Royal Gold Magistrate

After the imperial court session ended, several senior cabinet ministers returned to their offices.

The most impatient of them, Zhang Dongxiang, couldn’t help but ask: “Minister Li, don’t you think His Majesty’s temperament has changed since returning from his trip?”

“He handed over the money so readily today!”

“And since when did he suddenly start caring about the streets in the city? His Majesty has long known what this city is like.”

Li Yansong lowered his head to review the newly delivered memorials. “Perhaps. It’s not a bad thing that His Majesty is willing to spend money. However, the imperial coffers are not a long-term solution. What can be done if the national treasury continues to run deficits year after year?”

“Look! Here comes another disaster relief request asking for more silver.”

“Ah, it gives me a headache too. Seeing these things makes me so dizzy lately, I’m afraid I’ll have to retire in a few years.”

Upon hearing this, Zheng Qiao actually laughed. “Minister Li, you can’t say such things carelessly. You are a pillar of the state. The cabinet cannot do without you.”

“Isn’t His Majesty drinking that ‘treasure of men’ tea? I’ll go ask His Majesty for some for you.”

The mention of the “treasure of men” piqued Zhang Dongxiang’s interest as well. “This tea sounds interesting. Why don’t we send someone to inquire and buy some more from the city?”

“Who knows, maybe after drinking it Minister Li will be revitalized and take another concubine!”

Laughter filled the room.

Li Yansong waved his hand with a smile. “Dongxiang, don’t make fun of me.”

“I’m old! Too old and lack the energy. I’ll be satisfied if it can invigorate the mind.”

“Let’s send someone to look into it right now! This tea is called Celestial Immortal Tea. It must have miraculous effects! I’m quite curious myself!”

“Liu Er! Go outside and see if there are any teahouses selling this Celestial Immortal Tea. If you find it, remember to bring some back for us.”

Liu Er, the junior official standing guard at the office door, acknowledged the order and quickly ran out.

……………..

An hour later, Liu Er ran back, panting heavily.

“Minister Li! Minister Li! I found it, I found that tea shop.”

The gazes of everyone in the office focused on Liu Er.

Li Yansong said happily, “Great! Did you buy some? How much was it? I’ll reimburse you.”

Liu Er bent over, gasping for breath. “No…I didn’t…buy any.”

“I didn’t bring enough money. I couldn’t afford it.”

“Ugh, look at you! Doing things in such a fluster that you didn’t even bring enough money to buy some tea! Go again later then!” Zhang Dongxiang was extremely disappointed.

Liu Er said with a aggrieved look, “No, it’s not that I didn’t bring enough money. It’s that the Celestial Immortal Tea is outrageously expensive!”

“I had brought ten taels of silver, thinking it would be enough to get some tea for you esteemed lords. But I didn’t expect…that Celestial Immortal Tea is selling for fifty taels of silver per tael of tea!”

“And there’s a purchase limit now. Each person can only buy one can!”

“What! It’s that expensive?” Zhang Dongxiang abruptly stood up with an expression of disbelief, then quickly walked over to Liu Er and asked anxiously, “Are people buying it even at that price?”

Liu Er smiled bitterly. “Yes! Many people buy it! Many of them are stewards and relatives of nobles and ministers.”

“It’s said to be His Majesty’s favorite tea, with miraculous effects after drinking it. When I went, one could still buy it, but now I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to get it even if you had the money…”

“According to the clerk at the teahouse, the production of Celestial Immortal Tea is extremely limited, so they only release a small amount for sale each day, about four catties in total! Most of it has been bought by the palace, and it’s on the verge of being sold out.”

“Once you leave the teahouse, the price of the tea skyrockets. Many family members of high officials were fighting over it at the entrance. By the time I left, the price had already increased to sixty taels!”

Everyone in the room had expressions of surprise. They didn’t expect their fellow officials to act so quickly!

Whenever there was something good, they would swarm to snatch it up.

Zhang Dongxiang paced back and forth in the office, saying with disappointment, “This item is indeed extraordinary! What a pity we didn’t act sooner! Regret comes too late!”

Li Yansong remained the calmest. “Dongxiang, don’t be anxious. Even if this tea is special, it can’t have an effect after just one sip. It’s probably because His Majesty is drinking it and endorsing it that everyone naturally wants to believe in it.”

“Liu Er, I’m giving you fifty taels. Go early tomorrow morning to buy a can for us. I want to taste this tea together with all the gentlemen here.”

“Yes sir!”

………………………………….

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Good news!”

Guo Tianyang entered the Qianqing Palace with a delighted expression and greeted Emperor Jing.

Emperor Jing, who was originally reviewing memorials at his desk, slowly raised his head. “What’s the matter, making such a fuss?”

Guo Tianyang said gleefully, “Your Majesty, the Celestial Immortal Tea is sold out! Only four catties were sold today, earning a total of 2,000 taels of silver!”

“We still have sixteen catties on hand. If we sell it all, we can make 8,000 taels!”

“Fortunately this old servant remembered that County Magistrate Fang mentioned something called ‘hunger marketing.’ We only released four catties. If we hadn’t limited the quantity, I’m afraid the entire stock of tea would have been bought up in one day.”

“Earning a net profit of eight thousand taels in less than half a day! There’s no better business in the world!”

“Your Majesty, should we raise the price tomorrow? At this rate, I’m afraid it will quickly sell out even at eighty taels per tael.”

Emperor Jing stared blankly out of Qianqing Palace, lost in thought.

Then he suddenly burst into laughter. “Hahaha! Good! He really is a rare talent! This Fang Zheng is indeed extraordinary!”

“I didn’t expect that the 10,000 taels of silver I just spent could earn back 8,000 taels so quickly. And this is only the beginning…”

“As for raising the price, absolutely not! I remember Fang Zheng said that once a price is set, it shouldn’t be changed easily or it will damage the brand image.”

“If the price increases drastically and people resell it at inflated prices, oh, that’s called ‘scalping’!”

“You go! Find some reliable people to act as ‘scalpers.’ The higher they can sell it for, the better!”

Emperor Jing started getting excited, already imagining the imperial coffers overflowing with an endless supply of wealth beckoning to him!

“Your Majesty! There are only a dozen or so catty of tea leaves left. It won’t last long. I will immediately arrange for people to go to Taoyuan County to restock!”

“No!” Emperor Jing waved his hand to interrupt Guo Tianyang. “I will go personally in a few days!”

“What? You’re going again?” Guo Tianyang was dumbfounded. The country cannot be without its ruler for even a day, yet His Majesty was willing to travel to Taoyuan County twice for Fang Zheng!

“Yes! Fang Zhengyi is exceptionally insightful. Just think about it, aren’t the current events quite similar to some of the cases he described at the dinner table that day?”

“I want to see if Fang Zhengyi still has other miraculous abilities!”

“You go prepare these next few days! When the inspector envoy from Hengjiang Prefecture arrives, I will make another trip to Taoyuan County!”