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

"Well……"

Upon seeing the beautiful and radiant princess arrive at the door, Ning Nan's expression froze for a moment, and he quickly bowed.

"This humble citizen, Ning Nan, greets Princess Tang."

"You call yourself a commoner?" Zhu Jiamu shouted.

Oh, why is she so angry... Ning Nan frowned, not understanding what was wrong with this princess.

I remember Li Xing saying yesterday morning that the third major shareholder had started moving and had almost sold all their shares. After a while, once they had reached their target number of shares and were certain they could short the market and dominate it, they began to drive the price down.

Although Princess Tang did not completely escape the peak of her fortune, she still earned quite a bit, at least forty or fifty thousand taels of silver. And she still thinks that's not enough?

Ning Nan gave an awkward smile: "Your Highness is too kind. I have no official rank or title, and am just a commoner, so I should naturally refer to myself as a humble person."

"Ning Baixuan!" She glared at him. "I'm asking you, has Baiyufang cheated?"

Uh……

We call this inside information; casinos are known for cheating… Ning Nan’s eyes widened in surprise, and she said in a trembling voice, “What makes you say that, Princess? Baiyufang is just a small futures trading shop, not a casino where you throw dice! How can there be any cheating?”

Zhu Jiamu gritted her teeth: "Then I, then I, then I..." She gritted her teeth for a while, but in the end she still didn't tell anyone that she had gone from making a profit of 50,000 taels to losing 3,000 taels... It was too infuriating!

*Thump!* Zhu ​​Jiamu stomped his foot and said fiercely, "Let's go! Get in the carriage, I'll treat you to breakfast."

"I've already eaten."

"Eat one more meal! You'll stuff yourself to death!"

Ning Nan looked troubled, but since the other party was a princess, he couldn't afford to offend her, so he said yes. The coachman, Uncle Ping, had already hitched up the carriage, and Ning Nan was just about to get in.

Princess Tang flicked her pink sleeve and said, "You, get into my carriage."

"Princess, this...male or female..."

Zhu Jiamu's eyes widened: "What? Mr. Ning, are you just being presumptuous?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare."

"If you're too scared, get in the carriage." Zhu Jiamu turned around, stepped onto the low stool prepared by the servants, and walked into the carriage.

Ning Nan instructed the obsequious Uncle Ping to drive the carriage and follow, and then he could only sit in the carriage with a helpless expression.

The carriage smelled wonderful.

Ning Nanqian was probably sitting on the outside, far away from the formally seated Princess Tang.

A cool breeze was blowing through the streets, occasionally lifting the curtains of the carriages to reveal the bustling scene of people coming and going.

The jujube paste mooncakes displayed by the vendors were crispy and delicious, their aroma filling the air. Ning Nan couldn't help but sniff the air in the car. Children passing by often held up sugar figurines shaped like the Jade Rabbit or Chang'e flying in the sky, jumping up and down as they showed them to the adults.

After a while, she seemed to have calmed down a bit, and Princess Tang's voice softened.

"Mr. Ning," she said, lifting her chin, "I want to open a jade shop in Guangzhou."

"It can't be opened." Ning Nan shook his head. "The imperial court has already issued a law. The princess naturally doesn't need to worry about the extermination of her entire clan or anything like that, but it will definitely be banned."

"You probably don't know the status that the Prince of Tang holds in the hearts of His Majesty and Prince Xin."

"Baiyufang has a 40% share of the imperial court's revenue, and it will become the Ministry of Revenue's purse. If it performs well, it could easily generate 100,000 taels of silver a year. Such a purse is very rare, and the imperial court is unlikely to give in. Besides, Grand Tutor Gu's ten major scourges are not false; each one hits the nail on the head. Even if His Majesty gives the imperial approval to allow the princess to open such a promissory note exchange in Guangzhou, there is a high possibility that it will end up in a mess. It may not only disrupt local commerce but also cause a popular uprising."

"Mr. Ning, are you looking down on me?" Zhu Jiamu asked, squinting.

Ning Nan shook his head and smiled bitterly, "How dare I, a humble subject?" He spread his hands and said, "As you can see, Princess, I have no choice but to leave Baiyufang now. The court is currently selecting the director and deputy director. Baiyufang will have nothing to do with me anymore. It's already a mercy from the court to spare my life."

Zhu Jiamu looked surprised and uncertain: "I saw in the newspaper that the imperial court has already taken measures to solve the ten major scourges, hasn't it?"

Ning Nan rolled his eyes: "Right, so the first rule is that no one else is allowed to open it. Confine all possible risks to the emperor's nose, and if there's any trouble, just shut down Baiyufang immediately."

It's not that the problem has actually been solved, but rather that they plan to shut it down at any time to prevent any major chaos.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jiamu lowered her eyelids but did not refute. After a while, she raised her head again and sneered, "Even if the imperial court can control us, can it control the Northern Dynasty? What if the Northern Dynasty follows suit and opens a Baiyufang as well?"

Ning Nan grinned and said, "Heh, if the Northern Dynasty were willing to open a Baiyufang, that would be perfect. Just give me ten thousand taels of silver, and I can drain the Northern Dynasty's coffers dry."

This sounds arrogant, but at least for the next fifty years, if he wanted to, he could always find a way to drain all other people's money from similar promissory note exchanges.

Zhu Jiamu frowned.

Ning Nan said, "Princess, why don't you think about it? Who exactly did you get the money from this time?"

This princess is more interested in knowing which turtle actually earned the silver... Zhu Jiamu's fair, oval face twitched.

But when the other party said that, that feeling of absurdity, bizarreness, disbelief, and incomprehension washed over me again... Yes, who exactly stole my money?

The next moment, Zhu Jiamu's pupils contracted.

"If the Northern Dynasty opened a Baiyufang, could you drain them dry with ten thousand taels of silver?" she asked, frowning.

"Mm." Ning Nan nodded.

"What if a Guangfu restaurant opened one too?"

Ning Nan gave a wry smile and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Your Highness is indeed wise. This is the fundamental reason why I believe it is not advisable for Guangfu to open a new Jade Workshop. Once it opens, I can swear to heaven that I would not dare to do anything to Your Highness's Jade Workshop. But there is no guarantee that there won't be unscrupulous people who use Your Highness's Jade Workshop for personal gain and siphon off Guangfu's funds. In the end, wouldn't it be Guangfu that suffers?"

Instead of praising his honesty, kindness, and frankness, Zhu Jiamu narrowed his eyes into a dangerous slit: "Hmm, that's impressive? What about the money from Baiyufang?"

"Did you take that too?"

Huh? Ning Nan's expression froze instantly, his fingers trembled slightly, and then he solemnly shook his head and said, "Of course not. It's mainly because the news that Baiyufang is going to be shut down has spread, and everyone is scared, so they're all running away as fast as they can."

"Um?"

Zhu Jiamu looked him up and down with a suspicious expression.

Ning Nan suddenly exclaimed in surprise, first frowning, then her eyes lit up as she asked, "May I ask, Princess, is there a maritime ban in Guangfu now?"... Changing the subject... Changing the subject... Changing the subject... Quickly, quickly, quickly...

Zhu Jiamu nodded and said, "The imperial court has its own laws and regulations, but they are not strictly enforced, and there are still some merchant ships that violate them."

"What about the Westerners? Did the princess see any Westerners in Guangzhou?"

Zhu Jiamu sneered, "What do you mean, 'no'? The gift I brought to Prince Xin this time included a peephole! And that Frenchwoman, the daughter of some governor, is even a friend of mine!"

Ning Nan nodded immediately, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he smiled, "Then I have an idea that can give the princess an income that is no less than that of Baiyufang."

Zhu Jiamu's eyes lit up immediately.

But at that moment...

"Clang!"

A loud bang!

The carriage seemed to have collided with something. The horses outside neighed loudly, and Ning Nan and Zhu Jiamu were jolted and staggered.

A loud, boisterous voice rang out from outside.

"Damn it! Are you Southern Dynasty people blind? How can you even see where you're going?!"