TGPSAC – Chapter 26

Lin Zhiyi had come looking for Chi Wan because of the business idea she had mentioned. After returning home and telling his father about his thoughts, his father, though not optimistic about some medicinal herb business, wanted to establish a connection with the Grand Princess’s Residence.

He knew his son wasn’t cut out for the imperial examinations and was only trying to find him something to do, to keep him from being foolishly swindled out of his silver all day.

With the Lin family’s resources, silver was nothing. But the people Lin Zhiyi associated with were useless except for cheating him out of his money. If the Lin family had used that silver to provide porridge for the poor, they could have at least earned a good reputation in the capital. Giving it to those people was like hitting a dog with a meat bun—gone for good.

Among all those people, only Chi Wan had amounted to anything by becoming the Fuma. Thinking of building a connection with the Grand Princess’s Residence, he told his son to invest a sum no matter what business Chi Wan was starting.

The Lin family was wealthy, but they couldn’t just throw their silver into the water without hearing even a splash.

Hearing that Lin Zhiyi wanted to do business with her, Chi Wan feigned confusion. “Your Lin family is so rich. Would you really be interested in a small business like mine?”

She had only mentioned it casually to Lin Zhiyi at the time, not with the intention of partnering with the Lin family. She was actually interested in someone else in the Lin family, a person who had left a strong impression on her when she read the novel. She had hoped to get to know that person through Lin Zhiyi.

She never expected the Lin family would actually want to do business with her. She figured they weren’t truly optimistic about the business’s prospects but were likely aiming to connect with the Grand Princess.

Chi Wan knew her own worth. Without seeing a sample, without knowing anything about the business, if it were just Lin Zhiyi, one could dismiss him as the foolish son of a rich landlord. But if his family also supported it, then one had to consider the deeper implications.

As expected, Lin Zhiyi held up a finger and said in a low voice, “My family is willing to put up this much. Ten thousand taels for a ten percent stake.”

Chi Wan chuckled lightly. “The Lin family is certainly generous.”

“But if you were negotiating this business with me, I might have been able to discuss it with you properly. Since it’s the Lin family, the terms will have to be different.”

“The Lin family can invest in my pharmacy, but my shares will be calculated out of one hundred points. The Lin family can only take one point.”

Ten thousand taels for one point meant the business required a total investment of one million taels. What did one million taels signify? For the disaster relief in Wucheng, the imperial court had only allocated one hundred thousand taels, and that concerned the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people.

Therefore, the ten thousand taels offered by the Lin family was already a huge sum, but business wasn’t calculated that way.

Her pills were a rarity in the market. Furthermore, there would be a series of beauty and wellness products. She would capture the market of Qian Yuan, Kun Ze, and He Yuan, men and women, young and old. In the capital alone, she could easily earn a million taels. Moreover, the backer of this business was Yu Jiuzhou, and the technology was hers. For merely providing capital, even with some operational involvement, one point was already quite generous.

She was giving Yu Jiuzhou a ninety percent stake only because that person was Yu Jiuzhou. With the Lin family, it was strictly business, with no sentiment involved. In fact, the Lin family was the one actively trying to curry favor with the Princess’s Residence. So, no matter how you calculated it, ten thousand taels would get the Lin family one point at most.

Partnering in a business wasn’t as simple as you putting in five hundred thousand and me putting in five hundred thousand, and we each get a 50% stake. Resources, connections, and personal ability also had to be considered. What came after a business was established was often more important.

Even if the Lin family funded the entire ten-thousand-tael startup cost for the pharmacy, Chi Wan wouldn’t give them a single point more.

She was the technical expert, while Yu Jiuzhou was the one with all the resources. And besides, it was Yu Jiuzhou—what was wrong with giving her more money? It wasn’t as if the Princess’s Residence couldn’t afford ten thousand taels. She had agreed to let the Lin family invest because she had her eyes on their extensive business network throughout the north.

Expanding under the Grand Princess’s name wouldn’t be too difficult, but it would be time-consuming and laborious. Using the Lin family’s network was a ready-made solution.

Chi Wan’s words made Lin Zhiyi’s jaw drop in shock, but then he grew excited. “Excellent, excellent! No wonder you became the Fuma! This way, my family can invest even more money. When the time comes, you have to look out for your little brother, me!”

Chi Wan was speechless.

He truly was the foolishly rich Lin Duojin (Much-Gold). He was willing to have his family spend who knows how much more just so he could get a bigger allowance in the future.

“Alright, we’re almost at Qingyuan County. I’ll get out here,” Chi Wan said. She didn’t want the people of Qingyuan County to see her arriving in a luxurious carriage, or it would make her work difficult later.

“Why?” Lin Zhiyi was puzzled for a moment, then he understood. “I get it. You officials are all like this. But you’re a noble, not a civil official… Oh, right, I heard you’ve been appointed Magistrate of Qingyuan County.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll have someone prepare a horse for you, and one for your subordinate too, so she doesn’t have to ride that donkey. It’s so embarrassing.”

Chi Wan was exasperated. Chen Yuan had told her that the horses at the Princess’s Residence belonged to the Princess and couldn’t be used unless on her official business, so she had to borrow a donkey. The constant jingling of the bell on the donkey’s neck was indeed rather undignified for an official.

“In that case, many thanks. I’ll return the horses to you tonight.”

“Return them? They’re just two horses. We’re friends. Talking about returning them would hurt our friendship,” Lin Zhiyi said, waving his hand magnanimously.

Horses were military assets. Even if they could be bought on the market, the horse traders had connections, and the scale of their business wasn’t particularly large.

A single horse cost around several dozen taels of silver. The two horses Lin Zhiyi led over looked to be of quite good quality.

Chi Wan offered her thanks, swung herself onto a horse, and followed Chen Yuan toward the county yamen of Qingyuan.

Qingyuan was a capital county, with a population of about one hundred thousand, comparable to some prefectural-level cities.

As Chi Wan entered the city, she observed it for a while. Qingyuan was one of the poorer capital counties. Its farmland was controlled by noble houses, gentry, and powerful clans. Even the county magistrate had little say here.

Coming to this place, Chi Wan was already prepared for a tough fight.

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The Residence of the Grand Princess of Qin.

“Qin” was the Grand Princess’s enfeoffment title. Like Prince of Qin or Prince of Qi, it used the name of a state. In the Shengyuan era, the title of Qin was bestowed upon Yu Jiuzhou, signifying supreme honor. In the entire history of the Great Zhou, she was the only princess to be granted a state as her title. The title of Qin had been granted twice before, and both recipients had become emperors, which showed just how prestigious Yu Jiuzhou’s title was.

Naturally, the Grand Princess’s Residence was of the highest standard. It certainly couldn’t compare to the imperial palace, but it was superior to any other estate in the capital. Whether it was the residence of a prince, a duke, or the Grand Secretary, all fell short in comparison.

Within the Grand Princess’s Residence, Yu Jiuzhou’s Yongning Courtyard was the largest and finest. She was reclining in a heated pavilion. The winter was cold, so the pavilion was enclosed with curtains, and a stove burned inside. There was hot tea, roasted oranges, and… chestnuts.

After spending a long time in her bedchamber, Yu Jiuzhou wanted a change of scenery. Feeling much better today, and with the sun shining brightly, she decided to come out and bask in its warmth.

A short while later, Xia Qu approached. “Your Highness, the Fuma met Lin Zhiyi of the imperial merchant Lin family outside the city.”

Yu Jiuzhou raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t surprised by Chi Wan’s connection to Lin Zhiyi. But in that case, didn’t it mean her objective of making Chi Wan walk had failed?

“Your Highness, how about I take some people and… teach her a lesson on her way back?” Everyone present knew who the “her” Xia Qu was referring to.

They had long wanted to deal with Chi Wan. All they needed was the Princess’s consent—no, her tacit approval would suffice.

Yu Jiuzhou lifted the cup of hot tea beside her, took a small sip, and said nothing.

It was Chun Gui who spoke up from the side. “Do you really think Her Highness made the Fuma the Magistrate of Qingyuan County for no reason?”

“Why?” Xia Qu asked foolishly.

“The farmlands illegally seized by the Marquis of Huai’an’s Residence are in Qingyuan County. And the victim who tried to sue the Princess’s Residence is locked up in the Qingyuan county jail. This matter is waiting for the Fuma to handle.”

With Chun Gui’s explanation being so clear, Xia Qu, who was not stupid, understood. “You mean, Her Highness is setting a trap for her?”

“Ahem!” Chun Gui coughed lightly and shot her a look. “It’s not exactly a trap. It’s a test.”

Xia Qu stole a glance at Yu Jiuzhou and then grinned slyly.

Becoming the Magistrate of Qingyuan County at this time meant having to deal with the case of the Marquis of Huai’an’s illegal land seizures. It remained to be seen whether Chi Wan would cover it up or choose a side.

If Chi Wan tried to cover it up, Yu Jiuzhou wouldn’t let her. The victim’s family would later ram the palace walls, quickly turning the matter into a hot topic of discussion throughout the capital, making it impossible to suppress.

If Chi Wan sided with the Marquis of Huai’an’s Residence, Yu Jiuzhou would destroy them all together. The evidence she held would leave the Marquis’s Residence no room for escape, and Chi Wan would inevitably be implicated.

But if Chi Wan chose great righteousness and destroyed her own kin, the Emperor would surely find her insensible—a person so ruthless she wouldn’t even spare her own family. The entire imperial court would look down on her. And to protect certain unspoken interests, they would attack her.

In that case, Chi Wan’s situation would become dreadful. She would truly become isolated and alone. An emperor is isolated and alone, but an emperor holds supreme power. Chi Wan? An isolated official in the court was a target for all to attack.

Yu Jiuzhou poured the hot tea in her cup onto the ground, and steam rose from the spot. She couldn’t let Chi Wan die too easily.

But if Chi Wan managed to struggle through this, that was a story for another time.

Chi Wan was well aware of this. She was not one to knowingly walk into a tiger’s den only to retreat. If she was afraid of tigers ahead and wolves behind, she couldn’t even begin to talk about changing her destiny.

In this life, one had to take risks. Break through, and a whole new world would await.

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