Chapter 114: Sharing a Room
Yan Shiyi had been visiting the border city frequently lately. He claimed it was on his Elder Brother’s orders, to supervise whether his own people were slacking off.
Jinsui suspected the Yan Clan was afraid she would detain their people and not return them, which was why they sent Yan Shiyi to count heads daily.
After hearing her guess, Gu Changxiao could somewhat understand why Daoist Ji and Yan Shiyi got along so well; at times, their thoughts were quite aligned.
Yan Shiyi always brought gifts when he visited, mostly food. He said the border city had just suffered from war and supplies were scarce, and Li King was also injured, so he brought more good food from home to help Li King recover.
He once brought dim sum that was very ugly in shape and sickeningly sweet. Jinsui tasted a bite and gave it to Hei Hu to take to the infirmary.
Yan Shiyi insisted on asking for her opinion on the dim sum. Jinsui perfunctorily replied, “It’s very delicious,” at least it was rich in sugar.
He also brought soup with more medicinal materials than ingredients, tasting like Cantonese herbal tea. Jinsui drank a sip and, as usual, gave it to Hei Hu.
Unexpectedly, even Hei Hu couldn’t stand it. After a sip, he poured it out for the hunting dog, and then the hunting dog wouldn’t eat it either.
When Yan Shiyi asked for her good review again, Jinsui finally felt something was amiss: “This was made by Miss Yan, wasn’t it? Tell her not to waste her time on this.”
Not only is it a waste of time, but also a waste of food! If you have this much free time, why not visit the rouge workshop more often!
One day, Yan Shiyi brought a chest of silver, worth ten thousand taels. He happily said, “First, let’s build the Forceful Restaurant. I haven’t had fish balls in a long time.”
Jinsui smiled and asked, “Got rich? Does your Elder Brother know you’re investing so much silver in an eatery?”
Yan Shiyi proudly replied, “This is my own silver. My Elder Brother doesn’t care!”
He was someone who couldn’t keep secrets. Before Jinsui could ask further, he blurted out, “I sold that Seven Colors lamp. Everyone is eager to participate in the Treasure Contest, so it sold easily.”
Jinsui asked in shock, “You sold it for ten thousand taels?”
Is it that easy for you young masters to make money? It seems that whether it was the mirror I sold to Jin Zilin for five thousand, or the lamp you bought for eight thousand, I sold them too cheaply!
Then she heard Yan Shiyi say, “It was twenty thousand taels! That Seven Colors lamp is one of a kind in the world. If I weren’t in urgent need of silver and waited a bit longer to sell it, the price could have been higher.”
Jinsui: …What a huge loss!
“By the way, I asked my Elder Brother when I went home, I want to do something to change things, how should I start?”
“My Elder Brother told me to read more.”
Jinsui strongly agreed, “Your Elder Brother is right.”
“So I’ve decided to read the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Give me a copy of your textbook, and I’ll go listen to Cheng Assistant Secretary’s classes.”
“One thousand taels of silver per copy. For you, a friendly price of eight hundred taels.”
“You sell to others for one hundred taels, but why is it eight hundred taels for me?”
“How can that be the same? Others don’t offer after-sales service, and Cheng Assistant Secretary’s classes are priceless!”
Yan Shiyi gritted his teeth, “Eight hundred it is! You’re ruthless!”
After Yan Shiyi left in a huff, clutching the book, Gu Changxiao asked her, “Does the Prince intend to win over the Yan Clan?”
Jinsui looked at him and said, “I’m trying to win over the Yan Clan for you! We need to make more friends and fewer enemies to facilitate development!”
I’m willingly addicted to impersonating Li King, but why are you, the real Li King, acting like you’re forgetting your own identity!
“Besides, haven’t you noticed that our battle with the Tartars has had a significant impact on those around us?”
It’s not just the soldiers and civilians in the border city, but even young masters like Young Master Yan are starting to think about the future of Yandi.
“This is a good thing. The impact might not be obvious at first, but it’s like a spark. As long as a little is left in the heart, it will eventually ignite.”
Gu Changxiao nodded, “You want to use Yan Shiyi to influence the younger generation of Yandi? Why go to such great lengths instead of trying to influence the heads of the clans?”
Jinsui shook her head, “Wei Assistant Secretary advised me the same way back then, suggesting I try to befriend the gentry families of Yandi to benefit the development of the border city.”
“But I refused. Those old fogeys are far from the emperor’s reach in Yandi and are used to being domineering. If Li King were to show goodwill, they would only respond with the arrogant pride of the gentry.”
“Besides, those old men have one foot in the grave. They are unwilling to learn new things, nor will they accept change. They are short-sighted and stubborn. There’s no point in associating with them.”
“It’s better to attract young people and slowly influence and change their views. This will be more beneficial for the development of the borderlands.”
“Of course, this is just my humble opinion. The future development of the borderlands will still require you to make the decisions.”
Gu Changxiao said approvingly:
“Daoist Ji’s words are very true. Furthermore, from my observation, you haven’t deliberately tried to curry favor with the Yan Clan; rather, the Yan Clan has been attracted by the new things in the border city.”
“As long as we build the border city according to your vision, our border city will be more attractive than all sixteen prefectures of Great Xia.
By attracting talent, civilians, and young prodigies, the border city will become the gateway to Great Xia, and we will no longer have to fear Tartar incursions.”
Jinsui was happily anticipating Gu Changxiao’s agreement with her decision when she suddenly heard him abruptly change the subject:
“Daoist Ji, are you willing to stay forever and help me manage and develop the border city?”
Jinsui whispered, “Isn’t that inappropriate? When we switch back our identities, my staying would be detrimental to your management!”
With both the real and fake Li King present, how would the soldiers transition? It would be too awkward.
“Besides, I still need to hear the opinions of Grandpa and Jinsui.”
Grandpa had always wanted to return to his hometown, Jinsui was determined to vindicate Father Ling, and as for herself, her soul was still wandering, and she hadn’t found the meaning of her existence in this world.
She couldn’t agree to Gu Changxiao’s request immediately.
Another point of concern for her was that if she confessed about Father Ling to Gu Changxiao, would he know that Father Ling had a son and a daughter, not two sons, and thus suspect she was a woman?
In the current situation, Jinsui’s biggest worry was her secret of being a woman being exposed.
Gu Changxiao didn’t try to persuade her further but smiled:
“Daoist Ji will be coming over in a few days. I will handle the Imperial Commissioner, but there’s still no news about Huo Zi’an. Have the assassins been found?”
“Therefore, you absolutely cannot leave my sight these few days.”
Jinsui really couldn’t find a suitable reason to refuse, especially since her injuries still needed dressing, and there weren’t many rooms in the temporary camp.
If she didn’t share a room with Gu Changxiao, he would have to sleep under the eaves, and then she, the fake Li King, would truly be an usurper.
Jinsui confirmed with him once more, “As long as the trouble with the Imperial Commissioner Group’s assassins is resolved, we’ll switch back our identities?”
Gu Changxiao shook his head, “We’ll switch after the Imperial Court’s reward edict is issued.”
Jinsui didn’t hesitate. This concerned the future of the soldiers. Previously, she had only dared to promise rewards of gold and silver to Han Xing and others, never promotions.
She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her promises at the time. Now that she had finally earned a reward for the soldiers, if it were ruined because of the real and fake Li King issue, she would feel even more indebted to the soldiers.
In that case, she would endure!
Even if sharing a room with Gu Changxiao was inconvenient, she had to bear it.
