Chapter 272: 脱

Zu An was dumbfounded by her words. "You're going to a brothel too?"

Chu Chuyan shot him an annoyed glance. "Of course I'm not going. I want you to invite someone."

"Who?" Zu An asked, curious.

"Wang Yuanlong, the eldest young master of the Wang family," Chu Chuyan said with a serious expression.

Zu An scrutinized her with a strange look on his face. "You and this Young Master Wang aren't... involved, are you? I heard the Chu and Wang families have always been on good terms. Is this some childhood sweethearts drama? Ugh, why is my life so bitter..."

Damn it, if I'd known, I wouldn't have saved that guy from the Wang family at the Immortal Dwelling last time. I should've just let Chen Xuan beat him to death.

Chu Chuyan, both embarrassed and angry, grabbed his ear. "Stop your wailing! What could there possibly be between him and me? What kind of nonsense are you thinking all day?"

Anger +123 from Chu Chuyan!

Zu An's expression brightened. "Then why do you want to meet him, especially in a place like the Immortal Dwelling?"

"It's not me meeting him. I want *you* to meet him," Chu Chuyan corrected.

Zu An blinked, indicating he still didn't quite grasp what was going on.

Chu Chuyan then explained, "Today, Sang Hong convened a meeting with my father and several other prominent families in Brightmoon City, including the Zheng, Yuan, and Wang families. He mentioned that the imperial court is currently deploying troops against the northern barbarians, and military funds are running low. Therefore, wealthy merchants from all regions are needed to donate generously and contribute to the nation."

Zu An nodded, recalling that Chu Chuyan had mentioned the donations to him earlier.

"Because we just made a donation last year, even prominent families can't handle such frequent levies, so the major families were all quite reluctant," Chu Chuyan continued. "My father used the excuse of rampant private salt making it difficult to sell official salt, stating that he couldn't produce the money right away."

Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "I never expected Father-in-law, who usually seems so honest, to be so cunning."

"Is that how you compliment people?" Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately, that old fox Sang Hong had already anticipated our excuse. So, he offered to put Sang Qian at Father's disposal from now on, to fully suppress private salt."

Zu An sighed. "This must be the exchange of benefits you mentioned earlier: the Chu family makes a donation, and the Sang family reciprocates by helping to resolve the private salt issue."

Chu Chuyan nodded. "My father considered that the rampant private salt issue significantly impacts the Chu family's business. Sang Qian controls the River Defense Anti-Smuggling Camp, and with his cooperation, it would be much easier to eliminate those private salt groups. If we can use this opportunity to completely eradicate private salt, then making a reasonable donation is worthwhile. So, he agreed to donate 100,000 taels first, and then make up the rest after the private salt gangs are completely wiped out and our official salt sales increase."

"That sounds pretty good," Zu An thought, nodding inwardly. Chu Zhongtian truly lives up to his role as head of the family; though usually upright, he possesses all the necessary cunning.

"It was good, originally," Chu Chuyan sighed. "However, the Wang family suffered severe losses recently when their border merchant settlement was plundered by barbarians. A large portion of their liquid capital was diverted to remedy that situation, leaving them temporarily short on funds. So, they proposed that this particular donation not include them for now."

Zu An had previously heard her explain that in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the transportation, sale, and circulation of salt all required official salt permits.

And obtaining an official salt permit wasn't simply a matter of paying money.

Instead, one had to transport a certain amount of grain to urgent border war zones to qualify for purchasing a corresponding share of salt permits.

Many salt merchants found it inconvenient to personally transport grain to the border every time, which is where merchants like the Wang family came in.

Their primary role was to deliver grain to the border in exchange for salt permits, which they would then sell to other salt merchants.

However, transporting grain from the interior to the border was a long and arduous journey with incalculable losses, making the overall cost prohibitive. Therefore, these merchants chose to organize laborers to cultivate fertile land directly at the border, plant and harvest on-site, and then deliver the grain to the corresponding border garrisons nearby.

This method of land cultivation was known as merchant settlements.

"Plundered by barbarians?" Zu An murmured, "That's truly terrible."

"Yes, the Wang family indeed took a severe hit this time; they can't even afford such a crucial donation," Chu Chuyan sighed. "Sang Hong didn't say anything to him directly; instead, he offered a few comforting words. Yet, he then turned around and bestowed the Wang family's salt distribution rights in a nearby prefecture upon the Chu family, claiming it was a reward for families who eagerly contributed to the nation."

"Salt distribution rights?" Zu An paused, surprised.

After Chu Chuyan's explanation, he generally understood:

According to Great Zhou law, purchasing and transporting salt required salt permits. However, selling it required not only salt permits but also officially approved and granted salt distribution rights.

Salt distribution rights were equivalent to exclusive sales qualifications for a particular region. Only a family holding these rights for that area could legally sell salt.

Selling in a region where one did not hold the distribution rights was illegal. Not only would the goods be seized as illicit salt, but the selling family would also face severe penalties.

It was similar to how cigarettes were not generally allowed to be sold across different regions in his previous life.

Upon realizing this, Zu An immediately reacted, "Sang Hong's move is truly vicious. The Wang family is an ally of the Chu family, and his actions not only severely crippled the Wang family but also successfully drove a wedge between the two families."

At this point, he couldn't help but admire Sang Hong. From start to finish, Sang Hong hadn't spent a single soldier or even offered anything of his own; he simply used the Wang family's own assets to pit them against the Chu family.

The crucial point was that all of this was perfectly in line with Great Zhou law. The Wang family genuinely couldn't make the donation first, and the imperial court seized the opportunity to reclaim some of their salt distribution rights to reward eager donors. Even if the matter were brought to the capital, no one could find fault with it.

The Wang family could only swallow this bitter pill, their suppressed fury having no outlet but directed at the Chu family, who were, after all, the ultimate beneficiaries.

"Of course we knew this was his attempt to sow discord," Chu Chuyan said, her eyes filled with worry. "But knowing is one thing; it's hard for people to remain entirely rational. Because of this, many within the Wang family have voiced disapproval of the Chu family, believing we deliberately schemed to acquire their salt distribution rights."

"There are always some fools in every family," Zu An commented. "And Sang Hong must have secretly sent people to fan the flames. So, you want me to invite Wang Yuanlong to explain the misunderstanding?"

"It's more than that," Chu Chuyan replied. "Families like ours—the Chu, Wang, and Zheng families—are what you'd call main distributors. Regional retailers who come to our salt distribution centers to buy wholesale salt often pay a deposit a year in advance. After receiving these deposits, the main distributors then use the money for various operations, as it's essentially their income for the coming year, so using it early isn't typically an issue."

"But the problem this time is that the Wang family's salt distribution rights have been handed over to us by the authorities, meaning they must refund the deposits to all those retailers." Chu Chuyan's eyes showed deep concern. "Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a major issue. However, the Wang family's funds are already stretched thin due to the plunder of their merchant settlements. If they have to produce these deposits now, their financial chain might break, potentially leading to the complete collapse of the formidable Wang family."

Zu An listened, appalled. "This Sang Hong is truly ruthless. He only strikes to kill!"

"Precisely. But our Chu family naturally can't stand idly by," Chu Chuyan said. "So, I want you to host Wang Yuanlong at the Immortal Dwelling and secretly hand over those deposits to them, which they can then return to the retailers. This will be an opportune moment to resolve any resentment they might harbor."

Zu An's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! This strategy of deflecting a blow not only solves the Wang family's immediate crisis but also cleverly neutralizes Sang Hong's attempt to sow discord between our two families. I wonder which ingenious mind in your household came up with it."

"It's hardly brilliant," Chu Chuyan said nonchalantly, though a hint of pride couldn't be suppressed in her brows, clearly indicating she was the ingenious mind herself. "It's simply an instinctive response after years of witnessing the deceit and schemes of the business world."

Zu An couldn't help but smile. She was usually so cold; he never expected to see such a girlish side to her.

"But why does it have to go through me? And why choose a place like the Immortal Dwelling?"

Chu Chuyan explained, "Primarily, it's to maintain appearances. We just pleaded poverty to the imperial court, claiming we couldn't raise funds due to the rampant private salt issue. If we then immediately provide such a large sum to the Wang family, it would look bad for both the imperial court and the Chu family's reputation, and it would easily give political rivals an opportunity to attack us."

"Secondly, the Wang family is a prominent household in Brightmoon City. If word got out that they couldn't even manage this amount, it would easily damage their reputation and cause them to lose face. We need to be careful; otherwise, we might not only fail to achieve our goal of showing goodwill but also inadvertently create an enemy."

Zu An couldn't help but exclaim, "My dear wife, you're truly meticulous; you thought of everything!"

He also inwardly grumbled, realizing why she always seemed to detect even the slightest scent of another woman's perfume on him. It seemed he'd need to be extra, extra careful next time.

Receiving his compliment, a faint smile appeared on Chu Chuyan's face. "The third reason is that I heard you helped Wang Yuanlong at the Immortal Dwelling a few days ago. With that connection, Wang Yuanlong will also be more inclined to cooperate, preventing any unnecessary misunderstandings."

"More importantly, no one would ever expect us to entrust such a crucial matter to you."

Zu An immediately frowned upon hearing the last sentence. "Is that a compliment or an insult?"

Chu Chuyan's mood clearly brightened. She smiled sweetly, truly lighting up the entire room. "Don't you have any idea what kind of image you project to everyone?"

Zu An was speechless.

This woman's tongue seems to have grown sharper since she started spending so much time with me.

"Are we done with serious matters? If so, let's begin today's healing session," Zu An said, looking glum.

Chu Chuyan's face flushed slightly. After a long silence, she softly hummed in affirmation.

Zu An, with the air of a domineering CEO, looked at her coldly. "Undress!"