Chapter 679 Overt Schemes and Human Hearts
Li San Niang wasn't surprised at all by what Mr. Bu Ke said. After all, she had guessed it on the way here, so she wasn't surprised to find out that she was going to try to get information out of the foreigners.
However, based on her past interactions with Mr. Bu Ke, Xing Yu, and Chang Siyuan, as well as her speculations about Emperor Wu based on rumors, Li San Niang had a question in her mind at this moment.
After thinking for a moment, seeing that no one in the room spoke, she spoke up in front of everyone: "I wonder what time and space this foreigner is speaking in?"
Gentlemen, are any of you fluent in other languages?
The question of Li San Niang was naturally on everyone's mind as well; everyone had doubts about it.
After all, the war caused by the harm of opium, which Li San Niang mentioned at the previous gathering, does not exist in every time and space.
Who knows which time and space that foreigner came from? What language did he speak?
Facing Li Sanniang's gaze, Xing Yu said somewhat awkwardly, "I do have some business acumen, but I've long forgotten the little bit of English I learned as a student."
After Xing Yu spoke, Bi Qionglan followed up, saying, "I can understand the documents I need to read, but when I speak, I have a strong accent, so I don't know if the person can understand me."
After saying this, Bi Qionglan rattled off a sentence to everyone. Li Sanniang listened from the side, trying hard to decipher it, but still couldn't understand what it meant.
Upon seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Bi Qionglan knew that she couldn't use those words.
Suddenly, Chang Siyuan looked at Mr. Bu Ke at the head of the table and asked in confusion, "Sir, in this situation, is there not a single official in the Court of State Ceremonial who can speak with him?"
Upon hearing Chang Siyuan's words, everyone suddenly realized, "That's right, leave professional matters to professionals. The Court of State Ceremonial is full of talented people. If we really want to extract information, surely there's someone who can talk to foreigners?"
Ding Mingxuan, taking advantage of Chang Siyuan's words, looked at Mr. Bu Ke and continued to ask: "Moreover, since this European and Turk are mixed together, he must also know some Turkic language."
The Tang Dynasty had dealt with the Turks for many years; how could the Court of State Ceremonial not have a single official who could speak Turkic?
Ding Mingxuan's face clearly showed disbelief and the expression that seemed to say, "Are you trying to harm us?" Li Sanniang watched as Xing Yu's face also showed resistance and fear after hearing Ding Mingxuan's words.
She glanced at Ding Mingxuan, then turned back to look at Mr. Bu Ke, who still looked as refined and noble as ever. She wanted to say a few polite words to ease the tense atmosphere in the room, but after opening her mouth, Li San Niang thought for a moment and then kept quiet.
"Haha, haha," Mr. Bu Ke's laughter rang out in the room. He was not intimidated by Chang Siyuan and Ding Mingyuan's words at all, and did not feel embarrassed at all. On the contrary, Mr. Bu Ke still looked very interested.
After laughing, Mr. Ke still had a gentle smile on his face. After a moment, he slowly explained to everyone: "What Doctor Chang and Master Ding said is right. That foreigner named Edward does know some Turkic. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to command those Turkic men."
We naturally consulted the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial, and it was the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial who obtained the name of this foreigner from the few Turks they had captured alive.
But the foreigner was exceptionally cunning; after we captured him, he kept silent.
To be honest, these scoundrels do have some tricks up their sleeves. They used some methods on that foreigner, but still couldn't get him to talk.
Yesterday, the man, barely clinging to life, finally uttered a single sentence.
Seeing Mr. Bu Ke's increasingly solemn expression, Li San Niang felt that his next words would not be kind, and she felt a little uneasy.
He said he wanted to see you.
Mr. Bu Ke scanned the eight people present one by one. "For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, the Emperor wanted to learn the truth about opium from this person as soon as possible, so he agreed to let him meet with you."
That is the truth. I hope that everyone will do their utmost for the sake of the Tang Dynasty!
After saying this, Mr. Bu Ke had his hunchbacked servant push him out of the room, leaving Li San Niang and the other eight people looking at each other in bewilderment.
"This is an open conspiracy!"
Looking at the tea leaves unfurling in the teacup, Li Sanniang continued, "This Edward's scheme was twofold: first, to increase his bargaining power and secure his survival."
Secondly, they want to incite a conflict of interest between us and undermine our alliance from within.
"Three?"
He probably wanted to send a message to his accomplices outside who hadn't been caught yet.
After all, since they were able to infiltrate Chang'an, they must be aware of our unusual behavior. Perhaps the real mastermind knows everything about us.
Chang Siyuan added this to Li Sanniang's words.
"Sigh," Bi Qionglan let out a long sigh. She lowered her head, looked at the ground, and said helplessly, "Grandma, I won't go with you."
Grandma used to be a farmer, and she will always be a farmer. She won't get involved in this kind of thing.
I'm getting old, so very old.
After Bi Qionglan made her statement, Li Sanniang and the others looked at each other, and finally huddled together to discuss countermeasures.
After about half an hour, the group finally came up with some basic negotiation methods, or rather, some methods of using spiel.
Ding Mingxuan stood up and smoothed the wrinkles in his clothes. "Then I'll take the lead and go meet this Edward first."
As soon as Ding Mingxuan opened the door, the ordinary-looking man who had previously received Li Sanniang and the others stood outside, carrying a lantern and leading Ding Mingxuan into the backyard.
Ding Mingxuan followed the man through a covered walkway and then through a courtyard before stopping in front of a door.
Two men were guarding the entrance. The man leading the way took out a token from his pocket, and the two men at the entrance let Ding Mingxuan and his companion in.
Once inside, even though Ding Mingxuan didn't have Li San Niang's incredibly sensitive nose, he could still smell the stench of blood.
After crossing two rooms, the guide finally stopped in front of another room.
"The person is inside, and it's locked up. Please make yourself at home, sir."
Ding Mingxuan stood in front of the door, mentally preparing himself before taking a deep breath and pushing the door open.
As soon as the door opened, Ding Mingxuan met a pair of bloodshot eyes.
Edward was tied to a cross. He wasn't exactly disheveled, but judging from the bloodstains on his clothes and the overwhelming smell of blood, he had suffered a lot.
Ding Mingxuan walked in and sat down on a chair placed directly opposite Edward. He didn't speak first, but just looked at Edward with a leisurely air.
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