Chapter 70

Northern Commercial Association branch in Tianwu City.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

Chou Niu’s slightly plump body bowed to Shen Yian. His thick lips curved upwards, squeezing his bushy eyebrows and narrowing his eyes into slits. At first glance, he looked wealthy; at second glance, he appeared born to be a crafty merchant.

“Chou Niu, you’ve… gotten fatter?” Shen Yian’s eyes twinkled with amusement as he reached out to pat Chou Niu’s belly.

“Your Highness, I’ve had some trouble controlling my diet these past six months,” Chou Niu replied, patting his large stomach with an embarrassed smile.

“Looks like I’ll have to get Yin Hu to take you for a good workout sometime,” Shen Yian said.

“Please spare me, Your Highness! That fellow Yin Hu would probably take half my life!” Chou Niu took two steps back, looking frightened.

“Alright, alright. I’m just kidding, but you really should lose some weight.”

Shen Yian’s tone suddenly changed as he asked, “How’s the compilation of information on those families’ businesses coming along?”

“Your Highness, the business information for all four families is right here. Please take a look.” Chou Niu pushed forward a stack of books on the table.

“So many?” Shen Yian picked up a book and quickly flipped through a few pages, surprised. “Chou Niu, where do you think would be most suitable for the association to start gradually taking over their businesses?”

Chou Niu’s slit-like eyes opened, his dark pupils flashing. “As for gradually taking over, it depends on which method Your Highness chooses.”

“Oh?” Shen Yian picked up his teacup and blew gently, dispersing the rising steam.

“Your Highness, take the An family for example. They started in the grain trade, located in Yunchuan, bordering Ancient Yue. It’s known as the land of abundance, the granary of heaven. They can harvest grain twice a year, and there are less than two months left until the autumn harvest.”

“As far as I know, the Great Qing’s northern expedition against the barbarians has recently led to large quantities of grain being moved north from Yunchuan. Grain prices have fluctuated somewhat, but are still much cheaper compared to other places.”

“If I may be so bold, Your Highness, under what circumstances would grain prices soar?”

Shen Yian frowned, putting his teacup on the table. “Natural disasters, war…”

As he said “war,” Shen Yian paused, muttering, “Bordering Ancient Yue, northern expedition against the barbarians… With Great Qing’s attention focused more on the north, if the tribes of Ancient Yue were to suddenly unite…”

If the Ancient Yue tribes invaded, Yunchuan and Nanzhou would surely fall into chaos. By then, if the association had already bought up large quantities of the An family’s grain, the two regions would need to purchase grain. To buy grain, they’d have to pay higher prices. The association would make a fortune. Amidst the chaos, a little push would be enough to turn the Ancient Yue tribes’ blades towards the An family.

The old man would surely be enraged and launch a southern expedition against Ancient Yue…

In a series of chain reactions, if the association planned ahead and prepared for betrayal, the four families would suffer great economic losses at best, and complete destruction at worst. Of course, if the association wasn’t careful, they’d be playing with fire.

The scheme was too grand, even factoring in calculations about Great Qing and the old man. To play this game of chess required more than just courage; it was gambling with everyone’s lives.

“Your Highness is truly brilliant!” Chou Niu couldn’t help but cup his hands and exclaim loudly.

Shen Yian’s mouth twitched slightly as he looked at Chou Niu with a complex expression.

I thought you were just a crafty merchant, but I never imagined you were Jia Xu!

“Besides this vicious plan that goes against heaven’s will, are there any other methods?” Shen Yian asked.

Chou Niu resumed his crafty merchant demeanor. “Yes, yes, please allow me to explain in detail, Your Highness.”

Half a quarter of an hour later, Shen Yian nodded in approval. “Very well, let’s proceed as you’ve said. It’s fine to go slowly; we must be steady.”

“Also, recruit a few more capable retainers to oversee those branch associations and increase security.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll arrange it right away.”@@novelbin@@

After giving some brief instructions, Shen Yian left the association through the back door. He would personally host a welcoming banquet for everyone once they all arrived.

Returning to the palace, with nothing else to do, Shen Yian moved the guqin to a pavilion in the back garden, intending to study the zither arts alone.

“Deng! Deng! Deng!”

(Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.)

“Fu Sheng, what melody is this?” E Lai, sitting casually on the roof, asked Fu Sheng.

Fu Sheng was the best among them at chess and zither arts.

“My apologies, Mr. E Lai, I haven’t heard this tune before. It must be His Highness’s original composition,” Fu Sheng furrowed his sword-like eyebrows. The melody was simple and cheerful, making listeners want to hum along instinctively. It seemed to evoke a sky full of dazzling stars.

To think such an evocative tune was His Highness’s original creation. It was truly befitting of His Highness!

In the pavilion, Shen Yian tried playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” twice, his face showing an expression of “not bad.”

Recalling his past life in school, with a steel ruler in hand, he could not only play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” but also “Two and a Half Chickens.”

Shen Yian’s fingertip touched the strings, trying to imbue them with sword intent.

The imagined scene of resonating strings and surging sword energy didn’t appear. Instead, a series of jarring snapping sounds pierced the air.

With one stroke, all the strings broke, unable to withstand the sword intent. The scene became quite awkward.

Shen Yian was puzzled. Did something go wrong, or was his sword intent too strong for the strings to bear?

It must be that his sword intent was too strong.

After reassuring himself, Shen Yian helplessly called for Mendu, asking him to take the guqin to a music shop for a major repair and maintenance, specifically instructing that the strings should be the most resilient type available.

After Mendu left carrying the guqin, Shen Yian found himself idle again.

After sitting around for a while, Shen Yian called for Fu Sheng to play chess with him.

Of course, this time they wouldn’t play Go; he didn’t want to be humiliated again. Shen Yian called for someone to bring the full set of Chinese chess he had custom-made earlier from his study.

This world didn’t have Chinese chess, so he had to briefly explain the rules to Fu Sheng, like how the horse moves in an “L” shape and the elephant moves diagonally.

They played two quick games, with Shen Yian winning handily as Fu Sheng hadn’t fully grasped the rules yet.

Chinese chess wasn’t too difficult to learn. E Lai and Yin Hai, watching from the shadows, understood how to play after observing two games.

“Aiya! You should have moved the horse directly!” E Lai, being impatient, exclaimed as Fu Sheng moved his cannon.

Yin Hai stood silently to the side, but his eyes behind the mask seemed to agree with E Lai.

In the third game, Shen Yian barely won, as Fu Sheng was gradually getting better and putting more pressure on him.

After losing the fourth and fifth games, Shen Yian chose to give up, blaming E Lai for constantly speaking up and influencing him, and Yin Hai for his intense gaze. He blamed them for his losses!

They switched positions, with Shen Yian and Fu Sheng watching as E Lai and Yin Hai faced off.

Shen Yian gave a friendly reminder: “This chess set is very expensive, so be gentle with it.”

This was mainly directed at E Lai, as Shen Yian feared he might accidentally crush the pieces.

“Pah!”

E Lai, playing as red, imitated Shen Yian’s opening move with the cannon. Yin Hai, playing as black , responded by moving out his horse.

Advancing the pawn!

The dark robe danced without wind. As E Lai’s large hand pressed down on the red pawn, streams of black energy swirled around him.

The red pawn advanced one square, and suddenly the clash of weapons and armor rang out. An entire squad of red-armored soldiers charged forward from the distance.

Flying elephant!

Behind Yin Hai, a vision of the infernal realm appeared. He picked up the black elephant piece and moved it diagonally. “Roar!” The earth trembled as a wild elephant trumpeted and stomped, kicking up endless clouds of dust.

Shen Yian raised an eyebrow. This was no longer a simple game of chess. Yin Hai and E Lai had fully immersed themselves in their roles, each becoming a commander on the battlefield, engaging in a silent clash of wills.

This was indeed an excellent exercise for tempering one’s mental state.

Shen Yian turned around and noticed that the sky at the horizon had already turned golden. Time had passed without him realizing it.

The daily question: What to eat for dinner?

Forget it, let’s go out to eat!