Chapter 265: Practice Makes Perfect (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 265: Only Hands Familiar, Aloud (Seeking Monthly Votes)

In a courtyard beside the curved pond.

The recent days of rain had washed the soil in the cracks of the stone-paved road anew.

In the fine raindrops, a cool breeze brushed through.

The blossoming lotus flowers, in full bloom along the path, released their fragrance mixed with the scent of earth, spreading through the entire courtyard.

Chen Yì sat quietly inside the hall, sipping tea, while beside him, Wang Jì sat with reverence, recounting news from the ancient Tea Horse Road.

"My lord, those bandits are truly fearsome."

"All the merchants returning from the Western Buddha Land to Wei have been spared none; each has been killed by them."

"Had it not been for our Shuzhou merchants noticing something amiss in plenty of time, and luckily escaping with their lives, how many more would have perished?"

Chen Yì hummed in agreement, yet said nothing, his thoughts racing.

As the one who had personally made Lü Jiān "fake his death," he had long anticipated that King Lán Dù would not remain indifferent to this matter.

Even if the king dared not lead a great army of bandits into Shuzhou, he would certainly do something reasonable.

Such as massacring the passing merchants, or spreading rumors of seeking vengeance for "Liu Five" by finding Liu Wǔ.

Of course, this was not a bad thing.

At least, it was not a bad thing for Chen Yì.

Thinking this, he remained silent, asking softly: "How is the situation in the capital city of Shuzhou?"

As he posed the question, he already knew the answer in his heart—the chaos had already erupted.

The facts were indeed so.

As Wang Jì reported: "My lord, upon the news arriving, the grain prices in the eastern and western markets rose from three strings of silver per sheng directly to six strings."

"Even so, some aristocratic families who had received the news in advance still sent people to stock up, and the city's populace did the same."

"Moreover, the prices of medicinal herbs, silk, and tea all increased."

He knew Chen Yì had been focusing on the eastern and western markets these days, so he first reported the relevant situation, then continued:

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs had just issued an announcement, imposing martial law on the entire city."

"The city garrison canceled all rest periods, with soldiers stationed at every street, alley, city wall, and nearby post station."

"The magistrate's office, upon hearing the news, began patrolling the streets, arresting anyone involved in ghostly activities or spreading rumors."

"The execution commission, however, continued as usual, reportedly investigating the killing of Lü Jiān by 'Liu Five' these days."

Chen Yì slightly raised an eyebrow: "What? Is the magistrate's office seeking to hand him over to King Lán Dù in exchange for border peace?"

If so, those thousand-headed officials in the execution commission would indeed be soft.

Wang Jì sighed helplessly: "This is possible."

"You should recall the great battle five years ago; its effects are still felt in Shuzhou, especially the Dìngyuǎn Army."

"Though the three cities' soldiers are now fully enrolled, they are of uneven quality; over half are new recruits, whose skills, strength, and battle experience are rather poor."

Chen Yì knew this well, and understood that before the Dìngyuǎn Army had taken root, most of Shuzhou's people did not wish to spark conflict.

After a moment's thought, he asked: "Any news from the Xiao family?"

Wang Jì paused in his recollection: "Lord Xiao has not yet reported anything."

"However, it's said that the deputy director of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Liu Hong, after arranging the office affairs, rode off at once to the Xiao family."

"My lord, do you think he's trying to persuade Lord Xiao to come out of hiding?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yì laughed softly, shaking his head: "The opposite, perhaps."

"If my estimation is correct, Liu Hong's purpose in going to the Xiao family should be to persuade Lord Xiao to remain calm for the time being."

Even he could imagine what Liu Hong would say.

Lord Xiao, at present, there are only rumors, but we must first ascertain the situation in the Kongque King's territory.

Lord Xiao, the soldiers stationed at the frontier are sufficient to deal with those bandits; their willingness to sacrifice themselves for this cause means there is no need for the Dìngyuǎn Army to intervene.

Lord Xiao, your illness should allow some more time.

Moreover, this matter is of great significance; we must send a message to the court, letting the Son of Heaven decide personally. Once the situation is confirmed, it would not be too late to act then.

Chen Yì secretly let out a cold laugh, believing that Liu Hong would immediately send a letter to King Lán Dù upon learning of this, likewise trying to persuade those bandits to remain calm.

Based on his understanding of Liu Hong, that old man, though anxious, was still capable of distinguishing between urgent and pressing matters.

Especially since Liu Hong had prepared a feather as a signal flag, using the opportunity of the imperial examination to sway, undermine, and influence the aristocratic families of Shuzhou.

Regarding these matters, Wang Jì naturally knew little, showing a slight awkwardness: "My lord, your words must be correct."

He had not considered that Liu Hong might be trying to persuade Lord Xiao not to take any action.

After all, his position was low, unaware of the court's and Shuzhou's true intentions toward the Xiao family.

To put it plainly—unless absolutely necessary, the entire Wei dynasty, from the Son of Heaven and court officials to all officials in Shuzhou and even some aristocratic families, do not wish the Xiao family to gain the opportunity to mobilize and dispatch troops.

Once the Tiger Fang seal was issued, the Xiao family would truly control the thirty thousand strong Dìngyuǎn Army.

At that time, how could those with malicious intentions balance against the Xiao family?

Chen Yì understood these circumstances, yet did not explain them to Wang Jì.

He tapped the table, thought for a moment, then asked: "There should still be some silver in the cabinet these days; you've already given it all to Liu Hào."

"This..."

Wang Jì hesitated slightly, nodding: "The young servant will go retrieve it soon."

In truth, his words were against his will.

In the past three days, the Bai Caoguang had earned less than five thousand strings of silver from the limited tea sales.

The affected parties included Qin Lou and taverns, even the Xiao family's several pharmacies' tea supply was greatly impacted.

Precisely speaking, Bai Caoguang now only supplied each of the Xiao family's pharmacies with one hundred jars of tea daily.

That was all.

Chen Yì had noticed Wang Jì's intention, yet said nothing, continuing to command: "Also, go find Jia Boss, and find a way to get all the silver he has."

"Tell him to compensate for the losses, or take a loan, whatever the reason, once you get that silver, send it all to Liu Hào."

Wang Jì nodded in agreement.

What could he do? The silver from Bai Caoguang had all been used; he couldn't afford to take Jia Yu Zhi's silver either.

At the same time, upon regaining his composure, he also thought of something.

"Just that, my lord, the silver that Yan Hai has in Guangyuan County has probably gone missing by now."

Chen Yì hummed, his gaze looking toward the lotus flowers outside the window, showing rare hesitation on his face.

In recent days, as he investigated the conditions across all corners of Shuzhou, the matter that weighed most heavily on his mind was no longer Liu Hong, but the Xiao family. Precisely speaking, it was Lord Xiao.

First, because he had made his appearance in Shuzhou under the alias of "Chen Yu," the Xiao family had shown no concern, which left him muttering to himself. It was hard not to worry that something was being plotted behind the scenes by the old patriarch. Second, his funds were indeed running low.

Excluding the over ten million taels of silver he had given to Liu Liang, all the remaining money was intended for Lou Yuxue. If he were to purchase grain from several grain shops wholesale, it would inevitably affect his plans moving forward.

A moment of silence passed.

Chen Yi let out a quiet sigh to himself. In today's circumstances, he feared he would have to take more risks.

Of course, the "risks" he had in mind had nothing to do with life and death; they were purely about the possibility of being exposed by Lord Xiao's keen eye.

In the past, he had deliberately avoided direct confrontation with the Xiao family when conducting his covert operations for this very reason. This time, it seemed there was no avoiding it.

"Tomorrow morning, you should deliver a letter of submission to the Xiao family."

Wang Ji paused, "The Xiao family? You want to pay respects to their young mistress?"

Chen Yi shook his head. "Deliver it to Lord Xiao, to see when he might find the time to meet me in person."

"Very well." With the current prosperity of Bai Caotang, Wang Ji did not fear that the Xiao family's patriarch would refuse the letter of submission.

Not long after, Wang Ji received the order and departed.

Chen Yi did not wait for any hesitation, he summoned Zhang Daobao and commanded, "Have all the people you were supposed to find prepared?"

Zhang Daobao nodded vigorously, his youthful face showing a hint of excitement.

"My lord, rest assured, I will do my utmost to carry out the tasks you have assigned."

"Then let them set things in motion tonight."

"Yes!"

Zhang Daobao agreed, and was about to approach to remove his facial disguise when Chen Yi said, "You go ahead. This time, I will handle it myself."

"Um... my lord, perhaps I should explain the methods?"

Chen Yi shook his head, smiling, "You've applied your makeup so many times for me, I suppose I haven't paid much attention, but I've learned a few things from it."

After a pause, he waved his hand and said, "The matter at hand is urgent. While it's still not night, let them head to the appropriate place in advance."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Daobao no longer hesitated, bowed respectfully, and left.

Chen Yi watched him disappear beyond the courtyard gate, his smile gradually fading.

"Let me calculate the time, Lou Yuxue's people should be starting their movements now."

"Adding Zhang Daobao's side, within a short span of time, they should be able to spread the news throughout Shuzhou that 'Prince Lan intends to lead his army to attack Shuzhou.'"

Exactly.

After discussing the matter with Lou Yuxue previously, Chen Yi still did not feel entirely at ease, so he had arranged Zhang Daobao as a secondary contingency.

The purpose was simple—he wanted to raise the grain prices in Shuzhou as quickly as possible.

"To make people perish, one must first drive them mad."

"The Shuzhou merchants... hah, in the end, they are still small-time operators..."

With such thoughts in mind, Chen Yi took out a woven rattan box from Zhang Daobao's belongings, retrieving a palm-sized dagger.

He made a couple of gestures, then slowly began peeling off his disguise in front of the copper mirror.

Chen Yi watched his features gradually return to normal until he had acquired a thin mask, at which point he sighed in relief.

"The art of disguise is indeed remarkable."

"But this craft is merely a matter of skilled hands, not involving the manipulation of heaven and earth. Even the most refined practitioners are simply meticulous in crafting their masks."

Compared to this art, qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, and martial arts are the true path.

Chen Yi wiped his face, gathered his things, and with the rattan box in hand, stepped out into the courtyard under his umbrella.

In the following days, Zhang Daobao had made arrangements. He needed to apply his own makeup himself.

"Well, that's good. Then I won't have to keep moving it around."

……

When Chen Yi had just received this news, Liu Liang had already, along with Xue Duanyun and others, stationed themselves in a two-gate courtyard located deep within the West Market.

Compared to the previous days' worn-out furniture arrangements, this courtyard's various rooms were now filled with grain sacks.

A bag of grain weighing two stones was stacked three ten-thousand sacks—thirty thousand sacks in total.

If it weren't for the recent rain, Liu Liang had considered placing all of them in the courtyard to spare the trouble of moving them back and forth.

Fortunately, they had spent several days exerting effort without encountering any trouble.

It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

At this time, Liu Liang, dressed in a golden saddle and wielding a flying blade, sat on the imperial throne, guarding the entrance to the main hall.

He looked at the inner courtyard, which was difficult to even enter the door, and muttered to himself, "Boss, you must have calculated that the grain prices would rise, so you stocked up in advance to make a big profit?"

In recent days, he had been disguising himself and traveling between the east and west markets, naturally aware of the daily grain prices.

Until today, it had been different.

The daily grain prices had at most increased by one or two coins of silver.

But now, with news from the Tea and Horse Ancient Road, the grain shops across Shuzhou had adjusted their prices for various reasons.

Fine grain: six coins per two stones.

Coarse grain: three coins per two stones.

Other crops that could substitute for grain, such as sweet potatoes and taro, had also seen varying degrees of price increases.

This forced Liu Liang to harbor some doubts—the boss, who was usually meticulous in every calculation, what was his purpose?

After all, they had spent over ten million taels of silver to purchase grain, with an average price of about two coins and two cash per two stones.

If sold now, the proceeds would nearly double.

"Thirty million taels of silver... Well, should I say it or not, the boss's intellect is only fit for Bai Caotang."

Upon hearing this, Xue Duanyun, Zhang Sanhu, and Zhang Sihu, standing nearby, also showed their respectful expressions.

Not to mention their reputation in the world from the Tian Shan Sect, which was known for their martial arts prowess. But when it came to making money, their three days of experience surpassed even the speed of a horse.

Zhang Si counted on his fingers for half an hour, scratching his head in frustration. "Senior brother, how much silver have we made?"

Xue Duanyun shook his head, unable to smile or cry. "Si Hu, it's not our silver. It's the Eastern Master's."

They were merely following orders, not entitled to the money. To act as if they owned it would only invite misunderstandings. Especially since their protector, Liu Qing, the chief of guards who had been with them all along, was still nearby.

Zhang Si scratched his head twice, clearly realizing his mistake, and said no more.

Meanwhile, Zhang San Hu replied, "Brother, what do you think the boss bought all this grain for?"

Xue Duanyun hesitated. "With grain prices soaring in Shu Zhou these days, the next step must be selling it off, right?"

Liu Rong, overhearing their conversation, glanced at the three of them and shook his head with a smile.

"In my opinion, the boss wouldn't do this for just any reason."

"Oh? Does the guard know the boss's plans?"

"He doesn't know the specifics."

Liu Rong continued, "Though I can't say what the boss intends, I do know his character."

By his habit of thinking three steps ahead, he wouldn't act merely to earn a few silver coins. After all, when the boss burned the summer grain in the three cities, he'd already made six hundred thousand silver dollars.

Even though he gave three hundred thousand to the Xiao family, and some was kept hidden at the Chun Rain Building, it still showed the boss didn't care much for money. At least he wasn't like Hei Ya, who only cared about profit.

"Then... the boss..."

Before Zhang San Hu could finish, Liu Rong raised his hand. "Someone's here!"

Xue Duanyun stopped mid-sentence and quickly signaled Zhang San Hu and Zhang Si Hu to spread out and check the surroundings.

Liu Rong stayed where he was, focusing his senses on the sounds and movements outside. After confirming that the three suspicious figures two li away were heading toward their location, he muttered under his breath.

"Looks like the boss was right—someone's coming to investigate us..."

Before he could finish, Liu Rong pulled out two pieces of paper from his sleeve and looked at them, his face freezing.

"Huh?"

"What did the boss say again? Which one—those blocking the investigation, or those allowing it?"

Damn it, the two papers looked identical, and he'd placed them together. Even a god would struggle to tell which was which.

(Chapter Complete)