Chapter 64: The Prince of Han Competes with the People for Profit

After finishing two games of chess with Yao Guangxiao, Xu Jingchang casually asked, "Wu Shan, do you know of any famous courtesans along the Qinhuai River?"

Wu Shan was slightly taken aback. Wasn't that a bit too direct?

"My Lord, given your actions last time, they probably won't welcome you back. After all, you ruined their business!"

Only then did Xu Jingchang remember. Last time, full of expectations, he hadn't heard any songs at all; instead, he had merely demanded the heads of two Ministers, along with the complimentary lives of dozens of others, completely replacing the entire staff of the Ministry of Works.

After that incident, the Qinhuai River had indeed lost a number of high-quality clients. Coupled with the fact that the families of dozens of disgraced officials had been demoted to the official music households, the competition aboard the pleasure boats had become even fiercer.

What kind of mess was this?

Xu Jingchang rolled his eyes. "If they dare to throw tantrums at me, I'll go audit their taxes later. Let's see if they can withstand a proper investigation!"

Hearing this, what else could Wu Shan say? "My Lord, I do keep myself informed, but I hear the most famous one right now is called Xueyan. However, I advise you not to seek her out."

"Why? Is she one of the Seven Fairies from heaven? Or does she have some messy rules? Don't you know who I am? Are you trying to put on airs with me?"

Wu Shan said helplessly, "It's not that. She is the concubine of Huang Zicheng. I heard she has a fierce temperament and extraordinary talent... I'm afraid it might spell trouble for you, My Lord."

Xu Jingchang paused for a moment, ultimately speechless.

"Very well, go make discreet inquiries and pick someone with a suitable background. Master Yao and I will wait here. We have nothing else in mind, just to listen to some music and songs." Xu Jingchang looked at Yao Guangxiao again. "Master, do you have any preferences? Someone beautiful, or someone with exceptional vocal skills?"

Yao Guangxiao sighed, "In the eyes of this old monk, pink-cheeked beauties are mere skeletons. There is no difference."

Xu Jingchang glanced at Wu Shan. "Did you understand what Master Yao meant?"

"Understood. Just find someone with good vocal skills, looks don't matter..."

"Nonsense!" Xu Jingchang, infuriated, pelted him on the head with a Go stone. "Listen carefully, the emphasis was on 'pink-cheeked beauties'! If you find some middle-aged matron, she won't count as a fair beauty, and what Master Yao sees won't be a skeleton, it will be your head!"

Wu Shan trembled in fear. So that's how it was interpreted?

It turned out Master Yao wasn't such an orthodox monk after all!

"This subordinate understands. I'll go right away."

With that, Wu Shan stumbled and fled in a panic.

Xu Jingchang spat in the direction of his retreating figure. "Idiot, utterly hopeless."

At this point, Yao Guangxiao finally gave a light cough. "Director Xu, you are ruining this old monk's reputation."

Xu Jingchang smiled sheepishly. "Then why didn't Master refute it?"

Yao Guangxiao said calmly, "At my age, even if I cannot do anything, looking at something pleasing to the eye is still a good thing, isn't it?"

Xu Jingchang gave the old baldy a sideways look. You really are a wicked monk!

"Master, aren't you afraid that when you die, you won't reach the Pure Land, but instead fall into the demonic path?"

Yao Guangxiao pressed his palms together. "Even if a demon king crossed my path, this old monk could march straight to the Western Paradise and usurp the Buddha's throne. Amitabha!"

Xu Jingchang instantly felt he had suffered a critical hit. Not only was this bald donkey fond of wine and women and lacking in proper intentions, but his skin was also far thicker than ordinary people's.

"Let's play chess, let's play chess. I must regain my ground on the board."

The two of them played two consecutive games, then had lunch, dragging on into the afternoon. Yet Wu Shan still hadn't returned.

Xu Jingchang's head was buzzing with anger.

"This good-for-nothing, what on earth is he doing? I didn't make any unreasonable demands. I just asked him to find a singing girl—is that really so difficult? I'll fire him later and make him retire home, so he stops making a fool of himself at the Directorate of Protocol."

While Xu Jingchang was still cursing, Wu Shan finally returned, out of breath and with beads of hot sweat on his forehead.

"Where have you been? What time is it? Did it really take all this effort?" Xu Jingchang demanded in rapid succession.

With a dry throat, Wu Shan snatched up Xu Jingchang's teacup, took a gulp, and then said, "My Lord, this subordinate was searching very diligently. I figured that My Lord has offended too many people. Qi Tai, Fang Xiaoru, Lian Zining, and quite a few others have fallen because of My Lord, and I certainly dared not touch any of their female relatives."

Xu Jingchang snorted. "If you aren't touching their relatives, is it really that hard to just find anyone?"

Wu Shan panted, "How could this subordinate dare to be casual about a task entrusted by My Lord? I had to thoroughly inquire about the girl's family background and history to ensure nothing went wrong."

Xu Jingchang scoffed, "Even if you had good intentions, where is the person?"

Wu Shan said, "My Lord, it's like this. I questioned her carefully. At first, the girl was reluctant to say much, but later, seeing how earnest my inquiries were, she opened up... Once she told me, my heart felt like it was being cut by knives. A girl not even twenty years old, who had tasted all the bitterness in the world since childhood, growing up tasting coptis root... When she was five, her birth mother sold her for just ten catties of millet. The buyer claimed they would raise her like their own daughter, but a few years later, they sold her off again. Just like that, she was trafficked from place to place until she ended up in Yangzhou. A child of ten-odd years had to practice her craft for eight hours every day, regardless of freezing winter or scorching summer. My Lord, you know that training in a brothel isn't something you achieve through practice—it's forged through suffering. They'd beat her with a wooden club as thick as this, crying out to heaven with no response, weeping to the earth with no answer..."

The more Wu Shan spoke, the sadder he became, while the more Xu Jingchang listened, the deeper his frown grew. "Listen to me, Wu Shan, are you saying that because I asked you to find a singing girl, you found her story too tragic and didn't bring her along?"

Wu Shan said righteously, "My Lord, this subordinate also has two daughters of my own and simply couldn't bear to hear it. I took it upon myself not to bring her. However, having heard her story, I left ten strings of paper currency as payment for the songs she would have sung. If My Lord is dissatisfied in any way, this subordinate is ready to take the blame."

At these words, Xu Jingchang was left speechless.

Yao Guangxiao, however, burst into hearty laughter. "Although Vice Director Wu is simple-natured, he possesses a Buddha's heart. Well done, well done!"

Wu Shan hurriedly scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Master flatters me. Originally, this subordinate hadn't thought that much. It was just for My Lord's safety that I inquired, and once she told her story, I simply couldn't bear it."

Yao Guangxiao smiled. "No matter, this is the art of benevolence—seeing the ox and not seeing the sheep. Even a sage would approve of Vice Director Wu's actions."

To receive such praise from Yao Guangxiao brought a look of joy to Wu Shan's face. This was harder to come by than anything else; he could now consider himself someone who had caught the eye of Master Yao.

Xu Jingchang rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Master Yao, according to your logic, today's songs won't be heard at all, then?"

Yao Guangxiao pressed his palms together. "To witness a genuine heart surpasses ten thousand tunes of celestial music. Director Xu, you are truly worldly!"

Seeing Xu Jingchang cornered, Wu Shan almost laughed out loud. However, he quickly restrained himself. He hadn't completed his mission; if he mocked his superior on top of that, did he still want to live?

Realizing the entire day had passed without hearing a single song, Xu Jingchang had no choice but to stand up.

"Forget it, I'm going home to fish."

With his head bowed, just as he was about to step outside, a bulky figure blocked his path.

Zhu Gaochi had arrived.

Unlike Xu Jingchang, who played chess and slacked off, Zhu Gaochi genuinely threw himself into his work with worry and effort, not even having time for lunch.

The Directorate of Protocol was a wretched place; as long as you were willing to work, there was an endless stream of tasks.

Originally, only Zhu Gaochi was here to observe governance, but now his second and third younger brothers had also arrived, invisibly increasing the pressure.

The big man had no choice but to toil tirelessly, personally reviewing every single matter.

And then he discovered a problem.

"Cousin, I saw a memorial impeaching my second brother, accusing him of exploiting the common people and competing with them for profit... What should be done about this?" Zhu Gaochi asked very earnestly, even looking somewhat anxious.

The three brothers had come together to observe governance, and naturally, he didn't want others to see the spectacle of brothers fighting among themselves. But someone had impeached his second brother, and if he ignored it—should the charges turn out to be true—he would inevitably take the blame... So he had no choice but to come and consult Xu Jingchang.

Xu Jingchang's face darkened. He was clearly just about to go home, yet this big fat man insisted on creating trouble for him!

"When you encounter such a situation, you usually need to inspect it carefully to see if there are any typos or inelegant phrasing..."

Zhu Gaochi asked in bewilderment, "And then pass it on to His Majesty?"

"Of course not! You need to suppress it under the pretext of substandard formatting and just leave it here at the Directorate of Protocol."

Zhu Gaochi was dumbfounded. You could do that?!

"Cousin, why, why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

"Did you ask?"

Zhu Gaochi hastily turned around. "I'll go do it right now."

"Too late!" Xu Jingchang said, fuming. "If you didn't tell me, anything goes. Once you've mentioned it, doing so now is covering up. Remember this: next time it happens, just find a temporary scribe and claim he made a mistake. Understand?"

"Understood!" The big fat man nodded obediently like a student who had done something wrong, though he still looked unreconciled. "Dear brother, are you really just going to brush off official business like this?"

"Nonsense! Do you expect me to risk my life for the meager salary your father gives me?" Xu Jingchang retorted. "Stop talking nonsense, tell me quickly, what heaven-defying atrocity has the Prince of Han committed this time?"

Zhu Gaochi said with a miserable expression, "It is said that Second Brother is issuing loans in Yingtian Prefecture at an interest rate of fifteen percent... It's simply too detestable! Charging fifteen percent interest—he's utterly greedy for wealth, squeezing the common people by every conceivable means..."

"Wait a moment." Xu Jingchang interrupted him. "What is the prevailing interest rate in Jinling right now?"

Zhu Gaochi hesitated for a moment, while Wu Shan said in a deep voice from the side, "Interest rates on the market exceed thirty percent everywhere... The singing girl I mentioned earlier was sold the second time because her adoptive parents owed a landlord two stones of grain, which ballooned to five stones in less than two years. Unable to repay the debt, they had no choice but to sell the child to a brothel!"