"I...I..." Even someone as calm and intelligent as Miss Shen could find herself speechless one day.
"Sorry, I was just lost in thought."
She wanted to find an excuse to get off the hook, but Qin Zhuo wouldn't allow it: "You still haven't answered me, is it good or not?"
Shen Ning: "......"
Suppressing the restless shame, she calmly said, "Young Master Qin has the appearance of a celestial being, so naturally he is handsome."
Qin Zhuo raised an eyebrow slightly, offering no comment on the answer.
A hand was extended in front of her, large in the palm and with long, slender fingers: "Where is what I asked for? Give it to me."
Shen Ning took out a purse. Because Qin Zhuo liked to wear dark colors, Shen Ning chose a black brocade with a dark pattern as the base. The front and back were embroidered with the auspicious beast Qilin. The edges of the pattern were inlaid with gold thread to brighten it. Gold thread was also added to the rope, and three blood-red agate beads were strung on it.
Aside from her mediocre embroidery skills, she truly achieved understated luxury.
Of course, she put her heart into the embroidery. Although it wasn't very refined, it was generally fine unless you looked closely. If it were really ugly, she wouldn't have shown it off.
"I am not good at needlework, so there may be some flaws. Please take a look, and if you are not satisfied, I can make changes."
When he needed someone's help, Shen Ning adopted a very humble attitude.
Qin Zhuo took it, playing with it in one hand and holding the wine glass in the other.
He first looked at the overall piece, then at the embroidery, and mocked mercilessly, "Your embroidery skills haven't improved in ten years."
Shen Ning looked up in confusion. Ten years have passed like the same day?
"Have you seen my embroidery before, young master?"
Qin Zhuo held the purse, inside which was a stack of paper items. He picked them open with his fingertips, and could vaguely see that they were gold notes.
Besides his sister, she was the second woman in his life to give him money to get rid of him.
"I've met you." Qin Zhuo looked up at Shen Ning, his eyes deep and unfathomable: "You're so young, yet you have a bad memory."
Shen Ning: "......"
She genuinely doesn't remember. At her current age, decades ago, she wouldn't have been nine years old, especially considering it's a lifetime ago. How could she possibly remember?
"Please tell me, young master."
Qin Zhuo had no desire to speak. He finished his wine, put down the cup, and took out the gold notes from his purse.
Five bills with a face value of one thousand taels each, totaling five thousand taels of gold. She said she would give half of her family fortune to get him to do it, which was quite generous of her.
"Five thousand taels to buy my goods, Miss Shen is very generous. But perhaps Miss Shen is thinking of a cash-on-delivery transaction?"
Shen Ning lowered her eyes: "I've said it before, from now on, half of the Shen family's profits will belong to you."
Although she was a female merchant, she valued her promises and always kept her word.
Qin Zhuo casually toyed with the gold notes, which would be a fortune for an ordinary family, and smiled contemptuously: "It is an honor that Miss Shen values my meager abilities, but you are too naive to think that paying a little gold and silver as a price is enough. There is no such thing as a free lunch."
Shen Ning frowned. Her first thought was that he felt she didn't have enough bargaining chips, but she really didn't have any more substantial or competitive chips to offer.
While Shen Ning was still lost in thought, a hot finger brushed across her cheek. The unusual touch startled her, and her pupils trembled slightly.
Looking up, I was instantly met with a pair of eyes that seemed to penetrate the depths of darkness, dangerous yet chillingly sinister.
"You should have heard of Qin's reputation. Aren't you afraid of dying a horrible death if you get involved with me?"
Qin Zhuo was only considering his own situation, but Shen Ning knew much more and thought things through very deeply in an instant.
The Empress's younger brother, the Emperor's brother-in-law's reputation, and the power of the Crown Prince's lineage—these could serve as a powerful facade, allowing Shen Ning to intimidate others. However, the Crown Prince's lineage was not as glamorous as it appeared. On the contrary, the struggle for the throne carried far greater risks than benefits.
If something happens to the Crown Prince, it won't just be a matter of losing his life.
Those in positions of power vie for dominance, with undercurrents of intrigue and bloodshed brewing beneath the surface. Sometimes, even the lowest-ranking members are eliminated by their opponents before the final showdown, dying silently and without a trace.
If Shen Ning gets on Qin Zhuo's ship, she will inevitably face even greater risks in the future.
Shen Ning's expression turned serious; she admitted that she had overlooked this point before.
However, she was not unaware that businessmen pursue profits, and that risks and benefits go hand in hand; she was not afraid of risks.
Moreover, she had already considered this when she guessed that the kidnapping was related to King Zhao. In this life, King Zhao lost the Ministry of Revenue and lost an arm, while she could foresee the situation, so the outcome was uncertain.
The crown prince may not necessarily lose, and she may not necessarily die.
Besides, even if she does nothing, with Shen Shu around, she probably won't be able to live in peace in the end.
Shen Ning calmly looked at the almost bewitching face of the person opposite her, her mind unaffected: "Young Master Qin, can you tell me who exactly kidnapped Shen Yu?"
Qin Zhuo pursed his lips slightly, seemingly reluctant to mention it, but still answered, "They're all dead, their identities can't be found."
Since Shen Ning had chosen to approach Qin Zhuo, how could she let those people easily take away her ten thousand taels of gold?
Therefore, what Mo Lin sent out was only a box full of stones, while the gold had already been switched and deposited into a money exchange.
Mo Lin sent the box out only to lure the snake out of its hole. They had been monitoring the Shen family and were sure that Shen Ning had not reported to the authorities or hired thugs, but they did not expect that Shen Ning had hired the most expensive thug.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
Qin Zhuo's men were incredibly skilled at investigation. Following a single clue, they found Shen Yu and brought him back. They raided the bandits' hideout, and in the end, no one knew that Shen Ning had only sent out a cartload of stones.
Qin Zhuo probably wanted to leave two people alive, but they all ended up committing suicide by poison.
Qin Zhuo was also dissatisfied that he couldn't find the mastermind behind the scenes. Shen Ning was willing to spend a lot of money, but he couldn't even find the mastermind behind the scenes. Wouldn't that make him look incompetent?
Shen Ning then asked, "Do you believe what I said before about King Zhao?"
Mentioning this, Qin Zhuo glanced at her with an ambiguous look, then picked up the wine pot and poured himself some wine.
"We sent someone to investigate. Although King Zhao has never given up on finding a doctor to treat his leg, there has been no progress so far. As for whether he is really faking it, we don't have an answer yet."
King Zhao has been lying low for many years, so it won't be easy to find any flaws, especially since no one had noticed him before. There are no useful spies in King Zhao's residence, and the information he's gathering now is probably something he let others know, so it can't be used as evidence.
He paused, then chuckled, his dark eyes gleaming with a dangerous light: "So, where did you get that information from?"
If those messages are true, they could be considered King Zhao's most closely guarded secrets. How could an outsider possibly know them?
Shen Ning: "......"
A false lie needs a tangible basis to support it; otherwise, one lie can only be covered up by countless others.
Ultimately, she chose to remain silent. She couldn't speak, but she felt even more strongly that she couldn't lie, because the consequences were unpredictable.
Qin Zhuo waited for a while and received a silence. He didn't make things difficult for him and lazily raised his hand: "Think it over slowly. I'll listen to your nonsense after you've thought it through."
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