Manage Qian couldnât be more familiar with that inscrutable smile, with a smile on his face, he asked, âWhat do you have in mind, miss?â
âDo you know which five paths the bands will be taking?â Murong Yun Shu answered his question with a question.
âYes,â Manager Qian then proceeded to giving her all the details.
Murong Yun Shu nodded when he was done. She looked down and was deep in thought for a while, then looked up and said, âEvery since father passed away, we have not been keeping up our friendship with our underworld friends. Thatâs not a good sign.â
Manager Qian was a little shocked when he first heard that, then a look of understanding followed by a conniving smile, âYou meanâŚ..â
âWe should take this opportunity to keep in touch and further our relationship with our underworld friends,â said Murong Yun Shu mildly.
âYes! Great idea!â Manager Qian exclaimed, âThatâs a spectacular idea to get someone to do our dirty deeds for us, we can get our money back from Mingjian Manor effortlessly!â
Murong Yun Shu pursed her lips, then in her usual mild manner, âIt takes a lot of energy to write lettersâŚ.â
Manager Qianâs white brows quivered, along with the corners of his mouth, but at the end only thought to himself, âLike father like daughter. None of the members of the Murong family were hard workers, but luckily they were all supremely intelligent and knew how to get around. They barely need to lift a finger to have matters settled for them. Perhaps, all smart people are just lazy.â
The two of them when from a dialog to stopping in the middle of the conversation to reading each otherâs mind. Qie Ning was totally loss in the conversation, âWhat are you two talking about?â Even talking to her manager was so cryptic, were there any normal members among the Murong House?
Murong Yun Shu treated him as though he was not here, she told Luâer to prepare the brush, ink, ink slap, and paper for her.
Manager Qian nicely explained, âWhat miss means is, we informed our friends on the path the date and time Zhen Yuan Escort Agency will be passing through their turfs. By friends we meant bandits, outlaws, robbers, etc., and use them to get the money back.â
Nie Qing was shocked, âUsing the bandits to rob for you?â
âNot helping us, just helping themselves, they keep the money.â
ââŚ. what good will that do for the Murong House?â He couldnât think of how this will benefit Murong House, but from his limited experience, Murong Yun Shu never did anything if she didnât stand to get something back in return.
Manager Qian shook his head faintly and said earnestly, âAy, a young man without a sense of business, definitely not as smart as our miss.â
Nie Qing snorted with a displeased look, so you wanted to brown nose her, you neednât insult me also!
Manager Qian seemed to be quite used to his snorting already, unaffected, he shot him a look and continued, âThere are honors among our bandit friends. Once they successfully robbed Zhen, Yuan Escort Agency, they will remember the favor. Next time we escort our carts through their territory, they wonât rob us. If we are lucky, we might even get some free booze. Back in the daysâŚ.â
Nie Qing couldnât care to listen to his old day stories so he interrupted abruptly, âYou guys have that kind of relationships with the bandits?â
âWhy is that surprising? In our business, we have some sort of relationship with people from all walks of life.â said Manager Qian proudly.
Nie Qing couldnât believe what he was hearing.
While the two were chittering, Murong Yun Shu had completed the five letters of intent and gave them to Manager Qian, âSend someone immediately.â
âYes,â replied Manager Qian and left.
Murong Yun Shu rubbed her wrist and looked at the lingering Qie Ning, âYou got other matters?â
Nie Qing looked straight at her wordlessly for a few seconds, then randomly blurted out, âOfficials and bandits are never on the same side.â
Murong Yun Shu paused for a second, âYou want out?â
The corners of Nie Qingâs mouth quivered, he barely stopped himself from blurting out âItâs him or itâs me,â else there would be no turning back. âMurong House now represents the Court. Being in cohort with the bandits will hurt the national prestige.â
âWhich would you choose? The national prestige or national treasury?â
âOf course national prestige far outweigh the treasury!â
âBut Iâm a merchant.â Profit always comes first.
âYou are also an official of the Court.â The Banking Regulatory Commission ranked the same as the Prime Minister, it was no small feat.
âExactly why I want need to put the national treasury first.â She paused, âBesides, according to my fatherâs experience, befriending bandits can save us a lot of âaccidental expendituresâ in the future.â
Nie Qing was struck by anguish, my dadâs experience⌠my dadâŚ. that explained so much. Like father like daughter!
***
Within the next six months, words have spread that Zhen Yuan Escort Agency were robbed five times. That stirred up a lot of sensation as well as rumors, and the rumors continued to get more and more ridiculousâŚ
Words had it that Zhen Yuan Escort Agency offended some big players. They were marked and all their trips would be robbed.
Words had it that the big player was the leader of the mojiao sect.
Consequently, Zhen Yuan Escort Agency went downhill overnight, nobody dared to go into business with them.
And Mingjian Manor knew they were at fault first, so they dare not make a fuss. They had to eat the loss of the five thousand silvers.
âOh poor and unfortunate Mingjian Manor and Zhen Yuan Escort Agency! HA HA HA HA HA!â laughed Luâer.
As usual, Murong Yun Shu just ignored her silliness. She continued to read the old medical journal in her hand â looking for any mention of the Soul Snatcher.
âMiss, why donât you have any reaction to this?â A dissatisfied Luâer made a fuss, she fully intended to change her missâs distant demeanor.
Murong Yun Shu knew that Luâer would not stop unless she say something. She looked up, gave it some thought, then said, âWhy was it that they all thought the big player that they offended was the leader of majiao sect?â
âBecause Lin Shuiâer, the daughter of Zhen Yuan Escort Agency, stole majiao sectâs leaderâs fianceeâs ex-fiancee.â said Luâer in one breath.
Murong Yun Shu gave her a cool look, âWas that meant to be a tongue twister?â
ââŚ. not at all.â
âSplitting up a couple but setting up two couples, what Lin Shuiâer did was a good deed.â After that, Murong Yun Shu turned her attention back to the medical journal. This was the 19th medical journal that she was going through, still no mention of the Soul Snatch. Was she fated to die a premature death?
Luâer rolled her eyes and, with extreme disappointment in Murong Yun Shu, said, âMiss, she stole your fiancee from you.â
Murong Yun Shu frowned and corrected her, âNo, she picked up old shoes that I tossed away.â It was her dadâs biggest mistake in his life to have negotiated the wedding arrangement with Fang Hongfei, and the largest smudge in her life.
She never thought for a minute that she wanted to revenge Lin Shuiâer1. What happened to Zhen Yuan Escort Agency had nothing to do with that at all. They colluded with Mingjian Manor knowing full well that those fifty million were dirty money. They brought their bad fate onto themselves and she didnât feel bad that they were now going out of business.