Mistakenly Treated The Princess As A Concubine - Chapter 48

“Withdraw the people who are secretly protecting Wen Zhuojin. As for the embroidered-clad historian who escorted her back yesterday, place him in the escort agency and add a few more people, preferably including women.” Yan Qinglan instructed Yan Zisang after boarding the carriage.

If Wen Zhuojin has a keen sense of smell, she might detect the presence of those secretly protecting her.

Since she plans to hire people from the escort agency first, we can directly insert the embroidered-clad historian into the agency for her to hire.

Yan Zisang immediately acknowledged the order and instructed his subordinates.

“Your Highness, as of this morning, the Prince of Anqing’s residence has summoned several imperial physicians overnight, but no other actions have been observed. Additionally, the merchant Wen Zhuojin visited is named Abad. He has his own fleet of merchant ships and connections with the royal family of the Dashi Kingdom. His escort fleet is quite formidable, which is why he has been able to travel between the Dashi Kingdom and Yunjing City. However, he also has significant business dealings in Southern Chu, including the illicit sale of weapons and horses. Recently, Abad returned to Yunjing City and met several times with the grandfather of the Virtuous Consort, the old Duke Protector. I suspect the old Duke Protector is planning to purchase weapons and horses.”

“Your Highness holds the military tally, so the 100,000 troops in the northern frontier cannot be mobilized by them. Thus, they are trying to recruit soldiers and buy horses. They have repeatedly interfered in the northern frontier, sending a military supervisor and recently causing issues with provisions. It seems they are trying to suppress the northern frontier and attempt to change its leadership.”

Yan Qinglan inquired further about the current situation, and Yan Zisang responded in a low voice.

Yan Qinglan listened without much change in expression, her unfocused eyes displaying a cold indifference to life. Beneath her sleeve, her fingers caressed the jade bracelet Wen Zhuojin had placed on her wrist that morning.

Wen Zhuojin had nearly encountered trouble at that merchant’s establishment, and Yan Qinglan was already dissatisfied with the merchant. With so much happening behind the scenes, Yan Qinglan had no reason to hesitate, even if dealing with them would be troublesome.

“I recall that Abad initially replaced someone named Hassan. Send someone to find this Hassan and see if we can take over the merchant’s business. If not, we can use his name to eliminate Abad. Within the Dashi royal family, Abad likely belongs to the faction of the first prince, while the third prince’s merchant fleet…”

“The old Duke Protector is becoming senile. Let’s make him even more so.”

“The urgent message from the northern frontier should arrive soon. We can either let the Northern Qiang invade or quickly resolve the provisions issue and let Qing Chenning observe the court’s reaction. Meanwhile, we should find a way to raise some funds to help the northern frontier army through this crisis.”

Yan Qinglan spoke softly, quickly analyzing the situation based on the information she already knew.

Given the current situation, the reason there is still a fake version of her in the palace is likely because they fear losing control over others.

Aside from those who wish to harm her, there are several groups trying to profit from the chaos.

Yan Qinglan’s right-hand men are the embroidered-clad historians and the northern frontier army.

However, even with the golden fish tally, the northern frontier army cannot immediately march to Yunjing City.

If the northern frontier army lacks provisions, they cannot be of assistance.

The surrounding garrison troops are insufficient, so we need to find another solution.

Protecting the northern frontier army and raising troops nearby will require a significant amount of silver.

The imperial merchant Fan Weisuo, whom Yan Qinglan was unable to meet yesterday, is the person she plans to see today.

Yan Zisang has already arranged the meeting at a restaurant near the merchant’s establishment.

Soon, Yan Qinglan was led to a private room in the restaurant. Moments later, Yan Zisang brought in a slightly overweight middle-aged man.

Yan Qinglan lifted a corner of her veil to glance at the man, who immediately knelt down.

“Your Highness, a thousand years to you! I was unaware of your arrival and failed to welcome you properly. I deserve ten thousand deaths!” the man exclaimed. He was none other than Fan Weisuo, the person Yan Qinglan had come to meet.

“Those who are unaware are not at fault. Rise,” Yan Qinglan said indifferently, lowering the corner of her veil.

“May I ask why Your Highness has summoned me?” Fan Weisuo inquired.

“It’s nothing major. I simply need to borrow some silver from you. I know you’ve long desired the permit for copper mining. If you can raise one hundred thousand taels of silver for me, I can grant your request,” Yan Qinglan stated directly, her voice cool and authoritative.

“…” Fan Weisuo’s expression changed upon hearing her words. He had just stood up but immediately knelt back down.

“Your Highness, in the past, I would have sold myself to raise the funds for you. However… Tianxuan Palace demanded three hundred thousand taels of silver from me just a few days ago as an offering. I truly cannot produce that much silver at the moment. If Your Highness is in urgent need, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a month or two. I beg for Your Highness’s forgiveness!”

Fan Weisuo kowtowed several times as he spoke.

Yan Qinglan’s expression shifted slightly, and she let out a soft sigh.

Jiangxiao had already pressured Fan Weisuo for silver, likely anticipating that she would turn to him for funds.

They had emptied Fan Weisuo’s available silver in advance.

“How much can you provide now?” Yan Qinglan asked.

“Your Highness, I can only offer twenty thousand taels at the moment…” Fan Weisuo stammered.

“Then bring that amount first. Continue raising the rest, and I expect it within a month,” Yan Qinglan said after a pause. Twenty thousand taels was still silver, though for her, it was far too little.

Fan Weisuo hurriedly and tremblingly handed over the silver notes to Yan Qinglan.

After dismissing Fan Weisuo, Yan Qinglan and Yan Zisang quickly left the restaurant.

Before coming to Fan Weisuo, Yan Qinglan had considered several possibilities, but she hadn’t expected the worst-case scenario.

There were other imperial merchants she could approach for silver, but it was likely that they, too, had either been drained of funds or warned in advance.

She wasn’t sure if they had already colluded with Jiangxiao and others, and meeting them rashly could be risky.

“Your Highness, there’s something I’m not sure if I should say,” Yan Zisang’s voice broke through her thoughts, and Yan Qinglan turned her attention to him.

“Why wouldn’t you say it? Speak,” Yan Qinglan replied.

“Your Highness, then I’ll speak. Actually, Miss Wen has silver. Why not ask her for it?” Yan Zisang coughed lightly before speaking.

“How much silver could she possibly have?” Yan Qinglan asked.

“Your Highness, from what I know, Miss Wen’s incense shop earns at least forty to fifty thousand taels of silver monthly. She also owns a bookstore with similar earnings. Additionally, she has a tea shop that brings in around twenty thousand taels per month… Even after taxes and the two-tenths tribute to Tianxuan Palace, she should still have enough to provide one hundred thousand taels…”

Yan Zisang explained.

Yan Qinglan paused. She had known from previous interactions that Wen Zhuojin was skilled at earning silver, but she hadn’t realized the extent of her financial prowess.

Yan Qinglan now had a concrete understanding from the figures Yan Zisang provided.

Given this, it made perfect sense why so many factions were vying for Wen Zhuojin.

No wonder that little rascal had been so upset when Tianxuan Palace demanded an extra tenth.

But how could she ask Wen Zhuojin for silver?

In Wen Zhuojin’s eyes, she was merely a delicate, blind woman confined to her residence. What need would she have for silver?

If she revealed her true identity to Wen Zhuojin, the latter would likely wish her to the deepest depths of hell. Why would she ever give her silver?

“She doesn’t know my identity yet. I’ll need to think about this. If the imperial merchants are out of the question, there are still a few major merchants we can try. We’ll raise as much as we can. Since Jiangxiao and the others are prepared, we’ll need to find another way. If that fails, we must obtain the golden fish tally as soon as possible. However, the tally is in the palace, and we’ll need a moment of chaos to retrieve it…”

Yan Qinglan changed the subject as the carriage she was in slowly moved forward. Meanwhile, on the bustling Shangxin Road, Wen Zhuojin, accompanied by her entourage, entered a security escort agency.

Wen Zhuojin had left her residence with much more discretion today. She was dressed in a male-style round-collared robe, wore a veil, and had a belt adorned with several self-defense items. She was prepared in case anything similar to the previous incident happened again.

After speaking with the chief escort at the agency, Wen Zhuojin was soon presented with a group of available escorts for her to choose from. She had brought along the maid who had seen the “kind-hearted stranger” the day before, hoping the maid could identify him. Among the group, one of the escorts had been arranged by Yan Zisang, so the maid quickly recognized him.

Wen Zhuojin couldn’t openly discuss the incident involving the Prince of Anqing’s son in public, so she simply selected the person and a few others who looked like skilled martial artists. She had them demonstrate their abilities to gauge their skills. One of them was a woman, and Wen Zhuojin had her maid, Zirong, spar with her to test her capabilities.

The skills of these escorts impressed Wen Zhuojin. Having trained with her cousin’s martial arts instructor, she had a good eye for talent. She felt that each of these escorts was far more skilled than the instructors her uncle had hired. Wen Zhuojin quickly decided on four men and one woman, hiring them as her guards for the next six months.

As soon as Wen Zhuojin finalized her selection, the news was relayed to Yan Zisang and his team.

“All the embroidered-clad historians we arranged have been chosen by Miss Wen. They are now accompanying her to purchase incense materials,” Yan Zisang reported to Yan Qinglan.

Hearing this, Yan Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief. With the carefully selected embroidered-clad historians by her side, Wen Zhuojin’s safety should no longer be a concern.

After spending half a day outside, giving various instructions, Yan Qinglan returned to the residence on Wujiu Lane just before noon, in time for the maid to deliver lunch and her medicine.

After lunch and her medicine, Yan Qinglan spent some time pondering her next steps. Qin Yuerou came to play the zither for her and read a few passages from a storybook.

Earlier, after meeting Fan Weisuo, Yan Qinglan had also met with a royal relative, an uncle of hers. In the past, this uncle had been kind and supportive, but during this meeting, Yan Qinglan sensed a clear lack of respect. He feigned ignorance to her probing questions and played dumb when she tried to gauge his loyalty.

Although she hadn’t been completely sidelined yet, her prolonged illness had led to a gradual erosion of her authority. Those who had once been loyal to her were now being marginalized. Even her presence no longer carried the same weight as before.

Just half a day outside had left Yan Qinglan utterly exhausted. To her, the residence on Wujiu Lane felt like a different world, a sanctuary.

When Wen Zhuojin returned in the afternoon, Yan Qinglan was dozing off.

“Sister, I’m back!” Wen Zhuojin’s voice woke Yan Qinglan.

“Today, I brought you a new kind of pastry. I’m sure you’ve never had it before. Try it!” Wen Zhuojin said softly, helping Yan Qinglan sit up against a pillow.

After tasting a few bites of the sweet but not overly rich pastry, Wen Zhuojin took Yan Qinglan’s hand and placed a jade hairpin in it. The hairpin felt smooth and polished, clearly of high quality.

“This jade hairpin suits you perfectly.” Wen Zhuojin said with a smile.

“…” Yan Qinglan thought about the expensive brocade Wen Zhuojin had used for her, as well as the jade bracelet and now this hairpin. She realized that Wen Zhuojin must have spent a considerable amount on these gifts.