IDWBE -Chapter 574 Wealthy Merchants

If there’s a chance to sponge off someone, he definitely wouldn’t refuse!

As for pride?

Did Lin Yi lack that kind of thing?

Did he need it?

Not at all!

“Your Highness.” Zixia had taken care of Lin Yi since childhood and knew him extremely well. Seeing the look on his face now, everything was clear without a word.

“I’m asking you a question. Just answer it—don’t beat around the bush,” Lin Yi urged. “You’ve known her for a while. Speak your mind, don’t try to hide anything from me.”

“Well…”

Zixia hesitated. She was loyal to Lin Yi, yes, but she wasn’t stupid enough to offend the Princess Consort!

If nothing went wrong, Princess Hu would one day become the Empress of the Daliang Kingdom!

In the future, she would surely have to eat humble pie before the Princess, especially when she grew older and lost her beauty.

Seeing that Lin Yi was still staring, she had no choice but to say, “Your Highness, the Princess Consort is truly remarkable, skilled in generating wealth, and I… I can hardly compare.”

Lin Yi smiled. “Tomorrow, we’ll check out the Princess Consort’s accounts.”

Mingyue and Zixia were both experts at managing finances.

And they weren’t as good as her? Wasn’t that obvious?

Hu Miaoyi was rich!

“As you command,” Zixia said with a bitter smile.

“Can’t sleep now anyway,” Lin Yi looked out at the snow swirling outside the window and said with a grin, “let’s go visit Miss Suxin.”

Zixia was taken aback. “Your Highness, it’s freezing outside, and you just finished drinking. How about we wait until morning?”

“No matter, I’ll just think of it as morning exercise.”

Lin Yi thought for a moment. “No need to prepare a carriage—let’s walk.”

“Yes.”

Zixia could not argue and reluctantly followed.

Jiang Qiu was leaning against a pillar with his big sword, nodding off. Hearing footsteps, he quickly opened his eyes and saluted Zixia. “Miss Zixia, any instructions?”

“No need for formalities,” Zixia smiled. “Your Highness wants to go to Miss Guan’s residence now. We need Brother Jiang to make some preparations.”

Jiang Qiu looked up at the pitch-black sky, surprised. “So late?”

Zixia covered her mouth, smiling. “This isn’t something we servants should worry about.”

Jiang Qiu straightened up. “Indeed, miss. It’s just that the wind is strong and the night deep, I was worried about His Highness’s safety.”

Zixia said, “His Highness insists on walking. I can’t stop him. You know the path to Miss Guan’s house—it’s narrow, with deep ditches. The snow has buried everything. We’ll need you to scout the way.”

Jiang Qiu saluted. “Miss, rest assured. I’ll have the snow cleared from the path immediately.”

“Much obliged.”

Zixia also saluted.

Back inside, she personally draped a large coat over Lin Yi and smiled. “This was made by the Princess Consort herself.”

“Fox fur?” Lin Yi asked with a smile. “Next time, see if there’s any mink and have one made.”

“You already have several, Your Highness,” Zixia said with a smile.

“I have a mink coat?” Lin Yi couldn’t recall ever wearing one.

“How not?” Zixia stifled an eye-roll. “When it was brought out for you before, you said it looked tacky.”

“Then hang it out to air and wear it later,” Lin Yi touched his nose. “Without a mink coat, people won’t see my status.”

“Yes.”

Zixia resigned herself. With Lin Yi, you never knew what he’d do next.

Lin Yi, wearing tall riding boots and accompanied by five guards, stepped through snow thick enough to cover his ankles and headed toward Guan Xiaoqi’s residence.

Approaching the creek path, he looked at the cleared snow and laughed. “You didn’t mind the trouble? Am I really that fragile?”

Jiang Qiu saluted. “It’s my duty, Your Highness.”

Lin Yi glanced at the faint light of the house ahead. “They haven’t gone to bed yet?”

Jiang Qiu said, “The noise from clearing the snow startled them.”

Nodding, Lin Yi, assisted by Jiang Qiu, carefully made his way across the slippery ground.

At the gate, Jiang Qiu knocked. A sharp voice came from inside:

“How dare you! Do you know what place this is?”

“Of course I know what place this is,” Lin Yi replied without hesitation.

“Your Highness!”

The woman inside screamed with delight. With a creak, the door opened.

Suxin wore a white fur long coat, staring at Lin Yi with tears welling up in her eyes.

Seeing this, Jiang Qiu and the others quickly retreated into the shadows.

“What are you doing?”

Lin Yi approached, putting his arm around her shoulders with a smile. “Don’t cry.”

After a while, he lowered his hand. She was too tall; his arm didn’t rest comfortably on her shoulder for long.

Two maids quickly closed the door behind Lin Yi.

Inside, Lin Yi felt a wave of warmth. Taking off his coat, he smiled. “This kang (heated bed) is really warm.”

Suxin whispered, “Thanks to Miss Zixia, she’s been busy running around. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do being new here.”

“Staying up so late? Trying to become an immortal?”

Lin Yi looked at her radiant face and felt his heart stir.

In terms of youth and vitality, the most impressive woman he’d seen was Du Yinniang.
In terms of charm, Consort Tang was unmatched.
In terms of delicate allure and spoiling a man, Kang Fei dominated all.

But next to Suxin’s sensuality, they all seemed insignificant.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel so awkward around Prince Jin!
This was his brother’s woman!
His brother hadn’t even charged him extra!
Truly brotherly!

“Your Highness,” Suxin, sitting in his arms, said softly, “I couldn’t sleep. Please don’t tease me.”

“All right, don’t be aggrieved,” Lin Yi looked around the room, sighed. “We came back in a hurry, so there’s no proper place for you. You’ll have to put up with it for now. I’ll find a proper residence for you later.”

It wasn’t that he was treating Suxin differently from Guan Xiaoqi.

This house had been built for keeping livestock; if she didn’t want to live here, she could always return to the main mansion. It was just a “vacation” place.

But Suxin had no access to the main mansion—no fallback.

So Lin Yi was worried about where to settle her.

Suxin said, “Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. I think living here is quite nice. When spring comes, with green hills and clear waters, it will be a rare and peaceful place.”

Lin Yi teased, “I heard that some nights you were scared awake by noises outside?”

Blushing, Suxin lowered her head. “I was new and unfamiliar. These past days I’ve gradually realized—it’s just the creatures of the mountains calling.”

“Beasts are beasts, birds are birds,” Lin Yi teased, “not ‘creatures.’ If you can’t get used to it, I’ll find you another house within three days. Do you want to live in the bustling city or somewhere quieter?”

“I just want to be close to Your Highness,” Suxin shyly said.

“Your words are like honey,” Lin Yi thought, it was impossible not to like her.

Even knowing she was partly playing along.

With that, he removed all her clothes, and they embraced to sleep.

The Ankang city shelter was eight li from the South City Gate, ten li from the newly built residential areas of Tian Shiyou and Tian Sixi, but only three li from the Beijing garrison.

Early that morning, many citizens yawned their way out of warm kang beds, carrying large bowls and lining up for porridge.

Smiles lit up everyone’s faces. In winter, they had the rare joy of guaranteed meals!

Come spring, they’d have to participate in “work-for-relief,” helping the court repair canals and roads for their food!

Now, life was comfortable.

“Wow, there’s sand in it!”

Someone spat out the porridge after tasting it.

“Corrupt officials! You dare embezzle the court’s grain!”

Angrily, they threw down their bowls.

“I’ll report you to the Censorate!”

Some bravely invoked the law.

The crowd grew restless, fists raised, surging forward.

“Quiet! Quiet!”

Wang Xing, newly appointed militia captain of Ankang city, shouted from a platform. “No noise! The court is offering porridge. And you complain? Queue up if you want it, leave if you don’t!”

“You can’t put sand in it! Ankang City is the finest in the world. How dare you do this? What about the court’s dignity? The sage’s face?”

A middle-aged man in tattered clothes raged.

“The court is in a hard position too. You must consider that. The grain is allocated, but only so much. The starving aren’t just here in Ankang. In nearby Jizhou, even more people are starving—some can’t even get sandy porridge. So what? Are they not human?”

Wang Xing shouted, “Blame those pretending to be refugees. If they hadn’t come to claim it, there’d be enough grain. As for sand?”

The crowd immediately fell silent.

Suddenly, an old man in a patched coat pointed at a middle-aged man with a small hat. “I know you! You live in Dajing Alley, run a tofu shop, and live in a one-section house. How dare you come to compete for food?”

“Ah, that explains why you seemed familiar—it’s Liu the tofu shop owner!”

“You and your family! Shameless!”

Many looked at the man called Liu, and a few even pushed him.

“Hey! Under the emperor’s eyes, do you think you can do as you please? Is there no law?”

Liu stumbled back, pulling his two children in front of him. Taking advantage of the crowd’s momentary shock, he hurriedly ran off.

His wife, unprepared, slipped on the wet ground and fell flat.

The crowd laughed heartily.

“You too—I remember you. Your family was relocated from Jumah River. Now you live in a three-section mansion near Chunxiang Tower and dare to claim relief?”

“Manager Wang, your family runs an oil shop—are you short of food?”

“Master Jiang, you remember me? I worked for you once! And now you’re here competing for food with us?”

“Tong Laosan, we’re neighbors. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but this is outrageous. Your son is a clerk in Ankang Prefecture, receiving food every month!”

“Officials’ families claiming relief? Shameless! I’ll report you to Ankang Prefecture!”

“Absolutely outrageous!”

Hearing that they were officials’ families, the crowd grew angrier.

“No, no, I was wrong!”

Tong Laosan covered his face and ran, afraid of affecting his son’s future.

The crowd kept reporting each other, and many sheepishly fled.

“Hey, you in the silk coat—can’t even cook at home?”

“Your jade ring alone could be worth a hundred taels!”

The once peaceful shelter plaza had turned into a bustling marketplace.

Lin Yi stood nearby, laughing. “Ma Jie is clever—he got Wang Xing to take the fall. But hasn’t he always been in Sanhe? Why show up now?”

Han Deqing explained, “Wang Xing came to Ankang city half a month ago, hoping to take office. With no academic credentials, he couldn’t be a civil officer, and his poor martial skills meant no one respected him as a military officer. When the militia captain position opened, Ma Jie had him fill it. He was thrilled and even invited us to Chunxiang Tower for a drink.”

Lin Yi casually asked, “Then who is the militia captain in Baiyun city now?”

Han Deqing said, “Someone you know, Your Highness—Fang Bin, disciple of Wang Qingbang.”

“The one raising pigeons?”

“You have a good memory, Your Highness,” Han Deqing complimented. “He has trained many disciples; many officers now come from his students.”

“Are those old fellows still in Ankang city?”

Lin Yi glanced at the crowd, saw no major issues, and turned to leave.

Han Deqing hurried after him. “They’re all still in the city, bought houses, and each has a few concubines. No intention of returning.”

“A bunch of old immortals, not afraid of exhaustion,” Lin Yi said, annoyed. “In a few days, there’s the lunch auction. Watch them closely—don’t let any funny business happen.”

Auctions were fearless of heaven and earth—but collusion? That would drain silver straight from his pocket!

Han Deqing understood. “The bidders come from all over Daliang, each determined to win. Wang Cheng may be capable, but he’s not all-powerful.”

“True. Jin Buhuan is rich and generous—he won’t humiliate Wang Cheng,”

Lin Yi smiled. “Next time I see Jin Buhuan, arrange for me to be invited to dinner.”

“Yes.”

Han Deqing smiled.

Three days later, the Emperor’s Luncheon Auction, six months in preparation, began under the watchful eyes of the public.

The participants were the wealthiest and most famous merchants of Daliang Kingdom. Compared to them, even the imperial treasury seemed paltry.