Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 584 Slowly Unfolding
Shui Fu sat in the sedan chair with a faint smile on her lips.

The sedan turned onto the main street, where the number of pedestrians gradually increased.

Among the crowd, servants, bookboys, and coachmen from more than a dozen high-ranking officials and dignitaries in Lin'an quietly dispersed and went to report the news to their masters after seeing that Miss Shui Fu had been released from prison.

After Shui Fu was arrested, many high-ranking officials and dignitaries put pressure on the Censorate overtly and covertly, demanding her release.

Their reason was that Shui Fu was a famous prostitute in Lin'an, and the people who came and went were either high-ranking officials or celebrities. Her friends were all people of this level. If something happened to one of them, what did it have to do with Miss Shui Fu?

Moreover, as one of the twelve courtesans, Miss Shui Fu was very famous. Her arrest without any reason had already caused widespread criticism among the people.

Therefore, they demanded that if the Censorate had evidence, they should submit it to the judge as soon as possible. If they did not have evidence, they should release the person as soon as possible.

Of course, the Censorate could not produce any evidence. Whatever private affairs this Miss Shui Fu had, they were probably planned with others in bed.

No matter what action was taken, it was not done by her personally, so it is very difficult to find evidence against her.

Perhaps, the only one who can truly prove that she is a spy is Kou Heiyi.

But Kou Heiyi has not been caught yet, and even if he is caught, he will have to give Shui Fu away.

Therefore, under the premise that the Speed ​​​​Room could not obtain any evidence that Shui Fu was involved in the case, Zheng Yuandong personally visited Zhu Zhuo of the Censorate. After a discussion, the two decided that in this case, it would be better to release Shui Fu.

There are still more than two million counterfeit banknotes that have been printed out and it will take a slow process for these counterfeit banknotes to flow into the market.

Therefore, it is better to let the water lily go.

If Shui Fu is really a spy for the Jin Dynasty, then the people who are cooperating with her can be captured or escaped, and she will have to do many things herself. By then, not only can they catch her again, but they can also find more hidden criminals through her.

Shui Fu sat in the sedan chair, her slender body rising and falling slightly as the sedan chair swayed.

She knew that even though she was released and many people had made arrangements for her, the Machine Speed ​​Office and the Censorate would not easily dispel their suspicions about her.

But what does it matter?

Do you think I have anything to do with those millions of counterfeit banknotes that are missing?

Haha, sorry, my real mission is just one: to sleep with high-ranking officials and nobles.

Shui Fu's only mission is to use her beauty and superb bed skills to attract many dignitaries to become her lovers.

Then, either use words to guide them or show care and consideration and become a good listener for these dignitaries.

Listen to them brag when they are proud, listen to them complain when they are frustrated, listen to them belittle each other when they are deceitful...

It may be about people's livelihood, economy, public security, military affairs, the delicate relationship between court officials, or the attitude and stance of some officials towards major events in the world...

What she provides to those dignitaries is not only a stunning appearance and a graceful body, but also the emotional value that brings physical and mental pleasure.

What she gained was a large amount of the most authentic and important information that she could not obtain through any other means through such listening.

May I ask, how do you catch me and how can you defend yourself?
Thinking of this, Shui Fu smiled.

That charming smile dazzled the eyes of passers-by.

A passerby carrying a load on his shoulder turned away reluctantly as her sedan chair came and stepped on the dried mushrooms sold by a roadside vendor.

……

Prince Jin, Shen Gai, Wei Liangchen, Tang Situi and others held a small meeting in Prince Jin's Mansion.

Although the Prince of Jin was the regent, he only entered the palace during court meetings and presided over the meetings by placing a chair next to the emperor's throne.

Normally he would not enter the palace without permission.

Although this Goose King is unruly, he is never vague about important matters. He will not take advantage of his favor to become arrogant and do anything excessive.

The four big bosses summoned Zheng Yuandong, the chief official of the Mechanical and Electrical Bureau, Mu En, the chief official of the Imperial City Bureau, and Liu Yiguan, the magistrate of Lin'an Prefecture.

These three are now the three main persons in charge of investigating the fake meeting case.

However, after listening to the reports from the three people, the faces of several bosses did not look good.

Although this case has been solved and no new fake Huizi will be produced in the future, there are still more than two million fake Huizi that have not been put on the market.

They ordered the Machinery Office, the Imperial City Office and the Lin'an Prefecture to work together to recover the more than 2 million fake Jiaozi coins that were scattered around as soon as possible, and then another minister was invited over.

This person is Qian Duanli, the current Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Privy Councilor.

He was the sixth-generation grandson of King Qian Chu of Wuyue and the son of Duke Rong Qian Chen. He later entered the officialdom through nepotism.

Those who entered the officialdom through imperial favor could usually only reach the seventh rank at most, and could not be the official in important government offices, but Qian Duanli was an exception.

He might not be very good at the imperial examinations and might not pass the exam to become a Jinshi, but when it comes to finance, he is truly an outstanding expert.

He entered the officialdom through imperial favor, but the reason he was able to reach such a high position was because his political achievements were so brilliant that they could not be concealed.

Qian Duanli already held a high position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and now he was needed to find a way to stabilize prices, so naturally the matter of the fake Jiaozi could not be hidden from him.

So Shen Gai told him about this and asked him for a solution.

Minister Qian thought for a long time and offered four countermeasures to King Jin and the three ministers.

The first is to curb prices by stabilizing food prices.

In an era dominated by agricultural economy, there is no more effective economic means than stabilizing food prices.

As the saying goes, a single move affects the entire body. If food prices soar, it will stimulate the rise of other goods as well.

Therefore, the first step is to set an upper limit to prohibit grain merchants and grain stores from continuously raising prices.

However, this method is simple and crude, and it only treats the symptoms but not the root cause. It is just a stopgap measure to buy time for a solution.

At the same time, speed up the import of grain from Southeast Asia and other places in Song Dynasty and limit the outflow of grain.

For example, among the military aid supplies to Xinjin, food must be completely removed.

Second, suspend the printing and distribution of new Huizi.

The Jin people printed fake notes in order to disrupt the Song Dynasty market.

Since the fake notes they printed were so indistinguishable from the real ones, and they flowed into the Song Dynasty market, the goods exchanged for them were still circulated within the country and could not be shipped out of the Song Dynasty.

So……

The official suspension of printing of Huizi and Jiaozi could be regarded as the Jin Kingdom helping them print and issue the Huizi and Jiaozi that should have been issued.

Third, since the Jin people's release of fake Huizi and fake Jiaozi was faster than the normal official release speed, the effect of stabilizing grain prices also took time and could not be seen immediately.

So, raise taxes and lower spending.

The tax rates of some types of taxes can be appropriately increased, especially commercial taxes, and especially the tax rates on luxury goods that are not essential to people's livelihood.

Fourth, immediately design new engraving blocks for Huizi and Jiaozi.

These things had to be done when the emperor changed the reign title, but now we have to speed up the process.

After completion, the old Jiaozi will be immediately collected and new Jiaozi will be issued to completely eliminate future troubles.

While giving his suggestions, Minister Duan also analyzed the reasons for doing so one by one.

He spoke clearly and directly, and even Zhao Qu, who usually didn't pay attention to such matters, understood him.

After hearing this, several bigwigs immediately decided to do so.

The above four important tasks will be presided over by Minister Qian.

After leaving Prince Jin's Mansion and boarding his own sedan chair, Tang Si leaned back on the seatback and let out a sigh of relief.

After listening to the four strategies proposed by Minister Qian today, his anxious mood was relieved a lot.

At this time, the personal servant replied softly from outside the curtain of the sedan chair: "Master, Miss Shui Fu has been released without charge and has returned to Cuiyu Tower."

"Um……"

Tang Shitui smiled and felt even happier.

"Take my visiting card and invite the Councillor Chen Kangbo, the Minister of Personnel Tan Yingwen, the Minister of Revenue Xizhe, the Minister of Justice Zhang Fangxun, the Prefect of Lin'an Qiao Zhen, the Direct Scholar Lü Zhuwei, Ye Quan, and Mr. Yan Shen to come to Cuiyu Tower for a banquet tomorrow night."

"Yes!"

"Let's go!"

Tang Shitui leaned back in his chair comfortably, and as the car bumped slightly, he left the Prince Jin's Mansion.

……

In Longshan City, Old Master Wang, accompanied by his accountant and several servants, carried a box and walked into a store with a plaque that read "Payment and Exchange of Convenient Money and Notes".

This is the place where the official exchange, cashing, transfer, recycling and replacement of Huizi and Jiaozi are carried out.

They are set up in areas across the country where Huizi and Jiaozi are widely circulated.

There was no "huizi office" in Longshan City originally, so people had to go to the city to handle these matters.

About three months ago, Longshan City established a "Hui Zi Chu", which greatly facilitated local merchants and merchants from the north and south.

"Mr. Wang, what are you doing today?"

The Wang family was the richest family in Longshan, and the people at Huiziwu had known him for a long time. When they saw him coming, they greeted him warmly, asked him to sit down, and served him fragrant tea.

Old Master Wang crossed his legs, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "Change all the Huizi and Jiaozi into Huizi with larger denominations, and take out 5,000 strings of cash from them. It's the end of the month, and I should pay the salaries."

"Okay, Mr. Wang, please wait a moment."

The people from the "Huizi Office" led Old Master Wang's accountant and the attendant who was carrying a box of Huizi and Jiaozi behind the barred counter, locked the door, and then gathered people to start counting and sorting out the various Jiaozi and Huizi they had earned from their business.

After counting all the Huizi and Jiaozi of different denominations and new and old, the teller registered them efficiently and replaced them all with brand new Huizi and Jiaozi.

When his people came out, the accountant said to Wang Yuanwai, "Master, everything has been replaced."

Mr. Wang smiled at the shopkeeper and said, "The notes I received are not fake, right?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, you must be joking. With your reputation in Longshan City, who would dare to cheat you?"

Wang Yuanwai smiled and said, "I just happened to hear that there are some fake coins on the market nowadays. It's good that there are none."

The shopkeeper said, "Forging a counterfeit note is punishable by death. Although there have always been people willing to take the risk of being beheaded, they can only go to the towns and villages to cheat the ignorant. There are not many such cases in Lin'an Prefecture."

"That's true."

Mr. Wang nodded. The court was trying to suppress the spread of this news, and anyone who discovered it was ordered to remain silent.

Although he received instructions from Yang Yuan to pay attention to these matters in his daily life, there was no need to reveal this matter to a small official in the "Hui Zi Chu".

He recorded the origins of all the Huizi and Jiaozi he collected in detail in advance according to the numbers.

If no records are kept, once the notes are mixed together, it will be impossible to trace their origins if there is a problem.

He had hoped to find something when changing the "huizichu" so that he could follow the clues.

Now that it was proven that the money he paid was all real, Wang Yuanwai was a little disappointed. Yang Qianxian said that this case had already alarmed the court, and even the King of Jin and several ministers were on high alert.

If I could get a clue, that would be a great achievement.

Unfortunately, I don’t have that blessing!

Old Master Wang let out a long sigh.

Old Master Wang had just returned home and put the money in the safe when his second son, Wang Yefan, came running over.

"Dad, Dad, Dad..."

"I'm not dead yet, if you have something to fart, just fart. If you don't, get out of here!"

Old Master Wang rolled his eyes and cursed in annoyance.

His second son, Wang Yefan, is the younger brother of Wang Yeran, the eldest son of the Wang family who is currently an official in Lin'an Prefecture.

Since Young Master Wang chose to pursue a career in politics, Old Master Wang had to work hard to train his second son and learn how to do business and manage the business.

However, the second son has never been disciplined since he was young. The eldest son of the Wang family has that kind of character, and this second son is even worse. He is simply the reincarnation of a creditor from the previous life. He only knows how to spend money but not make money.

Naturally, Old Master Wang was displeased when he saw him.

Wang Yefan said with a grin, "Dad, why are you talking so much nonsense? I came to you for something serious."

Old Master Wang gave him a sidelong look, picked up his tea and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Want money!"

Veins popped out on Old Master Wang's forehead. He closed his eyes, took a few slow breaths, and then glared at his son with an unfriendly look:

"You want money? Three days ago, you asked for 300 strings of cash. It's only been three days, and you want money again."

Young Master Wang said sternly, "How can you make big money if you don't want to spend small money? The child really has a serious use."

"What's the real use?"

"I want to go to Cuiyu Tower to meet Miss Shui Fu."

"puff!"

Old Master Wang spat out a mouthful of tea and immediately looked around: "Where's the cane? Bring it here, I'm going to beat this little beast to death."

"Hey, hey, don't be anxious, Dad."

Young Master Wang pretended to run away while explaining, "Dad, listen to me, I went to see Miss Shui Fu not to sleep with her.

With her status as a top-notch prostitute in Lin'an, it's impossible for her to even touch a finger of her just because she has money.

If Miss Shui Fu is willing to accept a man as her lover, he must be either a high-ranking official or a learned scholar. If you just have some money, you can't even see him."

Old Master Wang is a nouveau riche, and he suffered from the lack of family background.

After the outbreak, I found that I had money, but I still couldn’t climb to a higher level.

After learning from his mistakes, he forced his eldest son to study at the Imperial Academy. Now he follows Yang Qianxian and actually becomes an official.

He believed what his second son said.

The first-rate famous prostitutes in Lin'an are not something you can see just because you have money.

Old Master Wang paused and asked, "What are you going to do?"

Young Master Wang said, "Through my elder brother, I got to know a few friends from the Imperial College. Not long ago, when they were submitting petitions to the imperial court, I helped them with some matters, and thus we became friends.

Through these friends, I got to know several young masters of powerful families in Lin'an. A few days ago, Miss Shui Fu from Cuiyu Tower was innocently implicated and was arrested and taken to the Ministry of Justice. Now she has been found innocent and released.

The patrons of Miss Shui Fu and their friends all went to her Cui Yu Tower for a banquet. This was also to restore Miss Shui Fu's reputation and spread her fame. I thought, such a good opportunity should not be missed."

Seeing that Mr. Wang was no longer angry, Mr. Wang came over and said, "Dad, think about it, if I go with him, there will be so many dignitaries, and even if I only get to know one of them, it will be of great help to me in the future."

Old Master Wang snorted, "It's enough that your brother is on the path to officialdom. Do you two brothers want to become officials? Who will inherit my family business in the future?"

Young Master Wang said, "No, no, those high-ranking officials and celebrities, who doesn't run a business? I want to make more connections and establish business connections with them in the future."

"Um……"

Old Master Wang's expression eased, "That's a correct idea. Son, you don't have to be greedy. Among all the powerful people, as long as you can make friends with one and establish cooperation with him, that's enough.

As long as you cooperate smoothly with this company, you will naturally be able to get to know more powerful people who need to do business through him.

Don’t be greedy and seek perfection. Heaven’s way is against being full, and human way is against being perfect. If you want perfection too much, you will often lose something and gain nothing.

When Wang Ershao heard that his father agreed to give him money, he quickly agreed obediently.

Old Master Wang said, "When the time comes, if you really get close to him, you can start a business together. It is most important to succeed the first time, and you must not be greedy for success or rush into anything. It is best to set a small achievable goal first, for example, I will first earn 100,000 strings of cash..."

Young Master Wang simply nodded in agreement, behaving very obediently.

Old Master Wang was satisfied and called out, "Butler, butler..."

Young Master Wang said happily, "Dad, the people we are going to meet are all powerful and influential people. We can't show them something too shabby. This time... can we withdraw 5,000 strings of cash?"

Seeing Old Master Wang glaring at him, Young Master Wang felt uneasy: "If you think it's too much, just deduct it from the child's expenses for next month."

Old Master Wang said angrily, "From what you just said, what level are the people you are going to meet? Five thousand strings of cash is not a small amount, but is it enough for others to remember you? Ten thousand strings of cash, you must spend it all for me!"

Young Master Wang was so happy that he thought he was daydreaming.

Old Master Wang did not hesitate and immediately asked the accountant to withdraw 10,000 strings of cash from the box of banknotes he had just brought back and give it to his son.

He was willing to spend money to cultivate his son into a successful person.

……

Yang Yuan was indeed recovering from his injuries, but he was not idle either.

He was like a spider sitting on a web, secretly mobilizing all the strength he could mobilize to collect possible clues throughout Lin'an City.

Miss Shuifu from Cuiyu Tower was released, and Yang Yuan was not sure whether this famous prostitute had any problems or not, because it was too difficult to ask for proof.

Yang Yuan has withdrawn all the people who were previously sent to monitor Shui Fu.

She had been arrested and imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice once. Even if she really had a problem, she would lie dormant for a period of time until she completely dispelled other people's suspicions.

Even if she has any problems during this period, it will be impossible to find out the problem, so there is no need to waste time on her.

The caravan sent to Xinjin will be back in the next few days.

The advance express ship sent by the caravan arrived in Lin'an last night and reported the news to him.

Leng Yuchan, Xue Bingxin and Bei'er all went to help Fei Yuye prepare the goods at Longshan Warehouse Wharf.

Bingxin was already pregnant, and the other three girls were very cautious, fearing that something might happen to her, and wanted her to recuperate at home.

But Bingxin wanted to go, and Yang Yuan agreed.

Of course, pregnant women should be given more care and concern, but there is really no need to lock her up at home so early and not let her go out.

Not to mention that Xue Bingxin has superb martial arts skills and her body is still very light and agile. Even if she is just an ordinary woman, over-protection is not a good thing for her.

Everything in the world is either too much or too little.

The kind of person who doesn’t even allow her to carry two kilograms of grapes when she’s two months pregnant, gets so nervous when her neighbor uses wifi that she asks them to disable it, and when she goes to work, she covers her belly with some radiation-proof underwear so nervously…

Just like a "well-raised" child and a "free-range" child, one is as weak as a bean sprout, while the other is strong and sturdy.

The only flowers grown in a sterile room are fragile and delicate flowers.

Yang Yuan disagreed with this.

However, he didn't want a delicate flower like Lin Daiyu to appear in his family, so he asked Bingxin to go to the dock with him, and a delicate and weak little flower came into his home.

Princess Zhao Ning'er of Jia State is here.

When Yang Yuan saw the little bean sprout, he felt a toothache.

He quietly pulled Luxi over and whispered, "Why did you bring her back? You saw it too. The Queen held her in her hands for fear of dropping her, and in her mouth for fear of her melting. She was extremely careful. If the Queen comes back, I'm afraid she will blame us."

Lu Xi looked innocent and said, "I didn't mean to do that. I just went to the palace to pay my respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and bring some homemade snacks to Ning'er, but she wanted to come out of the palace with me to see me."

"Then you can't listen to her. What does the Empress Dowager say?"

"The King of Jin was there at the time. He heard it and said, 'Go, go, go, there's no child who doesn't like to play. Uncle agrees.'

The Empress Dowager said, "Then listen to the Regent."

Yang Yuan glanced at the garden and saw Xiao Qingtang, A'man and Ata playing by the pond with Princess Zhao Ning'er of Jiaguo.

A group of little girls were not picking flowers or chasing butterflies, they were... fishing for frogs.

Little girl Zhao Ning'er was jumping around, happier than a toad.

Yang Yuan's mouth twitched, and he said, "This little princess is really brave. I feel my scalp tingling when I see the toad."

"is it?"

Lu Xi's eyes lit up immediately: "So, second brother is afraid of toads, hehe, you are a grown man."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid. They even dare to catch snakes."

Yang Yuan's expression changed immediately.

Lu Xi asked curiously, "Second brother, you're not afraid of snakes, are you?"

"Ha, how could that be? A man like me..."

For the sake of his dignity as a man, Yang Yuan was just about to make some boastful remarks when the steward of the mansion came hurriedly over with a eunuch holding a whisk.

Upon seeing Yang Yuan and Lu Xi, the eunuch bowed and said, "This servant greets Her Royal Highness the Princess and the Marquis."

Yang Yuan asked nervously, "What's the matter? The palace wants Princess Jiaguo to return to the palace immediately?"

The eunuch was startled and said, "I am a servant in the Prince of Jin's mansion, not from the palace."

Only then did Yang Yuan recognize that he was indeed the eunuch serving Prince Jin, whom he had seen before.

However, how could he care about the entourage around Prince Jin? He did not recognize them at first.

Yang Yuan hurriedly asked: "What instructions does the King of Jin have?"

The eunuch said, "His Highness the Prince of Jin said that there is an urgent matter. Please go to the Prince of Jin's Mansion to discuss it immediately!"

(End of this chapter)