Yun Ye finally found the reason why he was unwilling to stay with Li Er—because when he was with him, he could always hear that so-and-so had already been beheaded, their head packed in a box to be sent before the imperial presence for viewing. When heads remained on living people’s necks, no matter how ugly, Yun Ye could always manage to look if he was careful enough. But once these things were removed from necks, even the most beautiful woman staring at you with a pair of dead fish eyes—Yun Ye could detect not the slightest beauty, only wanting to vomit. Ever since last time when Li Er forced him to watch live burials, not only had his sensitivity to vomiting not dulled, it had become even more acute. Now, just hearing vocabulary related to human heads, a bloody smell would permeate his nose and mouth, his stomach churning with wave after wave of discomfort.

Li Er ordered a large table full of dishes, and moreover ordered whatever was most expensive. The wine jars were opened and the dishes arrived, yet he didn’t eat a single bite. Flicking his sleeves, he wanted to go to Copper and Iron Alley to drink fermented rice wine. Although Yun Ye earnestly persuaded him that this wine house’s fermented rice wine tasted excellent—it shared the same lineage as Huang Shu’s fermented rice wine from Yushan Academy and was far superior to Copper and Iron Alley’s fermented rice wine that reeked of rust—Li Er still left the wine house. His target seemed to be continuing to wreak havoc on Du Ruhui’s family shop.

He was holding in his anger. Li Er was very unhappy today. He walked forward on his own with his hands behind his back. Yun Ye followed closely behind. Zhangsun also dared not be negligent. Marrying such a husband was no different from marrying a monkey.

This shop’s storefront was extremely large. The shop door, as tall as a ward gate, looked like something poor ghosts could not enter. Li Er pointed at the shop’s storefront with his finger and asked Yun Ye, “Whose is this?”

“It seems to be this humble subject’s spice shop.” Yun Ye replied, his face twitching.

Li Er snorted sullenly and continued walking forward. A trading company specializing in selling pearls stood before them. The merchant was very magnanimous—glass tanks filled with pearls, displayed on the counter like selling rice. Many women sat in chairs, personally using silk threads to string selected pearls of various colors. Only when satisfied with the arrangement would they settle accounts, don on pearl chains or bracelets, or a hairpin made of strung pearls, and leave majestically under the escort of their attendants.

“Whose shop is this again?” Seeing the shopkeeper smilingly bring out another dou of various colored pearls from the back and ingratiatingly place them on a small table before a noble lady, Li Er couldn’t help but ask again.

“Looking at the storefront, it says ‘Yunfeng.’ Probably, possibly… it’s still this humble subject’s family shop.”

Li Er stared at Yun Ye’s face and said viciously, “Can you tell me which shop on this street doesn’t belong to your family?”

“That one! You see the one whose storefront is built like a fortress—they make money so outrageously it defies heaven and earth. Other families work hard to earn a few scattered pieces of silver, but that family sells things by the shipload! Their family even does business with Tianzhu. As long as something can be made into clothing, their family lacks nothing. Most excessive is that their family even sells fishing nets.”

It was all bad luck. Li Er habitually looked to the right when walking, and it just so happened that several of the Yun family shops were all on the right side. Across the street, Du Ruhui’s grain shop was surging with crowds of people—obviously even more exaggerated—yet Li Er turned a blind eye.

Zhangsun’s cold voice came from behind: “Your Majesty, you really should look at that shop—it’s the Hengshun establishment. Take a look at how they make money so outrageously that it defies heaven and earth. Today you might be able to eliminate a scourge for the people.” The last four words were spoken by Zhangsun with extreme viciousness and weight.

Fang Xuanling smiled cheerfully while discussing Yuezhou City’s daily revenue with Du Ruhui. Li Tai stood with his hands crossed, looking at the sky, his two thumbs constantly circling around each other—everyone seemed very busy.

Li Er laughed coldly and said, “No hurry. Since we’ve seen something satisfactory, we should naturally go in to have a look. Pearls are already being put in tanks—such a magnificent shop cannot be seen in Chang’an.”

Zhangsun smiled sweetly and said, “Your Majesty rarely has the leisure to stroll the streets. It’s perfect timing to help this consort select a pearl necklace.”

The Yun family shopkeeper saw the Marquis enter and was about to welcome him, but then saw the Marquis’s mouth twisted up toward the sky. Old Shao was the Yun family’s chief manager for the pearl business, a native of Lingnan. Though his skin was dark, his mind was very nimble. A man and woman who could make his own Marquis follow behind and not dare speak—besides the Emperor and Empress, he couldn’t think of anyone else.

When dark-skinned people sweat, it’s very unsightly. Even after Li Er and Zhangsun had both sat down in chairs, he still stood at the door shaking, even worse than the shopkeeper of Fang Xuanling’s family.

“Hold on, Old Shao. Go bring out the best pearls in the shop. I’ll handle everything else.” This sentence that Yun Ye whispered in Old Shao’s ear saved him. He moved his legs with difficulty and went to the back.

Before long, he brought out five or six small glass jars on a large wooden tray. The pearls inside—the smallest were all the size of longan fruits. Among them, a golden rolling pearl placed in the tray was most eye-catching.

Yun Ye helped Old Shao place the pearl tray beside Li Er. Old Shao absolutely didn’t dare approach near the imperial couple. Zhangsun used her long fingernail to flick the large pearl in the tray. The large pearl rolled continuously in the porcelain tray, its flowing light and overflowing color very beautiful. Zhangsun seemed to like it very much.

Seeing the customers appreciating pearls, Old Shao forgot his fear. He had dealt with pearls his entire life. Now speaking about his own profession, he was naturally fearless. This was the dignity of an expert.

“Honored guest, the rolling pearl you’re looking at comes from the South Sea. Due to over-harvesting during the Han dynasties, the oysters in the South Sea have not fully recovered even now. With fewer old oysters, naturally the possibility of large pearls appearing is not high. This old man dares pat his chest and guarantee to you—this is an authentic South Sea rolling pearl.”

“The preciousness of pearls lies in their size, roundness, luster, and place of origin. This is a golden-colored exotic pearl—difficult to find even one among a million pearls, not to mention one this enormous and round. Calling it a rare treasure is not excessive at all. The honored guest herself is dignified and noble. If this pearl were used to make a hairpin, it would certainly complement each other beautifully.”

Zhangsun nodded and, after inquiring about the Emperor’s opinion, ordered a clerk to pack it in a box. It was held in Hong Gu’s hands. Seeing the business concluded, Old Shao became even more delighted. He pointed from a distance at a box of silver pearls and said, “Honored guest, please look at the jar of pearls on your left. There are thirty-six in total, secretly corresponding to the number of heavenly stars. They are uniform in size, consistent in color—all the best silver color. In the trade, we call this kind of pearl ‘moonlight,’ meaning the pearl color is as gentle as moonlight. It is the unrivaled choice for making pearl necklaces.”

“The jar of pink pearls on your right is called ‘children’s complexion,’ also called ‘beauty’s blush.’ There are only twenty-eight—also extremely rare. However, our small shop is not selling this jar of pearls. The young mistress of the household is getting married this year and has already selected this jar of pearls to make jewelry.”

Hearing Old Shao explaining eloquently there, Yun Ye’s heart was bleeding. These were all treasures at the bottom of the pearl trade’s chest. Now that Zhangsun had set her eyes on them, how could there be any chance of escape? Could he still hope that this couple would pay?

Zhangsun had originally picked up the children’s complexion pearls, but hearing Old Shao say these were Xiao Ya’s dowry, she put them down again. Competing with her own daughter-in-law for jewelry was something Zhangsun couldn’t do.

Hearing that the Yun family had already begun preparing Xiao Ya’s dowry, the dark clouds on Li Er’s face couldn’t help but lighten by three parts. He was about to leave when he discovered four officials walking in through the door. The lead clerk wearing a soft hat smiled and cupped his hands toward Old Shao, saying, “Congratulations on your prosperity, Shopkeeper Shao! Seeing your business thriving, we’re also happy.”

“You bring out the account books. Give us a quiet room and we’ll calculate your tax payments for this quarter. We won’t disturb your business or your reception of honored guests.” Clerks all relied on their observant skills to make a living. After entering, with one glance at the hall, he discovered that these several people inside were quite extraordinary. He even specially paid respects to Li Er and Zhangsun.

Old Shao quickly brought the account books and had a clerk lead them to the adjacent room to calculate the accounts. They truly shouldn’t remain here—if the official gentlemen’s tempers flared up, this would be looking for trouble. Old Zhang was a good person—don’t let him get caught up in this matter.

“Calculate right here. You—yes, you—bring over their past tax payment records for me to look at.” Li Er casually instructed those several clerks.

Registrar Zhang frowned and said, “This honored guest is of noble status—this petty official is clear about that and absolutely dares not be negligent. However, the Revenue Bureau’s account books are not suitable for outsiders to view. This is stipulated by national law. The law is strict—this petty official dares not violate it. If the honored guest has an order from the Revenue Bureau officer, then naturally there are no prohibitions.”

Li Er was stunned. Very few people refused his requests. He was about to get angry, but hearing the petty official say this was something the law did not permit, he calmed down and cast an inquiring look at Fang Xuanling.

“This is indeed so. Three years ago, the Ministry of Revenue formulated and promulgated the ‘Account Book Ordinance.’ One clause states that those unrelated may not privately view account books. Violators receive thirty strokes of the rod and exile three thousand li. This petty official is actually sensible—he should not be harshly blamed.”

Li Er nodded and said to that petty official again, “Now you can bring the account books for me to see. No one will hold you accountable.”

Registrar Zhang was about to persist again when Old Shao said beside him, “Registrar Zhang, just let this honored guest look at the account books. Nothing will happen—rest assured. You’ve already obtained permission. Old Shao won’t harm you.”

Seeing Old Shao guarantee it, only then did Registrar Zhang deliver the account books to Duan Hong’s hands as he came forward to receive them, then obediently retreated to one side, awaiting the honored guest’s inquiries.

“In the autumn of the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, Yuezhou Prefecture collected a total of four items and sixteen entries of pearl trade taxes, totaling one thousand thirty-five silver coins. Above there are records of silver payments entering the treasury—presumably there are no discrepancies. I only want to ask you—this tax refund of one hundred thirty-three coins, what is the reason for it? I have never heard of silver coins that have already entered the national treasury being returned.”

Fang Xuanling was about to explain but, thinking it over, gave this opportunity to the petty official. Let’s hear what he had to say.

“In reply to the honored guest, there are three types of tax refunds. First is reduction and exemption refunds. Second is mistaken collection refunds. Third is foreign-related refunds. The pearl trade’s tax refund is a reduction and exemption refund. In the thirteenth year, His Majesty, in order to pray for blessings for the ailing Grand Emperor, decreed the reduction and exemption of ten percent of the nation’s taxes. Yuezhou naturally executed this. Since Yuezhou’s tax collection occurred in early autumn and His Majesty’s decree was issued in late autumn, according to regulations, one hundred silver coins were refunded to the pearl trade. As for the remaining thirty-three silver coins, they fall under the category of foreign-related tax refunds.”