noveltune Chapter 39 Process
Chapter 39 Process
A trip to Jiming Temple completely resolved the obsession that had been weighing on Fu Wanqing's mind.
Fu Zhong, who had returned to the Duke's mansion after finishing his shift, saw Fu Wanqing's state and suddenly felt a bit sore. Girls are indeed more outgoing!
"Hey! Big brother, why haven't you returned to the princess's residence yet? Be careful, your sister-in-law will punish you!" Fu Wanqing said jokingly when she saw Fu Zhong waiting in the courtyard.
"I was just thinking!" Fu Zhong pursed his lips, "What kind of magic does Li Jiujiang have? How could he cure your heartache in just one day?"
"Brother! What are you saying?" Fu Wanqing blushed slightly and rolled her eyes at Fu Zhong.
"Ha!" Fu Zhong chuckled, saying meaningfully, "Looks like being handsome really does make you popular!"
"I'm ignoring you!" Fu Wanqing stomped her foot, gave a coquettish shout, and strode towards the backyard.
As Fu Zhong watched Fu Wanqing's figure disappear around the corner of the corridor, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.
It's wonderful that my younger sister can get over her troubles!
However, the smile on Fu Zhong's face immediately froze when he thought about his sister marrying Li Jinglong.
After a long silence, Fu Zhong sighed. As long as his sister was happy, that was all that mattered. If Li Jinglong dared to wrong his sister, he would definitely go and beat him up.
When Li Jinglong returned to his residence, he was summoned by Madam Bi. Ever since the imperial decree of marriage bestowed by Emperor Zhu was issued, Madam Bi, as Li Jinglong's mother, had also taken action.
Since it was an imperial decree from Zhu, the marriage negotiation process could be skipped. However, the remaining steps of betrothal, name inquiry, auspicious date selection, gift presentation, setting the wedding date, and the wedding ceremony were not to be taken lightly by the Bi family.
After all, the woman's family was a well-known noble family in the entire Ming Dynasty, and as a Duke, Li Jinglong could not afford to be negligent in the procedures.
However, with Bi Shi taking care of things, Li Jinglong was happy to have some free time. Next, he just had to follow the procedures step by step.
As the days passed, Nanjing finally witnessed a major event: Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin was summoned back to the capital.
Li Jinglong has become the focus of discussion among the nobles lately!
First, he arranged a marriage with the Duke of Ying's family. Then, after the Northern Tour, he impeached Zhu Shuang, who was directly reprimanded by the Crown Prince and recalled to the capital.
In both matters, Li Jinglong was undoubtedly the main protagonist.
As soon as Zhu Shuang arrived in Nanjing, he was immediately confined to the Prince of Qin's residence by his father, Zhu Yuanzhang.
This signal took many people who were paying attention to the Prince of Qin very seriously. Whether it was civil officials, nobles, or princes in their fiefdoms, no one expected that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who had always been lenient towards the princes, would actually target the Prince of Qin, Zhu Shuang, this time.
"Ha! He's just committed many unrighteous acts. In my opinion, His Majesty's punishment is yet to come!" Li Jinglong said disdainfully after hearing this.
If Zhu Shuang hadn't been a prince, the things he did in his fiefdom and on his way home would have been enough to have Zhu Shuang beheaded dozens of times over if it were anyone else!
"My lord, the Prince of Qin will hold a grudge against you from now on!" Li Yuan said with a face full of worry.
Li Jinglong, however, didn't care at all. He smiled and comforted them, "Although our Duke's Mansion and the Prince's Mansion both belong to the imperial clan, it's not a good thing if they really have close ties. Let's just have our grudges! Maybe it's even a good thing!"
"My lord, it seems that our caravan will have to avoid Xi'an from now on!" Li Yuan said with a wry smile.
If they offended Zhu Shuang, the latter might very well target the merchant caravan of the Duke of Cao's mansion.
"Let it stop in Xi'an! Even if it continues, they'll inevitably be skinned alive by the King of Qin. It's not worth it for that little bit of profit!" Li Jinglong shook his head, then, remembering it was the end of the month, asked, "By the way, have the profits for Heaven on Earth for this month come out yet?"
When the profits from Heaven on Earth were mentioned, a smile immediately appeared on Li Yuan's face, and several more wrinkles appeared on his face.
"My lord, we just took over the accounts yesterday. Li Tong said that this month's performance is even better than last month's, with a net profit of 40,000 strings of cash."
"So many?" Li Jinglong was shocked when he heard the number.
He had simply transplanted the business and bathhouse practices from later generations, and he never expected the profits to be so high. If he were to include the "massage" services, the profits would probably double.
However, that's what Li Jinglong thought. If he actually got his hands on it, he probably wouldn't be able to get past his own conscience.
"My lord, Li Tong said there will probably be even more this month!" Li Yuan said, rubbing his fingers together. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "My lord, however, Li Tong reported yesterday that there aren't enough maids this month. He's planning to go to the brothel to bribe some people. What do you think?"
"The Imperial Music Bureau?" Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong immediately frowned.
Li Jinglong was naturally very familiar with the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) that Li Tong mentioned.
The Jiaofangsi of today is not the official brothel that people imagine in later generations; the latter was merely a part under the management of the Jiaofangsi.
In addition to the courtesans well-known to later generations, the Jiaofangsi was also responsible for the rituals and music of the palace, and also managed the music households throughout the country, namely the families of disgraced officials.
As for what Li Tong said, it was nothing more than going to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) to redeem the families of criminals who knew about etiquette and music. After all, the families who could be confiscated by the Jiaofangsi were generally officials and wealthy families.
However, Li Jinglong has always avoided using women from the Ming Dynasty as maids in the club, since he feels no guilt at all when using women from foreign countries.
"Just have Li Tong send someone to Liaodong to buy it!" Li Jinglong said.
Upon hearing Li Jinglong's words, a hint of hesitation flashed across Li Yuan's face. He said with difficulty, "My lord, according to Li Tong, none of the maids in the brothel are local, except for foreign women. Some customers often ask about them, so Li Tong thought of buying some from the brothel. After all, those women are essentially rootless!"
After much deliberation, Li Jing decided to buy some. Firstly, these women were destined for a bad life after being confined to the brothels, and his side would be better off than the brothels, no matter what. Secondly, the young ladies from wealthy families were generally better than the foreign women in terms of etiquette, music, and appearance.
Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then let Li Tong go and buy some, but be careful not to buy from the families of criminals who are heavily involved!"
"Understood, Your Highness!"
Seeing Li Yuan's figure disappear through the study door, Li Jinglong couldn't help but smile bitterly, realizing that he had ultimately felt some pity for him!
However, before Li Jinglong's wedding preparations were even complete, an imperial edict from Zhu Yuanzhang abruptly halted the process.
"Your subject, Li Jinglong, obeys the imperial decree!"
Li Jinglong respectfully accepted the imperial edict from the eunuch's hands. After watching the eunuch leave, Li Zengzhi, who was standing to the side, could no longer hold back: "Brother, what exactly do you think His Majesty means by this?"