Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 17 Hidden Lines
Xu was restless in Yingyang Garden.
Fortunately, thanks to the power Ye Youyu had gained some time ago, she now has people to send out to gather information.
The two little girls took turns to inquire about the master and the mistress's movements, but the news they got back made them even more uneasy.
I heard from the little maid that the master had been staying in the study ever since the third young lady left. The mistress went in for a while, and then not long after, a loud voice was heard from inside, and she came out.
"Is this a quarrel?" Xu thought to herself. She was a kind and weak woman. Ye Youyu inherited her kindness but rebelled against her weakness. If it were another concubine in her shoes, she might gloat over her misfortune. However, Xu did not think so. She just wanted to avoid letting the quarrel between the master and the mistress bring harm to Youyu.
After Ma left, Ye Dalin sat in the study. Every half hour, someone would report the latest situation to him from the direction of Baietan, so he already knew that Wu Chengjian had boarded the ship.
But what happens next? Can Ye Youyu really convince Wu Chengjian to save the Ye family?
Ye Youyu's tricks, such as moving one's qi and body by living in a new place, were just lies that could only fool ghosts. He naturally saw through his intentions at a glance, but what did it matter?
The Wu family was now in the limelight, and as long as they could help the Ye family through this crisis, the things Ye Youyu wanted would only be a drop in the bucket for Ye Dalin. As for family traditions and rules, as a nouveau riche, Ye Dalin never cared about them.
"Master." A servant came in and handed in an envelope. Ye Dalin waved his hand to let the servant go out, opened the envelope and took out a note.
Then a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Is Hei Caitou going to make another move?"
The relationships among the Thirteen Hongs' several major families are complicated. Generally speaking, the Pan family, with its deep roots, has the most comprehensive sources of information and the deepest information channels. The other families, Cai, Lu, Wu, and Ye, each have their strengths and blind spots on the information network. For example, Ye Dalin has put in more effort on Cai Shiwen than Wu Guoying.
"Hmph, that's not bad." Ye Dalin's mouth corners tilted up slightly, moving one of his mustaches, and he murmured in a low voice: "After all, Hei Caitou is still the general merchant. Although he is suppressed by the Wu family for a while, it will be difficult for the Wu family to replace Hei Caitou as the general merchant. After all, Wu Chengjian is too young no matter how popular he is. It will be difficult to explain to the superiors if his name is reported. And Hei Caitou will not sit still and wait for death. Once he counterattacks, the force will be extraordinary. I will wait for the two tigers to fight and reap the benefits."
Then he thought: "However, if I want to reap the benefits, I have to get through this stage myself. Humph, it still depends on whether Youyu can charm that pervert Wu Chengjian!"
It's no wonder that when others heard that Ye Youyu wanted to meet Wu Chengjian, they thought that Ye Youyu wanted to entertain people with her sex appeal - because even her father thought so.
Suddenly, Ye Dalin opened his eyes and said, "No, no!"
He suddenly thought of another person, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead: "Why am I so confused! If Hei Caitou came down, the one who took the position of general merchant... wouldn't be Wu Chengjian!"
Yes, there was a family, there was a person, who seemed to have been silent for a long time, and seemed to have been watching for a long time. Because there was no sound for so long, many people temporarily forgot his existence - but even if a tiger is silent, it is still a tiger!
Ye Dalin thought about the process and result of the situation of "a hungry dragon coming out of its lair and the beasts sharing the food", and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became.
At the moment, everyone's attention was attracted by Wu Chengjian, but they forgot that there was another person who was quietly reaping huge profits from this incident. The actual benefits he gained were not even less than those of the Wu family. The result of this situation created an unprecedentedly good situation for that person:
Although Wu Chengjian turned the tables and became prosperous, he became irreconcilable with the Cai family in terms of interpersonal relationships. The Lu family might not be afraid of his power, and even the Guangdong Customs Supervisor, although for some reason, has been extremely tolerant of the Wu family recently, is Mr. Man's attitude really a good thing? So although Wu Chengjian seemed to be powerful, his interpersonal relationships in the Thirteen Hongs became quite tense. He lost the Cai family, his half-relative, and almost fell out with his ally, the Ye family.
On the contrary, that person... quietly, everyone had to point to him, rely on him, and win him over. Even Wu Chengjian had to leave a huge piece of fat meat for him when he was clearing up the Xie family. He sat in a high position and didn't offend anyone, but no matter how the situation changed, he could reap the benefits.
"How foolish! How foolish!" Ye Dalin thought to himself, "How could I be so foolish that I missed him for a moment! Hehe, he really hid it very well."
Calculating the time, it is time for that person to come out. After all, his qualifications are almost enough.
Thinking of this, Ye Dalin's heart trembled again.
In the game of "Beasts Sharing Food", it seems that Wu Chengjian won, but what was the reality?
The reason why that person did not become the chief merchant in the first place was not because his family was not powerful enough, but because he was too young at that time. It would be difficult to explain to the Ministry of Internal Affairs if he reported this name, so he suppressed it and gave it to Hei Caitou. But now that he is almost the same age, it is natural that he would not want to "take back" the position of chief merchant. However, Hei Caitou has sat in this position for so many years, so it is naturally impossible for him to give it up by nice words.
"Could it be... that he had known about this situation for a long time? Even the ending of this situation was within his expectations? Was he even the driving force behind it?"
When he thought of this, Ye Dalin broke out in a cold sweat again.
That man wanted to take back the position of head merchant, but he did not attack the Cai family himself, nor did he instruct his minions (Wu Ye) to attack the Cai family. On the contrary, it was the Cai family that attacked his minions (Wu) due to the situation, and then suffered the consequences - was this due to the general trend, or was it his plan from the beginning?
If that's really the case...that person is so scary. His schemes are so cunning and his intentions are so sinister. Perhaps he's even scarier than his father.
When he thought of this, Ye Dalin's thinking changed completely.
Cai Shiwen was reluctant to light a big candle, so the room still seemed very dark.
Cai Shiwen was smoking a water pipe, his eyes deep and not panicky.
To be able to sit in his position, being able to remain calm in the face of danger is a necessary quality. Although the current situation is not favorable to him, it is far from the situation where the Wu family was pushed down by everyone. The Cai family's spies are still spread all over Xiguan, and everything that happened in Shenxianzhou has reached his ears one by one.
Humph, supporting a Nanhai County constable to become the chief, and supporting a yellow-haired girl to become an oiran, this is repaying a favor, and also to establish authority, and to tell everyone in Guangzhou: the current Yuehai entertainment venue is under the control of him, Wu Chengjian.
The third-ranked courtesan was driven away, and those old men from Shanxi went to flatter the new courtesan. This meant that the Wu family had secretly negotiated terms and made peace with the Shanxi merchants.
He pretended to become sworn brothers with Foshan Chen, and made Foshan Chen Shulong's head prostitute the most popular prostitute. This was to tell everyone: not only did his Wu family overcome the difficulties, but it also had new allies and was more powerful than before.
As for the second-ranked courtesan who was left behind and suffered humiliation, it was naturally because that courtesan was promoted by the second-ranked son. Wu Chengjian was telling everyone: his Wu family and the Cai family were still irreconcilable.
"Little bastard!" Cai Shiwen felt so angry when he thought of Wu Chengjian's smug face during the comeback night, and then thought of how he was forced to be at a loss and cut off his arm.
"I can't forgive you, I can't forgive you!"
"Master," a servant came forward and said, "Someone is asking to see you through the back door." Then he handed over a small golden bag.
Cai Shiwen opened the brocade bag and took out the things inside. His face became a little strange and he said, "Take it in. Be careful not to let irrelevant people see it."
After a while, the man wrapped in a cloak, with even his head covered by a hood, came into the dark room.
The servant withdrew and the man lowered his hood.
"It's you!" Cai Shiwen was surprised: "Why are you here!"
The servant had been standing behind the visitor and could not see his face clearly. When he saw Cai Shiwen's signal, he retreated.
He stood outside the door and waited. After a meal, the guests left. Not long after, he suddenly heard Cai Shiwen's suppressed laughter coming from inside the house: "Haha, haha! This time... Mr. Wu is dead!"
Wu Xiaojiu followed the messenger who came with the letter, and took a pound of good tea, and entered Guangzhou City overnight - the city gate had been closed long ago, but with the people from the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office leading him, it was naturally not difficult to enter the city.
The last time he entered the Governor's Mansion, he was trembling with fear as if he was going through a mountain of swords and a pot of frying pans, and he didn't even dare to look sideways. This second time, he was much more familiar with the place. His pair of round eyes occasionally darted around like a thief, looking at the scenery inside the Governor's Mansion, so that he could brag about it to others when he returned.
Tonight is a special night. Cai Qinghua has not slept yet. He is brewing a pot of strong tea and listening to news from all sides. Finally, Wu Xiaojiu comes in to pay him a visit.
Cai Qinghua liked handsome boys, and he was a little happy when he saw Wu Xiaojiu. When he saw that Zhou Yijin sent the servant he liked and that he came so quickly, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Yijin has my heart after all."
As legal advisors, they need to adapt to local customs. He has only been in Guangzhou for a few months, but he can already speak some Cantonese. The phrase "有我心" is a typical Cantonese phrase, meaning "you have a heart for me."
Wu Xiaojiu asked, "Master Cai, would you still like me to serve you tea?"
Cai Qinghua smiled and waved.
Wu Xiaojiu knelt forward and skillfully replaced the half pot of almost cold tea with the tea he brought.
Cai Qinghua watched his increasingly smooth movements and said with a smile, "Not bad, your skills have improved again."
This time, Wu Xiaojiu brought the best oolong tea - this tea was not something Cai Qinghua usually drank, but after staying up late tonight, he couldn't help but feel refreshed after drinking this strong cup of oolong. He said, "I used to think that Fujian's Kung Fu tea was bitter like medicine, but today I tasted it again and it is indeed unique."
Wu Xiaojiu actually didn't understand the hidden meaning of the words, but he was also a smart man, so he memorized the words and planned to repeat them to Zhou Yijin word for word after returning.
After a round of drinking, Cai Qinghua said, "Well, it's OK."
Wu Xiaojiu stopped immediately and knelt there waiting for instructions .
Cai Qinghua only asked: "When? Where?"
Wu Xiaojiu said: "It all depends on what is convenient for Master Cai."
Cai Qinghua laughed and said, "That's right, Yi Jin didn't get carried away by the temporary victory after all, very good, very good."
Cai Qinghua just deliberately exposed a flaw, but Zhou Yijin still abided by his duty and gave the initiative to set the time and place to the other party. This is respect for Cai Qinghua. Respecting Cai Qinghua means respect for the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Cai Qinghua said, "Then tomorrow, I will go to Huachahao again and still drink your Fujianese fried tea."
