Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"I'm curious, Fifth Great-Uncle, what did you call me here for today?"

Shen Yuan asked while sipping his tea. He had to admit, this tea was something else. Even the top-shelf stuff at the teahouse didn't come close to this.

It was refreshing on the palate with a sweet aftertaste.

Xie Yulin stared at Shen Yuan; no one had ever dared to speak before him.

And he had the nerve to just sit there sipping tea?

Whatever, he’s just a kid after all.

"I called you here to tell you that the person behind the Xu family teahouse is a member of the Xie family. Dealing with some internal housecleaning will take some time. Due to their status, Song Zijun might have his hands tied. Therefore, for matters that Song Zijun cannot resolve in the future, you have my permission to seek me out."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a servant stepped forward with a square jade plaque.

"With this jade plaque, you may enter and leave the Xie family ancestral home. Don't come knocking for trifles."

Xie Yulin's voice was cold, carrying a hint of warning. Shen Yuan ran his fingers over the plaque; it felt warm and smooth to the touch. He looked up and smiled, "Fifth Great-Uncle has considered everything thoroughly. I'll follow your lead."

Looking at Shen Yuan's bright smile, Xie Yulin lowered his eyes to drink his tea.

If he didn't know the kid had just been out brawling with the secret guards today, this docile act of his might have actually fooled someone.

Shen Yuan left with the jade plaque. Immediately after, Xie Yulin gave an order: "Add more secret guards around Shen Yuan, as well as at Dashu Village and the teahouse."

The kid is still useful; let's make sure he stays alive.

Song Zijun escorted Shen Yuan back to the teahouse. On the way, he asked, "What did Master Yulin want with you, A-Yuan?"

Shen Yuan didn't hide it and pulled out the jade plaque. "He handed me this. He said if I encounter urgent matters in the future that you can't resolve, I can go directly to the ancestral home to find him."

"By the way, Brother Song, do you know about the internal affairs of the Xie family?" Shen Yuan asked with some concern. "Is Fifth Great-Uncle a big deal in the clan? Can he hold his own against the other factions?"

Song Zijun looked away from the plaque and asked with a smile, "Are you worried about Master Yulin's safety?"

Shen Yuan said honestly, "I'm just worried that if he loses, there'll be no one to watch my back."

Song Zijun shook his head helplessly and said with a complex expression, "If you had just said you were worried about him, and those words reached his ears, you could've milked that for a lot more."

"No way," Shen Yuan said seriously. "Didn't you instruct me not to tell lies? If Fifth Great-Uncle found out, he would surely be unhappy."

Song Zijun snorted, truly not knowing what to do with Shen Yuan. The kid was a loose cannon when he should be falling in line, and then perfectly obedient when you'd expect him to push back.

"I don't know about before, but now in the Xie family, Master Yulin’s word is law. Because of this, some people can't sit still and want to take this opportunity to strike at him."

Song Zijun sneered. "They think that if he messes up the task assigned by His Majesty, it will cause a rift between the Emperor and the Master. Yet they're scared to death of getting their own hands dirty, so they resort to these sneaky, indirect methods—which is why they targeted you."

Listening to this, Shen Yuan sighed, "Life isn't exactly easy for the old man."

A whole family of blood relatives, all dedicated to seeing him punished or even wanting him dead.

After all, in an era of imperial power, if one truly screwed up a task assigned by the Emperor, even if they didn't die, a rift would form. Once a crack appeared, it could never be mended, and one never knew which day or what incident might lead to their death.

Thinking of it this way, Shen Yuan felt that it was actually quite good for Xie Yulin to be so cold to everyone.

At least he wouldn't get his heart broken over relationship drama.

But *he* would go crazy if someone close to him betrayed him and wanted him dead.

Song Zijun didn't expect Shen Yuan to react this way and couldn't help but laugh. "I'll make sure Young Master Lin hears that."

He stared at the jade token still in Shen Yuan's hand and said, "Young Master Lin has never given anyone such preferential treatment. What you're holding isn't just a jade token—it's a pardon from death. Even if you commit a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations, this token can save the lives of all nine clans."

"So, A-Yuan, listen to Brother Song's advice," Song Zijun urged earnestly. "Show what you're capable of and let the young master see your value, so he'll pay more attention to you."

Shen Yuan scratched his head—he didn't have any special skills.

"Brother Song, you should bring me up less in front of Fifth Uncle," Shen Yuan advised. "Fifth Uncle probably doesn't like me much. If you keep mentioning me, be careful he doesn't start disliking you too."

Song Zijun thought this was odd. "Why would you think that?"

"It's just a feeling—like Fifth Uncle doesn't seem to care for me much," Shen Yuan explained, though he couldn't pinpoint why. Since childhood, he had always been keenly aware of who harbored goodwill toward him and who held malice.

Even if someone with good intentions scolded him harshly, he could sense it. Conversely, no matter how gently someone with ill intentions treated him, he could detect the falseness beneath the mask.

He trusted his intuition.

It was this sharp intuition that had allowed him, despite having no background or connections in his previous life, to make many genuine friends in the entertainment industry.

Song Zijun was indeed taken aback by Shen Yuan's intuition. Although Young Master Lin appeared cold and distant toward everyone, he particularly disliked those with "southern-style" inclinations—a fact the young master had deliberately made known years ago.

Previously, the shadow guards had investigated and suspected that Shen Yuan was attracted to men and had close relationships with many of them.

Even if the relationships appeared innocent on the surface, no one could spy under someone's bed every day.

Given Young Master Lin's nature of preferring to eliminate ten thousand wrongly rather than let one slip by, as long as Shen Yuan remained unmarried and childless, the young master would continue to deliberately keep his distance.

This was why Song Zijun had been so shocked when the young master said he wanted to see Shen Yuan today.

Even more astonishing was that the young master had actually given Shen Yuan a jade token.

Wasn't he supposed to dislike him?

Could it really be just to ensure Shen Yuan's safety?

Song Zijun couldn't figure it out—Young Master Lin was truly unfathomable.

He gazed at the jade token in Shen Yuan's hand, lost in thought.

After seeing Shen Yuan to the Ji Family Teahouse, Song Zijun prepared to leave.

Before departing, he handed Shen Yuan a bone whistle. "Blow this if you're in danger. The shadow guards will hear it."

Shen Yuan examined the bone whistle. "This isn't something Fifth Uncle asked you to give me, is it?"

If it were, he would have received it directly at the Xie family ancestral home.

Song Zijun smiled and nodded. "This is my bone whistle, but keeping you safe is my duty. In these troubled times, an extra layer of security for you means I can sleep a little more peacefully."

Shen Yuan accepted the whistle and patted Song Zijun's shoulder. "Thanks, Brother Song. I'm off now!"

"Take care."

Shen Yuan was once again so busy that his feet barely touched the ground.

Not only did he have to write *Love Between Human and Ghost* every day, but he also had to train the newly recruited storytellers.

There were two groups. One group of about thirty people was sent by Song Zijuan. The other group consisted of ten servants from the Ji family. Ji Mingfeng wanted to keep things as much in his own hands as possible to prevent other families from poaching them once they were trained.

Those selected were quick-witted and articulate, so Shen Yuan found them easy to teach, which was a relief.

The ones sent by Song Zijuan had already received some training and learned even faster than the Ji family servants. Moreover, the version they were learning was simpler. A few standout learners were so good that Shen Yuan grouped them together; he taught the top performers directly, who then taught the others. Therefore, although there were many people, teaching them was still manageable.

Wang Sanhu handled the Liu Family Teahouse, and Fang Zaoshang the Xu Family Teahouse.

Including the Ji Family Teahouse, each of them had to give four performances a day.

Since Wang Sanhu and Fang Zaoshang were the only storytellers at the Liu and Xu Family Teahouses, they split the tips from each session fifty-fifty, earning forty to fifty taels of silver per session.

Earning over a hundred taels a day, the two of them felt like they were walking on air.

This money was all theirs to keep.

Wang Sanhu and Fang Zaoshang wanted to give some of it to Shen Yuan. Without him, they could never have earned so much money in their whole lives.

Wang Sanhu, in particular, felt this very strongly.

However, Shen Yuan didn't take it; he didn't need the money at all now.

Instead, he advised the two of them to make hay while the sun shines and save up as much as they could.

As more storytellers joined later and the scope of storytelling expanded, it would be impossible to maintain the current level of tips.

"You two aren't married yet. Save up more for your future weddings. You really don't need to give me anything. If you want to thank me, help me train the newcomers when you have time so I can take a break," Shen Yuan said with a weary groan. "I've been dead on my feet these past few days."

The two thought about it and realized that no matter when they returned lately, Shen Yuan was always busy.

They had a pretty good idea of how much Shen Yuan earned from tips and his share of the steamed milk custard profits. He really wasn't short on silver.

They could only tuck this debt of gratitude away in their hearts for now.

At the same time, they also began taking the ten Ji family servants to their respective teahouses, using their spare time between sessions to teach them and letting them listen to the performances to observe the emotions and tones.

Shen Yuan’s load lightened considerably. However, he wasn't one to sit still for long. Just as he caught his breath, Ji Xingwang came in looking worried and said, "The Chen family has stopped the tea merchants in the county from selling us tea."

"Are we buying our tea from the Chen family?" Shen Yuan asked. "What about our merchant caravans? Don't we have other suppliers?"

Ji Xingwang sighed. "We used to, but after connecting with the tea merchants in the county, those channels were cut off. If we want to reconnect now, it will take at least three months to get supplies."

Here, merchant caravans traveled by horse and couldn't travel day and night. The journeys took forever. Moreover, connections and channels needed to be maintained. Once cut off, trying to re-establish them required throwing money at the problem, and it wasn't even certain you could meet the right people.

Doing business here was a completely different system from doing business in his previous life.

Goods couldn't be bought just with money; you needed connections.

Ji Xingwang didn't know the deeper reasons, but Shen Yuan did. The Chen family probably wasn't behind the supply cut; someone else was pulling the strings.

But what would shutting down the Ji Family Teahouse accomplish?

Soon, Wang Sanhu and Fang Zaoshang returned with a group of storytelling apprentices, all with long faces.

"Manager Liu has been taken away by the authorities," Wang Sanhu said anxiously.

Fang Zaoshang was also frantic. "Manager Xu has also been taken away by the authorities."

Shen Yuan was just thinking of going to the yamen to check the situation and ask Ji Ping'an for news when he saw Ji Ping'an enter with a dark expression. He took Shen Yuan upstairs to the second floor.

He said grimly, "The Liu Family Head and the Ji Family Head have been imprisoned for trafficking in private salt. Given the amount, it's likely their families will be ruined and they'll be put to death."

"What!" Shen Yuan frowned. "That's too much of a coincidence! Doesn't Magistrate Pang investigate?"

At the same time, for the same reason, the heads of two families were arrested.

And at this critical juncture, it was obvious someone was behind it. As for who it was, he didn't need to guess.

Ji Ping'an's brow was tightly furrowed. "Magistrate Pang claims to be ill and says this case is too significant, so it must be handed over to a superior official for trial."

"Prefect Wang is from the Xie Clan Second Branch. This incident was a setup. It's also a warning to our Ji family, forcing us to choose sides. Whether to stand with Fifth Uncle or with the Second Branch."

Shen Yuan asked, "Brother, didn't sister marry someone from the Xie Family Second Branch?"

Ji Ping'an was restless and irritable, like a trapped beast. "She's a concubine of a grandson from the Second Branch."

Shen Yuan's heart sank. This meant they already had a life in their hands.

In that case, the Ji family had no reason to stand on Xie Yulin's side. The fact that the Xie Clan Second Branch hadn't moved against the Ji family yet was already giving them face.

"Xiao Yuan, I have many brothers and sisters, but since childhood, the only ones I could ever see were my sister and my deceased younger brother." Ji Ping'an propped up his forehead, his voice low and hoarse. "I really don't know what to do."

Choosing Xie Yulin would mean his sister would die.

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