Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Pang Jing lightly tossed and catched the gold ingot in his hand again and again. Every two or three times, he would stop, hold it before his eyes, scrutinize it, and then start tossing it again. He didn’t seem to be trying to find any clues, and it was more like he was gauging the purity of it, like a scrupulous merchant.
Meng Mingshu was sitting diagonally opposite him, his eyes moving up and down alongside the gold ingot. As if hypnotized, he looked wooden and had totally forgotten about the question that Pang Jing had asked him.
The two had met each other several times before. In Pang Jing’s eyes, this was probably the process of two strangers becoming close friends, so he cared about his manner even less as he put one foot on the chair and the other on the ground, leaning his body against the back of the chair. Suddenly, he grabbed the gold ingot, twisted his head aside, and smiled. “Old Meng, you still haven’t told me yet whether this gold ingot belongs to your family or not.
This form of address, “Old Meng,” reminded Meng Mingshu of his father. He hurriedly answered. “Please pardon me. I was being absent-minded. Er… It seems that… this ingot does belong to the Meng family, but… ”
“But what?”
“I don’t mean to hide anything from Your Lordship… ”
“Wow, why are you being so polite? There are no outsiders here. Just call me “Little Pang” or “Younger Brother Pang.” Both are okay.
Overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, Meng Mingshu smiled but then called him “Elder Brother Pang,” which was a more common form of address. “I don’t mean to hide anything from you, Elder Brother Pang, but during these past two years, the Meng family has been haunted by a lot of troublesome issues, both internal ones and external ones. It is possible that one or two thieves from within my family stole this ingot. It does belong to my family, but I’m not entirely certain about whether it was stolen or snatched.”
Pang Jing didn’t get angry after hearing this perfunctory answer. Instead, he walked up to Meng Mingshu and patted his shoulder. “No matter what, this is an important clue. I’ve already sent some men to investigate. You have to know that it was not easy for me to get this gold ingot. Both the Heavenly Mountain Sect and the Department of Guards were staring at it with covetous eyes. Fortunately, I got there quickly and snatched it. The leaders of both sides weren’t there, so nobody stopped me. Ha-ha.”
“Elder Brother Pang took decisive action. I admire you.”
“Actually I admire you more than you admire me. Old Meng, you’ve lost almost all of your wealth, and yet you’re not anxious at all. Even I, an outsider, am more anxious than you. Your composure has really shamed me.”
Meng Mingshu’s heart lurched. Realizing that he had overacted, he abruptly stood up and smacked his right fist into his left palm. “Alas, Elder Brother Pang, there’s something that you don’t know about. I’m not calm. Actually I even want to commit suicide. But if I do that, then I wouldn’t have the nerve to face my father and elder brothers in the underworld. I’ve been forcing a smiling face upon myself all along. There’s no ‘composure’ in me at all.”
Pang Jing put on a slightly surprised face. “Elder Brother Meng was a victim during the robbery. Even if you don’t try to search for the money, there’s certainly no need for you to force a smiling face upon yourself. What’s going on? Are you afraid of offending anyone?”
“This… it felt like we were old friends upon first meeting, and Elder Brother Pang is a Central Plains dignitary, so I’ll be honest with you. The situation in Jade City is very complicated. Big fish swallowing little fish has always been the rule here. The Meng family is a middle-sized fish at most. The one who dared to rob the Meng family was naturally a big fish. I could only swallow the bitter pill in silence. If I don’t keep quiet, then I’m afraid I might offend the big fish and be swallowed.”
“Ha-ha. What a school of fish. Tell me, who’s the big fish in Jade City?”
“I think that there’s no need for me to tell Elder Brother Pang the answer.”
“The Unique King and the Dragon King?”
“Exactly.”
“Which one of them does Elder Brother Meng suspect?”
Meng Mingshu had predicted that this day would come sooner or later, so he was surprisingly composed. With a perfectly affected look of despair, he answered in a low voice, “The Unique King.”
“Golden Roc Castle and the Meng family have been allies for so many years, and you are also in-laws. How could you suspect the Unique King?”
“In the past, Golden Roc Castle was a killer organization, and there were some affairs that were inconvenient for them to deal with in public, so the Meng family would offer help in that aspect. The cooperation between us went fairly smoothly with no disagreements. But afterwards, the Unique King wanted to be a true king, so he considerably downsized his killer army. After that, there was no need for him to do everything covertly. Therefore, he naturally felt that the Meng family had become redundant. My father… was actually killed by a killer over a year ago. Golden Roc Castle even sent someone here to pose as my father in order to cover up their deed. Nominally, the Meng family had been robbed of all money overnight. But in fact, I suspect that Golden Roc Castle had already transferred most of my family’s wealth away long before the robbery, which was why they would kill the impostor and fake the robbery.”
Meng Mingshu made these remarks in a measured tone. There was both a reasonable speculation and a deep indignation in his words. Even he himself partially believed his lies.
Pang Jing obviously appeared to believe him, nodding repeatedly. “This makes sense. I was thinking that the Unique King should have helped the Meng family get revenge even if Elder Brother Meng didn’t request them to, given the relationship between the Meng family and Golden Roc Castle. But unexpectedly, they did nothing, as if they don’t know about the robbery at all.”
Meng Mingshu sighed repeatedly. “I’m only telling Elder Brother Meng this in private – I don’t dare ask them to return the money. I only hope that they’ll let me live.”
“Ha-ha.” Pang Jing let out two laughs, pressed his right hand to Meng Mingshu’s shoulder, and thought for a while before saying, “Why didn’t you ask the Dragon King for help? He’s a mortal enemy of the Unique King’s.”
“How dare I!?” Meng Mingshu was taken aback, as if he had just heard extremely shocking news. “I live in northern Jade City.. It’s as if I live in the palm of the Unique King. Golden Roc Castle has been watching my every move.”
“Um. I can understand why you’re concerned. If – and I mean if – I can convince the Dragon King to intervene and help you get the money back through negotiation or by force, what would you say?”
“Golden Roc Castle-”
“What are you afraid of? If the Dragon King becomes the Lord of Jade City, then northern Jade City will no longer be in the hands of the Unique King.”
“Are you sure that the Dragon King will become the Lord of Jade City?”
“That’s why I said ‘if.’”
“Tha–That would be for the best.”
“But I think that the Lord of Jade City, regardless of if he is the Dragon King or someone else, won’t offer help for nothing. The Central Plains may put some pressure on that person. Is Elder Brother Meng willing to pay a price?”
It suddenly dawned on Meng Mingshu that Pang Jing had been paving the way for proposing his own conditions all along. He clenched his teeth and said, “It would be like a divine providence if I got my lost money back. What kind of price wouldn’t I pay? I’m willing to donate half of the money to the helper.”
After leaving the office of the Governor, Meng Mingshu broke out into a cold sweat and galloped back to the Bodhi Garden. The more he thought about it, the more scared he felt. Pang Jing was a secretive man. He had been acting dumb from start to finish. It was very likely that he knew some inside information.
He urgently wanted to have an audience with the Dragon King, but he didn’t dare to do anything reckless, so he instead wrote a letter to Xiao Fengchai and implied his intentions in an ambiguous manner.
Before he could finish the letter, a servant came inside and reported that Lü Qiying was requesting his presence.
Meng Mingshu thought for a while and then recalled this person named Lü Qiying was a merchant who worked for the Dragon King. Both surprised and delighted, he hurriedly had the servant invite him into the study.
Lü Qiying’s status was now far higher than before. He used to be the tavernkeeper of the Southwall Tavern, someone who wasn’t even eligible to enter the front gate of the Meng family, much less have an audience with the patriarch of the Meng family in the study in the Bodhi Garden. Now, with the Dragon King as his backer, he was the owner of the biggest caravan in Jade City and earning dozens of gold ingots daily while the Meng family was in a disastrous state.
Lü Qiying stood in the middle of the study with his hands crossed behind him. He was looking around, all sorts of feelings welling up in his mind. The first remark he made when he saw Meng Mingshu was, “This Bodhi Garden is not in its previous good condition. You need to revamp it.”
Stunned, Meng Mingshu had no idea what he meant. “To what do I owe the honor, Tavernkeeper Lü?”
Lü Qiying slightly furrowed his brows. Hardly anybody called him “tavernkeeper” anymore. Usually, people respectfully called him “Elder Lü.” “It’s said that there is a big hole under the Bodhi Garden. How did the Meng family deal with it?”
Upon seeing that Lü Qiying was so arrogant, Meng Mingshu was stunned again. “I blocked all the passages on four sides and excavated a couple of holes in the middle. After the ice in the river melts, I’ll fill it with water. Er. Why are you here exactly?”
“To buy the Bodhi Garden.”
Meng Mingshu was confused for a while. After connecting a few facts, he suddenly understood and became furious. “Who sent you here? You’re not eligible to live in the Bodhi Garden. Get out! Now!”
This was the first time that Meng Mingshu had gotten angry after he had become the patriarch. His anger surged up like flood breaking through the dam. He forgot all about the fear that he had suffered from during the past few months.
Standing there listening to his curses, Lü Qiying stayed composed. Eventually, he smiled. “All right. I think that those servants out there have heard enough. Second Young Master Meng, let’s get down to business.”
Meng Mingshu’s anger suddenly subsided, “You–You were… sent here by the Dragon King?”
Lü Qiying shook his head. “Lady Xiao sent me here.”
“Fengchai?” Meng Mingshu vaguely remembered that Xiao Fengchai had been on bad terms with Lü Qiying. Why would she ask him to come here? So he softened his tone. “I broke up with that woman… ”
“Ha-ha. Second Young Master Meng is indeed a cautious man. Fortunately, I brought a token.”
Lü Qiying fished out a jade pendant which Meng Mingshu identified as a gift that he given Xiao Fengchai at their first meeting. “You’re really… What did Fengchai send you here for?”
“There’s something we need to talk about. Something big.”
Meng Mingshu was still a little angry, with an embarrassed look on his face. He walked to the doorway and peeped out through the crack in the door for a while. When he turned around, his face had returned to normal. “Go a head.”
“Did the Second Young Master Meng see the gold ingot in the office of the Governor?”
“I did.”
“Is it really from the Meng family?”
“It is.”
“Has the Second Young Master Meng ever thought about how that gold ingot ended up in an outsider’s hands?”
“I don’t know. It should… What’s the Dragon King’s opinion?”
“Like I said, I was not sent here by the Dragon King.”
Meng Mingshu sensed that there were suspicious overtones in his words, so he immediately became vigilant, regretting having mentioned the Dragon King of his own account. “Don’t just ask me. Tell me what you think.”
Lü Qiying smiled, “I think… Lady Xiao thinks that the case of the original robbery is no longer an issue. The appearance of that gold ingot was not an accident. Somebody planned it out to draw people’s attention to this case. There must be an ulterior reason.”
“What kind of ulterior reason?” Meng Mingshu had always trusted Xiao Fengchai’s judgement, but he didn’t like Lü Qiying, so his voice was very apathetic.
It seemed as if Lü Qiying had no intention of pleasing the Second Young Master Meng at all. Instead, he became reserved, pacing up and down in the study. After a while, he suddenly stopped and said, “We both know that the robbery was faked. It was just a show. But I’m afraid that someone wants to make it real.”
Feeling as if all his wisdom had been consumed in the office of the Governor, Meng Mingshu was perplexed by Lü Qiying’s hint. After quite a while, he suddenly understood and was taken aback, and he broke out into a cold sweat again, “You–You… Fengchai… Who do you work for exactly?”
“Money. I work for money. Lady Xiao works for you. She regards you as her future and doesn’t want you to be plotted against without knowing what.”
Meng Mingshu dejectedly sat down on the chair and mumbled, “The Dragon King wants to make the robbery real. Is it because he wants to eliminate me?”
“Not just you. I’m afraid that all of us who know the truth are his targets. Second Young Master Meng, you should take precautions as soon as possible. Lady Xiao is counting on you.”
“What am I supposed to do? Ask the Unique King for help? He won’t let me get away with that.”
“Alas. Second Young Master Meng has always been a smart person. How have you still not understood? Lady Xiao wanted me to tell you that there are going to be upheavals in Jade City very soon. It doesn’t matter who becomes the Lord of Jade City, because there’s only one person who will be in de facto control of the city.”
“The Central Plainsman, Pang Jing.” It was not until this moment that Meng Mingshu realized whose palm he had been running around in this day.
