Behind the black lacquered long desk, the fat official, who had been slumping in his seat, opened his mouth slightly. The coarse porcelain teacup in his hand hovered in mid-air, forgotten.
The room was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
Li Sheng ignored these gazes and strode to the front of the long desk.
He pulled out the document granting the authority to coordinate mutual trade from his sleeve, flipped his hand over, and pressed it down.
Smack!
With a crisp sound, the document was slammed heavily onto the black lacquered table, shaking the pen rack on the desk.
"Imperial Envoy of the Ministry of Revenue, Lady Xu, Princess Ci'an, by Imperial Decree, oversees the defense of the Northern Frontier and concurrently manages mutual trade affairs."
Li Sheng's voice was gravelly. After announcing the title, he took a step back and turned sideways to make way for the main entrance.
Xu Qinghuan stepped over the threshold, her pace unhurried.
Qian Fugui's hand trembled, and the teacup struck the edge of the long desk. Half of the scalding tea spilled out, splashing onto the back of his hand. Ignoring the pain, he hurriedly stood up, his short, thick legs bypassing the desk, and scurried to the document in three steps.
Two fat fingers pinched the edge of the official document, his eyes wide open.
The seal of the Commander-in-Chief, bright red.
Moving his gaze further down, the signature clearly read three large characters—Tie Lanshan.
Qian Fugui's lips trembled uncontrollably, and his mind raced in an instant: Tie Lanshan had shown his hand, the Imperial Envoy had seized power, and the sky in Zhenbei City had truly changed!
He looked up at Xu Qinghuan, then down at the document, and up again. This time, the look in his eyes completely changed.
With a "thud," Qian Fugui's knees hit the ground, not even bothering to adjust his crooked seventh-rank official hat.
"Lower official Qian Fugui, Supervisor of the Zhenbei City Border Market, pays respects to the Imperial Envoy!"
The shopkeepers in the three chairs on the left exchanged glances.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Chen Jiuzhou, the fat shopkeeper in the floral cotton robe, reacted the fastest. Pushing his chair back, he was the first to kneel, followed closely by the lean and dark Shen Half-City.
The last one, the young Zhao Defa, fumbled for the hard object at his waist. After weighing the pros and cons, he finally let go and obediently dropped to his knees.
"Commoners pay respects to the Imperial Envoy!"
Xu Qinghuan swept a glance over the four people kneeling on the ground.
She didn't say "dispense with formalities."
With a slight movement of her skirt, she walked straight past the kneeling Qian Fugui, went behind the long desk, and sat down in the main seat that originally belonged to the supervising official.
The tea stains on the desk hadn't been wiped away. Xu Qinghuan frowned, extended two fingers, and pushed the teacup aside in disgust.
Qian Fugui's forehead touched the floor tiles. Hearing the movement, he didn't even lift his head, but his hands trembled as he felt around on the ground, grabbed the crooked teapot, and poured a fresh cup of hot tea.
Then, he shuffled forward on his knees and held the teacup high above his head.
"My Lady, please have some tea."
Xu Qinghuan didn't take it.
Her gaze bypassed Qian Fugui and fell on the three people kneeling on the left.
"And you three are?"
Chen Jiuzhou, having mingled in the business world all year round, was best at reading people's expressions. Hearing the Imperial Envoy's flat tone, he thought there was room for conversation and immediately switched to the ingratiating voice typical of a merchant.
"In reply to My Lady, this lowly one is Chen Jiuzhou, shopkeeper of the Demao Firm, dealing in the fur trade."
The lean Shen Half-City quickly chimed in, "Commoner Shen Half-City, shopkeeper of the Wantong Trading Company, specializing in medicinal herbs."
Zhao Defa spoke last, "Commoner Zhao Defa, shopkeeper of the Jufeng Manor, dealing in the livestock trade."
Three businesses.
Xu Qinghuan bent her index finger and tapped it lightly on the long desk.
"What big business were you three just discussing here with Supervisor Qian?"
Chen Jiuzhou rolled his eyes and stole a glance at the two people on either side of him. He calculated in his heart that the Imperial Envoy, being new here, just wanted to line her pockets.
As long as he reported a large sum to show his strength, this powerful outsider would have to give some face to the local bosses.
"In reply to My Lady, we commoners were discussing a large transaction of furs and medicinal herbs with Supervisor Qian. The amount is rather large, and we were waiting for the Supervisor's Office to stamp the tally document so we can be cleared to leave the pass."
"How large an amount?"
Chen Jiuzhou licked his dry lips, a hint of smugness in his tone.
"Eight hundred bolts of fur, three thousand catties of medicinal herbs, and two hundred head of livestock. Converted... about six thousand strings of silver."
Six thousand strings of cash was an astronomical sum in this impoverished Northern Frontier, enough to crush someone to death. Chen Jiuzhou waited to see a look of astonishment on the young Imperial Envoy's face.
Xu Qinghuan just nodded slightly after hearing this.
"Big business."
A hint of a smile had just appeared on Chen Jiuzhou's face.
"That's enough. You three may go back first."
Xu Qinghuan's voice was devoid of emotion, directly shattering his fantasy, freezing the smile on his face.
He stood frozen on the spot, stealing a glance at Qian Fugui from the corner of his eye, hoping this supervising official would give a hint.
But Qian Fugui's head was buried even lower, giving no signal whatsoever.
"My Lady, about the tally document..." Chen Jiuzhou tentatively asked half a sentence.
"We will discuss it another day."
Xu Qinghuan's tone was not heavy, but after those words fell, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped a few degrees.
Chen Jiuzhou didn't dare to say another word.
The three of them didn't dare to say another word. Scrambling to their feet, they bowed their heads and backed out the door.
At the moment of stepping over the threshold, Chen Jiuzhou boldly turned his head and shot a quick glance at Xu Qinghuan.
Xu Qinghuan acted as if she hadn't seen it.
The door was closed from the outside by Li Sheng.
The room was completely quiet.
Qian Fugui was still kneeling, his knees starting to go numb. He rubbed his hands and tentatively lifted half his head.
"Stand up and speak."
Qian Fugui felt as if he had been granted amnesty. He pushed himself up from the ground, his legs a bit weak, and steadied himself by holding onto the edge of the long desk.
"Supervisor Qian." Xu Qinghuan leaned back in her chair, her hands folded on the table. "This official won't beat around the bush on this trip. Zhenbei City hasn't paid its troops for half a year, you know this."
Qian Fugui wore a bitter expression and nodded repeatedly.
"This official wants to use this border market to do a trade. To exchange for grain, livestock, anything that can feed the soldiers."
Hearing this, Qian Fugui's bitter face directly turned into a mournful one.
"My Lady, this..." He rubbed his hands anxiously, sweat dripping down his fat face. "This lower official makes bold to speak from the bottom of his heart. You hold the authority to coordinate mutual trade, so you do have the power of dispatch. But—"
He stretched out his fat hand and counted on his fingers.
"Those barbarians on the grassland are stubborn when doing business. They want three things the most: first is salt, second is iron, third is tea."
"Especially that brick tea. The grassland nobles feel uncomfortable all over if they don't drink it for a day. Over there, tea bricks are harder currency than real gold and silver!"
Whenever he talked about the ins and outs of border trade, Qian Fugui's speech rate noticeably sped up. This was his livelihood.
"But these three items are all strictly controlled monopoly goods under the laws of the Great Qian! Salt belongs to the Salt Distribution Commission, iron belongs to the Directorate of Armaments of the Ministry of Works, and tea belongs to the Tea and Horse Agency."
"Whichever one you want to transfer out, it has to be reported level by level. Without three to five months of official correspondence going back and forth, you won't be able to get even an ounce of tea dust out!"
He helplessly spread his hands.
"My Lady, even if you smash the Commander-in-Chief's seal, it's useless. The people from the Salt Distribution Commission and the Tea and Horse Agency don't answer to General Tie at all."
"If you want to use these three items to exchange for grain, I am willing to run my legs off to get it done for you. But even the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice!"
Xu Qinghuan listened quietly as he poured out his grievances, not rushing to speak.
Seeing the imperial envoy remain silent, Qian Fugui thought she was troubled by the situation and quickly added a few more realistic obstacles.
"Taking a ten thousand steps back, even if you really gathered enough salt, iron, and tea, this kind of large-scale transaction requires slowly wearing down the major tribes on the steppe. Just finding a buyer willing to part with their grain would take at least ten days to half a month. After all, our border market here in Zhenbei City cannot compare to the prosperity of Zhangjiakou and Datong..."
He let out a long sigh, looking exactly like a miserable shopkeeper who had just been handed a hot potato.
After saying this, Qian Fugui suddenly paused.
His gaze drifted over the long desk and out the half-open window lattice.
On the alkaline soil toward the south gate, the thirty large carts Xu Qinghuan had brought were parked quietly. The mules and horses pulling them flicked their tails restlessly under the scorching sun, while dozens of heavily armored guards rested their hands on their sword hilts, protecting the convoy like an iron barrel.
Qian Fugui's nostrils twitched slightly.
Having mingled in this border market for over a decade, he could name seventy to eighty percent of the goods that passed through these gates with his eyes closed.
Tea leaves had their astringent scent; newly pressed brick tea emitted a unique roasted fragrance that could be smelled from ten paces away.
Salt had its weight; a cart of coarse salt weighed at least three thousand catties, leaving ruts deep enough to swallow a person's instep.
Iron went without saying; the sound of the axles bearing the load was completely different.
But these thirty carts...
Qian Fugui walked to the window and narrowed his eyes, carefully examining the tracks left by the wheels on the alkaline ground.
Something was wrong.
The wheel ruts were too shallow. They were significantly shallower than those of heavy carts loaded with salt and iron, yet judging by the sweat on the mules and horses, they were definitely not empty either.
He sniffed again.
He took another hard sniff.
Aside from the smell of horse manure and yellow sand, there was absolutely no scent of tea in the air.
"My lady," Qian Fugui turned around, his expression shifting from distress to confusion.
"What you have loaded in those thirty large carts is not salt, iron, or tea!"
Looking at his demeanor, the corners of Xu Qinghuan's mouth twitched slightly.
"It seems Superintendent Qian's eyes are not completely blind after all."
Being jabbed by the imperial envoy like this, Qian Fugui was not angered; instead, he grew even more nervous. He wrung his hands together, his voice trembling slightly.
"Then... my lady, what do you intend to use to trade with the steppe people?"
She raised her eyes and looked at Qian Fugui.
"Salt, iron, and tea?"
"I have no interest in such slow, worthless junk."
Qian Fugui's mouth fell open again, and this time, he could not close it at all.
It simply would not close.
Having spent over a dozen years at the border market, he had seen fabulously wealthy silk merchants from Jiangnan, bloodthirsty horse traders from beyond the Great Wall, and even deep-set-eyed, high-nosed foreign merchants from the Western Regions.
Every single person who stepped over this threshold muttered about and fixed their eyes entirely on salt, iron, and tea.
Because the steppe people only recognized these three items. For two hundred years, the border trade rules of the Great Qian Dynasty had never changed.
Yet the young female imperial envoy from the capital sitting boldly in his chair had just casually dismissed the lifeblood of border trade for the past two centuries—salt, iron, and tea—as worthless junk.
Qian Fugui swallowed hard.
He suddenly felt that the bit of worldly experience he had accumulated over a decade at the border market might truly be inadequate in front of this woman.
"My lady..." Qian Fugui's voice was dry.
"Just what exactly is loaded in your thirty carts?"
