Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  The celebration didn't last too long, with a total of 7,800 taels of silver given out. From the top-ranked Li Shi Shi to the lowest-ranked Ye Xiang Hua, everyone received a reward, and almost no one was left empty-handed. However, only Li Shi Shi noticed that Cui Nian Nu did not attend this celebration, and her name was also absent from the list of contributors.

  The upper and lower floors of the Qunfang Pavilion have always had a good impression on Jiang Xia. A boss who is kind and willing to get along with his employees is already a welcome thing. Moreover, this boss also sympathizes with his subordinates, rewards and punishments are clear and not stingy, how can such a boss not make his employees willing to be loyal?

  After the celebration, Kang Qingyan returned to her own room first. Seeing that everyone in Qunfang Pavilion was grateful and respectful to Jiang Xia, Kang Qingyan felt both relieved and a little lost. She had to admit that she was indeed inferior to Jiang Xia in terms of management. Since Jiang Xia took over Qunfang Pavilion, the pavilion's income had increased by at least five times. Looking at Qunfang Pavilion, which she had always taken care of, being completely controlled by Jiang Xia, Kang Qingyan felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.

  Kang Qingyan sat in the room for a while, then turned her head to look at the copper mirror on the dresser. The copper mirror was polished very brightly, and Kang Qingyan walked over to sit down beside the dresser, looking at herself in the mirror. She touched her face and sighed softly, muttering to herself: "Could it be... that I've really grown old?"

  After asking herself this question, Kang Qingyan let out a soft sigh, for the answer had already been told to her by the copper mirror.

  "Time flies, beauty fades. It's a must for everyone to go through the process of aging from young to old. However, Auntie Kang, you should also feel sorry for yourself, as you're not that old yet. Although I can't make you stay young forever, I can teach you some anti-aging secrets to regain your youth and age slower than others."

  Although he didn't see him, he heard his voice and knew Jiang Xia had entered the house.

  She turned her head and scolded: "You are getting more and more impolite, entering my boudoir without knocking on the door. What if I was changing clothes inside?"

  As they spoke, Jiang Xia had already walked to the back of Kang Qingyan's body. Upon hearing what Kang Qingyan said, he turned his head and looked at the slightly ajar door, then said: "I'm being wronged, I really did come looking for you with something on my mind. Just now when I knocked on the door you didn't respond, so I saw that the door was slightly ajar and came in to take a look. Coincidentally, I just happened to hear you say 'Have I really grown old?' Honestly, Mom Kang, you're not too old yet. If you want to restore your youthful beauty through self-care, there's still an opportunity."

  "I don't quite believe what you're saying." Kang Qingyan looked at Jiang Xia with a skeptical face, but as soon as she finished speaking, she added another sentence: "Tell me, how can I regain my youthful beauty?"

  Jiang Xia smiled and said, "Didn't you say you didn't believe me? Now you're asking me again."

  As soon as the words came out, Jiang Xia saw that Kang Qingyan's face had changed and immediately changed his tone: "My maintenance method is divided into two steps. The first step is external exercise, mainly physical training. From tomorrow on, you have to get up early and go jogging with me. The second step is internal adjustment, which means eating less greasy food and more vegetarian dishes. Then I'll give you a prescription, you go buy the medicine and bring it back to me, I'll help you make it into pills, take one every day, I guarantee that within a month all the spots on your face will disappear and your skin will become white and beautiful again."

  Of course, that's not enough. Finally, I have to match it with my milk honey reishi mushroom grass mask cream. If you use them together for a month and don't look ten years younger, come find me, I'll let you deal with me.

  "Alright, it's settled then. If it's effective, I'll let you handle it." Kang Qingyan said with a gentle smile, covering her mouth.

  "Uh..."

  Looking at Jiang Xia's gloomy face, Kang Qingyan's mood suddenly improved, and she burst out laughing. After laughing for a while, she stopped and looked at Jiang Xia with a hint of suspicion in her eyes: "No way, you're always someone who doesn't shoot without seeing the rabbit, how come today you're so nice and concerned about me? Spit it out, what do you need my help with?"

  "Kang Mama, what do you mean by that?" Jiang Xia's eyes widened and her voice immediately rose an octave. "Is this the impression I give you? You really hurt my feelings, all for nothing, I was so worried about you... Ugh, forget it, let's just pretend I didn't say anything, I'm leaving."

  Jiang Xia shook off his sleeves and turned around, leaving behind a lonely figure of Kang Qingyan.

  Kang Qingyan quickly stood up and grabbed Jiang Xia's arm, saying: "Don't go, don't go, I was wrong, I was wrong, isn't that enough? I was just joking with you."

  "Hmph!" Jiang Xiaoyu allowed Kang Qingyan to pull her arm, turning her head to the side, her anger clearly not dissipated.

  Kang Qingyan's heart was filled with anxiety, and she spoke cautiously: "Jiang... Young Master Jiang, what do I need to do for you to forgive me?"

  "Is it that whatever I say you'll agree with?"

  Kang Qingyan immediately nodded: "As long as you don't get angry again, I'll agree to whatever you say."

  "This is what you said, a gentleman's word is like a swift horse whip." Jiang Xia hastily said.

  Kang Qingyan hesitated for a moment, her intuition telling her that she might have been deceived again. However, based on her understanding of Jiang Xia, she also estimated that he wouldn't let her do anything excessive, so she nodded and said: "Whatever you say, I'll agree to it, I won't go back on my word."

  Jiang Xia, who had just been furious, suddenly put on a flattering expression. He stretched out his right hand and placed it in front of Kang Qingyan, smiling as he said, "Mommy Kang, you said so yourself, give me Nian Nu's contract."

  "Choi Nianshu's slave contract?" Kang Qingyan was taken aback at first, then burst into a rage. "Get out!"

  "You just promised me, a man's word is his bond..."

  Kang Qingyan puffed out her chest, shaking the pair of breasts in front of her, and shouted loudly: "Have you ever seen a man with these things on his chest? Get out!"

  Whoosh... A wisp of green smoke remained, and Jiang Xia's figure had already disappeared from the room.

  After a while, a faint voice came from afar into Kang Qingyan's room: "You're in menopause, drink more Taitai Anxin oral liquid. Also, tomorrow morning at Chen time I'll be waiting for you at the store entrance to go jogging together, if you can get up then come, if not I won't wait for you."

  When she heard Jiang Xia say that he was still willing to wait for her to go running together, Kang Qingyan's heart finally felt a little happy. But as soon as she thought that he had gone to great lengths just to help Cui Nianshu retrieve the sale contract, Kang Qingyan couldn't help but stomp her feet and scold in a low voice: "Damn it! Fox spirit!"

  Near Xihua Gate, on the southwest shore of Taiye Pool, is the Leopard House.

  For the Zhengde Emperor, the nature of the Leopard House and the Imperial Palace was not much different. Perhaps because he grew up in the palace since childhood, Zhu Houzhao was not often in the Imperial Palace, but instead spent most of his time inside the Leopard House.

  The Leopard House is very spacious, with more than 200 rooms of various kinds. These two hundred or so rooms each have their own uses, and the one that Zhu Houzhao dislikes the most is the study.

  Just now, Zhu Houzhao stayed in the study for more than an hour, listening to Li Dongyang's lengthy lecture on the way of being a monarch.

  Li Dongyang had just left, and Liu Jin entered the study. He bowed to Zhu Houzhao and said: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. Xia Yuanxia ordered Wang Shifu, the judge of Shuntian Prefecture, to seal off the Qunfang Pavilion."

  "Did Xia Yuan seal off the Qunfang Pavilion? What's the meaning of this? Why did he do this, the Qunfang Pavilion didn't do anything that violated heaven and reason." Zhu Houzhao asked in confusion, his brow slightly furrowed as he muttered to himself: "Xia Yuan is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, even if the Qunfang Pavilion had done something against the law, it should be handled by the Shuntian Prefecture, not Xia Yuan's responsibility."

  Soon, Zhu Houzhao suddenly realized it. His eyes snapped open: "It's Li Taifu. Xia Yuan is his subordinate, he must have been sent by Li Taifu to follow me and found out that I had gone to the Qunfang Pavilion with you."

  Zhu Hou's eyebrows suddenly furrowed, "What can be done about this? If it were someone else, I could issue an imperial decree ordering him to stay out of the matter of the Guan Fang Pavilion. But now that Taifu has intervened, this..."

  Seeing Zhu Houzhao in such a predicament, Liu Jin was also secretly anxious.

  Xia Yuan let Wang Shicong go to seal off the Qunfang Pavilion, while Wang Shicong had long known from his son's mouth that the real boss behind the Qunfang Pavilion was Liu Jin. Unless he ate bear heart and leopard gall, he would not dare to find trouble with Liu Jin, wasn't that like asking for death?

  However, Cao Yuan had already given the order, and if he didn't carry it out himself, his future prospects would be very worrisome.

  The immortals are fighting, and Wang Shi realizes that as a mortal, he is not qualified to participate, so he chooses to tell Liu Jin about it. Then wait for Liu Jin's reaction.

  If Liu Jin doesn't react, then he'll just shut down the shop himself. After all, with Xia Yuan on top, it's not like he can blame him for anything. If Liu Jin does react, then it becomes a matter of Liu Jin and Xia Yuan competing against each other, which has nothing to do with Wang Shi. Sometimes, political wisdom is just that simple.

  However, Wang Shi did not know that there was another Grand Secretary above Xia Yuan's head. This great god even made Liu Jin helpless and could only rely on Zhu Houzhao to show up. But it is clear that Zhu Houzhao also had many taboos about Li Dongyang.

  Seeing Zhu Houzhao in a difficult situation, Liu Jin couldn't help but stir up a sentence on the side: "Your Majesty, this Li Dongyang is also too unruly. You are the dignified Son of Heaven, and he actually secretly monitors you, and often preaches to you in his daily life, really not putting you in his eyes."

  Zhu Houzhao gave Liu Jin a glance, and this glance made Liu Jin's heart skip a beat.

  After being with Zhu Houzhao for so many years, Liu Jin knew that Zhu Houzhao was not a fool at all. On the contrary, his control over power and strategy was not inferior to Liu Jin's. Having served Zhu Houzhao for so many years, Liu Jin never dared to say that he had completely figured out Zhu Houzhao.

  Zhu Houzhao sighed slightly after reading Liu Jin's memorial and said, "Do you think I don't find Li Taifu annoying? It's just that I have no way to deal with him. The Grand Preceptor was appointed by my imperial father as the chief minister to assist me in governing, and he is also my grand preceptor. If I were too rude to him, how would people all over the world view me? Even if I didn't care about what people thought of me, my imperial father who has passed away might blame me for being unfilial."