately got busy as soon as they gave an order.
That afternoon, eight awnings were set up on the wide square below the Hall of Supreme Harmony, with four awnings on each side of the central avenue. About twenty sets of tables and chairs were arranged under each awning. A wide bright yellow tent overhead was stretched directly from south to north. When the wind blew, the canvas rustled. When drums and music sounded on both sides, the sound was amplified several times, and it was deafening.
Standing on the Hall of Supreme Harmony and looking down, it seems as if the emperor's pen was dipped in golden ink, drawing these bold and colorful strokes on the earth.
And these bold and colorful strokes are destined to remain in history books.
Soon, when the imperial city was ready and Zhu Feng's birthday was getting closer, envoys from various countries arrived in the capital one after another.
Although Zhu Feng has paid great attention to exchanges with the Western Regions, Southeast Asia and Western countries in the past few years, and the Honglu Temple has played a more important role in recent years than in previous decades, they have never experienced such a thing. Soon, the post station was full, but envoys from various countries continued to come.
So the prince came forward and discussed with several ministers in the court and some of his close friends, asking them to temporarily lend their houses in the capital to the envoys who were coming and going to live in.
The most special one among them is the special envoy of the Parthian Empire.
Because they encountered sandstorms on the way, they arrived in the capital at the latest on the day before the emperor's birthday. Before that, because they had been waiting for them for a long time, the Honglu Temple even suspected that the Parthian Empire would not send special envoys this time. Fortunately, they dared to enter the imperial city before the city gates were closed.
Gu Yiyou and Tong Sinian went to greet them in person.
Because of the special relationship between the imperial concubine and the favorite concubine of the Parthian Empire, the accommodation arranged for them this time was also quite special. It was a house built by the imperial concubine herself in the city. After receiving them, Gu Yiyou and Tong Sinian led the entire team directly there.
Then, the news also reached the palace.
Zhu Feng was sitting in the Yikun Palace with Nan Yan, eating sweet soup. Upon hearing the news, he put down the bowl in his hand, glanced at Nan Yan with a half-smile, and said, "I didn't expect that on my birthday, one of the concubine's private property would be discovered."
Nan Yan glanced at him and said, "Why, can't I buy some property on my own?"
“…”
"Besides, the Emperor has given me so many gifts in the past, and they are all just sitting there to rot? That would be such a shame."
Zhu Feng said, "You can use it to buy property, but you are not allowed to lend it out at high interest rates!"
After the emperor returned to Beijing, he issued several more imperial edicts, all of which encouraged business. When people do business, people borrow money. Some people in the palace saw this trend and took out their spare money to lend at high interest rates. After being investigated and punished by Zhu Feng several times, the palace had clear regulations strictly prohibiting people in the palace from lending money.
Nan Yan smiled and said, "I'm not that stupid. If I lend it out, I won't be able to get it back, and it would be embarrassing if it was found out. I'm a noble concubine, why would I need that little interest? It's not even enough to buy face. It's better to use this money to buy a house and land."
Zhu Feng rolled his eyes at her in disgust: "Look at you, you look like someone who is greedy for money."
"snort!"
The two of them exchanged a few words and then fell silent again. But after a while, Zhu Feng asked her again: "How much money did you make from buying the house?"
Nan Yan didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but after hearing his question, she couldn't help showing off, so she came over, first raised a finger, then clenched her fist, and then stretched out three more fingers.
Zhu Feng was startled: "What are you doing——"
Nan Yan said: "It tripled!"
Zhu Feng couldn't believe his ears. Although he was an emperor and extremely wealthy, he was still a little surprised to hear about the speed of making money. He frowned and said, "Where did such a huge profit come from? You didn't use your title as the imperial concubine to pressure others, did you?"
Nan Yan immediately said, "How could that be!"
Zhu Feng asked, "Then how come it tripled?"
Nan Yan said, "Before, the Emperor opened the northwest gate and encouraged trade with the Western Regions. When their merchants first arrived, they had no fixed place to do business with us, so they just went wherever they happened to be. But then, a major merchant from the Parthian Empire opened an inn in West Market. Because of the language and food, merchants from other Western Regions stayed there and set up stalls nearby. Soon, more and more merchants gathered there, and eventually, the entire West Market became the territory of these Western Regions merchants. Later, Western and Nanyang merchants also arrived, and the area became a foreign territory."
Zhu Feng said, "It's lively there."
Nan Yan said, "Of course it's lively. You can't even stick a needle in there. If I hadn't bought a few houses there earlier, they might not be willing to sell even if I offered ten times the price now."
Zhu Feng said, "So you bought it early."
Nan Yan smiled and said, "Actually, Tong Sinian bought it early. When I was chatting with my uncle, I heard that he and Yi You had both bought houses there. I figured the reward money from the Emperor would just sit there anyway, so I gave some to them and asked them to help buy the house. After they bought it, they rented out two of the houses. They use the rent money every month as pocket money."
Zhu Feng asked, "People outside don't know that this is the Concubine's property, right?"
Nan Yan said, "Of course I don't know. It's Tong Sinian and the others who are helping me run this business. They definitely haven't abused their power to oppress anyone. Your Majesty can rest assured."
Zhu Feng said, "That's good. But don't mess around outside. If someone comes to sue you one day, I won't take your side."
Nan Yan said: "Where did the emperor go?"
After chatting and laughing for a while and finishing their sweet soup, they sent someone in to clear the dishes. Since they had to get up early the next morning, Nan Yan helped Zhu Feng to bed. But Zhu Feng, usually a late sleeper, was still awake even after he'd lain in bed. He rested his hands behind his head and said, "I'm a little surprised that the Parthian envoy this time turned out to be Gao Ye."
Nan Yan asked, "What's so strange about this?"
Zhu Feng said, "Didn't he say before that he didn't want to be an official? How come he became a special envoy?"
Nan Yan said, "It's precisely because he doesn't want to be an official that he's being asked to do something this important, but it doesn't necessarily have to be done by a high-ranking official. Besides, the King of Parthia probably asked him to come because of Xiyun."
Zhu Feng said, "That's true. You two sisters rarely have the chance to meet each other."
Nan Yan said, "If someone else came, I wouldn't be able to ask. If he came, I would be able to find out about my sister's recent situation."
Zhu Feng smiled and said, "Go to sleep quickly. You'll have the chance to talk to him when we meet tomorrow."
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