Chapter 200: The Merchant Hu Fei

Hu Fei was quite satisfied with his current state of flourishing success.

As a former street thug, being able to reach his present position in the capital was definitely something to be extremely proud of.

However, one person had played a crucial role in Hu Fei's rise to his current position—his elder sister. Hu Fei's sister had married the Duke of Ying, Zhang Weixian, as a concubine.

Originally, Hu Fei's family had been very poor, and his sister had only entered the Duke of Ying's mansion as a maidservant to earn a monthly wage. But who would have thought that the beautiful and diligent sister would catch the Duke of Ying's eye and be taken as a concubine, and so she rose to prominence overnight.

Riding on his sister's coattails, Hu Fei also rose to prominence overnight. Starting from small-time business dealings, over the past few years he had gained more and more favor in the Duke of Ying's eyes, and the businesses he controlled had grown larger and larger.

Facts proved that Hu Fei had a very sharp mind and natural talent for doing business. His business grew bigger and bigger, and his and his sister's status in the Duke of Ying's mansion rose higher and higher.

These were two mutually reinforcing matters, so Hu Fei was now quite pleased with himself.

Hu Fei was reviewing his account books when the gatekeeper came in and said in a low voice, "Master Hu, there's someone outside looking for you."

"Who is it?" Hu Fei asked casually.

"He didn't say. He only asked me to pass along a message—that someone is waiting at Qingfeng Tower, inviting Master Hu to come for drinks and to discuss a big business deal."

Hu Fei was startled. Qingfeng Tower?

"Alright, I understand." Hu Fei waved his hand and cheerfully went to the place the other party had reserved.

Judging by the venue, one could tell the other party was not short on funds.

Qingfeng Tower—it sounded like a very vulgar name, but no one dared to look down on it.

Because the background of the proprietor here was unusual; some said it was someone from the palace. Although it had never been confirmed, everyone spoke of it with absolute certainty.

Hu Fei had also heard some things about Qingfeng Tower, but he didn't know much. Because no one was willing to try investigating the background here, regardless of whether that background was real or fake.

Seeing Hu Fei walk in, the waiter quickly greeted him with a smile and said respectfully, "So it's Second Master Hu. Please, come in."

Glancing at the waiter who had greeted him, Hu Fei tossed him a piece of silver and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to recognize me. Consider this a tip. Since you know me, do you know what I'm here for?"

The waiter immediately tucked away the silver and said with a fawning smile, "Of course this one knows. Second Master, you're here to meet someone. That distinguished guest has already been waiting for you inside. Let me lead you over."

Hu Fei nodded with a smile and directly followed the waiter inside.

After walking in, Hu Fei noticed something was different.

The main hall, which should have been bustling and lively, was completely empty at this moment—so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Hu Fei looked at the waiter with some confusion and asked hesitantly, "How come there's no one here at all?"

"To answer Second Master, it's not that no one is here—it's that no one was allowed in today." The waiter said with admiration, "In order to meet with you, that distinguished guest has booked out the entire place today. So no one will disturb your conversation. Second Master, please rest assured."

Good heavens, how much silver must this have cost?

Hu Fei thought to himself in astonishment.

Although he had already known the other party was generous, he hadn't expected such an extravagant display.

Even though he had the Duke of Ying behind him and had made quite a bit of money himself, he truly couldn't have pulled off such extravagance.

This made Hu Fei all the more curious about the other party, but he wasn't worried in his heart. With the Duke of Ying backing him, there weren't many people in the capital who could touch him.

Soon, Hu Fei was led by the waiter to an exquisite small courtyard behind the main hall.

From the surroundings, one could tell that this place was not open to the public—meaning the person who wanted to meet him today was very likely someone behind the scenes at Qingfeng Tower.

Thinking of the rumors about Qingfeng Tower, Hu Fei's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Whenever anything got entangled with the imperial palace, there were no small matters.

His own background was considered formidable in the capital, after all, behind him stood the Duke of Ying. But if he truly came up against the palace, then things would become difficult to handle.

If he really became entangled with the palace in some way, even his backer might not be able to protect himself, let alone someone like Hu Fei who didn't even count as a proper relative by marriage.

Thinking of this, Hu Fei's expression turned grim. He didn't know how he had gotten himself entangled with the palace.

Walking into the courtyard, Hu Fei saw two young attendants standing on either side.

Clearly, his guess had been correct—the visitor was indeed from the palace, and the person hadn't even tried to hide their identity, directly wearing eunuch attire out in the open.

Upon seeing Hu Fei, one of the young eunuchs smiled and made a gesture of invitation, then turned and led the way ahead.

Hu Fei followed the young eunuch into a room, but the eunuch leading him didn't invite him to sit down. Instead, he led him around a screen, through a corridor, and to the rear courtyard.

Arriving at the rear courtyard, Hu Fei discovered that there was actually a sizable pond here. Someone was currently sitting by the pond, fishing.

It was a very young man. He sat in a rocking chair, with a table beside him set with tea, refreshments, fruit, and candied preserves. Standing next to him was an older eunuch.

Seeing this scene, Hu Fei felt his legs go weak.

Originally, he had thought the person wanting to see him was just a eunuch.

Even if it were a high-ranking eunuch from the palace, Hu Fei wouldn't have been so fearful. But that young man wasn't wearing eunuch attire—he was wearing a genuine set of light-colored scholar's robes.

Even so, Hu Fei wasn't foolish enough to actually believe the other party was a scholar.

With that, Hu Fei could roughly guess who the other party was.

To have a high-ranking eunuch from the palace standing in attendance beside him—the person's identity was practically shouting itself.

But Hu Fei still couldn't believe it. How could His Majesty have come out?

Chen Hong glanced at the trembling Hu Fei not far away, then lowered his head and said to Zhu Youxiao, "Your Majesty, the person has arrived."

Zhu Youxiao nodded lightly without putting down his fishing rod, and said casually, "Alright, have him come over."

Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Chen Hong walked over to Hu Fei and said with a smile, "Don't just stand there. Come over."

Hearing the high-ranking eunuch's words, Hu Fei still felt his legs were a bit weak, but he still cupped his hands toward the eunuch before stepping forward.

Brought before Zhu Youxiao by Chen Hong, without the slightest hesitation, Hu Fei dropped to his knees with a thud and hastily proclaimed loudly, "This humble commoner Hu Fei pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Hearing Hu Fei's declaration, Zhu Youxiao immediately laughed.

Come to think of it, after all this time since transmigrating, this was the first time he had heard the "long live" salutation—it really did feel like something from the movies and TV dramas of his previous life.

So Zhu Youxiao said with warm, gentle eyes and a smile, "Alright, rise."

After Hu Fei stood up from the ground, Zhu Youxiao looked him up and down and said with a smile, "You look decent enough. I just don't know what your abilities are. But that's fine—since Chen Hong says you're capable, there shouldn't be any problem."

"I ask you: are you willing to work for me?"

Was that even a question?

This was not a question at all. Because this question had one and only one answer—no other answer was possible, and no one dared to voice a different one.

Hu Fei, startled, immediately realized what was happening. His Majesty was going to employ him! And it must be a very important position at that!

In an extremely sincere tone, he declared loudly: "This is this humble one's honor! To serve Your Majesty, this humble one would exhaust every effort, brave fire and water, and never refuse!"

Seeing Hu Fei's tearfully grateful appearance, Zhu Youxiao smiled at once.

Originally he hadn't come looking for Hu Fei—he had merely slipped out of the palace to tour the capital of the Great Ming. This time he happened to run into him, so he met Hu Fei, and unexpectedly the man turned out to be rather interesting.

"No need for braving fire and water, and no need for you to die either." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.

Hu Fei naturally knew His Majesty would never have him die. Hearing the teasing tone in His Majesty's voice, he knew His Majesty was fairly satisfied with him.

"Do you know of the Imperial Household Department?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Hu Fei and asked with a smile.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble one knows." Hu Fei quickly said: "Everyone in the capital knows about it now. All the merchants are inquiring about this matter, all thinking of doing business with the Imperial Household Department."

"You see, the palace's expenditures and daily costs are very large. The money spent on annual purchases is considerable too, which means there's profit to be made. A merchant like this humble one naturally would swarm toward it." Hu Fei said this without the slightest hesitation, laying out everything he thought and everything he intended to do.

Looking at Hu Fei, Zhu Youxiao nodded and said with a smile: "It seems Chen Hong's judgment is quite good—you truly are capable. Go back and tell the Duke of Ying that I've borrowed you away; have him find someone else."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hu Fei quickly replied.

As for his relationship with the Duke of Ying, Hu Fei didn't think he could hide it from His Majesty, so there was nothing surprising about it. Clearly His Majesty had already investigated him thoroughly, inside and out.

"Alright, you may go back. I'll have Chen Hong contact you about what comes next." After saying this, Zhu Youxiao continued gazing at the water, focused on his fishing.

"This humble one takes his leave." Before departing, Hu Fei kowtowed three more times, then left.

After Hu Fei left, Zhu Youxiao glanced at Chen Hong and said mildly: "This man is now in your hands. If anything comes up, he'll go directly to you. Do well—don't disappoint me."

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. This servant will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty." Chen Hong quickly pledged.

Zhu Youxiao stood up, stretched, and said with a smile: "Didn't you mention a literary gathering before? Today is a good chance to go see it. Come to think of it, I still don't know what a literary gathering looks like."

"This servant will lead the way at once." Chen Hong quickly said.

As for His Majesty attending a literary gathering, Chen Hong had no objection—in fact, he was quite supportive.

Because he had been frightened by His Majesty earlier.

That His Majesty wanted to leave the palace—he wasn't surprised by that; rather, he had almost expected it.

But who could have imagined that the first place His Majesty wanted to go was actually a brothel?

In His Majesty's own words, going out of the palace without visiting a brothel would be a complete waste of the opportunity.

But how could Chen Hong dare to take His Majesty to a brothel?

News of His Majesty leaving the palace probably couldn't be concealed for long. If he truly brought His Majesty to a brothel, the consequences would be unthinkable.

The court even had regulations forbidding officials from patronizing prostitutes—let alone the Emperor?

When that time came, the civil officials would surely say that it was this Companion who had lured His Majesty astray, and he would be in deep trouble.

So going to a brothel was something Chen Hong would never dare do, but going to a literary gathering was no problem. That was a matter for scholars, a refined affair—if anyone found out, it would even be a good thing.

To this, Zhu Youxiao was noncommittal.

Of course he wanted to go see a brothel, and even wanted to visit the Qinhuai River in Nanjing. If he had the chance, he'd like to see the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai.

In his previous life, the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai were famous far and wide. Having transmigrated here, if he didn't go see them at least once, it would be a terrible waste!

But going to see the literary gathering first was fine too; he could find another opportunity later to see the Eight Beauties of Qinhuai.

Zhu Youxiao nodded with satisfaction as he thought.

Chen Hong assumed Zhu Youxiao was very pleased about the literary gathering.

If he knew what Zhu Youxiao was actually thinking right now, he would surely cry.