After swapping bodies with the princess, this prince slaughtered his way through the court and becam

There are five major salt merchants in the capital.

These included the Zhang family, relatives of the Empress Dowager and Marquis of Anren; the Liu family, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice; the Liu family, Imperial Censor; the Zhao family, Commander of the Longwu Army of the Northern Imperial Guards; and the Zhou family, a prominent merchant family in the capital.

A private salt industry involved relatives of the emperor, nobles, civil officials, censors, military officers, and wealthy merchants whose backgrounds were unknown!

This was also one of the difficulties the emperor faced in implementing the salt and iron monopoly.

"Seventh Prince, Ren Jingxing is an incompetent playboy, yet he runs a salt shop. There must be something fishy about it."

Liu Ruyin's father had been in the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice for too long.

Moreover, the family's salt business was difficult to expand.

Therefore, Liu Ruyin set her sights on the seventh prince, who had been involved in the struggle for the throne.

If she could help the seventh prince succeed in seizing the throne, she could marry him.

Then the Liu family could directly replace the Zhang family and become the number one salt merchant in the capital.

And her father's position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice could be moved up a bit further.

"I have made the acquaintance of an imperial censor. In a few days, he will submit a memorial requesting an investigation, and then Vice Minister Liu will assist in the investigation."

Liu Ruyin and the Seventh Prince exchanged a glance and revealed a knowing smile.

The Seventh Prince also has a need for Liu Ruyin.

Firstly, Liu Ruyin was already quite beautiful; secondly, her father held the position of Vice Minister, making him someone who needed to be won over.

Furthermore, princes need money to vie for the throne.

With the Liu family providing financial support, it would be easier for him to move around in the palace.

The two men coveted Ren Jingxing's salt shop and quickly agreed to find a way to shut it down.

Besides being envious of the shop, the two also harbored resentment towards Ren Jingxing.

When the Seventh Prince and Liu Ruyin met in secret, they deliberately chose to meet at a brothel to avoid being too conspicuous.

As a result, Ren Jingxing bumped into Liu Ruyin, who was disguised as a man.

Ren Jingxing was so angry that he cursed Liu Ruyin as a whore and also called the Seventh Prince, who met with her, a wild man.

Enraged, Ren Jingxing even demolished the brothel in an attempt to find the Seventh Prince, causing the Seventh Prince to be extremely embarrassed and flee in panic.

That's how things unfolded later.

The two wanted to shut down Ren Jingxing's shop as a form of retaliation.

The two shamelessly thought to themselves:

They did do something shady, but you, Ren Jingxing, can't just curse them directly!

Since you're speaking so rudely, then your Ren family can expect to suffer a financial loss!

As the capital city is under the emperor's nose, it is always rife with all sorts of fascinating rumors.

The rumors that the heir of the Marquis of Xuanwei was incapable of achieving anything significant disappeared within half a day.

The hottest news right now is that Prime Minister Wang has been dismissed!

It is said that Wang Xiang was one of the people who helped the emperor ascend the throne.

Now that even the prime minister has been dismissed, one can imagine the chaos that has erupted in the court.

Upon receiving the news, Ren Jingxing immediately gathered his playboy henchmen and, with ample funds, rushed to the Marquis of Anren's residence.

At this moment, Marquis Anren was sitting in his study with a gloomy expression.

The parents of Marquis Anren passed away shortly after the current empress got married.

Therefore, the title given to the maternal relatives fell to the Empress's younger brother.

Marquis Anren and the Empress were born of the same mother. At this moment, he was dressed in luxurious robes and had a handsome appearance.

However, the gloomy expression on his face ruined the beauty of the scene.

The emperor was determined to implement the salt and iron monopoly, and even removed the prime minister.

Once the new prime minister takes office, ensuring the private ownership of salt and iron will not be so easy.

But he was not reconciled.

If they lose the salt business, what will the Zhang family have left?

No, he must go to the palace to ask his sister, the Empress, for help!

As the Empress, my elder sister will surely be able to persuade His Majesty to abandon the salt and iron monopoly!

After all, the Empress has already helped many times...

"My lord, the heir of the Marquis of Xuanwei, along with the heirs of other marquises, requests an audience!"

A servant came to report.

Marquis Anren frowned.

He knew about this heir of the Marquis of Xuanwei.

Not to mention his reputation as a playboy, his salt shop alone made him furious.

They openly opened a salt shop on Zhuque Street, trying to steal his business.

How dare a mere heir of a marquis's mansion defecate on the neck of Marquis Anren?

"Let them in to see me!"

"yes!"

Ren Jingxing led everyone to the study of the Marquis of Anren's residence.

Upon meeting, Ren Jingxing immediately cupped his hands in greeting:

"Your nephew, Ren Jingxing, greets Uncle Anrenhou."

The other playboys followed Ren Jingxing's example and bowed.

Marquis Anren showed no gratitude whatsoever.

"Hmph, young master, you have quite the airs!"

Not only did they open a salt shop on Zhuque Street, they also slapped me, Marquis Anren, in the face.

They even brought people to my Marquis Anren's residence to cause trouble!

What? Do you really think my Marquis Anren's mansion has no one to rely on?

Marquis Anren gave a stern rebuke, which frightened Ren Jingxing's underlings so much that they trembled.

They had never faced the wrath of a marquis before!

But Ren Jingxing was not afraid at all.

He bowed again to Marquis Anren and said:

"Lord Anren, you misunderstand. I am not here to cause trouble, but to do business with you, Uncle."

After Ren Jingxing finished speaking, before Marquis Anren could reply, he took out the silver that everyone had pooled together:

"Here are five thousand taels of silver notes. My brothers and I want to buy all the salt notes in the hands of Marquis Anren."

Marquis Anren's veins bulged, and he had a ferocious expression on his face.

"You think you can buy my salt certificates with just five thousand taels of silver?"

You still dare to say this isn't running wild?!

Chu Huaiyu and the other纨绔 (playboys) were so frightened they almost peed themselves.

They had never seen a marquis exude such intense hatred!

However, Ren Jingxing remained calm and composed, saying:

"My lord, we are willing to spend five thousand taels to buy the salt coupons you have, but it's to help you!"

Once the imperial court implements its salt and iron monopoly policy, your salt coupons will be worthless!

After Ren Jingxing finished speaking, Marquis Anren paused for a moment, then his gaze deepened:

"Did Marquis Xuanwei send you?"

Ren Jingxing shook his head:

"No, this is a token of our appreciation from me and my brothers."

Not only was my father unaware, but neither were the Marquis of Changxin and other marquises.

Now Marquis Anren was a little unsure.

Is this really an olive branch extended by Hoon-gwi?

Or are you planning to sabotage him from behind?

Spending money to buy salt coupons that will inevitably become worthless in the future.

This is indeed beneficial to the Zhang family.

But why would Xun Gui help them?

Moreover, judging from what Ren Jingxing said...

Honoki in the capital seemed unwilling to openly stand up and help him.

However, this is understandable.

The private monopoly on salt and iron involved the interests of various parties.

If one rashly stands up to support the salt and iron monopoly, one might be framed by villains.

Now Marquis Anren had no choice but to take Ren Jingxing seriously.

So he stared intently at Ren Jingxing and asked:

"Nephew Ren, how can you be so sure that salt and iron will definitely be monopolized?"

Ren Jingxing glanced at Marquis Anren, pondering to himself.

The Marquis of Anren was not actually very powerful. The reason he was able to become the head of the five major salt merchants was entirely due to the Empress.

Moreover, this guy isn't a bad person; he hasn't done anything heinous.

Most importantly, Wei Xinyan also needs the Empress's help.

Making friends with Marquis Anren would be entirely beneficial!

Ren Jingxing then sighed and said:

"My lord, do you think the Empress's position in His Majesty's heart is more important, or the salt fields under your control?"

Marquis Anren immediately wanted to reply that the saltworks were important.

After all, no matter how favored the Empress was, it was still the Emperor's family matter.

Whether the Zhang family owns salt fields or not is their most real interest.

However, upon careful consideration, he realized that the salt field had come into his hands entirely because of the Empress.

Moreover, the various rewards he later received, as well as the concessions made to him by various forces in the capital,

It was mostly because of the Empress.

So Marquis Anren pursed his lips and finally replied:

"Of course, it's the Empress's position in His Majesty's heart."

Ren Jingxing sighed, looking disappointed in Ren Jingxing, and asked in return:

"If that's the case, then why did you allow Her Majesty's image to be damaged because of the salt mine?"