"I want to see what kind of illness the young master of the Ningnan Marquis's mansion has that has enabled him to be so selfish, disloyal, and unfilial?"
He immediately and forcefully slapped a heavy label on Wenbin.
Wenbin's mouth gaped open. Not only him, but everyone else in the private room was stunned. What had Wenbin done to earn such a huge accusation from the Emperor upon their first meeting?
Hai Ling secretly chuckled. It seemed Ye was quite cunning. He clearly had his eye on Wen Bin and wanted Wen Bin to help him get a government position, yet he pretended to look down on him. But this was the kind of trick she had to use to deal with self-righteous people like Wen Bin.
After a while, Wenbin, having recovered from his shock, spoke cautiously.
"I don't understand why Your Majesty says Wenbin is disloyal, unfilial, and selfish?"
"Isn't that so? Everyone says that the young master of the Ningnan Marquis's mansion is frail and sickly, but I see that you don't seem to be seriously ill, just a little weak. You've actually dumped all the burdens of the Ningnan Marquis's mansion into the hands of the Ningnan Marquis, only caring about your own frivolous pursuits and thinking yourself superior. I'm thinking, if the Ningnan Marquis were to pass away one day, I wonder if your Wen family line would be doomed from then on. It's a pity that the Marquis and his wife have such a son, who can neither uphold the honor of their ancestors nor bring glory to the family. What use is he then?"
He immediately launched into a tirade of abuse, so severe that no one could refute it. This was partly due to the Emperor's status, and partly because no one had ever scolded Wenbin before. Although the Marquis of Ningnan and his wife had considered having him take up an official post to bring honor to their family, since the future of the Marquis's household depended on the young master, every time they mentioned it to Wenbin, he would feign illness to avoid it. The Marquis and his wife, being overly protective of their son, naturally dared not force him to do something he did not want to do.
Furthermore, Wenbin wasn't actually against entering the court as an official; he simply looked down on the court in Beilu. What kind of chaotic mess was this? Officials colluded with each other, princes fought endlessly for the crown prince position, and the concubines spent their days currying favor with this official and that official. How could anyone willingly enter such a court? It's like a white person entering a dark pool—even if they weren't already tainted, they'd become tainted anyway; otherwise, they couldn't survive. That's why he didn't approve of becoming an official, but he never expected to be severely reprimanded by the emperor.
In the private room, Wenbin remained silent, but Xi Hanzhi and the others couldn't stand it any longer. Xi Hanzhi and Wenbin had always been good friends, so he spoke up calmly.
"Your Majesty, is it really...?"
Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door. The waiter brought in top-quality Biluochun tea, along with several other snacks. He arranged them all but did not leave. Instead, he stood to the side watching Xi Hanzhi. Xi Hanzhi waved his hand and ordered him to leave, saying, "Don't let anyone disturb us."
"Yes, Young Master Xi."
The waiter withdrew, but this action made Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling understand. It seemed that Xi Hanzhi was the master behind Hefeng Teahouse. Xi Hanzhi's business talent was indeed extraordinary.
Inside the private room, everyone except them had already left. Xi Hanzhi stood up respectfully and personally poured tea for Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling. If they were somewhat unsurprised by the emperor and empress before them a moment ago, they now realized that these two were ruthless characters, so they should be careful.
These two are clearly looking for them today, but I wonder what they want to talk about?
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, please try this top-grade Biluochun tea. It was just brought in and is still very fresh."
When Biluochun tea is steeped in hot water, its aroma is released, filling the entire private room with fragrance.
Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling picked up their tea, not in a hurry to speak. The people sitting opposite them looked at each other, really not knowing what these two bosses were up to. It was unbelievable how they were playing with people like this, it could kill them. The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. They had only one thought: to get these two big shots away as soon as possible. With that thought, Xi Hanzhi coughed and slowly opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty and Empress, you are mistaken. Wenbin has been frail and sickly since childhood, so the Marquis of Ningnan, out of pity for him, did not let him get too involved in any important matters. Secondly, the court was in turmoil for a time, and he is an upright man who is prone to making trouble out of his own mouth. He did not want to bring trouble to the Marquis of Ningnan's mansion, so he did not concern himself with anything."
Xi Hanzhi was right. Although Wenbin's name was Wen and he was physically weak, his personality was anything but gentle. He was very hot-tempered, especially when faced with unreasonable things, he always liked to argue his case.
"Throughout history, countless scholars and capable officials have risked their lives to create a harmonious and peaceful society for the people, only wanting to do their part for the world. But you, before you've done your best, only think of your own comfort. Isn't that selfish? Even if the world is all black, can't I remain pure? To go along with the corrupt and survive in the cracks is also a noble quality. Why not use your purity to inspire others to be pure?"
Ye Lingfeng disagreed with Xi Hanzhi's words and didn't give Wenbin any face. Wenbin's face immediately darkened. He had taken the emperor's words to heart. Yes, he considered himself noble, but in the end, he was just selfish. The fact that the emperor could say such things meant that he was not like ordinary royals who were easily swayed by others. He was wholeheartedly committed to managing the court well, which made him somewhat happy.
Wenbin lowered his head in deep thought, then slowly spoke: "Your Majesty, me?"
"I am willing to give you a chance. Since you have ambition and talent, why not contribute to Beilu? Besides, your Ningnan Marquis's faction cannot be without people, after all, the old Marquis is getting old."
Ye Lingfeng's considerate attitude towards his court officials left Wenbin speechless. He calmly said, "Let me think about it."
"good."
Ye Lingfeng and Hai Ling exchanged a glance, knowing that they had dealt with Wen Bin.
Hailin truly admires her husband. Look at him, he clearly wanted to use her, but in the end, he acted as if he had done her a great favor. Wenbin hasn't figured it out yet, but he'll probably be both amused and exasperated when he does later.
With Wenbin's matter resolved, Ye Lingfeng looked up at Xi Hanzhi and the other two officials' sons, and calmly said, "I see that you are all close to me and are all upright by nature. If you could each contribute to the country, I don't know how grateful the people would be. Instead, you try to be like elegant scholars, considering yourselves extraordinary, spending your time admiring flowers, the moon, and the seasons. I ask you, when the seasons have passed, what will you have left?"
Xi Hanzhi and the other two were dumbfounded. The Emperor was truly amazing.
Xi Hanzhi was the first to react and slowly said, "Your Majesty, I have always loved doing business and am not very interested in other things."
"Commerce is the foundation of a nation. It's perfectly understandable that you like commerce. However, if your business grows too large and monopolizes the government's economy, thus clashing with the royal family, do you think the royal family will turn a blind eye?"
Ye Lingfeng spoke directly, and Xi Hanzhi's expression froze, his eyes darkening slightly.
This was indeed a major taboo. He had been handling this situation with great care. As a non-royal family, the Xi family did not want to get too involved with the royal family, lest they get themselves into trouble. In addition, he had loved business since he was a child, so he had been in business since childhood. However, he never expected that his business would grow so big that it would become the number one business in Beilu. Because of this, he was very worried in private. No matter how big the business was, it still depended on the royal family for its livelihood. Perhaps a single word from the royal family could plunge the entire Cangwang Mansion into an abyss.
"emperor."
What does the Emperor mean by saying these words today?
Xi Hanzhi looked at Ye Lingfeng, who smiled and said, "If you want to stay safe, you have to cooperate with the royal family, or your business will be tainted by the royal aura. I think that would make things go more smoothly. Besides, you don't need to do all that bribing and sending gifts to people."
After Ye Lingfeng finished speaking, he looked at Hai Ling. He only knew that Hai Ling wanted to give a piece of land to Xi Hanzhi, asking him to contribute 200,000 dan of grain and fodder, plus a 30% share of the profits. He didn't know anything else.
In fact, Hailin had already come up with an idea about this land and had drawn up blueprints. He wanted to build the largest commercial street in Bianliang City. Only when the economy is developed can the country be prosperous and strong. Moreover, people's livelihood and people's livelihood are guaranteed. That is to say, when people earn money, they are willing to spend it. Then all the money will circulate in the market and will not flow too much into private pockets.
She will first test the plan in Bianliang City. Once the results are satisfactory, she will formulate a plan based on the situation in each city so that the people in each region can become prosperous.
Hai Ling thought for a moment, then took out the blueprints, handed them to Xi Hanzhi, and slowly opened them.
Xi Hanzhi, Wen Bin, and the others went closer to take a look and were quite shocked by the drawings on the blueprints.
"Your Majesty, what is this?"
"I plan to demolish all these streets here and build Bianliang's largest commercial street. Half of these shops will be sold, and the other half will be rented. What do you think, Young Master Xi? Are you interested?"
Xi Hanzhi was immediately interested, but working with the royal family would probably not be very profitable, and building this commercial street would cost a lot of money.
How to cooperate?
Xi Hanzhi is still a businessman, and businessmen value profit. This is what he said right away. He doesn't want to do a losing business and end up with nothing to show for it.
"Actually, if there wasn't an urgent need right now, I wouldn't necessarily have to give you such a good thing."
Hai Ling calmly put away the blueprints and slowly said, "If Young Master Xi is not interested, I don't mind finding someone else to cooperate with. Besides, they are imperial merchants, while your Xi family, although you have some imperial merchant shops, are all small-scale operations."