Chapter 25 – The Young Master’s Arrival to Settle Scores

Chapter 25 - The Young Master's Arrival to Settle Scores

With all the work done, Wen Ruan instructed the kitchen to serve everyone a meal that, while not lavish, was hearty enough to fill their bellies.

Given the circumstances, with everyone busy in the fields and no one left in the kitchen, it was fortunate that preparations had been made ahead of time. A few large pots of bone stew, some cold dishes with wild vegetables, and a selection of corn porridge, corn cakes, and corn steamed buns ensured that everyone could not only eat their fill but also enjoy something fresh and comforting.

After seeing to the guests, Wen Ruan sought out Luo Linchang. The old man had been working tirelessly for a day and night, and his fatigue was evident despite his bright eyes.

"You should rest," he said gently. "Later, I'll have someone take you to your room. You should sleep soundly first. We have plenty of time to chat, don't we?"

Luo Linchang hadn't been this excited in years. Not counting fights, he had been hot-tempered in his youth and had gotten into many scuffles. Now, even with Chen Yongan's cold demeanor, they could still clash. But what truly mattered was the joy of farming, finally understood by someone who could share in its pleasures!

This was a good child, one who knew how to farm, possessed talent, and could bring hope to others. Hope was such a precious thing...

"Don't worry about me; go to sleep. If there's any trouble, let an old man handle it. When you're rested, whether you want to chat or not, I'll find you!"

Luo Linchang had already taken Wen Ruan under his wing as if he were a nephew.

As for titles like Duke and surnames, he cared not at all: "If anyone bullies you or if there's something you want to do, just give a shout, alright?"

Wiping his mouth, he left with his hands behind his back, calling for someone to lead him back to his room to rest, needing no further assistance.

The porridge and cakes were excellent, soft, glutinous, and fragrant, satisfying and delicious. If this was made from today's corn... it was a matter of national importance!

Watching the old man leave, Wen Ruan returned to his room but did not immediately sleep. He reviewed the letters Nanxing had sent back.

Nanxing hadn't returned last night nor tonight, but messages continued to arrive.

Wen Ruan read through them all, understanding fully. Lying on his couch with closed eyes, he seemed to be resting but was actually deep in thought.

All was quiet, with only the sounds of insects at night, the wind gentle, unwilling to disturb sleeping dreams.

Wen Ruan didn't sleep long. After closing his eyes briefly, he rose, having organized his chaotic thoughts. Drinking a cup of strong tea, he called out, "Someone."

It was Liu Dahai who entered.

Wen Ruan was somewhat surprised. "You still have energy?"

"My young master, you arranged for others to work in shifts, resting in turns, remember?" Liu Dahai patted his chest. "I've just woken up, full of energy. It's you, my young master, who hasn't rested for two days straight. You really should get some proper sleep. Whatever you need, just tell me—"

Wen Ruan: "In that case, gather ten or so people and come with me outside."

Liu Dahai was stunned. "Ah?"

Wen Ruan: "Don't you have people under you?"

"Yes, yes!" Liu Dahai could still call upon a dozen men, but he asked, "Young master, aren't you going to rest? Where are we going at this late hour?"

Wen Ruan had already risen to put on his clothes. "Back to the city!"

Look at our young master's spirit! Who else could match his courage and inspire such loyalty?

Before Liu Dahai could shower him with flattery, he realized that his young master was already gone, moving swiftly!

Wait, no, why return to the city in the middle of the night? They wouldn't reach the city gates until they opened!

But there was no chance for a private question. In front of the others, he couldn't lose face or diminish the young master's dignity, so he remained silent, accompanying the young master without a word until they reached the city gates. Only then did he realize that they didn't need to wait for the gates to open because the young master had no intention of entering the city now!

Instead, the young master turned eastward, following the road out of the city, until they found an inn. Then, he kicked the door open and went inside!

Good heavens, my young master! This is the Yixi Inn, not a place to be kicked down so casually!

Liu Dahai was a step too slow to stop him. The troublemakers inside already had knives in hand. "Oh, here comes someone to cause a scene!"

Wherever there are people, there is a world of martial arts. Even in the most beautiful and prosperous places, there are dark corners where dirty deeds are done. This inn, located just outside the city gates, was a standalone building with no neighbors nearby, named Yixi, which was already a clear and bold statement. One must be cautious even during the day, let alone at night. And yet, here they were, visiting uninvited?

This location wasn't on the main road, slightly off to the side. It was a small base responsible for part of the area outside the city walls. After all, some things were inconvenient to do within the city. This inn had a background, making it not easy to provoke.

How daring of the young master! Does he know what it means?

Liu Dahai gritted his teeth. Fine, today, his life would end here, protecting his own young master!

Rolling up his sleeves, he was about to rush in—

Wen Ruan was undaunted by the muscular man with a knife. He shouted, "Have you considered how to apologize for defiling the ship of Chi Jianglong, the boss?"

One sentence silenced the other party. The muscular man, startled, lowered the knife on his shoulder respectfully. "My name is Hua Wu. May I ask who you are?"

Wen Ruan stared at Hua Wu, walking straight toward him, forcing him to retreat until his back hit the table. "Listen carefully. I'll ask only once. Where is the lamb you sent out last night?"

Goodness gracious!

Liu Dahai was on the verge of exerting himself when he least expected it!

He was prepared to die for his young master, ready to risk his life. In the blink of an eye, everything changed. Before he could react, his young master had already begun wielding a knife, directly lifting his robe, pressing Hua Wu's hand onto a stool, and plunging a dagger into the table with a flash of cold light. "Speak!"

"Ahh—"

Hua Wu cried out in pain, no longer courteous. "Where did this little brat come from, daring to ask about another's secrets? How do I know you're not lying—"

Wen Ruan approached, his gaze sharp like a blade. "It seems the reputation of Chi Jianglong, the boss, doesn't carry much weight. Will you give Master Ang's face any consideration? Hmm?"

Cold sweat dripped down Hua Wu's forehead, leaving him speechless.

Wen Ruan: "Your Yixi Inn received a 'lamb' last night, with the seller demanding it not remain in the local area. However, this morning, the canal traffic stopped, and the carriage services were reluctant to accept orders. The 'lamb' in your possession surely hasn't had time to be transferred elsewhere. Is that correct? Where is she now? If you don't speak, I'll have no choice but to talk to your boss. Someone will surely give Master Ang's face due respect. As for you, unwilling to do so, your life..."

Hua Wu: "I'll say! I'll say!"

Liu Dahai: ...

Heavenly Father, this isn't just Young Master, this is an ancestor!

So calling out some men was purely to bolster our presence?

Then I must play my role well, I absolutely can't let Young Master lose face!

Liu Dahai quickly gave his subordinates a few meaningful glances. Straighten your backs, look fierce, tighten your chests and backs, be like vicious wolves in the mountains, like me!

...

Tonight's restlessness didn't affect just one person.

In the Second Prince's residence, Zhu Bin was furious.

"What? Can't find it? Another day has passed, and not even a shadow of a person, where did Chen Yongan's seal go? Didn't we have clear intelligence that several parties wanted this, and that this transaction would give us the perfect opportunity? Now you're telling me you don't know?"

"I told you to investigate those corpses, see who had been there, but now you say that because they're all dead, and they were all expendable agents, you can't trace the source, can't determine who did it, and can't track them down. This won't work, that won't work, what good are you useless fools to me!"

"I've already made promises to Chen Yongan, how am I supposed to save face now!"

Zhu Bin smashed his teacup in anger.

The room fell silent, no one dared to speak.

Only Chen Gen, under pressure from everyone, slowly spoke up. "But Pan Peng's guard died, an expendable agent."

Zhu Bin: "Hm?"

Chen Gen: "Your Highness may not know, Pan Peng's expendable agent Wang Liu, said to be given by his father Pan Qiantian, was actually trained by the Pan family. He only listens to the head of his family's orders, doesn't care about anyone else's face. He's only responsible for protecting Pan Peng's safety, appearing when his life hangs in the balance, and doesn't concern himself with anything else."

Such expendable agents are very special. Their orders come from the Pan family, and the clues regarding Chen Yongan's matter clearly point to involvement with the Pan family.

Zhu Bin understood. "Your meaning is—"

Chen Gen went straight to the point. "Sixth Prince."

Zhu Bin narrowed his eyes. "It's normal for him to kill, Pan Peng did indeed provoke him, but if we only use this to deduce that he knows the secret and stole the seal, it's a bit hasty."

"Yes," Chen Gen said, "I'm merely considering the possibility of whether it will cause trouble for Your Highness."

"It won't," Zhu Bin laughed. "If this seal really ended up with my sixth brother, it would actually be a good thing. At least Third Brother wouldn't have gotten it, right? Sixth Brother isn't involved in politics, and wouldn't use it, so it wouldn't affect anything. It's just that once something enters his possession, it's hard to retrieve... "

He pondered deeply.

The more he thought about it, the higher the probability seemed. Although the Sixth Prince wasn't involved in political affairs, he had a bad temper and held grudges. Pan Peng provoked him, and he accepted the hunting game, so he would play it seriously. Being intercepted halfway by an expendable agent would definitely infuriate him, and make him feel resentful. Whatever belonged to this expendable agent, whether it was a relic or a secret, would have to be his. He likely got hold of this crucial seal, and while others might consider it important, he might not. But if someone directly asked for it, he certainly wouldn't give it, and the more they wanted it, the less he would give it...

We need to think of another way.

This matter can't be rushed.

Also, regarding silver and grain, he promised Chen Yongan that if he asked for help, he would replenish the silver and grain. But no one's money grows on trees, if he could find the batch that Chen Yongan lost, wouldn't he be able to save some blood?

"Hasn't Third Brother made any moves yet?"

His people found out that this matter was related to the Third Prince. What was strange was that usually, whenever something happened, Third Brother would stick close to him, never letting go. But this time, he was strangely calm, not in a hurry at all, as if he was sitting on a mountain watching tigers fight, waiting for the cranes and clams to struggle so that the fisherman could reap the benefits.

Chen Gen shook his head. "We only heard that he made an appointment at the Fu Long Money House to exchange bills for a large sum of cash."

Zhu Bin: "A large sum? How much exactly?"

Chen Gen held up his hand. "Fifteen thousand taels."

"How much?" Zhu Bin thought he heard wrong. A prince suddenly taking fifteen thousand taels in cash from a money house? What kind of situation was this?

Something was off.

Zhu Bin reined in his smile and slowly sat upright. "Where do you think the silver that's hardest to discover would be hidden?"

Of course, in a money house.

Money houses have huge daily transactions, their own silver vaults, and it's quite normal for them to store some silver for customers. Third Brother said he wanted to exchange bills for cash, but is this silver really his? Has he already gotten the bills? Or... are they being used as bait?

Among all his brothers, Third Brother was the most devious. He probably knew that he was watching, always throwing out false information. This time... was he pretending to be calm, not wanting him to notice, and intentionally leaving lighter traces for him to find?

Regardless of which scenario, it indicated one thing: Third Brother wasn't indifferent at all, he also wanted to win over Chen Yongan!

Zhu Bin regained his composure and smiled slightly. "Then let's just watch, and see how Third Brother plays this bill exchange game."

Chen Gen: "We can't just let others have their way..."

"Naturally," Zhu Bin thought for a moment and said, "you should leak the information about the seal being with Sixth Brother to Third Brother. Let him hit his head first, which will help to wear down Sixth Brother's temper. When it's my turn, things will be slightly easier. As for the grain, we'll continue searching. Now that we have the clue of the money house, the location of the grain is also obvious. Go check the granaries around the capital, especially those related to the Pan family..."

Chen Gen listened carefully to everything, nodded seriously, then worriedly said, "I'm afraid Sixth Prince won't hold out, and will give the item to Third Prince."

On this, Zhu Bin was confident. "Impossible. My younger brother is the hardest to deal with, trying to get something from him is harder than ascending to heaven."

Zhu Bin suddenly remembered that yesterday seemed to be Sixth Brother's birthday? Sixth Brother hadn't celebrated his birthday for a long time, he had forgotten. But why was he so calm this time, why hadn't he gone crazy?

Next, the master and servants discussed the future plans in depth, finding leverage points from both the big picture and specific details, formulating a comprehensive plan. By the time the sky was about to brighten, the tea talk was finally about to disperse, when new information was delivered.

Zhu Bin didn't hear clearly. "Who did you say? Wen Ruan, the young master of the Duke Wen's residence?"

"Exactly, this young master single-handedly challenged the Xi Inn outside the city, and entered the city early this morning. Due to the city gate obstruction, our people have only just found out..."

"As I said," Zhu Bin looked at Chen Gen, "this person is no ordinary fish."

Chen Gen stroked his goatee. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to take the lead and win this person's favor for Your Highness."

"That good-for-nothing, don't mention him," Zhu Bin was angry when he thought of Yu Zhen; this matter would require his master's help to clean up the mess in the future. "But I didn't expect that Wen Ruan would dare to single-handedly charge into Heiquzi..."

How could someone like this not have any backing? Before coming to the capital, who did he spend his days with, what connections did he make, and with what abilities did he leave these connections behind? Just a small flower soap? Impossible!

Chen Gen: "That Yixi Inn is connected to the Moon God Temple..."

A meaningful look came from Zhu Bin.

Chen Gen fell silent.

...

At the Sixth Prince's residence.

Zhu Yan watched as the black dog joyfully chased after the flowers thrown out to play. The flowers were pomegranate blossoms that Wen Ruan had picked in the mountains. After these two days of rough handling, the delicate petals and fragile stamens were long gone, leaving only the uniquely slightly hard calyx of the pomegranate flower. However, even if it was hard, it was limited, and it wouldn't be long before it would be completely destroyed, but the dog was still having a great time. As long as he threw it, it would happily run to fetch it.

"Your Highness, we've found out."

Lan Tian reported, "The disaster relief silver that Chen Yongan was robbed of is at the Fulong Money House. The disaster relief grain is also in the city or suburban granaries, but the exact location will require more time and clues. Minister Chen refuses to eat in prison..."

"What does it matter to me whether he eats or not?" Zhu Yan watched as the dog finally played the pomegranate flower to complete ruin, leaving nothing left to play with.

The dog dared to whine pitifully, wasn't it you who broke it?

Lan Tian: ...

"The exchange tickets for the Fulong Money House seem to be in the hands of the Third Prince."

Zhu Yan: "He doesn't have them; he's just bluffing."

He wanted to lure his good second brother into taking the bait.

Lan Tian: "The Fulong Money House is conveniently located in the bustling market, surrounded by various forces guarding it. No matter who it is, it's unlikely they can quietly take away this batch of silver. If Your Highness wants to act, a very good opportunity will be needed."

Zhu Yan casually tossed the seal he had seized from the mountains. "What do you think... if I give this thing to the Third Prince, how would it be?"

Lan Tian: ...

After all this hard work, secret planning, and dividing forces to seize this object, would it be given away so easily?

"The Third Prince will certainly be immediately excited and may push forward with his own plans right away."

"My prey, Pan Peng," Zhu Yan's knuckles lightly moved, and the small seal plate spun nimbly between his fingers. "Shouldn't it be time to move him as well?"

To always squeeze one person for everything...

Lan Tian felt it was very appropriate: "Since he is Your Highness's prey, he should naturally offer himself to Your Highness at any time and place, death is not enough."

If he doesn't move, then find a way to make him move.

"There's another matter..." Seeing that His Highness hadn't spoken for a long time, as if pondering some difficult problem, Lan Tian whispered, "The young master of the Duke Wen's Mansion... his personal attendant, using our name, has done some things. The young master himself, last night, attacked the Yixi Inn outside the city, and today he also entered the city, as if retaliating against the Duke Wen's Mansion for bullying him..."

"Hmm?" Zhu Yan's slender knuckles held the seal. "Isn't this, a very good opportunity?"

...

After an sleepless night followed by an unsettling morning, the Duke Wen's Mansion became lively again.

"It's bad—the young master attacked the Yixi Inn outside the city early in the morning, and now he's attacking the Le Feng Wine House!"

Everyone was currently paying their respects to the matriarch, and instantly fell silent, their vision going dark.

Good heavens, where did this reckless youth come from, how dare he do such a thing!

Where was the Le Feng Wine House? It sounded like a place for dining, and it did conduct business related to dining, but what it was better at was various covert operations. Surrounding gambling dens, brothels, money houses, and other businesses were all involved. They engaged in activities like loan sharking, illegal human trafficking, debt collection, taking money for jobs, and carried out tasks swiftly and cleanly. They had good connections and knew their limits, operating well in the capital for a long time. That Yixi Inn outside the city was one of their developed downlines. When the Duke Wen's Mansion sent people to cause trouble in Wen Ruan's fields, they placed the order there.

As for why they didn't use their own people... Of course, it was easier to deny responsibility and claim it wasn't something they did themselves!

But since Wen Ruan dared to attack the Heiquzi, he must have found out. What would happen if this order was exposed? Where would the Duke Wen's Mansion's reputation go!

Almost immediately, the people in the room began to shift blame onto each other.

"You should go and take a look. After all, he's your direct nephew." Lady Lu, who managed household affairs, looked gently towards Lady Zhou.

Lady Zhou smiled: "Look at what Second Aunt said. I'm not in charge, how could I possibly make decisions for our Duke Wen's Mansion? Even if I wanted to take responsibility, others might not recognize it either."

Little Lady Lu naturally supported her mother-in-law: "After all, Eldest Sister is the direct daughter-in-law of the main branch, with proper title and position."

Lady Zhou looked at Little Lady Lu: "If everything really depended on proper title and position, then indeed, I should bear all responsibilities. What do you say, Third Sister-in-law?"

She was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Duke Wen's Mansion's main branch, and according to propriety, she should be the head of the family. But the management of household affairs hadn't been handed over to her, regardless of whether it was due to lack of children, youth, or any other reason... If others dared to bring up this issue, she dared to cause a scene.

The matriarch, who had listened for a long time, finally lifted her eyelids slightly and glanced at Lady Wang.

Lady Wang understood and stood up. "But matters need to be resolved. If no one goes, will we allow our younger generation to disgrace us outside? Moreover, we need to see if the young master has been led astray by someone else... With such confidence, we should take a look."

In other words, they needed to know if Wen Ruan had gotten close to someone influential, to have a clear understanding before proceeding with their actions.

A method had to be devised...

The men of the family weren't capable, and even if they were, the situation wouldn't be like this. Letting them loose would only lead to more trouble. Since everyone was involved in the matter, they should all contribute to resolving it.

Lady Zhou and Little Lady Lu quickly exchanged glances, reaching a rare consensus here—

"What about the Le Feng Wine House accepting orders, we women of the inner quarters don't have the courage for such things."

"We don't have the ability either. There might be someone else causing mischief in this matter."

In any case, the residence must not be implicated—it's a classic tactic to shift blame onto someone else, a time-honored skill in internal conflicts. The Duke Residence is known for its doting affection towards the younger generation, always prioritizing their welfare. Similarly, the young are expected to hold their elders in reverence and respect. If there exists any misunderstanding amidst this—

There must be someone, harboring ill will towards the Duke's Mansion, sowing discord and fanning the flames of conflict.

"Come along, Third Sister-in-Law, let us go have a look," said Zhou Clan as she gracefully rose to her feet.

With utmost respect, Little Lu stood to the side, extending his hand, "Elder Sister-in-law, please—"