Chapter 98: Zhang Quande, the Envy of Everyone
“This money originally belongs to you, Your Highness. As long as you come to the treasury with me, the guards will let me in to retrieve the spirit stones.”
“I just need to record this in next month’s account book,” Zhang Quande said with a cheerful grin.
“Is it really that simple?”
“Yes, it’s that simple. But I’ll need to trouble you to accompany me, Your Highness, which is why I came so early.”
In truth, Qin Bei only needed to say one word, but Zhang Quande hoped that Qin Bei would go to the treasury in person.
“Well then, let’s not delay. We’ll set off right now.”
Qin Bei could see through Zhang Quande’s little intentions.
It was nothing more than wanting to show off a bit by having him accompany him to the treasury.
To let others know he had a prince backing him up.
This way, those below him would treat him with more respect, and officials of the same rank wouldn’t dare to provoke him. Even those who outranked him would have to consider his prince’s presence and think of him in certain matters.
But knowing this didn’t bother Qin Bei.
When it comes to doing things, there must be a give and take for it to last.
And this was Qin Bei’s way of handling matters.
Those who worked for him would definitely reap more benefits than with other princes.
Those daring enough to ruin his good deeds would meet a very unfortunate end.
So, Qin Bei followed Zhang Quande to the treasury.
Zhang Quande really knew how to seize the opportunity.
He took Qin Bei around, and almost every staff member working in the treasury saw him fawning over Qin Bei like a puppy.
Qin Bei appeared to accept it all.
“Hey~ Look! Isn’t that the North Prince walking in front of Zhang Quande?”
“It seems so.”
“Hiss~ When did this Zhang Quande manage to climb such a high branch?”
“I heard many wanted to visit, even some third-rank officials, but none could meet the North Prince. What kind of luck did Zhang Quande hit?”
“Forget it, let’s not talk about it. Zhang Quande’s position is about to rise again. I envy him.”
…
Listening to the discussions around him, Zhang Quande felt very satisfied.
His small wish had been fulfilled.
“Your Highness, this way please.”
After being satisfied, Zhang Quande finally led Qin Bei into a room.
As they entered, they saw busy figures everywhere.
“Sir, this border material needs to be delivered within seven days. Time is short, please take a quick look.”
“Sir, the follow-up materials needed to establish a teleportation array with Wu Country have been reported, and preparations are needed.”
“Sir…”
As soon as Zhang Quande entered, over a dozen people swarmed around him, each one eager to report.
“Your Highness, this…”
“Just focus on what you’re doing. I’m not in a hurry here.” Qin Bei said casually.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
As Zhang Quande gave his thanks, the surrounding people realized who he was and hurriedly saluted.
Qin Bei stood aside, observing the operations unfolding.
It must be said, even in the world of cultivating immortals…
A dynasty is still a dynasty.
The workings of a dynasty are like a massive and complex machine; it’s full of trivial matters, many of which require layers of reporting.
Zhang Quande and his people are like cogs, constantly turning.
As Qin Bei watched from the side, he couldn’t help but feel amazed.
Though Zhang Quande loved to flatter, he was surprisingly organized in his work.
Clearly, he wasn’t just a brown-noser; he had some real skills too.
But on second thought…
Without some ability, no matter how well he flattered, he couldn’t have climbed to the rank of a fourth-rank official.
And not just any fourth-rank official, but one managing the national treasury.
Finally, after half an hour, Zhang Quande finished all his tasks and walked over to Qin Bei.
“Your Highness, let’s go to the national treasury.”
“Okay.”
…
On the way.
“Zhang Quande, what if I wanted to pull this year’s allocation directly? Is that possible?”
As soon as Qin Bei said this, Zhang Quande stumbled.
“Your… Your Highness, are you joking? A month in advance is one thing, but you’re talking about the whole year…”
Zhang Quande trailed off.
Qin Bei knew he was probably just about to say he was being too greedy.
“Well, never mind. Let’s say two months, just right since there’s the imperial mausoleum trial during that time, and I won’t have the time to spend money.”
Qin Bei said nonchalantly.
Zhang Quande: …
Well, there I go, getting scammed again.
First, it was just a few days early.
Now with one careless word, I’ve ended up asking for next month’s allocation.
The kicker is I had just said I could get a month in advance…
Now it’s too late to backtrack.
“Oh no! Did I just dig a hole for myself?!”
Zhang Quande wanted to smack himself.
But he didn’t dare betray a hint of that on his face.
He could only silently endure.
…
The national treasury wasn’t far.
This was Qin Bei’s first visit to the treasury.
He was genuinely taken aback.
“Great Xia National Treasury!”
The four big characters radiated the majesty of a saint.
This plaque was written by the royal family’s ancestors.
The guards were layered inside and out.
Qin Bei sensed around; the weakest among them were already in the Golden Core Realm.
Peering inside, he couldn’t see its end at a glance.
The size of the treasury was simply unimaginable.
This contained the wealth of a nation.
“Token!”
As they approached the entrance, they were stopped by the captain on guard.
Qin Bei could tell the captain was at the Nascent Soul Realm.
“This is the token, and here’s the request document.”
Zhang Quande was already prepared.
He produced the special token and the request document.
The captain first took the token and examined it.
Then he checked the document.
It stated that they were retrieving the distribution for the North Prince’s mansion for the next two months.
Seeing this, the captain frowned.
“Sir Zhang, it’s not the distribution day yet, is it?”
The captain said sternly.
Royal distributions have fixed dates.
Next month still has half a month to go.
“The North Prince is about to participate in the imperial mausoleum trial and needs to strengthen his powers before that, so he requires these distributions in advance. You understand, making it convenient for others is making it convenient for oneself.”
“If you don’t believe me, this is the North Prince.”
Seeing that the captain still looked uncertain, Zhang Quande hurriedly introduced Qin Bei.
The captain had already noticed Qin Bei.
He also recognized the jade pendant at his waist indicating royalty.
But he hadn’t expected this person to actually be the Third Seal Prince, the North Prince.
“Captain Feiyu of the Imperial Guard greets the North Prince.”
“No need for formality, just help me out a little,” Qin Bei said casually.
“Yes.”
In matters requiring urgency, getting allocations in advance is quite common.
As long as someone in charge is present, it’ll be fine.
Of course, the prerequisite is that there really is something pressing, like Qin Bei’s situation—he’s entering the imperial mausoleum trial in over a month.
Otherwise, neither the captain nor anyone in charge would dare to open such a backdoor.
After all, this kind of thing isn’t huge, but it’s not small either.
If someone were to seriously investigate, it could be seen as misappropriation of national treasury resources.
Ten heads wouldn’t be enough if it came to that.
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