Chapter 5 is an exclusive production, guaranteed to be of the highest quality.
Chapter 5
"I know you're generous, but I just can't compete with you, can I?" Shen Suining complimented He Hansheng while observing his changing expression.
Unfortunately, He Hansheng was extremely good at managing his expressions, and he managed to prevent Shen Suining from noticing the slightest flaw.
“Then… one ingot? One ingot is fine too, consider it a favor from your younger sister,” Shen Suining conceded. “I spent three whole days finding out this information, it’s definitely worth more than its price. If you don’t buy it from me, you might not be able to find out the information yourself.”
He Hansheng remained unmoved, seemingly pondering the credibility of the girl in front of him who was wearing a human skin mask and using a false identity.
According to the information He Hansheng received, Shuyu Manor had paid a hefty sum to kill Sheng Qingge, but the actions of "Sister Cuihua" from Shuyu Manor seemed to contradict this information—
If she was willing to pay to have someone killed, why would she sell herself such an important clue as Sheng Qingge's whereabouts?
Seeing that He Hansheng remained silent for a long time, seemingly uninterested, Shen Suining grew anxious. "How about... you make an offer?"
He Hansheng pondered for a moment, then followed up with a price offered by Shen Suining: "Twenty taels of silver."
"Silver? Only twenty taels?!" Shen Suining's eyes widened. This amount of money wasn't even enough for a stroll around Qianchunfang.
He Hansheng hummed in agreement. "If you think it's too little, then forget it."
"Hey, wait a minute," Shen Suining grabbed He Hansheng's arm and closed her eyes, "Give me a little more, how about fifty taels?"
He Hansheng ignored her and pulled his arm away to leave.
"No way? Then... thirty taels? Hey, even ten more taels won't do?"
Shen Suining chased after He Hansheng all the way from one end of the street to the other, but she didn't ask for an extra penny.
Adhering to the principle that even a small fly is still meat, Shen Suining gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, fine, I'll give you a friendly price, twenty taels it is!"
He Hansheng then stopped and turned to continue negotiating with Shen Suining: "Twenty taels of silver, and you tell me the whereabouts of Sheng Qingge, and answer three questions for me."
"No way, how can you do business like this? You agree on the price and then start negotiating terms?" Shen Suining laughed angrily. After so many years in the business world, she had never met a merchant even more stingy than herself.
"You disagree? Then forget it." He Hansheng turned and left.
As the saying goes, even a hero can be brought down by a penny. Shen Suining thought about the expenses of the past few days and the foreseeable future expenditures, and was completely captivated by the twenty taels of silver that were right in front of him.
After struggling for a moment, Shen Suining clenched her fist, gritted her teeth, and agreed: "Fine, deal!"
...
The deal was done, and the two parties agreed to meet in a private room on the third floor of a teahouse. Jiang Yuchu and Shen Fengyu stood guard at the door.
As promised, Shen Suining informed Sheng Qingge that she was going to Suzhou to seek refuge.
“Qianchunfang? Song Sanniang?” He Hansheng frowned; he had never heard of this person before.
Shen Suining explained, “Qianchunfang, like Wanhualou, is a famous brothel in Jiangnan, and it is also home to Jianghu forces. Qianchunfang is much larger, about ten times the size of Wanhualou, and is divided into five gardens (East, South, West, North, and Central) and four pavilions (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter). In addition, it is involved in gray industries such as underground casinos. Furthermore, since Qianchunfang does not have a head, the several managers operate independently with different rules, and Song Sanniang is someone who can speak up among the managers.”
He Hansheng knew less and less accurate information than Shen Suining, especially regarding Sheng Qingge, a woman of the world who roamed the martial arts world. Without sufficient sources of information, He Hansheng's actions were indeed fraught with difficulties and troubles.
After a moment of contemplation, He Hansheng asked, "What is the relationship between Sheng Qingge and Song Sanniang?"
Shen Suining raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Is this one of the three questions you want to ask me?"
"no."
“Then I don’t want to tell you,” Shen Suining paused for a moment, “unless you pay more.”
"Then forget it." He Hansheng refused directly, not giving Shen Suining a chance to negotiate. "I'll start asking you three questions now, and you have to answer them truthfully."
Shen Suining was wary: "I can't guarantee the truthfulness of matters involving confidential identities."
He Hansheng: "Don't worry, I know your rules."
Shen Suining: "I also have the right not to answer other questions."
"Can."
Shen Suining was relieved and leaned lazily against the table, resting her chin on her hand. "Then ask away. Whether I answer or not depends on my mood."
Without hesitation, He Hansheng asked, "Tell me first, is your mission to eliminate Sheng Qingge?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Suining immediately sat up straight, her expression becoming much more serious.
He Hansheng: "You can't even say this?"
“Not exactly,” Shen Suining thought for a moment, “but you must promise that no matter what my answer is, you will not leak it in the future, and you will not interfere with me.”
"OK."
Shen Suining: "A gentleman's agreement?"
He Hansheng: "A gentleman's agreement."
After a moment of contemplation, Shen Suining truthfully replied, "No."
She immediately added, "Whether she lives or dies is not important to me, but if you want to kill her, you have to let me and her get things done first."
“No problem,” He Hansheng concealed the fact that he didn’t intend to kill Sheng Qingge. “Does this matter between you and Sheng Qingge involve any other third parties?”
"I can't answer that, next." Shen Suining refused decisively.
“Then I’ll try something else,” He Hansheng thought for a moment, “If Sheng Qingge dies, will this matter you’re trying to handle come to an end?”
“If nothing unexpected happens, yes.” Shen Suining paused, then added, “But that’s no excuse for you to go back on your word. In the world of martial arts, reputation is of utmost importance. If you lie to me, you’ll never be able to find a wife in your life.”
He Hansheng smiled. He looked at Shen Suining sitting opposite him and inexplicably found the woman to be somewhat cute.
"What are you laughing at?"
He Hansheng shook his head, a question suddenly popping into his mind that had nothing to do with the previous two: "Why aren't you covering your face today? Aren't you afraid I'll see it?"
Shen Suining was stunned, feeling somewhat bewildered. "This is the third one?"
"I guess so."
"Such a boring question, is it even worth asking?" Shen Suining laughed, but then began to think seriously. "It's probably because we'll have plenty of opportunities to spar in the near future, and you'll see it sooner or later. And I've never wanted to do anything like this, which only makes things more complicated."
"OK."
He Hansheng snapped his fingers, and Jiang Yuchu outside placed a box on the table.
He Hansheng pushed the box toward Shen Suining, smiled meaningfully, and said, "Well then, happy transaction."
The box was heavy, and when Shen Suining saw it, she immediately beamed with joy.
"Brother Tiezhu is so generous," Shen Suining said, holding the box in her arms and weighing it in her hands, quite satisfied. "How about I do you another favor?"
Shen Suining tapped on the table, and Shen Fengyu came in and handed over a scroll.
Shen Suining took the scroll, twirled it in her hand, and placed it in the middle of the table. "A portrait of Song San Niang. Qianchunfang is a large and influential family with many people. It's not easy to find someone without connections."
He Hansheng raised an eyebrow slightly, "More money again?"
"Tsk, do you think I'm that greedy?" Shen Suining rolled her eyes and pushed the scroll toward He Hansheng. "Consider this portrait a gift from your sister to your brother."
He Hansheng gladly accepted.
He picked up the scroll and unfolded it, his expression instantly freezing.
On the drawing paper, there were several blobs of ink of different sizes, shapes, and shades, with only a few rough lines barely outlining a face.
He Hansheng: "..."
“Sister Cuihua, forgive my poor eyesight,” He Hansheng raised his eyes, maintaining his smile, “Is this a painting of a person?”
"Of course, I drew it myself. Exclusive production, no deception for young or old."
Shen Suining spoke arrogantly. Seeing He Hansheng's slightly trembling eyes, she seized the opportunity to add, "If you want the artist's version, you'll have to pay more. It's not much, fifteen taels of silver will be enough."
He Hansheng snapped the scroll shut.
Seeing that the other party was clearly displeased, Shen Fengyu quickly came to the rescue, saying, "Actually, the painting of Song San Niang by Cuihua is already quite lifelike. Young Master Tie doesn't necessarily have to spend extra money."
"...Like?" He Hansheng gave a forced smile. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"
"Really, really, you'll see when you get to Suzhou and meet Song San Niang. We're telling you the absolute truth." Seeing that things weren't going well, Shen Fengyu quickly picked up the money box on the table. "Alright, alright, we have other things to do, so we'll take our leave now."
After saying that, he grabbed Shen Suining and slipped away.
After Shen Suining left, He Hansheng sat at the table, took a few deep breaths, and remained motionless for a long time.
Jiang Yuchu asked worriedly, "Young Master, your good temper today is really unusual. Could it be... that you've fallen under their spell?"
He Hansheng: "..."
"Young master, we must be careful. What if the information they gave us is a trap..."
“She’s a smart woman. If it were a trap, they would have revealed it to me in a more unexpected way. There’s no need for such a high-profile, forceful attempt to sell,” He Hansheng forced a smile. “As for the seduction technique, come here.”
He Hansheng beckoned to Jiang Yuchu, and when the other man leaned in, he raised his hand without changing his expression and slammed his head hard onto the table.
"Bang!"
...
After leaving the teahouse, Shen Fengyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, "That was close."
Shen Suining was displeased and shook off her hand. "Why are you stopping me? You're losing fifteen taels of silver for nothing. Do you know how rare it is to find such a sucker?"
Shen Fengyu glared at her and turned to leave.
"Hey, what's with that expression?" Shen Suining said unhappily, catching up with Shen Fengyu. "Selling such an important clue for only twenty taels of silver, don't you think we're losing out big time?"
"I'm more worried about your life than these ugly ducklings!"
Shen Fengyu stopped in her tracks, took a deep breath, and began to reprimand her seriously: "Young Master, even if we are short of money right now, you can't just sell every clue you can find, can you? Putting aside the fact that we still have no clue about where the other party came from, those two are obviously not stupid. When he asked those three questions, I was sweating bullets for you!"
Shen Suining rarely saw Shen Fengyu with such an attitude. He was stunned for a moment, speechless, and then waved his hand, "Never mind, never mind. It was an unexpected windfall anyway. It's better than nothing."
The two walked down the street, Shen Fengyu holding the box without saying a word, clearly still sulking.
Shen Suining thought for a moment and offered each other a way out, "Um... how about you take this money first and settle the accounts of Miaoyin Pavilion?"
"It's not just the Miaoyin Pavilion, is it?"
Shen Fengyu went down the steps, thinking about the accounts of the past few days, and felt quite troubled.
The two returned to Miaoyin Pavilion, and Shen Fengyu opened the box given to her by He Hansheng, which contained several heavy pieces of broken stone.
A note from the author:
----------------------
[Mini Theater]
Author: Today we won by a small margin. Young Master He, what are your thoughts?
He Hansheng: The most skilled hunters often appear as prey.
Author: Speaking in Plain Language
He Hansheng: My wife is going to die TT
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