What's wrong with me, a powerful minister, supporting a few female officials?

Chapter 141 Su Mo guessed Leng Xixi's identity
Su Mo stared intently at the cold, indifferent signature on the envelope, and couldn't help but curse under her breath!
Just as I expected.

It was she who orchestrated his appointment as the registrar of Tianchang County!

What a blatant act of repaying kindness with enmity!
She said she wouldn't let herself be promoted to a centurion in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could that be true?

If it were Leng Xixi who came now, Su Mo would definitely say to her, "Thank you and your whole family!"
But Su Mo immediately became suspicious.

What exactly is that cold-hearted girl's identity?
They actually managed to place the letter directly on top of the imperial edict and hand it to me?

The Empress, it seems, also has the surname Leng?

Su Mo gasped sharply, a look of fear crossing her face!

Could that person be a princess?

Or perhaps, she is the Empress's own sister?
It's 99% accurate!

your sister!
Why would a princess or a noblewoman go on an incognito visit instead of seeking out her husband? Why is she making a fool of herself like this?

Just as Su Mo was in shock, the eunuch came over carrying a yellow silk tray.

Su Mo's lips twitched twice.

On the yellow silk were three bright yellow copper coins, which, apart from being a little new, were no different from copper coins on the market!
He finally realized just how stingy the Empress could be!
They were willing to give away three copper coins without fear of being laughed at.

Could it really be three life-saving hairs?
Can you make a request to the Emperor with just one copper coin?
Isn't that even more powerful than an imperial edict or a death-exemption token?
But looking at the eunuch holding the tray, struggling to hold back his laughter, you know that such a good thing is impossible!

Su Mo picked up the three copper coins, feeling dejected.

They decided to find the most conspicuous place to enshrine it.

Anyway, it's not my own face that's being lost!

Let's see if the Empress dares to bestow this thing again next time!
After the eunuch delivering the imperial decree left.

Zhang Xuzu and the others looked at Su Mo with strange expressions.

Finally, he snorted and said, "Three hundred taels of silver, bring it over tonight!"

After a pause, Zhang Xuzu said in a deep voice, "I hope you will keep your word. My Ningguo Duke's Mansion will not allow anyone to bully us!"

After saying that, he turned and left with Li You and Wen Bi!

"Wait a minute!"

Su Mo suddenly called out to the three of them.

Zhang Xuzu turned around, his face dark as he stared at Su Mo: "What else do you think?"

He snorted heavily and looked at Su Mo with disdain: "Don't think that just because you've received the imperial decree, you can put me above you."

"The Duke of Ningguo's mansion has countless imperial edicts!"

Su Mo ignored the other party.

He instructed Jiang Lan to take the imperial edict and copper coins back to the incense table in the inner courtyard and enshrine them.

Then Jiang Laoshi brought over a basin of water.

Zhang Xuzu and the other two had dark faces, but they weren't in a hurry to leave. They wanted to see what tricks Su Mo would play!
Su Mo looked at Zhang Xuzu very seriously: "I'm very afraid of death, so I don't like making enemies."

"Silver is a good thing. I can understand why you're eyeing shops worth several thousand taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xuzu was immediately taken aback and exchanged glances with Li You and Wen Bi.

Finally, he said coldly, "What do you mean?"

Su Mo smiled and said, "You like silver, and so do I."

"Therefore, I have a business opportunity that I intend to pursue in cooperation with you."

Zhang Xuzu's disdain deepened. He snorted, ignored Su Mo, and turned to leave.

Li You and Wen Bi quickly followed.

But the next second, Su Mo's slow and deliberate voice came to his ears: "Business isn't big, barely making ten or twenty thousand taels of silver a year!"

As soon as these words came out.

Zhang Xuzu and his two companions paused, involuntarily stopping in their tracks.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Xuzu finally couldn't resist turning around and staring at Su Mo with half-closed eyes: "What kind of business?"

Su Mo raised his hand.

The yellowish-brown soaps and hand soaps flew towards Zhang Xuzu.

He then pointed to the basin: "This is soap, a bar soap, which can be used to clean the body and hair, and to wash clothes."

"Brother Zhang, why don't you give it a try?"

Zhang Xuzu looked at the soap in his hand with suspicion. It emitted a faint floral fragrance, which smelled very pleasant.

Faced with a business that could earn ten thousand taels of silver a year.

What's the point of saving face?

Without hesitation, he strode toward the basin of water.

Then, I wet my hands and washed them with soap...

A moment later, I saw that her hands were much whiter and cleaner. They had been sticky from sweating, but now they were incredibly clean and had a faint fragrance left on them!

Zhang Xuzu instantly realized that the soap contained enormous value!
He squinted and stared intently at Su Mo for a long time before slowly saying, "May I ask Officer Su, how should this business be conducted?"

Wen Bi and Li You also quickly tried the soap, and both looked at Su Mo excitedly and with envy!

Su Mo didn't seem to care much.

Zhang Xuzu is clearly a competent businessman.

They used to hate me so much they wanted to devour me, but now they've immediately changed their tune and are calling me a Su Qi official!
He smiled and said, "I'm thinking that this soap can make at least 18,000 taels of silver a year."

"Even more!"

"I will contribute the secret recipe as capital, plus the several hundred taels of silver that Brother Zhang compensated me, and take a 70% share, which is not unreasonable."

"After all, this 70% share is not for me alone; Brother Zhang should understand that."

Zhang Xuzu narrowed his eyes, about to speak.

Su Mo waved his hand: "However, Lord Commander, you think that I am not very kind."

"After all, Brother Zhang and others are responsible for the manpower and resources, so I think a 50/50 split is more appropriate."

Zhang Xuzu and the others exchanged glances.

Zhang Xuzu then said in a deep voice, "If the profit exceeds ten thousand taels, it can be split fifty-fifty with Su Qiguan!"

Su Mo smiled and said, "With the abilities of the three of you, Brother Zhang, making a profit of ten thousand taels of silver is not a problem."

He paused, then changed the subject: "However, I can't possibly give away several thousand taels of silver for no reason!"

"After all, there are many people who want to do this kind of business."

"For example, I had a very pleasant working relationship with Wei, the Vice Commander of the Commandery!"

Zhang Xuzu's brow twitched: "Wei Zhengguang?"

Su Mo nodded: "Not bad!"

"The secret recipe for Chen Family Brewing that Vice Commissioner Wei obtained came from me."

"I will have a share in the business of distilled spirits!"

Zhang Xuzu and the other two gasped in unison!
No wonder Lu Wenxuan wanted to use them as weapons.

No wonder the Left Office stepped forward without hesitation to help this junior officer!

Everyone knows that the commander of the Left Guard is following Wei Zhengguang's path!

The distilled spirits business can definitely earn you over a thousand taels a month!
With the perfume in his possession, Wei Zhengguang has firmly established his dominance over Lu Wenxuan within the Commander's Division. Anyone who touches his distilled spirits will face Wei Zhengguang's wrath!

Zhang Xuzu pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "If Officer Su had chosen to cooperate with Vice Commissioner Wei, he wouldn't have mentioned this matter to us!"

"Speak, what other conditions does Officer Su have?"

Su Mo laughed heartily: "I like straightforward people like Brother Zhang!"

"It's not that I have a request, it's that Lord Lin has a request!"

"She wants three Water Spirit Peaches!"

Zhang Xuzu's expression immediately changed, and he blurted out, "Impossible!"

"The Five Elements Spirit Peach ripens once every three years, with each harvest yielding no more than seventeen or eighteen peaches, while the Water Spirit Peach yields less than six!"

"And it's already been reserved by someone else!"

Seeing that Su Mo remained silent, he gritted his teeth and said, "At most one, I can give it to you a month later!"

Su Mo: "Three!"

He paused, then emphasized, "Brother Zhang, have you thought this through?"

"Five thousand taels a year, that's fifty thousand taels in ten years!"

"Moreover, if Brother Zhang has enough connections, earning ten thousand taels a year is not impossible!"

Zhang Xuzu...

After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "Two!"

Su Mo: "Three!"

"One coin is worth a thousand taels of silver, with interest deducted from the profit share!"

Zhang Xuzu immediately became conflicted.

These Five Elements Spirit Peaches are not only for the Duke's own use, but also for cultivating relationships, especially with Taoist sorcerers.

It can be said that the destination of each one is already predetermined.

Sending out three at once will definitely cause a lot of trouble.

He was also very clear about the value of the soap.

That's several thousand taels of silver a year!
Just as he was struggling with this decision, Li You suddenly whispered, "Third Brother, we can't let such a good business opportunity slip away to others!"

"Give my father's spirit peach to my little brother!"

Wen Bi gritted his teeth and said, "Give my father that spirit peach, and I will definitely persuade him to give it up!"

Having said that, Zhang Xuzu had no reason to hesitate: "I agree to Officer Su's request!"

"If the profit from soap is less than ten thousand taels, I can only give you forty percent of the profit!"

He took a deep breath and said, "Does the Su Banner official need to draw up a contract and sign it?"

Su Mo waved his hand: "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."

"Besides, if Brother Zhang wants to break the contract, it doesn't matter whether there is a contract or not. At that time, it will depend on our abilities."

He smiled at Zhang Xuzu and the other two: "Send trustworthy people here at any time, and I will teach them my skills."

"Of course, this recipe must be kept strictly confidential, but with Brother Zhang's abilities, I'm sure you can do that easily!"

Zhang Xuzu finally smiled.

"Official Su can rest assured."

"Our Ningguo Duke's Mansion certainly has this much ability!"

"Tonight I will have the artisans from my household come to learn my skills!"

"Farewell!"

After Zhang Xuzu and the other two left.

Su Mo also breathed a sigh of relief.

They must have barely managed to get in touch with the Duke of Ningguo's mansion.

It also comes with the titles of Marquis of Dingbian and Marquis of Anyang!
Although it is not very secure yet.

But once they see the huge profits from soap, their connections will become more secure.

More importantly, Lord Qianhu has obtained the Spirit Peach!
It seems like Zhang Xuzu and his group got a great deal, but in reality, Su Mo, who received 50% of the profits, was the real winner!
No one can earn all the money in one day.

Only when everyone makes money can the relationship truly be solid, like in Changping County.

If Su Mo takes all the money and benefits, who will listen to him?
Attention finally returned to the imperial edict.

The clerks were unranked assistant officials; only the clerks of the capital county and the county seat were ranked as ninth grade.

This is not critical.

The key point is that the clerk was a civil official!
How did Leng Xixi convince the Empress to let a low-ranking member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard become a civil official?
These are two completely different career paths.

Could it be that she truly believed she understood the strategies of governing a country, and that she should be groomed for a civil service career before recommending the Empress?
your sister!
That guy himself was a centurion of the Phoenix Cry Division, a high-ranking henchman of the Empress with impeccable credentials, yet he was concerned with important matters of the court.

Aren't you afraid that the Empress will be so angry that she will kill your own family for the greater good?

Su Mo couldn't help but feel a burning hatred.

What's wrong with being a lackey?
Take myself for example, I can go to the artisan camp whenever I want, and nobody cares. I can steal chickens every day and it's so much fun.

They didn't even have to handle cases for the Embroidered Uniform Guards themselves.

On Ding Bashi's side, the Divine Arm Bow should be finished soon.

I'll be promoted to the seventh-rank Imperial Guard captain right away!

Having this skin makes doing business much easier.

If you're just a minor official, do you think a noble son like Zhang Xuzu would even give you a second glance?

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was a typical example of someone with low rank but great power!
Even a third-rank commander of the Imperial Guards, and a first-rank civil and military official, were extremely wary of him!
How could Su Mo possibly give up the Jinyiwei system, which offered the easiest path to promotion and where he had already found several powerful backers within the system, and switch to the civil service system to slowly climb the ranks through seniority!

Besides, being a civil servant is so tiring!
Even embezzlement is inconvenient!

Doing a good job doesn't necessarily guarantee a promotion.

If you do a bad job, you might get your head chopped off!

If someone truly tries every means to improve the well-being of the people, wouldn't they become a true public servant?

They came here to enjoy themselves, even to act arrogantly and have multiple wives and concubines, not to serve as public servants!
No, I'll go find Lord Qianhu later and see if there's any way to get the Empress to give up this unrealistic idea!

Su Mo became increasingly depressed as she thought about it.

He cursed Leng Xixi under his breath again.

With a dark expression, he opened the letter, eager to see if that ungrateful wretch could come up with a coherent explanation in it!

The handwriting on the letter was delicate yet exceptionally vigorous and powerful.

The first sentence: "Mr. Su, it's as if I'm seeing you in person after reading this letter!"

The second sentence left Su Mo speechless.

"This position of Tianchang Clerk was obtained from the Emperor after much effort. It's a nominal post; you can take it or leave it, but..."

Preview: Update tomorrow night at 12 o'clock. I need to save the recommendation for the 3rd. I will update at least 20,000 words a day!

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(End of this chapter)