Chapter 38: Selection

At Bright Cloud House, a waiter with a numb expression and a pockmarked face caught up with the madam, Feng Chi, on the stairs. Understanding his intent, she took a few steps to the staircase corner, turned into a nearby corridor, pushed open an empty room, and entered.

As soon as the door closed, the waiter handed her a note.

Feng Chi opened the note and let out a surprised "Oh." "Just out of the Land of Exile? Shi Chun... so it's not 'Si Chun' (Yearning for Spring)," she mused, frowning. "This is really hard to confirm. The Land of Exile isn't a place one can freely enter or exit to gather information. Besides those from the Broadview Tower, only the City Guards of Life Prison have relatively easy access." She shook her head. "Never mind, I'll find a way to confirm this myself."

With that, the waiter silently left.

After leaving the Broadview Tower, Shi Chun looked back at Wu Jinliang, who was following him with a dejected look. He knew the fellow was currently immersed in the frustration of a difficult choice.

It was precisely because Wu Jinliang might make such an unwise choice that Shi Chun had revealed the secret of the shimmering purple nebula within his body and taught him the secret technique to break paralyzing talismans, ensuring he wouldn't be caught off guard at crucial moments. This was despite Wu Jinliang already being aware of the purple nebula's existence.

Currently, the three people around him were old brothers from East Nine Province, but there were some secrets he wouldn't tell Old Dong and Big Stone.

He knew very well that if faced with the kind of choice they'd just seen, Old Dong and Big Stone would surely choose to align themselves with the more advantageous side, like a wise bird choosing its tree.

He didn't think there was anything wrong with their choice. If he couldn't offer them something better, and then stopped them from making a better choice for themselves, whose problem would that be?

As long as they didn't encounter similar choices, the old brothers from East Nine Province were generally more reliable than outsiders, as evidenced by the present moment.

Old Dong still quickly approached Shi Chun, tugged at his sleeve, and earnestly warned, "It would certainly be good if you could earn those fifty thousand gold from Bian Weikang, or even double it to a hundred thousand. But Miss Miao was right; no one in Sunlit City dares to snatch Lu Taizhen's woman, not even the City Lord would pull such a stunt.

News of this has most likely reached Lu Taizhen by now. It's no longer safe for the two of you to wander around; you could be in danger at any moment. This place isn't like Zhixu City. Although there are rules, it's hard to restrain powerful and influential people here; they truly dare to act discreetly within the city."

Shi Chun looked surprised to hear this. "Who said I wanted to earn Bian Weikang's money? He's so poor he needs a woman to support him. What money could he possibly have for me to earn?"

Old Dong and Big Stone were both taken aback, while the previously crestfallen Wu Jinliang actually chuckled.

Shi Chun added, "Don't worry, Lu Taizhen still wouldn't dare to touch me right now."

These words made the two Broadview Tower employees sigh. Big Stone sighed, "Boss, forgive me for saying something you won't like, but in his eyes, you're nobody. He really would dare to touch you!"

"Not yet, at least," Shi Chun said, running a finger over the silver-embroidered 'Broad' character on Big Stone's collar. "Just the fact that two Broadview Tower people are with me. If Lu Taizhen's people are truly watching me, they should know I've been upstairs in the Broadview Tower. Until they figure out my background, he wouldn't dare act rashly. Powerful and influential people are indeed bolder than us, but sometimes... they're even more cowardly than us."

The reason he temporarily put aside the important matter with Bian Weikang to first visit Miao Yilan at the Broadview Tower was partly out of courtesy and gratitude, but also to deliberately create the impression he was just speaking of.

He hadn't expected to meet Miao Yilan and Old Dong here. Since he had, it was foolish not to take advantage of the convenience, which would save them many detours.

In this unfamiliar place, and being still very weak, it wasn't easy to snatch food from a tiger's mouth. Besides boldness, one also needed to be meticulous.

"Sigh," Old Dong couldn't help but sigh again. "Boss, what you said makes sense, but it can only fool them for a while..."

"Fooling them for a while is enough," Shi Chun said, waving his hand to dismiss the topic. He surveyed the bustling crowd, then beckoned the three of them to a quieter spot by the lake and began to discuss business. "Old Dong, Big Stone, how should we settle the previous forty thousand taels?"

At the mention of this, the two Broadview Tower employees immediately looked awkward. Even Old Dong could only stammer, "Miss Miao lent it to you, everyone knows. There's no point talking about it anymore. Come on, let me treat you to a good meal."

Shi Chun blocked his inviting arm. "Eating isn't urgent. After all, we're brothers. After this is done, I can't give you forty thousand, but how about ten thousand for each of you?"

The eyes of the two embarrassed men lit up immediately, then they wore sheepish smiles. Old Dong said, "Alright, let's talk about it once you've earned it."

Seeing that the two men lacked motivation—and Shi Chun still needed their help—he tilted his head towards Wu Jinliang. "Jinliang, these two have been away from East Nine Province for too long. They've drunk a couple more sips of outside spring water and now they look down on us. Go on, open their eyes. Tell them how we plan to make this money."

"Heh heh, alright, let me open your eyes, listen up. That top courtesan from Bright Cloud House, Bright Cloud House sells her, and we sell her too..." Wu Jinliang chuckled mischievously and then recounted their plan to sell Xiang Lan'er cheaply to Lu Taizhen.

"Hiss..."

The two employees, suddenly enlightened, simultaneously gasped, genuinely shocked. They stared wide-eyed at each other, then turned to Shi Chun and blurted out, "Two hundred thousand gold?"

Shi Chun acted as if there was dust on his clothes, brushing it off, while deliberately speaking modestly, "There's nothing for it. We're new here and unfamiliar with the outside world. Let's just aim for a hundred thousand or so to test the waters first. We'll make do for now."

"Heh heh..." Wu Jinliang liked Shi Chun's shamelessness; it gave people hope.

The two employees remained speechless for a long time, calculating in their minds, their expressions changing, not without regret.

Having achieved his goal, Shi Chun stopped beating around the bush and directly adopted his usual boss-like demeanor. "I need you two to do two things. First, find us a place to stay at the Carefree Inn. You'll cover the expenses; whatever you spend will be considered your investment. I keep my word: once we earn the money, I'll return double whatever you spent."

"Good.""No problem."

Old Dong and Big Stone nodded repeatedly in agreement, their faces beaming.

After they had finished smiling, Old Dong asked, "Isn't selling something worth five hundred thousand for two hundred thousand too cheap? I think we could try selling it for three hundred thousand or even four hundred thousand. If we earn more, everyone, wouldn't that be..." He glanced around at the others and chuckled.

His meaning was clear: if their boss didn't care for the extra, they wouldn't mind taking a larger share.

These words immediately drew unanimous agreement from Wu Jinliang and Big Stone, who nodded repeatedly in approval.

Shi Chun, however, waved his hand dismissively without hesitation. "This isn't East Nine Province. We're nobody here, and we're too weak. Our appetite and our bite aren't up to it. We can't handle too much; eating too much might just kill us. Only what we can comfortably and truly consume will actually benefit us. Two hundred thousand is already our limit; even one more grain of sandalwood gold would be too much.

For the second matter, although this deal is with Lu Taizhen, I don't want to negotiate with him directly. I need you to find a suitable person close to him to talk with me."

Everyone was puzzled. Wu Jinliang asked suspiciously, "Why?"

Shi Chun replied, "What 'why'? It's obvious. What kind of person is Lu Taizhen in Sunlit City? How could he possibly pay attention to me? Even if I offer a bargain, it would be useless. Someone who can spend five hundred thousand gold to buy a beauty for amusement, I doubt they'd care about a small saving. If it were you, and someone came offering unexpected benefits out of nowhere, wouldn't you be suspicious? Would you dare to accept it rashly?"

"That's true..." Wu Jinliang mumbled, stroking his chin.

Concerned for his own benefit, Old Dong also became thoughtful and asked, "What kind of person are you looking for?"

Shi Chun said, "Someone close to Lu Taizhen, who can help me resell Xiang Lan'er to him, and who can be bribed with money. Don't tell me you've been here so long and haven't heard anything about the prominent figures in Sunlit City."

Big Stone, who had been contemplating, suddenly said, "Cao Puqing's nephew, Cen Futong, should be suitable."

"Cen Futong..." Old Dong pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.

Shi Chun immediately asked, "Who is he?"

Old Dong immediately explained, "Cao Puqing is Lu Taizhen's chief steward. Cen Futong is his nephew, benefiting from his uncle's influence, and he lives quite comfortably in this city. However, he's a bit of an idler and doesn't have a proper occupation. He shouldn't be averse to money."

"Another nephew..." Wu Jinliang mumbled.

Shi Chun, however, smiled. "Good, he's the one. Tell him someone is willing to give him one hundred thousand gold just to befriend him. Don't say who the money is from; just tell him to come to the Carefree Inn to find me. You shouldn't show yourself directly either. After all, you're from the Broadview Tower, and it's not good for you to be directly involved in something like this. Spend some money to find someone to run the errand, and you just keep an eye from the shadows. That way, if anything goes wrong, you won't be implicated."

"Alright, should I go now?" Old Dong sought confirmation. Seeing there were no objections, he immediately went to carry out the task; after all, money was to be earned.

Shi Chun and the others headed towards the Carefree Inn.

Che Si, who had changed clothes and was observing from the shadows, was puzzled to see the group split into two. He really wanted to see where Old Dong had gone but ultimately chose Shi Chun as his primary target.

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