Chapter 699 Gui Sheng must make this choice

Gui Sheng lowered his eyes to hide the gloom in them, and said helplessly, "Master Sang, borrowing a boat is a small matter, but if you look into it carefully, you can say that this is a serious matter."

"What on earth is this fortune? I also need to find out first, in case..."

Gui Sheng sighed with a complicated expression and said with a wry smile, "My situation is different from that of the Sang family. My family's foundation is here, so I'm restricted in every way and often feel helpless."

"If I can't figure out the whole story, I'm afraid I'll be powerless even if I want to."

Sang Zhixia's smile deepened as she said playfully, "Master Gui, are you worried that I'll use the Gui family's boat to transport something I shouldn't be transporting and that someone from the Chamber of Commerce will find out?"

Gui Sheng smiled bitterly and said, "The Chamber of Commerce is one, and the other is..."

"Gui is, after all, just a lowly businessman, with several layers of officials above him. The word 'official' has two mouths on it. A single word can melt gold. It could cost the lives of my entire family at any moment."

Gui Sheng paused sensitively for a moment, and his gaze on Sang Zhixia was filled with a bit more calm scrutiny.

He had long suspected that Sang Zhixia was not only involved with Qianyuan Villa, but also had dealings with Lingnan.

Now Emperor Yongshun has lost half of his territory, but he has lost much more than half.

However, the areas that had not yet been captured by the Lingnan rebels were still the territory of the imperial court.

They are still the common people.

Once you have anything to do with Lingnan, you will be directly equated to being a traitor, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a serious crime that will implicate nine generations of your clan.

The Gui family has endless money to spend.

But the Gui family is just wealthy businessmen.

Such a major event in the court, a life-and-death battle between the orthodox court and the rebels, is definitely not something the Gui family should get involved in.

Even the slightest bit of it could be a disaster for the Gui family.

It is obvious that Gui Sheng has more to say in the voice-over.

Sang Zhixia just laughed softly after hearing this.

Sang Zhixia jokingly said, "Then, according to Patriarch Gui, given the current situation outside, how should we judge winning or losing?"

Gui Sheng's face was blank, and he immediately said self-deprecatingly, "These are all military and national affairs. How can a nameless person like me have the right to comment on them?"

"But no matter what, regardless of winning or losing, we common people had no intention or purpose. Even if the fire spreads across the mountains and rivers for thousands of miles, it will never burn those who are humble."

It doesn’t matter to them who becomes the emperor, the King of Lingnan or Emperor Yongshun.

The emperor is far away and even after the change of dynasties, they are still the local tyrants in the south.

It's nothing more than being temporarily affected during the war, earning less money, and then paying more taxes when the new emperor ascends the throne.

It is almost a consensus among these people that as long as they spend enough money, they can be safe and secure.

So it doesn’t matter how the fight goes on outside.

They don't care.

It's nothing more than waiting for the result, and then continuing to guard his own mountains of gold and silver and live a better life than the emperor.

There is no risk at all.

Sang Zhixia was amused by Gui Sheng's rare frankness and said playfully, "What Patriarch Gui said is quite good."

"But then again, the Lingnan army is entrenched in Chuzhou, only a few hundred miles from Nanyun. Isn't anyone worried that the army will attack at any time?"

Gui Sheng's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm and said, "Even though they're close, whether they can hit me or not is another matter."

"I really can't say for sure about this matter."

Sang Zhixia raised her eyebrows with a smile: "What if, he hits me?"

Gui Sheng's smile faded, and he said with a wry smile, "Are you kidding me, Mr. Sang?"

"If the Lingnan rebels really attack us, then we will naturally surrender and obey them in every way. Otherwise, how can we protect the lives of our entire family?"

Sang Zhixia smiled softly at the gloom in his eyes that he forced upon her.

Gui Sheng said cryptically, "But that happened ages ago. It's too early to think about it now."

"It's not too early."

Sang Zhixia met Gui Sheng's surprised gaze and said with a smile, "Isn't this why I came here today?"

Gui Sheng's heart was in his throat.

Sang Zhixia rubbed the jade pendant around her waist with her fingertips and said slowly, "Master Gui, don't you want to know what I'm going to use the boat for?"

"If it's not loading cargo, then it must be loading people."

"I've been asked to help some people who are not so convenient to show up in person and want to come from Chuzhou. The large ship owned by Patriarch Gui is very suitable for them. I just wonder if Patriarch Gui is willing to lend it to them?"

Gui Sheng is good at beating around the bush.

As long as Sang Zhixia is patient enough, Gui Sheng can sit here without drinking a sip of tea and talk with Sang Zhixia all day without changing his expression.

But if Sang Zhixia suddenly came straight to the point...

Gui Sheng choked hard, his expression suddenly changed: "Mr. Sang, Chuzhou is now occupied by the Lingnan rebels. The person you are talking about..."

"Of course he's from Chuzhou."

Sang Zhixia said nonchalantly, "Didn't Patriarch Gui guess it?"

"this……"

"It's natural for Patriarch Gui to hesitate, and I understand."

"only……"

Sang Zhixia smiled meaningfully and said delicately, "I've already said this much. I can only accept the answer I want to hear."

"Master Gui, wouldn't you know?"

If you don't say it clearly, you can keep pretending to be stupid forever.

Now that the truth is out, Gui Sheng has only one choice.

Either agree to the conditions offered by Sang Zhixia and do as Sang Zhixia says.

Or...

The Lingnan army has not yet invaded Nanyun, and such important news will never be allowed to leak out.

Gui Sheng knew a secret that he shouldn't have known, so the only thing he could do was...

A cold look gradually covered Gui Sheng's face. He gripped the armrest of the chair tightly and gritted his teeth: "Sang Dongjia, this is Nan Yun."

"I know."

Sang Zhixia said nonchalantly, "Nanyun is still under the control of the Gui family, I know that too."

"So, isn't this why I came to consult with Patriarch Gui first?"

Sang Zhixia looked harmless, but every word she said frightened Gui Sheng.

"Master Gui, being smooth on both sides is not a good thing. People who waver and have unclear positions often don't end up well. I don't think I need to remind you of this."

"Of course, Patriarch Gui could also try to strangle me here today and pretend nothing happened to continue to live in peace and comfort. Or he could go and inform the imperial army blocked outside Nanyun and have them arrest me, a traitor and accomplice."

"only……"

Sang Zhixia showed regret on her face and said helplessly: "The people who are supposed to come will eventually come, what do you think?"

A person's life and death cannot stop the sharp blade of the army.

Nanyun was the first checkpoint for the Lingnan army to capture Jiangnan and other areas.

Gui Sheng must make this choice.

Gui Sheng was silent for a moment, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Sang Zhixia. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and said, "What if I can't give you the answer that Master Sang wants today?"

Sang Zhixia sneered, "Master Gui can also become Master Chen, or Master Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, etc."

Even if Nan Yun loses the Gui family, he can still have another family.

It doesn’t really matter whether the local emperor here has the surname Gui or not.

Sang Zhixia smiled regretfully at Gui Sheng's sullen expression and said softly, "The trend is irrelevant. Why fight to the death?"

"Besides, facing the Yongshun Emperor who is far away in Kyoto, Master Gui really has some loyalty in his heart. Why would he deceive himself?"

"You say so?"