Chapter Eight: Plenty of Money, Little Trouble

On the second floor, the steward of the private room was a man surnamed Fang, in his early thirties, pale-faced and clean-shaven, with exquisitely handsome features. At first glance, he bore a slightly androgynous air. His reaction to Li Xubai’s arrival was neither warm nor cold, seemingly not very welcoming.

Li Xubai was a bit surprised. After taking a closer look at the eight attendants upstairs, he suddenly understood why they treated him so indifferently.

Each of these eight attendants had a distinct aura, but they shared one common trait: they were all exceptionally good-looking.

To what extent were they good-looking?

So much so that, if placed in Li Xubai’s original era, these eight men could easily form a boy band and debut.

As for Steward Fang, he could unquestionably be the leader of that boy band.

Standing among this group, Li Xubai was not ugly per se, but rather mundanely plain.

Li Xubai sighed, feeling bored and isolated outside the nine-man group in the private room, secretly observing them.

"Ah, isn’t this Steward Zhao? What wind blew you here?" Fang, who had also been furtively sizing up Li Xubai, suddenly perked up as if injected with energy, greeting a plump man in his forties with a polite and pleasant smile as he entered the room.

Two attendants followed him inside.

Their voices were loud.

Li Xubai didn’t need to strain to eavesdrop; he could hear everything clearly.

“Steward Zhao, didn’t your household just buy two new carriages? Why come today? If there’s something wrong with the carriages, just send a servant with a message. I’ll come to your residence to handle it. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself with a personal visit,” Steward Fang said politely.

Steward Zhao responded in a deep, gruff voice, “Not at all. Your Lu Lu Tong Carriage Service has the best carriages in Bianliang City. Our master and mistress are very satisfied. I came today to rent several carriages urgently, to be ready by this afternoon.”

Fang was momentarily stunned. “Steward Zhao, you must be joking. Your household already has four carriages; why would you need to rent more?”

Upon hearing this, Steward Zhao’s grievances poured out endlessly: “You don’t know, there was an incident at the palace yesterday.”

“The palace?” Fang involuntarily lowered his voice.

But Steward Zhao was less reserved, still speaking loudly: “You saw the fire last night, right? It burned down the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace—over two thousand rooms—all completely destroyed.”

This news shocked not only Fang but also the attendants loitering outside the room.

“Is it true? A fire that big in the palace?”

“Unbelievable! That’s the palace! How could a fire rage so fiercely?”

“The Yuqing Zhaoying Palace took seven or eight years to build, with silver spent like water. Such a loss to see it burned down.”

“That Zhao is the second steward of the Ministry of Rites’ minister’s household. He wouldn’t be lying.”

Li Xubai twitched the corner of his mouth.

It wasn’t impossible. Houses at the time were mostly wooden structures, with no professional fire brigade or firefighting equipment. Once a fire grew large, it was impossible to extinguish; they could only wait for everything to burn out before the fire died on its own.

Fire and water are merciless—this applies not only to commoners.

There had been many devastating palace fires throughout history, each particularly tragic.

“Ah, but what does the burning of Yuqing Zhaoying Palace have to do with renting carriages?” Fang asked, puzzled.

Steward Zhao sighed: “We don’t know what the palace’s reasoning is. Anyway, after court today, the palace issued an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager. It commands the mistress, along with the young ladies of our household, to accompany the Empress Dowager’s imperial carriage to the Wanfo Temple for fasting and worship, to appease Heaven’s wrath.”

Fang was speechless. “But the Wanfo Temple is over a hundred li outside Bianliang, deep in the mountains. How can the mistress and the young ladies endure such a journey?”

“Hey, you say that, but if the Empress Dowager can endure it, how can we say they can’t!” Zhao continued to sigh. “Look, the mistress needs one carriage. Eight young ladies, two per carriage, that’s five carriages, plus luggage and servants. We can’t take all the household’s carriages and leave the master to walk to court, can we?”

“That’s true, that’s true,” Fang smiled obligingly. “But it is a supreme honor for the mistress and young ladies to fast and worship alongside the Empress Dowager. Other households could only dream of such an opportunity.”

Zhao said, “It’s not just our household. The households of the Ministers of Justice, Rites, and Revenue, plus the six ministries’ vice ministers, and the households of the Censorate and Hanlin Academy—all their mistresses and young ladies must go together. That’s why I hurried here to rent carriages. I expect the other stewards will come soon as well.”

Upon hearing this, Fang’s smile broadened uncontrollably. “Then, shall I accompany Steward Zhao to select the carriages?”

Zhao waved his hand. “No need. Just arrange three carriages, five large carts, and eight coachmen. And make sure the coachmen are honest, quiet, and good-looking.”

Li Xubai couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

That didn’t sound like hiring coachmen—it sounded like finding suitors.

Zhao’s deal was lucrative and easy. The transaction was settled within half an hour.

Three carriages with three coachmen cost 350 taels of silver; five large carts with five coachmen cost 400 taels.

According to the private room’s rules, Steward Fang would earn a commission of 37.5 taels from this deal.

Li Xubai’s mouth watered uncontrollably.

Earning 37.5 taels in just a few words was equivalent to his income for over half a year!

Money in the private room was truly easy to make!

He wanted to enter the private room too!

“Hey, wipe that drool off your face and stop dreaming!” one attendant couldn’t bear it anymore, poking Li Xubai and rolling his eyes.

Li Xubai, adhering to the principle that even if you have enemies, you can’t have enemies with money, shamelessly asked him, “What do you mean? Why is it a dream?”

The attendant sized Li Xubai up and down, shaking his head: “Let’s not talk about anything else. With your face, even the concubines of high officials wouldn’t want you.”

Li Xubai touched his face, displeased. “If I don’t have a pretty face, don’t I at least have a mouth?”

The attendant sneered, “Yeah, none of us eight have mouths, only you do!” He paused as if recalling something, then snorted: “I advise you to stop daydreaming. High-ranking households like the Ministries of Justice and Rites—that’s all handled personally by Steward Fang. We lowly attendants only get the troublesome households that he doesn’t want. Whatever dribbles through his fingers is enough for us to eat and drink.”

Li Xubai pondered.

Where there are people, there is conflict.

No rush. He couldn’t just snatch the top steward’s clients upon arrival.

That would be a slap in the face.

But he wasn’t anxious at all.

Back when he first entered the entertainment industry in his previous life, he had served all sorts of difficult celebrities—young stars, veterans, and fading idols.

In the end, which one wasn’t utterly obedient and compliant with his every request?

A few steward households were nothing to him.

He would hold them in the palm of his hand.