Chapter 1469: How do you intend to respond?

The mirror hummed: "Qingyang's reaction is very fast."

He Lingchuan had been working non-stop recently, running to government offices to speed up progress the moment he got the Yao King's permission, all to secure the procedures before Qingyang received the news and reacted.

However, Qingyang was truly no pushover; less than a day after the Yao King nodded to approve the land, she had He Yang go to the Office of Works to cause trouble for He Lingchuan.

She certainly knew that He Lingchuan breaking ground at Youhu was aimed directly at her.

As for why the Office of Works dared to risk universal condemnation and defy the Yao King's intent to choke He Lingchuan?

There were mostly some complicated tricks involved.

The mirror sighed: "I thought with the Yao King's special approval, this matter would proceed at lightning speed."

Wasn't it the case that once the Yao King gave an order, the officials below would all follow it?

"The Yao King can't just do whatever he wants on his own turf. The officials below have plenty of reasons and methods to prevaricate." The Yao State's bureaucratic system was already two hundred years old and had its own will. "From this, one can also see how meticulously Beijia has infiltrated the Yao State. Qingyang can even stick her hand into an Office of Works."

When Yuwen Xu arrived, He Lingchuan was examining the revised blueprints; seeing him, he immediately offered tea and a seat.

He not only knew that the approval for Youhu Villa was stuck, but he also knew the reason—

"The Office of Works reported that the Youhu Villa plan submitted by Island Master He failed in many places, and they claimed in court that since Youhu Villa is being built on old royal land, the approval must be meticulous, construction must be cautious, and supervision must be strict, so as not to diminish the royal dignity or damage the capital's feng shui."

As soon as He Lingchuan heard the words "in court," he knew the Yao King's opening move had been countered by the opponent: "What did the Sovereign say?"

"The Sovereign only said, then urge him to revise as soon as possible." The words brought out by the Office of Works were all high-sounding principles on the surface. What else could the Yao King say in front of all the officials? He Lingchuan gave a bitter smile.

Yuwen Xu coughed lightly: "Let me give you the inside scoop: the head of the Office of Works, Liang Xiaohao, has a father who is the chief priest of the Miaozhan Heavenly God Temple in Tianshui City."

There was no need to spell it out; He Lingchuan understood.

"No wonder." No wonder Liang Xiaohao dared to feign compliance while acting in opposition; other departments were cooperating with Youhu Villa, and only he found "justifiable reasons" to obstruct the progress. It turned out his background was too solid.

The Yao State believed in Miaozhan Heaven, and the status of the chief priest in Tianshui City was like that of the Douyun Chief in the Heavenly Palace to Lingxu City. The person closest to the gods, the one who could best listen to divine oracles, naturally held the highest status.

With gods above and public sentiment below, the Yao King was naturally very respectful to this chief priest.

He Lingchuan didn't want to ask how Liang Xiaohao became the head of the Office of Works, but the approval for Youhu Villa was stuck; how should this be solved? The Soul-Capturing Mirror in his bosom was fuming: "I knew it, Qingyang wouldn't sit idly by."

He Lingchuan curled his lips, remaining silent.

He came to pick a fight; could Qingyang let him? As an old hand in officialdom, her reaction was bound to be fast.

However, Yuwen Xu immediately added: "But the Sovereign also appointed Lord You Rongzhi on the spot as the construction supervisor for Youhu Villa."

He Lingchuan knew who You Rongzhi was, but he still had to ask: "This Lord You is...?"

"He will not make things difficult for Island Master He."

He Lingchuan let out a heavy breath: "That's good, that's good!"

The Yao King finally reacted this time, using You Rongzhi to occupy the spot and block the mouth of the on-site supervisor first. Otherwise, if Qingyang inserted her own people, they wouldn't be here to supervise, but to pick a fight.

If the Yao King were a "pig teammate," it would be too difficult for He Lingchuan to deal with Qingyang alone.

He came to the Yao capital to stir up trouble, and he had to rely on the Yao King's power. Fortunately, his prediction wasn't too far off; the Yao King had sat firmly on the throne for over twenty years and was himself a monarch with means and calculations, completely different from the King of Yuan or the King of Bo he had met.

He Lingchuan thanked Yuwen Xu again: "Thanks to Brother Yuwen for the introduction, otherwise the sale of Youhu Villa villas would have been too rushed to spread the word."

He was a newcomer; how many connections could he have? As soon as Yuwen Xu returned from drinking at Maochun Pavilion, he ordered people to spread the news.

Any gossip involving the Yao King and Youhu spread quickly even without legs.

It had only been two days; the public was still unaware, and He Lingchuan only wanted to promote it among the top-tier nobility in the Yao capital. As for the majority of nobles who didn't have time to know, it didn't matter; they would definitely know later.

Yuwen Xu laughed: "After Gu Xuan left Maochun Pavilion, he went to keep an appointment at South Lake, where there are more dashing scholars. Your Youhu Villa villas aroused the interest of quite a few people on the spot."

Gu Xuan had once given He Lingchuan the cold shoulder; this was just a small compensation.

"Brother He, how will your Youhu plan proceed now?"

He Lingchuan casually took out a few approval documents: "While waiting for the approval, let's do this first."

The Office of Works couldn't obstruct Yangshan everywhere; it would look too ugly. Although those in the know understood what was going on, surface appearances still had to be maintained. So, He Lingchuan searched around and found that there were still some parts of his Youhu Villa that could start construction, such as the villa's main gate and some roads and landscaping.

These had all been approved, which was the result of the efforts of Huang Naxuan and others.

Yuwen Xu picked them up and looked: "Start with the main gate and roads?"

"Yes." He Lingchuan sighed: "Since the Office of Works won't approve, I'll start with what I can do; I can't just wait idly. I'll have to hold a grand groundbreaking ceremony, and I'll have to trouble Brother Yuwen to find me an audience to show support."

"I'll lend you my family's opera troupe." Yuwen Xu nodded. "If you need anything else, just tell me."

"Carriages, horses, tools, and construction teams are already in the works." These were too easy to find in the economically developed Tianshui City; if one owner wouldn't do it, he'd find another. He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "Building materials, there's no lead yet."

Just as Yuwen Xu was about to speak, Fan Shuang strode in from outside, excitedly saying:

"The Chibao auction is about to start!"

He knew He Lingchuan had also submitted a villa for auction tonight, so he was anxious to grab a front-row seat.

"Brother Yuwen, together?"

Yuwen Xu laughed: "How could I miss such excitement?"

Taking the opportunity to go relieve himself before leaving, the Soul-Capturing Mirror asked He Lingchuan: "Hey, Qingyang had the Office of Works choke you; how do you intend to respond?"

"As a foreign merchant, what can I do to the Office of Works?" He Lingchuan was also thinking about this problem. "I still need the Yao King to step in and solve it."

"He's already chickened out, letting the Office of Works urge you to revise." The mirror was indignant. "Old useless thing! Can't even settle such a small matter."

"The Yao King is, after all, the highest authority in this country, and having been on the throne for decades, his regime is relatively stable." He Lingchuan said calmly. "It's impossible for him not to be able to settle this; it just depends on whether he wants to."

For the sake of a mere He Lingchuan and a small project like Youhu Villa, the Yao King wouldn't bother to fall out with the temple.

The most important work and the biggest difficulty for those in power is weighing the pros and cons.

No matter how reasonable the words of capable ministers and fierce generals are, they can only be suggestions; the decision must be made by the ruler himself, and he must bear the consequences.

The mirror said "Oh": "You say it like that, so you have a way? How can you make the Yao King deal with the Office of Works?"

"Let the Yao King see tangible benefits." He Lingchuan's eyes shone with brilliance. "I must make him realize that building Youhu Villa has immense benefits for him!"

"I must hand the weight to the Yao King and let the scale tilt to our side." He washed his hands and walked out. "It starts tonight."

Chibao was a place name over a hundred years ago; after Tianshui City swallowed it, it condensed it into a ward.

The Chibao Auction House stood at the largest and most conspicuous crossroads, with an enormous sign, but it only had eight doors. Today, the crowd was endless, and the carriages of dignitaries arrived one after another.

The three of them had long since left their carriage and were walking. Just as they arrived at the entrance of the auction, they saw a large sign erected there, which read:

"First villa on the south bank of Youhu up for auction!"

The second line was in slightly smaller font: "Enjoy the lake view, the first official residence in Youhu in 175 years!"

Black characters on a white background, and bolded; He Lingchuan felt awkward as soon as he saw it.

Truly... inauspicious! But the sign was placed in a particularly conspicuous position, and the first thing passersby would see was definitely it.

In the few moments He Lingchuan stood there, passersby would glance at it, and some would even stop to finish reading the small print on the sign.

Yuwen Xu pointed at the sign: "The day Brother He submitted the Youhu villa for auction, Chibao Auction House wrote this sign and hung it up."

He Lingchuan thanked him: "Brother Yuwen, you've put in the effort."

"No, no, it has nothing to do with me. Once Chibao gets an exceptionally precious and eye-catching auction item, they naturally spread the word." Yuwen Xu laughed. "In Tianshui City, they have their own channels for information circulation, which is even more effective than us spreading it ourselves."

Chibao's business was huge, and they maintained good relationships with dignitaries from all walks of life. Just like Fang Canran, who used to lurk in Lingxu City to gather intelligence, he managed the Dunyuan Auction House for the Jinjiao family, and from then on, he had many connections and wide paths, and was well-received by all kinds of people.

The three of them walked inside.

There were many guests, and the path was crowded; sometimes they had to turn sideways to pass.

Fan Shuang wondered: "I've been here several times before; how come there are so many people for a small auction?"

Chibao auctions were divided into large and small; large auctions were carefully prepared in advance, mostly with grand finale treasures, so more people came; small auctions were very routine, sometimes with only four or five people sitting in the side hall, empty and desolate, two of whom were just there to drink a cup of warm water.

But now, the hall that could hold three or four hundred people was almost full, with only the VIP seats in the front row half empty. The seats were gone, the space in the hall was also filled, and even the corridors outside were full of people.

Yuwen Xu had VIP treatment and dragged He Lingchuan to the front row to sit, greeting many people along the way.

With so many nobles coming, this was a good place for noble social interaction.

"In my opinion, ninety-nine percent of them are here for the Youhu Essence Abode," Fan Shuang said to He Lingchuan. "Even if they don't do anything else, watching the excitement is good enough."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1470 =====