5. A Few Things About Zhao Huaiji
Although Yan Chuyue seemed to be in a bad mood these days, she still accompanied Gong Yiling on her trip to the capital.
And since Elder Zhao had a good reputation in this circle, Gong Musheng didn’t go with them this time, letting the two girls go on their own.
On the way, although they were in the same carriage, Yan Chuyue didn’t speak to Gong Yiling, making the atmosphere between them quite tense.
However, it was just a coincidence. Although such coincidences had happened before, their different public identities would naturally lead to different consequences.
At this point, all she could do was wait for this girl to calm down.
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The Youhan Dynasty, known as the commercial powerhouse of the Four Kingdoms, was a much more interesting place to visit than the Baiyao Dynasty or the Heartflame Empire.
Why? For shopping, of course.
Whatever you wanted, whether it was weapons, pills, cultivation techniques, talismans, or decorative items, antiques, jades, or even clothes, cosmetics, and jewelry…
From cultivators to commoners, from martial men to beauty-loving women, anyone could find what they wanted here.
Such a commercial empire was rare in any fantasy novel, simply because Gong Youyuan had given it some extraordinary settings.
In her setting, each of the Four Kingdoms had its own characteristics, and these characteristics weren’t just random labels.
So, although it deviated a bit from the typical fantasy novel framework, the industrial model here was quite… modern.
How modern? In an ordinary country, if various merchants’ branches spread to every corner of the continent, the wealth they accumulated would be enough to support a private army of cultivators, making the country’s political system extremely dangerous.
Five thousand years of ancient history had proven this logic countless times, not to mention in this world where spending money on cultivators yielded high returns.
And the so-called “modernization” was to nationalize the major merchants, appointing royal confidants to control the overall situation. And the most crucial of these nationalized merchants was none other than the Youcang Court.
This huge chamber of commerce didn’t just monopolize the domestic auction industry. It also controlled the circulation of various goods throughout the continent, meaning all goods had to pass through it to be sold outside the Youhan Dynasty.
This way, no matter what you sold, you had to pay a huge annual fee to maintain this sales channel. If you didn’t pay, you couldn’t even cross the natural barriers between countries, and you had to pay high tariffs at the border, and you might not even find a good shop and market on the other side.
Eh, didn’t this sound a bit like a foreign agent?
In fact, it was about the same, and the biggest shareholder of this agent was the country itself.
This way, the entire empire’s economic lifeline was firmly in the hands of the Murong royal family. No matter how developed the country’s commerce was, it couldn’t pose any threat to the imperial power.
In fact, the Heartflame Empire relied on the dragon vein, and the Baiyao Dynasty was a warmonger. Comparing the three, the Youhan Dynasty clearly had a better future.
And this Elder Zhao, his resume was quite impressive.
He had served as the Minister of Revenue and the head of the Imperial Hospital. After his proposal to rebuild the Cloud Rainbow Sect was rejected, he resigned from his position and was appointed by the Murong Emperor to be the head of the Youcang Court.
The reason the royal family valued him so much was, one, his outstanding work ability, and two, his connections.
As a descendant of the Cloud Rainbow Sect, those who had received their favor in the past had all added a line to their family’s ancestral teachings—if they ever encountered a descendant of the Zhao clan, they must treat them as honored guests and do their best to befriend them.
After several generations, although the Zhao clan didn’t have a large family business, just some pill business, their connections spread far and wide, and many things could be settled with just a word from them.
The Murong royal family naturally wanted to hold onto such connections, which was why they were reluctant to let Elder Zhao truly leave their sight.
If it weren’t for his determination to see this through, the Murong royal family might have even given him some other tasks.
“So, this old man is a hero who sees things through to the end.” Gong Yiling took out two rather beautiful fox masks and handed one to Yan Chuyue.
Although there was no need to hide their identities here, it wouldn’t hurt.
Yan Chuyue raised an eyebrow but didn’t say much, just calmly taking the mask and putting it on.
It had to be said, the accessories here were quite beautiful—in her own writing, it was just a few sentences, but now, seeing them in person, the feeling was something that couldn’t be conveyed by simple words.
So, Yan Chuyue’s mood naturally improved, and she was able to exchange a few words with Gong Yiling.
“The descendants of the Cloud Rainbow Sect are like this.” She said, “Even though times have changed, they will not forget their destiny.”
“The destiny you gave them?”
“No…” Yan Chuyue shook her head. “Some things are not settings, but things these people will surely do.”
“The purpose of the Cloud Rainbow Sect is to heal the world, to quell the storms of the four seas, and to maintain a state where there are no wars, where no one dies in vain because of others’ selfish desires.”
“This ideal is almost impossible to achieve in this world, but it will also inspire countless people to strive for it.”
“That old man is an idealist. Or rather, anyone who comes into contact with this purpose and understands the core of the Cloud Rainbow Sect will become such an idealist.”
Hearing this, Gong Yiling couldn’t help but feel a bit envious of their way of life.
Having a so-called ideal should be a very proud thing.
She wondered… what was her ideal?
