Chapter Twenty-One
There were so many account books in the room that even three or five accountants would need a month to sort through them. More would continue to arrive afterward, so there would be plenty of work to keep her busy.
Just how many businesses did her “uncle” have outside?
Cui Lanyin had been at a loss as to how she should repay Prince Wei. Now that she could help him sort through all these accounts, she would not need to find another way to be of use to him for the time being. She felt that this arrangement was quite good.
Buyan finished explaining the tasks in the room, then summoned a young eunuch to attend to Cui Lanyin before returning to the study.
The account books on the shelves were all marked with dates. Cui Lanyin discovered that the earliest was from the ninth year of Xuanning—eleven years ago. That was one year earlier than what Bailin had said. Prince Wei had actually begun traveling about outside at the age of fifteen.
People often said that children from poor families learned to manage households early. That was certainly true of her. Prince Wei was an imperial prince; no matter how poorly off he might be, he would not have lacked the necessities of life. So why had he done it?
The young eunuch, Buyu, was very diligent and quick-witted. He was also good at speaking and always noticed what needed to be done. Without waiting for Cui Lanyin to give him instructions, he took care of everything in advance.
Cui Lanyin pulled out all the account books from the ninth year of Xuanning, and Buyu immediately came over and moved them to the large desk beneath the window.
As for Buyu’s name, it had only just been changed a few days earlier, after Bailin had chosen him to serve here.
Even now, Buyu had yet to recover from the delight of having his name changed. He told Cui Lanyin, “Everyone else is so envious that I get to serve Second Miss here. They even say that my name and Buyan’s sound like a pair, so we’ll definitely end up serving together someday. I wouldn’t dare hope to serve alongside Buyan. As long as I can serve Second Miss well, I’ll be perfectly content.”
Serving alongside Buyan would mean being assigned to Prince Wei himself. That would make him one of the most outstanding eunuchs in the prince’s household. Which eunuch in Prince Wei’s residence would not want that? Buyu spoke this way merely because he was afraid that hoping for too much would only leave him disappointed.
Cui Lanyin felt sorry for him and encouraged him. “If you work diligently and do better than everyone else, you’ll naturally be the one they choose. I think you’ll surely succeed.”
Buyu gave her a shy smile. “Thank you for your guidance, Second Miss.”
After that, he served her with even greater attentiveness. He timed his tea service perfectly, never interrupting her work, yet never allowing her to become thirsty.
When Cui Lanyin first opened the account books, she was completely bewildered. What did entries like “Changqing Sect, fifty taels received,” “Tigerstep Hall, sixty taels received,” and “Thirteen Whips of the Yue Family, seventy-five taels received” even mean?
There was one payment in the first month, totaling fifty taels. The second month was slightly better, with two payments totaling one hundred and ten taels.
Compared with her tea shop, which earned twenty taels a month, fifty taels in monthly income was an astonishing amount—enough to make her laugh with joy in her dreams.
But that was not a fair comparison. A prince of the current dynasty received an annual stipend of ten thousand taels of silver. Divided by twelve months, that came to more than eight hundred taels a month. By that standard, those earnings were nothing worth mentioning.
Why was Prince Wei bothering to make such a paltry profit?
The accounts remained like this for the first half of the year. The only difference was that the individual payments gradually increased, and none of them afterward were less than two hundred taels.
What sort of business was this? Cui Lanyin had a vague feeling that it was not entirely legitimate.
She suddenly remembered the time Liu Heipi had come to threaten her tea shop. Liu Heipi had mentioned giving a tenth of the profits as an offering to someone. Lady Tan had also told her that when Cui Xin relinquished his military command and remained in the capital, the army still gave him annual “offerings.” Most of the Cui family’s wealth had been built up by investing that money in various businesses.
Although the martial world and the military were not the same thing, the principles behind many matters were similar. Looking again at names like Changqing Sect and Tigerstep Hall, which were clearly names of martial arts organizations, Cui Lanyin began to understand.
Prince Wei had started out by making money through businesses that required no capital of his own. He must have operated much like the martial arts gangs around the docks at Dongshui Pass, only on a larger scale. He had apparently gone directly to those gangs and taken a cut of their earnings.
No matter where you were, who would willingly share their profits with you for no reason? Protection money could be a dangerous thing to collect—not everyone had the ability to demand it.
Just look at Liu Heipi. People from the martial world were not easy to deal with. To take a cut from them, it was not enough simply to ask. You had to subdue them through superior strength and influence.
How had Prince Wei, at the age of fifteen, dared to make money that had been earned at the edge of a blade—and managed to build such a large enterprise? Cui Lanyin had known for some time that Prince Wei possessed considerable influence in the martial world, but this still exceeded her imagination.
What had Prince Wei been like as a boy? Had he also been as uninterested in everything as he was now? Imagining a sleepy-eyed young prince leading people into fights and bloodshed throughout the martial world was rather amusing.
Further on, the account books from six months later began to include legitimate businesses. However, Prince Wei never started any of them himself; he merely invested money in exchange for a share of the profits.
At first, he invested in horse caravans. Less than two months later, he had invested in camel caravans as well. They transported tea, cloth, furs, and all manner of other goods, covering every direction under the heavens.
Businesses like these carried considerable risks and required brave, capable men to accompany them. Even if they were not operated by martial arts gangs, those traders must have paid to hire such people to protect them along the way. Thus, Prince Wei’s legitimate businesses were not ventures that ordinary people could undertake.
Once she understood this, everything else became clear as well.
Previously, Cui Lanyin had felt that the martial world was far removed from her life. She had simply never thought of it in those terms. Now that she considered the matter, she realized that escort agencies in various regions and the guards hired by wealthy families were all connected to the martial world to some extent. “People of the martial world” was merely a name for a certain kind of person.
The revenue accounts from the ninth year of Xuanning were not very complicated, and by evening Cui Lanyin had finished sorting them out.
Once she organized the expenditure accounts tomorrow, she could compare the two sides and have a clear picture of the year’s income and expenses.
Cui Lanyin closed the account book and had Buyu lock the door. Then she headed to the study, intending to report to Prince Wei before returning home.
Outside the study, Cui Lanyin asked first. Buyan opened the door from within, and only then did she enter.
The moment she stepped inside, she sensed that something was wrong. Bailin, who usually smiled whenever he saw her, wore a grave expression now, as though something momentous had happened.
Afraid of disturbing Prince Wei’s important business, Cui Lanyin stepped forward and curtsied. “Uncle, I’ve sorted out the income accounts for the first year today. I’ll organize the expenses tomorrow and report on both together.”
“Second Miss, there’s no need to hurry with the report. Once you’ve sorted everything out, just let us know if anything doesn’t match,” Bailin said.
“That works too.” Cui Lanyin nodded. “Then, Uncle, shall I take my leave?”
Prince Wei flicked a finger in her direction.
Cui Lanyin looked at him in confusion. She had nothing else to say.
“Second Miss, sit for a while.” After she sat down, Bailin turned to Buyan. “Pour Second Miss a cup of tea.”
She happened to be thirsty, so Cui Lanyin accepted the tea Buyan brought her and sipped it slowly, wondering what had happened.
After she had drunk half a cup, Bailin said with a bitter smile, “Second Miss, I owe you an apology. That day, when I went to the Imperial Medical Academy to summon a physician, I never thought to avoid being seen. The imperial physicians kept their mouths shut, but there were too many people working under them to prevent every loose tongue. A eunuch from Consort Shun’s palace happened to be there collecting medicine. He asked one of the academy’s servants and learned that Second Miss suffered from headaches. That eunuch was a gossip, and the matter spread from the palace.”
Only then did Cui Lanyin understand. So the rumors about her had originated in the palace.
Looking at Bailin’s apologetic and remorseful expression, she knew the matter could not be blamed on him. How could a prince’s personal guard possibly have known all the twists and turns involved in matters of marriage?
“This has nothing to do with Lord Bai, so please don’t take it upon yourself. Besides, sooner or later people will find out about my headaches.”
In the past, it had been manageable because few people visited the Cui family. But now, with Empress Dowager Chen and Prince Wei involved, quite a few people would be watching her movements. If this went on, and she happened to be ill and unable to appear when something came up—once or twice would be enough for anyone with ulterior motives to start looking into it.
Cui Lanyin had already figured all this out on the carriage ride over. She had wanted to keep it hidden before, but that had merely been wishful thinking on her part.
Bailin, however, still looked remorseful. “Second Miss, in any case, I failed to consider things properly.”
Prince Wei, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly asked, “What do you think of the Sixth Young Master of the Yao family?”
What? Cui Lanyin couldn’t understand how the conversation had suddenly jumped to this subject.
Then her eyes widened. Afraid she had misunderstood, she stammered, “What… what do you mean, Uncle?”
“His Highness means that he can decide the marriage between Second Miss and the Sixth Young Master of the Yao family.”
So, as long as she agreed, Uncle would marry her to his own blood nephew, the Sixth Young Master of the Yao family?
Even without Prince Wei, although the Yao family was still being suppressed by the Li family, its standing in Jiangnan and among the scholarly elite was more than enough to ensure that its sons and daughters would have no trouble finding good marriages. The great aristocratic families were still eager to form ties with the Yao family.
Now that Prince Wei had returned, the Yao family’s status had risen another level, and the range of families seeking an alliance with them had grown even wider. Aside from Li Yixin, presumably even the other legitimate daughters of the Li family would be willing to marry into the Yao family.
Moreover, the Yao family’s Fourth Branch had produced only one son in each of the last two generations. By the time of the Sixth Young Master, there were only two brothers, and he was the elder. The hopes of the entire Fourth Branch likely rested on his shoulders. If even the Tan family was unwilling, how could the Fourth Branch of the Yao family possibly agree to let him marry a sickly girl rumored to be unable to bear children?
With Prince Wei speaking on her behalf, the Fourth Branch of the Yao family would have no choice but to accept. But if they harbored resentment, what kind of life would await her after she married into the family?
Yet how could she say any of this to her uncle? Cui Lanyin nervously tugged at her sleeve. If she refused, would Uncle think her ungrateful and presumptuous?
