A walnut-sized glass bead, and purple at that!
Great Kang had never seen anything like it before.
On Han Feng’s instructions, news that the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce had obtained peerless crystal glass beads spread rapidly.
Bianjing City was neither too large nor too small.
On the very day Luo Lan put them on display, most dukes and well-informed wealthy merchants received the news.
By the third day, even ordinary citizens knew about it.
Teahouses and restaurants were filled with people discussing the crystal glass beads.
In the end, even Emperor Chen Ji was alerted.
Chen Ji loved calligraphy, paintings, and rare curios most of all. After ascending the throne, he specially established a department called the “Offering Bureau” to scour the country for unusual stones, antiques, and similar treasures, ship them back to the capital, and build imperial gardens.
In Great Kang, ten river vessels formed one transport fleet. The fleets carrying these treasures were known as the “Flower and Stone Convoys”.
Wherever a Flower and Stone Convoy passed, common people not only had to bring their own dry rations to haul the ropes and escort the boats, but if the vessels could not clear low bridges, the bridges were simply demolished.
The people of Jiangnan had suffered greatly from these convoys.
Even now, with the state treasury nearly empty, the Offering Bureau had not been abolished; it had merely become slightly more restrained.
Since Chen Ji was so fond of curios, he would naturally come to see such exceptional crystal glass beads appear in the capital.
Fortunately, Chen Ji always considered himself a refined and cultured man. To show he shared pleasures with the people, he did not arrive with great fanfare. He quietly came to the area, found a restaurant to rest in, and then sent someone to inform Luo Lan.
Luo Lan hurriedly brought people to greet him at the restaurant.
“This humble maid Luo Lan pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!”
In the private room, Luo Lan kowtowed respectfully.
“Rise. We heard your auction house is selling crystal beads today, so We came to watch the excitement. No need for excessive ceremony.”
Chen Ji was in a good mood and spoke with unusual warmth. “We hear you have some acquaintance with Wuyang. Just treat Us as the father of an ordinary friend.”
“This maid dares not!”
Head bowed, Luo Lan presented a box. “The gentleman said that the appearance of these treasure beads in Great Kang is due to Your Majesty’s profound virtue and a heavenly blessing. He instructed this maid to present the largest one to Your Majesty. Unfortunately, this maid’s abilities are limited and she has not yet delivered it to the palace. May Your Majesty forgive the offence!”
“Hahaha, well said, little girl!”
Chen Ji laughed heartily, clapped his hands in delight, and waved for the chief eunuch to take the box.
The chief eunuch examined it carefully, confirmed there were no mechanisms or dangers, and only then presented it to Chen Ji.
Inside lay a purple glass bead slightly larger than a walnut, perfectly clear, flawlessly round, and smooth all over. Chen Ji’s eyes lit up at once.
Compared with this bead, the crystal glass beads offered by the Eastern Sea envoys were hardly worth mentioning.
“Speak. What reward does Baron Clearwater desire?”
Chen Ji toyed happily with the glass bead.
The emperor’s arrival had been unexpected; Jin Feng had said nothing about it. Luo Lan had already taken it upon herself to present the largest bead to the emperor, so how could she now dare ask for anything?
Head still lowered, she replied, “The gentleman says he seeks nothing else, only that Your Majesty enjoy good health and that Great Kang’s altars endure in prosperity for ten thousand years!”
“Baron Clearwater is truly thoughtful!”
Chen Ji grew even happier and stood up. “Come, let us go to the auction house.”
At the main entrance of the auction house, seeing the crowded throng, Chen Ji asked, “Do you have a back door?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, please follow me!”
Luo Lan quickly led Chen Ji through an alley.
“Your Majesty, the back door is for servants and labourers. Your august person should not use such a place,” the chief eunuch frowned and advised.
“No matter. Today We come to enjoy ourselves with the people; there is no need for such formality. If We entered through the front, what fun would the auction be?”
Chen Ji brushed it off completely and reminded Luo Lan, “In a moment, arrange a separate private box for Us and do not reveal Our identity. Understood?”
“Yes!”
Luo Lan bowed quickly in agreement.
Tang Xiaobei had clearly told her in his letter that Jin Feng urgently needed money right now. The glass beads had been sent to the capital precisely to fetch a high price.
Luo Lan’s greatest fear had been that Chen Ji would arrive in full pomp; then who would dare bid against the emperor?
Now that Chen Ji himself wanted to remain incognito, only a fool would object.
The capital was the political centre of Great Kang, filled with all kinds of powerful figures. The auction house always kept several private boxes reserved in case princes or dukes arrived unexpectedly.
Luo Lan led Chen Ji to one of those reserved boxes and then withdrew with a bow.
Thanks to excellent promotion and the fact that Luo Lan had specially hired the most skilled courtesan from the pleasure quarters to host and stir the atmosphere, this auction was exceptionally successful!
All the glass beads together sold for more than sixty thousand taels of silver!
The single walnut-sized purple bead alone fetched nearly thirty thousand taels after fierce competition among several tycoons!
Silver in Great Kang was still very valuable; more than sixty thousand taels was, even to Chen Ji, an enormous sum.
In feudal times, the whole realm belonged to the imperial house; the emperor could take whatever he wished.
Yet a refined literatus like Chen Ji had no interest in vulgar money. He was merely surprised and never considered seizing the proceeds by force.
Tens of thousands of taels were nothing more than numbers to him, far less precious than the bead in his hand or an authentic painting by a master of a previous dynasty.
…
Knowing Jin Feng needed money urgently, early the next morning Luo Lan took Tang Fei and visited many money houses. They exchanged nearly fifty thousand taels into gold ingots, silver ingots, and copper cash, requiring dozens of carts to carry it all.
Copper cash took up the most space; one tael of silver equalled a thousand copper coins, a huge handful when strung together.
They had no choice but to exchange it. Workers’ wages were mostly paid in copper cash, and Guangyuan was too remote. If Jin Feng suddenly brought tens of thousands of taels of silver there, he would never be able to exchange enough copper coins in a reasonable time.
“Brother Tang, you are travelling with so much money. You must be extremely careful on the road!”
Luo Lan looked at the endless line of carts and felt her heart pounding.
This much money was enough to make any band of robbers risk their lives.
“Don’t worry, little sister. This time I’ve brought three hundred brothers waiting outside the city, every one a veteran!”
Tang Fei said confidently, “We have thirty heavy crossbows with us, enough to fight a proper battle against the Xixia on the frontier. If bandits dare to rob us, they’re tired of living!”
Only then did Luo Lan relax.
The current Zhenyuan Escort Agency often transported goods, and the old escorts were all battle-hardened.
Three hundred veterans equipped with heavy crossbows and stone-throwers could hold off bandits ten times their number.
“Sister Luo Lan, the gentleman asked me to remind you: do not keep too many banknotes on hand. Exchange them for silver and copper cash as quickly as possible. If that isn’t convenient, buy grain and send it back.”
Tang Fei glanced around, leaned close to Luo Lan’s ear, and whispered, “The gentleman says war may be coming. Once fighting starts, banknotes that cannot be redeemed become worthless paper.”
“I understand!”
Luo Lan’s pupils contracted, and she nodded quickly.
If war broke out, a run on the banks could easily occur. Real silver was far safer.
