Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Waiting for the housekeeper...
After the wives of the family heads had put away their clothes, Jiang Wan slowly spoke, "This garment is called a brocade harp. In our Great Zhou, a brocade harp is a beautifully decorated musical instrument, symbolizing the harmonious harmony between husband and wife, and their long life together. Jiang Wan wishes all the family heads and wives eternal love."
After a pause, she emphasized, "I also hope that the Great Zhou and Wusun will be united forever."
Jiang Wan clearly saw several family heads pause, but the gifts had been taken away by their wives. It was not easy to go back on his word, so he had to pretend nothing had happened.
Upon hearing this, Kunmi gave her a look of satisfaction and meaning. "I am also very pleased with your gift. I have decided to give you the same treatment as the Wusun merchants. No customs duties will be levied on you. You can enter and exit Chigu City directly with your token, without having to notify us."
"For the specific matters, please invite your envoy and his entourage to the palace for detailed discussion after dinner."
At the same time, a sweet system voice sounded in Jiang Wan's mind:
"Congratulations to the host for winning the favor of the Wusun nobles and common people, obtaining the sales permit, and rewarding 50 points."
"Host's current score: 2800 points. Please keep working hard."
August 3rd, noon.
Jiang Wan sat in the front hall of the inn, staring at the thick stack of land deeds and house deeds on the table. He was stunned for a long time before he found his voice.
"So many? All for free?"
The Wusun official sitting across from him nodded rapidly. "Of course! These are all unused plots of land owned by various families, rented to your Excellency free of charge. The houses can be renovated into shops, and the land can be used as factories. If your Excellency is short of staff, we're happy to provide them."
Bai Yanyun looked at the contract with great delight. "Ten shops in prosperous locations, nearly a hundred acres of land. Your country is truly... so welcoming."
"Of course. According to Wusun custom, divination is required before opening a business, and an auspicious day is chosen. Kunmi also informed me of this last night." The official took out a stick holder and said, "Please cooperate with me, Your Excellency."
This fortune stick is different from the blessing fortune sticks in the Lin'an temple. It is made of black iron, is completely black, and is engraved with Zoroastrian scriptures.
"Of course." Jiang Wan glanced at the lottery box, turned around with a smile, and asked the several deputy envoys behind him, "Who of you has good luck? Come and draw a lot."
"How about I do it?" Fang Zeshi took the fortune stick holder curiously and looked it over. "It's quite heavy. There are thirty-nine sticks in it, ten each of great luck, medium luck, and minor luck, eight with the Chinese character "中", and one with the Chinese character "凶".
Qi Qi asked, "As long as you don't sign with a harsh word, you can open your business, right?"
"Yes," the Wusun official replied.
Qi Qi breathed a sigh of relief: "That's not difficult."
The Wusun official smiled and said, "Before we promulgate important policies in Wusun, we always consult the heavens. If there are too many unlucky signs, then the policy won't be implemented at all."
Bai Yanyun also breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. But Lao Fang, don't come. Your fortune... Before leaving the city, we went to Huguo Temple to draw lots, and you were the only one who drew Xiaoji."
He looked distressed. "There are ninety-nine lots in the Huguo Temple's fortune-telling box, and only one is a small lucky number! And you drew it! You, you, you are not allowed to draw lots!"
Qi Qi was shocked by Fang Zeshi's extremely low luck value and snatched the lottery box away: "You are not allowed to take the lottery box!"
Fang Zeshi:...
"Let Lin Xiangzhi come," Qi Qi said, "He has the best fortune I've ever seen. He's sure to get a lucky draw."
Jiang Wan: "Alright. Lord Lin... Lord Lin?"
Lin Xiangzhi leaned against the back of the chair, his head nodding, and was dozing off.
Qi Qi was furious and slapped him on the stomach: "You only know how to sleep! Get up, it's time to draw lots!"
Among the five accompanying adjutants, Lin Xiangzhi had the lowest presence, not because he was aloof or incompetent - on the contrary, this man had strong professional abilities.
But he sleeps a lot.
When they first arrived in Chigu City, he dozed off while Jiang Wan was debating with the scholars in the meeting hall; during the sacrificial ceremony, he was also half asleep and half awake while standing in the back row.
Lin Xiangzhi rubbed his eyes, stood up dazedly, took the ballot box and shook it.
The Wusun official recited a few prayers and then turned to the heavens and asked, "Great Ao God, may I ask if we can open the business on August 4th?"
Lin Xiangzhi turned the stick holder upside down. A metal stick fell out of the small hole in the center of the holder.
He picked up the skewer and took a look, and the sleepiness on his face instantly disappeared.
The black iron skewer was pitch black, and the traditional Chinese character for "凶" on it was indeed blood red, exuding an indescribable strange aura.
Bai Yanyun leaned over to take a look and was shocked: "You, you, you... Lord Qi, didn't they say he had good luck with the lot? Out of thirty-nine lots, he only drew an unlucky one!"
"Ah? I've known him for three years, and he's really lucky." Qi Qi looked at the fortune stick in Lin Xiangzhi's hand, looking embarrassed. "Um, can we draw again?"
"Praying repeatedly is disrespectful to the Ao gods," said the Wusun official.
Bai Yanyun: "Ah, then...then we can't open the business without this, right?"
Wusun official: "If August 4th isn't suitable, then ask if the 5th is okay. If not, then ask the 6th or 7th. That's what we did when we introduced the new policy."
Jiang Wan:......
If you can’t draw a lucky sign, just keep drawing; policies must be issued, it’s just a matter of time.
Lin Xiangzhi shook the lottery box again.
The Wusun official repeated his prayer: "...Is August 5th a suitable date for opening?"
Lin Xiangzhi picked up the fallen fortune stick, and it was still an unlucky one.
Shake again, open again. Do this five times, and every time it's a bad sign.
Lin Xiangzhi's expression was solemn, his forehead covered in sweat. Jiang Wan, Bai Yanyun, and Fang Zeshi exchanged glances; all three sensed something was amiss.
The Wusun official hesitated and said, "I've been doing this for over a decade and have never encountered such a situation... Your Excellency, I'm afraid the Aotian gods really don't approve of your shop opening. How about we consult the divination again in two months?"
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and asked, "Can I open the lottery box and take a look?"
She certainly didn't believe any of that nonsense about the Ao gods stopping her. Drawing a bad fortune sign once could be considered bad luck, but drawing it five times in a row could mean someone's playing tricks on her.
She picked up the stick box, felt the bottom of it, shook it to her ear, then took out all the sticks and put them into the box one by one, shaking it.
The movement trajectory of a problematic lottery ticket when shaken will definitely be different from that of a normal lottery ticket.
When Jiang Wan reached the "bad luck" stick, he indeed sensed something unusual. A normal iron stick would make a crisp, short sound when it hit the wall of the stick holder, but the "bad luck" stick made a dull, drawn-out sound, indicating that its shaking was smaller than a normal stick.
"Master Jiang, the sound is obviously different." Bai Yanyun asked, "Is there a magnet at the bottom of the stick?"
Jiang Wan took out the stick, pressed the bottom against the outer wall of the stick tube, and pulled it out. Sure enough, he felt a slight suction.
With this suction force, the movement of the lucky stick is much slower than that of the other sticks, and the slow-moving sticks will be wrapped by the other fast-moving sticks and gradually move closer to the center of the stick tube.
Since the suction force was weak, less than gravity, the sticks would still fall out when the stick holder was turned upside down. So Lin Xiangzhi shook the stick several times, but each time he got the bad sign.
She handed the lottery box to the Wusun official and said, "Try it."
The Wusun official tried the same thing a few times and flew into a rage: "Someone's tampering with the fortune stick! I'm going to report this to the high priest!"
"Wait a minute, may I ask where did you get this fortune-telling stick? Does your country only use this one fortune-telling stick?" Jiang Wan asked.
"Of course it's in the temple's sacrificial hall. There are many fortune sticks there. This one was given to me by the temple's alternate priest." The Wusun official spread his hands helplessly. "Your Excellency knows that there are still some people in Wusun who don't want you to open your business smoothly. Perhaps that alternate priest happens to be pro-Xiongnu."
Jiang Wan remained noncommittal. "Does this candidate priest, the one you're talking about, keep the lottery box?"
"No, the sticks are stored on the third floor of the sacrificial hall, under the care of nine alternate priests," the Wusun official said. "Anyway, I'll report this to Kunmi and have him investigate thoroughly. I'll replace the sticks with a clean one. The divination ceremony will be postponed for two days. Please wait."
After seeing off the Wusun officials, Jiang Wan sat in a soft chair and drank tea silently, tapping the armrest of the chair with his left index finger.
She couldn't understand. Drawing on her experience from two lifetimes, she believed this couldn't be a spur-of-the-moment decision. Tampering with the fortune stick wouldn't actually prevent her from opening her shop—as the Wusun official had just said, as long as Kunmi supported it, fortune-telling was just a formality. At worst, they could just repeat the divination again later until they drew an auspicious sign. However, if the tampering with the fortune stick was discovered, the alternate priest who had custody of it that day would be punished.
The alternative priest is the apprentice of the high priest, a position with a promising future. There is absolutely no need to ruin one's own future just for a little resentment in one's heart.
But if it was premeditated, how could the date for the divination be determined? This date was discussed by Jiang Wan and Kunmi personally after the sacrificial ceremony last night. No one else knew about it in advance except Kunmi and the members of the delegation.
The fortune sticks were kept by nine alternate priests in turn, so this was definitely a gang operation. Either these nine people were all pro-Xiongnu and hostile to Jiang Wan, which guaranteed that no matter what day the fortune was being told, someone would be able to tamper with the sticks.
Or, there was a mole among the members of the delegation around her who leaked the date of the divination.
Jiang Wan put down her teacup and looked around at the four members of the delegation. Lin Xiangzhi, who had been drawing lots, dozed off while standing; Bai Yanyun was complaining; Fang Zeshi folded his arms, deep in thought. Qi Qi looked at her and asked, "My Lord, what are you thinking about?"
Liu Ming...Liu Ming is on leave today.
After a while, Jiang Wan stood up and said softly, "It's nothing. You don't have to worry too much. It's just a postponement of the divination. The new store will still open smoothly. Just purchase supplies as usual over the next two days and prepare for the opening."
Blocking the divination ceremony cannot prevent Jiang Wan from opening her new store. The only effect... is to make her suspicious of the people around her.
The person behind the scenes went to such great lengths, sacrificing a backup priest and risking the exposure of the mole, just to arouse her suspicion?
No matter what this person wants to do, Jiang Wan cannot investigate further now, otherwise the morale of the delegation will be lost.
She has to find the "ghost" in the team first.
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