Chapter 115
Chapter 115
Xu Qianqian bowed deeply to Shen Lang, the curve of her body irresistibly alluring. Never before had she smiled at him so placatingly, nor had her eyes held such a seductive glint. But now, everything was different. Furthermore, her attire and makeup were identical to those of Ximen Xianxian from *Boundless Wind and Moon*. This was the very image Shen Lang had secretly hoped to see from Xu Qianqian.
*Why did you pretend to be a virtuous lady all this time? A seductive and venomous beauty, like a viper or a scorpion, suits you so much better. I knew I was right about you.*
In the past, whenever Shen Lang met Xu Qianqian, he would hurl insults or taunts at her. He had even gifted her an enema, claiming that even a single night as husband and wife formed a deep bond. This time, however, he walked up to her with a solemn expression.
As Shen Lang didn't tell her to rise, Xu Qianqian remained bowed. Her posture, which accentuated the curve of her waist, was all the more captivating. Soon, Xu Qianqian began to speak, her tone fawning.
"Young Master Shen Lang, I've read this book of yours from cover to cover eleven times. I never knew you were so exceptionally talented. Compared to this work, the novels and poems I once wrote are too embarrassing to even show anyone. What's more, Zhu Wenhua was right to burn his book. In the presence of your masterpiece, his *Dream of the Mandarin Ducks* is simply unreadable."
Shen Lang still said nothing in return. Xu Qianqian flipped through a copy of Shen Lang's *Boundless Wind and Moon* and read a passage aloud.
"Dense clouds drift over the evening peaks, and dark mists veil the vast sky. Countless stars and the bright moon compete in brilliance, while the azure water and the blue heavens share the same hue. A monk takes refuge in an ancient temple, and in the deep woods, a crow flies, cawing mournfully. A traveler hurries through a desolate village, and on the street, a dog barks and barks.
The elegant beauty of poems like this, scattered throughout the book, is truly captivating. Please don't laugh. These are my notes. Over a hundred thousand characters' worth. I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume."
Xu Qianqian's voice was sultry and enchanting. She acted as if she were Shen Lang's most devoted fan, as if he had never insulted her in the book, and as if she hadn't been the one pressuring him to burn it just yesterday. But Shen Lang remained silent, his cold eyes fixed on her. Xu Qianqian bit her lip slightly and spoke in a seductive tone.
"Young Master Shen, they say even a single night as husband and wife forges a deep bond. I now realize my mistake. I've lost. Please, I beg you, cease your masterful schemes."
Shen Lang finally spoke.
"Sit."
Only then did Xu Qianqian straighten up and gracefully take a seat.
"Xu Qianqian, your clan has suffered a great disaster. Why don't you go plead with Zhang Chong? Why not ask your husband, Zhang Jin, for help?"
Xu Qianqian smiled seductively.
"Young Master Shen, you jest."
Her words carried many meanings.
"How could I involve my husband in my affairs?"
Her words seemed to overflow with deep affection for Zhang Jin, stirring a hint of jealousy in Shen Lang.
"Young Master Shen, I've lost. I was truly wrong."
Xu Qianqian rose once more and bowed deeply to Shen Lang.
"I apologize. I didn't treat you well when you were with the Xu Clan, and I insulted you many times afterward. It was due to my ignorance. Please, forgive me and the Xu Clan."
"I cannot. You don't believe you've done anything wrong, and you feel no remorse in your heart. To this day, you still think you were right to drive me from the Xu Clan and right to get engaged to Zhang Jin. You even believe the Count of Xuanwu's Estate will be annihilated within three months, and that when that time comes, I won't even have a place to be buried."
Xu Qianqian said in her seductive voice.
"How could that be? With someone as brilliant as you, Young Master Shen, how could such a thing happen?"
"Zhang Chong and Zhang Jin have gone to the Marquis of Zhenbei's Estate, and they will next visit the Count of Jinhai's Estate. The assault to destroy the Count of Xuanwu's Estate has accelerated and is being pushed with greater force than before. The Count of Jing'an's Estate won't be able to resist joining in either; they'll roll up their sleeves and attack, hoping for a piece of the great prize that is the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. In everyone's eyes, the Count of Xuanwu's Estate is as good as dead, and I, Shen Lang, am a dead man walking. Perhaps you think that defeating a minor player like the Xu Clan won't change the grand scheme of things."
The seductiveness on Xu Qianqian's face began to fade.
"Young Master Shen, you have a fine sense of humor."
"For the Xu Clan, the most important thing right now isn't finding out who burned down the workshop. It's overcoming this crisis and preserving your reputation as the finest silk producer. Only then will your clan be of any value to Zhang Chong. Otherwise, your clan will be finished long before the Count of Xuanwu's Estate falls."
The feigned seductiveness and smile finally vanished from Xu Qianqian's face.
"Young Master Shen, we wish to purchase the more than three million catties of silkworm cocoons produced in the fief of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate at a price higher than the original cost."
Xu Qianqian got straight to the point.
"Three times the price!"
At his words, Xu Qianqian's beautiful body shuddered. The smile and seductiveness were completely gone from her face.
*This is like a lion opening its jaws to devour its prey! Three times the price means he intends to take every last bit of the Xu Clan's remaining fortune.*
"Young Master Shen, isn't that price a bit too harsh? How about this? If there's anything you want to do to me to quell your resentment, then do it. However, I cannot do anything to wrong my husband, and I can never let him hear that his fiancée was unfaithful. Other than that, you can beat me, abuse me, do whatever you wish."
But Shen Lang's reply was firm.
"Abandon the delusion that you can buy them for a lower price. It's exactly three times the cost. If you don't want to buy them, you don't have to. I won't sell for a single gold coin less."
Xu Qianqian's eyes widened, her beautiful face trembling.
"Young Master Shen, are you trying to drain the very last drop of blood from our clan?"
"Yes."
"But don't you forget, either. No one besides our clan will buy the Count's cocoons. We both have leverage here, so don't push it too far, Young Master Shen. If you don't sell the cocoons to us, the Xu Clan will be finished, but so will the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. Over a hundred thousand peasants will have no money for food, and there will be a great upheaval."
"We can just reel the silk and weave the brocade ourselves."
"Do you have workshops? Do you have workers?"
After saying this, Xu Qianqian's face instantly turned pale. She had just remembered something. As if he had the same thought, Shen Lang smiled.
"If you have workers, you'll have workshops. And won't your clan's workers become our workers?"
That was it! With the Xu Clan's large workshop burned down, the workers still needed to make a living. If the Count's Estate announced they were weaving their own brocade and started recruiting, how many workers would refuse out of solidarity with the Xu Clan? Xu Qianqian clenched her teeth so hard they bled. She spoke in a cold voice.
"Shen Lang, do you intend to leave us no path of retreat?"
"Qianqian, this is more like it, isn't it? You're a viper by nature, so why pretend to be a fox? This venomous side of you is much more familiar to me. You ask why I won't leave you a way out? Did you ever leave me one? When I was searching for a way to survive, did you help me then?"
Xu Qianqian no longer put on an exaggerated act, and Shen Lang, too, revealed his true, villainous nature without hesitation. This was more natural. In terms of character, the two were remarkably similar, a man and a woman cut from the same cloth.
"The decisive moment to attack the Count of Xuanwu's Estate is fast approaching. The ship that is the Count's Estate is about to capsize. Since you're on that ship, Young Master Shen Lang, you will surely die. But couldn't your parents and younger brother be saved? Let's make it one and a half times the original price. Even if the Count's Estate is destroyed, I will protect your parents and brother and ensure their safety. I swear it on my ancestors and my future children."
Shen Lang picked up his teacup and said.
"Show our guest out."
Jin Zhong entered immediately.
"Lady Xu Qianqian, this way please."
Xu Qianqian gritted her teeth.
"I'll give you double."
"Qianqian, you disappoint me. At the crossroads of life and death, what does money matter? Were you always this narrow-minded? We at the Count of Xuanwu's Estate will prepare to build our own workshops and recruit workers."
Shen Lang seemed to have no intention of reconsidering and immediately made to leave. In her heart, Xu Qianqian wept tears of blood. The price of one catty of fresh cocoons was twenty copper coins. This meant one gold coin could buy about a hundred catties. At the original price, purchasing the more than three million catties of cocoons from the Count of Xuanwu's fief would cost around thirty thousand gold coins. But Shen Lang had raised the price, forcing her to buy them for ninety thousand gold coins. This was an enormous sum that the Xu Clan could only afford by gathering all their available funds and mortgaging their properties and shops. Shen Lang intended to squeeze out the very last drop of the Xu Clan's blood.
"Shen Lang, the Count of Xuanwu's Estate will soon be destroyed. What will you do with so much money? What's the use?"
Shen Lang answered calmly.
"That money isn't for me. It's for the people of the Xuanwu fief. We are merely selling the cocoons on their behalf; the Count's Estate will only collect taxes. Besides, the more money, the better, no? I'll count down. Make your decision. 5, 4, 3... 2! 1!"
Suddenly, Xu Qianqian tore the copy of *Boundless Wind and Moon* in her hands to shreds and screamed her answer.
"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you! I'll give you everything! I'll pay three times the price, and you can take that money to your grave! The final battle against the Jin Clan of Xuanwu is about to begin. I'll be watching to see exactly how you die!"
Xu Qianqian could no longer control herself, her resentment toward him erupting.
* * *
Xu Qianqian conducted the official transaction with the Count of Xuanwu. This was her demand. She never wanted to see Shen Lang again. She said the next time they met, he would be a corpse. Thousands of people were mobilized to transport the three million catties of cocoons, and the transaction took several days to complete.
"Count of Xuanwu, please guarantee on the honor of the Jin Clan that there are absolutely no problems with these three million catties of cocoons and that nothing will go wrong."
Xu Qianqian demanded, and Count Jin Zhuo of Xuanwu replied.
"I swear that there is nothing wrong with these cocoons."
Xu Qianqian believed the Count's words. After all, the honor of the Jin Clan was worth far more than ninety thousand gold coins. The Xu Clan couldn't produce that much cash at once, so they mortgaged a dozen shops and their mansion to borrow sixty thousand gold coins from the Hidden Yuan Society. The total of ninety thousand gold coins filled dozens of chests. The Count's Estate would only take eighteen thousand gold coins from this sum as taxes; the rest would be distributed among the one hundred thousand people of the Xuanwu fief. The people of the fief wept and kowtowed outside the Count's Estate.
"We thank the Count for his boundless grace!"
"We thank the Young Master for saving our lives!"
"May the Count's family remain a great noble house for generations to come!"
The entire fief was immersed in a sea of joy. They had been worried they would starve this year, unable to sell their cocoons, but they had unexpectedly earned several times last year's income.
After spending her entire fortune to buy the cocoons at three times the original price, Xu Qianqian immediately had them moved to the Lin Clan's workshop.
To weave and dye the brocade within the deadline, hundreds of workers toiled day and night. Just as the Count of Xuanwu had guaranteed, there were no problems with the purchased cocoons, and everything proceeded smoothly. They reeled the raw silk and wove it into bolt after bolt of brocade. Each bolt of brocade took the dye perfectly, allowing Xu Qianqian and Xu Guangyun to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Good news also arrived from Zhang Jin and Zhang Chong: they had successfully concluded their negotiations with the Marquis of Zhenbei's Estate and the Count of Jinhai's Estate. The final, fatal assault on the Count of Xuanwu's Estate would soon begin. Xu Qianqian had grown gaunt from exhaustion, but the words echoing in her mind kept her from feeling any fatigue.
"Shen Lang, I will watch how you die! The moment the Count of Xuanwu's Estate falls, you will die without even a place for burial. I will skin you alive and pull out your tendons, then trample your corpse ten thousand times over. I will break your bones and burn them to ash!"