After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

A deafening sound exploded.

"Um?"

The three of them opened their mouths, then stood there stunned.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The man stomped his feet, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "Three hundred coins! Damn it! Who's buying? Who's buying! Prices are dropping! Dropping!"

The student with the meat buns stepped closer, frowning, and asked, "Uncle, what's this about 300 coins?"

"A promissory note!"

The man made a gesture as if he were holding a promissory note, but his hand was empty.

The student's heart almost stopped when he saw the meat bun.

"How could it go up? Aren't tomorrow's promissory notes only 150 cash? Anyone who buys them today is a fool!"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?!" the man cursed. "When the shop opened at Chenshi (7-9 AM), the price had clearly dropped! It had dropped to 150 coins!"

"Then why don't you buy it?"

"Buy?" The man's eyes reddened, and he burst into tears, "I'll sell it, damn it!"

"hiss!"

The students, who were eating meat buns, gasped in shock!

A surge of relief welled up inside him... Damn, luckily I'm lazy.

The student with the meat bun in his eye narrowed his pupils, felt a lingering fear in his heart, and then looked back.

Yun Cai and Yan were both stunned, their faces blank.

……

……

August 11th.

The sky was high and the air was crisp.

At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), wisps of mist drifted through the streets, and a long queue had already formed outside Baiyufang.

"Brother Yan, you've arrived."

"ah."

"Who is this?"

"My dad."

"Greetings, sir," the student with the meat bun greeted.

"Hey, hey," a slightly overweight middle-aged man greeted him nervously.

The group looked somewhat embarrassed.

Fortunately, they were either businessmen or the sons of businessmen, and after a few words, the conversation turned to the matter of grabbing the promissory note today.

After a while...

The sound of the door panel being removed rang out.

The area outside Baiyufang was suddenly bustling with noise and a surge of people.

This day.

The 330 tickets issued by Baiyufang, totaling 150,000 taels of silver, were sold out within an hour.

The reason it took an hour was because the scene was too noisy and crowded.

The four Imperial Guards originally stationed here by the Imperial Guard Commandery were completely insufficient; their voices had become hoarse from shouting.

Only after Shangguan Xiu personally led a group of bannermen to the scene did the order gradually come under control.

After all the promissory notes for this period are sold, trading will officially begin.

Shangguan Xiu stood in the front hall with a slightly numb expression. His red flying fish robe made him look tall and handsome, and every now and then some noblewomen would throw him meaningful glances.

But Shangguan Xiu couldn't handle it all.

The noisy, bustling scene before him made his head spin.

Ning Baixuan... this prince consort is too fierce, too fierce, too fierce.

Whether it was him, Qin Yuanyao, that dark-skinned woman, or the Lychee Lady in the palace, they all knew that the Grand Prince Consort had spent all 180,000 taels of silver he had finally obtained the night before.

It was used as a deposit to exchange for five million catties of cotton, at a price of 120 wen per catty.

Today, after selling one million catties for 150 coins, the price difference is 30,000 taels.

He made a pure profit of 30,000 taels of silver.

Pure profit.

Just these two days.

Two days.

Shangguan Xiu frowned deeply. He couldn't understand it; it was faster than having his home ransacked.

He thought about it for a long time but couldn't find an answer. But when the dark-skinned woman asked him why, he could finally say with his head held high, "He told me about the plan a long time ago, and I helped him fill in the gaps before implementing it. Why didn't I tell you? Because I couldn't let the secret leak out!"

The dark-skinned woman left with a highly suspicious look in her eyes. Shangguan Xiu curled the corners of his mouth. This time, although the Grand Prince Consort seemed even more outrageous, neither the dark-skinned woman nor even the Lychee Lady raised any questions. They were just constantly wondering why… They didn't even bother to ask the Grand Prince Consort, afraid of revealing their ignorance.

This person bought five million catties this time, and he can probably sell them for more than 120 wen each. He won't lose money; he'll make a profit. So, it doesn't count.

The first two million catties required paying 200,000 taels of silver to cotton merchants in Songjiang Prefecture; the subsequent three million catties purchased from Suzhou Prefecture and Jiaxing Prefecture required paying 300,000 taels. Although 180,000 taels were sold, all 180,000 taels were spent.

After deducting the 10% deposit, 450,000 taels still need to be returned.

I bought cotton, and the cloth I sold brought in about 80,000 taels of silver. Today I made another 30,000 taels.

In other words, Ning Baixuan still owes 340,000 taels of silver.

Shangguan Xiu's eyelids twitched. Three hundred and forty thousand taels... that's almost half of Songjiang Prefecture's tax revenue.

The commander of the Imperial Guard, dressed in a red flying fish robe, was filled with mixed emotions. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that even with such a large debt, the other party could repay it... and it seemed they would repay it very quickly. Like today, thirty thousand taels in a single day.

At this moment, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The twelve counters were packed with people.

Each counter has two accounting rooms.

In addition to these twenty-four accountants, there are another twenty-four accountants resting in the backyard.

To maintain their energy and prevent mistakes, they are rotated every hour.

These days, Shangguan Xiu has become quite familiar with these people.

and so……

Shangguan Xiu narrowed his eyes.

He noticed that among the crowd queuing to buy and sell promissory notes... there seemed to be a few accountants who looked familiar!

Even stranger things happened.

He remembered an accountant named Fang Hongcai, who was of a relatively high rank and seemed to be an accountant from the Prince Xin's residence.

It was already strange that Fang Hongcai was buying and selling promissory notes there, but what was even stranger was... Fang Hongcai's opponent... seemed to be an accountant as well?!

The price of promissory notes has now reached a terrifying number.

Three hundred and forty-two coins.

This is on top of the 330 new copies that were just released today.

After completing his transaction, Fang Hongcai left the counter.

Shangguan Xiu gave an order to a centurion to keep an eye on Baiyufang.

He then took a step and followed Fang Hongcai's footsteps.

……

……

"I only make side dishes; my brother came specifically for this."

"Um."

"The meat should be cut into small pieces. Lychee likes to eat meat, but her teeth aren't good."

"Um."

"Cut the chrysanthemum greens into longer and narrower pieces; my brother likes to eat them."

"Hmm. Oh? Is this something you liked to eat? Back in the village..."

"cut."

"Um."

How long should rock sugar pear be stewed?

"Almost done, I'll go take it to my brother-in-law in a bit." Ning Nan said casually as he chopped vegetables on the cutting board.

"Hmm." Cui Cui, dressed in a close-fitting green silk dress, nodded with rounded lips.

"I'm going back to my room to sleep tonight, not in the study," Ning Nan suddenly said while chopping vegetables.

The kitchen fell silent for a moment.

Standing beside him, Cui Cui's wife, with her oval face and fair complexion, blinked her bright, clear eyes and looked at the young doctor diligently chopping vegetables. She spoke softly, a rare occurrence for her, "You must be tired these past few days?"

Ning Nan stopped what he was doing, turned his head to look at his wife, who had become somewhat thinner in the past few days, and smiled, saying, "She's alright."

"Then cut the ribs. I want to make sweet and sour ribs for Lizhi," said Cui Cui's wife, nodding her chin. "Cook Xu's ribs aren't as nice as yours."

"Hey!" Ning Nan immediately called out in dissatisfaction.

……

The couple prepared four side dishes and delivered them to the flower hall.

Zhu Boqing had just finished reading today's Nancheng Daily.