Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Plum Gardens wasn’t big. After walking past the entrance hall and then making his way around a flower arrangement, Yan Liqiang arrived at the main hall.
This place was used for business discussions with clients in the newspaper office. In Yan Liqiang’s previous world, this area would be called the newspaper office’s or the CEO’s meeting room.
As soon as Yan Liqiang entered, he saw a smartly-dressed man in his fifties. The chubby man slightly resembled Wang Gang who played the role of Heshen in a TV series. He was comfortably seated beside a tea table in the room, leisurely enjoying the cup of tea in his hand.
He seemed to have heard Yan Liqiang footsteps too. When he saw Yan Liqiang enter, he set the teacup down and stood up with a smile on his face. He cupped his fist at Yan Liqiang respectfully, “You must be Commandant Yan. Your reputation precedes you. Despite your young age, you are very well-known around the Imperial Capital. Little did I expect you to be even more impressive than the rumors in person. Pardon my rudeness. I, your humble servant, am Gu Zhongren, the owner of Huaixiang Bookstore!”
“You are too courteous, Manager Gu. Please have a seat!” Yan Liqiang approached him prudently, acting neither too friendly nor too coldly as he invited Manager Gu to take a seat while he and Fang Beidou sat on the other side of the tea table.
“Has Manager Fang informed Commandant Yan of the intention of my visit?” Manager Gu spoke in a neutral tone. Although there was a seemingly friendly smile on his chubby face, their roles seemed to have been reversed. He had an overbearing aura that felt as though he looked down on Yan Liqiang and Fang Beidou.
Yan Liqiang slightly narrowed his eyes as he smiled and observed Manager Gu sitting across from him. “What piqued Manager Gu’s sudden interest on newspapers? For someone with your influence, establishing another newspaper in the Imperial Capital city shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Manager Gu shook his head. “Of course it isn’t difficult. However, ‘The Great Han Times’ that you all produced has already established itself in the Imperial Capital. Everything is running smoothly, and it is already well-known among the teahouses and restaurants. It is currently the most read and discussed newspaper. Therefore, buying would be better than creating another one from scratch. Wouldn’t everything be easier if we just buy your publishing company? Besides, didn’t you buy all the property off from someone else too? Isn’t that how business works?”
“You are right, Manager Gu. Business involves buying and selling. Indeed, we bought the properties of our publishing company off someone else. Naturally, we can sell it too!” Yan Liqiang replied indifferently. “How many taels of silver is Manager Gu prepared to offer us in exchange for the publishing company? I heard from Manager Fang that you have yet to offer a price.”
Manager Gu smiled and raised one finger. “What do you think of this price, Commandant Yan?”
“A hundred thousand taels of silver?” Yan Liqiang asked.
Manager Gu smiled and shook his head.
“It can’t be a hundred thousand taels of silver, right? We spent more than that to buy this manor and the bookstores in the city!” Yan Liqiang laughed.
Manager Gu was still smiling as he shook his head.
Sensing the ridicule in Manager Gu’s smile, Yan Liqiang stopped smiling and spoke calmly. “You may state your offer directly, Manager Gu.”
Manager Gu smiled again and cast an indifferent glance at Yan Liqiang. “One tael of silver. Huaixiang Bookstore is willing to make an offer of one tael of silver in exchange for your publishing company, including this manor, the workshop, and the few stores in the city. Everything in this publishing company must stay!”
“What? One tael of silver?! You must be joking, Manager Gu!” Fang Beidou’s countenance contorted before Yan Liqiang could even speak. He stood up immediately and glared at Manager Gu furiously as he spat, “If Manager Gu wishes to joke around like this, please take it somewhere else! Commandant Yan and I are busy men…!”
“Do not be hasty, Manager Fang. Why not ask if Commandant Yan agrees with this?” Manager Gu chuckled. The way he chuckled nearly made Fang Beidou deliver a hard kick to his greasy face.
“Well, it is not like we cannot sell the company at the price of one tael of silver…” Yan Liqiang spoke calmly and cast a glance at Fang Beidou, who then took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart as he sat back down. “Manager Gu should at least reveal to us who is behind this, so we can determine if that person is influential enough to allow Manager Gu to negate a hundred thousand taels of silver! Although Fang Beidou and I aren’t some important figures in the Imperial Capital, we are no pushovers either!”
“Great. As expected, Commandant Yan is a wise man!” Manager Gu gave Yan Liqiang a thumbs-up, then glanced at Manager Fang. “If Manager Fang doesn’t mind, can you leave us for a moment? This is for your own good too. The person who entrusted this job to me has some words for only Commandant Yan to hear in person!”
Fang Beidou immediately stood up when he heard Manager Gu and nodded to Yan Liqiang. “Well then, I shall leave both of you to your discussion!” After saying that, he left the main hall.
“I guess you can speak now, Manager Gu.” Yan Liqiang only spoke up calmly after Fang Beidou was gone.
“The Grand Chancellor is very fond of Commandant Yan…” When Manager Gu mentioned the Grand Chancellor, he straightened his back as the expression on his face turned humble and respectful.
“So Manager Gu came on behalf of the Grand Chancellor…?” Yan Liqiang asked astonishingly. The two words that came out of his mouth were both beyond but also within Yan Liqiang’s expectations. The revelation made him feel slightly conflicted.
Manager Gu nodded. “The Grand Chancellor also entrusted me with a few words for you, Commandant Yan…”
“What is it?”
“The Grand Chancellor said that you are a smart person and instructed me to convey his words clearly to you… Ahem, ahem…” Manager Gu coughed twice and cleared his throat. “As long as Commandant Yan devotes his loyalty to the Grand Chancellor from now on and knows who to listen to, the Grand Chancellor will let go of the past. Whatever Sun Bingchen and His Majesty can offer you, he can offer you the same or even more. Be it money, position, beauties, or secret manuals, there won’t be any issues if Commandant Yan asks for them!”
“Anything else?”
Manager Gu’s voice suddenly turned icy. “In the Grand Chancellor’s exact words, ‘If Commandant Yan is not amenable to reason, then the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month next year will be his death anniversary. If Commandant Yan figures out which side he should be standing on, then he will make it safe and sound through the blindfolded contest which will take place in a few days time. From then on, meteoric success will await him and his prospects will not be limited to a mere Armed Imperial Guard of the Fifth Grade!”
“And what of the publishing company?”
“The Grand Chancellor is very impressed by this newspaper that Commandant Yan has invented. If Commandant Yan chooses to side with the Grand Chancellor, then this publishing company will be considered a small tribute to the Grand Chancellor and I will manage it. However, if Commandant Yan chooses to persist and act arbitrarily, then the presence of this publishing company is unnecessary in the Imperial Capital. Commandant Yan may decide the outcome of this for himself…”
That wasn’t a proposal. It was an ultimatum.
If he agreed to it, then he would be Lin Qingtian’s ally in the future. That man wanted both him and his publishing company. If he disagreed, then Lin Qingtian would openly execute him during the blindfolded contest in a few days time. Not only that, but they would also ultimately lose the publishing company.
In that split moment, Yan Liqiang suddenly realized that the Grand Chancellor only had to move his little finger to turn all of his plans and schemes in the Imperial Capital into nothing but a joke. Lin Qingtian didn’t fail to notice the value of ‘The Great Han Times’; he had only been waiting to expropriate it from him when the time was right. Likewise, Lin Qingtian wasn’t completely oblivious to his every action 一 he was merely watching in silence. After realizing Yan Liqiang’s worth, Lin Qingtian forced him up to the guillotine to make his decision up there.
This was the Grand Chancellor’s true trump card! Lin Qingtian had used these last few days to haul the net he had cast and bare his teeth!
Could the person who managed to seize his seat as the Grand Chancellor of this empire possibly be a simple man after making countless influential sects and distinguished figures lower their heads?
The experience he gained over two lifetimes which amounted to less than fifty years was nothing against someone like Lin Qingtian. When he came to the Imperial Capital, he was really too naive about everything and had underestimated this place.
From the beginning to end, even up until to this point, Yan Liqiang had never even seen Lin Qingtian. He didn’t even bother to meet him and merely sent a nobody here on this errand. A heavy blow had struck from the heavens with the immense weight of Mount Tai, forcing Yan Liqiang to make the most difficult and important choice in his life…
The violent undercurrents in the Imperial Capital city could indeed crush those who were not careful enough…
Yan Liqiang remained silent for about five minutes under Manager Gu’s burning gaze before he finally spoke up. “The news came too suddenly and caught me off guard. Please allow me a few days to consider it before I give my answer!”
A smile appeared on Manager Gu’s face as his eyes glazed across Yan Liqiang’s face. “The Grand Chancellor is not an unreasonable man. He has allowed you three days to consider your decision. You may give me an answer in three days time. If you fail to do so, we shall take it as your rejection to the Grand Chancellor’s goodwill. You should consider the consequences you will face. Well then, I shall take my leave now…”
“Take care, Manager Gu.”
Manager Gu stood up and immediately left…
Yan Liqiang sat in the room in silence, frowning slightly as he seemed to be thinking about something…
During the conversation, Yan Liqiang didn’t hear only Manager Gu’s words. All of his mental activities and the real thoughts in his head didn’t escape Yan Liqiang’s observation. The Psychic Serpent in Yan Liqiang’s brain had laid Manager Gu’s thoughts bare…
Manager Gu didn’t say a few things, but Yan Liqiang had already known about it. He even knew what Manager Gu and his people would do to his publishing company if he refused the offer. They had actually prepared two plans. One of them would involve the Ministry of Justice. They would pick a fault with the publishing company and shut it down, then arrest the people in it. A few of the hired wordsmiths and even a few of the artisans in the workshop had already been bribed by them. They had come up with a sinister way to get rid of the entire publishing company along with Fang Beidou and Yan Liqiang.
The other plan in Manager Gu’s thoughts was that they had found the owner who previously sold the Shunyi Bookstore to Fang Beidou a few days ago in Cang Province. With a few threats and promises, they had the owner sign a contract dated before the date he sold the Shunyi Bookstore to Fang Beidou, which stated that the bookstores had been sold to Manager Gu. They had also spoken to the Law Enforcement Office about this plan. Hence, with these two plans, the publishing company and The Great Han Times were as good as theirs.
The real finishing move wouldn’t be delivered during the blindfolded contest. If he were to refuse Manager Gu, even if he was fortunate enough to survive Shi Minzhang’s arrow during the blindfolded contest that day, they would set their plans on the publishing company into motion. The only ending that awaited him would be an arrest from law enforcement and be thrown into the Ministry of Justice’s prison to ultimately die from sickness. Not even the Emperor would be able to save him. Fang Beidou, Hu Haihe, Little Wu, even Xu Enda and the rest would suffer the same fate…
The one who previously ambushed Xu Enda, Guo Si, was now Manager Gu’s lackey. In fact, it was none other than Guo Si and a few law enforcers who went to Cang Province and found the old owner of Shunyi Bookstore a few days ago…
The mastermind behind this was Lin Qingtian, the person who personally orchestrated this was the Minister of Justice, Gu Chunyi, and the one who carried out the plan was Manager Gu. Both Manager Gu and Gu Chunyi might have the same surname, but everyone in the city thought they weren’t related. However, Manager Gu was actually a servant who served in Minister of Justice Gu Chunyi’s residence twenty years ago. As Gu Chunyi gained influence, Manager Gu left Gu Residence with a renewed identity by changing only his first name. He came to the Imperial Capital city to open up a bookstore and became one of Gu Chunyi’s eyes and mediators in the Imperial Capital.
After making clear of the finer details, Yan Liqiang couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine…
