Immortal Travel of Longevity

"I'd heard the Prince of Yan prefers the company of men," Yunxiang said. "Seeing him today, those rumors might not be entirely baseless."

The scent of his cosmetics was overwhelmingly strong.

Chen Changsheng smiled wryly. "Since you came out of your way to ask about this, it seems the Prince of Yan really has swindled a significant amount of silver taels from the trading firm."

"Young Master Tang told me that over the past two years, at least three hundred thousand silver taels have gone missing in Yan Land," Yunxiang replied.

Chen Changsheng paused in surprise. "Three hundred thousand..."

That was far more than he had imagined.

"The grain trade in Yan Land makes up a massive chunk of the trading firm's primary business," Yunxiang explained. "Those profits accumulate piece by piece into an astronomical sum. Even the slightest shortage is glaringly obvious."

"You might not be able to get that silver back," Chen Changsheng noted.

Yunxiang offered a faint smile. "I never expected to get it back. I just wanted to give him a warning."

Before long, the Prince of Yan returned.

He had likely just taken a quick stroll around the manor before turning right back.

"Apologies for the wait."

The Prince of Yan stepped forward, handing over a ledger. "These are this year's accounts. Miss Yun, please see if anything is amiss."

Yunxiang flipped the ledger open and scanned the pages.

Some of the entries matched the records kept by the trading firm, but the details were vastly lacking. If someone tried to pick out the flaws, they could all be plausibly explained away. The tampering lay entirely in the labor costs and the volume of goods.

She had reviewed countless ledgers over the years and knew the trade intimately. A single glance told her this was a completely fabricated account book, prepared well in advance.

The ink marks all looked as though they had been written on the exact same day, and the handwriting was uniformly identical from front to back. Such a ledger could never be genuine.

The Prince of Yan naturally knew his forgery was incredibly clumsy. He simply smiled at Yunxiang. "How does it look?"

He had done it entirely on purpose.

It was a blatant declaration to Yunxiang: the ledger was fake, and the missing silver had indeed lined his pockets.

But even so, what could she do about it?

The Prince of Yan refused to believe the Tang Family Trading Firm would willingly abandon such a lucrative piece of meat. The grain trade in Yan Land brought in massive wealth. Furthermore, if they completely fell out over this, it would end in rivers of blood.

Yunxiang snapped the ledger shut. "Why present such an obvious forgery, Your Highness? Even a layman could tell these accounts are fake."

The Prince of Yan was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected her to speak so bluntly.

He chuckled. "Miss Yun, you would do well to think carefully before you speak. Once words leave your mouth, they cannot be taken back."

Yunxiang offered a gentle smile. "The year before last, we lost a hundred thousand silver taels. Last year, that number grew to over two hundred thousand. The sums are only increasing."

"From your tone, Miss Yun, it sounds like you believe I took this missing silver," the Prince of Yan said. "Can you guarantee it wasn't the people in your own trading firm who had sticky fingers?"

Miss Yun remained entirely unruffled. "At the end of the day, the missing silver vanished right here in Yan Land. I will naturally investigate the trading firm's side of things. However, Your Highness must also conduct a thorough investigation on your end so I can be put at ease. If you refuse, I will dispatch my own people to investigate. It makes no difference to me."

"You hold the accounts. Investigate as you please," the Prince of Yan replied.

Yunxiang shook her head. "This time, I insist on getting to the bottom of this."

Her gaze turned cold, carrying an aggressive edge.

The Prince of Yan suddenly realized something might be amiss. He furrowed his brows. "How exactly do you intend to investigate?"

"Upon arriving in your esteemed territory, we encountered a few unpleasant incidents," Yunxiang said. "Bandits blocking the road was one thing, but then your official soldiers demanded a 'tea fee' from us—a full hundred silver taels. I have to wonder how the Local Government in Yan Land operates, for them to act as despicably as common thugs."

The Prince of Yan paused slightly. "Such a thing actually happened?"

Yunxiang nodded. "Setting aside whose fault this loss of three hundred thousand silver taels is for the moment... if no answer can be found, then both sides should share the burden. Your Highness will cover one hundred thousand silver taels. How does that sound?"

The Prince of Yan was caught off guard; for a moment, he was holding a chess piece, unable to decide.

Did they truly intend to cut off their business in Yan Land?

How could that be possible?

The trading firm had spent years establishing their network here. What was three hundred thousand silver taels compared to the sheer profits they were currently raking in? Surely they wouldn't act so drastically.

Yet the Prince of Yan was equally unwilling to part with such wealth.

It was a massive sum of silver. Losing it would cause countless problems down the line, and finding new buyers for the grain would become incredibly difficult.

"Let us wait until this matter has been thoroughly investigated," the Prince of Yan finally said.

Yunxiang nodded. "I must also ask Your Highness to give me an explanation regarding those hundred silver taels."

The Prince of Yan was visibly displeased, but he agreed nonetheless. "I understand."

Yunxiang nodded. "Then I won't disturb Your Highness any longer."

With that, Yunxiang and Chen Changsheng departed from the Yan Prince's Manor.

The moment they were gone, fury surged into the Prince of Yan's eyes.

"How dare they!"

The Prince of Yan cursed, grabbing his teacup and violently smashing it against the floor.

Yet after his brief fit of rage, he forced himself to calm down.

He absolutely could not afford to lose this grain trade!

Being short on manpower was bad enough; he couldn't afford to be short on funds as well!

The Prince of Yan knew she hadn't come with the intention of completely severing ties. But he was terrified that the trading firm might decide to go all in, willing to sever their own arm just to deal him a crippling blow.

Regaining his composure, he ordered, "Longfu, have someone look into this Miss Yun. I want to know which other princes she has interacted with in the past."

If someone else was eyeing his business, things would take a very bad turn.

"Also."

A cold glint flashed through the Prince of Yan's eyes. "Find out exactly who collected those hundred silver taels. Drag every last one of them out and flay them!"

Then there was the matter of those hundred thousand silver taels.

The Prince of Yan had no intention of paying it until he had a firm grasp of their true attitude. He had done his own extensive research into the Tang Family Trading Firm. He refused to believe they would dare to move against him without solid evidence—which meant securing the real ledgers first.

If word of such a dispute reached the ears of the other princes, the trading firm's reputation would be utterly ruined. What other prince would dare to work with them after that? Their so-called trade routes would slam shut.

If it came down to that, no one would walk away unscathed!

As it stood, both sides had a grip on the other's weaknesses.

After leaving the Yan Prince's Manor, Chen Changsheng glanced at Yunxiang. "He probably still won't hand over the silver."

Yunxiang nodded. "He definitely won't pay it. This trip was nothing more than a warning. If things continue like this through the second half of the year, then we will indeed have to reconsider our position."

Chen Changsheng nodded slightly. "If the grain trade is cut off, how long can Yan Land hold out?"

"They wouldn't last half a year," Yunxiang replied.

The lifeline of Yan Land had long been held firmly in the grasp of the trading firm.

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