With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

While the envoy from the royal court was rushing towards Liuzhou, Ye Chengan was not idle either.

After Shen Jingchuan built a thousand spinning wheels as required, he immediately set up a factory in Yong'an City, recruited a thousand workers, and officially launched the textile business.

The first step in building a business empire has been taken.

With the textile factory, he would have his own property in the future, and he would no longer have to sit around and squander his wealth, racking his brains to figure out how to extort money and demand bribes to maintain military supplies.

The only thing that gave him a headache was that Zhu Yu had been keeping a close eye on him lately, to the point that he couldn't even have a secret affair with Mu Yanqi anymore.

What's even more infuriating is that Mu Yanqi knew he was being closely watched, yet she still deliberately stirred things up.

They were just having breakfast together, and that foot was under the table the whole time, climbing up and rubbing against his leg.

Unable to bear it any longer, Ye Cheng'an, after eating half of the meal, made an excuse that he had something to do and dragged Mu Yanqi to her room.

Now, it's not advisable for Zhuyu to follow.

"What are you doing, young master? I haven't finished eating yet~" Mu Yanqi asked knowingly, feigning annoyance.

Ye Cheng'an ripped her clothes off and threw her onto the bed. "What are you pretending for? You were acting so hungry under the table just now, you weren't actually looking for food, you were clearly looking for me!"

"Mmm..."

...

An hour later, Ye Cheng'an, who had entered a state of enlightenment, discussed cooperation with Mu Yanqi.

"Prime Minister Mu, your dynasty is rich in warhorses, but it is sparsely populated and lacks manpower. So, have you considered using your limited manpower on the most critical matters?"

Mu Yanqi frowned. "Of course we've thought about that, but the basic needs of the people—food, clothing, shelter, and transportation—must be guaranteed. Some things that may seem insignificant still need to be done..."

"What if I sold you cloth at a price 20% lower than the market price, thus solving the most basic needs of your people in terms of clothing, food, housing, and transportation?" Ye Cheng'an asked.

Upon hearing this, Mu Yanqi suddenly stood up, found a brand new set of clothes to wear, and her expression became solemn.

It was as if she wasn't the one who had just been captivated by Ye Cheng'an's advances, continuing to eat bite after bite.

"So, the young master had a beautiful maidservant right beside him but didn't touch her, all for this moment, to discuss business with me?"

Ye Cheng'an was taken aback, not expecting that Mu Yanqi, whom he had just fed, could still be so rational. "How could Prime Minister Mu think so badly of me? What I said is not only beneficial to me."

"If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be willing to sell it at a discount."

"So, I should thank you?" Mu Yanqi asked in return.

Ye Cheng'an smiled, "There's no need for thanks given our friendship. Just don't think of me as that kind of treacherous and despicable person, Prime Minister Mu."

"Thirty percent, thirty percent lower than the market price. In the future, I will represent the Western Regions to import cloth from you," Mu Yanqi said.

"Prime Minister Mu is as greedy as ever, and not easily satisfied. It's only because of me that he can satisfy you; I doubt anyone else could..."

Upon realizing the double meaning in Ye Cheng'an's words, Mu Yanqi blushed slightly and had to admit that this young master from the Northern Border did have some special talents.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have let so many outstanding men from the Western Regions go to Ye Cheng'an, would she?

"So, the eldest young master has agreed to my conditions?" Mu Yanqi asked.

Ye Chengan smiled, "Yes and no."

"What do you mean?" Mu Yanqi asked, puzzled.

Ye Cheng'an said, "I can give you some more discounts for the sake of our relationship, but it's not just a simple price reduction. A 20% discount below the market price is the lowest I can offer. If Prime Minister Mu still wants to make money for the Western Regions, he'll have to work harder himself..."

"What? You want more?!" Noticing Ye Cheng'an's suggestive gaze, Mu Yanqi opened her mouth in surprise. How could this man not feel tired at all?

Ye Cheng'an raised a finger and shook it. "No, Prime Minister Mu thinks too highly of himself. If I want you, why should I offer you any concessions?"

"What I mean is, there are many countries surrounding the Western Regions. Prime Minister Mu can act as my agent for cloth and silk. For every bolt of cloth you help me sell, I will give you 30% of the total price as a commission!"

"I see." Mu Yanqi looked intently at Ye Cheng'an. "The eldest young master's suggestion is reasonable, and I accept it, however..."

"I always felt that the eldest young master's personality was completely different from before, as if... he had become a different person."

"Do you love the old me more, or the current me?" Ye Chengan asked.

Without hesitation, Mu Yanqi replied, "Of course, it's now. While the previous eldest son was indeed capable of governing and full of talent, he was too soft-hearted and easily bullied."

"I have repeatedly lamented your misfortune and been angry at your lack of ambition. Only now, in my eyes, is the eldest son a truly upright and honorable man!"

"Great minds think alike. I also prefer myself the way I am now." Ye Cheng'an kissed Mu Yanqi on the cheek, and was about to kiss her again.

Suddenly, a melodious voice rang out from outside the door, "Young Master, haven't you finished talking with Prime Minister Mu yet?"

"The three imperial censors sent by the royal court and the city lord of the Nine Cities have all arrived, insisting that you come out to meet them!"

So quickly, Su Wanrou's vicious dog has arrived!

It seems they didn't rest much on the way in order to get to Liuzhou quickly and cause me trouble.

Well, now that the vicious dog has entered the country, it's his turn to beat it up...

"Okay, I'll be right out now." Ye Cheng'an said as he dressed and walked out of the room.

Zhu Yu's eyes kept looking into the room.

Ye Cheng'an immediately covered her eyes, "What are you looking at? The royal envoy has already come to our doorstep, and you still have the mind to worry about other things?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yu's face turned solemn. She withdrew her gaze and quickly followed Ye Cheng'an's footsteps.

As soon as Ye Chengan entered the main hall, he saw three familiar faces.

These three were meek and subservient in front of him, but they were fierce and aggressive in front of Shen Jingchuan, acting like big shots.

"Shen Jingchuan, you know why the three of us are here. So, don't give us any of that nonsense. Just answer me: Has the eldest young master detained any of the Nine City officials?"

"Did they extort 100,000 taels of silver from each of the nine cities?"

Nie Chongshan, the official who had been most severely reprimanded by Ye Cheng'an among the nine city officials, said sternly before Shen Jingchuan could answer, "Shen Jingchuan, let me tell you, the Prince has already said that once it is verified that the eldest son has such bandit-like behavior, he will be immediately stripped of his royal status!"

"Ye Cheng'an is already at his last gasp; you absolutely mustn't be foolish and continue to side with the wrong person!"

"Otherwise, after dealing with Ye Cheng'an, I will make sure you don't take up your post as prefect!"

Shen Jingchuan felt a surge of resentment. Twelve people were surrounding him, all wanting him to confess to the eldest young master's crimes. In the process, even the slightest mistake could bring trouble to the eldest young master.

Under immense pressure, he was trying to find a way to exonerate Ye Cheng'an when suddenly a voice came from behind him.

"Ha, Lord Nie, what an imposing official you are! What? Are you trying to extract a confession through torture?"

As soon as the voice was spoken, everyone's eyes turned to the person who had spoken.

It's Ye Cheng'an!

Shen Jingchuan's face instantly lit up with joy. "Young Master, you've finally arrived."

Liu Chengye and his two companions narrowed their eyes dangerously.

They never forgot the incident of their congratulatory gifts being stolen during the promotion ceremony. They had spent a lot of money trying to please the heir apparent and secure a better future.

But instead of winning over the prince, Ye Cheng'an snatched the things away.

I thought that Ye Cheng'an would be utterly helpless and miserable when he arrived in Liuzhou, but upon closer inspection, Ye Cheng'an didn't look miserable at all.

He was clearly radiant, even more so than when he was in Bei'an City.

How could the three of them tolerate this?

At that moment, Liu Chengye gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master, we meet again. You don't recognize these old friends, do you?"

Ye Cheng'an's gaze swept over Liu Chengye, Yue Shichang, and Zhou Jianming, and he said, word by word, "Even if the three of you were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize you."

"What? Why are you leaving the perfectly good city of Beian to come to Liuzhou?"

"Could it be that they couldn't make it under that vile Su Wanrou and her son, and now they want to come and beg for a living under me? But the problem is, I don't take just any dog ​​under my command..."

"You!" Liu Chengye was furious when he saw that Ye Cheng'an, who was clearly the one to be thoroughly investigated, dared to speak so disrespectfully to them, the censors in charge of supervision.

Yue Shichang narrowed his eyes. "Young Master, I advise you to be humble. This is not Bei'an City. There are no old ministers and officials like those in Bei'an City. The Prince sent us to monitor you, which means he has entrusted your life and death to us. You had better treat us politely!"

Ye Cheng'an sneered, "Do you think you'll be at peace with me if I'm just being polite?"

Yue Shichang was taken aback. "Of course not..."

"Since you don't know how, why should I be polite?" Ye Cheng'an's eyes flashed with a chilling glint of mockery. "To be honest, what the Nine City Commander said is true."

"I detained them and threatened each of the nine cities to pay 100,000 taels of silver in exchange for the locust-eradicating elixir... But what good did that do? I have done a great service in eradicating the locusts, and this is all I deserve."

"Let me tell you, long before you arrived, I had already sent people to travel throughout the nine cities to collect the opinions of the people, and I wrote a petition to the people, intending to strip me of my royal status. Let's see if the people of the nine cities are willing!!!"