Back at the Ninth Prince’s Residence, Chen Chu got down from the carriage. At that moment, Miss Yueyao walked over from beside a blue jade lion statue as tall as a man and greeted him with a respectful bow.
“Your servant pays respects to His Highness the Ninth Prince!”
Chen Chu stood tall and straight, then answered with a faint smile. “Miss Yueyao is my friend, so there is no need to address yourself that way. You came all the way to the prince’s residence to see me. Is something the matter?”
“Mm.”
Yueyao nodded hard. Her bright, watery eyes looked a little dazed and cute as she said with a hint of apology, “Miss Liuli sent me! She said that what happened last night was not her intention. It was Madam who made the decision on her own, which led to everything that followed. To express her apology, Miss Liuli hopes that the Ninth Prince will go to the Heavenly Palace again tonight. She is waiting in her boudoir to apologize.”
A lady apologizing in her boudoir would make any man start imagining things.
However, if Chen Chu were to say that everything from last night had been Madam’s doing alone, he would not believe it for a second.
Although Chen Chu had never met Shangguan Liuli, he knew very well that Shangguan Liuli was not someone a madam named Liu Chahua at the Heavenly Palace could control.
The reason was simple enough. She sat firmly in the top seat among the Heavenly Palace’s ladies, yet she could maneuver effortlessly among the high-ranking officials of the imperial city while still preserving her chastity. Even Imperial Grandson Chen Fengyi had failed to get what he wanted.
From that alone, Liu Chahua did not have that kind of ability.
“I’ll give Miss Yueyao face and accept the invitation.”
Chen Chu was just like someone who forgets the pain once the wound has healed; he agreed very readily.
So readily, in fact, that Yueyao could hardly believe it.
“The Ninth Prince is joking. It is not my face you are giving, but Miss Liuli’s. Then Ninth Prince, your servant… I will go report back now so that Miss Liuli can prepare early.”
“Miss Yueyao, I don’t take other people’s boats.”
“I understand. I’ll be waiting by the river on time for the Ninth Prince.”
As he stepped into the residence, Wu Dayong opened the door to welcome him and hurriedly explained, “This humble one did not know that Your Highness and this lady from the Heavenly Palace were friends, so I did not dare let her into the residence. Please punish me, Your Highness!”
Chen Chu glanced sideways, lifted his leg, and walked in, asking with interest, “Which eye of yours saw that she and I are friends?”
Wu Dayong thought: My ears saw it.
Of course, that sort of thought could only stay in his head.
“There is a kind of friend called a friend in name only. If you had let her into the residence today, you would definitely have been the one packing your bags and leaving. But next time, you may let her in after all. She is a friend in name only.”
Wu Dayong admired him a little. As expected of a prince, even his speech was learned.
“Come with me.”
Before long, Chen Chu brought Wu Dayong to the center of the garden and sat down on a jade bench. He studied Wu Dayong with a meaningful look for a short while, then said, “Do you know how I got out of trouble in court today?”
Wu Dayong shook his head. “This humble one does not know. But I imagine Your Highness did not use my method!”
That was a much more interesting answer.
Although Wu Dayong looked utterly ordinary and his realm had only just reached the early third rank, putting him on about the same level as an imperial palace guard… common as dirt… Chen Qing would never assign a useless man to be the butler of his residence.
“How can you tell?”
Wu Dayong lowered his head and said, “Your Highness has your own pride. But unlike other princes, whose pride shows on the surface, Your Highness’s pride is carved into your bones and fused into your bloodline. With Your Highness’s pride, since you dared to strike down Du Heng, you are not afraid of being charged with a crime.”
“In other words, Your Highness disdains defending yourself.”
“So even though this humble one gave Your Highness advice, it was no different from not giving any at all.”
That analysis was extremely precise.
“Not bad. The thing you rely on to eat is your brain.”
Chen Chu first praised him, then asked with a smile, “It is easy for you to stay in the prince’s residence as a butler. But if you want the Chancellor’s Residence to look at you in a new light, or even depend on you in the future, then you cannot remain a mere little butler. Just like me coming to the imperial city… I did not come merely to be a prince.”
“There are one million spirit stones in the treasury. I am putting them at your disposal. Is there any industry that can turn those one million spirit stones into ten times that amount within a year?”
Ten times the profit in a year?
Not a tenfold return on one hundred or one thousand spirit stones, but on a full one million spirit stones.
There were industries that could earn that much, but they were certainly rare.
Most importantly, any such wildly profitable industry would have someone behind it.
Especially in the power center of the Tianchen Dynasty, whoever stood behind an industry with massive profits would have an absolutely sky-high background.
And Wu Dayong knew all of this.
“To answer the Ninth Prince, among the current industries in the imperial city, only three can meet Your Highness’s profit requirement and are not operated by the court.”
“The first is the Heavenly Palace. Although it is a brothel, the Heavenly Palace has reached an unprecedented height. It makes money from the rich and powerful, and yet these rich and powerful people still rush toward it eagerly. Many people throw around vast sums of gold at the Heavenly Palace, yet they cannot even hold a lady’s hand. To be honest, the manager running the Heavenly Palace’s business is truly a business genius. Unfortunately, no one knows who that manager is. But everyone knows that the Heavenly Palace is the Grand Princess’s business.”
“If Your Highness wants to do this business, it will be very difficult to surpass the Heavenly Palace. And if you cannot surpass the Heavenly Palace, then the only money you can make is the small change the Heavenly Palace looks down on. Besides, this humble one feels that Your Highness would not enter the brothel trade!”
Chen Chu nodded. No matter how profitable a brothel was, he would not do it.
That was not because he thought himself morally superior, but because he found it distasteful.
“The second is Qiyi Pavilion, which specializes in buying and selling rare treasures and divine weapons. It has hundreds of branches, and its business spreads throughout the Tianchen Dynasty. This business relies on strong backing, abundant spirit stones, and immense power. The man behind Qiyi Pavilion is Imperial Preceptor Zhuge Changsheng, the master of the Hall of Anomalies. Your Highness may not know this, but before Mister Zhuge became the Tianchen Imperial Preceptor, he was the Alliance Leader of the Alliance Under Heaven, which had a million members and was rich enough to rival a nation. Later, no one knows what agreement he reached with His Majesty, but he dissolved the Alliance Under Heaven and entered the court. At the same time, he separately founded the Hall of Anomalies and Qiyi Pavilion.”
“The Hall of Anomalies gathers experts from all over the world who possess unique skills, while Qiyi Pavilion handles trade and makes money.”
“Let alone Your Highness having one million spirit stones, even if Your Highness had one hundred million spirit stones, you still could not do this business.”
Chen Chu said calmly, “The third one.”
“Yes!” Wu Dayong continued, “The third is Thousand Gold Terrace, a gambling house. It is also the largest gambling house in Tianchen that this humble one knows of. At Thousand Gold Terrace, as long as you dare place a bet, Thousand Gold Terrace dares to take it, no matter the amount. The people behind Thousand Gold Terrace are somewhat special. There are two backers, namely King Qing Chen Si and King Xuan Chen Bai.”
“A gambling house is indeed a good choice. As long as there is credibility and spirit stones, you can quickly build up a name. I dare not say it can reach the height of Thousand Gold Terrace, but if it is run properly, the tenfold profit Your Highness wants should not be difficult.”
Having said that, Wu Dayong cupped his fists and said, “Your Highness, this humble one is dull, and I really cannot think of any completely new industry that can meet Your Highness’s requirements!”
“That is already quite good. However…”
Chen Chu said sincerely.
Chen Chu did have brand-new, highly profitable industries in mind, but they would take time and effort, and a starting fund of one million spirit stones was nowhere near enough.
It was still better to work with existing businesses. The chain was mature, and it saved time and trouble.
At this point, Chen Chu changed the subject. “Why would I pass up a ready-made industry and insist on starting one from scratch?”
Wu Dayong was suddenly stunned, and he guessed what Your Highness was thinking.
“Thousand Gold Terrace, I quite like it.”
Chen Chu said without the slightest concealment.