Chapter 315
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Chapter 315: The Audience
“Your Majesty, the Commercial Management Bureau sent a report.”
“Commercial Management Bureau?”
Luo Ji raised an eyebrow.
In his impression, after the Commercial Management Bureau was on track, there should be nothing that needed to be reported to him.
Generally, reports marked green and blue in importance could be handled by his secretaries.
As the Emperor, only important reports marked yellow, orange, and red would be brought before him.
Taking the report handed to him by his secretary, Luo Ji glanced at it.
It was marked yellow, which was quite rare.
With this thought, Luo Ji opened the report and then let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Honestly, the content of this report seemed like a trivial matter to him.
However, for his subordinates, it seemed to be an unexpectedly significant issue.
Simply put, someone had applied to open a business.
See, what a small matter!
But the problem lay in the type of business and the person opening it!
The applicant had applied to open two businesses at once, a tea shop and a restaurant.
But it was important to know that in the entire Myriad Worlds Civilization at present, only Luo Ji himself had opened tea shops and restaurants.
In other words, he had effectively monopolized the entire catering industry across all cities within his civilization.
And now, someone had actually appeared, wishing to take a share from him, the Emperor.
This plot was much more serious than snatching food from a tiger’s mouth.
The director of the Commercial Management Bureau was no fool, and someone with an inflexible mind wouldn’t sit in that position.
Would he dare to approve this application on his own before asking for the Emperor’s opinion? Clearly not.
However, this was also the reason for Luo Ji’s self-deprecating laugh.
This director of his Commercial Management Bureau was typically overthinking things.
Luo Ji himself actually had no intention of monopolizing.
The catering industry was such a large piece of cake, and even as the Emperor, he couldn’t possibly consume it all alone.
Moreover, his daily governmental reports were already enough to keep him overwhelmingly busy.
Luo Ji actually had no desire to engage in business for profit.
It was just that the commercial development within the civilization needed someone to drive it, but at this critical juncture, he couldn’t find a suitable candidate with enough ability and financial resources, so he had no choice but to do it himself.
That being said, the applicant still successfully caught Luo Ji’s attention.
“This name seems familiar…”
Muttering to himself, Luo Ji wrote the two names on a piece of paper and handed it to a guard beside him.
“Send this to the Mirror Division. Have them investigate this name.”
The Mirror Division’s efficiency was very high.
Before lunch, a detailed file had already been delivered to Luo Ji.
Upon seeing it, a hint of realization flashed in Luo Ji’s eyes.
“I really didn’t remember it wrong.”
Luo Ji’s memory was actually quite good, but no matter how good one’s memory, it couldn’t handle reading so many work documents and such a large workload every day.
It had to be said that the identity of the person who applied to open the restaurant and tea shop this time truly surprised Luo Ji, because this was a Great Zhou noble, or rather, a former Great Zhou noble.
During the previous incident, Luo Ji had virtually eliminated almost all the nobles who tried to cause trouble.
However, a few, after all, were not implicated.
At first, Luo Ji thought that the remaining ones were hiding too deeply, and he even specifically ordered the Mirror Division to investigate thoroughly again.
Afterwards, he even specifically called Zhou Yi to ask about it.
Then, he surprisingly discovered that compared to the group of nobles he had executed, these remaining few, although they hadn’t done anything particularly good, more importantly, they hadn’t committed any egregious acts of bullying men or occupying women.
Thanks to their peers, the reputation of these law-abiding nobles among the common people was surprisingly quite good.
Their grandfather’s generation was likely among the earliest group of old officials who followed Zhou Dongnan.
Thus, they generally held a noble title.
However, after the previous generation passed away, this generation unexpectedly did not enter officialdom.
Instead, they peacefully guarded their small residences and lived as comfortable wealthy gentlemen.
At the time, they were undoubtedly labeled as ‘unambitious.’
But Luo Ji saw something different.
If Great Zhou were likened to a large tree, then estimating the time, its roots would have basically begun to rot by then.
The deeper one was involved, the greater the extent of implication.
Knowing it was beyond saving, it was a wise choice to quickly withdraw before the tree completely rotted away.
In other words, these law-abiding former Great Zhou nobles were well-versed in the art of self-preservation.
“Notify them that I want to meet this person.”
If this person’s actions weren’t just a lucky coincidence, then they must possess remarkable talent or have been guided by an expert.
Whichever it was, he had to meet them!
Perhaps he could find another talent.
With his territory expanding, Luo Ji was now somewhat eager for capable individuals.
However, this person was clearly in Great Zhou City at the moment.
Traveling from Great Zhou City to Mirror City would take a day even by fast horse.
During this time, Luo Ji naturally couldn’t be idle, and everything that needed to be done had to be completed.
As one report after another was reviewed by him, time quietly slipped by.
Putting down the last report, Luo Ji exhaled a long breath, leaning back in his chair with a hand on his forehead, a hint of unconcealed fatigue in his brows.
Vaguely, he seemed to hear someone calling him.
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty…”
“Hmm?!”
Luo Ji, suddenly coming to his senses, vigorously shook his head.
“Your Majesty, perhaps the audience with that person should be postponed until tomorrow. It might be better to rest early today…”
The guard beside him said with concern.
“Audience? Who?”
Luo Ji looked vaguely at the sky outside the window.
The sun hadn’t even set yet, clearly not time for sleep or rest.
His more than a little sluggish reaction time finally kicked in, and Luo Ji immediately called for a basin of cold water to wash his face.
He had truly been exhausted to the point of daze lately, so much so that his mind was somewhat blurry.
He had actually forgotten something he had ordered just the day before yesterday.
“Hm—”
After washing his face with cold water, Luo Ji, feeling somewhat refreshed, took a sip of tea, then said to the guard beside him.
“I’m fine. Bring him in to see me.”
After receiving Luo Ji’s permission, accompanied by footsteps, a figure slowly walked in, led by a guard.
“This commoner, Shen Jun, greets His Majesty, The Emperor!”
