Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 14 Farewell
There was no movement in the green gauze cabinet for a long time.
Old Gu added, "Also, Third Young Lady, you were put under house arrest, and Changzi came to ask for help. I heard that at that time, Old Ye forced Haoguan to marry your sister, and Qiguan was also pulling his leg, forcing Haoguan to drive Changzi out. But Haoguan turned around and asked Master Zhou to look after you. Otherwise, it would not be so easy for your people to see Master Zhou."
Ye Youyu had almost no idea . Her mind was in turmoil.
On the boat at Baietan, the two met at the wrong time, and Wu Chengjian deliberately scolded her, causing Ye Youyu's expectations of him to plummet. The development of various events thereafter gradually made her lose heart towards Wu Chengjian, thinking that the man who had been engraved in her heart since childhood did not actually exist, so much so that she had to keep telling herself: from now on, she should treat the marriage between Wu and Ye as a business and not be emotional anymore.
But how can the marks engraved in her heart for many years during her girlhood be erased? After Wu Chengjian treated her well after marriage, Ye Youyu couldn't help but fall in love with him again. Until the incident of seizing the boat happened, the two of them had a knot in their hearts again.
But after hearing what Lao Gu said, Ye Youyu felt as if thunder had struck his heart again.
"So... you already had feelings for me long before we got married?"
After a year of living together, she naturally had a deeper understanding of Wu Chengjian's character. She no longer had the empty fantasies she had before getting married. Now she was very clear that her husband often said one thing and meant another.
"So, you are nice to me, but you don't say it?"
She once told herself that the "third brother" in her teenage dreams didn't actually exist, but now she suddenly realized that maybe that person had always been there, and she just misunderstood...
"Since you treat me like this and have never changed, then I'm fine even if I suffer for you a thousand times."
The dozen or so men were like stakes driven into the ground, surrounding the carriage without moving, but the three people in the carriage were all very nervous.
After a long while, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and two carriages came running over. As the carriages got closer, Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin got off. Wu Chengjian had a white cloth tied on his head, and he was indeed in mourning.
He saw Cai Qinghua looking at him warily and angrily, and then he looked at the situation around him, and he understood. He shouted at the man, "What's going on? I asked you to keep Master Cai, how did you offend Master Cai?"
Before the men could reply, Cai Qinghua shouted angrily, "Wu Chengjian! You don't have to pretend to be so righteous here! Just use whatever tricks you have! If I, Cai, am afraid of you, I will be ashamed of the decades of adventure!"
Wu Chengjian smiled bitterly and said, "Master Cai, it's a misunderstanding, it's really a misunderstanding. I'm in mourning, my mind is in a mess, and I haven't done many things properly these days. It was only just now that I learned that Master Cai was leaving and had already left the city, so I hurriedly came to see him off. I was afraid that I would miss Master Cai's carriage, so I asked these brothers to come first and keep Master Cai for a while. It's just that I didn't explain clearly in a hurry, so we misunderstood each other."
Zhou Yijin also came over and said, "Master, this is true."
Cai Qinghua snorted, but in fact he believed it in his heart - there was no need for Wu Chengjian to lie to him now. If he really wanted to deal with him, he would not do it on the official road. With his connections in both the black and white worlds, he could just pay him some money and wait for him to leave Guangdong, and then find an opportunity to kill him unclearly. There was no need for him to personally come forward and deal the problem on the official road, causing subsequent troubles.
Wu Qi had already set up a temporary tent on the roadside with his men. Wu Xiaojiu went into the tent and set up a tea table, cups, and a wine pot. Wu Chengjian stepped forward and said, "Master Cai, regardless of business matters, we are acquainted. After this separation, I don't know if I will have the chance to meet again. Please have a glass of wine and let Wu Chengjian fulfill his courtesy as a host."
At this time, Cai Qinghua was losing power, while Wu Chengjian was gaining power. Seeing that he was still so polite to him, Cai Qinghua's anger subsided. He followed them into the small tent. Wu Xiaojiu had already arranged the wine utensils and left. Wu Chengjian personally poured three cups of wine and raised his cup, saying, "Since ancient times, people have always used wine to bid farewell. Wu Chengjian has not read much and cannot write poems, but I wish Master Cai a safe journey."
Cai Qinghua did not refuse and drank a cup with him.
Zhou Yijin filled Cai Qinghua's glass and raised his cup, saying, "Master, fame and fortune are no longer important. My heart is in this cup."
The master and the disciple also drank together.
After two glasses of wine, the little misunderstanding was resolved.
Cai Qinghua thought about how he had lost power now, and even Lu Guanhuan didn't dare to come to see him off publicly. Instead, Wu Chengjian came and chuckled twice. But after all, he was a man who could make seven plans at one step. In a blink of an eye, he thought about it and said, "Hao Guan, you are a curious person. Now you want to burn my cold stove to leave a way out for yourself."
Although the words were not fully explained, the three people in the tent understood them all at once.
Fools in the world are easily blinded by the illusions before their eyes and cannot see through the crises and changes hidden behind the prosperity, but the three people in the tent are all wise and far-sighted. They can realize that no matter how successful Heshen is at the moment, the general trend is ultimately on Jiaqing's side, and everything is just a matter of time.
Wu Chengjian said, "I am not here to complain to Master Cai. Since Master Cai came to Guangdong, I have always treated him like a distinguished guest, right? Apart from matters that threaten the lives of our Wu family, I have also been fully cooperating with Governor Zhu, right?"
Cai Qinghua chuckled and said, "The Zhou family, who contributed a lot of money to raise money for building the ship, are your people behind it, right?"
Wu Chengjian said: "That was originally a relative of Yijin."
"You are thoughtful." Cai Qinghua said, "It is not enough to just rely on this to save your life! Haoguan, the emperor is the supreme ruler, and you cannot be fooled by a little favor. If you don't stand in the right position on the major issues, it will be useless no matter how many small actions you do."
Wu Chengjian said, "I know. So today I came to see Master Cai off, and I really did it just to see Master Cai off, not to stir up trouble. After all, you are Yi Jin's master, and putting aside those mundane matters, we can actually get along well, right?"
Cai Qinghua laughed, poured himself a glass of wine and drank it, then said: "That's right. If you put aside official business, you are a wonderful person. Otherwise, Yi Jin can't follow you. But the more this is the case, the more I want to advise you: if the building collapses, all the eggs will be intact. If you really want to protect yourself and your family, there are some things you should plan for."
Wu Chengjian said: "Master Cai, it's not that I don't want to turn from evil to good, it's just that the situation forces me to do so. But I will remember Master Cai's good advice in my heart, and if there is a chance, I will definitely turn back."
Cai Qinghua chuckled and said, "I'm afraid there may not be a place for you on this side by then."
Wu Chengjian said: "Some things, what we see with our naked eyes, may not be true. What people say may not be true. My heart has never been the same as Heshen's. I have always been loyal to the emperor and patriotic. I hope Your Majesty can know this."
"Who knows what you really think in your heart? Even if they know, so what!" Cai Qinghua sneered, "People's hearts are hidden. Although you, Wu Chengjian, are now popular in Yuehai Bay, you are nothing to the royal family. The emperor will not be interested in your thoughts. What he wants is loyalty, loyalty from the inside out, from actions to words. In this Qing Dynasty, without loyalty, there is no way to survive. You should know this better than anyone else!"
Wu Chengjian touched the wine glass and remained silent for a long time.
Cai Qinghua did not press him to speak. He had said so much, and as a friend, he had done the best he could.
Suddenly, Wu Chengjian said, "Master Cai, this world is no longer the same."
"Um?"
Wu Chengjian said: "From Guangzhou, if you go south, you will reach the sea. On the other side of the sea, there is another world. Beijing is located in the hinterland of the mainland, so it is often separated from the changes overseas. However, we, the Guangdong merchants, are the first people in China to see the changes in the world. Therefore, we can see it more clearly than the Chinese people deep in the loess inland: the world has become different."
"I don't know what you are going to say." Cai Qinghua frowned.
"There have been great changes in the West," Wu Chengjian said. "Their national strength is growing stronger day by day, and their fleets are riding the waves every day to compete for the benefits of the four seas. As for us, the nobles in the Forty-Nine Cities are either living a life of luxury and drunkenness, or amusing themselves with classics and history books. Not a single one is willing to open their eyes and see the world! The power of the royal family can decide our life and death, but if we cannot step out of this country, the emperor's power can play China in his hands, but I am worried that one day this deception will backfire, and even come back to haunt them."
Cai Qinghua's face turned pale: "Hao Guan, what are you talking about!"
"There is no fourth person here, and Guangzhou is not Beijing. Why are you so scared?" Wu Chengjian said, "The emperor wants to control the world, so he has to close the country to the outside world. However, closing the country to the outside world will only harm the country in the end. If there is only one country in the world, Qing, then it would be fine. But there is more than one country in the world. We are willing to stop, but others will not wait for us. One day, their strength will catch up with ours, or even one day they will come to our door. What will happen then?"
Cai Qinghua sneered: "Come to our door? Just rely on those tiny countries?"
"A small country?" Wu Chengjian took out a map and said, "Can Master Cai pass this thing on to Governor Zhu? Nowadays, scholars and officials either spend their whole lives studying Confucian classics or rolling in the arena of fame, wealth and power, but Wu Chengjian still hopes that some of them can take a closer look at the changes in this world."
Cai Qinghua asked: "What is this?"
Wu Chengjian said, "This is the latest world map. I spent a lot of effort to get it. If you can take a serious look at this map, I think Master Cai will not say anything like 'a tiny country' in the future. Master Cai, I have nothing else to say, but if Governor Zhu can see the painstaking effort I put into presenting this map, he should understand that I, Wu Chengjian, really care about the country, and that people who can think about the country in this way are truly loyal."
Cai Qinghua took the map and did not continue the topic.
The three of them drank a few more cups and talked about some insignificant things. Master Cai and apprentice Zhou also reminded each other of some family matters before saying goodbye. After getting on the carriage and driving a few miles, the servant came forward and handed over a small package, saying, "Wu Xiaojiu sent it quietly just now."
When Cai Qinghua opened it, he found some loose change, a few gold ingots, a few silver ingots, and some valuables. There were not many things, but they were enough for travel expenses. Cai Qinghua knew that this was a gift from a friend, so he accepted it.
