Chapter 372 - 243: To Subdue, Not to Be Subdued
Chapter 372: Chapter 243: To Subdue, Not to Be Subdued
Some of the more impatient and wealthy men had already started shouting bids at Madam Bao.
"Will that lady perform a dance for us tonight? I’ll offer fifty taels of gold."
"I’ll offer a hundred taels!"
"My apologies, esteemed guests. That lady is a master who teaches the girls here at the Spring Rain Building to play the zither and sing. She does not entertain patrons..."
A wave of disappointed sighs followed.
Chen Yi found this amusing. Watching Lou Yuxue from a distance, he teased, "As expected of Miss Yuxue. A single performance for a hundred taels of gold."
Lou Yuxue shot him a fierce glare. "Follow me inside!"
Chen Yi smiled and followed her into a quiet room in the back.
Glancing around, he said, "This place has changed a bit. Heavy Willow Wood, Iron Sinking Wood... you must have spent a lot of silver."
Lou Yuxue ignored him.
Chen Yi didn’t seem to mind, continuing to ramble on.
From the room’s decor to the servants wearing black iron masks, he critiqued everything one by one.
"So the Bright Moon Building is back in Shu State? But why don’t I see any of those Evil Demonic Dao types?"
Lou Yuxue stopped, unable to take it anymore. She spun around and yanked him into the nearest quiet room.
The moment the door closed, she stared at Chen Yi, her teeth clenched. "How in the world did you find me?"
"Tonight is the very first day this place has reopened as a Bright Moon Building stronghold!"
A look of realization dawned on Chen Yi’s face. He muttered, ’No wonder no Evil Demons have shown up,’ then said with a smile:
"What’s so hard about finding you here in Shu State? Have you forgotten about the wonton shop incident?"
Of course, Lou Yuxue hadn’t forgotten.
But for a member of the White Tiger Guard who prided herself on being an expert in stealth and concealment, being found so easily time and time again was simply unacceptable.
"Are you... are you going to tell me or not?"
"You want to know?"
Chen Yi walked around her and sat down, looking at her with a leisurely air. "I’m not telling you."
’Without that intelligence tip, there’s no way I would’ve known where Lou Yuxue was.’
’But even if I told her, she probably wouldn’t believe me.’
’So I might as well not say anything.’
"You!?"
Lou Yuxue glared at him in frustration, but there was nothing she could do.
She was supposed to be the one holding all the cards, yet in front of Chen Yi, she was always the one who ended up on the losing end.
A moment later, Lou Yuxue took a deep breath. The dim candlelight cast her shapely shadow on the wall, its full, rounded silhouette striking.
She then sat down opposite Chen Yi, her heavily made-up face regaining its composure as she asked calmly:
"Out with it. Why did you come looking for me this time?"
"Is it time to start that thing we agreed on before?"
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow, surprised she had regained her composure so quickly. After a moment of thought, he said:
"Yes and no."
Before Lou Yuxue could ask, Chen Yi continued to explain, "I’ve made some headway on that matter, but a few conditions are still not in place."
"I came to find you this time to ask for a favor."
"Speak."
"Can you find a way to get me some grain?"
"How much?"
"At least one hundred thousand shi. The more, the better."
Lou Yuxue’s eyes widened instantly. "One hundred thousand shi? And you say ’the more, the better’? Do you think I’m the Lord Pavilion Master?"
Chen Yi smiled and shook his head. "You have to spend money to make money."
"If we want to earn some silver coins, we need some bait to lure those people onto the hook."
"Those people? Who exactly are you trying to deal with?"
The words had barely left her mouth when a flash of insight struck Lou Yuxue. "Grain? Are you going after the grain stores?"
"Don’t tell me it’s those few in the East Market."
Chen Yi smiled and retorted, "And why can’t it be them?"
"I’m sure you’ve heard about the East Market Grain Store’s warehouse being burned down a couple of days ago. If even a few barbarian slaves dare to make a move against them, why can’t we?"
Lou Yuxue’s brow furrowed instantly. "Do you have any idea who those people are?"
"The Ji State Trading Company."
"You... If you already know, then why..."
Chen Yi spread his hands, a half-smile on his face. "Because they’re rich, of course."
’Judging by Lou Yuxue’s reaction, she must know the inside story on the Ji State Trading Company.’
’Even if not everything, she knows at least a little.’
’Good.’
’Saves me the trouble of explaining.’
With that thought, Chen Yi continued, "I’ve received word that besides what was burned, they still have no less than a million shi of grain on hand."
"At current market prices, that’s nearly three million in silver coins. Aren’t you tempted?"
Hearing this number, Lou Yuxue remained unmoved. Instead, she stared at him and said, enunciating each word:
"I advise you to give up this idea. It’s very dangerous!"
"What, is even a White Tiger Guard Silver Banner Officer like you afraid of the Ji State Trading Company?"
"Afraid? Of course I’m afraid!"
"Do you know what kind of people make up the Ji State Trading Company? Are you aware of who’s standing behind them?"
Chen Yi shook his head honestly. "I don’t know, and I don’t care."
"I only know that they have piles and piles of silver, and that none of them are good people."
"Instead of letting that silver sit in their hands, I’d rather take it and do something more meaningful with it."
’Those words sounded reasonable, but they were actually full of holes.’
’He was just trying to needle Lou Yuxue, hoping to fish for some information about the Ji State Trading Company.’
Lou Yuxue was about to retort instinctively, but she caught herself when she saw the smile on his face.
"Are you trying to trick me into talking?"
"Ah, you found me out."
"You..."
Chen Yi waved his hand. "It’s not entirely a trick. I really do plan to make a move on them."
"Don’t tell me you didn’t know they were the Financiers behind the plot to burn the summer grain from the Three Towns."
The look of frustrated anger on Lou Yuxue’s face froze. "Them?"
’I really didn’t know about that.’
’Black Tooth had always been the one contacting the Financiers, which made me think it was some Noble Family in Shu State with a grudge against the Xiao Family.’
Now that she knew the Financiers were the Ji State Trading Company, a lot of things instantly clicked into place.
Especially the recent rise in grain prices in Shu State, and the appearance of barbarian slaves and people from Poshisu Country in the East Market.
’Could King Landu already be cooperating with the people from the Ji State Trading Company?’
’If so, this is bad!’
Of course, Chen Yi had no idea what Lou Yuxue was speculating. He just nodded and said, "The very same."
Then, a mischievous look appeared on his face. "Miss Yuxue, in exchange for this piece of information, aren’t you going to offer some kind of reward?"
Lou Yuxue snapped out of her thoughts. She studied him pensively for a long moment before finally speaking.
"It’s not that I can’t tell you about the Ji State Trading Company."
"Although they operate secretly and keep a low profile, quite a few people within the Great Wei Dynasty have heard their name."
"But since there are no leads to investigate, even those who’ve heard things don’t dare to speak of them easily."
Hearing this, Chen Yi placed his hands on the table and leaned in a little closer. "Sounds like they have a very deep background."
’Obviously, that was a stupid question.’
’A group of people capable of illegally selling the Great Wei Dynasty’s ironware and Refined Iron wouldn’t dare to do so, not even if they had ten times the courage, unless someone powerful was backing them.’
Lou Yuxue grunted in acknowledgment. "Let me be clear up front: just because I’m telling you this doesn’t mean I agree to deal with them alongside you."
Chen Yi nodded and said with a smile, "I don’t believe you can just stand by and watch all that silver slip away."
Lou Yuxue ignored his teasing. After some thought, she said gravely, "The Ji State Trading Company is indeed based in Ji State, but its internal network isn’t limited to Ji State."
"They can’t possibly be spread across all Nine State and Three Prefectures, can they?"
"Not far off."
"With the exception of the Jiangnan, Guangyue, and Capital Prefectures, they have people all across the lands of the Nine State."
Hearing this, Chen Yi said, "Really?"
Lou Yuxue glanced at him. "Scared now? It’s not too late for you to back out."
Chen Yi didn’t answer, the smile fading from his face. "Continue."
Seeing that he wouldn’t give up, Lou Yuxue snorted. "Do you know why I’m here in the Bright Moon Building?"
"In fact, the backer behind the Bright Moon Building is the Ji State Trading Company!"
This time, Chen Yi was genuinely surprised.
He never would have imagined that the Bright Moon Building, so famous in the Jianghu, was actually propped up by the Ji State Trading Company.
’No wonder.’
’No wonder Black Tooth is so obsessed with money. His attitude of valuing wealth over life is nothing like that of Jianghu People.’
’Turns out his style was never that of a Jianghu person, but that of a merchant.’
After a moment of silence, Chen Yi suddenly started laughing. "Interesting. I really underestimated them."
He had only considered that the Ji State Trading Company was backed by the Imperial Court and Noble Families; he’d completely forgotten about the "Jianghu" angle.
With that, he looked directly at Lou Yuxue and asked, "So, is your mission to investigate the Bright Moon Building or the Ji State Trading Company?"
Lou Yuxue glared at him. "Telling you this much is already against the White Tiger Guard’s rules, and now you want to ask about my mission?"
"Fine, fine. If you won’t say, you won’t say. Let’s get back to the Ji State Trading Company."
"There’s no more."
Chen Yi froze. "That’s it? What about who their people are, their layout and schemes in Shu State, or who their backers are?"
Lou Yuxue said in exasperation, "If I knew all that, why would I need to hide in the Bright Moon Building..."
She didn’t finish her sentence, suddenly realizing her slip.
But Chen Yi had already caught on, and he said with a smile, "Oh, so *that’s* your mission."
"You bastard!"