Upon seeing the word "Three," Xu Youde finally told Li Sheng to lead the person in.
The young man stood in the daylight, wearing a simple blue robe without any embroidered patterns, looking very plain. However, as he moved, the fabric faintly shimmered with a dark luster.
With his sharp eyes, Xu Youde immediately recognized that this was no ordinary fabric from the Jiangnan markets. It was the Autumn Water Shimmering Brocade, produced only once every three years by the Imperial Household Department's Weaving Bureau—priceless, unavailable to the public, and strictly reserved for imperial use.
On the table, the mutton-fat jade pendant lay quietly. A thread of blood-red ran through the jade, and in the center was carved an upright, sharply angled character for "Three."
Xu Youde slowly shifted his gaze from the jade pendant to the face of the man in the blue robe. He was in his early thirties with sharp facial features and a high nose bridge. His eyes held none of the hesitation expected of someone stepping into such a place for the first time; there was only a profound calmness.
He was none other than the current Third Prince, Xiao Jingyan.
Xu Youde's fat trembled slightly.
"Lord Xu, the stone floor of this Changping Marquis Manor has seen death. It is too hard, so spare yourself the kneeling."
Xiao Jingyan spoke at a measured pace. Without even sparing Xu Youde a second glance, he walked straight past the large yellow pear-wood desk in the center of the main hall and sat down in a horseshoe-back armchair on the left.
His movements were incredibly natural, as if this mansion were just another ordinary villa under his name.
Xu Youde's knees were bent halfway; he could neither kneel nor stand. He could only bow his back, rubbing the hem of his official uniform with both hands as he squeezed out his usual flattering smile. "This humble minister... this humble minister did not know Your Highness was arriving in disguise and failed to welcome you at the gates. It is my sin, my sin."
"Those who do not know are innocent." Xiao Jingyan adjusted his cuffs, his gaze casually lifting to sweep over Xu Qinghuan, who had been sitting motionless in the armchair on the right.
Xu Qinghuan was still holding the cold, coarse porcelain teacup. She neither stood up nor bowed. Their eyes met in mid-air for a brief moment before both looked away.
Xu Qinghuan had seen him long ago in Taoyuan County, Jiangning. At that time, he had hidden his identity and watched Taoyuan County transform from a poor backwater into a cornucopia that brought in gold every day.
Back then, she just thought he was an idle nobleman. Now, seeing this jade pendant, all the previous inconsistencies connected perfectly.
Xiao Jingyan was not the most outstanding figure in the royal court. He lacked the vast influence of the First Prince and the political savvy of the Second Prince.
Bearing the reputation of a mediocre scholar who loved exploring nature, he usually played an inconspicuous role in the Six Ministries.
An inconspicuous prince, braving the hostility of the entire court's civil and military officials, bringing imperial guards alone to knock on the door of a dying man.
This was the battle for the throne.
Xu Qinghuan rubbed the side of the bowl with her thumb, a chill piercing her skin from her fingertips.
She remembered that in the original novel, this Third Prince seemed very ordinary, right? He disappeared from the political struggles very early on. Was this a chain reaction caused by her transmigration?
Could he still be called mediocre? To send a visiting card at this exact moment, right when the Xu family was forced into a dead end—such precise timing meant there was likely someone backing him.
"Lord Xu, today in the Golden Throne Room, you accepted the seal of the Left Vice Minister of Revenue and received an imperial edict left blank by my imperial father." Xiao Jingyan leaned back slightly against his chair. "With such a monumental grace, Lord Xu probably still does not know how to repay it, right?"
Xu Youde swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Your Highness must be joking. Whether thunder or rain, all are the Emperor's grace. This humble minister... this humble minister will naturally do my utmost."
"Even doing your utmost won't produce three million taels." Xiao Jingyan was blunt, not bothering with a single pleasantry. "Shang Qitai made things difficult in public, and the deficit of the Nine Borders' military funds has been dumped on your head."
"Two months, three million taels of silver. If you can't produce it, your entire family will be beheaded. Lord Xu's 'utmost loyalty' will just be a sip of wine before death."
Xu Youde's face turned pale. He was inherently a merchant who feared death. Being so ruthlessly stripped of his pretense by the current prince, not a shred of his wishful thinking remained.
Xiao Jingyan did not look at Xu Youde's cold sweat. He extended his right hand and slowly drew something out from his wide sleeve.
Smack.
A very thick ledger was thrown onto the square sandalwood table between them.
"Your Highness, this is..." Xu Youde stared at the ledger, his eyelids twitching.
"The secret ledgers of six wealthy families in the capital and the Jiangnan region."
Xiao Jingyan's fingers did not leave the ledger. He tapped his fingertips twice on the blue cloth cover. "From the twentieth year of Xuanwu until now, the amount of concealed land properties, the income from smuggled salt and iron, the commissions from the Lianghuai waterways, plus the evaded commercial taxes. Not a single entry is missing; it's all here."
The tapping stopped.
Xiao Jingyan looked up at Xu Youde with sharp eyes. "According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, these crimes combined are indeed enough to confiscate their properties and exterminate their clans. But let's put that aside for now.
The ready silver and deeds hoarded in the storehouses of these six wealthy families amount to exactly three million taels."
The hall fell dead silent.
Three million taels.
Shang Qitai had dug a pit in the royal court, wanting to bury the entire Xu family in it. And now, the Third Prince, Xiao Jingyan, had directly pushed over a mountain of gold that could fill that pit.
Xu Youde's breathing suddenly grew heavy, his nose twitching. Those small eyes, which had navigated the sea of commerce for decades, were now locked onto that worn ledger, bloodshot.
"Your Highness..." Xu Youde's voice dropped as he took a half-step forward. "There is no free banquet in this world. I am a vulgar man, but I understand the principle of equivalent exchange. For Your Highness to bestow such a massive favor, what must I give in return?"
Xiao Jingyan smiled. The merchant's bluntness saved a lot of pleasantries.
"Lord Xu, take the blank imperial edict and this ledger, go confiscate the properties of those six families, and balance the Nine Borders' military funds within two months. This is doing work for the Emperor. Your life will be saved, and the entire Xu family will be saved." Xiao Jingyan slowed his speech. "What I want is the future."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the armrests.
"As the Left Vice Minister of Revenue, you assist in managing the allocation of money and grain for the Nine Borders. Half of the Great Qian Dynasty's treasury income passes through your hands."
Xiao Jingyan stared intently at Xu Youde. "I only ask that within your authority, whenever there are personnel appointments or disbursements of funds and grain, you provide convenience to my people.
Lord Xu will act as the Emperor's isolated loyal minister in the light, and in the dark, my estate will always leave a path open for the Xu family."
Financial power, personnel.
The two most important things on the path to seizing the throne.
The Emperor treated Xu Youde as a blade to extract the world's wealth, while civil officials like Xu Jie treated him as a bug they could crush at any time.
And Xiao Jingyan wanted to directly grasp the hilt of this blade. He was using the lives of those six wealthy families in exchange for a certain degree of control over the Ministry of Revenue in the future.
"Father," Xu Qinghuan suddenly spoke.
The lid of her cup scraped against the edge of the porcelain bowl, making a harsh sound.
"Look at the ledger before you agree," Xu Qinghuan said in a flat tone, without any fluctuation. "Don't buy fake goods."
Xiao Jingyan's gaze swept toward Xu Qinghuan. He was not annoyed; instead, he made a gesture of invitation, appearing very magnanimous.
Xu Youde seemed to have just woken up. He rushed to the table in a few strides.
Rustle.
The sound of pages turning.
Xu Youde lowered his head, reading ten lines at a glance. The merchant's abacus was already calculating in his mind.
When ordinary officials looked at this ledger, they saw amounts and categories. But what Xu Youde saw were the roots of the business world.
"The twenty-second year of Xuanwu, the third month. Huai'an water transport, six thousand Yin of tax-evaded smuggled salt. Deposited into the Jiangnan Delong Exchange, converted to one hundred and thirty thousand taels of silver..."
Xu Youde's finger traced the line of ink, his fingertip sliding down to the bottom right corner of the page.
There was an inconspicuous trace of red seal paste. It was only the size of a fingernail, shaped like a copper coin missing a corner.
This was the secret mark of an underground bank.
Flip.
Xu Youde turned back a dozen pages, his movements accelerating. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, splashing onto the front of his official uniform.
"The twenty-third year of Xuanwu, autumn. The Li family water fortress of Lake Tai, intercepted five hundred bolts of official silk, resold to maritime merchants. Dividend of twenty-four thousand taels, transit seal: Baishui Hall..."
His breathing grew increasingly rapid.
Those exchange names, secret codes, commission rates, and borrowing receipts from underground banks that would seem incomprehensible to outsiders were exceedingly clear in this ledger, as if Xu Youde had created them himself.
Even the anti-counterfeit pinhole marks of the Delong Exchange's cellar vault were printed plainly in the crevices of the ledger's pages.
Forgery could never replicate the deep-seated calculation in a merchant's bones. This was a genuine master ledger, evidence piled high with countless lives and secret plots.
Bam.
He slammed the ledger heavily onto the table. In the light seeping through the crack in the door, fine dust danced in the air.
Xu Youde let out a breath of stale air, his entire body drained, yet his eyes shone brightly.
He spun around to face Xiao Jingyan. This time, without a shred of hesitation, he dropped heavily to his knees on the blue bricks with a loud thud.
"Your Highness has given me a second life!" Xu Youde's forehead pressed against the floor tiles, his voice trembling with intense agitation. "I accept this deal! From this day forward, the Xu family in the Ministry of Revenue will be a pawn at Your Highness's absolute disposal! Wherever Your Highness points, I will charge!"
The dead end had been broken.
As long as he had this ironclad evidence, coupled with the blank imperial edict and the gold medallion bestowed by the Emperor, raiding homes, arresting culprits, and confiscating three million taels of silver would become a matter of course.
The two-month deadline was no longer a death sentence, but the very foundation upon which he, Xu Youde, would firmly establish his foothold in the capital.
Xiao Jingyan remained leaning against the back of his chair. He looked at Xu Youde kneeling on the ground, reached out to pick up the cold tea on the table, and took a sip. The tea was coarse and scratched his throat a little, but it went down smoothly.
"Lord Xu is a sensible man." Xiao Jingyan set down the teacup and stood up. "I will be at my manor, awaiting Lord Xu's good news."
He did not stay a moment longer. Shaking out the hem of his robe, he turned and walked out of the hall.
His footsteps gradually faded away, and Li Sheng locked the courtyard gate from the outside.
The front hall returned to silence.
