MCUS Chapter 20

Therefore, Huangfu Yuchen remained composed, casting a faint glance at Yan Ge and then picking up a memorial again.

Deng Mande was well aware of the Emperor’s temperament. Seeing that the Emperor neither grew angry nor dismissed Yan Ge, there was still room for maneuvering in this matter. It was clear that the Emperor intentionally cold-shouldered Yan Ge for a certain purpose. Thus, Deng Mande pretended to urge Yan Ge, whispering softly, “Yan Daying, His Majesty is busy with state affairs. You should leave for now.”

If he left this time, it would be difficult to see the Emperor again. Yan Ge didn’t want to give up so easily. A brilliant idea struck him, and a plan formed in his mind. Since the Emperor hadn’t commanded him to leave again, it meant he had not yet lost his temper. Why not take advantage of this opening? Yan Ge turned to Deng Mande and spoke in a low voice, “Eunuch Deng, I suppose you’ve heard of Liuxian Residence?”

Deng Mande had to cooperate with Huangfu Yuchen and couldn’t ignore Yan Ge. He cautiously glanced at Huangfu Yuchen before whispering, “I have.”

Yan Ge continued, “I have written a cookbook for my family, consisting of a total of 108 dishes. Each dish is a perfect blend of taste, aroma, and appearance. The vegetarian dishes are priced at 200 coins per dish, while the meat dishes have a minimum price of 1 tael per dish. Assuming Liuxian can simultaneously accommodate eight tables, with each table ordering eight dishes—four meat and four vegetarian—the total cost would be a minimum of 4 taels and 800 coins. For eight tables, it would amount to 32 taels and 6400 coins, or 38 taels and 400 coins. If each table takes one hour to finish their meal, we can host at least nine batches of guests each day. Consequently, the total daily revenue would be 345 taels and 600 coins. Eunuch Deng, please calculate: Would we earn a total of 10,368 taels in a month?”

*1 tael of silver = 1000 copper coins

His mental calculation was spot-on, and there was hardly a pause when it came to calculations. Deng Mande looked at him in astonishment. “Yan Daying, you’ve figured it out so quickly?”

Huangfu Yuchen’s lowered eyes flickered with curiosity and contemplation.

Yan Ge nodded and continued, “This is merely my conservative estimate. The capital is vast, and there are numerous esteemed individuals. With just one restaurant, we could earn 10,000 liang per month. What if we open branches? What if we keep innovating? What if we establish branch restaurants in other cities as well?”

He deliberately paused and added, “This is just one of my ideas. If I come up with more ideas, I can create even greater wealth.”

Deng Mande caught a glimpse of Huangfu Yuchen tapping his fingers silently on the memorial and suggested, “Your Majesty, after listening to Yan Ge’s remarks, I find them quite reasonable. Why not give him an opportunity?”

Yan Ge was overjoyed and secretly resolved to reward Deng Mande with more money if he succeeded. He once again bowed before Huangfu Yuchen, his eyes curved with a smile. “Your Majesty, I’ve heard that some impoverished households reuse water used to rinse rice for dishwashing. It’s called the recycling of resources. As someone residing in the palace, I enjoy the best food, clothing, and living conditions. I don’t wish to indulge in such luxuries without making any contributions.”

“Why not give your servant a chance to fully display his abilities?”

Deng Mande found Yan Ge’s words amusing and couldn’t help but chuckle. But when he saw Huangfu Yuchen cast a faint glance at them, he quickly composed himself and fixed his gaze forward.

Huangfu Yuchen remained silent, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.

Yan Ge felt helpless. He lowered himself to such an extent, yet Huangfu Yuchen remained unmoved. In his previous life, he had run a company and dealt with all kinds of people, including crafty and cunning individuals, but he had never encountered anyone as inscrutable as Huangfu Yuchen. He licked his dry lips and continued to persuade, “Dahan Kingdom values culture. It’s not an exaggeration to say that every literate family uses a writing brush. If I can invent a more portable and convenient pen, one that can write smaller characters, thus saving paper, even if each pen is sold for just 2 coins, with millions of literate individuals in the country, I can earn at least 2,000 liang. And that’s only domestically. If I sell them abroad for 6 coins each, the profits would double…”

“Oh?” Huangfu Yuchen set the memorial aside and locked his gaze onto Yan Ge’s eyes. “Can you create such a pen?”

The palace maidens inside the hall suddenly changed their expressions and simultaneously knelt down, pressing their foreheads and arms against the ground, slightly trembling.

Yan Ge blinked, looking at Huangfu Yuchen in confusion.

Huangfu Yuchen remained silent, while Deng Mande waved his hand, gesturing for the palace maidens to withdraw.

Yan Ge saw that Huangfu Yuchen was waiting for his answer, and was no longer concerned about the palace maidens. He confidently replied, “Your Majesty, I have preliminary ideas that need to be prototyped and verified. The likelihood of success is ninety percent.”

Huangfu Yuchen stared at him for a long moment, until Yan Ge’s smile froze on his face, then said, “You have conditions.”

Yan Ge immediately replied, “Your servant dares not. However, your servant truly requires a more favorable environment to wholeheartedly serve Your Majesty.”

Huangfu Yuchen said, “Tell me more.”

Yan Ge felt a sudden warmth on his cheeks as he thought about his request. He cautiously said, “In that case, your servant dares to propose that for every 100,000 taels of silver that your servant contributes to the national treasury, your Majesty may consider promoting your servant’s rank. Your servant does not seek your favor, but rather seeks advancement in rank. Your servant does not dare to harbor any unwarranted thoughts and only aspires to eventually reach the rank of Huang Guiqing.”

*Ranks among male consorts: Daying, Changzai, Shirén (scholar), Cairen, Guiren, Shiqing, Caiqing (honorable official), Guiqing(Noble Consort), to Huang Guiqing(equivalent to Empress in the ranks of female consorts).

A trace of contempt flashed deep within Huangfu Yuchen’s eyes, but it quickly vanished. He didn’t mind whether Yan Ge even coveted the position of Empress. The palace was his domain, and no one could escape his grasp.

“A mere pen can earn you 2,000 taels. 100,000 taels is too little for a promotion,” he said.

Yan Ge was taken aback, suddenly feeling a sense of unease.

Huangfu Yuchen smiled faintly, and his gaze unexpectedly softened. “200,000 taels of silver. For every 200,000 taels that you contribute to the national treasury, I will promote your rank once. Furthermore, if you can truly create the pen you mentioned, I will elevate you to Chanzai even before sales.”

200,000 taels! That was nearly equivalent to 200 million yuan! Yan Ge’s mouth twitched, and he suddenly felt that perhaps he shouldn’t have embarked on this journey.

“What’s the matter? Having second thoughts?” Huangfu Yuchen looked at him with interest, thoroughly enjoying his conflicted expression. “If you regret it, it’s not a problem. Considering your relative honesty, I pardon you. Deng Mande, escort him out.” Since Yan Ge had the courage to speak those words to him, it must be an important matter for him to seek a promotion. He believed that Yan Ge wouldn’t easily give up on this opportunity. It was a tactic of feigning weakness to capture the opponent.

“Wait!” Yan Ge’s mind raced, and he readily agreed, “Your servant accepts. However, your servant has one more condition. In order to facilitate your servant’s actions, please allow your servant to leave the palace.”

Deng Mande hurriedly interjected, “Your Majesty, this is not appropriate. After all, Yan Ge is Your Majesty’s consort, and it would be inappropriate for him to leave the palace. Your Majesty, this is not advisable.”

Yan Ge was greatly disappointed.

Huangfu Yuchen nodded, pondering for a moment. “I cannot allow you to stay outside the palace, but I permit you to leave the palace every day at the hour of Chen and return before the hour of You.”

*“The hour of Chen” refers to 7:00 a.m., and “The hour of You” refers to before 7:00 p.m.

That’s not bad either. Yan Ge nodded, saying, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Huangfu Yuchen thought for a moment and added, “To avoid trouble, from now on, you will reside in my Tenglong Palace.”

Yan Ge was taken aback. He had only intended to let the other palace consorts know that he and the Emperor were getting closer. He hadn’t expected to receive unexpected rewards.

“Any objections?” Huangfu Yuchen asked with a profound tone.

Yan Ge hastily replied, “None.” Residing in Tenglong Palace meant exactly that. He had always intended to curry favor with Huangfu Yuchen. Moreover, living in Tenglong Palace would also allow him to avoid the Internal strife among the other three male consorts of Chunfeng Palace. Why wouldn’t he be delighted?

Deng Mande looked at the back-and-forth between the two of them, filled with worry and hesitation. He voiced his concerns, “Your Majesty, are you truly going to agree to Yan Daying’s request? After all, Yan Daying is Your Majesty’s concubine, and if he goes out of the palace like this every day, there might be security concerns…”

Yan Ge was speechless. What security concerns? Clearly, Deng Mande was worried about the Emperor being cuckolded.

Huangfu Yuchen gave Deng Mande an approving look and said, “Eunuch Deng Mande’s concerns are valid. Since Yan Daying has agreed, and considering that he will only have one palace maid and one eunuch by his side, it’s clear that he’ll be understaffed. In that case, I will assign two assistants to help you.”

Yan Ge sighed helplessly. These two people were undoubtedly meant to monitor him. But at the moment, he couldn’t care about that. Being granted half of his freedom every day was already satisfying enough. As for other matters, he would plan them out slowly in the future. He only hoped that the rewards he would receive from the system in the future would be worth his sacrifices.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Your Majesty,” Yan Ge expressed his gratitude.

Huangfu Yuchen turned to Deng Mande and said, “Xuan Gaofeng, Gao Yun.”

After a while, two tall men strode in, wearing black robes and black cloaks with red borders. Their aura, bearing, and footsteps all carried the essence of the military, exhibiting a sense of sternness, efficiency, and precision. From their silent approach, Yan Ge deduced that they were highly skilled.

“Paying respects to Your Majesty!”

“Rise.” Huangfu Yuchen addressed Yan Ge, “They belong to the Forbidden Army and are among the top experts within the palace. They will follow you from now on.”

Yan Ge knelt down to express his thanks.

Huangfu Yuchen turned to Gao Feng and Gao Yun, saying, “From now on, Yan Daying is your master. You must protect him well. Is that clear?”

“Your subordinates obey your orders,” Gao Feng and Gao Yun replied in unison.

“Alright then, Yan Daying, you may withdraw.”

“Yes! Your servant takes his leave.”

Huangfu Yuchen relaxed, leaning back in his chair, and watched with great interest as Yan Ge’s figure disappeared behind the curtain.

Deng Mande asked, “Your Majesty seems to be quite interested in Yan Daying?”

“I am indeed curious. I want to see if he truly possesses the abilities he claims. We shall wait and see,” Huangfu Yuchen replied. “I don’t want today’s events to be known by others. As for the previous palace maids…”

“Leave it to me, Your Majesty,” Deng Mande assured him.