“Embezzling our money?”
Xia Xuanmiao sneered and shook her head. “Are the poor considered commoners, while we merchants are not? Isn’t this still preying on the people?”
“Ah! That’s not quite right!” Liang Zhichao immediately waved his hand. “Our county magistrate not only takes money from your pockets but also ensures you can earn money!”
“Then, all the money earned is reinvested locally, benefiting the common people at the bottom!”
“This way, merchants, the county magistrate, and the people all gain from it!”
“With your spending power, within a day, the county magistrate will surely send someone personally to invite you to dine with him!”
Hearing this, Xia Xuanmiao grew even more eager to meet this Li Mu.
Just as she was about to ask, Liang Zhichao immediately pointed ahead at the towering building and shouted, “Look! The largest inn in the county is here!”
Following Liang Zhichao’s pointing finger, Xia Xuanmiao was stunned!
The building before her was as tall as the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in the capital! Dozens of zhang high! And its area was astonishing! The decor was luxurious!
The building spanned the entire main street of the county town, consisting of two structures connected by a corridor twenty meters long, which itself was three to five zhang above the ground!
The top floors were covered with blue glazed tiles, making it look even more magnificent than the imperial palace from a distance!
A massive archway hung beneath the corridor over the main road, with the words “Crown Holiday Inn” written in large characters!
Surrounding it were lush green trees! For a hundred meters around, the open space was filled with lawns, ponds, rockeries, and other garden features!
Throughout the garden, commoners could be seen resting and strolling, along with scholars and literati reciting poetry or flirting with women.
This was practically on par with the imperial gardens!
“This… miss, is this the inn we booked?”
During her incognito inspection tours, Xia Xuanmiao would always send someone to inquire about the best inn at her next destination.
She had assumed that no matter how prosperous this small county town was, the inn would at most be a two-story building.
But the building before her had at least five or six floors! The floor area of a single building was so exaggerated it rivaled the main hall of the imperial palace!
Liang Zhichao, perceptive as ever, helped carry the luggage as they stepped off the public carriage. He led Xia Xuanmiao and her entourage, his face also filled with anticipation, into the inn’s lobby.
As they approached the inn’s entrance, several attendants dressed in silk immediately approached. “Esteemed guests! Please come inside! Leave your luggage to us!”
Upon entering the lobby, the three-zhang-high space was equally opulent!
Guests came and went in an endless stream, each adorned with gold and silver.
When Liang Zhichao went to the front desk to negotiate with several women dressed like palace dancers, even the usually composed imperial guard Xue Zhiyun couldn’t hold back.
He immediately approached Xia Xuanmiao and whispered, “Your Majesty, this inn is larger than a prince’s mansion! Hmph! This is practically overstepping one’s bounds!”
“Indeed!” The maid Si Qin also chimed in. “Why doesn’t Your Majesty simply reveal your identity and summon that corrupt official to question him face-to-face!”
Xia Xuanmiao waved her hand. “No rush. That young man earlier said he would invite us over. Hmph! Let’s just wait and see!”
“I want to see exactly what this corrupt official is plotting!”
If this corrupt official could build an inn more extravagant than a prince’s mansion!
Xia Xuanmiao didn’t even dare imagine what his private residence must look like!
But at the moment, rushing to reveal her identity would only mean missing out on learning more.
“That corrupt official has committed countless crimes—I will investigate slowly and thoroughly! Once I return to the palace, I’ll settle every single account with him, one by one!”
After booking the room, Liang Zhichao hurried over, clasping his hands and saying, “Hehe, miss! The room is booked! For someone of your status, you deserve the Imperial Suite! It’s on the top floor of the building across the way! You can overlook the entire Shangyang County from there!”
“Imperial Suite?”
Xia Xuanmiao was stunned again.
What kind of inn dared to name a room the “Imperial Suite”? Did they think she, the Empress, didn’t exist?
How utterly arrogant!
“Um, about the money…” Liang Zhichao rubbed his hands together. “I’m sure money isn’t an issue for you all. The price for one night in the Imperial Suite is six guan, four qian, and eight wen.”
Hearing the price, Xia Xuanmiao nearly stumbled and fell!
“How much?!” Even Xue Zhiyun, who was usually calm and composed, was dumbfounded!
He could tolerate the Pocket Watch selling for a few hundred guan—after all, that thing did have some technical sophistication.
But an inn charging six-four-eight for one night? Wasn’t this blatant price gouging?
They had traveled through most of Daxia and never encountered an inn charging more than one guan!
But then again, she had already bought a Pocket Watch for five thousand guan, so 648 didn’t seem quite as outrageous anymore.
After exchanging a meaningful glance, the maid in charge of the money reluctantly pulled out several strings of coins and handed them to Liang Zhichao.
Liang Zhichao passed the money to the front desk and immediately led the group up to the third floor.
The first floor of the inn housed the lobby and a tavern, the second floor was the dining area, and the third floor and above were the guest rooms.
Upon reaching the third floor and crossing the corridor bridge spanning the main street, Xia Xuanmiao was once again rendered speechless by the sight before her!
Standing on the fifty-foot-high corridor bridge, she first saw the bustling traffic on both sides of the street!
Next was the extraordinarily lively gambling house across the bridge!
Seeing Xia Xuanmiao staring motionlessly at the gambling house, Liang Zhichao immediately chimed in, “Hehe, miss, the Crown Holiday Inn isn’t just an inn—it’s a comprehensive entertainment center combining accommodation, dining, and entertainment!”
“Of course, it’s also invested in and supported by our great County Magistrate!”
Another business owned by that corrupt magistrate?
Xia Xuanmiao took a deep breath to prevent herself from losing her temper.
“What you see before you is the largest gambling house in the county! The Shangyang Crowne Entertainment City! Not only does it have sexy beauties dealing cards, but it’s also the largest and most luxurious brothel in the county!”
“But… since you’re a young lady, you probably won’t get to enjoy that service…”
Hearing this, Xia Xuanmiao immediately shot a glare at Liang Zhichao.
Liang Zhichao shrank back, embarrassed. “Hehe, I spoke out of turn! I spoke out of turn!”
Meanwhile, at the County Sheriff’s office.
“Sir Cheng! We’ve found her—that little beauty is currently at the Crown Inn!”
A constable reported with a sly grin.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Dazhuang’s bearded face broke into a cunning smile. “Hmph! She sure knows how to live it up! If she finds out our County Magistrate has taken a liking to her, she’ll be able to stay in places like that anytime she wants! She’ll be overjoyed!”
“Let’s go! Let’s fetch a wife for the County Magistrate!”
Just then, a minor official suddenly stopped Cheng Dazhuang. “Sir Cheng, the County Magistrate did tell you that you’re now an imperial official—you should change your way of doing things!”
“Get out of here!”
Cheng Dazhuang shoved the clerk aside and said, “Do you think I don’t know what my position is now? Since I’m serving as an official, I have to act like one. Of course, we can’t just abduct her outright!”
“So, what does Lord Cheng plan to do?”
Cheng Dazhuang thought for a moment, then grinned mischievously. “We’ll trick her away.”
Hearing this, the clerk was dumbfounded!
“What? Lord Cheng! This… isn’t this pretty much the same as abducting her?”
“Get lost! Today, I’m determined to play matchmaker!”
“If Lord Li has taken a liking to her, then even if she were the Empress herself, she’d have to stay and become my sister-in-law!”
Cheng Dazhuang gave the clerk another shove. “Lord Li has done me a great favor! Now that he’s finally taken an interest in a girl, how can I, as his brother, not lend a hand?”
“Listen up, lads! Remember—she’s our future magistrate’s wife! Keep it steady! Don’t scare her!”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Tsk! What ‘Boss’? Call me ‘Lord’! We’re officials, not bandits!”
“Right, Boss! No problem, Boss!”