Chapter 1 The End

The matter that had made all of Yuhang palpitate for an entire dusk thus came to an end. Although it seemed to conclude with a semblance of harmony, everyone knew that mutual suspicion would only intensify. At least the Seven Seas Trading Company began to constantly patrol the harbor entrance with two Tiger Fang ships, no longer willing to dock all their vessels within the port. The various garden parties and such that had been agreed upon seemed entirely unaffected, continuing in the days that followed, albeit with an even more lively atmosphere.

"Lord," Chen Kai said to Ye Tao, full of gratitude, after returning to the mansion where he was staying, "This remnant of a fallen kingdom is truly not worth betting the fate of a nation on."

Ye Tao shook his head and said, "You are not as important as the people of Chun Nan think, but you are much more important than you realize. I can't control what your ancestors did, but since you are someone the Dao Ming Sect wants to kill, you are my friend. Have you forgotten my ranking?"

Chen Kai's smile was somewhat wretched. "Lord, the group who dragged me down into the dungeon and the group who tortured me later didn't seem to be from the same faction."

"Naturally," Ye Tao said dismissively. "Chang Hongquan wouldn't be so generous as to leak your affairs. It must be another faction. I don't understand the Chun Nan court politics, but it seems… very interesting. You should resent me. My negotiation agreement with them gave them almost two hours to interrogate you. Only if they quickly believed that you didn't know enough, weren't important enough, or that they couldn't pry anything out of your mouth, would they be willing to hand you over to me smoothly as part of the agreement's exchange of benefits. I had to give them that time… This was Madman's suggestion. If you feel like you were beaten for nothing, I suggest you go find him."

Chen Kai smiled wryly and said, "Unfortunately… I fear death, I fear being beaten, I fear pain. They barely used a few moves before I confessed everything. Lord, this time, your rescue wasn't really worth it."

"Not worth it?" Ye Tao smiled. "So what if they know your story and your ancestors' story? Isn't the key to everything the Hidden Dragon Box (Cang Long Xia)? Now they know that only I have the Hidden Dragon Box, that I should be able to open it, and that I will go and retrieve those documents and treasures in the future, right? … That's enough. Rather than creating a large force to protect you, it's better to have them watch me. Anyway, many people are already watching me, so one more faction doesn't make much difference. Moreover, what can they do even if they know the story of your Chen family? Since Chun Nan has always claimed to be the legitimate successor to the Central Plains' Great Tang, possessing imperial blood, then the authentic descendants of the imperial family should be more of a headache for Dong Ping than for Chun Nan. His Majesty often says that the Tan family comes from bandits and doesn't care about anything. These sayings seem particularly apt now. And what about you? Even if your story is known to everyone, so what? Nothing can erase your current hatred for Xi Ling, Xuan Ru, and the Dao Ming Sect, nor can it erase the education you received and your talents over the years, can it?"

Chen Kai asked with a wry smile, "You praise me too much, my Lord. With my status and background, can I really obtain an official position?"

Ye Tao asked in surprise, "Why not? If I wasn't planning to use you, why would I bring you all the way back to Yun Zhou? I might as well send you to Dan Yang, and I wouldn't have the trouble I have now."

Chen Kai was stunned. "Lord… what do you want me to do?"

"You also said that your Chen family is very familiar with embezzlement, bribery, transferring assets, and concealing the truth, right?" Ye Tao raised his eyebrows, his tone somewhat teasing.

"Yes. It's a family tradition," Chen Kai replied frankly.

"Then you are very knowledgeable about various business operations, contracts, finance, and such, right?" Ye Tao continued to ask.

"Yes. The survival of the Chen family's descendants generation after generation depends on these things," Chen Kai responded firmly, meeting Ye Tao's gaze.

"As the eleventh-generation descendant of Chen Jia, you probably aren't very well-received, but that means you don't have to care much about the formalities of officialdom, right? At least, you shouldn't be afraid of offending people, right?" Ye Tao's third question was increasingly perplexing.

"It might be an exaggeration to say that my Chen family is the enemy of the world, but it's not far off," Chen Kai said with a dry chuckle, without resentment.

"Then, have you heard of the Yun Zhou Pacification Commissioner's Office's Third Civil Affairs Division? Do you think you could handle being the head of the Third Division?" Ye Tao asked seriously.

"The Third Civil Affairs Division…" Chen Kai didn't know what to do. He had talked a lot with Feng Zi these days and naturally knew what kind of institution the Yun Zhou Pacification Commissioner's Office's Third Civil Affairs Division was. This institution, which was used to purify officialdom and restrain officials, had considerable power and exerted great deterrent force among the officials of Yun Zhou. And this position was undoubtedly extremely difficult to fill. If one wanted to perform it perfunctorily, being agreeable to everyone, this position would naturally be a very convenient place to make money. People would send money to your door without you even having to ask. But if one wanted to do this job well, it wouldn't just be a matter of offending people. Who knew how many people would curse him behind his back, and who knew how many people would lose their heads because of him? Ye Tao was actually planning to let him do this job?

"The job of the Third Civil Affairs Division is naturally not easy. You have to resist temptation, be ruthless and decisive, yet also be able to maintain calm and rationality at all times, and you must also have an extremely good understanding of wealth and assets. This position is too important. I haven't been able to figure out who would be best to entrust it to. Later, it suddenly occurred to me that you might be very suitable," Ye Tao said with a smile. "You… well… let's just call it a family tradition. I don't think it's entirely a bad thing to have that kind of knowledge. Later, you can chat with Tan Weixin and take a look at the books she wrote. Perhaps you will understand that what you have mastered is not an evil skill, but also a profound technique for wealth operation and transformation. No technology or ability is completely evil or completely righteous. Murder, arson, petty theft, and wealth management are all the same. I think you can make those corrupt officials have nowhere to hide. Moreover, I'm very reassured by using you. Your identity makes it difficult for others to win you over or for you to win over others. And although you are now the only surviving member of the Chen family, without any possessions, that makes people particularly reassured. Anything you acquire that exceeds your salary will be too obvious, and nothing can be hidden. I believe in your ability to transform wealth and conceal the truth, but when there is nothing to transform, these skills can't be used, right? … Building this trust on your miserable state might be a bit harsh, but it is the truth."

Ye Tao looked at Chen Kai. Chen Kai's eyes did not show the anger of being described in this way, but rather a kind of emotion and determination that all trusted and expected people possess. Ye Tao said, "Since you are the only one left in the Chen family, you have to carry the burden of your ancestors. Chen Jia is the number one corrupt official of all time, there is no doubt about that, regardless of what purpose he did those things for. And now, in this position, can you earn a different reputation for the Chen family? Use your efforts to prove that the Chen family is an expert in financial management, that the Chen family understands all the tricks of money, and that the Chen family is different from the greedy image in everyone's minds."

"I will not fail your expectations," Chen Kai knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground, saying in an excited voice, "Chen Kai will be at your disposal for the rest of his life. If I, Chen Kai, am fortunate enough to restart the Chen family line, the Chen family will forever be at your service."

Uh… Ye Tao hurriedly helped Chen Kai up. After being in this time and space for so many years, he had almost forgotten about the existence of the King's Aura (Wang Ba zhi Qi), and had forgotten that transmigrators were supposed to receive the personal loyalty of talented people. This was the first time he had encountered such a scene.

The extremely weak Chen Kai was pulled up easily. Ye Tao quickly said, "Don't do this. I don't think of you as a good person. I… have always been willing to speculate about people with the greatest malice."

Chen Kai did not answer. The smile on his face began to become vibrant. Yes, the reason why Ye Tao wanted him to manage the Third Civil Affairs Division was not because he regarded him as a good person, nor because he trusted him so much, but because he had no reason not to do a good job now. However, being included in the scope of consideration was a great grace in itself. And the feeling of being expected was really very good. Ye Tao's arrangement was equivalent to pointing out a path for Chen Kai that might not be glorious, might be full of thorns, but was worth fighting for.

After spending another two days in Yuhang, the official text of the agreement finally came out. After carefully reading it and finding no errors, Ye Tao signed it as the minister in charge of the negotiations, and then sent the text of the agreement back to Dan Yang via a six-hundred-li express delivery. After that, he spent two days at the Yuhang Port clock tower construction site assisting in the planning of some technical difficulties. Ye Tao felt that the Chun Nan craftsmen's estimates of the geographical conditions were too "optimistic", and that the safety margin left in dealing with disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, rainstorms, blizzards, earthquakes, and landslides was insufficient. In particular, the small mountain where the clock tower was being built was not a very solid rock structure in the first place, but a hilly formation of mixed rock and soil. Once it rained continuously for a month or even longer, the structural strength of the entire mountain might fail. The Chun Nan craftsmen were not unaware of this problem, but on the one hand, the supervising officials were urging them to hurry up, as this was a prestige project that had to be built well and quickly, and on the other hand, it was because they did not have the idea of leaving a design margin for once-in-a-century disasters. In this day and age, when natural and man-made disasters occurred, everyone felt that it was just fate, and they reluctantly gave up. And even if they thought of it, what could they do? The Chun Nan side had no way to solve these problems.

At this time, Ye Tao did Chun Nan a considerable favor. He said that he could summon a construction team from Ye's Workshop to come here to teach low-pressure grouting technology and pile-driving technology to strengthen the foundations.

Next, after watching the official rehearsal of Liu Xiangyuan's troupe, Ye Tao and his party boarded two Tiger Fang ships and headed for the small island where the Seven Seas Trading Company held its important meetings.