Author: Vanilla Muse

T/N: Double update for TBL today. Running late, but this is for the last week of Nov and the first week of Dec. Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 112.2 – Before Departure

Yu Bo Fei laughed loudly, “No need to be humble. If you can inflict a serious blow on the second prince and his party, then this is a credit to you and the brothers under your command. When the time comes I will evaluate the merit of your actions and reward accordingly.”

Gong Yun no longer declined. He saluted and said, “I thank the commander on behalf of my brothers.”

Yu Bo Fei waved his hand.

……

At the Imperial Fu Palace, An Zi Ran and Fu Wu Tian had already finished up preparations for their trip to Ali Xiang. The departure date has also been set, and it just so happened to be on the fifteenth of November. But An Zi Ran could not feel at ease leaving the little bun behind.

Their destination, Ali Xiang, was far away, and they might be delayed along the road for ten to fifteen days. The little bun was too young. It was not suitable for him to go on this trip with them. But once An Zi Ran thought of the little bun ‘living alone’ with the lao wang ye under one roof, he worried that what happened before would occur again.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

“Go at ease. I will watch over the lao wang ye strictly.”

Fu Yi stepped forward to assure him. The smile on his face was more horrifying than usual. Last time, he also promised An Zi Ran the same thing, but the lao wang ye still slipped in through a gap. His illustrious reputation… this time, if he committed the same fault as last time, then he could just fire himself. He was as good as his word.

This was the first time that An Zi Ran saw such an expression on the head steward’s face, and he immediately felt relieved.

In the afternoon, Wang Qing Lan’s servant girl, Qi Qiao, came over. It was as if she caught wind of some news.

“Fourth Concubine wants to see me?” An Zi Ran looked at Qi Qiao unexpectedly. Because Wang Qing Lan’s status was merely that of a concubine, so she couldn’t go to other people’s houses willy-nilly, not even if it was the house of An Zi Ran’s husband, so she could only send Qi Qiao over to look for him.

Qi Qiao lowered her head. “Yes, Young Master.”

An Zi Ran remembered that he hadn’t seen Wang Qing Lan for a while. He was very busy, so he didn’t have time to pay attention to her. But since coming to the capital, the number of times that she left the An Palace was low. She seemed to be living quietly and not causing trouble, so he thought that she had finally settled down.

“You go back first. I’ll head over in a moment.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

A little while later, An Zi Ran returned to the An Palace alone. An Palace was nominally also his home, but he had only been there two or three times.

Wang Qing Lan and her personal maid, Qi Qiao, were already waiting for him in the main hall of the Palace. As soon as she saw An Zi Ran, a flash of joy flickered in Wang Qing Lan’s eyes. Although she quickly smothered the joy, it was still detected by An Zi Ran.

“I heard from Qi Qiao that Fourth Concubine was looking for me. What’s the matter?”

As soon as An Zi Ran walked in, he questioned her straightforwardly before he even sat down.

The smile on Wang Qing Lan’s face went stiff. Originally, she had wanted to reminisce with him about old times, but she could only explain, “It’s like this, I heard that you and Fu wang ye are preparing to leave Jun Zi City, is that true?”

An Zi Ran furrowed his brows. “Where did you hear that?”

Wang Qing Lan perceived that he was not happy, so she explained again, “Don’t misunderstand me, I didn’t inquire about your and Fu wang ye’s matters. It’s just that, coincidentally, one day I heard the servants from the Imperial Fu Palace shouting through the wall, so I guessed that perhaps you were planning to go out. I definitely did not intentionally inquire about it.”

An Zi Ran’s serious expression eased a little. The movements of the past few days were indeed quite large. If she had stood by the wall, it was not impossible for her to overhear.

“You had me come over here just to say this?”

Wang Qing Lan said, “I’m just afraid that if for some reason I wanted to consult with you over something, I would not be able to find you. That’s why I want to discuss it with you, if such a time were to occur whom should I look for then?”

An Zi Ran said, “I didn’t know that Fourth Concubine had the ability to prophesize the future without being a clairvoyant.”

Wang Qing Lan heard the sarcasm in his words, and a trance of stiffness flashed across her face. “Fourth Concubine just wants to take precautions against any contingencies, nothing more.”

An Zi Ran knew that she must have another purpose, otherwise she would not specifically ask him to come over and ask about it. But she did remind him that Wang Qing Lan has been acting too peacefully during this time. The more peaceful she was, the more problematic it was, like the calm before the storm.

It was just that he would not be in Jun Zi City for the new two or three months. If something did indeed crop up, he would be too far away to act. It seemed that he had to find someone to keep an eye her.

“I understand. If there is a problem that cannot be solved, you can go look for the head steward in the Imperial Fu Palace. He will help you solve it.”

Wang Qing Lan said with a happy face, “Okay. Fourth Concubine understands.”

An Zi Ran gave her a deep look before leaving.

Wang Qing Lan watched his departing back, and finally she could not contain the growing joy on her face. An Zi Ran though that she had some objective, and she did indeed, but it wasn’t some conspiracy. She just wanted to borrow the reputation of the Imperial Fu Palace, and make those people who looked down on her think that her relationship with the Imperial Fu Palace was very good, that’s all.

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Chapter 112.1 – Before Departure

The Yu Manor was about the same size as the Imperial Fu Palace, but Yu gui fei’s* father, Yu Zheng, as an important minister for two imperial dynasties, and a high official of the Ministry of War, the amount of effort that he invested into Da Ya was almost equally matched to Zhang Sun Cheng De.

[*T/N: Different from the Yu huang gui fei mentioned before. Huang gui fei is a higher rank than gui fei.]

Thus, due to all the work that he contributed for the sake of Da Ya, the previous emperor bestowed this mansion house to Yu Zheng. At the time of construction, it was built according to the specifications of a prince’s palace, so it was a bit more majestic than other government houses.

Gong Yun looked up to see a plaque with the words Fu Manor directly above the front door. His astute eyes than darted back down and he strode inside.

The doorkeepers of the Yu Manor have seen him before and knew that he was the master’s trusted aide. Last year, he rose to serve as the deputy commander of the imperial guards. Therefore the doorkeepers were very respectful. They diligently invited him inside, not daring to neglect him.

Gong Yun didn’t dare to ignore the rules of the Yu Manor even if he had been there a few times before. He respectfully followed the Yu Manor steward to Yu Bo Fei’s study room.

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Yu Bo Fei was Yu huang gui fei’s older brother. He was already forty-five years old this year. He had one son and one daughter. The older son was already twenty-three years old. From childhood, he was the third prince’s study partner. Compared to the third prince, Fu Yuan Yang, whose temperament was not that good, disagreeable and irascible; his son, on the contrary, was thoughtful and meticulous. The two complemented each other very well.

“Come in!”

Yu Bo Fei’s customary awe-inspiring voice rang out from within the study.

Gong Yun steadied his nerves, pushed open the door, and walked in. However, the steward did not leave, but kept watch at the door of the study, seeming to be there to prevent anyone from overhearing.

“Commander, what did you summon me for?” Gong Yun asked, with his expression the same as ever. He walked in front of Yu Bo Fei, who was buried under legal files, and had yet to lift his head.

Yu Bo Fei finally lifted his head and showed a resolute expression. Already forty-five years old, but he looked like he was only in his thirties. His face was not angry as his eyes fell on Gong Yun. Only after a while did he open his mouth.

“Gong Yun, I remember that you have always been a person with propriety. You should know that the person behind Bao Hua Gambling House is the fifth prince. He has the Zhao family’s support, and behind him there is the second prince backing him in court. This time, why did you not tell me first before openly confronting them?”

Gong Yun raised his eyes and said, “Commander, you should have already heard about Tian Long Gambling House.”

Yu Bo Fei nodded. “This matter was such a tumultuous event, that it would be hard not to hear about it. I know what you mean, but what does this have to do with you?”

“It has nothing to do with me, “ Gong Yun said, “but it does have something to do with the Yu family.”

Yu Bo Fei looked at him. “Why do you say so?”

Gong Yun said, “Bao Hua Gambling House is the most profitable industry under the fifth prince’s name. These years, the circulation of his funds all depends on this casino to operate. Also, all of his dirty money goes through Bao Hua Gambling House to become clean money. If Bao Hua Gambling House collapses or there is some problem, wouldn’t it be a big hit for the second prince and his faction?”

With this in mind, he took the risk and brought twenty brothers under his lead to intervene in the matter. Even if the second prince’s faction bore a grudge against them because of this, it did not matter. They were hostile towards each other to begin with.

In recent years, the second prince has become so popular that even the Chong Ming Emperor has praised him many times at court in front of the civil and military officials. There has even been word that the throne might be passed to him. How could the Yu family not be alert!

Yu Bo Fei was a smart man, and soon came to think of this too.

It was no secret that Bao Hua Gambling House and Tian Long Gambling House were in dispute with each other, but since the opening of Tian Long Gambling House, Bao Hua Gambling House has never benefited from the confrontation between the two, and each time they lost miserably.

Although it was a matter between the two gambling houses, there were many people in Jun Zi City who were paying attention to this matter, including Yu Bo Fei, but the focus of his attention was not on Bao Hua Gambling House, rather, it was on Tian Long Gambling House.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

From the appearance of this mysterious gambling house to the present, no one knew who the mastermind behind it was. At the beginning, no one particularly cared about it. There were many gambling houses within the capital. It was common to see gambling houses rise and fall. When there was competition, naturally there would be failure.

Everyone was calm until the emergence of mahjong and playing card games.

The emergence of the new gambling games meant reform. Many people immediately thought of the benefits. They all thought of sticking their noses in and harshly barring the other’s path, but Tian Long Gambling House protected these two kinds of gambling games very closely, especially mahjong. Its production method was a mystery till this day.

Yu Bo Fei was not a businessman, but even he was envious of the development prospects of these two types of gambling games. If Tian Long Gambling House were to truly develop, then the nine major gambling houses, such as Bao Hua Gambling House were likely to suffer indelible damage.

Yu Bo Fei said, “You did very well. It is I who blamed you wrongly.”

Gong Yun said, “I don’t deserve your praise. This subordinate is merely doing what he should do.”

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Chapter 111.2 – Number One Merchant

Concerning Fu Yuan Jian’s decision to be Da Ya’s number one merchant, Zhao Gang and Yun fei were not in agreement, but on the contrary, Zhao Yi was supportive of Fu Yuan Jian’s decision, because he knew that Fu Yuan Jian was not suited to being an emperor.

“To be able to subdue Fu Yuan Jian and Zhao Yi, Fu Yuan Cheng does indeed have skill!”

After hearing what Fu Wu Tian said, An Zi Ran nodded in agreement. Then he remembered another thing and suddenly raised his head. “Based on what you’re saying, shouldn’t it be Fu Yuan Jian behind Bao Hua Gambling House?”

Fu Wu Tian was a little surprised by his keenness.

When An Zi Ran saw Fu Wu Tian’s expression, he knew that his guess was most likely correct. Fu Yuan Jian and Fu Yuan Cheng were both on the same boat, no matter which one he was up against, it was the same.

Translations are by vmnovels [dot] com, if you’re reading this anywhere else, then it was stolen.

……

Early the next morning, Li Zhen personally brought someone with him to deliver the playing cards to the casino. They went through the back door, so not many people saw them going in. No one knew that the first batch of playing cards have been prepared until the casino advertised them.

An Zi Ran’s plan was to temporarily sell the first batch of playing cards at the casino, because the gamblers themselves were the best publicity. With their help, through word of mouth, news of the new playing cards should spread within half a day. However, the results were even better than he had expected.

In less than a day, four thousand decks of playing cards were sold. After learning that the price for a deck of cards was one hundred and fifty coins, some of the gamblers felt a little sore, but at the thought of the rarity of this thing, they steeled themselves and bought it.

Some people even bought five decks. If the casino did not limit them to five decks per a customer, then they probably would have bought more. And for those who hesitated for too long, when they finally made up their minds to buy it, the decks were all sold out. One by one they all immediately regretted their hesitation.

As for the remaining one thousand decks of playing cards, An Zi Ran had other plans.

Five hundred of them were gifted to gold card members of the little garden as member benefits.

As for the other five hundred decks, An Zi Ran had already found a shop to his liking, and was planning to open a store selling playing cards in the capital, genuinely geared towards the common people. As for how many people would buy the playing cards that would depend on the people (and whether or not they were willing to part with their money).

After news of the novel playing cards store circulated, those who did not buy the cards at the casino all went to the store early the next morning and squatted outside to wait, but the cards were sold out quickly. Excluding manufacturing and labor costs, five thousand decks of playing cards made a net profit of three to four hundred silvers.

In the past, Li Zhen absolutely did not dare to imagine that he could earn so much money in one day. This result strengthened his determination to cooperate with An Zi Ran.

What was unfortunate was that the second batch of playing cards would take some time to produce. As for the mahjong cards, An Zi Ran intended to wait until they came back from Ali Xiang to promote them. As long as they had the technological skills, they did not have to worry about being preempted by Bao Hua Gambling House.

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……

At the same time, Bao Hua Gambling House welcomed the arrival of their master.

Luo Yang and Jiang Sheng did not expect that their master would come in person. While being startled, they could also guess that their master must have heard about the playing cards.

Both of them were very nervous and apprehensive in their hearts. When they rushed to the private booth, they saw their master’s unhappy expression. And when their master saw them coming in, his angry eyes fell upon them like a whip.

“This prince left matters into your hands, but this is the results you give this prince?” Fu Yuan Jian said as he smashed the teacup in his hands at their feet. The pieces of the teacup were scattered everywhere. There were porcelain shards in nearly all four corners of the room.

Luo Yang closed his eyes and did not speak. After calming down, he was not as panicked as before.

The current person in charge of Bao Hua Gambling House was not him, but Jiang Sheng. He was responsible too, but wang ye’s anger must be directed at the person currently in charge of the gambling house.

“Wang ye, right now the workshop is producing official card paper with all their effort. In three days time, they will be able to produce five thousand sheets of official card paper. We should still be able to make it on time,” Jiang Sheng braced himself to explain.

“What do you understand?!” Fu Yuan Jian snorted coldly. “In business, making the first move is an advantage. You said it would take three days before we can get the official card paper. What about the time for making playing cards? By that time, Tian Long Gambling House will have produced their second and third batch of playing cards. At that time do you still think there will be leeway for us to display our playing cards?”

Jiang Sheng didn’t have business acumen, so of course he didn’t know about such things, but even if he knew, there was nothing that he could do, because three days was indeed the fastest.

He had thought of going to other counties to buy the paper, but official card paper was not a precious product that could be easily popularized. The quality of paper from paper mills near the capital was not as good as the one within the capital itself. There were better papermaking workshops farther away, but they were too far, and it would take more than three days to go back and forth.

Fu Yuan Jian also knew this, but he needed a place to vent.

He was determined to the number one merchant in Da Ya. Bao Hua Gambling House was just the first step, because he needed to earn more money to do other things.

However, in his creed of life, no matter what industry he was in, he demanded to bet he best, however, just as he was striding towards success, someone harshly inserted a bar in his way. Not only did the other party successfully obtained Feng Hua Gambling House, they even snatched more than half of the business from Bao Hua Gambling House, resulting in the income of Bao Hua Gambling House becoming worse than before.

Translations by Vanilla Muse.

Now the other party was launching some kind of mahjong cards. If Tian Long Gambling House continued to develop like this, would there still be a place for them in the capital in the future? That’s why he wanted Jiang Sheng and Luo Yang to find out details about Tian Long Gambling House as soon as possible. What was even more unexpected and made him want to pull his hair out in frustration was that Yu Bo Fei’s trusted aide, Gong Yun, had dared to spoil his plans.

The only explanation was that Tian Long Gambling House might be related to the Yu family.

The more that Fu Yuan Jian thought about it, the more that he felt that this must be the case. The Yu family has always been at odds with the Zhao family. This was a fact that the entire Jun Zi City knew. If Gong Yun received Yu Bo Fei’s instructions to obstruct Fu Yuan Jian, then that would make sense.

But he could scarcely imagine that even Yu Bo Fei only learned about this matter after it had happened.

While Fu Yuan Jian scolded his men for being incompetent, Gong Yun was also summoned by Yu Bo Fei. The reason for the summons was related to the day that Gong Yun took the imperial guards to Boss Zhao’s house.

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