Chapter 1467

Just his relationship with Qingyang could add a lot of points. But He He Lingchuan's methods couldn't be too rough and simple; he couldn't just stuff the stolen goods into General Zhongwu's boxes, but had to make the Yao Nation suspicious of General Zhongwu, make General Zhongwu unable to defend himself, and yet not be able to link it to He He Lingchuan at all.

The point lies in three words: unreasonable.

Make General Zhongwu's behavior look unreasonable.

General Zhongwu left the inn before evening, claiming to chase thieves, but who saw it, who could testify? It was raining in the wilderness of Zhuo'an that night, and there were few pedestrians, so naturally, no one knew General Zhongwu's whereabouts.

Where did he actually go? Did he quietly go to Mang Prefecture and return before dawn?

The matter of General Zhongwu catching petty thieves and recovering the tribute was even more unreasonable.

If there really was a mastermind who stole the tribute to confuse the public, why bother framing these two petty thieves? Wouldn't it be better to just throw the stolen tribute into the wild?

Did General Zhongwu lose the tribute and couldn't afford it, so he thought of an excuse to get it back?

The more unclear suspicious points there were, the greater General Zhongwu's suspicion would be.

He really didn't have any good way to prove his innocence.

But this was not conclusive evidence; even if the officials were suspicious of him, they couldn't directly pin the crime on him.

This atmosphere of suspicion would make everyone involved very uncomfortable.

Just as He He Lingchuan was thinking, the carriage arrived at Maochun Tavern.

Walking outside the private room on the second floor, He He Lingchuan heard voices from inside: "... the national treasury is empty..."

He He Lingchuan's footsteps paused slightly.

Yes, the intelligence he obtained also mentioned that the Yao Nation's economy was very good, but the fiscal situation had been in deficit for these years.

"Tsk, which year is the national treasury not in deficit? Hasn't it been maintained like this? But I remember, grain harvests were clearly good the year before last."

"Spending more and earning less naturally leads to a deficit. Brother Gu, I heard that the tax on the goods we specialize in is going to be raised again. Business will be even harder to do later."

"In the next two years, the monarch will again advocate frugality by setting an example."

"It's easy to save on food and drink, but to maintain the normal operation of such a large country and support such a powerful army, how can the necessary money be saved? Don't you all agree?"

"Yes, yes, that's the logic..."

"I heard there's going to be another fundraising. Should we reach a consensus on how much to pay?"

"My family paid over three thousand taels the year before last."

"Hmm, reasonable!" Donations wouldn't happen only once or twice, so there was no need to go bankrupt every time.

Just as He He Lingchuan approached, the door opened. Yuwen Xu happened to be walking out, and when he saw him, he laughed: "You're late!"

"Brother Fan and I encountered palace people investigating a case before we left, so we had to—" He He Lingchuan mocked himself. "Forget it, I won't make excuses, I'll punish myself with a cup later."

The private room was full of people, twelve or thirteen of them.

Except for Gu Xuan, Yuwen Xu, and others, the rest were new faces, two of whom looked to be in their fifties.

As soon as he arrived, everyone stood up.

He He Lingchuan laughed at Gu Xuan: "Brother Gu, oh Brother Gu, I've finally seen you!"

Last time he went to the Gu family for a return visit, he was given the cold shoulder. Now that Gu Xuan came to Maochun Tavern to see him, was it because Regent Qingyang had calmed down, and the Gu family finally had the heart to return to socializing? Gu Xuan had seen all kinds of scenes, his face was already thick-skinned, so how could he be embarrassed? He just sighed and laughed: "My fault, no excuses, allow me to punish myself with a cup!"

After saying this, he grabbed a wine glass, filled it, and drank it in one gulp.

He resolved it easily, and He He Lingchuan naturally wouldn't dwell on it.

Next, Yuwen Xu and Gu Xuan introduced him to new friends.

The officials present today were quite a few, basically from the Yao Royal Court's Construction Office, the General Affairs Division, and the Tianshui City Market Division, and the lowest was a division official.

This was the Yao King's intention: to help He He Lingchuan solve procedural troubles when breaking ground at Youhu Lake.

In short, special handling for special matters.

Once the monarch gave the word, the subordinates knew that this Island Master He would be a favorite in the monarch's eyes in the near future, so how could they not cooperate well?

There were also several proper official merchants or heads of several guilds.

The commercial guilds in Tianshui City were relatively developed, with over a hundred guilds classified by category, having a say in industry entry and price control. He He Lingchuan wanted to build a house, which involved many trades, so he indeed needed to get familiar with them all to make things easier later.

The Yao King had thought very thoroughly for him.

Even Fan Shuang on the side was toasted several times, his face quickly turning red—it was unknown whether it was from the alcohol or excitement.

He He Lingchuan took advantage of the fact that the dishes hadn't been served yet and placed a stack of drawings on the table: "I want to build a Youhu Shanzhuang on the south bank of Youhu Lake. This is the drawing for the first phase, including the villa gate and twelve villas." He He Lingchuan laughed. "This set of drawings will also be sent to the General Affairs Division tomorrow; I'll let everyone take a look tonight first."

Everyone picked up the drawings and was shocked.

Every building was drawn with exceptional detail, even marking the key points and difficulties of construction; and the roads, bridges, clear springs, rockeries, and landscaping between the buildings were all explained one by one.

Such specific and detailed drawings, how could they be rushed out in a day or two?

The Yao King specially approved the south bank of Youhu Lake for He He Lingchuan only two days ago, but this kid had already prepared the full set of drawings, which meant what? It meant he had planned it before coming to the Yao capital and was very confident in taking the south bank of Youhu Lake! The officials present basically knew about the conflict between Regent Qingyang and the monarch. The Yao King suddenly opened the south bank of Youhu Lake for a foreign merchant to develop, and the reason was something everyone could guess. If they were He He Lingchuan, stuck in the middle of two major BOSSES and suffering, they would be trembling by now.

This was no easy task; one mistake and it would be off with their heads! But this guy was stubborn, actually thinking seriously, meticulously, and thoroughly about building this Youhu Shanzhuang!

Everyone looked at the drawings in their hands, their hearts filled with mixed feelings, and for a while, no one spoke.

When the waiter from Maochun Tavern served the dishes, what he saw was this scene: the distinguished guests present were not talking loudly, but were all looking down at the drawings, looking exceptionally focused.

Delicious dishes were served one by one. As the capital of spices, the dishes in Tianshui City were varied, and the red-braised small beef ribs on the table were tender and flavorful, showing complex craftsmanship. He He Lingchuan tasted at least several kinds of herbs including star anise, spicy pepper, and thyme; while the signature dish of Maochun Tavern was smoked sweet-skin duck, which looked plain at first glance, but actually added poppy shells during the production process, making people want to eat more after one bite.

The officials present looked at the drawings for a few moments and said they would review them in detail at the government office tomorrow, but Huang Naxuan from the Construction Office picked out a few drawings and flipped through them repeatedly, then asked He He Lingchuan:

"Island Master He, are these villas all detached houses?"

Not to mention anything else, every villa left a position for a guardian beast outside the gate. In Tianshui City, guardian beasts were usually placed outside the main gate of wealthy families, and at most a pair inside, not at the second or third gate.

The drawings He He Lingchuan gave were very detailed, even leaving the positions for the guardian beasts empty and adding labels.

"That's right, these are all detached houses." He He Lingchuan clapped his hands. "Official Huang has sharp eyes, seeing it right away."

Fortunately, an official saw it, otherwise he would have had to point it out himself.

So it wasn't built for him to live in? Gu Xuan was curious: "How are you going to build this?"

"Youhu Lake is a place of good feng shui, how could I enjoy it alone? I'm afraid of shortening my life." He He Lingchuan raised his wine glass to him, and the two drank in one gulp. "After these villas are built, they will be delivered to the buyers."

Yuwen Xu understood: "You want to sell?"

The Soul-Sucking Mirror in He He Lingchuan's arms hissed: "This kid, can he speak?"

"Yes, the scenery of Youhu Lake is magnificent, and living there is good for the body and mind. These villas are built to be shared with everyone." He He Lingchuan pointed to the drawings. "The layout and style of each villa here are different, and each one is a unique piece. Each house is separated by more than thirty zhang, surrounded by secluded forests and wooden fences, hearing sounds but not seeing people, protecting privacy to the greatest extent."

"This is just the first phase of twelve refined houses. Only if the effect presented is good and well-received can the second and third phases be launched, don't you think?"

"It depends on the location and area. The first row along the lake has the best view, so the price is higher, estimated at around thirty thousand taels; the back rows also have pavilions, terraces, and hot springs, with prices ranging from seventeen or eighteen thousand to twenty-five or twenty-six thousand taels."

Thirty thousand taels! Although those present were well-informed and the official merchants were also wealthy and noble, they were secretly stunned when they heard this number.

Thirty million coins, enough to buy a villa with a farm and produce in the suburbs, how big would that area be?

The villas at Youhu Lake, each occupying less than one-twentieth of the villa, dared to ask for this price? Gu Xuan coughed lightly: "Brother He is truly a big spender."

He spoke euphemistically, but everyone knew he meant it was really expensive, really damn expensive! "Buying a house depends on three keys." He He Lingchuan held up three fingers. "Location, location, and location!"

"The Flash Gold Plain is so big, you could buy a town in the Pei Nation for thirty thousand taels. Would you all do it?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Yuwen Xu laughed: "A place where birds don't lay eggs."

"And for this thirty thousand taels, it's only enough to buy a small building in the lower city of Lingxu City, where the distance from the front door to the back kitchen is just a step. Would you all do it?"

Yuwen Xu immediately said: "If it were in the main city, give me ten such houses."

They all returned from their studies in Lingxu City and knew deeply how outrageous the land and house prices were there. Even the houses on the floating islands were not something you could buy just because you had money.

Thirty thousand taels to get a small building in the center of Lingxu City? Hehe, you'd wake up laughing in your dreams.

"Distinguished officials, the size, layout, and orientation of a house are not the most important; the location is." He He Lingchuan pointed to the drawing. "These villas are built at Youhu Lake! The royal territory of the Great Yao, where no one has been able to add a brick or tile for two hundred years! Being able to live here is an endless honor in itself."