Chapter 224

Love Shenjing, West City, Xin Chun Street.

Early July, the scorching sun was like molten gold; it was the hottest time of the year in the Love Shenjing.

The scorching road surface was like it had been set on fire, and the shops on both sides of the street had sparse business, with few visitors; in such hot weather, it was normal for no one to visit.

But Xin Chun Street had one shop that was an exception, which was the Xiuniang Incense Shop, which had recently become quite famous in the market.

Not only was it not deserted because of the hot weather, but business was exceptionally prosperous.

In the two-room shop, there were figures of women in silk and satin, picking items on the shelves, laughing and whispering, looking very comfortable, not affected by the scorching heat outside the shop at all.

The most eye-catching thing in the shop was three white porcelain vats, half the height of a person, with crystal-clear ice cubes piled into small hills inside, emitting white, cold air.

These three vats of ice cubes eliminated the heat in the shop, making the entire Xiuniang Incense Shop cool and pleasant, very refreshing; no wonder the popularity of the incense shop was still so prosperous in the scorching summer.

These women lingering in the shop were not so much buying things as they were enjoying the unusual coolness in the shop during the scorching heat.

Jia Cong's idea of opening an ice shop to make money was eventually shelved by him for the time being.

Zhen'an Prefecture.

Suddenly seeing five or six yamen runners walking on the road surface reflected by the scorching sun, holding whistles, sticks, and chains, with unkind expressions, and heading towards the incense shop, he felt a shock in his heart.

He only transported the collected materials to a secret incense workshop outside the city, and every day the ice cubes made were transported to Xiuniang Incense Shop and the tea house female dormitory.

Although she was once a gentry's wife back then, she never thought that one day she would do merchant business.

The three vats of cold ice in Xiuniang Incense Shop cost no less than 10 taels of silver at market price; just placing them in the shop to cool down, they would be consumed in less than a day, which was truly a big deal.

……

At this moment, Feng Shi was busy introducing a new type of perfume in the shop to a new customer.

Recalling the hardships and bitterness of the previous ten years, she was satisfied to be able to live such a life now, and she was exceptionally attentive to the shop's business.

She became the manager of this incense shop, could calmly support herself, and could often be with her daughter.

In this scorching midsummer, the strange phenomena of these two shops had become a unique scenery of Xin Chun Street.

Judge Liu Binfang walked into the office of the Prefect Zhang Shou'an.

It was just that the scene of cold ice in the summer was not only in Xiuniang Incense Shop on Xin Chun Street; the tea house female dormitory on the street was also in this state, similarly prosperous in business and popularity.

The effect was still very good, raising the business of the two shops by a large margin.

These women in the shop were from wealthy families, many of whom had seen the world and knew that there were two shops in the Love Shenjing that sold winter ice, but the price was very expensive.

But for so many years, her husband had gone missing, her daughter had been abducted, and her biological father in her maiden home was so greedy and cold-blooded, making her taste all the bitterness of the world.

Feng Shi and a clerk named Liu Ping were busy in the shop; Feng Shi was busy greeting female guests, and Liu Ping was responsible for collecting money and bookkeeping.

……

Ever since Feng Shi was arranged by Jia Cong to work in the incense shop, she had now fully adapted to this kind of life.

I heard that my daughter was doing very well in the Jia mansion, Young Master Jia was very good to her, and the Old Lady in the mansion liked her, almost raising her as half a young lady.

It wasn't until she met Jia Cong, this teenager, who was her benefactor for life, not only helping her find her daughter who had been missing for many years, but also taking her and her daughter to escape her biological father's filthy schemes.

Liu Binfang was the confidant of Prefect Zhang Shou'an and also an official promoted by him, and the two had a close relationship.

Back then, when the slave witchcraft murder case occurred in Rongguo Prefecture, it was Liu Binfang who came to investigate, while Zhang Shou'an planned behind the scenes, avoiding harm and letting Zhen'an Prefecture avoid a entanglement.

For these years, the two had acted tacitly, managing Zhen'an Prefecture peacefully, and Zhang Shou'an had also gained many benefits in the position of Prefect.

It was just that the Ministry of Personnel's two-year major examination was imminent, and they were going to evaluate the main officials of various offices, deciding on promotions, retention, dismissal, and other destinations.

Everyone in Zhen'an Prefecture knew that Liu Binfang was Zhang Shou'an's person, and whether Zhang Shou'an could sit firmly in his official position was directly related to Liu Binfang's future.

For these years, the two had long had a tacit understanding; Liu Binfang was proficient in office affairs and very careful about various matters; if he found problems, he would take the initiative to discuss them with Prefect Zhang to avoid leaving excuses or loopholes in daily government affairs.

This was also Liu Binfang's way of being an official; the two were in a relationship of coexistence and mutual glory.

Today, he handled an arrest warrant and felt suspicious after checking, so he went to discuss it with Prefect Zhang, which was also a common occurrence in the past.

"My Lord, just now the head catcher Liu Erzhen took a warrant to Xin Chun Street, saying that the Xiuniang Incense Shop owed official silver."

"I have checked the official silver document vouchers for last month; in this half-year period, Xiuniang Incense Shop has paid official silver every month, with the amount ranging from 150 to 200 taels."

"It seems there is no arrears; if we rashly arrest people and put them in prison, will it not give people an excuse?"

Zhang Shou'an took a sip of the tea he had just brewed and said: "Binfang doesn't know; someone reported that Xiuniang Incense Shop has a monthly cash flow of 4,000 to 5,000 taels, and taking one out of ten as tax."

"A month is not just 100 or 200 taels of official silver; there is indeed a suspicion of owing and concealing official silver."

Liu Binfang was stunned after hearing this; that Xiuniang Incense Shop was not a large merchant firm, only two rooms wide.

For such shops to pay official silver, there had been a convention in the past, with 200 taels of official silver per month as the cap, although it was not stipulated by the government, it was a commonly used practice.

In fact, it was difficult for the government to accurately judge how much business each shop could do per month, and the amount of official silver paid by each shop was estimated by the government based on the market.

Setting a cap of 200 taels of official silver per month for small and medium-sized shops could prevent excessive exploitation of shops and also serve the purpose of long-term development.

Liu Binfang felt strange in his heart; the Prefect should know the rules for collecting official silver, why was he suddenly so harsh on this Xiuniang Incense Shop.

Zhang Shou'an saw Liu Binfang's expression and naturally knew that he had doubts in his heart.

"Someone also reported that Xiuniang Incense Shop stole someone else's family secret recipe for making incense, engaged in robbery, and sought huge profits, and the victim wanted them to return the secret recipe, confess, and compensate."

Liu Binfang showed a strange expression after hearing this; he was not an official in Zhen'an Prefecture for the first day, and as a judge responsible for criminal litigation, he was even less of a fool.

Reporting others for stealing a secret recipe and wanting them to hand over the secret recipe—who was the one engaging in robbery was already clear.

It must be that the incense shop's business and silver were extremely good, and it was coveted by powerful officials; such bullying and seizing things by the strong were common, and generally, it was powerful officials colluding with government offices to act, which was also common.

Liu Binfang sighed in his heart; Prefect Zhang had floated in the official sea for half his life and finally managed to get the position of Prefect of Zhen'an Prefecture; to sit firmly in his official position, he had always loved to make friends with famous and powerful families, so he was likely asked by someone else again.

Since he had guessed the bottom line, Liu Binfang didn't want to get involved; let Zhang Shou'an handle it himself; such things were always not very glorious, and he didn't want to get involved, and even if trouble arose, it wouldn't fall on his head.

So he changed the subject, said a few words about other affairs, and left Prefect Zhang's office.

Zhang Shou'an looked at Liu Binfang's departing figure and cursed the old fox in his heart.

He was born in a humble family and lacked the connections of a noble family, crawling to the position of Prefect of Zhen'an Prefecture in the Love Shenjing after half a lifetime of delay; what he relied on was not lowering his face to make friends with famous and powerful families.

In fact, he had done one or two such things in the past two years, cleaning up the beginning and end, and it had brought him many benefits.

That Xiuniang Incense Shop, he had also carefully investigated; the owner was a woman under twenty, without any foundation, and the manager in the shop was also an ordinary woman.

They didn't know where they learned a hand of incense-making skills and made the business so prosperous.

But they had no noble banners or powerful protection; how was this different from a child holding gold and passing through the market? No wonder they were coveted by others.

Right now, it was the Ministry of Personnel's two-year major examination; Zhang Shou'an was born in a humble family, and although he had deliberately made friends with powerful people in the past two years, he had no connections in the Ministry of Personnel.

And the person who asked him to handle this matter was a top-ranking noble of the Great Zhou, with abundant connections inside and outside the court, and even had a family friendship with the official of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Department.

He naturally would not let go of such an opportunity to make friends; if it weren't for the fact that he had met this person a few times, people wouldn't necessarily have asked him.

(End of chapter)