The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 238 - 210. Split account of 10,000 taels of silver, with the invention of "glasses"_2

"The weather is really nice today, hahaha."

Damn... this girl wouldn’t be like Old Wang, looking to freeload too... Zhao Douan straightened his face:

"Don’t change the subject. You wouldn’t want news of the Heavenly Master Mansion swindling people to reach Heavenly Master Zhang’s ears, would you."

Jin Jian, realizing playing dumb was futile, hung her head in despair and let out a soft sigh.

Reluctantly, she fumbled with her little yin-yang fish purse tied around her waist:

"Here, take it... I had it ready anyway, but the accounts aren’t fully settled yet, and there’s some money still to be collected. If you want it now, you can only have the part that’s already on the books..."

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Zhao Douan finally broke into a grin, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

It’s only when money was involved that the girl priestess seemed a bit more "human," not like her usual self, floating around like a ghost.

What Jin Jian first pulled out wasn’t silver, but a handwritten little ledger, and she said with precise enunciation:

"Take a look at the accounts first... You only provided the formula, the expenses of manufacturing and selling, we fronted those, so we have to deduct them, that’s the profit... and there’s the tax to pay to the court... You hired me to help you and that service isn’t free, plus the scrolls you used..."

The girl counted on her fingers, looking like the very image of a miser as she did the math.

After much inner struggle, she finally took out a stack of silver notes from the purse, closed her eyes, and handed them to him reluctantly:

"This is yours, over ten thousand taels..."

As if not seeing them made it less painful.

Zhao Douan reached out to take them, gave a tug.

Didn’t move.

"...Let go, will you."

"Oh."

Still didn’t move.

"Let go! Otherwise I’ll tell your master..."

"..."

It was only after finally obtaining the thick stack of silver notes that Zhao Douan’s smile uncontrollably spread wider.

A freezing formula, roughly a month’s profit share, and to think it amounted to over ten thousand taels, such a rate of amassing wealth was enough to leave one agape in astonishment.

Of course, upon further thought, it wasn’t all that surprising.

With the abilities of the Heavenly Master Mansion, they surely didn’t just sell in the Capital this past month?

In fact, once they realized the moneymaking potential of this item,

the Heavenly Master Mansion went all in, expanding comprehensively into the surrounding areas.

It was only because the formula was too simple, the blatant buying of saltpeter was impossible to hide, and eventually, the market had seen an influx of competing imitators,

leading to a price war.

Otherwise, the profit would have been even higher.

In a month’s time, enough to buy a large villa in the Capital... Zhao Douan’s grin spread, thinking he now had the money to buy a house.

Jin Jian, on the other hand, was in absolute agony. After handing over the silver notes, her body staggered, her hand weakly grasping at the air, culminating in her clutching her chest in pain.

So heart-wrenchingly painful she could hardly breathe.

Originally, when Zhao Douan had offered eight thousand taels to buy the formula outright, she hadn’t agreed.

And now, just from the first batch of profit-sharing, it had already topped ten thousand, even after deducting a bunch of odds and ends.

"What’s wrong with the priestess?" Zhao Douan feigned concern.

"...Nothing, it’s just that there are imitations of the formula now, and I’m afraid next year it won’t sell for as much. My senior brother said we could still make a good sum by selling it a few more times before it spreads any further, and he was wondering what you thought."

Jin Jian turned away, speaking through her pain.

Tsk... Patent licensing, huh... A very astute judgment... Zhao Douan smiled:

"Do as you see fit, priestess."

Yeah, this way, we could still pull in at least another ten or twenty thousand... Indeed, I always did say, there’s no need for corruption to make a fortune...

Jin Jian didn’t want to see him anymore, and waved her hand to leave.

Zhao Douan suddenly asked out of curiosity:

"If I may be so bold, what’s with your eyes? They’re quite distinctive?"

He had always been curious about what the deal was with Jin Jian’s eyes.

"...I looked at the stars too much at night, and now they’re like this, not very clear," Jin Jian explained weakly.

"Even cultivators can suffer from this, eye damage, I mean?" Zhao Douan asked with a strange expression.

He thought magical pills and elixirs could fix anything.

Jin Jian hung her head in dejection:

"My cultivation isn’t strong enough... and as for pills, there aren’t many that treat this."

Zhao Douan hesitated for a moment, then suddenly said:

"I know of something that might help, well, it sort of looks like this..."

He saw there was paper and pen in the room, took them and quickly sketched a diagram with a basic explanation and handed it over, saying:

"You could try having a craftsman make a pair based on this, of course, it might not necessarily work."

He suspected the young lady might have a bit of astigmatism...

Jin Jian blankly held up the paper.

Looking at the words "glasses" and the strange perspective drawings, she gave him a peculiar glance and tentatively asked:

"How much would you like for this?"

Zhao Douan pocketed the silver note and revealed a warm smile, "This one is a gift to you; it’s free."

A stick followed by a sweet date... Although selling glasses was a major industry, he only roughly understood the principles and lacked finished product drawings and technical know-how...

Moreover, although there was crystal in this world, its price was expensive and not something just anyone could afford...

Watching Zhao Douan’s retreating figure, Jin Jian clasped the drawing, tilting his head, somewhat lost in thought.

Suddenly, he felt his heart didn’t ache anymore.

...

Deep within the Heavenly Master Mansion.

In that secluded courtyard building, under the bright sky and clear day, a huge banyan tree expanded its branches, casting a shade below.

The tall figure, wearing a black robe with narrow eyes and a gentle demeanor, the Old Heavenly Master lay on a bamboo chair, perusing a letter.

In the yard, there was also a crane with a small bundle hanging from its neck, elegantly drinking water.

"Eh? A crane."

The semi-transparent Jin Jian passed through the courtyard gate, materialized his form, and looked in surprise at the crane:

"Did someone send a letter to Master?"

Heavenly Master Zhang Yan Yi lifted his head, smiling, and handed over the letter:

"Yes."

Jin Jian corrected his focus with his magic, bringing his gaze into sharpness, and exclaimed in surprise:

"It’s a letter from Fourth Senior Brother."

Fourth Senior Brother, the previous Zhu Dian disciple, now traveling abroad, was a notorious gambler.

His patron deity was involved with fortune, and he possessed a signature Suppressing Object called "Fortune Dice."

Each time thrown, it randomly granted a period of modification to one’s own fortune; when the luck was good, everything would go smoothly, earning him the experience of being a child of fortune, with opportunities and treasures naturally converging.

When the luck was bad, it was a streak of misfortune, akin to a cursed star, and everyone steered clear of him.

"Why did Fourth Senior Brother suddenly write a letter back?" Jin Jian asked curiously.

Heavenly Master Zhang Yan Yi sighed, and spoke in a somber tone:

"He rolled forty-nine days of bad luck and is afraid of dying out there, so he’s asking for my help."

Jin Jian appeared worried:

"Then, Master, will you counter it with the power of Heavenly Dao for him?"

Heavenly Master Zhang Yan Yi uttered "oh," and said:

"I might as well not have this disciple."

...

...

...

At the Capital, outside the West City Gate.

On the imperial road, a merchant convoy pressed on directly.

In the convoy, from a carriage, a curtain was lifted, revealing a boy around sixteen or seventeen, fat as a pig, full of acne, his face oily.

He excitedly shouted, pointing at the towering city gate ahead:

"We’ve arrived at the Capital, we’ve arrived at the Capital, hurry up! Somebody, urge the carriage ahead to move faster! I want to enter the city to rest, stay in the best inn, eat the best meat! Don’t want to suffer on the road anymore! Why is it so slow?"

The boy shouted commands loudly, causing many travelers entering the city to give sideways glances.

Inside the carriage compartment.

A woman dressed in glittering jewels, though her expression was dull from the long journey, was disturbed by the noise but did not stop it.

Instead, she turned her head with her thin lips curled up and glanced at the middle-aged man in the same carriage, complaining:

"We’ve finally come to the end of this journey, haven’t you sent a letter in advance to your niece? Why is no one coming to meet us? Are we supposed to enter the city ourselves?"

The middle-aged man, coming from a collateral branch of the You family on Xiping Road, currently the Family Head who carries the seal, and the "Second Uncle" mentioned by You Jinhua, was well-proportioned with a beard, a wealthy look to his face, and steady eyes.

Now he frowned, saying:

"Times are different now; my niece has married into the Zhao family, giving her support.

I’ve heard that this Zhao Douan has gained the favor of a Saint… Now with her son’s position raised, she might not even recognize me as her second uncle, or you as her aunt."

The woman’s eyebrows shot up, displeased:

"What do you mean by her son’s position being raised, isn’t he just a stepson, also a pretty boy..."

"Shut up."

The middle-aged man suddenly spoke up, rebuking his wife, and pulling his young son back.

He looked to the side, at another carriage that came from behind, gradually catching up side by side.

More precisely, he looked at the man inside, whom they had chanced to meet on the road and found pleasant conversation.

A man who claimed to come from a noble clan, on his way to visit friends in the Capital, distinguished and commanding in demeanor.

He smiled, "The young boy is mischievous; I apologize for offending the young master."

...

ps: I’m not in good condition today, so just this one update; I need to sort out the subsequent plot.