Chapter 63: I Granted You a Special Privilege, and You Handed Me a Doomsday Weapon?

The ministers in the imperial court were all engaged in heated discussions.

If it were in the past, Qin Feng, who always stole the limelight in court, would undoubtedly have faced unanimous opposition and impeachment from the officials.

However, at this moment, the vast majority of both civil and military officials were actually supporting Qin Feng's innovative business model.

Seeing the officials unanimously praising Qin Feng, Emperor Zhu was so infuriated that he could barely remain seated in his dragon chair.

You bunch of pedantic scholars used to oppose Qin Feng at every turn, and now that you think Qin Feng is on your side, you all rush to support him?

What do you take Us for? Could it be that the person you were opposing all along wasn't Qin Feng, but Us?

Emperor Zhu was already burning with suppressed rage, yet he could not afford to vent his anger in the Fengtian Hall.

Sitting regally upon the dragon chair, he rolled his eyes as he listened to the group of veteran ministers babbling in praise of Qin Feng, and finally had no choice but to abruptly dismiss the morning court session.

Just thinking about the scene of the entire court supporting Qin Feng moments ago left Emperor Zhu feeling deeply aggrieved and resentful.

It was crystal clear that these veteran ministers were not trying to go against Qin Feng at all; they were going against him!

In the eyes of those veteran officials in the court, Qin Feng now represented the collective interests of all the Huaixi nobility, and those officials who had colluded with the nobility naturally leaned toward Qin Feng.

As for the officials who did not belong to the aristocratic faction, because they had previously supported Qin Feng in founding the newspaper, they blindly followed suit and supported him as well.

This resulted in the peculiar situation across the entire imperial court where everyone was supporting Qin Feng.

Returning to the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Zhu could not help letting out a heavy sigh, feeling even more depressed in his heart.

He gradually began to sense that Qin Feng was like a golden dragon in a pond—given his extraordinary talent, he was destined not to remain confined in a shallow pool forever.

Yet such prominent talent was not necessarily a good thing for him!

For instance, Liu Ji back in the day had not fared well in the imperial court at all; after fighting tooth and nail against the Huaixi faction, he ultimately met a tragic defeat.

Just as Emperor Zhu was feeling a headache coming on, Wang Jinghong suddenly said in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince reports that there is a confidential memorial from Qin Feng."

Emperor Zhu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded, saying, "Present it."

Before long, Wang Jinghong returned to Emperor Zhu's side carrying a black lacquer box.

Emperor Zhu asked in puzzlement, "Why didn't the Eldest Prince come in?"

"The Crown Prince is currently helping Your Majesty inventory the goods sent by Qin Feng."

Emperor Zhu suddenly understood.

This brat was quite efficient indeed; he actually managed to produce ten thousand sets of ceremonial garments and weapons for the Brocade Guard in just a single month?

"Then why didn't he bring a set for Us to look at?"

Wang Jinghong bowed slightly and replied, "This old slave will go fetch a set for Your Majesty right away."

After Wang Jinghong departed, Emperor Zhu eagerly opened the confidential memorial.

He wanted to see what on earth Qin Feng had written to him.

Emperor Zhu opened the box, picked up Qin Feng's memorial, and began to read.

The contents of the memorial were extremely concise—there was only a single line of text.

Emperor Zhu flipped through the pages for a long time, but found no other content whatsoever.

The memorial read: "Your Majesty, the newspaper's revenue last month totaled three million taels, the cost of crafting the Brocade Guard's ceremonial garments and weapons totaled eight hundred thousand taels, and the remaining two million two hundred thousand taels shall be accepted as Your Majesty's generous gift."

After reading the memorial, Emperor Zhu nearly fainted on the spot. He clutched his chest, feeling a sharp pang of heartache.

Qin Feng, oh Qin Feng, you truly are a scoundrel!

You actually kept your ultimate trump card hidden all this time!

The moment We granted you special privileges, you hit Us with such a devastating blow?

A full two million two hundred thousand taels of silver!

Just like that, it was pocketed entirely by Qin Feng alone!

Emperor Zhu felt that this was even more agonizing than being executed.

Originally, Emperor Zhu had calculated in his mind that the newspaper's monthly revenue would at most reach one million taels, while the task he assigned to Qin Feng—crafting ceremonial garments and weapons for the Brocade Guard—would consume close to a million taels alone!

In Emperor Zhu's mind, if Qin Feng managed to walk away with tens of thousands of taels of silver in the end, that would already be considered a remarkably generous profit and reward.

Emperor Zhu had thought this was the greatest favor he could bestow upon Qin Feng!

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect that Qin Feng had held something back regarding the newspaper business.

This hidden move completely shattered Emperor Zhu's composure.

He had severely underestimated Qin Feng's talent in commerce.

With just the creation of the newspaper alone, who in the imperial court could possibly outplay him?

Emperor Zhu felt that he had made a grave miscalculation, grossly underestimating Qin Feng's capabilities.

Now he could only swallow his bitter medicine in silence, suffering in agony without a place to voice his grievances!

This scheme he had so cleverly devised in his own mind had turned out to be lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet. He had taken a massive loss!

Emperor Zhu clutched his chest, feeling as though he were suffering a myocardial infarction.

"Qin Feng! You are truly heartless! My two million two hundred thousand taels of treasury silver!!!"

Just as Emperor Zhu was stamping his feet and beating his chest in fury, Wang Jinghong hurriedly approached, presenting a set of ceremonial garments and weapons custom-made for the Brocade Guard.

Seeing the finished products sent by Qin Feng, Emperor Zhu carefully inspected them.

No! I must find a way to uncover evidence that Qin Feng cut corners, and I'll penalize him to the point of bankruptcy!

Emperor Zhu closely examined the custom-made attire for the Brocade Guard.

The workmanship was meticulous, the embroidery vibrant, and at first glance, it was clearly made of top-tier fabric.

Reluctantly, Emperor Zhu asked, "Did you find any evidence that Qin Feng cut corners on these garments?"

Wang Jinghong smiled and shook his head, saying, "Lord Qin always does things with utmost diligence. The workmanship of these garments is of the highest grade, and the fabrics are superior—far more exquisite than the ceremonial robes made within the imperial palace."

With a look of disappointment, Emperor Zhu tossed the garments aside and began to meticulously inspect the weapons.

"Surely there must be some flaws or substandard forging in the weapons, right?"

Wang Jinghong was slightly startled.

What has gotten into His Majesty today?

Why is he suddenly picking faults with Lord Qin?

"Your Majesty, these weapons are exquisitely forged. The Crown Prince mentioned that compared to the standard-issue weapons of the Great Ming army, these are superior in every way."

Emperor Zhu felt his scalp tingle slightly. He quickly drew the saber from its scabbard and took a look.

The moment the blade cleared the scabbard, its gleaming edge instantly dazzled Emperor Zhu.

Having started his career as a military general, Emperor Zhu harbored a deep passion for weaponry. Even when examining the saber from the most critical angles, he could not find a single minor flaw.

Both the blade and the hilt were exquisitely forged, making it evident that these weapons would be supreme instruments of slaughter even upon the battlefield.

Emperor Zhu was on the verge of tears!
Could he really just manufacture flaws out of thin air when there were none?
How on earth were such magnificent items crafted?
Were they genuinely more formidable than the standard-issue weapons produced by his own imperial armory?

Emperor Zhu had spent a small fortune on standard-issue weaponry in the past, and he had clearly spent far more money than Qin Feng.
Yet the weapons produced were inferior to someone else's—wasn't that infuriating?

For an entire set of equipment like this, Qin Feng had only spent eight hundred thousand taels without cutting any corners. How on earth did he pull it off?

Emperor Zhu's mind was completely numb!

He took a deep breath and asked, "Does this set have a name?"

Wang Jinghong smiled and replied, "The Crown Prince said that Lord Qin calls the garments 'Flying Fish Robes' and the weapons 'Embroidered Spring Sabers'."

Emperor Zhu slapped his forehead, his mentality completely shattered.

At this point, only four words could describe Qin Feng's execution of this task:

Impeccable!

Even the names chosen were so pleasant to the ear, what more could he possibly say?

Emperor Zhu waved his hand dismissively and said, "Pass a word to the Eldest Prince: once the inventory is complete, distribute the equipment to the Brocade Guard."

After Wang Jinghong withdrew, Emperor Zhu slumped into his chair with a defeated expression.

"Damn you, Qin Feng! Sooner or later, I'll make you cough up those two million two hundred thousand taels of treasury silver!"

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

As Shen Changqing walked along the road, acquaintances he met along the way would greet him with a nod or a casual word.

Yet no matter who it was,

there was no superfluous expression on anyone's face, as if they were utterly indifferent to everything.

To this,

Shen Changqing had long since grown accustomed.

For this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution dedicated to maintaining the stability of Great Qin, whose primary duty was to slay demons, ghosts, and monsters—though it naturally also handled a few other sideline tasks.

One might say

that every single person in the Demon Suppression Division had blood on their hands.

When a person has witnessed life and death too often, they inevitably grow indifferent to many things.

When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing had felt somewhat out of place, but over time, he had grown used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was vast.

Those permitted to remain within the Demon Suppression Division were either immensely powerful experts or individuals with the potential to become experts.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter category.

The Demon Suppression Division was broadly divided into two roles: Guardians and Demon Slayers.

Anyone who entered the Demon Suppression Division started from the lowest rank of Demon Slayer,

and then climbed the ranks step by step, ultimately hoping to become a Guardian.

Shen Changqing's predecessor had been a probationary Demon Slayer within the Demon Suppression Division, the absolute lowest tier among Demon Slayers.

Armed with his predecessor's memories,

he was thoroughly familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

It did not take long for Shen Changqing to stop in front of a pavilion.

Unlike other areas of the Demon Suppression Division that radiated an aura of stern severity, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, exuding a unique tranquility amidst the bloodshed of the Demon Suppression Division.

At this moment, the doors of the pavilion stood wide open, and people occasionally entered and exited.

Shen Changqing hesitated for just a moment before stepping inside.

Entering the pavilion,

the atmosphere changed abruptly.

A fragrance of ink mingled with a faint scent of blood rushed toward him, causing his brows to knit instinctively before relaxing just as quickly.

The blood-stained scent clinging to everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was practically impossible to wash away entirely.