Yan Ge said, “If everything goes smoothly, we’ll be able to see the finished product in a few days.”
Huangfu Yuchen asked, “Now that you’ve essentially handed over Liuxian Pavilion, how do you plan to earn those 200,000 taels?”
“This servant was about to bring up this matter with the Emperor,” Yan Ge smiled confidently and continued, “Today, while wandering through the city, this servant noticed that there is a considerable influx of people from outside the capital. Whether they come to sightsee, settle down, or do business, they all need to find suitable places. However, there is no comprehensive map available to guide them. This gave me the idea of commissioning someone to create a detailed map of the capital, marking all the buildings within it. The map can be divided into two levels. One would be simple, mainly targeting ordinary people, especially scholars who come from other provinces to study or take examinations. Our dynasty values culture, so with this opportunity, this servant is more than willing to lend a hand to the scholars. The price for this type of map would be set at 6 to 8 coins, which most people can afford. The other level would be more exquisite and specifically targeted at wealthy individuals, with prices set at 2 taels or even higher.”
Deng Mande’s hands trembled, and the whisk in his hand fell to the ground. His eyes sparkled as he stared fixedly at Yan Ge. Was this still a human? He was like a golden Buddha, casually coming up with such a brilliant money-making idea after just strolling around the city!
Huangfu Yuchen appeared calm. He took a sip of tea, and said, “In that case, I only need to receive 50% of the profits from this map. You no longer have to address yourself as ‘servant’ in front of me.”
First, fleece him thoroughly, then offer him a bait. He wasn’t afraid that Yan Ge wouldn’t take the bait. Yan Daying often forgot and referred to himself as ‘I,’ how could he not see that he disliked that form of address?
Yan Ge cursed Huangfu Yuchen in his heart for being cunning, but on the surface, he feigned helplessness. “Do you really value such a small amount of money, Your Majesty? I’m just earning some pocket money… If I had known, I wouldn’t have mentioned it. With your level of exploitation, when will I ever earn those 200,000 taels?”
Huangfu Yuchen chuckled inwardly and maintained a serious expression, giving a lecture. “What’s small money? There’s no distinction in the value of money. Let me teach you a principle: small amounts add up to a large sum. Once you have enough small amounts, they become a significant sum.”
Yan Ge struggled desperately. “Your Majesty, I also need capital to do business.”
Huangfu Yuchen knew that Yan Ge had become vigilant this time, so it wouldn’t be easy to take advantage of him in the future. He didn’t plan to back down and generously said, “Shall I lend you 10,000 taels from my private treasury? Would that be enough?”
Yan Ge cautiously asked, “Will interest be charged?”
Deng Mande could barely contain his laughter. His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably.
Huangfu Yuchen was afraid of hitting him hard, so he waved his hand. “No, no interest.”
Yan Ge breathed a sigh of relief. The Yan family had been officials for generations, and they were honest officials at that. It was impossible for them to come up with too much silver and gold. He was worried about funds, and Huangfu Yuchen finally did something good.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. It’s late now. Yan Daying takes his leave and won’t disturb Your Majesty’s rest.”
Seeing his slightly frustrated appearance, Huangfu Yuchen finally felt satisfied. “Hmm. I will have someone send the silver to you. Write a promissory note and don’t forget to stamp it.”
Yan Ge: “…”
After he disappeared, a person walked out from an inconspicuous side door. It was Gao Yun.
“This subordinate pay my respects to Your Majesty.”
“Hmm,” Huangfu Yuchen’s lips still carried a trace of a smile, “Sit down and talk.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Gao Yun calmly said after sitting down, “After leaving the palace today, Yan Daying went to Yan Residence first… and then…”
“Wait,” Huangfu Yuchen interrupted after awhile, “So, every time he orders you and Gao Feng to do something, he leaves one of you by his side?”
“Exactly,” said Gao Yun. “After returning to Yan Mansion, Yan Daying explained the matter of leaving the palace to the Yan family. He sent Wan Xiang and Xiao Chuanzi away, but kept me and Feng.”
Deng Mande and the emperor had a close relationship, so he dared to interject even in informal situations. He sighed and said, “Yan Daying is a truly extraordinary person.”
Huangfu Yuchen smiled but remained silent, gesturing with his eyes for Gao Yun to continue.
“…Yan Daying said, ‘The matter of the fountain pen is confidential and of great importance. If the design plans were stolen and someone else made the fountain pen and earned money from it, it would be a minor issue. But if it fell into the hands of spies from another country, the loss would be irreparable. I don’t want to see our Great Han’s invention being made by people from other countries. Be cautious, but not overly so.’”
Only now did a look of admiration appear on Huangfu Yuchen’s face. If he remembered correctly, Yan Ge was just eighteen years old. Since he knew that Gao Feng and Gao Yun were his eyes and ears, saying those words might not be without flattery. However, it was remarkable that he could think about national affairs based on such a small matter, considering his age.
He remained silent for a while before saying, “Continue.”
Speaking of Yan Ge, not long after returning to Luoxue Palace, he received a silver ticket of ten thousand taels sent by Huangfu Yuchen’s men, as well as a blank paper indicating that he borrowed ten thousand taels. He cursed under his breath and had to press a red handprint on it.
After practicing swordplay as usual and washing up, he relaxed and lay down on the bed, stretching his body. It had been a tiring but fulfilling day. He enjoyed this kind of busy life because it left him no time to think about the person from another time and space. His consciousness gradually blurred, and with a sigh, he fell into a dreamland…
In his dream, he made money, and piles of silver formed a mountain. He was happily sitting on the silver mountain when suddenly a person arrived with a large group of people. Some were holding iron shovels, some holding sickles, some holding hoes, and some holding axes. Without a word, they began to dig into his silver mountain. He stood up to resist, but the leader of the group smiled at him and gave him a broken chair. That man then sat in the position where he had been sitting. He looked closely and realized that the person had the exact same face as Huangfu Yuchen!
Then, he was awakened abruptly. He made a vow never to reveal his money-making plan to Huangfu Yuchen, even if it cost him his life.
A faint light seeped in from the window, indicating that it was almost time to leave the palace.
As he hurriedly left the palace with Wan Xiang and Xiao Chuanzi, coincidentally, he saw Huangfu Yuchen walking towards him. It seemed that Huangfu Yuchen was in a good mood, with a smile on both corners of his mouth and a leisurely pace. Yan Ge even wondered if he had the same dream as him.
Upon seeing Yan Ge, Huangfu Yuchen was slightly surprised, but his smile quickly grew more pronounced.
“Yan Ge greets the emperor, may you be blessed,” Yan Ge’s smile seemed a bit forced after the dream he had last night.
“Ding. Side mission: Give the emperor a hug. Completing the mission successfully will earn you 100 taels of silver and a silver chest as rewardz. Failure to complete the mission results in a deduction of 100 taels of silver. Mission time: 2 minutes. Accept the mission, select ‘yes.’ Decline the mission, select ‘no.’”
Yan Ge’s mouth fell open in surprise. Give the emperor a hug? Was this system playing tricks on him?
“Xiao Jin!”
“Master, I swear I am innocent!” Yan Jin hurriedly explained in a flustered manner, and then actively added, “However, Master, I still advise you to accept it. A hug in exchange for a silver chest is incredibly worthwhile!”
“Your Majesty, you work so hard. Do you have to get up early every day?” Yan Ge hesitated, engaging in idle chatter with Huangfu Yuchen while quickly analyzing the situation. Judging from the rewards obtained from the first side mission, there was a high probability that the second silver chest would contain even better treasures.
However, Huangfu Yuchen was no ordinary person; he was the emperor and didn’t like men. Yan Ge feared that if he hugged Huangfu Yuchen in front of so many people, he would be kicked three miles away.
That is, unless he could find a “legitimate” reason to embrace him.
Perhaps if he accidentally stumbled and fell towards Huangfu Yuchen? Unfortunately, the place where the most esteemed person in the world—the emperor—resided, could not possibly be uneven. It was not easy to fall naturally and gracefully.
Huangfu Yuchen, as a high-ranking individual, rarely heard such casual and idle words from others. He looked at Yan Ge in surprise, unhappy with this attempt to get close, and responded with a cold and indifferent “Hmm,” before taking a step forward.
He also wondered why every time he started to develop some goodwill towards Yan Ge, he would do something that made him feel repulsed.
“Your Majesty.”
Reluctant to give up the silver chest, Yan Ge called out and took a few quick steps, raising his arms, and making a bold decision.
Huangfu Yuchen turned his head, and Yan Ge unintentionally looked into his deep eyes, becoming absent-minded for a moment.
Huangfu Yuchen looked at Yan Ge, who had raised his arms as if to hug him, with suspicion. He noticed the reluctance in Yan Ge’s gaze, and averted his gaze.
Yan Ge swiftly lowered his arms and said, “The morning court is imminent. I will take my leave.” He then briskly walked away.
Huangfu Yuchen stood in place for a moment, dazed, before moving forward.
Deng Mande secretly sympathized with Yan Ge.
It seemed that Yan Daying silently harbored affection for the emperor and had fallen deeply. His offer to trade and even replenish the treasury for the emperor was all for the sake of creating more opportunities to be with him. Yan Daying had concealed his feelings for the emperor all along but couldn’t hold back today, nearly impulsively embracing the emperor. Such deep affection in the palace was truly rare and precious! Unfortunately, the emperor simply did not like men. Yan Daying had no hope at all.
Yan Ge had no idea that his actions had been completely misunderstood. He was currently asking Yan Jin, “Is there a deadline for side missions?”
He believed that if he spent more time with Huangfu Yuchen, he would dare to embrace him.
Yan Jin sadly replied, “Side missions are randomly triggered and have a time limit. Once you separate from the emperor, it is equivalent to rejecting the mission. Therefore, not accepting it is the same as missing out.”
Yan Ge glanced at the task bar and indeed, the side mission was no longer there. He felt a bit regretful but quickly let it go. After all, completing the main mission was the priority.
Xiao Chuanzi’s voice brought him back to his senses. “Young Master, what shall we do today?”
Xiao Chuanzi and Wan Xiang were both in high spirits, their morale soaring. They had learned quite a bit the previous day, though it was difficult to articulate exactly what they had learned.
However, they understood the essence of their newfound enlightenment and were eager to learn more. Moreover, the world beyond the palace was more captivating than within its icy confines. They preferred the outside world to the cold palace.
Yan Ge stated, “In the future, we will often have tasks to perform outside the palace and will need a place to rest. It would be best to purchase a courtyard, free from disturbance, for convenience in our work. Gao Yun, do you know where to rent a house?”
Gao Yun replied, “Yes, Yahang market.”
Yan Ge said, “Then let’s go to Yahang. Before that, we shall have breakfast and pay a visit to the blacksmith shop. It’s quite exhausting to keep an eye on Master Li all day long so, Gao Yun, you will switch shifts with Gao Feng later.”
Gao Yun hurriedly responded, “Thank you, Young Master, for your thoughtfulness.”
Yan Ge waved his hand dismissively, “Just do your best in the future.” He didn’t utter any superfluous words. He believed that Gao Yun and Gao Feng had their own sense of balance within their hearts. He didn’t expect unwavering loyalty from them, as long as they didn’t deliberately cause for him trouble before Huangfu Yuchen.
