After the immortal disappeared

Just his relationship with Qingyang can add a lot of points.

But He Lingchuan's method cannot be too rough and simple. He cannot directly stuff the stolen goods into General Chongwu's box. Instead, he must make Yaoguo suspicious of General Chongwu, and make General Chongwu himself unable to defend himself and not associate him with He Lingchuan at all.

The key lies in three words:

Unreasonable.

Make General Chongwu's behavior look unreasonable.

General Chongwu left the inn before dusk, saying that he was chasing thieves, but who saw it and who testified? It was raining in the Zhuowei wilderness that night, and there were few pedestrians, and of course no one knew where General Chongwu went.

Where did he go? Did he secretly go to Mangzhou and then come back at dawn?

The fact that General Chongwu caught the thief and took back the tribute was even more unreasonable.

If there was really a so-called behind-the-scenes person who stole the tribute and confused the public, why did he have to frame these two thieves? Wouldn't it be better to just throw the stolen tribute into the wild?

Did General Chongwu find an excuse to take these tributes back because he couldn't afford to lose them?

The more unclear doubts there were, the more suspicious General Chongwu was.

He really didn't have a good way to prove himself.

But this was not conclusive evidence. Even if the officials had doubts about him, they couldn't directly pin the crime on him.

This ambiguous and suspicious atmosphere would make everyone in the situation very uncomfortable.

While He Lingchuan was thinking, the carriage arrived at Maochun Restaurant.

When he walked outside the second-floor box, He Lingchuan heard a voice from inside:

"... The treasury is empty..."

He Lingchuan paused slightly.

Yes, the intelligence he got also mentioned that Yaoguo's economy was good, but the finances had been in deficit in recent years.

"Tsk, which year is the treasury not in deficit? Isn't it maintained like this? But I remember that there was a bumper harvest of grain last year and the year before last."

"This means that we spend more and earn less, so of course we can't make ends meet. Brother Gu, I heard that the tax on the goods we specialize in will be raised again. Business will be even more difficult in the future."

"This year and next year, your Majesty will set an example and advocate frugality again."

"It's easy to save money on food and drink, but how can we save money when such a big country needs to maintain normal operations and such a powerful army needs to be supported? Don't you think so?"

"Yes, that's the reason..."

"I heard that we need to raise funds again. Should we communicate how much we should pay?"

"My family paid more than 3,000 taels the year before last."

"Yeah, that's reasonable!" Donations will not be made only once or twice, and there is no need to go bankrupt every time.

As He Lingchuan approached, the door opened. Yuwenxu was just walking out, and when he saw him, he smiled and said, "You're late!"

"Before Brother Fan and I left, we met someone from the palace investigating a case, so we had to..." He Lingchuan said self-deprecatingly, "Forget it, I won't make excuses, I'll punish myself with a glass of wine later."

The box was full of people, about twelve or thirteen in total.

Except for Gu Xuan, Yuwenxu and others, the rest were strangers, and two of them looked to be in their fifties.

When he arrived, everyone stood up.

He Lingchuan smiled at Gu Xuan and said, "Brother Gu, Brother Gu, I finally see you!"

The last time he went to the Gu family to pay his respects, he was turned away. Now Gu Xuan came to Maochun Tower to see him in person. Sure enough, it was because Qingyang Regent had stopped, so the Gu family had the heart to come back to socialize?

Gu Xuan had seen all kinds of scenes, and he had trained his face a long time ago, so how could he be embarrassed? He just laughed and said, "It's my fault, no excuses, and let me punish myself with a glass of wine!"

After that, he grabbed the wine glass and filled it up, and drank it all.

He Lingchuan certainly wouldn't hold on to him after he easily resolved the situation.

Next, Yuwenxu and Guxuan introduced him to new friends.

There were several officials present today, basically from the functional departments of the Yaowang Court, the General Affairs Department, and the Tianshui City Store Department, and at least they were officials in charge.

This was what the Yaowang meant: when starting construction in Youhu, they were responsible for helping He Lingchuan solve the procedural problems.

It's called "special handling of special matters".

As soon as the boss opened his mouth, the people below knew that this Hedaozhu would be a favorite in the eyes of the monarch in the near future, so they had to cooperate well?

There were also several serious officials and businessmen, or the heads of several guilds.

Tianshui City's commercial guilds are relatively developed, with more than a hundred guilds classified into different categories, and they have a say in industry access and price control. He Lingchuan wants to build a house, which involves many trades, and he really needs to get familiar with them all before he can do things later.

The Yaowang was really thoughtful in thinking for him.

Even Fan Shuang, who was standing next to him, was toasted with several glasses of wine, and her face soon turned red - it was unclear whether it was because of the alcohol or excitement.

He Lingchuan took out a stack of drawings and placed them on the table before the dishes were served:

"I want to build a Youhu Villa on the south bank of Youhu Lake. This is the first phase of drawings, including the gate of the villa and twelve buildings." He Lingchuan smiled, "This set of drawings will also be sent to the General Affairs Department tomorrow. Please take a look tonight."

Everyone took the drawings and was shocked.

Each building was drawn very carefully, and even the key points and difficulties of construction were marked; and the roads and bridges between the buildings, the lake water springs, and the rockery landscape were all explained one by one.

Such a detailed and detailed drawing, how could it be rushed out in one or two days?

It was only two days ago that the King of Yao specially approved the south bank of Youhu Lake to He Lingchuan, but this kid has already drawn up the whole set of drawings. What does it mean?

It means that he had planned it before coming to Yaodu, and he was very confident that he could take over the south bank of Youhu Lake!

The officials present knew about the conflict between the Qingyang Regent and the King. The reason why King Yao suddenly opened the south bank of Youhu Lake to a foreign businessman for development was pretty much known to everyone. If they were He Lingchuan, they would be caught between two big bosses and would be trembling now.

This is not an easy job. If you don't do it well, you will lose your head!

But this guy in front of him is stubborn. He actually thought about building this Youhu Villa seriously and carefully!

Everyone looked at the drawings in their hands, with mixed feelings in their hearts, and they didn't say a word for a while.

When the waiter of Maoxianglou served the dishes, he saw this scene. The dignitaries present did not talk loudly, but all bowed their heads and held the picture album, looking at it attentively.

The delicious dishes came one by one. As the capital of spices, Tianshui City has a wide variety of dishes. The red braised veal ribs on the table are tender and tasty. It can be seen that the process is complicated. He Lingchuan tasted at least several kinds of herbs including basil, hot pepper and thyme; and the signature dish of Maochun Restaurant is smoked sweet duck. It looks ordinary at first glance, but in fact, poppy shells are added during the production process, which makes people want to eat it again.

The officials present took a quick look at the drawings and said that it would not be too late to review them in the government office tomorrow. Only Huang Naxuan from the Imperial Household Department took out a few drawings and turned them over and over, and then asked He Lingchuan:

"Master He, it seems that all of your houses are single-door households?"

Apart from other things, there is a place for the gate beast outside each set of houses. In Tianshui City, the gate beast is usually placed outside the main gate of the big family. At most, a pair is placed inside, and it will not be placed at the second or third gate.

The drawings provided by He Lingchuan are very detailed, even the position of the gate beast is vacated and marked.

"Yes, these are all separate households." He Lingchuan clapped his hands, "Master Huang has a sharp eye and saw it at once."

Luckily, an official saw it, otherwise he would have to point it out himself.

So it wasn't built for him to live in? Gu Xuan was curious: "How are you going to build it?"

"Youhu is a Feng Shui treasure land, how can I enjoy it alone? I'm afraid of shortening my life." He Lingchuan raised his glass to him, and the two drank it all. "After these houses are built, they will be delivered to the buyers."

Yuwenxu understood: "You want to sell?"

The soul-catching mirror in He Lingchuan's arms snorted: "This kid, can he talk?"

"Yes, Youhu has a beautiful scenery, and living there is relaxing and nourishing. These houses should be shared with everyone after they are built." He Lingchuan pointed to the blueprint "Each of the houses here has a different layout and style, and each is a unique piece. Each is more than 30 meters apart, surrounded by secluded forests and grass grilles, so you can hear no one but see the sound, protecting privacy to the greatest extent."

Yuwen Xu was interested: "How much do you want to sell such a house, Brother He?"

"It depends on the location and area. The first row along the lake has the best view and the price is higher, estimated to be around 30,000 taels; the back rows are also accompanied by pavilions, towers, hot springs, and the price is probably between 17,000 and 25,000 taels."

30,000 taels! Although the people present are well-informed and the officials and businessmen are either rich or noble, they are still shocked when they hear this number.

Thirty million yuan is enough to buy a villa with a farm and products in the suburbs. How big is that?

The houses in Youhu Villa occupy less than one twentieth of the villa, and you dare to ask for this price?

Gu Xuan coughed lightly, "Brother He is really generous."

He said it tactfully, and everyone knew that he meant it was really expensive, really damn expensive!

"When buying a house, there are three key points." He Lingchuan raised three fingers, "Location, location, and location!"

"The Shining Gold Plain is so big that you can buy a town in Pei State with 30,000 taels. Are you willing to do it?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Yuwen Xu smiled and said, "A place where no one lays eggs."

"But these 30,000 taels are only enough to buy a small building in the lower city of Lingxu City. It's just a step from the gate to the back kitchen. Are you willing?"

Yuwen Xu said, "If it's in the main city, give me ten houses like this."

They all returned from studying in Lingxu, and they knew how outrageous the land and housing prices there were. Even the houses on the floating islands were not something you could buy with money.

30,000 taels can buy a small building in the center of Lingxu City? Haha, I'll wake up laughing in my dreams.

"My Lords, the size, layout, and orientation of the house are not the most important, but the location." He Lingchuan pointed at the blueprint, "These houses are built on Youhu Lake! The royal land of Dayao, no one has been able to add a brick or a tile in the past two hundred years! Being able to live here is an endless honor in itself."