Chapter 1468: What Exactly Are They Buying?

"If we're going to do something, we might as well do it well. Besides, I heard he and Qingyang don't get along."

Dong Rui burped, "Didn't you say we should just dabble in trivial matters in Tianshui City at first?"

"This *is* just a dabble. I want King Yao to see that while I'm making things difficult for Qingyang on his behalf, I'm just trying to make a little money from the opportunity," He Lingchuan said, spreading his hands. "Our timing to intervene in Tianshui City is excellent. Qingyang has just gained a significant advantage from Xue Zongwu's death, so she should be in a good mood, and those with the upper hand are usually more magnanimous. As long as King Yao doesn't go too far, she'll probably be too lazy to care. Conversely, King Yao's own birthday celebration is approaching, and he doesn't want to blow things out of proportion; he just wants to vent some frustration. So, neither of them has a strong desire to fight right now."

"What's so good about that?"

"If they were fiercely contending with each other, outsiders would be crushed as soon as they entered, with little room for maneuver," He Lingchuan smiled. "I said it's best to enter when things are calm, but I never said Tianshui City would remain peaceful. King Yao thinks he's only given me a small task—a small person doing small things. But the smaller the task, the greater the room for manipulation."

He was determined to give both Qingyang and King Yao a hard push from behind.

Dong Rui pursed his lips. King Yao was inviting a wolf into his house; didn't he know this guy was an expert at escalating situations?

He Lingchuan stretched, "Let's rest. There'll be a good show to watch starting tomorrow."

The next day, the Yao court summoned all officials for a morning assembly.

Large court meetings were held at most once or twice a month. Normally, King Yao would just gather a few officials in a side hall to discuss matters; it was rare for him to make such a grand display.

With the grand ceremony approaching, this meeting was held under the guise of preparing for the birthday celebration. King Yao reviewed the progress of all preparatory tasks, and any issues raised by officials in court were to be resolved immediately.

Then, he reallocated key foreign affairs reception duties to Prince Qing's Residence!

The officials exchanged glances, not speaking, but inwardly very surprised.

Not long ago, Regent Qingyang had "secretly" collected evidence of wrongdoing by Prince Qing's Residence and made it public. Although not explicitly stated, all implications pointed towards Prince Qing's Residence.

Although Regent Qingyang had suddenly stopped troubling these individuals, King Yao had shown no favor to Prince Qing's Residence, even using pretexts to strip the Zhang family of several powers.

Prince Qing's Residence had always acted ostentatiously in Tianshui City. How many in court secretly applauded when they faced this setback?

Just the morning before, the King had used a pretext to severely reprimand Prince Qing's Residence. In less than two days, he suddenly became pleasant and amiable towards them, not only offering kind words of comfort but also entrusting them with important responsibilities.

What exactly caused such a complete reversal in the King's attitude?

What had Prince Qing's Residence done in those two days?

Or rather, what had they done *right*?

The second agenda item was the expansion of Tianshui City. As usual, everyone in court held different opinions, failing to reach a consensus—

Just like always.

Because this agenda item once again yielded no results, King Yao's face darkened. When moving to the next item, he withheld approval for two projects and outright rejected three funding applications.

"The national treasury is empty! The court and I have no money left. How dare you propose such high budgets? Are you planning to cover the shortfall yourselves?!"

Several officials lowered their heads, chastised, not daring to look up.

Finally, the Yao court announced a new round of official promotions.

After the court session, it was time for officials to gather and discuss privately. They quickly learned two pieces of news:

First, the Red Fortress auction last night saw the first villa from Tranquil Lake Estate sold, acquired by Prince Qing's Residence for thirty-eight thousand taels.

Most officials were astonished by the mention of "Tranquil Lake Estate" and eagerly asked what it was about.

That royal territory was known for its beautiful environment, suitable for growing flowers and plants, and breeding mosquitoes, but it was not open for outsiders to live in. So what was this "Tranquil Lake Estate" project?

Naturally, someone explained that it was a plot of land specially approved by the King for foreign merchants, where villas and exquisite residences would be built and sold to the public.

The phrase "sold to the public" genuinely surprised a group of officials.

Could anyone with money live there, regardless of royal status?

This immediately sparked numerous speculations.

But how could a single villa be worth thirty-eight thousand taels? What opportunity had Prince Qing's Residence sensed to bid so much for such an expensive property?

The second piece of news was that the Yuwen and Gu families had also pre-ordered villas in Tranquil Lake Estate.

The Yuwen family secured a prime lakeside property in the front row. Its price was slightly lower than Prince Qing's Residence, and it was smaller with a less direct view, but still expensive at thirty-three thousand taels.

The Gu family reserved a villa in the back row, which was rumored to have hot springs directly piped into its backyard, priced at twenty-seven thousand taels.

Upon hearing this, everyone exclaimed how outrageous it was.

Tranquil Lake Estate hadn't even begun construction, with only a few blueprints submitted, yet three luxurious residences had already been sold?

Wasn't that one hundred thousand taels earned far too easily!

Naturally, the officials immediately wondered why Prince Qing's Residence, the Gu family, and the Yuwen family were all rushing to buy properties in Tranquil Lake Estate.

They certainly weren't lacking places to live.

This meant that Tranquil Lake Estate possessed significant "added value," and it was very expensive!

The fact that these three families were willing to pay such a high price indicated they considered it well worth it.

What did Prince Qing's Residence, the Gu family, and the Yuwen family have in common?

All three families were high-ranking and wealthy. Prince Qing's Residence aside, the Gu and Yuwen families were influential merchant-officials deeply trusted by King Yao, with several members holding positions in court.

If even they were scrambling for it, could it possibly be without value?

Several young scions, relying on their good relationship with Gu Xuan, quickly approached him to ask:

"Brother Gu, what's going on with this Tranquil Lake Estate?"

Gu Xuan, who was passionately debating the expansion of the capital with other officials, declared, "Tianshui City's last expansion was sixty years ago! The day before yesterday, I passed through Baila Street, and the entire street was blocked for over half an hour because a carriage wheel broke in the middle of the road! That's one of Tianshui City's busiest main streets, yet it can only accommodate two carriages abreast! Who would believe that the roads in the city center are narrower than those in rural towns?"

After saying this, he finally turned back towards the group, saying:

"You all know, don't you? Villas are going to be built around Tranquil Lake, and we can all buy them."

Being able to buy didn't mean one *should* buy.

One of them chuckled, "What secret has your family figured out? Tell us too; don't leave us in the dark."

Gu Xuan countered, "Who lives in Tranquil Lake Pavilion now?"

"Regent Qingyang." Everyone knew that.

Gu Xuan casually dipped his finger in water and drew a map on the table, then pointed to a spot on it:

"This is the location of Tranquil Lake Pavilion."

He then added a dozen small dots on the opposite side:

"This is where Tranquil Lake Estate will be built."

Everyone looked, their eyes widening, "Oh, this... isn't this directly opposite Tranquil Lake Pavilion?"

"Yes, separated only by a shallow inlet," Gu Xuan chuckled. "Once the estate is complete, those who live here will be neighbors with Regent Qingyang every day."

A profound silence fell over the room.

Tranquil Lake was vast; buildings could be erected anywhere. Why did this estate *have* to be built south of Tranquil Lake Pavilion?

No one present was foolish. Considering the recent tension in court, could this matter truly be unrelated to Regent Qingyang?

As the saying goes, "How can one sleep soundly with another person snoring beside their bed?" Tranquil Lake was originally exclusively enjoyed by Regent Qingyang; even the royal family dared not live there. Now, with so many "neighbors" appearing, could Regent Qingyang possibly be pleased?

Conversely, residents here would certainly displease Regent Qingyang.

Therefore, anyone who bought property here would be deliberately antagonizing Regent Qingyang.

Someone stammered, "Then... Brother Gu, you still spent over twenty thousand taels to buy a place here?"

Wasn't this deliberately spending money to offend Regent Qingyang?

Gu Xuan chuckled, "Twenty thousand plus was still a friendship price from Island Lord He. Last night, General Bai Tan went to buy a first-row lakeside villa and spent fifty thousand taels!"

The officials were greatly startled, "What?!"

"When did that happen?"

"General Bai himself said so this morning on his way to the palace. I didn't miss a single word." When General Bai Tan spoke of it, his voice boomed, and he looked immensely pleased.

Seeing his expression, Gu Xuan was even more relieved that he had acted quickly the previous day.

An official nearby had already understood, "No wonder Prince Qing's Residence regained the King's favor today!"

"It's clear the King is quite pleased with Prince Qing's Residence's actions."

"Oh, and speaking of personnel appointments just now, Bai Hengbo was also promoted to Court Supervisor." Who didn't know Bai Hengbo was Bai Tan's nephew? He had been waiting for this promotion for a long time.

Everyone who bought property in Tranquil Lake Estate last night received commendations from King Yao today. The Yuwen and Gu families also received separate rewards; Yuwen Xu's elder brother was even granted an imperial longsword, a divine weapon from the medieval period.

The intelligent ones realized: this wasn't merely buying villas built by foreign merchants. This was clearly an act of allegiance to King Yao!

Buying property in Tranquil Lake Estate meant taking a stand against Regent Qingyang—both geographically and symbolically.

In a vast court, how many officials harbored their own intentions?

People's hearts are hidden. How could King Yao discern whether they were loyal to him or siding with Qingyang?

Now, Tranquil Lake Estate presented an opportunity.

Any official or noble who purchased a villa here would be stamped with a label:

Loyal to the King!

This was a chance to show loyalty to the King.

This was an extraordinary opportunity, carrying immense weight.

Spending twenty to thirty thousand taels could earn the King's great pleasure, very likely leading to his appreciation and a rapid rise in rank.

Hadn't Prince Qing's Residence set an example?

Was it worth it? It was incredibly worthwhile!

Many here had racked their brains to present a unique birthday gift. Now, with such an easy way to please King Yao, why wouldn't they use it?

Now they understood why these prominent families were scrambling to buy villas, didn't they?

First-hand information, first-hand benefits.

Those who understood had a slight change in expression: "Oh dear, if we don't buy..."

If they didn't buy, they would be even more easily labeled.

Were they half-hearted?

Were they ambivalent?

Were they disloyal to the King?

Were they secretly siding with Qingyang?

Regent Qingyang certainly wielded immense power and influence in the Yao Kingdom, but officials' salaries came from the Yao court, and their promotions were decided by King Yao. Regent Qingyang had the standing to offend King Yao, but these officials did not!

That foreign merchant named He, wanting to build some estate by Tranquil Lake for no apparent reason, suddenly threw this multiple-choice question in their faces.

Stand with the King, or align with Qingyang?

Choose quickly!