The Emperor was relatively silent; he didn’t ask about the origin of the name. “What’s so special about this horse? Is it a blood-sweating horse?”

Qin Fang shook his head. “No, the heir said it’s slightly worse than a blood-sweating horse, but it’s still considered good.”

“The heir?” The Emperor narrowed his eyes again.

As the emperor, he despised ministers who formed cliques.

He favored Du Ke because Du Ke was sensible and wouldn’t form factions.

Qin Fang, with a bright smile on his face, said, “It’s the heir of the Marquis Yonghe. A few years ago, when I was at the border, the little master from the heir’s family was kidnapped by the barbarians.

I suggested a plan to rescue the little master, so the heir thanked me with this horse.”

He spoke openly, smiling innocently, with a naive expression.

The Emperor’s confusion and suspicion were suppressed once again.

Just as the Emperor was about to speak, Qin Fang continued, “That horse is very valuable; it’s worth several hundred taels of silver. At that time, I didn’t have money, so I really wanted to sell it to get some money, but I couldn’t bear to part with it.”

The Emperor: “…”

The chatter seemed endless, yet listening to this man’s ramblings felt oddly enjoyable.

The Emperor snorted, somewhat generously saying, “Since it’s not a blood-sweating horse, it naturally isn’t a good horse. If you like it, I’ll gift you a blood-sweating horse.”

Though he didn’t have many, he kept several in his stables.

However, even as he spoke, he felt a pinch in his heart.

Even if he had several, it wasn’t a lot.

Qin Fang’s heart leapt with joy, and his eyebrows danced with happiness. “Really?”

The Emperor thought, doesn’t this man understand politeness?

But looking at his joyful expression, he decided to let it go.

Qin Fang was inexperienced; why should he quibble with him? “A ruler does not make empty promises.”

Qin Fang added, “Can your majesty give me two?”

“What did you say?” The Emperor widened his eyes.

Can one still bargain to the Emperor?

Who in the court would dare ask him like that?

Qin Fang explained, “I was thinking, if there’s one male and one female, I could breed a few more blood-sweating horses for your majesty. If there’s only one, it would need to be bred, and it definitely wouldn’t be as good as purebreds.”

The corners of the Emperor’s mouth twitched a few times.

He wanted to say it was vulgar but held it back. “Alright, I’ll check to see if there’s a male and female pair.”

He really was enduring this for the sake of his horse farm. “Let’s stop talking about the horses for now; discuss the other four points of interest.”

Qin Fang: “…”

He really did want to ask for feed since he didn’t have any to raise blood-sweating horses at home.

However, he decided to wait until he was leaving to ask the Emperor; he thought the Emperor seemed generous and wouldn’t mind.

Then he continued with the second point. Qin Fang held up two fingers. “If the other party wasn’t after my position as the guard of Yunxiang County, then it’s possible the second interest is my family’s status as a royal grain supplier.

However, I can’t quite figure it out; my family is on a trial basis, and we don’t know if it’s good or bad.

If the other party is after our status as royal grain suppliers, they should wait a year to see our profit situation before deciding.

Besides, there are so many royal grain suppliers; why would they come after my family? So I think the likelihood of this is also low, don’t you think, your majesty?”

The Emperor certainly wouldn’t agree with him.

If he did, he figured Qin Fang would never stop. “What’s the third point of interest?”

Qin Fang didn’t care if the Emperor would agree or not.

He held up three fingers. “The third point of interest may be that the other party is after my teacher, but since they can’t beat my teacher, they’ve come to target me first.”

The Emperor: “…”

He felt like listening to Qin Fang analyze the situation made him appear to be a foolish ruler.

Qin Fang continued, “Although I haven’t entered the court yet, I’m also an official now. I at least know that the court is a place full of intrigue, with constant power struggles and backstabbing. Since everyone can’t beat my teacher, they’ve come to target me instead.”

The Emperor: “…What’s the interest here?”

Qin Fang’s eyes widened. “This is certainly an interest point; they’re using me to threaten or provoke my teacher. My wife says that scaring someone can kill them, so if a person can stimulate someone, it might also be lethal, right? If nothing else, it can make them ill.”

The Emperor: “…”

Three sentences without mentioning his wife; Qin Fang was soft-spoken and fearfully obedient to her.

However, the Emperor liked such ministers; it was good if a minister had weaknesses.

If there were no weaknesses, it would be difficult to deal with them.

This characteristic of Qin Fang also showed how much he valued his wife.

Qin Fang raised his fourth finger, “The fourth point of interest might be that someone wanted to be a student of my teacher but failed, and now they’re jealous of me and want to go after me.”

The Emperor was speechless.

This young man wasn’t just long-winded; he seemed a little out of touch with reality.

Qin Fang then raised his fifth finger, “The fifth point of interest… minerals.”

The Emperor’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

He had underestimated this young man.

Despite being verbose, he clearly had a sharp mind. “What do you think about the minerals?”

Qin Fang replied, “I don’t think much of it, Your Majesty. You’ve already made the process of using saltpeter to make ice public, and the sale of ice has already begun.

The presence of saltpeter and sulfur mines in Beast Mountain probably isn’t a secret anymore, and since I’m guarding Beast Mountain, someone might want to profit from saltpeter production and target me first.”

As he said this, Qin Fang’s heart raced.

He knew that the biggest use of saltpeter wasn’t for making ice, but for making gunpowder.

However, the matter of gunpowder was top secret and shouldn’t have been known to outsiders.

Although Qin Fang didn’t mention it, the Emperor had already thought of it.

Still, whether Qin Fang had realized this or not didn’t concern the Emperor.

Instead, the Emperor brought up another matter. “You left Yunxiang County without permission. What if someone sneaks into Beast Mountain to steal the saltpeter, or someone from inside leaks the gunpowder formula?”

Qin Fang answered, “Rest assured, Your Majesty. Before I left, I instructed two captains to guard Beast Mountain. If anyone tries to break in, they’ll stop them at any cost. If they can’t, they’ll use gunpowder to block them.

And if anyone from the Taoist temple in the mountains tries to leave, they won’t walk out—they’ll only be carried out.”

As he said this, a flash of cold intent flickered in his eyes, and his entire demeanor shifted.

The simple, honest country boy had suddenly become sharp and dangerous.

This sudden change caught the Emperor’s attention.

What had transformed him?

It seemed to be the mention of war.

From Qin Fang’s build and height, the Emperor could tell that he was born for the battlefield.

And the fact that he had rescued the grandson of Marquis Yonghe from barbarians and wiped out bandits without losing a single soldier proved his strategic mind.

If such intelligence were used for anything else, the Emperor wouldn’t have liked it, but used for protecting the Empire, it was exactly what the Emperor wanted.

The Emperor had risen to power through bloodshed and had an eye for people.

He could tell that Qin Fang wasn’t a schemer—he had a bit of cleverness but was straightforward and genuine.

Such a person, the Emperor liked. Especially since Qin Fang had no powerful family background.

Even though Duke Du was his teacher, Duke Du was an old fox who never got involved in factional politics.

Plus, even if Duke Du was his teacher, Qin Fang had no other power base.

This made the Emperor feel at ease in using him.

But all of this wasn’t the most important thing.

The crucial factor was that the Emperor felt this man was lucky.

There’s an old saying: If the Emperor thinks you’re capable, then you’re capable.

The Emperor, now a ruler of an entire kingdom, was beyond being attracted by anything other than fate.

He had ascended the throne after a power struggle, and in the eyes of some, his reign lacked legitimacy.

So, having someone like Qin Fang, who seemed favored by fortune, close to him would help ensure the peace and prosperity of the Empire, proving to everyone that he was the true Son of Heaven.

The Emperor said, “I will consider your situation carefully, but leaving Yunxiang County without permission is a serious crime. How do you think I should punish you?”

Qin Fang thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, “Should I help Your Majesty raise a few more horses?”

The Emperor: “…Nonsense.”

Qin Fang defended himself, “I actually have a plan. The ten thousand taels Your Majesty gave me, if used to buy horses and feed, wouldn’t even be enough to raise a thousand warhorses. Warhorses need special feed to grow strong, and buying the right land to raise them would also be very costly. Your Majesty’s ten thousand taels wouldn’t be nearly enough.”

The Emperor knew this well—raising warhorses with ten thousand taels was far from sufficient.

But the problem was… he was reluctant to spend more.

While the Emperor himself wasn’t short of money, the national treasury was.

In these times of financial strain, he was unwilling to dip into his private funds.

As a wise and prudent ruler, he was prepared to supplement the treasury with his own money if needed, so giving Qin Fang ten thousand taels was already a stretch.

However, Qin Fang didn’t know this.

So when the Emperor heard Qin Fang grumble about how his funds weren’t enough, he nearly blew his top. “Then tell me, what do you propose?”

Qin Fang smiled, showing off his bright white teeth, and pulled out a pre-written plan. “Here, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor was momentarily distracted by the gleam of Qin Fang’s teeth and accepted the plan.

He then fixed his gaze on Qin Fang. “Open your mouth and show me your teeth.”

Qin Fang blinked, confused, but obediently opened his mouth and showed his teeth.

The Emperor looked at Qin Fang’s teeth and felt as if he’d just eaten several lemons.

Qin Fang’s teeth were too perfect.

As a dignified ruler, the Emperor, the sovereign of the nation, didn’t have teeth as white as Qin Fang’s. “Your teeth are very good—so white.” Not a single cavity.

Unlike him… he already had two cavities, and every time they hurt, he needed the imperial physician to relieve the pain.

Just thinking about it made him feel miserable.

Qin Fang unconsciously smiled again, showing his teeth. “It’s thanks to my wife, Your Majesty. She always reminds me to take care of them, and I brush my teeth every day with a small brush.

Recently, when my teacher visited Yunxiang County to discuss the imperial grain partnership, he saw my little brush and liked it, so my wife made a set just for him.”

The Emperor stared at Qin Fang.

He gave a set of these brushes to Duke Du but didn’t think to give one to him?

A sovereign might fear neither heaven nor earth, nor his palace or court officials… but a toothache was unbearable.