Chapter 200: Scheming (Part 1)

Chapter 200: Scheming (Part 1)

When it comes to travel, it's always better to leave sooner rather than later.

Moreover, according to the almanac, today was indeed an auspicious day marked as "good for travel."

So Le Wuya no longer kept him.

In the biting chill of early spring, Le Wuya led the horse for Wen Renyue as they headed out together.

Wen Renyue protested: "The carriage to the capital was booked before the new year. I can just head straight to the transport depot. Keep the horse—you've got your own uses for it. Why waste it on me?"

Wen Renyue wasn't just being polite out of modesty.

Lately, Le Wuya had been planning to form a cavalry unit and was pulling out all the stops to hunt down fine horses.

Horses were always pricey, and good ones were one in ten thousand.

But Le Wuya insisted on bringing out one of the best and pressing it into his hands.

Le Wuya loved to look sharp, and after living a second life, with all that fiery vitality, he was even more of a peacock. He was only wearing a thin padded jacket, and now that he was out in the cold wind, the tip of his nose and his neck quickly turned slightly red, which actually looked kinda charming.

But that didn't stop him from laying into Wen Renyue: "Don't even start! You should've headed to the capital right after the provincial exam to prepare for the metropolitan exam, but you went out of your way to come all the way here to me. If you get delayed on the road, I'll bite you to death! And the transport depot? What kinda place is that? Those brokers, boatmen, carters, and porters—guilty or not, they all deserve death! If you run into someone eyeing your silver, they'll drag you off to a bandit's den and make you their bride—then you'll learn your lesson! You're carrying a lot of silver, and I'm giving you the horse 'cause I'm worried someone might target you. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!"

Wen Renyue laughed at the scolding: "Alright, alright, Brother Gu's the best."

Le Wuya insisted: "Call me Brother Lü—Lü as in Lü Dongbin."

Wen Renyue, ever good-natured: "Woof."

Only then did Le Wuya burst out laughing and start going over the precautions for after arriving in the capital.

Once in the capital, Wen Renyue would need to find a clean, convenient inn to rest up, regain his energy, stock up on practical exam supplies, and get used to the capital's climate and customs.

In short, dawdling on the road wasn't exactly smart.

Wen Renyue watched Le Wuya, who was chattering away while shivering and tucking his hands in, and felt warmth surge in his chest, a faint glimmer at the corners of his eyes.

"Even a thousand-mile send-off has to end with a goodbye." Wen Renyue could never stand to see him cold or hungry, so he took off his scarf and wrapped it around him, dabbing at his eyes as he did. "Besides, it's freezing..."

Le Wuya cut him off: "Stop, stop. Who said anything about sending you a thousand miles? Dream on. I've got a ton of stuff to do. Sending you five hundred feet is about right. There's a new breakfast place over there selling top scholar cakes. I'll grab some and head back. You eat your fill and get going early."

Seeing that he had his own plans, Wen Renyue didn't try to talk him out of it and smiled gently: "That's good then."

"They say to carry more silver on a long trip, but the world isn't exactly peaceful these days. Dad left fifty taels, which is enough for the road. I won't bother adding more to your stash..."

With that, Le Wuya pulled out two Thunderclap Bombs and pressed them into his hands.

"If you really run into trouble, quietly light 'em with a fire starter and toss 'em out. Within ten feet, it's mutual destruction; within fifteen, both sides get messed up; if you can chuck 'em past twenty-five feet, you're a god come down to earth." Le Wuya gestured wildly. "Then you can put on a show, chanting 'Urgent as the law commands,' and scribbling nonsense in the air—they'll definitely think you're the Thunder God reborn—"

Wen Renyue zeroed in on the key point: "...Didn't you say they didn't have fuses?"

Le Wuya: "..."

He turned his face away and whistled, acting like nothing had happened.

Wen Renyue was half exasperated, half amused: "Brother Gu, you..."

He really wanted to grab this guy and mess up that pretty, infuriating face.

Le Wuya, though, was sharp and quickly caught on to Wen Renyue's bad intentions, hastily saying: "Look closely."

Wen Renyue pulled himself together and looked closely, seeing that each Thunderclap Bomb had a line carved into its shell.

One read "Be reborn into a good life," and the other read "See you at Naihe Bridge."

Wen Renyue was torn between laughter and tears: "Brother Gu, these two things... weapons... instruments of war—can they even get into the capital?"

"Of course not. Once you're near the capital, find a deserted pond, fill these with water to destroy 'em, and that's that." Le Wuya stood in front of a steaming steamer basket, staring at the sticky, sweet top scholar cakes, yet speaking in cold, detached words. "These two things can handle thugs, but they can't handle the open and covert scheming in the capital."

With that, Le Wuya tucked a piece of hot cake wrapped in dried lotus leaves next to the horse's saddlebag: "I won't see you off any further. With me around, this trip of yours probably wouldn't be peaceful."

Wen Renyue stared at him for a long time.

That warmth, stewing in his chest for so long, tasted as lingering as fine wine, yet also had a bitter, sour edge.

He asked, polite and restrained: "Brother Gu, can I hug you?"

Le Wuya, hearing this, casually stood on his tiptoes and hugged him first: "Let me share some good luck with you!"

Then, putting on a Nanting accent, he deliberately tried to make him laugh: "I'm blessed, I tell ya."

Wen Renyue laughed, just as he'd hoped.

Brother Gu probably understood what he meant.

So he gave him his answer.

This was fine as it was.

In a merchant's way of thinking, getting a hug meant coming out ahead.

...

After the lively Lantern Festival, Tongzhou City shook off its previous decline and gradually flourished.

And after the Lantern Festival, Le Wuya, using the excuse of revitalizing traditional culture, started planning the "Dragon Head Festival" for the second day of the second lunar month.

Although, according to the prefectural records, the "Dragon Head Festival" was a traditional holiday in neighboring Prefect Qiao's Jizhou.

But as Le Wuya put it: whoever throws the bigger party owns it.

The justification was also ready-made: a prefect has a duty to educate the people and encourage farming and sericulture.

To avoid anyone using the word "dragon" to cause trouble, Le Wuya named this zero-year Tongzhou traditional festival the "Full Granary Festival."

The main street of Tongzhou hosted a "Biting Spring Market," selling spring pancakes, noodles, and pork head meat, while the main event was teams funded by wealthy households competing in the "Spring Dance Gathering," featuring fish dances and lion dances, symbolizing "abundance year after year" and "auspicious blessings."

Whichever fish or lion dance team could pluck the green seedlings representing a bountiful harvest from a high point would win, and their household would get an extra 20% off their commercial taxes.

With such generous rewards on the line, the wealthy households eagerly signed up.

The surrounding common folk, having reaped real benefits from the Lantern Festival festivities, were even more enthusiastic about preparing for the celebration.

Amidst all this thriving activity, over a dozen newly opened textile mills quietly showed signs of decline.

Correspondingly, the name "Tonglu Snow," which had previously only been well-known around Tonglu, grew louder and louder.

As the new year approached, Qi Hongzhuang declined to renew her contracts with the various warehouse merchants.

The long-prepared Tonglu Cloth Shop officially opened, and merchants came in an endless stream to purchase cloth in bulk.

Le Wuya, seizing the opportunity, presented "Tonglu Snow" as New Year gifts generously to his fellow prefect colleagues.

The colleagues accepted them gladly.

Firstly, Le Wuya handled matters with finesse and was riding high, so the prefects were happy to show him some respect.

Secondly, the quality of "Tonglu Snow" was indeed exceptional—whatever was added to it, the color came out crisper and brighter than other fabrics, and it never faded.

Officials' wives and daughters adored it, and as spring approached, they had garments made from it for outings, spring excursions, and banquets alike.

"Tonglu Snow" gained widespread fame around Tongzhou, and soon it became all the rage.

One day, Qi Hongzhuang came by with her profit share and reported to Le Wuya on recent operations: "The branch operations have been doing well lately. We've released several new tie-dye patterns, just right for selling to ordinary folks for spring clothing. The ladies will have to wait until the floral and bird pattern blocks are printed—by the time the new patterns are ready, it'll be summer, the perfect time for redoing wardrobes."

Le Wuya stared at the dividend sheet, eyes gleaming as he calculated how many more horses he could buy, nodding absently.

Seeing him so fixated on the money, Qi Hongzhuang was about to laugh when Le Wuya said with a smile, "You didn't come all this way for nothing. Lady Qi, if you've got something to say, spill it."

"Indeed, there's an important matter I need to discuss with you." Since he was being direct, Qi Hongzhuang got straight to the point. "I'm running low on base cloth. I only have about a hundred bolts left in reserve."

Le Wuya rested his chin on his hand: "Lady Qi, I don't know much about business. How is this different from the indigo affair last time?"

"Different—this time it's big." Qi Hongzhuang said. "Thanks to you, orders have surged recently. All my workshops are running at full capacity, and base cloth is running short. In the past, I'd send people out along the main roads to buy up base cloth, and that would solve the problem right away. But I've sent out over a dozen crews, and they've come back with almost nothing."

Le Wuya raised an eyebrow slightly: "That's strange. Tongzhou's weaving industry is thriving—how could there possibly be no cloth?"

Qi Hongzhuang said, "Indeed, it's odd. According to reports, those mills that produce base cloth either refuse to sell or claim they're sold out. The cloth I've managed to collect is all from individual weavers, of inconsistent quality—only a little is usable."

Le Wuya dragged out an "Oh."

This was indeed a different level of severity from the indigo-buying incident.

The worst that could've happened then was Qi Hongzhuang dropping that family's indigo and taking a small hit to her brand's reputation.

This time, it looked like they wanted to put her out of business completely.

Qi Hongzhuang had a steady, unflappable nature—she stayed calm in a crisis and could lay out the pros and cons point by point: "This isn't like the old days when I was just running a small dyeing operation in Tonglu County. Back then, I sold whatever I printed, and I always had enough cloth in stock to break even. Even if base cloth ran short, selling less was no big deal. But now sales have surged, including out-of-town orders from people who've heard of us. If we can't deliver on time..."

Le Wuya got the general idea: "With a hundred bolts, how long can you last?"

"Roughly twenty-some days, and then we're out of cloth."

Le Wuya stroked the small mole below his lip, a shrewd glint in his eyes: "Whose doing is this? You know?"

"I do." Qi Hongzhuang watched his fingers trace his lip. "Luan Yuqiao. The Luan family is a big name in the textile trade north of Tongzhou. Their best-selling brand is 'Jade Bridge.' Zhang Kai, grandson of Grand Secretary Zhang Xie, partnered with Luan Yuqiao to run a mill and holds a forty percent stake in the 'Jade Bridge' brand."

"Ah, I've heard of them. With you expanding so aggressively, they're bound to be unhappy. This guy's not easy to deal with, is he?"

"No. I've gone by with gifts several times, but the heads of the Zhang and Luan families always pretend they're not home."

Le Wuya leaned back and said lazily, "I see."

He pressed the mole under his lip, looking thoughtful: "First, tell your people that 'Tonglu Snow' is in high demand—every store, local or out-of-town, can only sell half a bolt—twenty zhang max—before noon, and nothing after noon. Cut back on how much you ship. As for the cloth supply..."

He looked up with a handsome smile: "I'll come up with something for you."

...

Zhang Kai's residence was nothing like the typical Jiangnan courtyard.

Jagged rocks jutted out, white sand spread like seas, dead branches stood in for trees, with patches of dark moss here and there—very Zen.

And in this temple-quiet calm, a gray donkey lay slumped outside the courtyard, soaked in blood, eyes full of tears, blood pouring from its belly and freezing into bright red patches on the ground.

The steward lifted the door curtain, letting out a wave of warm air.

He told the cook, who was watching a pot of boiling water and holding a sharp knife: "Drag it out and butcher it. This beast is bothering the honored guests."

The half-dead donkey was quickly hauled away.

Inside, a dozen or so shop managers listened as the donkey's wheezing and groaning faded away, and only then did their faces slowly relax.

This was the "Jade Bridge" brand's annual start-of-work banquet, but this year the mood was a bit heavy. The managers of the dye works and cloth shops each had their own worries and complaints weighing on them.

At the head table, Luan Yuqiao looked perfectly normal, eating and drinking as usual, even pausing with his chopsticks to say: "No wonder they say gentlemen keep their distance from the kitchen. This 'live-cry donkey' is novel and exciting, but it's hard to listen to."

As he spoke, chunks of fresh red donkey meat bobbed up and down in the hotpot.

Meanwhile, Zhang Kai, hosting at the head table, wore the same grim expression as everyone else, as if weighed down by something.

He casually picked up a piece with his chopsticks, tore off a strip with his white teeth, found it still raw and streaked with blood, and dropped the meat back into the boiling pot.

Luan Yuqiao, familiar with Zhang Kai, joked: "Master Zhang, you can't eat hot donkey meat in a hurry."

Zhang Kai said coldly: "I've been too hungry lately. All the meat's been eaten by that Qi woman. The new mills that sprang up—they've collapsed or scattered, and the brand-new looms and skilled embroideresses have all fallen into her hands. How can I not be anxious?"

Luan Yuqiao comforted him: "Good Master Zhang, you can't blame others for this. Tongzhou has nothing else going for it, but the weaving industry is the one thing that's decent. Those newcomers charge in blindly—no brand, no technique, no channels. Even with silver and connections, if they don't know how to use them, it's all wasted."

With that, he picked up the piece of donkey meat Zhang Kai had bitten into, now fully cooked, and solicitously placed it back in Zhang Kai's bowl: "Good Master Zhang, rest assured—what's yours will always be yours. That Qi woman has eaten so much meat; when the time comes to bleed her, it'll be all the more satisfying, won't it?"

Zhang Kai perked up: "What do you mean?"

"She's the new upstart, we're the old guard. Every cloth merchant within a hundred li knows us. Her? Who even knows her name! These people are all in our pocket. Lady Qi has no cloth—no matter how cleverly she dyes or beautifully she prints, she's a grasshopper after autumn—she won't last long!"

Zhang Kai frowned: "That doesn't add up. Doesn't she have maritime shipping permits? She could go to the coast to buy."

Luan Yuqiao replied with a smile: "Master Zhang, her Qi family fleet hasn't been built yet. To go by water, she'd have to use someone else's ships—and with the shipping costs, travel expenses, and labor added up, it'd bleed her dry. She can only go by land now, and if she truly travels a hundred li to buy cloth, she'd lose her entire fortune!"

Zhang Kai's brow relaxed: "Oh... no wonder I heard she went running to our little prefect again."

"To him?" Now Luan Yuqiao was puzzled. "Can Prefect Wenren use public resources to help her?"

Luan Yuqiao was skilled in business, but Zhang Kai, being the grandson of former Grand Secretary Zhang Xie, knew the ins and outs of officialdom inside out and had sharp ears: "Doesn't he still have twelve hundred bolts of base cloth in his government storehouse?"

Luan Yuqiao was startled: "Opening the public storehouse for private gain? Where does he get such audacity?"

Zhang Kai said calmly: "Wei Yixian has fallen, the new Assistant Prefect isn't yet a force to reckon with, and Assistant Prefect Mu follows his every word. Tongzhou from top to bottom is his to command. That's his audacity."

"He's been pushing these festivals now, trying to rope us gentry and wealthy households onto his boat, aligning our interests with his. Think about it—if I had our people cause trouble on the second day of the second month, ruin his celebration, stop his tax breaks, and spoil everyone else's plans, then we'd become the target of everyone's resentment."

"This is a good opportunity." Zhang Kai raised his wine cup, the clear liquor shimmering, reflecting the sharp glint in his eyes. "Keep a close watch on him. If he really dares to open the public storehouse to help Lady Qi, then his good days are numbered."