Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 71

"I'll do it right away."

Ashan nodded without asking any further questions. Just as he was about to leave, his boss said again, "Reduce the amount of gold coins on Luqiu Pavilion's books by 40% and fix the books."

After making a killing at the Xu family's place last night, and seeing his balance in the top corner of the online store reach a new high, Lu Wei felt a surge of joy. He then casually took a small amount from his own company's warehouse to round up the number, and the few remaining traces of bad mood in his heart completely dissipated.

"Yes!"

...

The main hall of the Crown Prince's residence.

Yan Dan and Ju Wu looked at Steward Yan Chun kneeling before them. Although their expressions were dignified, they were extremely excited inside.

Trading the Xu family for such a high-level inside agent in Yan Chun Jun's mansion is well worth it. The Crown Prince's mansion will be able to keep track of Yan Chun Jun's every move in the future!

Moreover, the Xu family is such a large clan that it cannot be easily swallowed up by any single family. Although the matter was initiated by Luqiu Pavilion, the entities that actually absorbed the Xu family's assets were the Yanchun Jun Mansion, the Crown Prince's Mansion, and Luqiu Pavilion.

Under these circumstances, with the Xu family father and son dead, no one dared to ask any further questions about the Xu family's affairs!

With just one piece of information, Yan Dan obtained a high-ranking insider from Yan Chunjun's mansion and a portion of the Xu family's assets, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

"From this day forward, you no longer belong to Luqiu Pavilion. You will serve the Crown Prince's residence, understand?"

Ju Wu coughed, stood up, and his loud voice exploded like thunder in the butler's ears.

“I understand, I know.”

The old steward obediently kowtowed, showing no intention of resisting. Serving the Crown Prince's residence was far better than those peasants from Luqiu Pavilion!

Although his former master, Lord Yanchun, still holds considerable power, in terms of noble bloodline, His Highness the Crown Prince becoming the new master undoubtedly elevates his status by one level!

“Yan Da, I have obtained your family and the antidote for the poison from Lu Qiu Ge, so you don’t need to worry anymore.”

After Ju Wu played the good cop, Yan Dan naturally had to play the bad cop.

Sitting in his seat, he spoke sternly. Yan Dan knew very well that the best way to intimidate someone like the old steward was to use her own noble status.

"It is their honor to be able to accompany His Highness the Crown Prince."

The old steward smiled obsequiously and crawled forward a step: "This humble servant also knows of many of Luqiu Pavilion's arrangements in Yanchun Jun's residence, which I wish to present to His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Hmm." He gave his teacher, Ju Wu, a look, and the latter nodded knowingly, then led the old butler to the side hall.

A short while later, he returned with a bamboo scroll filled with writing. As for the old steward, he had already sent him back to lie low.

"Your Highness, this time you not only swallowed up the Xu family's assets, greatly increasing our power, but you also planted a new mole in Lord Yanchun's heart, and gained a handle to restrain Luqiu Pavilion. This is truly the way of a king!"

Ju Wu chuckled and handed the bamboo slip to Yan Dan, who took it without even glancing at it and placed it aside.

“Teacher, we must not act rashly towards the farmers in the future. Let’s put this bamboo scroll at the bottom for now.”

Ju Wu's expression changed, and he stroked his beard: "Why is that?"

"If we press our advantage, we can get even more from Luqiu Pavilion!"

“No,” Yan Dan said, turning her head to stare at the bamboo scroll with sharp eyes. “Lu Wei is young and will definitely play a pivotal role in the Farmers’ Society in the future. Our relationship with them is a long-term collaboration, and we should not scheme too much and ruin each other’s impressions.”

"This division of the spoils among the Xu family is a good example. As long as there are common interests, the peasant family will be a powerful ally!"

"Your Highness is wise and far-sighted; I understand."

Ju Wu's gaze also fell on the bamboo slips, and he nodded emphatically...

...

In the Yan Chun Jun residence, the still powerful Yan Chun Jun, unusually early in the morning, received some good news. He sat on his high seat with a strange laugh, looking down at Jue Ying below:

"The Xu family swallowed it?"

"Yes." Jueying's sword, with its dark hilt inconspicuous, was at his waist. "Last night, Luqiu Pavilion and the Xu family had a civil war. I seized the opportunity to step in and, in the name of Lord Yanchun, Luqiu Pavilion had no choice but to relinquish half of its profits."

"His former subordinates have destroyed him!" Yan Chunjun sneered. "Xu Qiu is quite a laughable person."

Jueying remained silent until Yanchunjun finished laughing, then he spoke again: "The Crown Prince's residence also threatened Luqiu Pavilion and took away some of the benefits."

"My nephew certainly knows how to seize every opportunity!"

Yan Chunjun wasn't angry: "However, in this matter, it's a good thing that they've joined in."

Has the Mohist school made any moves recently?

"My subordinates are still investigating..."

"Send more men!" Yan Chunjun's expression changed quickly, his dissatisfaction evident in his words: "These Jianghu people are such a nuisance!"

"The peasants have been yielding these past few years, and now the even more rude Mohists have appeared!"

Chapter 93 The Azure Dragon Plan

Xu Qiu served as the head of Luqiu Pavilion for many years and placed members of the Xu family in many key positions within the pavilion.

This is normal. After Lu Wei gained power, he distributed it to his four subordinates. The disciples were completely used to it and had no objections.

However, besides these, there are also many disciples who are not of the same surname but are Xu Qiu's confidants.

Xu Qiu made a deal with Tian Zhong and withdrew from the Farmer's Clan. The Xu family members followed suit. However, these confidants from other clans remained in Luqiu Pavilion and were grateful to Xu Qiu for his past investment and promotion.

They usually obeyed Lu's orders very well, but when Xu Qiu, who had left the farming family, occasionally asked for help, these people would still help him. Some of the stubborn ones even still addressed Xu Qiu as "Pavilion Master".

The news of Lu Wei's return to Jicheng was leaked by this group of people.

Among them were several stewards and landowners from the previous high-ranking positions, whose circumstances had deteriorated significantly. In recent years, they frequently visited the Xu family mansion to drink and complain.

The day after the Xu family was annexed, Lu Wei ordered Ashan to completely eliminate these people, leaving no future troubles.

Despite the bloodshed, the Lu faction, which had firmly grasped power, accomplished the task very well.

At the same time, the chief steward wrote a letter and sent it to Dazeshan, instructing Lü Qing to also investigate the remnants of Tian Zhong in the headquarters: there are now many people who can be used and are already proficient in various tasks, so the remnants are no longer of any value.

The vast Xu family empire is enough for Yan Chun Jun Mansion, Crown Prince Mansion, and Lu Qiu Pavilion to slowly digest over the rest of the year.

They ate so much that the conflicts between factions in Ji City decreased significantly...

...

The Jade Flower Terrace, transported from the State of Zhao, along with Zhao's dancers and musicians, finally arrived in Ji City at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month after a long journey.

After instructing her disciples to move the items into the pavilion, Xue Nu could not rest yet. She needed to hurriedly arrange the first performance before the New Year for Fei Xue Pavilion.

The custom-made signboard has already been placed in its place and is now wrapped in red cloth, just waiting for the opening day.

The disciples of the peasant family repeatedly mentioned the news of "Zhao Wu Entering Ji City" in the streets and alleys, and its popularity was constantly boiling before its opening. The powerful and nobles had heard about it and were very interested.

Or rather, they are very interested in news about every new entertainment venue in Jicheng.

The steward had little attention to these trivial matters. After his meeting with Crown Prince Dan, Lu Wei welcomed his second distinguished guest before the new year:

The chivalrous leader Tian Guang!

Unlike last time when he secretly hid, this time Tian Guang visited Luqiu Pavilion openly as a wandering knight-errant.

The disciples in the hall were all from Yan and had never been to Daze Mountain, so they naturally did not know that he was the leader of the Farmer's School of Chivalry. However, Tian Guang's reputation as a "hero of integrity" had already spread in Yan, so they took the opportunity during their free time to report this visit to Steward Lu.

Upon learning of Tian Guang's arrival, Lu Wei calmly dismissed his disciples. Only after finishing his work did he casually go downstairs to invite Tian Guang to meet him in the second-floor reception room.

Since the leader of the chivalrous sect has come here as an ordinary wandering knight, I should treat him with the same courtesy as an ordinary wandering knight.

After closing the conference room door, Tian Guang gazed intently at the dashing young man, his admiration evident: "You did a great job with the fake Tian Meng."

"What will the leader of the knights do with him?"

Lu Wei straightened his back and asked seriously.

While he was in Zhao, he received a letter from Lü Qing, in which he said that shortly after he left, the Xia Kui sent an order to Dazeshan, issuing secret missions to the five hall masters except for Zhou He, who was about to take over the position of elder.

Currently, these five hall masters are Zhu Jia and Tian Meng in the State of Chu, Tian Hu in the State of Zhao, Situ Wanli in the State of Wei, and Tian Mi in the State of Han.

Knowing that Tian Meng was being impersonated, he even transferred the leaders of various halls away from Daze Mountain... After learning about this, Lu Wei pondered for a long time, considering and guessing several possibilities, but only this elusive chivalrous leader could answer the question of what the truth really was.

"Who do you think is impersonating Tian Meng?"

Tian Guang didn't directly answer his question, which didn't surprise Lu Wei: these old foxes are all like that, they like to use one question to answer another.

“Back when I was vying with Tian Zhong for the position of chief steward, I unexpectedly discovered that Luo Wang (a powerful organization) intended to infiltrate our farming family.”

Lu Wei also joined Lord Xia Kui in solving riddles with a vague and incomplete recollection.

“The Net?” Tian Guang’s gaze fell on the map of Jicheng hanging on the wall behind the boy, and his eyebrows lifted. “Judging from your tone, I feel that you seem to have had a lot of dealings with them.”

"It won't be easy to survive under the watchful eye of this assassin organization."

"So Tian Meng is dead." Lu Wei nodded, his expression one of deep agreement.

"The hardest part of eliminating a traitor within your own ranks is discovering the traitor, and as the leader of the chivalrous sects, I need to consider many other factors in addition to that..."

"For example, the real plan of the Net?"

The other party left a long trailing syllable, and under their gaze, Steward Lu finished the few words that Tian Guang hadn't said.

“Not bad,” Lord Xia Kui grinned as he looked at the junior who was eager to show off in front of him. “What’s more terrifying than the Net is the Net’s covetousness. The crisis must be solved at its source.”

"But Luo Wang is now nominally a pawn of Qin, so we can only passively take hits and cannot hurt the enemy's weak points."

Tian Guang conjured a log from his hand as if by magic, took out a dagger with his other hand, and suddenly became engrossed in woodworking: "Only by mastering enough of the enemy's weaknesses can we strike at their vital points and instill fear in them!"

With his skillful hands, carving left and right, a small wooden carving of "Tian Guang" was vividly sculpted.

From the details of his hair and beard to the tiny 'Nine-Star Pearl Grass' on his chest, everything was exquisitely crafted; many old carpenters might not be able to achieve such skill.

"The purpose of the net is nothing more than to control the farmers, and as long as I am still here, they cannot do that."

"Only the leader of the knights has complete control over the farmers."

"Tian Meng is just a stepping stone for them to obtain the position of the leader of the knights."

Lu Wei stared down at the wooden carving, and upon hearing this, a strange look appeared in his eyes: "In that case, Xia Kui, you have now become their target."

"Not bad." Placing the wooden carving on the table and standing up, Tian Guang slapped his dagger down. "On the way here, we've taken care of quite a few eyes!"

"My identity is a top secret in the Yan Kingdom, but it wouldn't be difficult for the Luo Wang to find out."

The topic of the fake Tian Meng seems to have been skipped, but in fact, all the fragmented information that Tian Guang has mentioned so far points to one point:

"What does the leader of the chivalrous sect want from Luqiu Pavilion today?"

Lu Wei traced all the problems back to the starting point.