Treasure Exchange Banquet (IV)

Although Hong Lian lived in the palace.

But she was very well-informed.

Of course, the "well-informed" here only refers to Hong Lian's overt information network. She has several shops under her management, and the shopkeepers all know that they are part of Hong Lian 'Hong Lian dowry and are people she can trust. Therefore, if Hong Lian asks them to investigate anything, as long as it's something public, Hong Lian are very efficient. It's just that things done behind the scenes are more difficult to handle.

For example.

Among the shops under Hong Lian's control.

There was a shopkeeper who owned a clothing factory.

This shopkeeper has a friend, though not part of Hong Lian's system, only a personal acquaintance. This friend's identity is not simple, because he is a professional real estate agent, essentially a modern-day real estate brokerage manager. He may not have all the information on real estate transactions, because he is not the only one in the vast city of Xinzheng. However, it is common knowledge that although there is competition among professionals, they are generally aware of each other's resources. They exchange information on their properties, which ones are good, which ones are bad, which locations meet Princess Crimson Lotus's needs, and which locations only partially meet her needs. They can give a result in less than a day.

This is Hong Lian's information channel.

It's neither good nor bad.

It can't compare to the professionals.

But he is outstanding among amateurs.

It's worth mentioning that Hong Lian owns more than just these few shops. However, due to time constraints, Hong Lian only had time to show Ye Qingcang and Ninth Brother Han Fei a few of her shops, and the rest of the shops were not visited.

As for why these shopkeepers are so obedient?

Here we can refer to the Xue Family in Dream of the Red Chamber. The Xue Family was a royal merchant family and the descendant of the Ziwei Attendant. Why did the managers below dare to deceive their superiors and line their own pockets? Hong Lian Xue Baochai could see that something was wrong, but she could not stop this chaos. On the contrary, when it came to Hong Lian, who knew nothing, these managers were loyal to her.

It doesn't seem logical, does it?

However, this is the consequence of ignoring identity!

What is the Xue Family's background?

Imperial Merchant!

To put it bluntly, they are just front men for the royal family to make money.

If you can do a good job, then do it.

If you can't do the job well, then get out.

If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of businessmen in the world willing to be your front man!

Furthermore, if Xue Baochai's father were still alive, his status as Ziwei Attendant a high-ranking official in the Imperial Secretariat) would have been enough to suppress any trouble. However, Xue Baochai's father is already dead. The imperial family preserved the Xue Family family's title of "Imperial Merchant" merely to show their compassion for their subordinates and to set an example for other frontmen. The message was that as long as they performed their duties well, they didn't need to worry about failing one day. The imperial family would not mistreat their wives and children. Even if the family no longer had a pillar of support, as long as their wives and children behaved themselves, they could still ensure their family's wealth and prosperity for a generation. But if they wanted to rise again, they would have to show some real ability, because the imperial family is not a charity. They cannot put someone who is not worthy of their position in this seat, after all, it concerns the interests of the imperial family.

This is why the managers under the Xue Family were able to deceive their superiors and enrich themselves without fear of reprisal. Since the Xue Family could not control their lives, as long as they demonstrated sufficient ability, they could even replace the Xue Family and become the new front man for the royal family.

However, it fell into Hong Lian's hands!

This approach simply won't work!

Do you know Hong Lian's identity?

Princess!

This identity granted Hong Lian a variety of privileges!

One of her privileges is that Hong Lian can own slaves!

To be more specific, you can refer to Princess Pingyang, who is the one from the Han Dynasty, also known as Princess Yangxin. She has nothing to do with the Princess Pingyang from the Tang Dynasty. Her second husband, Wei Qing, who is known as one of the two great Twin Jewels of Han, was once a stable boy under her command.

Hong Lian simply wasn't interested in that.

It's not that she didn't have the right to take in slaves.

Therefore, all the managers under her command are her private servants. It's just that their names are not yet registered under her, but under the Han Kingdom royal family. When she gets married, these managers will be transferred to her name by the royal family.

Anyway, no matter how you put it...

If these shopkeepers dare to falsify accounts...

Hong Lian doesn't even need to report to the authorities; she can just grab a sword and kill her way through.

Even if this matter really blows up.

That's a domestic matter for the Han Kingdom royal family.

The Han Kingdom royal family will unconditionally support Hong Lian.

To put it bluntly, they were just a group of capable servants. They died and that's that. No matter how capable you were, Han Kingdom's business wasn't built by you alone. Since you made a mistake and gave us an excuse, you can't say that our royal family is heartless and ungrateful.

That's why these shopkeepers are so honest.

no way.

Even though your head is still connected to your neck today.

It might be gone tomorrow.

Even if you did nothing wrong, because you were a household slave, the royal family still didn't need a reason to kill you.

Giving reasons is merely a way to appease people.

There's no reason for that; it's as if businessmen don't pursue profit!

As long as businessmen continue to pursue profit.

Prioritizing interests.

Someone will always have to play the white glove.

This is the human heart!

That's human nature too!

Another point worth mentioning is the special nature of this job: if you do this job well, you can really have a secure job and live a peaceful old age. At least in this chaotic era, this kind of treatment is something many people would rather not have!

Therefore, when it comes to management skills, Xue Baochai is far superior to Hong Lian.

But Hong Lian was lucky and born well.

It's okay if you don't know how to manage.

The subordinates are able to manage themselves well.

This also pleased Han Fei, who had accompanied Hong Lian to visit two jewelry shops, a grain store, a clothing workshop, and a Rouge and Powder shop under Honglian 'Hong Lian control. Although it was useless for him to worry about this, since he had nothing under his control and King An of Han had not arranged any industries for him, it did not affect his decision to safeguard his sister's interests.

After wandering around for a while...

Hong Lian then led Han Fei, Ye Qingcang, and Startled Salamander Ni to a decent-looking restaurant, where they ate and drank for a while before leaving to move on to their next target.

Don't ask why you don't need to pay.

The question is whether this restaurant is also owned by Hong Lian.

Of course.

They are nominally all under the Han Kingdom royal family.

Whether it's about employing people or not.

Let's discuss the crime then.

Only the Han Kingdom royal family has this power.

However, the land deed for this restaurant had already been given to Hong Lian by King An of Han.

As long as they're not idiots.

Then everyone will understand what this means.

After all, there's a chance that friends might ask for their gifts back, but a father would never ask for a gift from his daughter or son back, even if he's reluctant to part with it, for the sake of his own image.

All that's missing now is a formality.

So, let's not even talk about paying.

There's no need to keep accounts.

Besides, the host was entertaining the host's ninth brother, along with two other friends. Even if they didn't know his identity, they wouldn't go up to him to beg for money.

If we really did that...

That's a slap in the face to the host.

So after they finished eating and drinking, Hong Lian, unusually rebellious and indecisive, looked at the brightly lit and bustling city of Xinzheng under the Night Curtain. With her hands behind her back, she skipped and hopped beside Han Fei, first glancing at Ye Qingcang before poking her head out and asking, "You all heard about finding a place to stay. The inns said they'd give us an answer before 9 PM... We came out to play close to 3 PM. I asked the innkeeper earlier, and he said it's already Xu Hour ... Where do you want to go in the remaining hour?"

Because Hong Lian was an ancient person.

Even if the Qin's Moon Star System is not pure history.

However, it still uses the ancient configuration in many aspects.

Take this time, for example.

Hai Shi refers to the period from 9 PM to 11 PM, which is equivalent to 9 PM to 11 PM in the modern 24-hour system.

It's quite late.

However, given the large scope of information to be collected.

The following shopkeepers also need time to build up their relevant networks.

The result can be given before 11 PM.

That's already the fastest speed.

As for Shenshi, it is between 3 pm and 5 pm. If we use the 24-hour system, it is between 3 pm and 5 pm.

In other words, Hong Lian set off around 3 p. m.

He led Han Fei, Ye Qingcang, and Startled Salamander on a tour.

That was also the time when the shopkeepers received and carried out the orders.

The Xu Hour" (Xu Shi) refers to the period from 7 PM to 9 PM, or 7 PM to 9 PM in a 24-hour system. This is what most people consider nighttime, and most nightlife activities begin or end during this time.

So, Hong Lian set off at three o'clock in the afternoon, taking her ninth brother Han Fei, Ye Qingcang, Startled Salamander with her, and spent four or five hours wandering around Xinzheng City. This is a more colloquial way of saying it, leaning towards a more modern approach.

We visited all the places that were worth visiting.

It's also mainly related to causing trouble.

It's inconvenient to ride a horse at full gallop.

This greatly reduces the speed of action.

It was getting late.

There wasn't much left for Hong Lian to do.

But the thought of having to wait idly for the shopkeepers to collect house information for the remaining hour or so made Hong Lian really impatient.

Then he thought about how he had led Han Fei and the other two around the city for an afternoon.

Then make some arrangements.

That's a bit too forceful.

It could easily affect Ye Qingcang's senses.

In short, Hong Lian handed over the choice to Han Fei and the other two, letting them decide where to go and she would pay for it.

However, there were actually three people.

There were actually only two people.

Startled Salamander identity was unknown to her at first.

Later, Ye Qingcang introduced her to someone.

She then learned that this was actually a Heaven Ranked Assassin from the Net organization, one of the rare Grandmaster in the Jianghu, who had been captured Ye Qingcang.

They are clearly not convinced yet.

But it's obvious that they can't escape.

So in reality, Han Fei and Ye Qingcang were the ones in charge.

Han Fei let loose for a moment, subtly nudging Ye Qingcang with his elbow and giving him a knowing look. Then, he suggested, "I've heard the wine at the Zilan Pavilion is quite good. How about we go there and try some? By the time we've had enough, we should have gathered enough information about the house. We can go check it out around midnight... Oh, right, Hong Lian, if you're sleepy, just go to sleep... By the way, you're not planning to go back tonight, are you?"

"Zilan Pavilion?"

"No, no!"

"Brother, that place isn't frequented by good people!"

"There are so many female demons inside!"

Hong Lian suddenly raised her voice, causing many passersby to glance at her subconsciously. However, after seeing the pair of two men and two women, they all looked away and didn't linger on this gossip.

Nightlife is fleeting.

Moreover, in this era, those who can afford to have a nightlife are not ordinary people.

It's just Zilan Pavilion.

These are places that most people with a nightlife have been to.

Those who share the same path.

Why laugh at someone who is only fifty steps behind when they are a hundred?

Therefore, the passersby didn't pay any attention.

Han Fei was startled, mainly because Hong Lian's reaction was too intense. It was as if something had touched a nerve with Hong Lian. She firmly denied it, and there was no room for negotiation in her tone.

As a result, Han Fei could only cast glances at Ye Qingcang.

It means, "Dude, can you help me out?"

To be honest, Ye Qingcang didn't want to get involved.

But then he remembered the signal Han Fei had given him before.

He softened once more and interjected, breaking the awkward atmosphere. "Brother Han, your real intention isn't what it seems; you're after the power behind the Zilan Pavilion, aren't you...? It's understandable, after all, it's the only organization in the Han Kingdom that can rival Night Curtain in intelligence. Although they're suppressed by Night Curtain, the fact that they haven't been wiped out is quite remarkable!"

"Um?"

Hong Lian and Han Fei subconsciously showed blank expressions.

But Han Fei reacted faster than Hong Lian.

He immediately understood and responded with a knowing "yes".

At the same time, he feigned complaint, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting in front of Hong Lian, Brother Ye... I really went there for the fine wine!"

"Hehe..."

Startled Salamander gave a cryptic laugh.

With a stern face.

The main point is to put on a forced, insincere smile.

Hong Lian, however, didn't seem to notice. Like a naive Xiao Bai, she first looked at Han Fei, then at Ye Qingcang beside her, and presumptuously guessed the truth. Her previously firm words suddenly softened. "Brother, what you said... if you want to go, then go!"

Han Fei cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

Sneaky and furtive.

The probe is for shrinking the brain.

Hong Lian was completely tricked into the trap.

I feel there are some things that are indeed inconvenient to say here.

That's why Hong Lian deliberately cut herself off from what she was saying.

Under Startled Salamander's pitying gaze.

They agreed to Han Fei's suggestion to go to the Zilan Pavilion.

All I can say is that while there are countless kinds of genuine feelings in the world, only cunning and manipulative tactics win people's hearts!

Each person in the group was accompanied by a horse.

The journey was quick.

Moreover, even Hong Lian, who is the least skilled, is a trained fighter.

The kind of person who likes to practice swordsmanship in their spare time.

It may not necessarily have the effect of killing enemies.

But maintaining good health is still achievable.

Mounting a horse was a piece of cake for her; after all, she had dreamed of becoming a female knight-errant, so riding a horse was naturally something she knew, and she had even been taught by a professional rider. Although the Imperial Guards were lazy, they weren't really useless. They just lacked fighting spirit and combat experience. In normal training, they were still quite capable. King An of Han also paid special attention to these soldiers, as they were the ones who ensured his safety, and their basic equipment was almost fully equipped.