Chapter 1451
Proposal to Open the Market
Chapter 1451 Proposal to Open the Market
When Lin Hao returned home and went to his study, Yuan Ying, who had been waiting for him, asked:
"Did you express your intentions during court today?"
"said!"
"You were ostracized by the eldest son and his people, weren't you? If I'm not mistaken, they think it's because of your marriage to Princess Jinchuan that they're targeting you, right?"
"You guessed perfectly; none of them could figure it out." Lin Hao gave a thumbs up.
“If this happens again, just say it!” But before Yuan Ying could finish speaking, Lin Hao interrupted her:
"Alright, Madam, I can handle these matters!"
"And I've discovered that you're now more like my teacher than Mr. Dai."
"Really? That means you still have a lot to learn!"
"But I don't want to learn anymore, I want to~!" Lin Hao said as he walked up to Yuan Ying, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her cherry-like lips.
After a long time, their lips parted
"What are you doing? In broad daylight, how dare you do such a rude thing?" Yuan Ying's red lips were slightly pursed, and her chest heaved slightly.
"Alright, isn't there no one around? Besides, nobody can stop me from being intimate with my wife at home!"
"Hmph, this is the last time!"
"Alright, whatever you say, Madam!"
Lin Hao then recounted the events of the day in court to Yuan Ying.
Although Lin Hao could handle it himself, he also understood that Yuan Ying needed to feel involved.
If he could solve every problem with ease, Yuan Ying would feel that there was no need for her to exist.
Given her personality, she might just follow her original plan and return to Jinchuan to enter the imperial court.
At dinner, due to the previous request from the host to reduce expenses, the dishes on the table were not plentiful. In addition, with Yuan Ying's strict management, everyone was still reluctant to eat more.
Yuan Ying was somewhat angry about Lin Hao's actions during the day, so she didn't let him sleep in the room that night.
However, Lin Hao knew that Yuan Ying, considering his favoritism towards Li Wei, wanted him to appease the concubine to avoid disrupting the balance of the inner quarters and causing unnecessary trouble.
Of course, Yuan Ying was newly married last night and was too exhausted to be conquered today, which was also why she was willing to let Lin Hao go to Li Wei's place.
Lin Hao readily accepted this, but Li Wei was not in his bedroom.
Lin Hao didn't even need to think; Li Wei, that little glutton, was definitely in the kitchen right now.
Thinking of this, Lin Hao also felt a little hungry. It seemed that he would have to ask Yuan Ying to readjust the meal standards every day.
Lin Hao then went to the kitchen. Although Yuan Ying was in charge of the household and had all the keys, the lock on the door was practically useless to Lin Hao.
Then Lin Hao took a wire and swiped it around in the keyhole a couple of times, and the lock opened.
Upon entering the kitchen, Lin Hao immediately spotted Li Wei, but he pretended not to notice and began searching for food.
"Are you hungry too?" Li Wei, who was hiding in the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief and asked in a low voice when she saw that it was Lin Hao who came in.
Lin Hao turned his head and saw Li Wei staring at him with wide eyes and pouting lips!
"You scared me!" Lin Hao deliberately patted his chest, then said in an annoyed tone:
"A sudden noise in the middle of the night could scare someone to death, you know!"
"You're the one who startled me!" Li Wei pouted and said, "I thought Yuan Ying had come!"
"Li Wei, are you that afraid of her?"
"You're right! She's so strict!"
I think it's alright!
"Hmph, she's your wife, of course you think it's alright!"
"Aren't you the same?" Lin Hao gently pulled Li Wei into his arms.
Li Wei looked at Lin Hao with her big, round eyes, then bit her lip and said:
“Yuan Ying is your legal wife, and I am just a concubine. How could I possibly be worthy of the Sixth Young Master’s attention!”
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Lin Hao kissed her and said, "Can't you see how much I love you?"
"I~!" Lin Hao's heart skipped a beat. He didn't wait for Li Wei to continue speaking, nor could he let her continue, otherwise it would never end.
The next second, Lin Hao picked him up and quickly headed towards the East Courtyard. At this point, facts had to speak for themselves.
·······
In the early morning, Lin Hao looked at the beautiful figure sleeping soundly in his arms and gently kissed her forehead.
Lin Hao gently lifted the covers and began to wash up. Then he asked Yu Ping to instruct Liu Baoquan to prepare some nourishing food and send it over.
Last night, in order to comfort Li Wei and dispel her concerns, she showed her a little more love.
There were still things to do. Yesterday in court, the new ruler ordered him to write down his thoughts and submit them.
So she went to Yuan Ying's room, wrote out the memorial, and then hurriedly went to Xin Chuan Palace.
When Lin Hao arrived at the Imperial Study of Xin Chuan Palace, the third brother, Yin An, knelt down with a thud, looking at the Emperor with a pleading expression.
"Father, please let your son return to the manor. I will go to the palace every day from now on to pay my respects to you in the morning and evening. Please don't keep your son confined in the palace!"
"Ha, I know you too well. You've been indulging in debauchery ever since you left the palace, and you can't even keep up with all the impeachment memorials!"
As the new Chuanzhu spoke, he threw the memorial aside. How could he possibly want Yin An to leave the palace? Didn't he know what kind of person his son was?
Just then, Liang Shi led Lin Hao in.
"Hmm~!" When the new lord saw someone arrive, he gestured for the third brother to get up quickly.
Yin An stood up with an expression as if his parents had died.
Lin Hao handed the memorial to Liang Shi, instructing him to give it to the new Sichuan governor, and then spoke:
"For a century, Xinchuan has valued scholars and farmers over industry and commerce. Previous dynasties dared not break with this and then rebuild. Now, the foreign debt of Jinchuan presents a good opportunity. If we can relax the restrictions on the market, it will definitely help our province raise funds quickly!"
"Hahaha, it's not difficult to raise the money owed to Jinchuan, but this strategy is the best opportunity to emulate Jinchuan and break the restrictions on the market!"
The new lord looked at Lin Hao and asked, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be accomplished overnight. We must proceed step by step, gradually and subtly. In your opinion, what should be done first?"
It seems that the new governor himself has already discovered the problem, but he can't say it himself. He has to find someone else to say it and make them take the blame, so that he can take the opportunity to reform. This is a typical imperial tactic.
Lin Hao was there to take the blame. If things went well, the credit would naturally go to Lin Hao; if things went badly, he could shift the blame onto Lin Hao while he himself remained unscathed.
"What a cunning old fox!" Lin Hao thought to himself, but this was exactly what he wanted.
Coming to his senses, Lin Hao replied respectfully, "Go to the curfew and open the night market!"
"Hmm~!" The new Chuanzhu nodded in satisfaction.
“On New Year’s Eve, there will be no curfew in Xinchuan. Implementing this policy is not considered reckless!” “The reason why the previous dynasty dared not open night markets was because the war made it impossible to manage. But now that our country is peaceful and prosperous, it is the right time to recruit talented people to serve Xinchuan and manage its economy!”
"Alright, you're in charge of the night market. Remember, everything should be done step by step, don't rush things!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Lin Hao originally intended to leave immediately, but seeing the bitter face of the third son of King Gigi beside him, he continued:
"I have another request. My third brother has many businesses outside. If he could give me some pointers, the night market business would definitely be much more successful!"
Upon hearing this, Yin An looked at Lin Hao gratefully. He hadn't expected that at this crucial moment, it would be this sixth brother, with whom he had only a casual relationship, who was willing to lend him a hand.
"I'll remember this favor." Yin An nodded secretly, then looked at the new river chief and said eagerly:
"Yes, yes, Father, I have important business to attend to when I left the palace, absolutely not!"
"Fine, fine, let him help you!" The new Chuanzhu thought for a moment and then agreed.
The two took their leave and, as soon as they stepped out of the Imperial Study, Yin An put his arm around Lin Hao's shoulder and affectionately called out, "Great-Aunt!"
"凸(艹皿艹)," Lin Hao was a little confused. He turned to look at the ugly face and asked, "What did you just call me?"
“You know that Princess Yuanying is my great-aunt, so from today onwards, we’ll address each other differently. I’ll call you Auntie, and you’ll call me Third Brother!”
Lin Hao was so frustrated that he didn't know how to express his frustration. He almost thought he was in the world of "Goodbye Mr. Loser".
“Let’s keep to ourselves. I’ll call you brother, and you call me dad!”
Lin Hao didn't object, since he was the one who benefited no matter what.
"Uncle, I'm going home now. I'll leave the task of inspecting the market to you!"
“Okay!” Yin An said with a grin. Business was his forte. As long as he could leave the palace, he would be free to roam the world.
At least it's not like now, where I'm stuck in the palace doing nothing. Being able to go out of the palace to help with business matters is just too comfortable.
Lin Hao hadn't expected the third brother to be of any help. It would be great if he could help, but it didn't matter if he couldn't, since he had plenty of ways to do it anyway.
After leaving Xinchuan Palace, Lin Hao and Su Shen went to the market to begin their research.
After asking dozens of merchants and street vendors, they all expressed their anticipation for the opening of the night market.
It makes sense. If a night market is opened, it can operate for longer periods of time, naturally making more money. Why would these people disagree?
"I said I smelled the stench of money, but who could it be!" came the scolding voice of the second son, Yin Song, from a passing carriage.
"I heard you've teamed up with the third brother to try and lift the curfew. You're even breaking the rules set by our ancestors!"
Hearing this annoying voice, Lin Hao retorted indifferently, "I wouldn't dare, I was just following orders!"
"Besides, so what if I'm greedy? At least I can solve problems for the Chief Minister. But have you, the eldest son, ever shared any of the Chief Minister's burdens?"
"How dare you speak to me like that? Don't you have any sense of respect for elders?" Yin Song was furious, and then said viciously:
"You've even started to act like a fox borrowing the tiger's power, now you even use your father's name to intimidate me. Just because you married Princess Jinchuan, you really think you're someone important!"
No one expected that Lin Hao, a newcomer to the court without a specific position, would dare to speak to the eldest son who held great power.
That's not the most infuriating part. The key point is that Lin Hao wasn't wrong; he only raised the problem but never offered a solution.
But no matter what, he is the eldest son of the legitimate wife and the future head of Xinchuan. If he raises a problem, his ministers will naturally help him solve it. Otherwise, what's the point of having those ministers?
Yin Song had this mindset at the moment. Although he had not yet inherited the position of Lord of Sichuan, it was only a matter of time!
Could it be this good-looking but useless sixth brother who's going to get his turn?
"People say to respect the elderly and care for the young, but I can't see that at all in the eldest son."
"You—don't get too cocky!" Yin Song said coldly, "If Shang Zhice goes wrong, you'd better think carefully about how you'll take responsibility!"
"As for the position of Chief of the River, don't have any unrealistic fantasies. None of you have a chance. I am the eldest son of the rightful ruler!"
"Hehe, is that so?" Seeing Yin Song's exasperation, Lin Hao became even more pleased, and then said with a smile:
"I've heard a saying that anything can happen before things are completely settled!"
"Don't be so smug, eldest son. I've heard that Fourth Brother, that loyal dog, has always been eyeing this position!"
"You don't actually think that someone groveling before you means they're loyal to you, do you?"
"Tch!" Lin Hao glanced at the second brother with disdain, and then took the opportunity to smear the fourth brother as well.
Whether Yin Song believed it or not was irrelevant, but Lin Hao's words were like a nail driven into his heart.
If he is dissatisfied with anything, he will feel that the fourth brother is actually disobeying him.
Yin Song was angered by Lin Hao's disdainful look. When had anyone ever dared to look at him like that?
However, having been the eldest son for so many years, he was still able to control his temper to some extent.
He sneered and looked at Lin Hao, saying, "What? Trying to sow discord between me and your fourth brother? Do you think I'll believe you?"
"Heh, you'd better not believe it!"
With a chuckle, Lin Hao ignored the second brother and continued his research.
"Let's go!" Yin Song called to the driver, then looked at Lin Hao's smug back and couldn't help but feel suspicious.
"Could it be that the fourth brother really has some unrealistic ideas about the position of chief of the Sichuan region?"
"No, he's been loyal to me and has always followed my lead. It's impossible. It's not certain. Is it really impossible?"
Yin Song immediately defended the fourth brother, but the analysts in the analysis team fell into self-doubt.
After thinking for a while, he decided to investigate and see if Yin Jun, who was usually so respectful to him, was really just as Lin Hao said, outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant.
"My young master, how could you speak to the eldest son just now? You've only just attended court, this is not right, this is not right, alas!"
Su Shen sighed and spoke, his face full of worry.
Lin Hao smiled faintly and said, "Alright, from the moment I entered the court, the fact became that the second-in-command was suppressing me, so it doesn't matter whether I say it or not."
"Over the years, any brother with some talent has become his primary focus whenever he attends court. You don't need to worry, it's just standard procedure!"
"What? You're saying the Second Young Master has already started suppressing you? Why are you only telling us now? This old servant and the concubines, how come we didn't know anything about this!"
"Alright, it's just a little bit of weathering, nothing more to say. Let's go and continue exploring the market!"
Yes!
When they came out, the two of them were covered in snacks and pastries, and of course, a basket of crabs.
Seeing the crabs by chance, Lin Hao realized he hadn't eaten them for a while, so he bought a lot.