Dragon's Origin

Chapter 323: Pocket Money (Part 1)

With the Emperor's attitude, Wang Sheng achieved ninety percent of his goal in meeting with the Emperor. The remaining ten percent depended on giving Mei'er and the Empress a few pointers on their business.

"Let my concubines show their faces outside to attract business for you?" The Emperor's eyes widened upon hearing Wang Sheng's suggestion. "Could you be any more shameless?"

Since they were talking about the Empress and Mei'er's business, Eunuch Shen, Steward Zhou, and Chief Steward Li all turned mute, silently drinking tea and not saying a word.

"Who said anything about them showing their faces?" Wang Sheng was very unhappy with the Emperor's comprehension. "It's just a separate courtyard next to the palace, with a street full of women. They go inside to get beauty treatments, maintain their looks, regulate their blood and energy, and get a health boost, a place to dress up beautifully. Who would see them? Showing their faces? Do you even know what 'showing their faces' means?"

Steward Zhou and Chief Steward Li had probably seen Wang Sheng talk to the Emperor like this several times, but it was Eunuch Shen's first time. Watching Wang Sheng almost scold the Emperor and nearly erupt, he was stopped by Steward Zhou grabbing his wrist on the left and Chief Steward Li pulling his arm on the right, barely preventing him from exploding.

Then, something completely unbelievable happened to Eunuch Shen. Wang Sheng's behavior was so disrespectful to the Emperor, so rude, yet the Emperor didn't fly into a rage or display his imperial power. Instead, he acted like a village man arguing, one leg on the stool, pointing at Wang Sheng and slapping the table, yelling, "Why should I?"

Eunuch Shen almost fell face-first onto the mat. Was this really the majestic Emperor he usually saw? He was clearly just a villager.

"This is the Emperor's private residence," Chief Steward Li's lips moved, Wang Sheng and the Emperor didn't hear anything, but Eunuch Shen heard a faint voice.

They were all in the palace, all serving the Emperor. Which old eunuch who had lived to this age wasn't quick-witted?

A private residence meant that the Emperor's identity here wasn't that of the Emperor, but a wealthy man. More casual, more free, able to relax both physically and mentally after shedding the shackles of the Emperor's identity.

No wonder the Emperor had been in a good mood for the past few months. Even when he encountered some depressing matters, he could quickly adjust his mood. So, he had such a place to relax. Whose idea was this? It was truly brilliant! Even Eunuch Shen was thinking about whether he should also buy a private residence to relax in when he had time.

They were all old royal servants, who didn't know who? Steward Zhou slightly pointed his lips in Wang Sheng's direction, and Eunuch Shen knew who had given the Emperor this idea.

"Why should you? Because this can earn your wife shiny gold coins," Wang Sheng didn't back down at all, also pointing at the Emperor and loudly arguing.

Eunuch Shen almost spat out a mouthful of wine. Speaking so crudely in front of the Emperor, calling the Empress 'your wife'? Was it appropriate to address the Empress with such a rural term?

"Does朕 lack that little bit of gold coins?" The Emperor responded again. Letting his concubines come forward just for a little bit of gold coins would be a great loss of face for the Emperor.

"If you don't want them, you can give them to me!" Wang Sheng countered sharply, slapping the table and saying, "Tens of millions of gold coins a year. If you don't care, I do. It would look good piled up in the Marquis's mansion."

"Give them to you and..." The Emperor had just uttered those three words without thinking when Eunuch Shen, Chief Steward Li, and Steward Zhou coughed in unison, and the Emperor immediately reacted.

"Tens of millions of gold coins?" The Emperor asked incredulously. "Every year?"

"Just so-so at the beginning," Wang Sheng didn't seem to think this was a big deal, casually replying, "Once the business slowly expands, there might be more in the future."

Hiss! The sound of gasping wasn't just one, but four. Tens of millions of gold coins a year, and even more in the future, which meant it could be hundreds of millions, every year! Even the Emperor had never seen such a money-grabbing scheme.

"Really?" The Emperor was a little disbelieving. Not only did the Emperor not believe it, but all three old eunuchs had the same mindset. To casually say tens of millions of gold coins every year, how was that possible?

If Wang Sheng hadn't created Qian Sheng Yuan, which truly earned tens of millions or hundreds of millions of gold coins every year, with real gold and silver piled up in the Marquis's mansion, Wang Sheng might have been directly beaten out for saying those words. To brag in front of the Emperor and three old servants was already an Emperor's grace to not kill you directly.

"When have I ever exaggerated?" Wang Sheng asked in return.

"But this is tens of millions of gold coins," The Emperor's gaze pressed over, staring intently at Wang Sheng and saying, "Tens of millions every year."

"So what?" Wang Sheng didn't care at all about the Emperor. "Back in Worry-Free City, whenever I went into a shop to buy something, the shopkeeper not only wouldn't accept money, but would present the item with both hands and then offer a thousand gold coins to my mansion, just to buy a small idea I mentioned."

This was a fact. Anyone who paid attention to Wang Sheng would know this. Back in Worry-Free City, Wang Sheng was a legend. Many merchants' shops waited and hoped for Wang Sheng to take a look and buy something they didn't have.

The Emperor knew, and the three old royal servants also knew, that Wang Sheng hadn't lied at all on this point. He had indeed earned a lot of gold coins for others.

"Those were just things I mentioned casually," Wang Sheng, seeing the four people's expressions, knew they were now attracted and couldn't escape. He slowly and proudly raised his nose to the sky and said, "Mei'er and your wife's business, I spent a whole half month planning, and Mei'er spent more than half a year preparing. If it doesn't earn tens of millions of gold coins a year, what's the point of opening it?"

Wang Sheng's words were truly full of contempt. Don't look at the fact that the Emperor and three royal servants were present, Wang Sheng had seen a million times more things than them and could completely crush them in this regard.

"Just let the concubines in the harem go for a stroll?" The Emperor couldn't help but swallow. He didn't care about tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of gold coins, but when it involved tens of millions of gold coins, that was another matter. Don't even mention just letting the concubines in the harem go for a stroll, even if they really needed to show their faces a little, so what?

"Don't be so nervous," Wang Sheng said to the Emperor. "It's just to earn some pocket money for Mei'er and your wife, why are you so nervous?"

Tens of millions of gold coins of pocket money a year, even the Emperor couldn't help but laugh and cry upon hearing it. Only Wang Sheng dared to say that, anyone else, anyone at all, let them try saying that in front of these four people?

"They don't need to come forward, just treat it as some benefits for your concubines in the harem," Wang Sheng finally said what he wanted the Emperor's concubines to do. "Free beauty treatments for them, dressing them up beautifully for you to see. Women dress for those who please them!"