Chapter 449: The Most Highly Desired Item

Before long, four servants entered under Ma Chun’s leadership. In just a short while, they cleaned the table thoroughly.
Soon, the writing tools were ready.
After the servants left, the Emperor Qianwei closed his eyes briefly to rest. Then he stood up, picked up a writing brush, dipped it in some ink, and without hesitation, began writing on the white rice paper on the table. In just a few breaths, he had finished writing.
“What beautiful handwriting! Your Majesty’s calligraphy is worthy of being passed down through the ages,” said Liu Yuchang, the first to praise him, despite being annoyed by Lin Dong’s good luck.
Seeing satisfaction in the Emperor’s eyes, Fu Tongshan nodded and said, “It combines strength and softness. Your Majesty’s handwriting is becoming more and more like that of a true master.”
“As for calligraphy, I’m not as good as Zizhou. I hear he’s quite skilled in his own field as well,” the Emperor said with a smile, shaking his head. He put down the inscription and ordered, “Yang Shun, the seal.”
Yang Shun reluctantly took out a small brocade box from his clothes. When he opened it, there was a small seal inside.
After sealing it with his personal seal, the Emperor handed the inscription to Ma Chun.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Ma Chun turned to Lin Dong. “Boss!”
Lin Dong gave him a signal to leave. Glancing at the inscription, he saw that it consisted of just a few simple phrases wishing Lin Ji Inn prosperity and wealth. Though he couldn’t judge the quality of the handwriting, the curves of each stroke were perfect, and the spacing between characters was well-balanced. Most importantly, both the signature and the seal were present.
The Emperor’s handwriting might not be renowned even within a single county, but in terms of value, it was second to none in the Great Han Kingdom. The reason was undoubtedly that the Emperor was still on the throne, and secondly, he rarely wrote inscriptions for others.
With such an inscription, once framed and hung outside the private room on the fifth floor, officials and wealthy people in the capital would surely visit Lin Ji Inn at least once. Otherwise, failing to see the Emperor’s genuine handwriting would indirectly be seen as showing disrespect toward his authority. More importantly, since Lin Ji Inn had received an inscription that even many high-ranking officials coveted, its status in the Emperor’s eyes must be high. Even if they couldn’t use this to establish connections with Lin Ji Inn, at least being familiar with it might come in handy in the future.
For Lin Ji Inn, the value of this single inscription might eventually be lower than that of a spirit stone fan or a spirit stone heater over time. But as long as the Emperor remained on the throne, its influence would far exceed that of such items.

It could be said that even though the food and drinks at Lin’s Inn were extremely poor, as long as they didn’t cause vomiting or diarrhea, Emperor Qianwei would enjoy it for a year during his reign. Nearby, Fu Tongshan glanced at Lin Dong, who remained calm regardless of praise or criticism, and secretly admired him. With his current state of mind, he thought he could do the same, but he definitely couldn’t have done it over forty years ago.
“Everyone, sit down! The patrol team has made the arrangements and signed the documents. Now, it’s time to try the food and drinks at Lin’s Inn.” After Ma Chun left, Emperor Qianwei invited everyone to sit again.
Soon, except for Liu Yuedun, who remained kneeling on the ground too afraid to get up, everyone took their seats one after another. After about an hour, the staff entered one after another and served the food and drinks. As Emperor Qianwei ate, Lin Dong explained in detail the origins and ingredients of each dish. With Emperor Qianwei occasionally chatting with Fu Tongshan, the meal lasted over an hour before ending.
“I’m full.” After taking the handkerchief handed to him by Yang Shun and wiping his mouth, Emperor Qianwei stood up and said to Lin Dong, “Since this is an inn, you must have quite a few guest rooms, right?”
“There are 150 rooms in total: one ‘Tian’ class room, 29 ‘Jia’ class rooms, 90 ‘Yi’ class rooms, and 30 ‘Bing’ class rooms,” Lin Dong replied calmly.
“A ‘Tian’ class room? Let’s try it!” Emperor Qianwei said indifferently.
“Your Majesty!”
Including Zhou Zhengye, everyone cried out in alarm.
Staying at an inn on short notice, without thoroughly checking all the staff or arranging enough guards and spies, Emperor Qianwei was at high risk of being assassinated.
“It’s just for one night. Besides, only a few of you know where I am, so it’s fine,” Emperor Qianwei said, shaking his head with an unyielding tone.
The others had no choice but to give up.
“Your Majesty, shall I take you there now?” Lin Dong asked.
“I’ll take a look around first. If the rooms aren’t good enough, I might not stay,” Emperor Qianwei waved his hand.
Lin Dong nodded without saying much. It was Emperor Qianwei who was showing him respect, so he decided to return the favor. Both he and Emperor Qianwei understood that he needed to stay and seize the opportunity—otherwise, while the guild’s affairs might be fine, there was no guarantee everything would be okay with Liu Yuchang.
The group saw Emperor Qianwei off. Liu Yuchang, with weak steps, walked over to a seat and plopped down heavily. He was already timid in front of Emperor Qianwei, and today, with the sudden appearance, he was completely unprepared. If it weren’t for knowing he would face only mild punishment at most, he would have ended up like Liu Yuedun, too scared to even lift his head.

“Master Lin, I’m also full and satisfied. I won’t trouble you any longer with hosting the emperor. I’ll come again if I have time. Goodbye!” Fu Tongshan bowed to Lin Dong. By now, he no longer saw Lin Dong as just a stepping stone like Fu Zizhou. In his eyes, Lin Dong had become a key figure in the struggle for the throne.

Fu Tongshan was 80% certain that Lin Dong was a friend made by Emperor Qianwei during his visit to Qiufeng City years ago. This meant that Lin Dong was essentially Emperor Qianwei’s eyes and ears among the common people. In other words, when it came to determining which prince should become the new emperor or which court official the people preferred, Lin Dong would have considerable influence. Even for matters ordered by Emperor Qianwei to be investigated by Tianwei Pavilion, as long as there was evidence, the members of Tianwei Pavilion, being warriors, could handle investigations fairly. But when it came to rumors among the people, Lin Dong, who ran an inn, was far more persuasive.

Moreover, Lin Dong could make Zhou Zhengye speak against his will, which Fu Tongshan saw as another huge asset. As far as Fu Tongshan knew, ever since Zhou Zhengye was transferred to the capital two years ago, every word and action of his reflected those of his teacher—Fu Tongshan’s own younger brother, Fu Chunjian—someone who only cared about the common people. It was the people who decided right from wrong, and all relationships and friendships held no value. In fact, Zhou Zhengye even surpassed Fu Chunjian. Although Fu Chunjian was fierce in fighting evil and upright, his approach was open and honest. Such a person was not difficult to deal with in the eyes of powerful officials.

Yet Zhou Zhengye’s approach was completely at odds with his hatred of evil and uprightness; it was even more ruthless and cunning than that of corrupt officials. Such a character was undoubtedly the greatest threat to them. In just two years, Zhou Zhengye—a minor official with only a fifth-rank title who didn’t even qualify to enter the court unless summoned by Emperor Qianwei—had become the most hated person among all civil and military officials, regardless of age or faction. That was precisely because of this.

The fact that even a few loyal officials despised him showed how high his status was in Emperor Qianwei’s eyes. Ever since Zhou Zhengye first appeared in the court and caused the Deputy Minister of War’s entire family to be executed, Fu Tongshan had been convinced that this man would become the greatest rival for his only son, Fu Zizhou, in the future. If not for Emperor Qianwei’s favor, any slander directed at Zhou Zhengye would have resulted in severe punishment, and Fu Tongshan would have long found a way to eliminate this rival for Fu Zizhou.

It can’t be gotten rid of; making friends is naturally the best strategy. First, the struggle for the throne is the key, and second, friends provide more opportunities to strike. Fu Tongshan tried many ways to get close to Zhou Zhengye, but everything went against his wishes. Whether it was him as the current Grand Tutor or Fu Zizhou, the most talented man in the Han Dynasty, they all met with failure. Sometimes, Fu Tongshan even wondered if his own younger brother intended to turn Zhou Zhengye into a lone minister walking on the edge of a cliff, destined to die. After all, if Zhou Zhengye continued on this path, unless the new emperor trusted and valued him as much as Emperor Qianwei did, even with Emperor Qianwei’s endorsement as a key minister, he would surely be eliminated by other ministers once the new emperor faced great pressure.

It can be said that Zhou Zhengye often stood up for others, but he never did so hypocritically. Of course, this doesn’t include lying today by claiming Lin Dong refused to bow because he had been training with a master for years and took the blame for him, nor agreeing that Lin’s Inn should be rewarded instead of punished for distributing flyers everywhere. As for the latter, it was simply due to a different motivation. If the goal was to warn the rebel of a new method that could pose a serious threat to the court, even if Lin Dong had a hundred heads, they wouldn’t be enough to be cut off. Fu Tongshan believed that even if it were someone else, Zhou Zhengye would either not hold onto this issue or certainly not take the initiative to defend them. This matter indeed posed a certain potential threat to the court.

With two incidents in one day, Zhou Zhengye showed favoritism to varying degrees, which revealed his attitude toward Lin Dong. Coupled with Zhou Zhengye’s status in Emperor Qianwei’s eyes, if Emperor Qianwei hadn’t witnessed him showing favoritism by having Zhou Zhengye support a prince through Lin Dong, that prince’s chances in the throne struggle would have increased by at least 10%. Even if Emperor Qianwei saw Zhou Zhengye showing favoritism, his chances would have increased by at least 30-50%.

Taken together, in Fu Tongshan’s eyes, Lin Dong was definitely a top-tier asset. If it weren’t for Emperor Qianwei still being at Lin’s Inn and making it difficult for Fu Tongshan to interact too much with Lin Dong—unless Lin Dong asked him to leave—Fu Tongshan would never have asked to go.

“Goodbye, Grand Tutor Fu!” Lin Dong bowed.

Fu Tongshan smiled as he left the private room. Behind him, Fu Zizhou wasn’t foolish either. Although he didn’t see things as clearly as Fu Tongshan, he still recognized Lin Dong’s value. Instead of complaining about Lin Dong not coming out to see him off, he even smiled, bowed politely a few times, and then left.

There were now less than ten people in the room.

“Um…”

Liu Yu hesitated, his face turning red, not knowing what to say.