The Empress’s Gigolo

The formerly bustling Jinyang Street went into recession after six months of war and especially suffered after Great Xia, the Yun Nation, and the Chen Nation cut off the trade routes to Dayao. Most of the shops selling salt, wine, and cloth, which used to be the most patronized in the past, were closed. Most of the passersby came and departed in a hurry or went into shops and inns opened by a few aboriginals.

The only times that the street came alive were when the government was selling salt.

Yet, during these last few days, the street was filled with people. Not only were high ranking officials out in force, but even many passersby would also make a stop.

From a distance, you could spot the sign that said, “Royal Glass” hanging in the middle of the area.

Zhang Junzheng and his nephews, Zhang Heqi and Zhang Heju, were looking from afar and could not see the area properly because human heads blocked their view. Zhang Heqi pointed ahead and said, “Fifth Uncle, it’s over there.”

“You said that there are transparent utensils that look like crystal in there. I remember there were some aboriginals peddling such goods half a year ago and that they were robbed by Qingfeng City’s warlord, Ye Ke. Ye Ke and his clan were exterminated a month later, and the goods were snatched back. If, according to you, the prices of these utensils are so low, I can’t understand why they travelled thousands of miles to snatch them back,” Zhang Junzheng said doubtfully.

He could never imagine that Ren Baqian felt like 10,000 jumping alpacas when Hong Bao snatched these things back!

At that moment, Ren Baqian felt like killing Hong Bao with a kick.

Hong Bao should have snatched some silver when raiding the treasury of the other party.

He expended so much effort just to grab back the glasses and mirrors that were stolen!

Ren Baqian only stopped being resentful after comparing his fighting ability with Hong Bao’s. However, he felt even more depressed after seeing Hong Bao express unwarranted pride.

Zhang Junzheng and his nephews squeezed through the crowd. If they didn’t possess some martial arts skills, they wouldn’t even have been able to squeeze past the people at the periphery of the crowd.

Despite Zhang Junzheng being an Earth Wheel expert, he was almost pushed to the other side of the street by the crowd.

The three didn’t dare to become angry as there were a few commoners among the aboriginals here who were at about the Earth Wheel level. In the Yun Nation, Zhang Junzheng, as an Earth Wheel expert, was considered a somebody. He was sad that a commoner here might even be more than a match for him.

The martial talent of the aboriginals was the envy of others.

Fortunately, they weren’t so smart.

It was fair that an advantage was accompanied by a disadvantage!

The three managed with great difficulty to get to the front before they saw the guards at the entrance of the shop. They were mainly there to prevent the glass windows from being broken by these people.

If there was nobody guarding the store, Qin Chuan would be the first to strike, but he would certainly not be the last one to do so.

The three stood at the front of the crowd to look at the shop and clucked in amazement.

The wooden boards on both sides of the shop were replaced with eight panels. Each panel was divided into six lattices that were transparent in the center. The crystal-like panel on top wasn’t visible unless a careful observation was made. The light that passed through the glass layer lit up the whole shop.

There were only a few dozen people in the shop, and the whole shop was visible from the front door. The shelves on the walls were filled with products made of glass, such as cups, dishes, bowls, and containers. More than ten night pearls on the walls illuminated the products dazzlingly.

“Are these the glasswares sold by this shop?” Zhang Junzheng asked.

Zhang Heqi, who had been here once before, said incredulously, “These are marvellous creations, and I don’t know how they are made. Furthermore, they are so cheap. One glass cup only costs ten taels of silver even when it can be sold for 100 taels.”

This was the first time he saw someone cheaply selling something that could fetch a high price.

“They sold them at an expensive price of 500 taels of silver for a crystal cup in the Yun Nation. It seems like the cost of this type of glass is very low and that Sir Ren is rather capable,” Zhang Junzheng said flatly.

“Fifth Uncle, about the bet…” Zhang Heju asked softly.

“There is no need to worry as the best craftsmen from the Zhang family are already being dispatched.” As Zhang Junzheng twitched his lips, a soft voice was transmitted to their ears.

A moment later, some of the customers came out of the shop. Subsequently, the three were allowed to enter.

Upon entering the shop, they felt cool and refreshed. At the corners of the shop were ice tubs filled with ice-cubes.

Recently in Lan city, ice was no longer a rarity and there were dozens of shaved-ice shops. The three men didn’t pay much attention to this and focused their attention on the glass utensils on the shelves.

“How much does this cost?” Zhang Junzheng saw a transparent teapot set with teacups that he liked very much and asked the salesperson in the shop.

A young Jing Tribe lady in the store looked at him and said, “800 taels!”

“Is it that expensive?” Zhang Junzheng was stunned.

One transparent cup cost ten taels. How could one tea set cost 800 taels?

“How much is this cup?” Zhang Junzheng pointed at a cup and asked.

“150 taels!” the lady said. The rest of the customers in the shop turned to look at the cup in surprise. They then looked at Zhang Junzheng, thought about the price they were quoted earlier, and wondered whether they had heard incorrectly.

However, they heartily burst into laughter after someone whispered in their ears.

Zhang Junzheng glanced at Zhang Heqi and Zhang Heqi in shock and asked, “Isn’t this ten taels?”

The lady simply smiled diplomatically and didn’t reply.

Zhang Junzheng thought for a while and said sternly, “Let’s go.”

“Fifth Uncle, I definitely saw them selling it for ten taels the last time I was here.” Zhang Heqi was still seething at the injustice after getting out of the crowd.

“They sell to the aboriginals at ten taels!” Zhang Junzheng said sullenly.

He was filled with uncontrollable anger.

Previously, it had always been the foreigners who sold to the aboriginals at a higher price. He never expected this situation to now be reversed by the barbarians.

It really caused him to be furious.

…

“Tong Zhenye just mentioned that the things in the glass shop are priced cheaply,” the empress told Ren Baqian while they were sitting in the garden.

“They aren’t cheap.” Ren Baqian shook his head. “I will be in trouble if the prices are raised.”

The cost of glass was very low. Selling a glass cup at ten taels was already a sky-high price.

In the case of the ordinary officials in Dayao, the salary of an animal caretaker was about six taels of silver per month. Two months of salary could only be exchanged for one glass cup.

Those who could afford such items were the big shots from the imperial court.

Sooner or later, glass would become a cheap item that the ordinary commoners would be able to afford.

By that time, those big shots who bought these glass products would discover that they had been cheated.

He could imagine the response of this group of senior officials when they found out. They would look for him every day for compensation. Thinking of these consequences, Ren Baqian didn’t feel like bearing the responsibility.

“As long as the sales volume of the glass products rises up, the profit will not be low. For those custom-made glass products, a window requires at least six pieces and costs 60 taels of silver, so an ordinary house with two windows would have to spend 120 taels. Including the door, the cost would be about 200 taels. The houses of the important people have eight to 10 rooms. Furthermore, glassware is fragile, so product consumption will be high.”

At this point, Ren Baqian said with some regret, “My original intention was to use the glass to make a fortune from the Yun Nation and Great Xia, but it’s a pity that this plan was destroyed by the sudden war. Fortunately, these goods can be sold to them at high prices as long as they don’t know how to make glass—even if they feel the pinch. Of course, we can’t sell a cup at the exorbitant price of 500 taels anymore.”

“We have been taken advantage of before—now is the time to get back some.” The empress thought about those hateful foreign merchants having to buy at a high price in the future and immediately felt better.

“Right, sooner or later, they have to return the favor.” Ren Baqian started to laugh. “Even if they don’t use glass, there are still mirrors, soaps, clocks… They will have to cough up the money they have taken.”

The empress thought that these words sounded rather disgusting and twisted his ear with one hand.