Chapter 21 An Encounter

When Achang met those clear, unfathomable eyes, he felt a pang of unease and hesitated in his tracks.

Has the shopkeeper changed his mind?

Should he continue to urge Liu Sijun to sign the contract?

His thoughts were racing, and he stood there blankly, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Seeing this, Cui Dacheng grabbed the contract on the table and shoved it haphazardly into Achang's arms: "What's so important that you have to sign it today! Can't you see there's something more important?"

Without a word, they pushed and shoved the bewildered Achang out of the noisy private room.

With the contract, a hot potato in his arms, Achang wiped the sweat from his brow and finally rushed back to Bazhenfang in a panic.

Inside the private room, Liu Sijun gently stroked the warm, smooth jade gourd with his fingertips.

The jade gourd was turned lightly on my fingertips, and when it was turned to the bottom, a faint, indistinct old chip was revealed.

Liu Sijun's body suddenly stiffened.

The smell of alcohol that had been lingering around him seemed to vanish instantly. He sat up straight abruptly, his drunkenness completely gone.

Those eyes, which had been hazy from the alcohol, were now clear as usual, fixed intently on Meng Yutong's face.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he suppressed his turbulent emotions. He carefully wrapped the jade gourd back in the plain handkerchief and handed it back with unprecedented solemnity: "Miss Meng, this jade is indeed from Qinzhou, as warm and lustrous as ever. If your mother knew this in the afterlife, she would be comforted."

The jade was genuine, of course. Meng Yutong didn't even look at it, but bowed and accepted it, thanking him repeatedly.

During the handover, she subtly flicked her wrist, and the contract slipped silently from her sleeve, drifting to Cui Dacheng's feet.

"Young Master, A-Chang left something behind." Cui Dacheng bent down to pick it up and casually tossed it back onto the table.

Liu Sijun's gaze remained fixed on Meng Yutong, his curiosity deepening.

Meng Yutong seemed oblivious, calmly tying the jade gourd back to her waist. As she moved, her gaze seemed to casually sweep over the contract on the table. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she let out a soft "Eh?": "Why is there a blank space in the profit sharing section of this contract?"

"Vacant?" Cui Dacheng, who was illiterate, immediately grabbed the contract and handed it to Liu Sijun, then leaned over to look at it himself.

Liu Sijun stared intently, only to find a blank space at the crucial point: "During the period when the Liu family caravan consigned jade artifacts to Bazhenfang, the profits earned were distributed to Bazhenfang according to their proportions."

"When Achang handed it to me just now, it was clearly the character 'three' here!" Liu Sijun snatched the contract, looked at it carefully again, and finally slammed his hand on the table.

Cui Dacheng's eyes widened. "Why did the words on it just disappear into thin air?"

“It’s ‘inkwell ink’,” Meng Yutong’s clear, cold voice was like shattered jade thrown into a lake, breaking through the illusion. “When this ink is first used, it works as usual, but when exposed to light or heat, the writing will fade away on its own in no time, leaving no trace.”

She raised her hand and tapped the empty space on the table where the contract had been, and continued, "There was hot soup here, so the table was hot. The contract was left on here for a while, and the words on it disintegrated when they got hot."

Having lived with her grandmother for so many years, she was already very familiar with some of the dirty tricks in the business world.

One stone stirs up a thousand waves.

"Damn it! This is some kind of trick where they can make the ink disappear and then fill in the blank paper with words!" Mei San roared, his eyes bloodshot. "If we really sign, they can just fill in 'pick' with a stroke of their pen, and we brothers will lose everything, even our underwear!!"

The room full of hot-blooded men immediately erupted in chaos, rolling up their sleeves, slamming their fists on the table, and shouting that they were going to smash up Bazhenfang.

"Quiet down, all of you!" Liu Sijun shouted, suppressing his boiling anger.

He gradually calmed down: "Without any evidence, if we go to their door rashly, how can they possibly admit anything? They might even accuse us of slander!"

Meng Yutong nodded in agreement, “Young Master Liu, you are under someone else’s roof. You might get some temporary satisfaction from a confrontation, but Bazhenfang is Prince Rong’s property. He will not let you outsiders gain any advantage. The best course of action now is to protect yourselves, extricate yourselves as soon as possible, and then plan your next move.”

"Are we just going to put up with this?!" Mei San was so angry that he kicked over the low stool.

“It’s not about swallowing our anger,” Liu Sijun said, turning his gaze to Meng Yutong with a hint of gratitude. “Miss Meng is absolutely right. Bazhenfang is backed by the Rong Prince’s Mansion, and its influence is deep and powerful. If we, as merchants from out of town, act impulsively, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock. The most urgent thing is to make a safe retreat and then devise a plan.”

He solemnly clasped his hands in thanks: "I am deeply grateful for your great kindness today, and I will definitely visit you in person to express my gratitude another day. It is already late at night, and it is not appropriate for you to stay any longer."

He immediately and decisively gave the order: "Cui Dacheng, make sure to escort Miss Meng back to the manor safely. Cui Ercheng and Mei San, you two come with me back to Bazhenfang to deal with the situation. The rest of you, quickly return to the inn to prepare and await further orders, and do not act rashly."

Although Liu Sijun was young, he was able to distinguish right from wrong in times of crisis and was quite decisive. Under his arrangement, the group no longer had any objections.

Seeing that the storm had subsided and the crisis of the contract was temporarily averted, Meng Yutong curtsied and bid farewell to everyone, then left Hele Tower one after the other with Cui Dacheng.

On the way back, Meng Yutong's pace quickened.

Bai Zhi and Granny Gui have been waiting for her for a long time, and they must be very anxious by now. She needs to go back quickly so that they won't worry.

Cui Dacheng followed closely behind, still immersed in the thrill of the moment, his heart still pounding with fear. He quickened his pace, saying, "That guy surnamed Zheng, he always acts all high and mighty, but behind the scenes he resorts to such despicable means! He's truly hateful!"

Meng Yutong gently reminded them: "People's hearts are unpredictable. You are new here, so you should be careful in everything you do and not easily trust others."

"What the young lady says is true!" Cui Dacheng slapped his thigh, his dark face full of indignation. "In our Qinzhou region, merchants value integrity above all else. We have never seen such despicable behavior! Once this batch of goods is sold, I will definitely persuade the young master to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible!"

"Qinzhou is a thousand miles away from here," Meng Yutong asked casually, "Why would you travel so far to do business here?" She recalled Liu Sijun's explanation of "experience" from her previous life, and always felt it was far-fetched.

In their previous life, they had clearly saved enough money for their return trip at the Ji family's residence, yet they lingered for several more months, as if there was something they hadn't taken care of.

Cui Dacheng was completely unprepared for Meng Yutong. This beautiful and kind-hearted girl was everyone's savior tonight, so he blurted out, "Doing business is just a side thing. The main reason I came here, young master, is to find an old friend. As for who exactly... I don't know."

Searching for someone? Meng Yutong's eyes flickered slightly; she had never heard of this in her previous life.

However, this was Liu Sijun's private matter, and had nothing to do with her. Her actions tonight had already settled the debt from their past life. What would become of the Liu family's merchant caravan in the future was beyond her control.

She has her own things to do.

The two walked north along the Imperial Street, with Cui Dacheng rambling on about the sights and sounds of Qin Prefecture, and Meng Yutong occasionally responding with a smile.

Turning past Nanwazi, the lights of Zhenweilou can be seen in the distance, no more than half a mile away.

Meng Yutong raised her eyes, her gaze suddenly freezing.

Under the warm glow of the street lanterns, a tall and elegant figure stood out. His purple-brown brocade robe accentuated his slender, bamboo-like figure, and the jade belt with dragon patterns at his waist subtly revealed his noble air, as if separating him from the bustling city and creating a tranquil world of his own.

It was Ji Yun.

Even Cui Dacheng, who was usually honest and straightforward and prided himself on not judging people by their appearance, was stunned at this moment. He felt that this person was like a celestial being from a painting, with an extraordinary temperament, unlike anything in the mortal world.

The gentle smile on Meng Yutong's lips vanished the moment she saw who it was, leaving only a quiet detachment.

The change of expression was so swift, it was as if he were a completely different person.

Even someone as slow-witted as Cui Dacheng felt the air around him freeze instantly.

A note from the author: