To be able to be selected as an imperial merchant, in addition to having a large enough business scale, there is another important condition, that is, there must be a strong backer behind it.
Money is a good thing that everyone likes and everyone lacks.
Although the princes have noble status and hold power, it is not certain how rich they are. Therefore, many princes had a hand in the previous selection of the top ten royal merchants.
The prince is the crown prince, and the fourth prince is the emperor's favorite prince. Both of them relied on their own advantages to win over several imperial businessmen.
As a couple, the Crown Princess was still very concerned about the Prince's money bag. When the top ten royal merchants appeared, she was too lazy to talk to Zhuo Yimian anymore and looked at the center of the lake with a serious face.
Indeed, as Xia Hou Huanyan said, doing business requires time and accumulation. Therefore, most of the heads of the top ten imperial merchants are older people in their forties or fifties, but there are also two young people who have not passed their thirties.
People.
It was the two young family heads who caused the female relatives to exclaim.
"Have you not participated in the Imperial Business Selection Conference? Do you know who the two young family heads are?" Xiahou Huanyan touched Shi Fuxin.
Shi Fuxin shook her head: "The people who attended the imperial business selection before were all official managers of various families. I have never seen any of the family heads who appear now."
Xiahou Huanyan sighed: "These family heads are really good at hiding!" As he said that, he looked around and leaned closer to Shi Fuxin.
"I heard from my ancestors that the emperor personally selected the imperial merchants this time, as if he wanted to weaken the power of the princes. I don't know how many princes are behind the top ten imperial merchants. I am afraid that several of them will be wiped out after today." p>
Shi Fuxin glanced at the second floor of the attic and said nothing.
Xiahou Huanyan continued: "Actually, the top ten imperial merchants are not the ones that attract the most attention this time. These imperial merchants all have masters behind them, and it is not easy to win them over. The one that attracts the most attention this time is the one from Zhao'an in the South China Sea.
The four families, the dignitaries in the capital are all watching."
Shi Fuxin's eyes flashed: "Really?"
Xiahou Huanyan said "Hmm": "It's a pity that the heads of these four families are very mysterious. My father sent people to inquire, but couldn't find out much information. I'm really curious about what kind of people they are?"
Shi Fuxin: "No surprise, he should have two eyes, a nose and a mouth, which looks similar to you."
Xiahou Huanyan was amused and glanced at Shi Fuxin angrily.
At this time, there was a noise from the Cathay Pacific Promenade.
The female relatives looked around and saw a middle-aged man dressed as a martial artist striding towards the southern bridge corridor.
"Who is that person?"
"The Jianghu people dress up, and nine out of ten of them are the heads of the four families in Zhao'an, South China Sea."
On the second floor of the attic in the center of the lake, when he saw Master Xiang appearing, Chu Yao's hand hanging by his side clenched into a fist.
Although he had made a guess for a long time, when the guess came true, Chu Yao found that he still couldn't calm down.
Chu Yao went through the situation of the four families in his mind and determined that Shi Liu was the person in charge behind Baicaotang.
There are so many medicinal materials grown on the three islands. Where did the medicinal materials go?
No wonder Shennongtang sells so many pills every year. This is because there are enough medicinal materials!
Therefore, Shennongtang and Baicaotang, which have caused various forces in the capital to compete with each other, are the real decision-makers behind Shiliu!!!
Chu Yao tried his best to suppress the uneasiness in his heart, so that he didn't show any strangeness in front of the emperor and his party.
Everyone was curious about who the visitor was, because everyone who entered the first floor of the Lake Center Attic had to leave their name to register. Soon, the identity of the visitor was known to the people in the attic.
"Master of Baicao Hall, Master Xiang."
After Master Xiang reported his name to the registration official, he casually found a corner to sit down, then closed his eyes, as if refusing to talk to anyone.
When everyone saw it, they all had different expressions.
"What a pity. I can't hear it from too far away, and I don't know which one of the four Nanhai families it is?" Xia Hou Huanyan felt a little regretful.
Shi Fuxin was thinking about Master Xiang's dress today. Master Xiang usually likes to dress up a bit, and today he was even more fancy-dressed.
This person still cares about image as always!
On the other side, the noise in the Cathay Pacific promenade continued uninterrupted. Without him, another man dressed as a gangster appeared.
If Master Xiang has a restrained and steady style, then Ximen Fengxiao is unruly and unruly.
Most ordinary men tie their hair up when going out, but Ximen Fengxiao has long hair that is not inferior to women's and is draped directly on his body. He wears a wide-sleeved robe, which is very chic and uninhibited.
"I'm used to seeing young masters from aristocratic families in the capital, and this kind of person in the world is really eye-catching."
Listening to the unabashed admiration in Xia Hou Huanyan's tone, Shi Fuxin's face showed a look of contentment. The person she valued was naturally extraordinary.
Just when everyone was speculating that Ximen Fengxiao was the helmsman of one of the four Zhaoan families in Nanhai, Ximen Fengxiao came to the registration official: "Shennongtang protector, Ximen Fengxiao."
When Ximen Fengxiao announced his address, everyone in the attic was a little surprised.
Ximen Fengxiao looked around at the seats on the first floor, walked straight to Shang Laojiu and sat down, and then closed his eyes.
The businessmen present were a little speechless when they saw it, and then they started talking quietly.
"An important figure finally appears in Shennongtang."
"The protector is here, will the master of Shennong Hall come as well?"
"Perhaps the master of Shennong Hall just wants to be an expert in the world."
After Ximen Fengxiao, who had his eyes closed, heard this, his eyelids trembled.
The master of the hall is even more obsessed with money than himself, and it’s weird to think that he wants to be an expert in the world!
"Two Jianghu people have appeared, and only two of the four Nanhai families have not come."
Listening to Xia Hou Huanyan's muttering, Shi Fuxin looked over and said, "How are you so sure that those two families are from the South China Sea?"
Xia Houhuanyan: "This is something that is not obvious." He said with a proud smile, "My family and Prince Gong's Mansion still have some manpower. They have already inquired about the merchants in Beijing. All the merchants have arrived, and only these four are left.
”
After a pause, "Oh, by the way, apart from the four families in Nanhai, Shennong Hall in the north seems to have only one branch leader. I wonder if other important people will come."
Speaking of Shennongtang, Xiahou Huanyan suddenly turned her head to look at Shi Fuxin: "I suddenly remembered, do you have something to do with Shennongtang?"
Shi Fuxin smiled: "Maybe not a little, but very deep."
Xiahou Huanyan's expression changed and he asked curiously: "How deep is it?"
Shi Fuxin pursed her lips meaningfully and smiled, but did not answer.
Xiahou Huanyan looked at Shi Fuxin, thought for a while and said: "It's best for you not to get involved with Shennongtang. After all, you are the master of the eldest prince, and Shennongtang has won the hearts of the border guards on the border."<
/p>
The smile on Shi Fuxin's face slowly faded, and she looked at the center of the lake: "But I have offended both the prince and the fourth prince."
When Xiahou Huanyan saw Shi Fuxin's face turned serious, she couldn't help but be startled: "You can't be serious, are you? Are you really related to Shennongtang?"
Just when Shi Fuxin was about to say something, she saw a tall man wearing a royal blue robe, with an aura of indifference and unruly air all over his body, appearing in front of people slowly and with his hands behind his back.
Compared with Master Xiang, when Ximen Fengxiao appeared, everyone had different discussions. As soon as the man in blue appeared, everyone fell silent.
Xiahou Huanyan followed Shi Fuxin's gaze and immediately showed a surprised expression: "Who is this person? His aura is so strong."
As the daughter of a top wealthy family in the capital, Xia Hou Huanyan is not new to the world. She can marvel at the man's powerful aura, which proves that the man cannot be ignored.
The appearance of the man in blue instantly attracted everyone's attention, including the businessmen in the center of the lake.
On the first floor in the middle of the lake, after the merchants were seated, they were a little cautious in consideration of the emperor and his entourage upstairs, but they were still discussing quietly with the people around them.
At this moment, all the businessmen's movements were surprisingly consistent, and they all turned to look at the man in blue walking towards them.
What is different from everyone else is that when the people in the Duke's Palace of Ming Dynasty saw the man in blue, they all showed solemn expressions.