Chapter 15: Dragon Seed

Faced with Emperor Hongzhi’s questioning, Fang Jifan had many thoughts cross his mind. In the end…

He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, winked at Emperor Hongzhi, and said seriously, “I don’t know why either, Your Majesty. I just feel that you are kind and friendly. When I see you, I instantly feel refreshed and energized, as if helped by the gods. Many thoughts naturally flow into my mind. As for why I have such insights, I’ve thought left and right but can’t figure it out. Perhaps… it’s because my ‘seed’ is good.”

Seed… good.

In modern terms, that meant having strong genes.

But Emperor Hongzhi choked and couldn’t help coughing violently, scaring the guards so much their faces changed color.

Afterward, whether it was Emperor Hongzhi, Zhu Houzhao, or even Liu Qian, they all looked at Fang Jifan with disbelief.

In this era where humility and the Doctrine of the Mean reigned supreme, how shameless did one have to be to boast like this and claim their family’s genes were strong?

Emperor Hongzhi stayed silent for a long time, no one knew what he was thinking.

Zhu Houzhao beside him raised his eyebrows, unwilling to accept this. He said, “Nonsense! No matter how good the Fang Family’s seed is, can it compare to the Dragon Seed?”

Fang Jifan was taken aback… Dragon Seed… wow…

He looked at the young man and understood. Anyway, his image was already deeply ingrained—an unstable factor in a harmonious society, a hidden tumor among the people. Ah… he got it.

Since that was the case, Fang Jifan put on a playful smile and relaxed. “Yes, yes, yes, the Dragon Seed is also amazing, very amazing. Compared to the Dragon Seed, I’m still just a little bit worse.”

“…” Emperor Hongzhi looked at Fang Jifan speechlessly.

This kid… really… was beyond words. Clearly brilliant, his Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains strategy truly won the emperor’s favor, but… something happened that left Emperor Hongzhi speechless.

At this moment, Zhu Houzhao raised his eyebrows again and said, “If the Dragon Seed is so good, why did you add ‘also’? The Fang Family is just a small Earl’s family, how dare you say you’re only a little worse than the Dragon Seed?”

Emperor Hongzhi was a father, and a doting one at that. He always felt his son was a little better than ordinary children. Why just a little? Because he had to be humble—humility was a virtue. So whenever officials praised the Crown Prince for being smart and clever, Emperor Hongzhi, though pleased inside, would always say, “Not at all, not at all.”

But now, seeing the Crown Prince taking it so seriously was like Zhu Houzhao carving shining big words on his own forehead. These words had high prestige but were very disharmonious—I am the Dragon Seed, I am the smartest!

Emperor Hongzhi suddenly felt an urge to beat his son.

Fang Jifan was also speechless. This annoying little kid, don’t you get it? I’m just pretending to be foolish! Do you know about an actor’s self-cultivation? I need to act like a reckless playboy—why are you joining in the fun?

“Ahem…” Emperor Hongzhi put on a stern face and said sharply, “Fang Jifan, do you know your crime?”

Keeping company with the emperor was like being with a tiger—Fang Jifan deeply understood this now. He could only say, “I do not know.”

Emperor Hongzhi stood with his hands behind his back. Although he had remembered Fang Jifan’s Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains proposal, he coldly said, “By selling Ebony at high prices here, aren’t you relying on the Nanhe Bo Mansion to force deals, bully the market, and monopolize trade? I treat the people as my own children—how can I allow you to act so lawlessly!”

Fang Jifan broke into a sweat. How could he not understand? He secretly glanced at Liu Qian out of the corner of his eye and saw Liu Qian staring coldly back at him.

Fang Jifan said, “I was just selling Ebony, marked with prices. I never bullied others with my influence. If someone wants to buy, they come to buy—I never forced any sales. Your Majesty… might there be some misunderstanding between us?”

But Emperor Hongzhi still wore a cold expression, clearly not believing a word.

Seeing this, Liu Qian chuckled and chimed in, “Your Servant has heard that the market price for Ebony is only about ten taels of silver. If you buy it for thirteen or fourteen taels, countless people would rush to sell. I’ve never heard of Ebony being sold for a hundred taels before.”

His casual remark further angered Emperor Hongzhi. Something worth ten taels, you sell for a hundred, and you call it a misunderstanding?

Emperor Hongzhi said sharply, “In consideration of your Fang Family ancestors’ contributions, I’ve long heard about your bullying ways but never intervened. I never expected you to grow even worse. If I don’t punish you, who knows how many common people will suffer from your cruelty in the future… You…”

Fang Jifan quickly said, “Please allow me to explain, Your Majesty.”

“I won’t listen!” This guy was clever, sure… but his character was despicable, confused, and reckless. He could have been a good seedling; with his Bureaucratization of Native Chieftains proposal, he was worth cultivating. What a pity…

Emperor Hongzhi was furious and wanted to teach Fang Jifan a profound lesson. He was about to speak when,

A commotion arose in the distance.

It turned out a portly Merchant was trying to approach but was stopped by Emperor Hongzhi’s guards. The guards were dressed as ordinary people, but the Merchant seemed extremely anxious, leading to a conflict with them.

Emperor Hongzhi looked into the distance, had a thought, and gave a look to the guard beside him. The guard understood and hurriedly called the Merchant over.

The Merchant rushed over anxiously. As he got closer, Fang Jifan recognized him—it was Wang Jinyuan, who had bought his ancestral property last time and helped him purchase Ebony.

Wang Jinyuan was drenched in sweat. Usually good at reading people, today he acted strangely, ignoring who was around Fang Jifan. Gasping for breath, he blurted out to Fang Jifan, “Ebony… Ebony… I’ll buy Ebony for fifty taels each, as many as you have. Young Lord Fang, I want all your Ebony.”

“…”

Emperor Hongzhi was shocked.

Wasn’t Ebony only worth ten taels? How could someone suddenly offer fifty taels to buy it? He didn’t believe this was Fang Jifan’s plant, because Fang Jifan had been right beside him the whole time, every move under his watchful eye.

Wang Jinyuan’s eyes were red, as if he’d gone mad. News had come from Tongzhou: dozens of Ebony ships had sunk. It was important to know that Ebony transport ships had very deep drafts. If using river transport, they easily ran aground, so the imperial court had special official ships transport them by sea, along the coast from Southern Tongzhou to Tianjin Garrison, then into the Grand Canal to North Tongzhou. The Ebony ships sank near the estuary, suddenly hit by a strange gust of wind. Dozens of ships were utterly lost, all Ebony sinking to the seabed with no hope of salvage.

Ebony was hard to obtain in the first place, and the Capital was the main consumer. Merchants from Jiangnan provinces usually gathered Ebony and shipped it to the Capital every one or two years. Now, almost all the Ebony in the Capital had been bought up by Fang Jifan; there were hardly any sources left in the market. This shipwreck meant that for the next one or two years, or even several years, Ebony would be scarce at any price.

After all, Ebony was a luxury among luxuries, difficult to collect. Under shortage, the nobles in the Capital would definitely not reduce their demand for Ebony. What defined nobility? What defined great Merchants? It meant buying only the most expensive, never settling for other wood to fill the gap—it was a matter of face.

Upon hearing this news, he immediately sensed keenly that an Ebony price surge was imminent. This… Ebony… was about to turn the world upside down.

The only source he could think of now was Fang Jifan—there was no other option. If he could buy a large amount of Ebony from Fang Jifan before the news spread and supplies tightened, he… was afraid he would strike it rich.

He looked nervously at Fang Jifan: “Fifty taels… Young Lord Fang, whatever amount you have, I’ll take it all. Silver… I can raise it. I have cloth shops, fields, two residences in the Capital. If that’s still not enough, I can partner with other friends to gather money and supplies. Fifty taels…”

Fang Jifan was overjoyed inside. The ships sank… the ships sank…

But when he heard “fifty taels,” he suddenly lost interest.

A smile spread across his face as he said, “Look at the flag I put up.”

Wang Jinyuan looked at the flag and felt his heart sink. A hundred… a hundred taels…

So ruthless, this kid. Unexpectedly, he got the news in advance.