Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Chapter 267: Chapter 265: Surging Clouds

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

Liyang Commandery City, Drunken Creek Pavilion.

The same private room.

This time, He Zhangqiu was in no mood for music or dancing. He paced back and forth across the brocade-carpeted floor, agitated.

He kept glancing at the door, his face a mask of impatience.

Sun Bingyi sat to the side, cradling a long-cold cup of tea, his brow deeply furrowed.

CREAK.

The door was pushed open.

His bamboo hat pulled low, his straw sandals silent, Li Sanli, Vice Gang Leader of the Tuo Long Bang, entered without a sound.

He Zhangqiu rushed forward eagerly. "Gang Leader Sanli, what’s the news? Have you heard back from them?"

Li Sanli stopped and tilted his hat up slightly. "As Young Master He instructed, we spread the rumor that another buyer was interested and looking to raise the price."

"And them? How did they react?"

He Zhangqiu pressed.

"No reaction at all."

Li Sanli’s tone was cold. "Qian Laibao came to ask about the price again yesterday. He’s still only willing to offer seven taels of silver. He said if that price isn’t acceptable, then they’ll drop the matter entirely."

"What? Drop the matter entirely?"

He Zhangqiu was stunned for a moment, then a furious rage shot through him. His face instantly flushed crimson as he kicked over a nearby embroidered stool. "Fine! Fine! So this is the Chen Family! And that Zhou Shuwei, utterly shameless after I tried to be generous.

I’m not selling this silk anymore! I’d rather it rot in my hands than sell it to them! Let’s see what Zhou Shuwei hands over to the Textile Bureau! Let’s see how she dies!"

His chest heaved violently, a clear sign he was enraged to his limit.

This was the complete opposite of the scene he had envisioned, where his opponents would panic and be forced to buy at a high price. The humiliation of a failed scheme and a sense of uncontrolled fury nearly drove him mad.

Li Sanli watched with cold eyes. Only when He Zhangqiu had regained some semblance of composure did he speak indifferently. "Whether Young Master He sells or not is your business. But the Tuo Long Bang acted as the go-between, and my brothers don’t work for free. As we agreed beforehand, two taels of silver a bolt. That’s eighty thousand taels for our trouble. Not one coin less."

"What? Eighty thousand taels?"

He Zhangqiu whipped his head around and glared at Li Sanli, fire practically shooting from his eyes. "The deal didn’t go through, the price negotiation was a disaster, and you still dare to ask for money? Li Sanli, does your Tuo Long Bang think my He Family is an easy target?"

Before he could finish, a bone-chilling killing intent surged from Li Sanli like a tide, instantly enveloping the entire room.

He Zhangqiu shivered, the rest of his words catching in his throat. His face went from red to white as he subconsciously stumbled back a few steps.

Sun Bingyi stood up and grabbed He Zhangqiu’s arm. "Zhangqiu! Watch your words!"

He shot a meaningful glance at He Zhangqiu, then turned to Li Sanli with an apologetic smile, trying to smooth things over. "Gang Leader Sanli, please, calm your anger. Zhangqiu is young and impetuous. He spoke rashly. Please don’t take it to heart.

It’s just that this situation is truly unexpected. If you would allow it, perhaps we could first report to the master and ask for his decision?"

"My father?"

He Zhangqiu’s anger subsided slightly, but hearing that they needed to consult his father, his frustration and resentment flared up again. ’That self-righteous old man, setting up some half-assed scheme. The clever old bastard. Let’s see how he cleans up this mess.’

Despite his thoughts, he didn’t dare act out further. He suppressed his anger, grunted resentfully, and turned his head away.

The killing intent around Li Sanli slowly receded. He said coldly, "You hired us. Success or failure, you pay. Remember, if you’re short by even a single coin, I won’t let you off."

With that, he said no more, turned, and left as silently as he had arrived.

Inside the private room, only He Zhangqiu’s ragged breathing and Sun Bingyi’s sighs remained.

「That night.」

The Governor’s Mansion, in the study.

He Mingyun had just finished his official duties and was applying a hot towel to his face to ease his fatigue.

He Zhangqiu, still seething, reported everything that had happened at the Drunken Creek Pavilion earlier that day.

"...Father, that’s the situation. The Chen Family won’t yield to persuasion or threats. They don’t seem to care about this shipment of silk at all."

He Zhangqiu was furious, yet there was also a hint of schadenfreude over his father’s failed plan.

He Mingyun slowly removed the towel from his face and meticulously wiped his hands. His movements were unhurried, his expression unreadable. He simply asked faintly, "Has there been any unusual activity from the Chen Family recently? What have the spies reported?"

He Zhangqiu paused. "The secret letters from Jingshan all say everything is normal. Members of the Chen Family come and go, but there are no signs of any large-scale cargo transport. Besides, forty thousand bolts of silk is no small amount. If they were really moving it, there’s no way it could escape our notice."

"Everything is normal?"

He Mingyun lifted his gaze and glanced at his son. "Are you sure your spies haven’t been fooled?"

His father’s stare made He Zhangqiu uncomfortable. "They... probably haven’t been, right? They’re all veterans."

"There are only two possibilities. One, Zhou Shuwei has accepted her fate, given up on delivering the silk, and is preparing to face the legal consequences from the Textile Bureau. But according to the law, for breach of contract and debt, if family assets are insufficient to cover it, the person in charge faces indentured servitude at best, or exile and military service at worst. Since the Chen Family hired Zhou Shuwei, they would never stand by and let her fall into such a predicament."

He Mingyun snorted and tossed the towel into a bronze basin. "In that case, there’s only one other possibility... Your spies were likely discovered long ago. The ’normalcy’ they’ve been seeing is just what the other party wants you to see."

He Zhangqiu was still skeptical. "Father, that can’t be, can it? Forty thousand bolts of silk... even if you turned Liyang upside down, you couldn’t scrape that much together."

"Couldn’t scrape it together?"

He Mingyun turned, his expression growing serious. "Where are the thirty thousand bolts of silk the Zhou Family originally had?"

He Zhangqiu froze, his pupils contracting sharply. "Father, are you saying... the annihilation of the Liu Family... and Eunuch Liu... was the work of the Zhou Family and the Chen Family? That’s... that’s impossible!"

For the first time, a look of apprehension appeared on He Mingyun’s face. "I hope not, as well. But if it’s true... then the strength of this Jingshan Chen Family far exceeds our imagination."

He walked back to his desk and sat down. "Take my personal warrant. Go to the counties along the Lishui River and thoroughly investigate all records of major commercial goods entering or leaving in the past month. Get the Tuo Long Bang’s men moving at the river and land piers too. Hmph. If they think they can get that eighty thousand taels of silver so easily, they’re mistaken."

He Zhangqiu dared not delay any longer. "Yes, I’ll see to it at once."

After he left, the study returned to silence.

He Mingyun sat alone in the Grandmaster’s Chair, lost in thought.

...

「Five days later.」

In the evening, He Zhangqiu burst into the study, practically running, clutching several scrolls in his hand, his face alight with excitement.

"Father, there’s news! There’s news!"

He said urgently, "According to the waterway checkpoint records for Jingshan and the Lishui counties, there are no records of any large shipments from the Chen Family fleet in the past month, but..."

He paused, his eyes gleaming. "But there were ships from Bai Shixuan’s family. Bai Shixuan is Chen Li’s brother-in-law. He owns a Treasure Ship that docked at Zhuoyan Collection and Jiangkou Pier half a month ago. There are records of it loading and unloading cargo at both locations..."

Hearing his son’s enthusiastic report, He Mingyun, seated behind the desk, showed no sign of approval. In fact, his expression grew even gloomier than usual.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze utterly devoid of warmth, filled only with disappointment. "By the time you’ve found this, it’s already too late."

Stunned by his father’s unprecedented coldness, He Zhangqiu’s excitement instantly froze. He stood rooted to the spot. "Father... what happened?"

He Mingyun flicked a document from his hand, and the thin sheet of paper drifted down steadily in front of He Zhangqiu.

He Zhangqiu unfolded it, and his pupils contracted sharply.

The document’s text was concise, but every word struck like a hammer.

"Official dispatch from the Jiangzhou Textile Bureau to the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office: On the twenty-ninth day of the tenth month of this year, the Liyang Zhou Family has paid in full the forty thousand bolts of Official Tribute Silk owed. They have also voluntarily paid a late penalty of five thousand bolts of silk and two thousand taels of gold as a substitute payment. Upon verification, the accounts are settled, and the old debt is canceled. We request the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office to immediately release the Zhou Family’s seized assets. Do not delay."

"This... How is this possible?"

He Zhangqiu was aghast. "She... where did Zhou Shuwei get so much silk? Even... even if she got that shipment back, that’s only thirty thousand bolts. That leaves another fifteen thousand bolts! Where did the other fifteen thousand bolts come from?"

He snapped his head up to look at his father.

Seeing his son’s expression, the pent-up anger in He Mingyun’s chest strangely subsided.

He leaned back into his chair, a faint, inscrutable smile slowly spreading across his face. "Heh heh... The Jingshan Chen Family is no simple matter. This Liyang... is getting more and more interesting."

"Father, then... what do we do now?

He Zhangqiu was in a total panic, completely at a loss.

He Mingyun glanced at him, his tone returning to one of indifference. "What do we do? Didn’t they want to buy those forty thousand bolts of silk for seven taels a piece? Sell it to them."

"Sell it to them?"

He Zhangqiu’s eyes instantly turned red. "Father, our cost for that shipment works out to nearly ten taels a bolt. The Tuo Long Bang still wants their two-tael cut. Selling at seven taels? That’s a net loss of five taels a bolt! For forty thousand bolts, that’s a full two hundred thousand taels of silver! How... how can we do that!"

He Mingyun’s gaze turned cold. "The He Family can afford to lose two hundred thousand taels. Have the Grandmasters I asked you to have your older sister contact arrived yet?"

He Zhangqiu was taken aback for a second, then he suddenly understood. His expression shifted instantly from shocked anger to wild joy. "They’ve arrived. Three Grandmasters. I’ve settled them in the western courtyard. Father, you mean...?"

He Mingyun no longer looked at him, just waved a hand. "Go make the arrangements. Do it cleanly. Don’t leave any loose ends."

"Yes! I’ll see to it at once!"

He Zhangqiu’s spirits soared, his frustration finally vented.

’Who would have thought, after all this back and forth, my method was the one that worked in the end.’

...

Jingshan County Town, Kao Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

Qian Laibao hurried to find Chen Shouye.

"Shouye, wonderful news! Absolutely wonderful news!"

His voice was trembling. "The Tuo Long Bang... they’ve caved. They agreed. They’ll sell us all forty thousand bolts of silk at the price we offered, seven taels of silver a bolt."

He rubbed his hands together excitedly, his eyes filled with a greedy light. "Seven taels, Shouye! The market price for silk is at least twenty-five taels. Jiangzhou can’t absorb this much stock, so we can ship it north, or west. The shipping cost would be two or three taels at most. We could double our money in an instant! Pure, shining silver!"

But upon hearing this, Chen Shouye showed no hint of joy. His brow immediately furrowed.

’Seven taels?’

’They actually agreed?’

’When things are this unusual, there must be a trap!’

The more easily the other side conceded, the stronger Chen Shouye’s sense of unease became.

’This isn’t business at all.’

"We can’t agree to it."

The words left Chen Shouye’s lips almost without thinking.

He was a man of few words, but he was far from foolish. How could he jump into such an obvious trap?

"Not agree?"

The smile on Qian Laibao’s face instantly froze. "Shouye, my good brother! You have to think this through. This is a profit of hundreds of thousands of taels! It’s meat delivered right to our mouths, how can we not eat it? Besides..."

He lowered his voice, a note of fear creeping in. "Brother, I’ve spent all this time negotiating with those murderers, driving the price down so hard. Now that they’ve suddenly agreed, if we back out..."

With the Tuo Long Bang’s methods, this humble body of mine will probably be found floating in a river, feeding the fish, by tomorrow. And they’ll definitely hold a grudge against your family. These Jianghu types... they aren’t some righteous sect. They don’t play by any rules."

Chen Shouye fell silent.

Qian Laibao’s words, though born of selfishness, were not entirely without reason.

After a moment of contemplation, he stood up. "Brother Qian, this matter is too important. It’s far beyond my authority to decide. I must return home at once and ask my father for his judgment."

Qian Laibao also knew that Chen Li had the final say, so he nodded repeatedly. "Alright, little brother, go quickly and come back soon. The Tuo Long Bang is waiting for our answer! You must hurry!"

Chen Shouye delayed no longer, leaving the martial arts hall immediately and hurrying back to Lingxi.

「Two hours later.」

Lingxi, the study.

Chen Li listened quietly as Shouye explained the situation.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn,

"In that case."

Chen Li looked up, his tone calm. "Let’s buy it."

Chen Shouye’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.

He didn’t understand. Why would his ever-cautious father want to walk into such an obvious trap?

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