Unfortunately, the two only had one quick night of intimate warmth. The next day they would have to sort out their luggage and brush by each other, one up north and one down south, like they were changing shifts.

Yan Wang officially returned to the court and took charge of the Grand Council.

Fang Qin silently prepared two essays. If Yan Wang failed to deal with the Feng Huo tickets, he would accuse Yan Wang of being a disaster to the country and the people. In those days, he was so short-sighted that he promoted the Feng Huo tickets that had caused the current chaos. Maybe he could abolish the several official governance reforms of Yan Wang and restore the imperial court to its original state.

If those tycoons who did not respect the Ministry of Household succeeded in dealing the Feng Huo tickets after the appearance of Yan Wang, there would be plenty of places to criticize. Did Yan Wang not always flaunt himself as an independent and upright man, with no party and factions? Fang Qin knew that he and Du Wan Quan and their group soon had their scheme, but he was not able to grasp his weak spot. This time, he would come out and say—— As a Prince, you had everything possible to transfer the national financial power to this group of ambitious businessmen who went to sea several times and even had connections with the Westerners, what are you planning?

Fang Qin was fully prepared and never planned to let Yan Wang move. When he and Yan Wang passed by and nodded to each other at the Great Court Meeting, Fang Qin felt that Yan Wang was not going to let him go either.

In the period that Yan Wang was absent, the contradiction between the new officials and the aristocratic forces in the dynasty became more acute. One group tried to preserve their nobility and righteousness, while the other raised up with the wind. Sometimes, the gap between those from the social classes and those from all walks of life was no less than that between the Barbarians of the Eighteen Tribes and the Great Liang people.

The aristocratic families had been handed down from generation to generation. Almost every family owned a large area of land. Since the price of grain kept falling in the year of Yuan He, for the sake of their income in the future, aristocratic families had dipped their hands in doing business, changing from carrying it out in secret when under Emperor Wu’s ruling to a well-spread trend. On one hand, it gave the merchants who used to be the lowest rank in society a chance to step up, on the other hand, it also had a bad effect on private merchants.