Chapter 448: A Double-Edged Sword

“Sit down! There are no such rules now.”
After Ma Chun left, Emperor Qianwei turned his gaze toward Liu Yuedun.
“Th-thank you, Your Majesty.”
Liu Yuedun wanted to sit—being seated with Emperor Qianwei was undoubtedly the greatest honor of his life. Yet his legs refused to obey him.
Seeing that Liu Yuedun still couldn’t sit down, Emperor Qianwei’s attitude became strange. He stopped paying attention to Liu Yuedun, neither encouraging him to sit nor telling him to leave. Instead, he looked at Fu Tongshan beside him.
“Does the Grand Tutor also be interested in this Lin’s Inn?”
Fu Tongshan shook his head and replied with half truth and half falsehood, “When the owner of Lin’s Inn was in Xiufeng Mansion, in the southwestern county of Lingnan City, I received his help, so we have a deep friendship. Recently, the owner approached my son, saying that Lin’s Inn and his other business, Lin’s Gym, couldn’t join the merchant guild because their costs were difficult to determine and their business models were too innovative. Out of selfishness, I sent someone to vouch for Lin’s Inn in the guild. Unexpectedly, my influence wasn’t enough. I had no choice but to invite President Liu here in person to discuss it.”
With a thud, Liu Yuedun was terrified. It was just a matter of vouching for a inn’s costs. Even the most respected ministers in the court didn’t have such influence, meaning the emperor’s authority had also been somewhat diminished.
To dare undermine the emperor’s authority meant certain death—everything depended on the emperor’s mood. Zhou Zhengye would risk his life to take blame for Lin Dong, but Liu Yuedun didn’t believe Liu Yuchang, the Ninth Prince, would risk punishment to do the same for him.
Emperor Qianwei’s reaction once again surprised everyone. With just an “Oh,” he turned his gaze to Liu Yuchang beside Fu Tongshan.
“Yuchang, why have you come to this Lin’s Inn?”
“R-replying to Your Majesty, Your Son heard that a new Lin’s Inn had opened here, with top-quality food and drinks, so he came to take a look,” Liu Yuchang said carefully, watching the emperor’s expression. “Unexpectedly, he met Grand Tutor Fu at the entrance, so he followed in to see what was going on.”
“How did the talks go?” the emperor asked.
“It’s already settled. With Grand Tutor Fu stepping in, how could a mere merchant guild president dare to defy him?” Liu Yuchang hurriedly explained.
“Is that so?” The emperor looked back at Fu Tongshan.
“If His Highness says so, then of course,” Fu Tongshan replied calmly, having regained his composure despite being by the emperor’s side.
“It seems this Lin’s Inn has quite some influence,” Yang Shun interjected ominously. “Grand Tutor Fu, if the emperor wanted to punish Lin’s Inn, what would you do?”

“Eunuch Yang, as a eunuch, you have no right to interrupt a conversation between men!” Zhou Zhengye stood up without hesitation, his words harsh and targeting Yang Shun’s weaknesses.
Hearing this, Lin Dong couldn’t help but be astonished. It had been years since they last met, yet Zhou Zhengye’s temper hadn’t changed, but his words had become much more vicious.
“Zhou Zhengye!” Yang Shun stood up in anger, staring straight at him.
Zhou Zhengye met his gaze fearlessly. He had never liked this highly favored eunuch by Emperor Qianwei, and it wasn’t the first time they had clashed. Moreover, since Lin Dong was the one who had promoted him, Yang Shun targeted him at every turn, which was why he spoke so bitterly.
What Zhou Zhengye didn’t know was that Yang Shun wasn’t angry but rather frustrated. He had long wanted to deal with Zhou Zhengye. Staying by Emperor Qianwei’s side constantly, Yang Shun knew well how highly the emperor valued Zhou Zhengye and understood that it was impossible to set a truly fatal trap for him. But as long as the fabricated charges weren’t too serious, he was confident he could make Zhou Zhengye suffer punishment from time to time.
What he hadn’t expected was that Zhou Zhengye and Lin Dong were old acquaintances, which made him resent this guy’s good luck. Since he was a friend of Shopkeeper Lin, he not only had to suppress his anger but might even need to find a way to help him in the future.
“Enough, it’s just a meal—why such tension?” Emperor Qianwei said sternly.
The two quickly apologized and sat down.
“To be honest with you, Grand Tutor, during this morning’s court session, the Deputy Minister of Rites reported that a newly opened inn in the north of the city used spiritual birds to scatter numerous flyers promoting the inn throughout the streets and alleys. The density was such that almost everyone had one.” Emperor Qianwei said calmly, “According to the report, if this Lin’s Inn isn’t punished, it could cause irreparable problems. In fact, we must even establish an additional patrol team to monitor the skies to prevent anyone from using the same method to spread rumors. Along with the report was one of those flyers. Out of curiosity, I decided to come and see personally how to sentence them after court.”
Just as Zhou Zhengye was about to speak in defense of Lin Dong, Fu Tongshan shook his head and said, “Those who don’t know shouldn’t be punished. Moreover, I think they should be rewarded.”
“Rewarded?” Liu Yuchang exclaimed. After understanding why Emperor Qianwei was here, his mind became more active. Since he had already sided against Lin’s Inn in front of the emperor, it only made sense for him to take advantage of the situation.
“Grand Tutor Fu, this Shopkeeper Lin is arrogant and disrespects imperial authority. How can you think he should be rewarded? His relationship with your son seems a bit too close, doesn’t it?”

“Even if those who are unaware are not to be blamed, why does the Grand Tutor think a reward is warranted?” Emperor Qianwei asked.
“Thanks to Manager Lin spreading flyers about the inns everywhere, the court was able to discover this hidden danger,” Fu Tongshan said calmly. “If, as Deputy Minister Liu claims, someone deliberately used the same method to spread rumors, the harm would indeed be severe. Manager Lin sent people to use spiritual birds to distribute the flyers about the inns. Since our Great Han Nation’s laws don’t cover such actions, he wasn’t guilty. Moreover, since this move caused no losses and instead helped the court uncover a hidden danger, I personally believe he shouldn’t be punished but rather rewarded. Besides, with tens of millions of flyers, if collected by households and placed in toilets, they could suffice for at least a month’s use. In study rooms, they could allow countless children to practice writing for months. Laid on the ground, they could ensure that many beggars wouldn’t lack pillows or mats—serving multiple purposes.”
Lin Dong was speechless. He had thought of using them as toilet paper, but never expected Fu Tongshan to effortlessly come up with two additional uses.
Liu Yuchang was also speechless, but with his mind, he couldn’t think of any counterarguments right away.
“The Grand Tutor’s analysis makes sense. I admire it,” Zhou Zhengye said. He usually disliked most of the ministers in the court, but this time, he surprisingly stepped forward to support Fu Tongshan.
“By that logic, does the Grand Tutor also think we should increase the number of patrol teams to monitor the skies?” Emperor Qianwei changed the subject.
“I believe the same should apply to major prefectures and city capitals. As for county towns, with their large numbers, they can handle things promptly. Given the huge costs, they can be ignored,” Fu Tongshan replied. “A patrol team that can legitimately monitor every move in the capital will undoubtedly spark fierce competition for control. Only by creating chaos can we disrupt Liu Feng’s plans. I wholeheartedly agree.”
“Since the Grand Tutor agrees, then let it be decided this way,” Emperor Qianwei said. “I think this matter should be left in the Grand Tutor’s hands.”
“Father, Grand Tutor Fu is extremely busy with official duties. Such a minor matter doesn’t require his involvement,” Liu Yuchang urged anxiously. Though cruel and violent, he wasn’t completely foolish. He understood the value of such a patrol team, especially at this stage. If his third brother could secure it, it would be a tremendous achievement.

“I am old and weak; I’m afraid I’m not up to the task. I think Lord Zhou is young and strong, and having just left his position as inspector of ten counties, it’s not easy to assign this responsibility to him right now. It would be best to let Lord Zhou take care of it for now.” Fu Tongsan’s mind was far beyond Liu Yuchang’s level. From Emperor Qianwei’s attitude, he could tell that, for some reason, the emperor was trying to uncover the ins and outs of this matter.

As the emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, it was barely acceptable for him to come just out of whim to take a look at a piece of paper introducing Lin’s Inn. To waste energy probing questions showed excessive curiosity. Moreover, the fact that he easily brushed aside the issue of not paying respects meant the only possibility was that Emperor Qianwei had some prior connection with Lin’s Inn—or perhaps with Lin Dong—something positive.

This was also the main reason why Fu Tongsan spoke well of Lin’s Inn before Zhou Zhengye. Over the past few years, Emperor Qianwei’s actions had been utterly unpredictable; even he couldn’t figure them out. As the grand tutor, he didn’t dare to oppose the emperor’s wishes rashly.

“With the tutor’s recommendation, Lord Zhou, are you willing to take charge of this matter temporarily?” the emperor asked, looking at Zhou Zhengye.

“I am willing!” Zhou Zhengye quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

Liu Yuchang was stunned. What was Fu Tongsan up to? Giving such a valuable opportunity to a newly risen fool—probably no one would benefit much from this. Or maybe Fu Tongsan and this fool had some secret relationship?

Liu Yuchang suddenly felt as if he had uncovered some secret.

“Manager Lin, the food at your Lin’s Inn isn’t served very quickly.” For the first time, the emperor turned his attention to Lin Dong, his gaze seemingly hiding something.

“Dare you, wretched servant, neglect the emperor!” Liu Yuchang slammed the table, thinking this was a perfect chance to ensure Lin Dong died without even a proper burial.

“I’ll go inform the staff right away,” Lin Dong said, standing up without paying any attention to Liu Yuchang’s words.

“Go! Bring some ink and paper as well. I haven’t practiced writing in ages. It’s rare I have time these days, and since your Lin’s Inn has just opened, I’ll write a few words for you,” the emperor ordered with a wave of his hand.

“Write… write words?” Liu Yuchang was stunned. He realized he couldn’t figure out what the emperor was up to. How could writing words be considered a crime?

Writing words was a tremendous honor. Aside from a few outstanding princes and old ministers like Fu Tongsan, no one else had ever received the emperor’s handwriting.

Lin Dong nodded, his face showing neither joy nor sorrow. Emperor Qianwei would show him respect, which was within his expectations; what he was truly worried about was Emperor Qianwei’s attitude afterward. Having Yang Shun devise a plan to lure Emperor Qianwei to Lin’s Inn was a last resort taken by Lin Dong, and it was definitely a double-edged sword. As for the merchant guild, there would surely be no problems, but it also indirectly triggered a greater hidden danger for Lin’s Inn ahead of time.