Chapter 279: Tiger Maidens

Watching the four leave, Chen Yan leaned back in his chair, as if he wanted to nap for a while.

Qing'er summoned two maids, who deftly cleared the remnants from the table.

After the table was tidied, Qing'er went behind Chen Yan and skillfully massaged the young master.

"Young master, you seem to place a lot of importance on these rich merchants?"

"Important?" Chen Yan said lightly. "I suppose so; these people are relatively clean, they have many channels, and if they cooperate, it will help my upcoming plans."

Qing'er pursed her lips. "Young master, there's something I'm not sure I should say."

"Speak!"

Qing'er: "......"

Chen Yan gave her a glance. "Still wondering whether to speak? If I don't let you speak, will you just stay silent?"

Seeing him close his eyes again, Qing'er glared at him resentfully, pursed her mouth, and said, "If you arrange for the younger generation of these merchants to become officials in the Xianlya, and it becomes known, it will surely attract gossip."

"After all, they are merchants; being summoned into the Xianlya as officials all at once is far from proper."

"Gossip?" Chen Yan said with disdain. "Improper?"

"Who dares to gossip about me?"

"The common folk? The other officials of the Xianlya? Or the ministers of the Court?"

"In this Weinan County, my rules are the rules!"

Qing'er fell silent instantly.

She knew in her heart that the young master had probably already decided, making her words redundant.

However, after a while, Chen Yan's lazy voice sounded.

"Besides, I'm just painting them a big cake; only they and you would believe I'll actually get them into the Xianlya as officials."

Qing'er: "......"

Well, the young master's heart is indeed dark!

The earlier politeness and toasting were all just to paint a big cake for those four rich merchants.

Yet the four merchants wore grateful, tearful faces, unaware that the cake was destined to be unattainable.

But after pondering, Qing'er felt something was off. "Young master, since you said arranging for their younger generation to enter the Xianlya as officials is just painting a big cake, why then speak of taking them to see the Crown Prince?"

"Given your previous temperament, you shouldn't paint such a huge cake."

"Eh?"

Chen Yan opened his eyes in surprise. "My little maid's mind finally opened; she actually knows how to think now."

"Young master!" Qing'er pressed forcefully, huffing.

What does it mean that her mind finally opened?

She was also smart before, right?

She even knows to go home on rainy days.

Chen Yan said with a smile, "Although your mind opened, you're wrong; regarding taking them to see the Crown Prince, I never painted that cake for them."

"But not now; I estimate it will be a long time."

"As for entering the Xianlya, that's certainly impossible, but getting them into officialdom is real."

"In short, it's not a complete cake‑painting."

"Entering the Xianlya is impossible, yet getting them into officialdom is true?"

Qing'er's little mind couldn't turn the gear for a moment.

Could it be that the young master wants to help them enter officialdom but doesn't want to involve Weinan County?

Or perhaps the young master has other intentions?

"Young master, I don't understand."

"You obviously don't understand." Chen Yan said leisurely. "The Xianlya of Weinan County indeed has many vacant positions, but those positions are real authority posts; how can they be given to a bunch of filthy‑rich merchants?"

"What I intend for them is only honorary titles, with no real purpose beyond that."

"If they perform well, I'll ask Brother Cheng Qian to assign them a few nominal posts. If they excel, they can at most approach His Majesty, request a few imperial edicts, and be granted a few honorary peerages."

"Either way, they'll have entered the bureaucratic system, obtained a rank, and thus shed the merchant identity."

"Oh?" Qing'er said thoughtfully. "So this counts as a half‑entry into officialdom? You seem reluctant to let them wield power."

"Stupid!" Chen Yan rebuked lightly. "Have you considered what would happen if a group of wealthy merchants also seized power?"

Qing'er thought for a moment and tentatively said, "They would form cliques and pursue personal interests?"

"That's just one consequence!" Chen Yan said softly. "Power easily corrupts the heart, and humans are inherently insatiable; once obtained, they'll crave more."

"If a group of wealthy merchants gains power, their burgeoning ambitions could lead them to raise private armies, forge factions, even threaten the throne."

"Even without doing those, they'll find ways to facilitate their own trades."

At this point, Chen Yan chuckled, "Look at me—since I started doing business, everything has cleared the way for me."

"Things that ordinary people would have to exhaust every means to obtain, I can get effortlessly by just sending a word without even appearing."

"From initially opening a tavern, a wine cellar, a tea shop, to now running workshops, building a library, mass‑producing books, don't you think it's been very smooth?"

"The day I decided, the next day all the procedures were completed, the foundation approved, and all the permits were in my hands."

"Don't you find this rather terrifying?"

"All the rules, all the procedures, all the obstacles were shattered instantly by power, so I never encountered any hindrance from start to finish."

"Hmm, I can't say it that way either," Chen Yan said, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps there were some obstacles, but I was completely unaware of them."

At his words, Qing'er's little mouth involuntarily opened, yet she said not a single word.

Only endless silence.

What an arrogant statement that is.

Perhaps I've run into an obstacle, but I have no clue at all?

So those barriers that ordinary people cannot surpass simply cannot reach Chen Yan here?

Qing'er for the first time deeply understood why, throughout history, so many people fought to the death over a throne, even to the point of brothers killing each other.

"Power!"

Qing'er sighed sincerely.

"Husband!"

At that moment, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Gao Yang entered, happily holding a small animal, and came to his side.

"I was out wandering today and ran into a few merchants from Tianzhu; they were selling some cute animals, so I bought two and brought them back."

"I call one 'little goose'; look, how cute it is."

Chen Yan was slightly startled, his gaze shifting to the animal that Gao Yang held in his arms.

At first glance, hmm, a white cat.

Indeed quite cute.

But on closer inspection, he felt something was off.

"What kind of animal is this?"

"A cat, haven't you seen one?" Gao Yang exclaimed in surprise.

"A cat?" Chen Yan looked at the cat that Gao Yang held, its innocent big eyes staring at him, his forehead veins bulging.

"Cat?"

"I, your cat, you old man, this damn thing is a tiger, you tiger bitch!"