Chapter 1469: Making Trouble

Gu Xuan smiled, adding fuel to the fire: "Don't just say don't buy, even if you buy too slowly..."

Even buying slowly would provoke the monarch's suspicion. Why hesitate and delay purchasing until now? Does showing loyalty to the monarch require so much deliberation? Were they perhaps trying to decide between the monarch and the Regent first?

Immediately, some people composed themselves and said to Gu Xuan, "I have matters at home; I'll head back first. Please continue your conversation."

No sooner had they left than an official realized, "Oh, that scoundrel must have gone to buy a villa!"

"Cunning!" Immediately, two more people excused themselves and left.

The remaining people lost their enthusiasm for conversation, all burdened with worries. Gu Xuan smiled without speaking.

He knew that most officials did not want to take sides. The struggle between King Yao and Regent Qingyang was for ultimate power; what did it matter to them who ultimately won? Weren't they still doing their jobs? King Yao's action, however, forced them to make a choice. It was black or white, with no middle ground. The price of appeasing King Yao was offending Regent Qingyang, which could potentially create future problems; yet, not declaring loyalty to King Yao now would likely place them in the opposing camp. What good outcome could there be if their own monarch held a grudge against them?

It was difficult; for officials who wished to remain neutral, this was an incredibly tough problem. After understanding the hidden implications, who knew how many influential figures would suffer from insomnia that night?

The new challenge presented to He Lingchuan by the Office of Construction was the qualification of the construction team. Yangshan's operations were flourishing throughout the central and western parts of the Blazing Gold Plain, but it had yet to establish a firm foothold in Tianshui City. It lacked its own construction teams and had to hire them as needed.

Building a dozen or so villas, at most two or three stories high, not skyscrapers or pagodas, how difficult could that be? For private homes, one simply needed to hire a few carpenters and masons; some even built their own houses without external help. The craftsmanship for official residences and villas was only slightly more complex.

However, this was not allowed. The Office of Construction informed the Yangshan Merchant Guild that breaking ground on royal land was a serious matter; it couldn't be done by just any makeshift team. The team must have qualifications for constructing royal residences and official mansions at least three times, and each person must have over ten years of experience building opulent houses. This was a regulation, and it was a well-reasoned requirement.

Upon receiving this requirement, He Lingchuan shrugged and went to find Yuwen Xu. The Yuwen family's swift purchase of the conceptual villas for the Hidden Lake Villa development was a preemptive show of allegiance, declaring themselves staunch royalists. Whatever difficulties He Lingchuan encountered, Yuwen Xu would have to find a way to help resolve them. Even things the Yuwen family originally couldn't accomplish were now possible.

So, upon hearing He Lingchuan's request, Yuwen Xu nodded repeatedly: "Yes, it's not difficult! The team currently renovating my own residence has also remodeled facades, built gardens, and renovated wings for five or six other prominent families. They even expanded half of Lord You Rongzhi's mansion. Their qualifications are fully compliant, and all their members are highly skilled masters. You can take them."

He Lingchuan thanked him. That afternoon, the team arrived from the Yuwen family's estate. There were about ten people, fewer than He Lingchuan had expected. Fewer people was even better.

The foreman's surname was Guan. He was under forty but already had over twenty years of construction experience. A native of Tianshui City's outskirts, he brought fellow villagers into the city to find work when he was young. His exquisite craftsmanship gradually earned him a reputation. However, he rarely did manual labor himself now, primarily focusing on taking on jobs, supervising work, procuring materials, and coordinating on-site operations. After chatting with him for a quarter of an hour, He Lingchuan understood why Yuwen Xu had recommended him. Foreman Guan was well-connected and popular. He was intimately familiar with all the explicit and implicit rules, and how to handle affairs at every level. He was also the soul of the team; without him, it would be like Tonglinji without Tu Yuanhong—completely unmanageable. He Lingchuan, who had undertaken such a large project from scratch, especially one involving breaking ground on royal land, indeed greatly needed a helper like Foreman Guan.

After reviewing the blueprints and approvals and listening to He Lingchuan's requirements, Foreman Guan stroked his chin and said, "So, you want to build the gatehouse and roads first, and the houses temporarily cannot be built?"

"Exactly," He Lingchuan replied with a smile. "Remember to build with meticulous craftsmanship. Slow work yields fine results." He emphasized the word "slow."

Foreman Guan immediately let out a sound of realization, as if understanding something. "This gatehouse—" referring to the main entrance of the villa development—"needs to be sixty-six feet high?"

"Precisely. It needs to be luxurious and grand, fully embodying the elegance of officialdom." When officials gathered there, and residents were figures of status and taste, the gate of Hidden Lake Villa naturally had to be as impressive and exquisite as possible.

"It can't be any higher," Foreman Guan cautioned, "otherwise, it would surpass the height of the temple's pagoda and risk offending the gods, bringing bad luck."

"Foreman Guan, you truly are familiar with the local customs. I made the right choice in hiring you," He Lingchuan complimented him before continuing, "So, I want you to raise the ground beneath the main gate, creating a small hill." If the gatehouse couldn't be made taller, he would increase the ground height. No one said the ground couldn't be raised, right?

"..." Foreman Guan looked dismayed. "If we raise the ground and then build the gatehouse, its height will exceed that of the Hidden Lake Pavilion across the way."

"What's the problem?" He Lingchuan retorted. "It indicates that this side's 'status' is higher than the other, which is excellent. King Yao will surely be pleased when he hears about it."

"Uh..." Lord He, the island master, had quite the nerve. Could he truly be a formidable newcomer? Yes, he had also heard about He Lingchuan's past.

"There is indeed a problem," Foreman Guan said seriously. "Sculpting the gatehouse requires bluestone, and the larger the stone blocks, the more imposing it will look. The trouble is, we can't get large stones right now."

He Lingchuan asked, surprised, "Why?"

"Tianshui City's bluestone market isn't large, and its source is singular, primarily from Baigang County to the north and Hexiang to the west. The stone is cut there before being transported into the city," Foreman Guan explained. "Building official residences and mansions is typically not urgent; many take over a decade. So, the usual process is for us to estimate the stone quantity, and then those two counties receive the order to quarry and process it. Stone is bulky and heavy, so there's no place to store it if it's quarried beforehand."

"So, there's no readily available bluestone?"

"I inquired before I came. There's none currently available that meets your required specifications. Actually, the Li family ordered a batch of stone two months ago, all seven feet square. But an official from the Li family was later impeached by the Regent and imprisoned, with much of their property confiscated, so they couldn't continue building their villa," he scratched his head. "This batch of stone would have been perfect for building the gatehouse. But when I asked, it had been bought three days ago. What's strange is that I couldn't get any information about the buyer, nor did I find out where the stone was taken. The locals only said that the buyer sent their own convoy to haul it away."