Chapter 278: A Midnight Conversation (2)

Hua Hong neither agreed nor disagreed. In the casual tone of idle conversation, he said, “Some of what you wrote makes sense, but much of it doesn’t suit the current state of the realm.”

Xu Yuan was not surprised. Most of what he had written came from things he had studied at university and graduate school in his previous life.

Macroeconomics, microeconomics, marketing, financial operations, and theories of that sort. The broad principles were similar, but theories from his previous world would need some adjustment before they could be applied here.

With Hua Hong’s sharp eye, there was no chance he would fail to notice that.

Xu Yuan slowly straightened in his chair, his voice turning more serious. “They’re only ideas I came up with, after all. You’ll have to make the necessary corrections yourself, Old Hua. Besides, many of those methods can only be implemented under a truly unified regime. With war approaching, every part of the Chancellor’s Manor’s production system must serve the war effort.”

Hua Hong’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You understand wartime systems too, Changtian?”

“You think far too highly of me.”

Hua Hong stared at him. With a sigh, he said gloomily, “And here I thought you understood all of it. I was even hoping you could offer me some suggestions.”

Xu Yuan spread his hands. Ordinary universities in his previous life did not teach that sort of thing. Even if he had wanted to learn, he would not have known where to begin. After a brief pause, however, something suddenly occurred to him. “There is one very important matter. I don’t know whether you’ve ever considered it, Old Hua.”

Hua Hong gathered his attention. “Out with it. Stop keeping me in suspense.”

Xu Yuan gave him two simple words. “Silver notes.”

“Silver notes?” Hua Hong frowned.

Xu Yuan slowly rose from his chair and began leisurely tidying the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone scattered across the desk. “When Ran Qingmo went to warn the great sects and powerful schools about the threat posed by the Chancellor’s Manor, no one believed her. At first, I thought it was because Father’s administrative decrees had lulled them into complacency. But now it seems the sects have merely been playing dumb, dragging things out while they wait for Emperor Jiajing to die.”

A thoughtful look crossed Hua Hong’s deeply wrinkled face. “What does any of that have to do with silver notes?”

After tidying the desk, Xu Yuan took a stack of thousand-tael silver notes from his Sumeru Ring and fanned himself with them.

“It has been more than 800 years since Emperor Qidian first issued silver notes. By now, using court-issued notes to settle transactions has become customary throughout the realm. The sects have held the Celeste Assembly so many times that they must have prepared contingencies.” His voice turned grave. “We need to prepare for the shock in advance. At the very least, we must keep prices stable within the provinces and prefectures controlled by the court.”

Hua Hong stared at him with a frown. “You mean the sects will issue their own silver notes?”

Xu Yuan pointed at the thousand-tael notes in his hand. “If they don’t break free of the court’s currency, then once war begins, the sects will keep bleeding money to foot the court’s bills. There are plenty of clever people in the world. The sects couldn’t possibly have overlooked that.”

Hua Hong slowly exhaled, a gloomy shadow settling between his brows. “Changtian, I have discussed this very matter with my advisers many times. Do you have any thoughts on how to handle it?”

Xu Yuan was rather surprised. Currency had yet to develop into a proper field of study in this era, yet Hua Hong had still recognized the danger.

Sure enough, no mediocrity could ever rise to a position like his.

However, could he solve it? Not a chance in hell. He spread his hands with shameless honesty. “No idea. I’m only warning you. The details are for professionals like you to figure out, Old Hua.”

With that, Xu Yuan walked over and patted the century-old man on the shoulder. “My suggestion is to stockpile more physical silver and gold. There’ll definitely be a run on the banks when the time comes. At the very least, you need enough reserves to stabilize prices in the territories firmly controlled by the court.”

??

The following day, at noon.

After staying up so late, Xu Yuan slept straight through until the sun was high in the sky.

The moment he groggily opened his eyes, he heard the soft rustle of clothing beside his bed. “Awake?”

Xu Yuan glanced sideways.

A breathtakingly beautiful face entered his vision, elegant and clear as polished jade.

Li Qingyan had pulled up a chair and was sitting beside his bed with her arms folded across her chest.

Xu Yuan silently sat up. Looking at the woman before him, whose brows carried a heroic sharpness and whose lips curled in amusement, he regarded her warily. “How did you get in here?”

Laughter danced in Li Qingyan’s beautiful eyes. “I walked in, naturally. You look rather charming when you sleep.”

“This is the inner residence—”

“Duke Xu gave his permission.” Li Qingyan pressed her lips together in a smile. “After all, no matter how you look at it, this princess is the future daughter-in-law of the Xu Family.”

Xu Yuan glanced at her and said nothing more. He threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. It was noon in early summer. Birdsong drifted in through the window along with the warm sunlight.

Li Qingyan’s pupils contracted. She instinctively averted her gaze.

Xu Yuan looked puzzled. He glanced down at himself, then immediately understood and chuckled. “My, my. That expression of yours, Princess… Are you embarrassed?”

Li Qingyan looked back at him. Her phoenix eyes narrowed as she crossed one long, shapely leg over the other and gave it a leisurely swing, staring straight ahead without the slightest evasion. “You think this princess is embarrassed?”

Xu Yuan studied her eyes for two full seconds before smiling. “No, not embarrassed…”

“Hah.”

“You’re probably frightened.”

Li Qingyan fell silent.

Still dressed in loose sleepwear, Xu Yuan walked over to the table and poured himself a cup of tea to clear his head. He glanced back at the breathtaking beauty still sitting beside his bed. “Why are you still here, Princess? Planning to help your husband get dressed?”

Li Qingyan exhaled, rose to her feet, and stared at him for two seconds. Then she gave a cold snort, turned around, and walked out.

Xu Yuan remained where he was, watching her graceful figure disappear through the doorway. He shook his head in disappointment. “Tch. She cracked that easily? She isn’t even as seasoned as Su Jinxuan. How boring…”

WHOOSH! A pebble abruptly tore through the air, skimming past his pajama trousers and leaving a chill in its wake.

Once he was properly dressed, Xu Yuan stepped out of the side chamber and found Li Qingyan standing in the courtyard, staring absently at the koi swimming in the pond. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to her.

Li Qingyan cast him an indifferent glance from the corner of her phoenix eyes. “Prince Consort, who is this Su Jinxuan you just mentioned? One of those friends you told me you needed to meet in secret at night?”

Xu Yuan chuckled softly. “She probably can’t beat you.”

“Is that so?” Li Qingyan laughed, her voice neither warm nor cold. “Don’t make it sound so unpleasant. This princess has always been generous. After we marry, if the Prince Consort wishes to take a concubine or two, the matter is not beyond discussion.”

Xu Yuan shook his head. “You misunderstand, Princess. Su Jinxuan is merely one of my business partners. She doesn’t count as a romantic confidante.”

Li Qingyan’s phoenix eyes narrowed. “So the Prince Consort has other romantic confidantes?”

Xu Yuan thought about it. There was little point hiding anything from a princess he was marrying for political reasons, so he smiled. “Don’t be so jealous. After all these years, it’s only natural that I’d have one or two women close to me.”

Li Qingyan drew a deep breath. Her chest remained perfectly still. “So Ran Qingmo isn’t the only one?”

“I’ve lost my memories of her, but she should count.” Xu Yuan nodded and continued with a smile, “You’ll probably meet the other one eventually. Though I doubt you could beat her.”

Li Qingyan raised one slender, jade-white hand. Waves of source qi blossomed between her fingers as she smiled sweetly. “I couldn’t beat her?”

“The Saintess of the Heavenwatch Pavilion. Think you can take her?”

Li Qingyan fell silent.