Chapter 246
Chapter 246
Shen Lang looked at An Zaichuan once more. He wasn't the least bit shabby. Every single strand of his beard was so well-combed it shone, and he hadn't neglected his hair either. Though he wore a hemp robe, it was cleanly washed and starched.
*Hah! A man with a woman is truly different. Of course, I, Shen Lang, am even more impressive. I have dozens of beauties attending to me. I don't make them do such things just to maintain my image, but if it weren't for appearances, I'd have them wipe my bottom after I relieve myself.*
Shen Lang asked her.
"Aunt, the Xu Clan is also a prestigious noble family. Don't you wish to return?"
Aunt Xu shook her head.
"I will not. I became a disgrace to my family long ago. In a scholarly family, a woman must choose suicide to protect her chastity before being sullied. A woman who fails to do so is shameless."
Shen Lang offered no words of comfort. After all the hardships she had endured, the woman had become strong enough to no longer need them. Besides, Shen Lang knew what she hadn't said. How could she have taken her own life back then, with a son and daughter to care for? And why should she have to?
Holding a small teapot, Shen Lang wandered through the immense fortress under An Zaichuan's escort. To build this fortress, Qiu Tianwei had mobilized over a hundred thousand people for more than a decade. It was far taller and thicker than the fortress of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, worthy of being called an impregnable stronghold. Qiu Tianwei had built it thinking it would be his clan's great legacy for hundreds of years, but in the end, Shen Lang and the Jin Clan had become its masters.
"Young Master, I never imagined this fortress would become our home. I still feel as if I'm walking in a dream."
An Zaichuan walked as if floating on air. He had once hated every nook and cranny of the fortress, but now he found even every single step endearing.
"This fortress is sturdy, but Qiu Tianwei's poor aesthetic sense is a flaw. It won't be as comfortable to live in as the Count of Xuanwu's Estate."
"Being a pirate, he likely only considered its defensive functions. He couldn't have achieved the perfect balance of military and artistic aspects like our hundred-year-old noble family."
After taking Raging Tide City, Shen Lang had entrusted the city's defense to Jin Shiying and its commercial affairs to Huang Dong. He hadn't touched politics, economics, or military matters himself.
Since Jin Shiying was the Count's adopted son, An Zaichuan felt at ease with him handling the defense. Although he and Shen Lang had their past grievances, he was at least not a petty man who couldn't distinguish between public and private matters. He was, after all, a man who offered absolute loyalty to the Count. However, Huang Dong was an outsider, which made him a little uneasy.
But Shen Lang, despite knowing An Zaichuan's concerns, paid them no mind. He knew that Raging Tide City was completely different from other regions. This was a city of trade. Specialized work should be left to specialists. The Jin Clan only needed to hold onto a few key areas in Raging Tide City: land, taxes, shipyards, military defense, and sea routes. Commerce could be entirely delegated to the Celestial Commerce Guild.
The Jin Clan and the Celestial Commerce Guild were in a strategic alliance, a relationship sufficient for planning for the distant future rather than merely pursuing profits. Besides, considering Shen Lang's track record, the clever Huang Dong wouldn't dare entertain any other ideas. On the contrary, he would try to stick as close to him as possible to maximize the benefits for the Celestial Commerce Guild. At least until the Hidden Yuan Society was brought down, the two powers would maintain an exceptionally close relationship.
***
Huang Dong was as ecstatic as An Zaichuan. He thought to himself how incredibly fortunate he was to have seized the opportunity that was Shen Lang at such a crucial moment. In truth, the Celestial Commerce Guild's current situation was not very good. In the Eastern world, facing the colossal enemy that was the Hidden Yuan Society, the Celestial Commerce Guild had failed to keep up in all aspects and had reached a precarious state.
In such a situation, the glass mirror business was a groundbreaking opportunity that gave the Celestial Commerce Guild breathing room. It provided them with a means to counter the Hidden Yuan Society. But the victory in the battle for Raging Tide City brought the Celestial Commerce Guild something even greater. The fact that most of the trade on the eastern sea routes of the State of Yue had fallen into their hands meant they could now aim for a game-changing reversal, rather than just defending against the Hidden Yuan Society's attacks.
No words could fully express this victory. That was why the Celestial Commerce Guild had sent hundreds of masters along when Shen Lang went into battle. Of course, in the end, they weren't even used, as Qiu Yao'er single-handedly decided the battle's outcome.
*A woman conquered the world, and Shen Lang conquered the woman. It seems that being handsome really does let you live as you please.*
Unfortunately, this was Huang Dong's gross overestimation of Shen Lang. In reality, it wasn't that Qiu Yao'er had been captured by Shen Lang's charm, but that she had slept with him only because of an aphrodisiac used by Qiu Xiao.
Not even a few hours after taking Raging Tide City, Huang Dong was constantly meeting with envoys from various sectors of the city and the heads of numerous merchant associations. Listening to their anxious flattery gave Huang Dong another sense of reassurance. Though some things changed and some rules shifted in the world, the fact that everyone needed to make money would never change. There was no value as certain and immutable as the existence of money. This meant that no matter what chaos or adversity arose, the Celestial Commerce Guild could reap great profits here.
Huang Dong held meetings with the giants of various commercial sectors for several hours, and he was still buzzing with excitement. After the meetings concluded, he brought all the records and hurriedly reported to Shen Lang. Shen Lang took the minutes and reviewed them a few times. In fact, setting the regulations during the meeting was crucial. It was about establishing the order and rules for the entire commercial world of Raging Tide City. But Shen Lang merely glanced at such important content before tossing it aside. This was because the agreements reached in the meeting were all unlikely to be realized.
Although they had won the battle for Raging Tide City, the city was not yet entirely the property of the Jin Clan. The military struggle was over, but a political struggle and a political settlement remained. The battle for Raging Tide City would only conclude when the King issued an edict officially bestowing Raging Tide City and Leizhou Island upon the Jin Clan. Barring any unexpected incidents, Zhang Chong would arrive in two days to negotiate. Even the content of his speech was already set.
Shen Lang picked up a thick stack of gift lists and read them with great detail.
*I don't care what important agreements were made, but I'll be sure to remember what gifts those merchants gave me. I'll let the generous ones off, but I'll remember the stingy ones and make their lives difficult.*
Shen Lang flipped through the gift list, which was dozens of pages long. As he looked it over, he realized that he had, without a doubt, become quite a wealthy man.
"Why didn't they gift any beauties? I've been waiting for that kind of gift for a long time. Do I look like someone who practices celibacy?"
Huang Dong was a smart man, so Shen Lang didn't hold anything back when speaking to him. Huang Feng turned her head away. If she continued to be Shen Lang's guard, she felt she might one day pierce her own ears and become deaf.
Huang Dong replied.
"Perhaps... it's because of Miss Qiu Yao'er."
*Ah, now I get it!*
All the merchants thought Shen Lang had captured Qiu Yao'er, so they didn't dare to gift him women. If the devilish woman were to get jealous and throw a fit, they would all be dead.
"Hah! They all think too highly of me. As if I have any control over that demonic woman."
Huang Dong was startled. They even had a child, how could he not have managed her?
"Let me give you an example. Have you been to a brothel?"
Huang Dong felt awkward.
*My sister is right here. Do we really have to talk about this topic?*
"I take it you have. My situation with Qiu Yao'er is exactly like going to a brothel."
"D-Does that mean you played around with her?"
"No, she played around with me."
A truly sad story.
"But for an invincible champion like her to play with me, I should take pride in that. Shouldn't I?"
Huang Dong's hair stood on end. He didn't know whether to nod or not.
*I, Huang Dong, pride myself on being a master of social graces, but I have no idea how to respond to this conversation.*
"Well then, I still have urgent matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave."
Of course, it was rude for Huang Dong to leave so abruptly, but he was afraid Shen Lang would ask or say something even more embarrassing, so he tried to leave quickly. Huang Dong went out the door and glanced at his younger sister.
*What a pity. If my sister weren't so plain-looking, Young Master Shen would have easily made a move on her. He's a complete scoundrel, so a honey trap would have been an easy way to achieve our goals.*
Huang Dong sighed. Huang Feng glared at him, as if to say coldly:
*If you're going to blame me for being ugly, go complain to our parents.*
As expected of siblings, they understood each other's meaning with just a look.
***
Inside the finest study in the fortress, An Zaichuan was painting a wall with primer. He painted one entire wall a stark white. This wall was vast, large enough to write the names of numerous enemies. Sometime tomorrow or the day after, Zhang Chong would arrive to negotiate. In a sense, the direct battle between the Jin Clan and Prefect Zhang Chong was over, and the upcoming negotiation was merely a final confirmation of the outcome. Following that would be the political game with the King. If Zhang Chong acted smartly and the negotiations concluded successfully, the Jin Clan's power struggle with the King would be much smoother.
Shen Lang looked at the white wall and realized that many of his enemies were already dead. Had he really made so many enemies in just half a year in this world? *Sigh!* It couldn't be helped. When a person is too outstanding, it's easy to make enemies.
Still, he never expected to have killed so many of his enemies in just six months. Tian Heng, Xu Guangyun, Wang Lian, Lin Mo, Lin Zhuo, Zhu Nanting, Zhang Jin, and so on. But why had so many new enemies appeared? And their names were difficult to write on the wall: the King, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince. After a moment of thought, Shen Lang wrote two names on the wall.
The Su Clan, the Xue Clan.
The Su Clan of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's Estate and the Xue Clan of the Count of Wu'an's Estate—these two families were the next targets for his revenge.
Over a hundred years ago, the Xue Clan had received a heaven-sent grace from the Count of Jinzhou, yet they betrayed Count Jin Yu twenty years ago, committing an act worse than beasts and causing the downfall of the Jin Clan. To make matters worse, not long ago, Xue Li had personally come to break off the engagement, and the Xue Clan's heir had demanded a non-existent debt, colluding with the Hidden Yuan Society to corner the Count of Xuanwu's Estate.
The evil deeds of the Su Clan were infuriating. Su Jianting had once been engaged to Mulan, and for that alone, he deserved to die. Furthermore, in the Jinshan Island dispute, the Su Clan secretly aided Tang Lun in slaughtering the Jin Clan's warriors, which nearly turned the tables and could have led to a major disaster.
Shen Lang was still unaware of the incident where Su Jianting had ambushed the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. He was not a god, so he couldn't have predicted a sudden raid. His father-in-law had been very clear that he had burned the secret letter, and he said that Marquis Su Nan had believed it. Once the Su Clan was convinced that the Jin Clan had burned the secret letter, they had unhesitatingly broken ties with them. Therefore, Shen Lang thought that unless the Su Clan had a personal grudge against the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, there would be no reason to launch a surprise attack.
So, where did the Su Clan get the information that the Jin Clan had not burned the secret letter? That still remained an unsolved mystery. Unaware of the Su Clan's raid on the Jin Clan, Shen Lang was still contemplating which family to take revenge on first.
*The Xue Clan first? Or the Su Clan?*
Just then, Jin Hui came running in and said.
"Young Master, Miss Qiu Yao'er is leaving."