Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
That was exactly Yu Youyao’s intention. “King Liang is going to raise an army and rebel. The world will be in turmoil. The first to be in chaos is the hinterland of the Central Plains with weak military but is rich. The Huai River area is where the Min people live. The news of the Xie Residence’s withdrawal from Quanzhou will be exposed sooner or later. King Liang will definitely be able to guess that the Xie Residence is going to the Huai River. As long as they set up checkpoints along the way, the Xie Residence will become meat on the chopping block.”
The maritime transport was in the hands of the Imperial Court, so it was very easy to make mistakes.
The Imperial Court’s control over maritime transport was extremely weak. The Xie family’s merchant ships had always been operating along the southeast coast. They were well-prepared and had wider connections. When King Liang realizes that the Xie family has fled, he can only watch helplessly.
Old Master Xie nodded in relief. “Little Yao’er has thought it through. We’ll do as she wants. When we go to the Huai River area, we need a travel pass issued by the Quanzhou government office. The Xie family is a huge taxpayer, and the government is keeping a close eye on us. It’s absolutely impossible to let the Xie family leave Quanzhou. It’s also very risky to process fake customs documents and identity documents. If we’re not careful, we can be exposed. Moreover, there are checks along the way. There are too many variables.”
“Due to King Li of Zhou’s previous example, Youzhou is in a bitterly cold place at the border, and there are often external enemies disturbing it. There are too many variables waiting for the Imperial Court to send an army. If we’re not careful, it will cause another disaster like King Li of Zhou’s. Therefore, the current Emperor has given the North the privilege of not paying taxes on salt to buy supplies that the Imperial Court can’t distribute in time. We just have to disguise ourselves as merchants from Youzhou and it’s very easy for us to leave Quanzhou.”
Neither the Jiazhou Residence nor King Liang would have expected that they had King Yue Fei’s token and clearance document.
From the looks of it, going to the North was far safer than going to the Huai River.
Hence, this matter was settled.
Yu Youyao calmed down.
The next day, Yu Youyao went to the government office with her Eldest Aunt and Third Cousin.
Old Master Lin, Madam Yan, and Lin Ruoru had also arrived.
Under the witness of the officials of the Jiazhou Residence and the government office, they agreed on the details of buying medicine and disaster relief with the Lin family. After confirming that there were no mistakes, the two sides formed a contract.
Under Yu Youyao’s strong request, it was decided that Lin Ruoru would be in charge of the cooperation.
Old Master Lin was a little unwilling, but Yu Youyao used the excuse that she was a woman and it was not good for her to interact too much with other men. Old Master Lin also knew that she was a daughter of an official and was particular about many things and had strict rules, so it was not appropriate for him to refuse.
When she left the government office, it was already afternoon.
Old Master Lin had invited everyone from the Xie Residence to eat at the Guiyuan Temple on Earth Gate Street. He also knew that it was not appropriate for Yu Youyao to go to a place like a restaurant during her mourning period.
Yu Youyao declined politely as it was inconvenient for her to stay outside for long because she was filial.
Before leaving, Yu Youyao said casually, “I heard that Master Lin’s ancestral hometown is in Zhejiang. Later on, his family’s business expanded, so his entire family moved to Quanzhou in Fujian. However, Master Lin has access to the medicinal herbs in Jiangnan and often travels back and forth to Zhejiang. My cousin is an old friend of the Governor of Zhejiang, Lord Ye. Old Master Lin is from a big family in Zhejiang, so I think he knows Lord Ye. In the future, when Master Lin goes to Zhejiang, I’ll have to trouble you to greet Lord Ye on behalf of my cousin and me.”
The Lin family had moved to Quanzhou only to develop the family’s foundation.
However, in fact, the Lin family’s foundation had always been in Zhejiang.
Old Master Lin’s eyes flickered as he quickly nodded in agreement.
After Yu Youyao left, Master Lin and Madam Yan got into the carriage.
In the sealed carriage, Madam Yan immediately lowered her voice and asked, “What did the County Head of Shaoyi mean? It doesn’t sound like she’s really asking you to greet Lord Ye for her.”
If she wanted to greet him, she could just send you a letter. Why would she need others to do it for her?
The Lin family was only a merchant family and had a selfless relationship with Lord Ye. They had no interactions with each other. No matter how she looked at it, it was not appropriate to hand over greetings to the Lin family!
Old Master Lin looked thoughtful. “The County Head of Shaoyi is from the Yu Clan, and their descendants are all over the court. In recent years, the Emperor has wanted to put the Yu Clan in an important position. Many of the Yu Clan members are in important positions in the court. The Jiazhou Residence must be crazy to go against the County Head of Shaoyi.”
Madam Yan frowned. “The Jiazhou Residence clearly has ill intentions towards the County Head of Shaoyi.”
It looked like a farce.
It was a dangerous conspiracy.
The commoners are not able to fight with the officials. Usually, when the merchants gathered together, they could still keep the local officials in check. However, once they were in the hands of the government, they were almost meat on the chopping block.
The ones who resolved this crisis were the County Head of Shaoyi and the Lin and Yan families.
Old Master Lin gently twirled the green jade tablet in his hand. After a while, he said, “Tell me, why did the County Head of Shaoyi, a dignified daughter of an official, come to Quanzhou?”contemporary romance
Madam Yan shook her head. “I heard that because her grandmother passed away, she fell sick from worry so she came to Quanzhou to recuperate.”
Old Master Lin scoffed. “If a family member passed away, you should not travel for three years.”
Madam Yan also felt that there was something hidden behind this. Then, she heard Old Master Lin say, “Is it possible that Eldest Miss Yu knew in advance that Lord Jia was going to harm the Xie family, so she specially came to Quanzhou?” At this point, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was very likely. “As soon as the County Head of Shaoyi settled down in Quanzhou, she bought medicine from the Lin and Yan families to relieve the disaster. If not for this, the Xie family would have already been in the limelight.”
Madam Yan’s heart skipped a beat. “The Xie family is the richest family in Quanzhou. If anything happens to the Xie family, Quanzhou will definitely be in turmoil. Merchants like us who are led by the Xie family…”
Old Master Lin’s expression gradually turned solemn. “The County Head of Shaoyi is reminding me and warning me at the same time.”
The Lin family’s foundation was in Zhejiang. The Lin family could give up on their operations in Quanzhou, but not their roots. As long as their foundation was still there, the Lin family would not fall.
Zhejiang was under Lord Ye’s rule. If the County Head of Shaoyi and Lord Ye had any relations, it would be as good as holding the Lin family by the throat.
She could only choose to cooperate with the County Head of Shaoyi.
What a shrewd person.
No wonder it was said that the County Head of Shaoyi was a chess player. We were all chess pieces on her chessboard. We had to be obedient and useful chess pieces so that we wouldn’t be eaten.
Old Master Lin thought about it. “Use the matter of the County Head of Shaoyi’s disaster relief to transfer our family’s operations in Quanzhou back to Zhejiang. We have to do it secretly and not let anyone discover it. Leave some businesses to someone we trust to slowly sell.”
Madam Yan felt a little uneasy. “Just based on the words of the County Head of Shaoyi… Isn’t that a little too rash?”
However, Old Master Lin did not think so. “The Jiazhou Residence has ill intentions towards the Xie Residence. If one move doesn’t work, they definitely have a backup plan. Our family has always followed the Xie Residence’s lead, and our situation in Quanzhou won’t be good in the future. In any case, our family’s foundation is in Zhejiang. It won’t affect much even if we give up on operating in Quanzhou. Quanzhou isn’t far from Zhejiang. We’ll watch from the side and see the situation. When the time is right, we’ll return to Quanzhou. Our previous business will still be here.”
The Lin family controlled almost 70% of the medicinal herbs in the Jiangnan area. Their business in Quanzhou was irreplaceable.
At this moment, the court was unstable. Self-preservation was the best strategy.
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