Jiang Kangchen was now also a member of the Empress’ staff, so in a way he was also considered Eunuch An’s colleague, so Eunuch An spoke directly to him. Jiang Kangchen had also heard of this matter before.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozu, there were two dukes and three marquises, namely the Wu family of the Duke of An, the Chu family of the Duke of Ning, the Wei family of the Marquis of Hengyuan, the Zheng family of the Marquis of Zhaoyang, and the Lu family of the Marquis of Zhengyuan. During Emperor Kangsheng, the first Emperor’s reign, the number increased to three dukes and five marquis, the Duke of Lu’s Su family, the Marquis of Pingan’s Zeng family, and the Marquis of Jingling’s Bai family. 

In the later years of Emperor Kangsheng’s reign, the Lu family and the Jingling family were deprived of their titles because of their affinity with the Dai family, but their titles were restored after Emperor Yongming came to power. Nowadays, it is widely circulated in the capital that there were five dukes, five marquises, one great general, and one ‘King’ referring to Luo Rongwang, the only prince of Yan Kingdom, while the great general referred to the Dai family.

Among the ten largest families today, the Wei family of the Marquis of Hengyuan was the richest. The Wei’s were also a major businessman before the first Emperor established the country. At that time, the head of the Wei family followed the first Emperor to conquer the world and provided him with a  lot of financial assistance. 

After the first Emperor ascended the throne, his status changed from a low-status businessman to a powerful Marquis. Afterwards, relying on their relationship with the Emperor, the Wei family monopolized the business of the entire Great State of Yan and became a true commercial Emperor of the Great State of Yan.

At the same time, as one of the oldest families in the Great State of Yan, the Marquis of Hengyuan naturally sent many men and women to the palace to seek greater benefits and power for their own family. The late Emperor’s favorite male and female concubines were also from the Wei family. 

In the bloody storm before Emperor Yongming’s accession to the throne, the men and women brought into the palace by the aristocratic families were killed or driven out of the palace, breaking the Wei family’s connection to the palace. After that, the Hengyuan Marquis and other big families tried to force Emperor Yongming to choose new concubines in order to send their clansmen into the palace to the Emperor’s side again. 

It was a pity that Emperor Yongming was a rare love-sick person, who had a deep rooted hatred toward the aristocratic families. These aristocrats also had nothing to do with Emperor Yongming. It was precisely because of this that Emperor Yongming had such a difficult time.

Eunuch An, who was absolutely loyal to the Emperor and the Empress, gritted his teeth when he mentioned those people who ‘bullied’ the Emperor and Empress. He was so anxious, not only due to such a large amount of money, but he also did not want to provide the Hengyuan Marquis with the first opportunity. 

No matter what method was used, he had to take hold of these big rich merchants, who had a lot of money in their pockets, in his hands. The Great State of Yan was spoiled by the previous Emperor and had been at war for years. The whole country was poor. 

But in contrast, the fierce style of the Dashan tribe, together with their geographical location, could be regarded as a peaceful country with a lot of money. From a modern point of view, these two ‘countries’ were full of local tyrants that were not short of money.

If Shao Yunan was here, he would have asked, ‘If these two countries are so rich, how come they didn’t take the opportunity to divide up the Great State of Yan?’ Lets’ insert a bit of historical background here. The Dashan tribe is a tribal alliance of twenty to thirty small tribes, rich in resources and tough citizens. It can be said that the mountain water they relied on could bring them rich profits. 

Although the style of the Dashan tribe was tough, they were not willing to go to war with the Great State of Yan, because the Dashan tribe’s population was not as large as the Great State of Yan’s. For another, they were also invaded by the Huhar state at the same time. The Great State of Yan only began to weaken in the later years of the late emperor and even so was still able to repel the attacks of the Huhar state. Unless they were idle, the Dashan tribe would not take the initiative to attack the Great State of Yan.

The country of Xianlu and the Great State of Yan were far apart, separated by heavy mountainous terrain. The Xianlu Kingdom was near the sea and their main enemy were the Si bandits from the Great Si Country on the other side of the sea. Because of the sea, the country of Xianlu had well developed ships and most of their business was done overseas. 

Due to money, the people of Xianlu country preferred a comfortable life. Coupled with the distance from the Great State of Yan, they would rarely take the initiative to attack the Great State of Yan. So, it could be said that the relationship between the Dashan tribe and Xianlu country and the Great State of Yan was quite harmonious.

The Great State of Yan was poor and Emperor Yongming had thought about earning some money from the Dashan tribe and Xianlu country, but suffered from the lack of access. The business of the Great State of Yan was monopolized by the Hengyuan Marquis and Emperor Yongming did not have subordinates who were very good at business. 

Even if he did, it would be difficult to bypass the mountain that was the Hengyuan Marquis. Now that Emperor Yongming finally had a business that could be completely free from the influence and control of the Hengyuan Marquis’ Mansion, how could he let it be taken by the Hengyuan Marquis Mansion again?

Thinking about this key point, Jiang Kangchen comforted Eunuch An and said, “Lord An, this matter must not be rushed or we will first mess up our own position. I think this matter should be submitted to His Majesty first and then let’s see if Yunan will think of something. I ate a lot of delicious food at Yunan’s place during the New Year and wrote down the recipes. I came back this time to discuss with you about opening a hot pot restaurant. We can also add roast duck to Yunlong Pavilion’s dishes.”

“Hot pot restaurant? Roast duck?” Eunuch An keenly sensed a business opportunity. Jiang Kangchen immediately introduced what hot pot was and what roasted duck was in detail, then he also explained how he felt after eating them, making the eyes of Eunuch An shine brighter and brighter.

Before Jiang Kangchen finished speaking, Eunuch An had already slapped the table saying, “Open! While it’s still cold, this hot pot restaurant should be opened immediately! We must let the chef study and research this roasted duck recipe first and serve it as soon as possible. By coincidence, His Majesty’s farm is raising a lot of sheep, which was originally given by the Emperor to His Majesty to warm his body.”

Jiang Kangchen smiled and hurriedly said, “Then let’s go and acquire some sheep, and keep those sheep for His Majesty to keep his body warm.” Eunuch An sighed. “His Majesty now has abdominal pain when eating mutton, so he didn’t eat any for a long time. But sheep can still be sold for money, His majesty raising them is just right.”

Jiang Kangchen closed his mouth as Eunuch An immediately said with excitement again, “Come, let’s talk about this hot pot restaurant, then we will go to the palace to report to His Majesty about the hot pot restaurant, tea, and wine.”

It was already night when Jiang Kangchen returned to the Jiang house from Cloud Dragon Pavilion. He and Eunuch An discussed for a whole day about the future development of the Cloud Dragon Pavilion and Hot Pot restaurant, as well as the new dishes. 

After discussing for a long time, the two of them casually had a bowl of noodles to fill their stomach, as their brain was still full of trading and earning money. To be honest, a few months ago, Jiang Kangchen could not imagine that his life would be so busy and full. With this, his heart became more solid and relaxed. It was as if all the shackles that had been trapping him for a long time were gone.

After returning home, Jiang Kangchen washed away his tiredness, but instead of going to bed immediately, he went to his desk and wrote in his memorial. Eunuch An was in charge of the business accounts, so Jiang Kangchen didn’t interview with it. He was mainly responsible for expanding the business. 

This was full of difficulties and challenges for Jiang Kangchen, who had previously been living in seclusion in the Duke mansion for many years and only did some ‘small’ business in the capital, but it also filled him with energy. During his time in  Xiushui Village, he learned a lot of business skills from Shao Yunan. Although it was difficult, he could still handle it. 

The amount of tea and wine was small now, so it was in short supply in the capital. But in the future, the amount of tea and wine would increase. How should he break through the suppression and blockage of the Hengyuan Marquis Mansion and the other big merchants of the Great State of Yan and make the Emperor and Empress’ business a success? This was the main problem he had to solve.

By the time Jiang Kangchen finished his work, it was already late at night. He was so tired that he couldn’t keep his eyes open, so he just went directly to bed, kicking off his shoes and pulling the quilt over his head to sleep. This was once completely impossible for him to do. 

His son Jiang Moxi was sent to Xiushui Village, which was the same as eliminating his last point of concern. Now he only needed to rush forward for himself, for his son, for his brother Kangning, and for the Jiang family that was already in heaven. 

The faint fragrance of plum blossoms entered his nose and Jiang Kangchen fell asleep with his head next to the pillow. In his dreams, someone hugged him tightly murmuring into his ear, “Kangchen… Kangchen…”

Edited by: Jaisland

Proofreader: 

Support translation: