Chapter 306 Let the Southern Barbarians and Daqian Demand an Explanation

Who among them, who has reached their level and wielded considerable power, is simple?

In this complex web of relationships, finding capable and useful people is their most common method. Not only did the King of Lingnan distrust Xie Ning'an, but he also never trusted Xie Yun, with whom he had cooperated for many years.

The King of Lingnan tapped the template with his fingers, then summoned his steward, handed him the template, and said, "Engrave it as quickly as possible, the more the better."

"Yes." The steward carefully took the template and left. The Prince of Lingnan then looked at Mr. Chai and asked, "After going to the capital, did you have any contact with the Duke of Chu?"

Mr. Chai shook his head. "The Duke of Chu's daily routine consists of the government office, the palace, and the Duke of Chu's residence. Moreover, she is always accompanied by secret guards, so I dare not make any contact with her rashly."

The Prince of Lingnan hummed in agreement, showing no sign of disappointment, and said, "Sir, you did the right thing. All the news about her from the capital shows that the Duke of Chu is a cautious person. Making contact rashly would only arouse her suspicion."

Mr. Chai nodded in agreement, and then the King of Lingnan said, "I never expected that the Duke of Chu's mansion would produce such a person."

Mr. Chai remained silent. Although he didn't know what the Prince of Lingnan had done to the Duke of Chu, he did know that the Prince of Lingnan was targeting the Duke of Chu. He felt this was not a wise move. The Duke of Chu's family and the Prince of Lingnan's family didn't have any deep-seated hatred, and the Prince of Lingnan shouldn't have made such a big enemy of his own.

Of course, he could not say such a thing; it was not something a mere staff member like him could say.

The King of Lingnan simply sighed, then said to Mr. Chai, "Although you have had a long and arduous journey, there is one more thing I would like to trouble you to do immediately."

"Whatever Your Highness commands, please give the order," Mr. Chai said respectfully.

The King of Lingnan poured him another cup of tea. "Sir, go find Yu Chenfeng tomorrow and try to get him to take some of the silver notes from Jufeng Money Shop."

This refers to the banknotes they printed, not those issued by Jufeng Money Shop.

Mr. Chai nodded and asked, "How much should he eat?"

The King of Lingnan tapped his fingers on the table a few times. "The more the better. You can make some promises when the time comes."

"Yes," Mr. Chai replied immediately.

The King of Lingnan looked at him with satisfaction, then took out a box from under the tea table and placed it in front of Mr. Chai: "Sir, you have worked hard. Go back and rest now."

Mr. Chai's eyes lit up when he saw the small box, and he quickly bowed respectfully, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

The Prince of Lingnan waved for him to go and rest, and Mr. Chai got up and left. After he left, a man in his twenties, who looked about five parts like the Prince of Lingnan, came out from behind the bookshelf.

"Father." The man bowed to the King of Lingnan.

This person is Zhu Huai'an, the heir apparent of the Prince of Lingnan.

The King of Lingnan beckoned him to sit opposite him. "Did you hear everything?"

Zhu Huai'an nodded, and the Prince of Lingnan looked at him and asked, "What are your thoughts on Xie Ning'an?"

Zhu Huai'an pondered for a moment and then said, "Is the template really real?"

The King of Lingnan smiled, a satisfied smile. "Go on."

“If my son were Xie Ning’an, I would choose to cooperate with the Duke of Chu,” Zhu Huai’an said.

The Prince of Lingnan nodded, and Zhu Huai'an asked in confusion, "Since Father thinks so too, why did you still send someone to the capital to get the template for Jufeng Money Shop?"

“You’re still thinking too simplistically,” said the King of Lingnan. “To ensure everything goes perfectly, it’s best to have a backup plan.”

Zhu Huai'an looked somewhat bewildered. The King of Lingnan frowned slightly upon seeing this, but still patiently explained to him, "Sometimes a person's behavior cannot be analyzed according to conventional logic. Sometimes, what a person does is influenced by a sudden event, or perhaps he read a book and was inspired by something, leading him to do something that is not in line with his personality."

"You mean Xie Ning'an?" Zhu Huai'an asked.

The Prince of Lingnan shook his head. "I'm explaining this to you. Who could have imagined that Xie Ning'an would go to the emperor and report his own grandfather?"

Zhu Huai'an nodded upon hearing this, and then the Prince of Lingnan continued, "I heard that Xie Yun sent many people to obstruct Xie Ning'an on the road, but Jiang Yu helped Xie Ning'an. Others may not know about the feud between the Duke of Chu's mansion and the Xie family, but we know it very well. Could you have imagined that Jiang Yu would help Xie Ning'an at that time?"

Zhu Huai'an shook his head, "No."

"Therefore, some things cannot be analyzed according to common sense, and we should prepare for both possibilities." The King of Lingnan continued, "Xie Ning'an may be putting on an act with Jiang Yu, giving us a fake template. But it is also possible that he is genuinely being ostracized by Jiang Yu and wants to cooperate with us to seek a way out."

"So, you had Mr. Chai find Yu Chenfeng and have him take a portion of the Jufeng Money Shop's silver notes," Zhu Huai'an said, suddenly realizing.

Seeing that he had hit the nail on the head, the King of Lingnan nodded in satisfaction. "Yu Chenfeng's master is Cai Junrui, the fifth prince of the Southern Barbarians. I have met Cai Junrui a few times, and he is interested in cooperating with us."

Zhu Huai'an pondered these words for a while and then said, "If the template Xie Ning'an gave us is genuine, we can make a fortune by using counterfeit banknotes to do business with him. If the template is fake, we will push the matter to the Da Gan court and let the Southern Barbarians seek an explanation from Da Gan."

The King of Lingnan hummed in agreement, signaling him to continue. Encouraged, Zhu Huai'an spoke with excitement, "As for whether the Southern Barbarian Emperor will seek an explanation from the Da Gan Emperor, as long as you offer the Fifth Prince some benefits, he can put in a good word for you with the Southern Barbarian Emperor, and the matter will be settled. After all, the Southern Barbarians also want to gain benefits from Da Gan."

The King of Lingnan laughed heartily, “Yes, but there’s one more thing you haven’t mentioned. I will dump the printed silver notes, which will inevitably cause unrest.”

"Then what are you going to do?" Zhu Huai'an asked.

The King of Lingnan glanced at him and said, "Let the Crown Prince devise a plan to stabilize the unrest."

These words made Zhu Huai'an lose his smugness. After seeing this, the King of Lingnan said, "Huai'an, you should know that this is the safest method."

Zhu Huai'an immediately composed himself, "Your son knows."

"Hmm." The King of Lingnan looked at him and said, "A small act of impatience can ruin a great plan. You should know my expectations of you."

“Yes, son understands,” Zhu Huai’an replied immediately.

The King of Lingnan patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction, "Go down."

Zhu Huai'an stood up, bowed to the Prince of Lingnan, and then withdrew. The Prince of Lingnan glanced at his retreating figure and drank his tea expressionlessly.

"Father." A woman's voice came from outside. Upon hearing this, the Prince of Lingnan smiled and said, "Come in."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pretty young woman of about eighteen or nineteen years old walked in. After bowing to the King of Lingnan, she naturally sat down opposite him, saying, "I've been waiting outside for quite a while."

Her tone was reproachful, but the Prince of Lingnan smiled and said, "Are you complaining that your father and your brother have been talking for too long?"