The Transmigration Survival Guide Volume 7 Chapter 25
Achilles examined the drawing in front of him and subtly nodded: âYour Majesty, I understand now. I shall go and make the arrangements.â
âGood. I shall leave the land matter in your hands. Thatâs the block of land I want. I know that the land is being used to produce food at the moment, but I donât understand science, so I wonât suspect them. As that is the block of land they have chosen, I shall trust them. With regards to the funds, letâs split it fifty-fifty between you and me. I shall take eighty percent of the profits after exclusion of cost, and the remainder shall be yours,â stated Queen Sisi, sitting on an angle in her throne.
Queen Sisi tasked Achilles with starting the textile factory that steam engines would power. The earnings were also based off profits. What did that mean? It meant that Achilles had lots of room to work with. When the time came, the cost would probably increase. Eighty percent of the profit would go to Queen Sisi, while heâd get to pocket the remainder.
Queen Sisi never said such a thing before. In the past, the cost was never factored in. She just took eighty percent of the profits without considering the cost and left him with the remaining twenty. Whether or not it was enough wasnât her concern. In essence, if he wanted to make more money, he either needed to find ways to cut down on costs or earn more.
Even though Queen Sisi wasnât business savvy, she knew how to make money better than your average retailer. You could also say that there was trust. The reason Achilles could stay with Queen Sisi wasnât solely attributed to his competence but also because he was still loyal to her without her having to keep tabs on him. Achilles was a terrific businessman; however, what Queen Sisi wanted wasnât a business. She wanted a business who understood what she wanted and what they should do. Achilles ticked all of the boxes.
Achilles stowed away the drawing. The drawing was a design of the textile factory. After getting everyoneâs opinions and many amendments, they had the worldâs first steam powered textile factory. Needless to say, the design had to be redone. Even then, they still might face problems. If they wanted the factory to be in operation, then there was a lot of tiresome work to do. Achilles calmly accepted the task without any comment. Hence, the matter seemed settled.
Achilles didnât panic this time. As soon as he received Lin Dongqingâs letter, Queen Sisi called him over. He thought something was wrong. Fortunately, it was just an ordinary visit at the end.
âWait,â called Queen Sisi, just as Achilles went to leave.
A sick feeling visited Achillesâ stomach because his intuition told him that he didnât want to hear what was coming. Queen Sisiâs light footsteps approached from behind. No, he wasnât calm. He was just terrified. He couldnât keep his heart rate under control as Lin Dongqing did when he was among a group of elves.
âYou⌠received a letter from Dongqing, didnât youâŚ?â
Queen Sisi gently leaned onto Achillesâ shoulder and worked her arms around his waist as if they were shackles. She slowly and gently gripped his neck. Next to his ear, she whispered, âYou received his letter, didnât you? You received a letter from my most beloved Dongqing, didnât youâŚ?â
Achilles shuddered while his throat convulsed. Sounding as if he was replying to the devil who had a blade sitting on his back, he answered, â⌠Yes, Your MajestyâŚâ
Queen Sisi gently ran a finger on Achillesâ throat: âHehehe, you understand, right, Achilles? I want to know what Dongqing said. Tell me. While Iâm at it, Iâd like to inform you that I donât like Dongqingâs personally written letter to be with someone elseâŚâ
Quavering, Achilles replied, âHe⌠asked me about the current state of affairsâŚâ
Queen Sisi stepped back, relieving Achilles of the shock and tension of having guns aimed at him. That said, he still stood blankly in place without moving. It wasnât hot in the imperial capital nowadays, yet Achillesâ back was drenched.
âCan I safely assume you know how to replyâŚ?â
Achilles spun around to see Sisi sporting her mischievous smile, though there was nothing else that was different about her.. She made no attempt to hide the malice that could burst forth from behind her smile; sheâd most probably have him killed on the spot if there was a single lie from him.
âIâd bet the only person who could lie to her in this situation is him,â Achilles thought.
âYour Majesty, are⌠you sure you want to do this? Fooling Lin Dongqing⌠is definitely not a good thing. It is too dangerous. Do you still not realise what the consequences for tricking him are? Are you sure about this? Honestly, it is not a good idea!â
Though he didnât say much, Achilles hesitated for a long time before he spoke. Queen Sisi tugged a brow up: âAchilles, you are one of the people he has fooled, but arenât you alive right now? I know why. He knows that heâll be fooled; however, he will never take revenge on those who fool him. The only time he retaliates is if you hurt his family. I donât need you to tell me what to do. You just need to respond to his letter. Tell him what he wants to hear. At the same time, spread this news throughout the entire empire. You canât boil a frog with lukewarm water. Only blistering oil can kill it!â
âYes, Your MajestyâŚâ
Achilles understood her. He wondered if Lin Dongqing rescuing Queen Sisi led to her becoming even more fearless. Her personality didnât change whatsoever after being taken prisoner. She was just as conceited as ever. After he rescued her from the elven lands, she became a headstrong woman whoâd do anything for him, yet he took off and left the mess behind for Achilles and everyone else in the imperial capital. It, thence, was time for him to come back.
Queen Sisi was a wild horse. A wild horse required skilled equestrian to rein her in. Even if that equestrian already had a steed he treasured, he was still needed back here to rein the wild horse in.
Letters are comparable to justice. When results are king, a letter that is missed becomes worthless. That was why the news arrived with perfect timing. Although I had lied down on my bed already, I still took the letter Ross brought to me and delicately opened it under the flame. Achilles writing was unexpectedly messy. Some letters had even been smudged. I, therefore, felt that Achilles mustâve rushed to compose the letter and have it sent to me.
By my standards, the letter was worth waking up for. Achilles roughly written letter told me exactly what I had in mind. Sisi went along with my request as I thought she would. She had begun to promote steam engines; the snowball had begun to roll.
Steam powerâs promotions were unlikely to have yet gone beyond the imperial capitalâs walls. Thus, I still had plenty of time to do what I needed to do with the coal mine. I didnât need to take the letter to the bank. They could sniff out money much more proficiently than I could. I just needed to wait, and money would be delivered. As a matter of fact, I should receive more than I imagined. Next, I planned to proceed as per the plan I had in mind. Everything was going to go the way I wanted. On this battlefield, I was invincible.
There were two words to describe how the businessmen felt: very perplexed. Normally, a Queen wouldnât have any business in the middle of the night that required businessmen. Sheâd call for either the military or officials. Businessmen wouldnât have anything so urgent that they were required at night. Furthermore, businessmen werenât active at night; that was a rule for it was too easy to pull tricks at night.
âYou all understand what I want to do now, correct? My plan has successfully proceeded. As long as the plan proceeds according to my design, the man I love most will return to my side. The next step is in your hands. My lover has begun purchasing shares. Go and sell your shares to him. I need to stress that you mustnât let him see through you. You must make him feel as though he must jump through a lot of hoops to buy your shares from you. Otherwise, heâll catch on. Remember: you are facing off against the smartest man in the entire empire. In saying that, heâs also the most arrogant man. You must let him feel pleased and proud of himself. You can bribe and flatter him. Most importantly, you need to make him happy.â
The businessmen understood what Queen Sisi wanted.
Even the best do not always attain perfect scores. Everyone had a weakness, and Lin Dongqing was no exception. Lin Dongqingâs weakness was arrogance.