Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  When Zhu Houzhao said this, Liu Jin knew that he basically had no chance of winning. Since Zhu Houzhao had already sounded the retreat drum, it seemed that the closure of the Group Fragrance Pavilion was likely to become a reality.

  For Liu Jin, the significance of Qunfang Pavilion lies not in how much silver it can earn for him, but in the intelligence information it helps him collect and the personal connections it brings. Now that it's about to be sealed off, Liu Jin feels a little regretful, so he couldn't help but mention it again.

  "Your Majesty, if the Qunfang Pavilion is sealed off, what arrangements will be made for Jiang Xia?"

  Whenever Jiang Xia is mentioned, Zhu Houzhao becomes even more annoyed. He supported his forehead with his hand and muttered to himself: "I am worried about this matter, it has been a long time since I met such an interesting person. This Fang Ge is because of me being wanted to be sealed, if I don't give him any compensation, it's not enough." Suddenly Zhu Houzhao raised his head and looked at Liu Jin: "You say, what if I seal him as an official?"

  "Seal of office?" Liu Jin was slightly taken aback. He had not expected that Zhu Houzhao's heart already appreciated Jiang Xia so much.

  It should be known that although Zhu Houzhao is the emperor, with absolute power. However, the imperial court has its own rules and regulations, and it's not a simple matter to grant an official title to an ordinary citizen without any achievements or merits. There are many operations involved in this process. If these operations are not carried out properly, it may leave room for criticism from officials, and Zhu Houzhao will be waiting for a verbal attack.

  In a chaotic world, the emperor's greatest fear is the military general with power and influence. In a prosperous era, however, the emperor fears the scholar-officials' sharp tongues. One misstep can lead to widespread criticism and a tarnished reputation in history books. The Zhengde Emperor inherited a prosperous reign from his predecessor, the Hongzhi Emperor, making it a golden age.

  Liu Jin thought for a moment, although he also hoped that Jiang Xia could enter the officialdom and get along well with Zhu Houzhao, so that he could make him his own assistant, but he also had to consider Zhu Houzhao's thoughts. If this matter was not carefully considered, it was likely that Jiang Xia would not be able to become an official, and Zhu Houzhao would also get into trouble.

  As a qualified sycophant, whether Liu Jin was the head of the Imperial Censorate or the supervisor of the Eastern Depot, he had always been dependent on Zhu Houzhao for survival. This point must be clearly recognized. Without Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin would lose everything. Therefore, as long as Zhu Houzhao is well, Liu Jin will also be well.

  Liu Jin hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, "Your Majesty, I think it's not suitable to arrange an official position for Jiang Xia at present. Think about it, since Li Shoufu already knows that you enter and exit the Group Fragrance Pavilion, he naturally has some understanding of the Group Fragrance Pavilion. If he understands the Group Fragrance Pavilion, he must also know that Jiang Xia is close to you. If you are sealed in the Group Fragrance Pavilion and then immediately grant him an official position, I'm afraid Li Shoufu will not let it go easily."

  "That makes sense, that makes sense." Zhu Houzhao nodded and said.

  "Alas, this won't do, that won't do either, it's really frustrating. You go down first and instruct the people below to be more careful. From now on, my whereabouts must be kept strictly confidential, absolutely no one can know again."

  "Yes, your humble servant obeys."

  Liu Jin bowed his head and made a courtesy to Zhu Houzhao before retreating.

  Liu Jin left the study not long after, and Zhu Houzhao was alone in the study thinking about how to deal with the situation at hand. At this time, Zhang Yong stood outside the study and knocked on the door, then called out: "Your Majesty, your servant Zhang Yong requests an audience."

  "Come in." A voice came from inside the house, belonging to Zhu Houzhao.

  "Ah...... The door to the study was pushed open, and Zhang Yong walked in with a tea tray holding a bowl of soup. As he walked, Zhang Yong said: "Your Majesty, I had the kitchen stew some bird's nest for you, please drink it while it's hot."

  "You're quite considerate, but I'm not really in the mood for food right now. Just put it down." Zhu Houzhao was clearly unenthusiastic.

  Zhang Yong carried the swallow's nest to Zhu Houzhao's side, placed it on the table and smiled: "The slave knows that Your Majesty is worried about Li Shoufu wanting to seal the Qunfang Pavilion, but Your Majesty doesn't have to worry. The slave has already come up with a countermeasure."

  "Do you have a plan?" Zhu Houzhao's spirit lifted, and he asked with a smile: "What plan? Tell me."

  Zhang Yong slightly bowed to Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty, Li Shoufu wants to seal off the Qunfang Pavilion. He is your Taifu, and you can't afford to offend him, so it's okay to let him seal it off. Sealing it off won't make a big difference anyway. I recently saw a mansion for sale near Chaoyang Gate in the capital. The mansion is quite large, and its location is not bad either. It was previously owned by Shi Wei, the former Minister of Works. I think that since sealing off Qunfang Pavilion is inevitable, why bother joining forces with Jiang Xia to buy that mansion and reopen a new Qunfang Pavilion? Of course, we might need to change the name, but we can still have Jiang Xia manage it. With Jiang Xia's abilities and intelligence, I think it won't take long for the new pavilion to surpass the original Qunfang Pavilion."

  After hearing Zhang Yong's words, Zhu Houzhao's eyes suddenly lit up. He turned his head and patted Zhang Yong's shoulder, saying: "Good job, Zhang Yong! I didn't expect you to come up with such a good idea. However, don't think that I don't know, the house you mentioned was given to you by Shi Wei as a gift. Shi Wei retired and returned to his hometown, and you helped his son Shi Qing get a sixth-grade official position in the Ministry of Punishment. Shi Wei gave you the house as a thank you."

  Zhang Yong was shocked upon hearing this, and immediately knelt down to the ground, knocking his head: "Your Majesty, please forgive me, I didn't intentionally deceive you. It's just that Shi Wei gave me a house as a gift, but I hadn't gotten your approval yet, so I didn't dare accept it rashly. Now that I know Your Majesty has use for it, I thought of taking it out to make use of it. I should be put to death ten thousand times over, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

  Zhang Yong was so frightened that his whole body trembled. If this matter were to be taken seriously, it would be considered deceiving the emperor and should be punished by death. However, if it were to be taken lightly, it wouldn't be a big deal. Whether he lived or died, everything depended on Zhu Houzhao's whim, which is exactly what "accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger" means.

  "Hahaha......" Zhu Houzhao burst out laughing and pulled Zhang Yong up, saying: "I didn't scold you, why are you so tense? I know that in the officialdom, there are some social interactions and human relationships that need to be handled properly. I haven't said anything about you, as long as you are loyal to me, that's all that matters. As for the house matter, just go and take care of it. Not only will you not be punished, but you will also have merit. If you do a good job, I promise to appoint your nephew Zhang Shou as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

  When Zhang Yong heard Zhu Houzhao say this, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh. However, since Zhu Houzhao was showing him favor at the moment, no matter what he felt in his heart, Zhang Yong could only respond with a "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness."

  Honglusi Temple is the main official reception of foreign guests, and Honglusi Temple You Shaoqing is a fifth-grade official position, one of the three officials of Honglusi Temple. On the surface, this is an honor. However, it was previously known that Zhang Shou was the registrar of Guanglu Temple, which is a seventh-grade official position, several ranks lower than Honglusi Temple You Shaoqing in terms of rank and title.

  However, Guanglu Temple is in charge of the imperial palace's food and has a lot of real power and benefits. Especially since Zhang Shou is still in charge of the storehouse, sometimes with just one stroke of his brush, a large sum of silver would be added to the account. Going to Honglusi Temple naturally wouldn't have as much benefit to gain, it can be considered a kind of promotion in name only but actually a demotion.

  But all these are unimportant, what is important is the intention behind Zhu Houzhao's actions.

  The matter of granting the house was originally a secret, but Zhu Houzhao found out. Zhang Shou and himself were uncle and nephew, which was also a secret, but Zhu Houzhao knew about it too. He pointed out both matters, but he let them go lightly. This tightening and loosening made Zhang Yong very nervous.

  At the same time, Zhu Houzhao's move also indirectly revealed another piece of information to Zhang Yong. Two secret matters that Zhu Houzhao should not have known about were now known to him, which naturally meant that someone had leaked the information. And this informant... was obviously Liu Jin, who had a good grasp of the news from the Eastern Depot.

  Thinking of this, Zhang Yong's hatred for Liu Jin increased a bit more.

  In fact, Zhang Yong did not know that these two things were reported by the Jin Yiwei. Zhu Houzhao deliberately did not point out, also deliberately let Zhang Yong misunderstand Liu Jin. The people below are not important, what is important is that they must understand who is the master and how to do it without being eliminated. This is the emperor's mind, Zhu Houzhao is young, but as a member of the royal family, he has a unique skill in this technique.

  The next day at dawn, Jiang Xia waited for Kang Qingyan at the entrance of Qunfang Pavilion as she had said, just before Chen time.

  Since arriving in the Great Ming Dynasty, Jiang Xia has always been worried about his body due to the disorder of the true energy inside, resulting in poor quality. Therefore, he has always had a plan to exercise. Recently, because there were too many things, he didn't go to exercise, but now that the business of Qunfang Pavilion is basically on track, Jiang Xia is ready to start exercising again.

  It wasn't long after Chen time, Jiang Xia didn't wait for Kang Qingyan to come out, so he was about to leave.

  Just as Jiang Xia walked out two steps, the door of Qunfang Pavilion suddenly opened, and Kang Qingyan, with heavy makeup, walked out of Qunfang Pavilion.

  Looking at Kang Qingyan wearing a noble and elegant cheongsam, Jiang Xia was suddenly amused by her. He couldn't help but say with a mix of anger and laughter: "I asked you out to go running together, but you're dressed as if you're going to a dance party. How are you going to run in this outfit?"

  Kang Qingyan didn't expect that after getting up early and making herself up for half a day, she would be scolded by Jiang Xia. In a fit of anger, Kang Qingyan frowned and said: "I'll wear whatever I want, what's wrong with it?"

  Jiang Xia had no choice but to raise his hands in defeat, shaking his head repeatedly: "Alright alright, forget it. You win. Do whatever you want, I'm leaving, catch up if you can."

  "Don't be in a hurry." Kang Qingyan called out, then took out a piece of paper from his clothes and shook it in front of Jiang Xia. At a glance, Jiang Xia recognized it: "Nianslave's contract?"

  "Niang nu niang nu, you're a wicked guy who's coveting someone else's beauty." Kang Qingyan took back the contract and said: "As long as you can fulfill your promise to me and help me regain my youth and beauty, I'll give you Nian Nu's contract. Otherwise, don't even think about cheating this contract away from me."

  Jiang Xia smiled and said, "This 'cheat' word is really unpleasant to hear. Let's make a deal, I'll definitely help you restore your youth and beauty. Alright, follow me and run together, remember to adjust the rhythm of your breathing..."