Fan Xian hurried over to help him up, but the proprietor of the store was insistent on kowtowing. Eventually, he stood up and sighed, deeply moved. "So you are the future master. I shall kowtow no matter what. And what is more, you are the head of the diplomatic mission. I have spent many days in this foreign country, hoping to pay my respects to the masters of my home country, with no chance to do so."

The proprietor suddenly realized something. It seemed that he had mentioned something taboo in front of this master from the south. "Master Fan, why have you come here?" he asked, unable to prevent himself from mumbling.

Northern Qi was, after all, a long way away from the Qing Emperor, so the merchants here were rather bolder, still keeping their old shop signs, saying that they were proud owners of property. Fan Xian looked at the man"s face and realized that he was worried that his words would be taken back to the capital, offending the royal family who controlled businesses outside of Qing.

He laughed. In the future, he would have to greatly raise the quality of his wares, rather than selling these low-quality gla.s.s wine goblets.

The proprietor was curious. "How can I help you?" He had originally a.s.sumed that Fan Xian had used the opportunity of the diplomatic mission to make a preliminary investigation into the business he would one day control. He didn"t know that he was about to buy gla.s.sware.

Lin Jing gave a brief explanation. The shopkeeper hurriedly called for the shop a.s.sistants, and a few nimble fellows rushed into the storeroom. It appeared that the real high-quality goods were not left on display. While they waited, Fan Xian chatted with the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper knew what he wanted to know, and did not dare hide anything from him, giving him a rough estimate of the quant.i.ty of gla.s.sware that had been transported northward from Qing over the past years.

Although it was only a rough estimate, Fan Xian was still rather surprised. There was only one Qing gla.s.sworks in Shangjing, and its yearly income was astonishing. It was no wonder that even with all the splendor of Qi"s products, they could only just about match Qing in financial matters.

The shopkeeper suddenly sighed. "But in the past few years - I"m not sure why - the goods sent from the capital have not been as good as they were before. And we"ve had no new ideas, so business has suffered somewhat."

"How much worse has it been compared to the best times?" asked Fan Xian.

"About thirty percent."

Fan Xian muttered to himself hesitantly. He knew where the problem came from. After the Eldest Princess had taken control of the palace treasury from the Ye family, even if that madwoman had political intelligence and trickery up her sleeve, in the completely new area of gla.s.s and soap, it seemed likely that she still had no idea what to do. The quality of the gla.s.s was still poor; there were definitely problems with the mixture and the workmanship. Currently the Ye shopkeepers of Qingyu Hall could not do it themselves, and so there was no way to adjust the process.

But business had only gone down by thirty percent. It seemed that the Eldest Princess knew the importance of these shops to the Qing economy and had not interfered with them too much, simply following the convention of previous years.

There was too much keeping with the old ways, and not enough innovation.

As they had talked, a young shop a.s.sistant had brought out the most precious of the gla.s.s goblets. Fan Xian picked one up, narrowing his eyes in the sunlight inside the shop. There were no impurities in the gla.s.s. Indeed, it was better quality than most of the windows in the capital. He couldn"t help but laugh. "Yes, these are the ones."

The shopkeeper quickly ordered the a.s.sistant to wrap it up, but Fan Xian waved him away. "Don"t worry about it." Everyone was puzzled by his intentions, but heeded his instructions.

Suddenly, the shopkeeper gave an awkward look. Fan Xian spotted it immediately. "May I ask your surname?"

"My surname is Yu," responded the shopkeeper quickly.

"An apprentice of Qingyu Hall, surnamed Yu?" Fan Xian smiled to himself. "Shopkeeper Yu, why do you look uneasy?"

The shopkeeper forced a smile. "Master Fan, these gla.s.s goblets were being held for the birthday of the Empress Dowager at the end of this month."

Fan Xian was somewhat surprised. "So the n.o.bles of Northern Qi order their palace gifts from you? In that case, I shall not take it. Change it for something else, Shopkeeper Yu."

Shopkeeper Yu was stunned. It seemed he hadn"t expected such an important official to be so lenient. "The order has not actually been finalized, because the n.o.bles of Northern Qi have always known that we keep some of the best products in our store. Returning to the topic at hand, this gla.s.s goblet is not our most expensive gift... but the palace treasury"s customs are very strictly kept. This month is usually a good month. Master, if you were to take these, then when we report our accounts to the south at the end of the month, there would be a large gap in our finances, and I fear that the master of the palace treasury would..."

After he had said it, Fan Xian understood what it was that he feared. He smiled. "Do not worry. I will pay."

Standing to the side, w.a.n.g Qinian scolded him humorously. "You"re afraid the royal treasury will check our accounts? Did you not know that this man before you is the future head of the royal treasury?"

Shopkeeper Yu, mumbling, wiped the sweat from his brow. Even if Fan Xian were to be the future head of the treasury, the problem was that currently... he was not.

Suddenly, Fan Xian patted his change purse and laughed bitterly. "It seems I forgot to bring something on our trip to Northern Qi." Everyone silently realized that Commissioner Fan, as head diplomat, had been spending public money on their journey to Northern Qi. Although he had some pocket money on him, he had not brought that much with him.

Shopkeeper Yu continued to wipe away his sweat. "Master, if this is official business, then I should report it in the accounts. If you will write a note, then I will send it back to the capital, and the debt can be repaid."

"An IOU? Good idea." As he took out his paper and an ink-stick, Fan Xian thought about this Shopkeeper Yu. He was probably a man of good judgment, and no doubt he had seen plenty of IOUs from officials in the past. He scribbled some characters down on the paper, and Shopkeeper Yu carefully wrote down a price, giving the paper back to Fan Xian to sign. He hesitated for a moment, then turned around to ask w.a.n.g Qinian a question. "Does the Council have any funds?"

w.a.n.g Qinian laughed bitterly. "One third of the Council"s finances come from His Majesty, and two thirds from the Ministry of Revenue - that is, your father. Recently we have had to tighten our belts."

Fan Xian turned his head and looked at Gao Da. He knew that Gao Da knew his father, and that the Tiger Guards were well-funded. Gao Da saw that Fan Xian seemed to want to ask him something, and an awkward expression suddenly appeared on his face. "Master, the money that your father gives to the Tiger Guards is strictly managed."

Fan Xian sighed and looked at Lin Jing. "It appears that this will have to be done in the name of Honglu Temple."

Lin Jing stifled a bitter laugh. Fan Xian was openly fleecing Honglu Temple. What could he say? In any case, it was all public finances. Lin Jing was not particularly distressed about it. "Either way, it"s the public purse."

He was quite correct. No matter whether it was the palace treasury under the command of the Eldest Princess, or the Ministry of Revenue under Count Sinan, in the end, it was all money that belonged to the Kingdom of Qing. Fan Xian and Lin Jing both confidently signed their names. They looked at the sum on the paper 2,000 taels of silver - then left the gla.s.sworks shop.

No one followed behind them, so Shopkeeper Yu ordered his a.s.sistants to take the precious gla.s.s goblets and follow them out. Because Fan Xian had not ordered them to send them back to the diplomatic mission, he presumed they still had other plans.

Pa.s.sing a toy store that sold various puzzles on Xiarong Way, Fan Xian looked inside the store next to it, which was a wine shop. He went inside. The shopkeeper had already been informed by his a.s.sistants, and knew that some high-ranking officials had come from their home country. He stood by the door, welcoming them respectfully.

Fan Xian sat on a chair and looked around. The vessels that held the wine in this shop were also of a high quality, though they were nowhere near as good as the gla.s.s goblets that he had just "bought". He waved a hand, summoning the shopkeeper toward him. "Which is your finest wine?"

The shopkeeper"s surname was Sheng. Like he was performing a magic trick, he produced a transparent, slender bottle. Inside the bottle was a liquid with an alluring, thick red color.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes. "Grape wine?" he said, surprised.

"Master Fan, you are indeed as much a master of wine as you are of poetry." Shopkeeper Sheng asked some questions about the members of the diplomatic mission, then gave an enchanting smile. "This is indeed a fine grape wine."

Taking a goblet, Fan Xian closed his eyes, swirling it around and taking a sniff. Seeing him do so, w.a.n.g Qinian - once a thief who had known luxury - and even Lin Jing and Shopkeeper Sheng sighed to themselves with admiration. It looked as if Master Fan was from a prestigious family indeed.

Fan Xian was no master wine taster. He was simply putting on an act. He placed the goblet on the table. "I shall take this wine. Pick out some of the stronger ones."

Shopkeeper Sheng dared not dawdle, and hurriedly offered him a few more. Fan Xian took a sip of each. He frowned. It wasn"t very different to the wine he usually drank. It was weaker, and nothing like the sorghum wine Wu Zhu had given him in Danzhou, or the wines of the capital.

Seeing his frown, Shopkeeper Sheng spoke quietly. "Forgive me, Master Fan, but strong drink is not allowed to be imported into the north."

Fan Xian knew that the man was not speaking the truth. There was nothing in the world that money couldn"t buy, and the n.o.bles of Northern Qi were lovers of leisure and of spending money. The shopkeeper still would not show them his finest goods. He said nothing, simply shaking his head and expressing his dissatisfaction.

Shopkeeper Sheng suddenly looked at him, then brought out two bottles. Fan Xian frowned. At first, he had seemed like an ordinary shopkeeper, but it appeared that he was anything but.

Holding a small porcelain cup, Fan Xian pursed his lips then frowned deeply, saying nothing for a long while.

The people around him did not think that the liquor smelled particularly pleasant. w.a.n.g Qinian eventually couldn"t stop himself from asking. "Master, what is it?"

Fan Xian sucked in a breath of air, turning the burning feeling in his throat into a feeling of stimulating pleasure. In a loud voice, he called out in admiration. "Fine wine! Fine wine indeed! What is it called?"

Shopkeeper Sheng smiled. "Five Grain Liquor." [1]

Fan Xian"s face remained unfazed. "A fine name," he said. "Ye Qingmei," he said to himself with a bitter laugh, "you really did know how to have fun."

After business was settled, the four officials stood up and left the shop. But as they were leaving, Fan Xian saw Shopkeeper Sheng give him a meaningful glance. Remembering something he had meant to take note of, Fan Xian stopped, letting the other three continue on. He turned around and followed Shopkeeper Sheng into a side room.

There was no one else in the side room. It was strangely quiet.

Once Shopkeeper Sheng had entered the room, he seemed to change entirely. He stood straight upright, and his face became solemn and respectful. He bowed to Fan Xian, who sat in a chair. "I am Sheng Huairen of the palace treasury. You are the son-in-law of my mistress. It is an honor to meet you, sir."

[1] Five Grain Liquor, or Wuliangye, is the name of a brand of high-cla.s.s grain alcohol in China.