Chapter 1470: Gilding

He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "Just three days ahead of us?"

His opponents had a variety of tactics, not limited to official interference with personnel.

The foreman pointed to the blueprint. "Unless we use small, square stones, our craftsmanship can minimize the gaps, but it won't be as grand as using large boulders."

Quality work demanded proper execution.

"Absolutely not," He Lingchuan flatly refused. The main gate was the manor's face, its very facade. Just as one judges a person by their face, one judges a house by its entrance.

The projects he oversaw had to be outwardly beautiful and impressive to encourage people to part with their money... or rather, to make them confident in paying him.

Being grand and imposing was a skill, particularly when dealing with Qingyang.

He Lingchuan confirmed with the foreman, "Personnel, vehicles, and tools are all in place. Only the materials are missing, correct?"

"Yes, everything is ready." As the saying goes, "Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice."

He Lingchuan smiled. "Then have your team go in and begin leveling and raising the ground. The materials will be delivered by tomorrow night at the latest."

"Ah... yes." The foreman was genuinely curious. How would this newly arrived Island Lord He procure materials that even he couldn't acquire?

The next day, before dawn, He Lingchuan entered the palace.

He did not go to Yuquan Palace, and King Yao did not grant him an audience.

A light rain washed away the dust. In the imperial garden, rain pattered on the banana leaves, dripping steadily. He Lingchuan sat in the covered walkway for a short while before three figures appeared around the corner.

It was Qiu Long, the elderly palace attendant to King Yao.

Behind him were two eunuchs.

"Lord Qiu." He Lingchuan immediately rose.

Qiu Long smiled faintly. "Young people have good health; they rise early."

"There's a groundbreaking ceremony at Youhu Manor this morning; how could I not rise early?" He Lingchuan took a brocade box from his storage ring and handed it over. "Please, my lord, deliver this."

A eunuch took the brocade box and opened it in front of Qiu Long. Inside lay a neat stack of banknotes and a list.

He Lingchuan stated a sum, then added, "This is the first installment. Please verify it, my lord."

Qiu Long wasted no time with pleasantries. He first scanned the list, finding it clear and concise. Then he personally counted the banknotes twice before finally nodding. "Good," he said, "not a single penny is missing."

His smile towards He Lingchuan also carried a hint of approval. "Island Lord He is accomplished at such a young age."

He Lingchuan expressed his thanks, then added, "There will be a few more payments to follow. As soon as the funds are settled on my end, I will send them to the palace."

"Excellent. Island Lord He, farewell."

He Lingchuan smiled and left.

The Soul-Devouring Mirror in his embrace hummed, "He actually took it! That shameless old geezer!"

It wasn't cursing Qiu Long, but King Yao.

The money He Lingchuan handed over was euphemistically called "Gilding."

For every villa sold at Youhu Manor, after deducting land acquisition costs, construction costs, and a ten percent tax, sixty percent of the net profit was to be allocated as "Gilding" and submitted to King Yao.

The so-called "Gilding" was money voluntarily donated to the royal family.

The Soul-Devouring Mirror had initially praised the ten percent tax on property sales, remarking that it showed "some conscience." After all, while taxes like house tax, labor tax, and fire armor tax existed, their combined total of ten percent was far lighter than in most other countries on the Glimmering Gold Plains.

But it hadn't realized the bulk of the payment was yet to come.

Furthermore, He Lingchuan had proactively proposed this "Gilding" to King Yao.

During his time in Tianshui City, he had often socialized with the sons of officials, picking up various tidbits of insider information. The very existence of a term like "Gilding" suggested that King Yao frequently collected such payments.

King Yao had been quite surprised when he first heard the proposal. However, it was rare for a young man to be so astute and accommodating, so why would King Yao refuse?

The Soul-Devouring Mirror indignantly exclaimed, "That old scoundrel did nothing! He just sits in his palace and takes sixty percent of my master's hard-earned income!"

This was a considerable sum, all earned by his master risking his life, yet he himself would only receive forty percent!

Having left the palace gates and boarded his carriage, He Lingchuan tapped the mirror. "Don't be petty," he said. "This isn't the full amount yet."

He and King Yao had agreed that while "Gilding" represented sixty percent of the profit, He Lingchuan still had to account for material and labor costs, manage various expenses, and even anticipate buyers who might only be able to pay a deposit followed by installments. Given the complexities of the project and the need for capital turnover, the "Gilding" He Lingchuan submitted would be paid in two parts: an initial payment of 25% of the total "Gilding" amount, with the remaining 75% due four months later.

This meant that for every villa sold, he would immediately remit fifteen percent of the profit to King Yao, with the remaining forty-five percent to follow four months later.

King Yao had no objections. Such payment plans and extensions were commonplace in business transactions. Moreover, He Lingchuan was voluntarily offering this money to honor the king. If he had intended to default, why would he go to such lengths?

The mirror grumbled, "You have to pay ten percent in tax, and King Yao takes sixty percent of the profit. That's nearly seventy percent in total, and you, as the person in charge, still don't get forty percent!"

"If King Yao doesn't approve, I won't even get this much," He Lingchuan said, casually setting up a sound-dampening barrier. "Besides, who told you that taxes and 'Gilding' can be calculated together?"

The mirror was stunned. "They can't?"

"Taxes go to the national treasury, while 'Gilding' enters the inner palace treasury. When King Yao collects 'Gilding,' he doesn't count the taxes as part of his own income. So, while I hand over seventy percent, he only perceives himself as taking sixty percent."

"Inner palace treasury?"

"It's the sovereign's private treasury," He Lingchuan chuckled. "Otherwise, why would palace attendants be the ones collecting it just now?"

"So the national treasury is separate from the sovereign's private treasury? They don't merge?"

"Of course they don't merge. That's true not just in Yao, but also in Beijia and Yuan," He Lingchuan explained, knowing this was a blind spot for the mirror. "If the two treasuries were combined, wouldn't the sovereign simply take money from the national treasury as he pleased?"

The mirror let out a dry chuckle. "I see. So the nation's money isn't actually the sovereign's money."

"The sovereign must raise their own funds," He Lingchuan continued. "For instance, in Yuan, the royal family possesses its own fields, forests, mines, and even lacquerware and carpentry workshops. The income from these is meant to cover the daily expenses of the palace and royal lineage. Yet, despite this, during the last few years of the Yuan King's reign, the palace fell into disrepair, and his brocade robes had moth holes. This clearly indicated that their income could no longer meet their expenditures."

"The Yuan court was only sixty years old, yet it had already become so decrepit. Consider Yao, which has existed for two hundred years. Its palaces are several times more numerous than Yuan's, its servants and eunuchs several times more, and its workshops for various crafts also several times more. If King Yao wishes to maintain his magnificent palaces, support countless servants, fund the Imperial Guard, and acquire new items, imagine his daily expenses! All that money must come from his private treasury. Heh, every morning he awakens to countless people waiting for him to disburse funds."

The mirror weakly ventured, "Can't he just misappropriate funds from the national treasury?"

"He certainly does misappropriate funds. But the national treasury is still overseen by others, so he can't do it too brazenly; he needs pretexts at the very least." He Lingchuan observed the street scene and the flowing crowds outside the window. "If too much money from the national treasury is seized by the sovereign and officials, there will be less for the nation's economy and the people's welfare. Qingyang has spent the last six months opposing official merchants selling goods externally. Now that I think about it, she was aiming to cut off King Yao's financial lifeline."

The mirror suddenly understood. "The income of the official merchants..."

"Precisely! The monopolized businesses of the Gu, Bu, and Yuwen families, as well as Xue Zongwu and Qi Yunsheng's tribute land operations, undoubtedly also offer 'Gilding' to King Yao. These so-called 'official merchants' exist primarily to satisfy King Yao's demands," He Lingchuan said quietly. "It's a veiled way of diverting money from the national treasury to King Yao, which is why Qingyang was so intent on supervising and opposing it."

The mirror suddenly dawned on him. "No wonder King Yao wants to protect them!"

"They are all King Yao's proxies. If Qingyang dealt with them, where would King Yao get his money?" The deeper his understanding of Yao, the clearer he saw the true nature of Qingyang's struggle with King Yao.

King Yao, knowing his officials were corrupt, still vigorously protected them, ultimately out of concern for his own finances.

Qingyang was well aware of this; otherwise, she wouldn't have played her hand the way she did earlier. "Qingyang is quite shrewd. She's been here less than a year and has already pinpointed King Yao's weak spot."

As he became more deeply involved, he understood a bit more about Yao's internal politics.

"The corruption Qingyang uncovered is indeed real. It means King Yao's 'proxies' were also lining their own pockets. There's a finite amount of money, and they had to share it with King Yao. It's difficult for outsiders to discern who was taking the larger share, them or the king," He Lingchuan sighed. "Otherwise, Xue Zongwu wouldn't have been so terrified of Frost Creek's accounts being re-audited. He absolutely couldn't let King Yao discover how much he had truly taken."

The mirror let out a scoff. "So both the sovereign and his ministers are finding ways to line their own pockets?"

"Exactly," he replied. As they passed a fried snack stall, He Lingchuan asked his coachman to buy him a dozen lantern cakes.

"If both the sovereign and his ministers are chipping away at the nation's foundations, how can Yao truly thrive?"

"At least it hasn't collapsed yet, has it? Yao is a major power on the Glimmering Gold Plains, currently enjoying a period of immense national strength. It's like a large ship sailing the seas; even if they connive, siphon a bit, or grow greedy, the ship won't sink." He Lingchuan bit into a cake. Fresh from the oil, it was crispy and fragrant. He could immediately tell it had been fried in palm oil.

"But such a country cannot withstand major upheaval. If a storm brews at sea and the delicate balance is shattered, no amount of superficial calm will suffice. The underlying corruption and flaws will immediately be exposed, and the nation might not possess the ability to weather the crisis smoothly." He paused. "I suspect that despite the Bixia people's desperate pleas, and the gods' desire for the Glimmering Gold Plains to contribute more nightmare essence, Yao's consistent refusal to deploy troops might stem from this very consideration."

As the saying goes, 'one knows one's own affairs best.' After twenty years on the throne, King Yao would undoubtedly be most familiar with his own financial standing.

He Lingchuan took a sip of warm tea before continuing. "King Yao is also quite short on money. He will certainly welcome the 'Gilding' I offer. It's so easy for him to collect; there are no layers of bureaucrats skimming off the top. Whatever I give, he receives directly. If you were in his position, wouldn't you want to receive a bit more, and for a longer period?"