90 enemies

◎"He clearly has ill intentions."◎

After the two finished their conversation, Shen Suqin pushed open the door and came out, where she saw a servant from the Shen family waiting at the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

The servant replied, "Someone from the south has come to visit; I've come to invite the lady back."

"Who's in the south?" Shen Suqin asked.

The servant shook his head. "They say it's the Chen family of Hewen County, Yuzhou."

"Why is it his house?" Su Yubai asked in surprise.

"You recognize him?" Shen Suqin asked.

"I've already spoken to them before, this family... um... is hard to judge."

"Come with me and take a look."

"good."

On the way back to the city, Su Yubai carefully introduced the Chen family to Shen Suqin.

The Chen family of Hewen County, Yuzhou, were government-owned iron ore miners and long-established imperial merchants.

It is said that the land beneath Hewen County is full of iron ore, and the Chen family owns 80% of it. After generations of management, their wealth is unfathomable. Even the local governor, who wants to establish a kinship with them, can only marry a legitimate daughter from a collateral branch.

Unfortunately, after several generations of mining, the underground of Hewen County has been almost completely depleted, and iron ore is becoming increasingly scarce. In the past two years, it has been almost completely devoid of ore, and the Chen family has been declining year after year.

Now that a new mine has suddenly appeared in Jinzhou, the Chen family cannot remain indifferent.

They first sent people to investigate Yan Lin's background.

Yan Lin's identity had not been deliberately concealed before, after all, he had always been the owner of Xingyuan Restaurant, and anyone with a keen eye could easily find out by asking around.

Shen Suqin's identity has only been revealed to the upper echelons of the court and some officials in the northern border region.

As for the relationship between Yan Lin and Shen Suqin, it's hard to say, because the two have never been open about it. Even when the Chen family investigated, they only found out that the two of them jointly owned Xingyuan Restaurant.

As a result, a division arose within the Chen family.

The head of the family, Chen Yanrong, said, "Yan Lin is fine, but if he has any connection with the Xiao family, then things will get complicated. My idea is to give him a share of the spoils so that things don't escalate."

“I disagree. Our family has finally found a new mine, how can we share it with others? Patriarch, don’t forget, the imperial court has said that if we don’t produce enough iron next year, our status as imperial merchants will be revoked,” said the second branch of the Chen family.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"Take as many as you have. If all else fails, ask Mu Zhou to put pressure on us."

The head of the family said, "But I heard that His Highness the Crown Prince is also in Jinzhou. Could he be involved with this iron mine?"

"So what if we have them? We have Prime Minister Pei behind us. His Highness couldn't defeat Prime Minister Pei back then, and he's in a precarious position now. Besides, as long as he wants to return to the capital, he has to give face to the Pei family, and naturally, he has to give face to our family as well."

Chen Yanrong hesitated.

“Patriarch, don’t think about it anymore. This is an opportunity given to our Chen family by God. If we miss it, the Chen family may never recover.”

Chen Yanrong was persuaded. In the end, the situation was beyond his control, leaving him no choice but to gamble.

"Then you two should make a trip to Jinzhou, go find that woman first and sound her out, so you don't directly confront Master Yan."

"yes."

And so, Chen Fengnian, the head of the Chen family, stood in front of the Shen residence with generous gifts.

Before entering Ningyuan, looking at the old and simple city gate, he thought that Ningyuan was not as magical as the legends said, with its valleys full of gold and granaries.

Upon entering Ningyuan City, seeing the brand-new streets and houses of varying ages, they felt it was far inferior to their Hewen County, and a sense of contempt arose in their hearts.

He handed in the visiting card and stood respectfully at the door to wait, but in his heart he thought that a small family like his was trying to act like a big family.

He waited for a long time but no one came, and he was shivering from the cold.

He had never been to such a northern place before. Many people told him that Jinzhou was very cold in winter, so cold that your ears could freeze off if you went outside for a short while.

Therefore, he prepared many warm items on the carriage, such as animal skin cloaks, hand warmers, charcoal braziers, and so on.

He was freezing, and he complained inwardly that the Shen family was not hospitable enough to invite him inside.

Little did they know that ever since Shen Suqin was assassinated, Xiao Pingchuan had forbidden strangers from approaching the Shen residence unless they received Shen Suqin's permission.

After another half-cup of tea time, Shen Suqin's carriage stopped at the door.

Su Yubai was the first to come down. As soon as he appeared, he shouted, "Hey, Brother Fengnian, what brings you here?"

Chen Fengnian's expression changed. How could it be him?

Shen Suqin then got out of the car and asked Su Yubai, "Do you two know each other?"

Su Yubai slapped Chen Fengnian on the shoulder: "Let me introduce you. This is the Chen family of Hewen County, Yuzhou. They are a century-old family, imperial merchants, and very wealthy. This is my boss, the manager of Xingyuan Restaurant, surnamed Shen."

“Patriarch Chen,” Shen Suqin said.

"No, no, no..." Chen Fengnian waved his hands repeatedly.

Su Yubai interrupted, "You're wrong. Patriarch Chen isn't dead yet. Brother Fengnian is the second son of the Chen family. Steward Shen can just call him Boss Chen."

Shen Suqin changed her address to: "Boss Chen".

Chen Fengnian's face was grim, and he forced a reply: "Yes, yes."

"Mr. Chen, you've come from afar. I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please come inside and let's talk," Shen Suqin said.

Chen Fengnian was quite pleased with her attitude and finally smiled, waving his hand and saying, "Please, Master Chen."

Su Yubai: What's with the formalities?

After saying that, he pushed Chen Fengnian's shoulder aside and went inside on his own.

Shen Suqin smiled and said, "Master Su is easygoing, Mr. Chen, don't take him seriously."

Chen Fengnian forced a smile: "No problem, no problem."

Stepping into the front hall, it instantly felt as warm as a March day.

Chen Fengnian only knew that the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) originated from the northern border region, and that they also had heated kangs in their area during the winter. He just didn't know why this hall was so warm even though there was no heated kang in it.

Shen Suqin explained, "There is a fire dragon underground that keeps burning fire for twelve hours a day."

Chen Fengnian immediately conducted a new assessment of the Shen family's financial resources.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, no one served tea after Chen Fengnian sat down.

He was a little thirsty and coughed twice, but Shen Suqin ignored him.

"I wonder what brings Mr. Chen all this way?" Shen Suqin asked bluntly.

Chen Fengnian, however, began to laugh it off, saying, "I brought some local specialties from the south. Why don't you take a look, Manager Shen?"

"What are you looking at? What good things haven't our master seen? Besides, there's no such thing as an unsolicited favor; we wouldn't dare accept gifts from the Chen family, for fear of being targeted again," Su Yubai said casually.

Chen Fengnian took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and pretended not to hear, continuing to say to Shen Suqin, "These are all valuable items; the manager will definitely like them."

"Valuable? Ha, how valuable?"

"Su Yubai! I've put up with you for far too long!"

Su Yubai slammed his fist on the table: "Chen Fengnian, I've put up with you for too long! You think you can rise above me just because you've brought down my Su family? What? Did some powerful figure not protect you, forcing you to come all this way here, licking your boots and begging for help?"

"I'm not saying this to be mean, but you should act like one when you're asking for a favor. With that arrogant attitude of yours, are you waiting for someone to ask you for a favor, or are you asking for one?"

"If you can't do it, then don't do it! What a piece of trash!"

Chen Fengnian took a few deep breaths, then smiled and said to Shen Suqin, "Master Su must have some misunderstandings about me. I'll explain to Master Su later. Let's talk about business first."

Shen Suqin, however, was impressed by his temperament and smiled, "Of course."

"Mr. Su, please go down first. Let me speak with Mr. Chen alone," she said to Su Yubai.

Su Yubai snorted coldly and turned away.

After he left, Chen Fengnian was clearly relieved, and his tone when speaking to Shen Suqin became much more casual.

"I heard that Manager Shen owns an iron mine?"

Shen Suqin laughed: "Boss Chen's information network isn't very good. That iron mine belongs to my elder brother Yanlin, so I don't have the final say."

"I've long heard that Master Yan treats you like his own sister, so your words must carry more weight than others'."

"What does Mr. Chen want?"

"What I want to do depends on what Master Yan decides."

"Then why doesn't Boss Chen just talk to my brother directly?"

Chen Fengnian touched his nose: "I'm not familiar with Master Yan's temperament, and I was afraid that a hasty visit would offend him again, so I came to Steward Shen's place first to sound him out."

"Scouting out the enemy is easy, but I wonder what benefit I'll get from it?"

Chen Fengnian's smile deepened, realizing that Shen Suqin had taken the bait. "I brought the gifts: a fist-sized luminous pearl, rouge and face powder, and hairpins and jewelry. Manager Shen will surely like them."

Shen Suqin smiled but remained silent.

Chen Fengnian was annoyed by her laughter, and licked his dry lips, saying, "Master Shen is not happy?"

"How could that be?" Shen Suqin said, "Mr. Chen, please ask whatever you want, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

Chen Fengnian rubbed his hands together and leaned forward, asking, "I wonder if Chief Yan is close to that person?"

Shen Suqin asked knowingly, "Who is it?"

"Your Highness," Chen Fengnian said in a low voice.

"Oh, His Highness the Crown Prince? Not close. The two hardly ever interact. Mainly because His Highness is busy and rarely shows his face. Ordinary people like us usually don't see him."

Chen Fengnian asked with satisfaction, "Has Chief Yan gotten married yet?"

No.

What are his hobbies?

Shen Suqin thought for a moment: "He likes to keep cats."

"Raccoon slave?"

"Yes, he has a white cat named Tangtuan, which he loves very much and never lets go of at home."

"besides......."

The two chatted privately for almost the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before Shen Suqin escorted him to the door.

"Mr. Chen, you must be tired from your journey. Please get some rest. I'll introduce you to Master Yan later."

"Sir Shen, you must keep this matter in mind and not forget it. Rest assured, you will be richly rewarded after it is done. You can choose whatever you want, including hairpins, jewelry, fine clothes, rouge, and face powder."

"Yes, yes." Shen Suqin was speaking when Shi Ye came to visit her.

He came alone today, without any other people with him.

Arriving at the door, he stopped and asked Shen Suqin, "We have guests."

Shen Suqin: "Boss Chen from the south."

Chen Fengnian had never met His Highness the Crown Prince before, and assumed he was Shen Suqin's errand boy. He glanced at him briefly but did not greet him.

"You go in first," Shen Suqin said to Shi Ye, her smile revealing a deep malice.

"good."

Shen Suqin turned back to Chen Fengnian and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Chen, I will do my best to handle your matter and make sure you don't make a wasted trip."