When Wang Defa disappeared from the city gate, Wen Hejun, still maintaining his elegant image, slowly returned to their camp. As soon as he entered the tent, Wen Hejun felt nauseous and suddenly had a violent retching sensation, as if he was going to vomit out all his internal organs.
He sighed deeply and said with emotion, "I didn't expect this mission to be so difficult. I have sacrificed so much."
The people accompanying him hurried forward to support him and handed him a canteen for him to rinse his mouth. Wen Hejun took the canteen and rinsed his mouth several times, then slowly drank a few sips of water, trying to calm himself down.
It took a while for Wen Hejun to regain his composure. He sat down and began to sort out his thoughts, thinking about how to enter the palace and how to inform Liu Xueyu of their arrival.
He knew full well that their main mission this time was to rescue Liu Xueyu, the Shu King's family. Being stopped outside of Rongcheng was exactly what Wen Hejun wanted.
If they led the 20,000 people into the Shu capital, they would become a burden. It would be extremely difficult for 20,000 people to break out of the Shu city guards, and they would also face a huge risk of casualties.
After entering Rongcheng, the capital of Shu, Wang Defa immediately went to the palace to report the latest situation to Concubine Wang. When he personally told Concubine Wang about the five million kilograms of refined salt, Concubine Wang's face also showed excitement.
Since Wang Defa was sent as an envoy to the State of Wei, Concubine Wang has been listening to her subordinates reporting intelligence, saying that the State of Wei actually sold 5 million kilograms of refined salt directly to the State of Shu at a low price.
At first, Concubine Wang was skeptical, as she knew that refined salt was a vital strategic commodity for a country. Wei normally strictly controlled the quantity of refined salt it sold to other countries, but this time, Wei sold 5 million kilograms of refined salt to Shu at a low price of 100 wen per kilogram, and also adopted a payment-on-delivery arrangement.
These five million kilograms of refined salt were simply too much for Shu to consume in a short period of time. If Shu sold this refined salt to other countries, it would undoubtedly make a considerable profit. Concubine Wang couldn't help but wonder why Wei was so generous to Shu.
What’s more surprising is that we didn’t even have to do it ourselves, the people from Wei State had already transported the refined salt to Chengdu.
Although Concubine Wang also felt that there might be a conspiracy, if 5 million catties of refined salt were sold at the price of ten taels of silver per catty, it would be a huge profit of 50 million taels of silver. This wealth was undoubtedly a huge temptation for the Shu Kingdom, enough to tempt anyone.
Faced with such huge profits, Concubine Wang certainly would not easily give up this opportunity to make money.
Concubine Wang turned her head and stared at Wang Defa sharply, asking as if she were interrogating a criminal, "Are those Wei officials responsible for transporting refined salt really only outside of Chengdu?"
Wang Defa replied respectfully, "Your Highness, that is indeed the case. The soldiers guarding the city did not allow the Wei people to enter, so they could only camp in the open space outside the city."
Concubine Wang was a little surprised. She didn't expect that the people of Wei would be so obedient. If they were not allowed to enter the city, they would really not enter the city.
Despite this, her doubts remained, and she continued to question Wang Defa: "Wang Defa, are you really sure that all those who escorted the refined salt to Chengdu are ordinary people?"
Wang Defa replied firmly, "Your Highness, rest assured. Although these 20,000 people appear stronger than the average person, I can assure you that they are all ordinary people."
Concubine Wang still felt a little uneasy, so she decided to go out of the palace to investigate. She instructed the eunuchs around her, "Hurry up and get ready. I intend to go out of the palace to investigate myself."
The eunuchs around her replied respectfully: "As ordered, Your Majesty."
Wang Defa also said respectfully: "Your Highness, I will take my leave first." Royal Concubine Wang waved her hand gently, indicating that Wang Defa could leave.
After Wang Defa left, he immediately ran towards where Wen Hejun was. He was eager to tell Wen Hejun the news and have him prepare to welcome the imperial concubine. He thought to himself that if this matter could be successfully completed, he would have the opportunity to become a trusted minister of the Fourth Prince's lineage, and his future would be extremely promising.
When Wen Hejun learned from his men that Wang Defa had returned, a gentle smile immediately appeared on his face. He walked out of the tent and personally greeted Wang Defa.
Before Wang Defa even reached Wen Hejun, he shouted, "Congratulations, brother! Congratulations, brother! Our imperial concubine has decided to come here to see you in person. This is a great honor for you!"
Wen Hejun felt incredibly ridiculous. He felt honored to meet a noble concubine from Shu? In Wen Hejun's eyes, the noble concubine from Shu was not worth mentioning at all.
From childhood to adulthood, Wen Hejun was taught that Wei was the Celestial Empire, while the people of Shu were nothing but barbarians.
However, Wen Hejun knew that now was not the time to quarrel. He said modestly, "I am but a humble commoner. How dare I accept the Imperial Concubine's favor? It is truly an honor. I will go and make sure to satisfy the Imperial Concubine."
Although Wen Hejun disagreed with Wang Defa's words and deeds in his heart, he appeared to be very respectful, even humble.
He knew that in order to successfully rescue the Shu King and his family, he not only needed to wait for the best opportunity, but also to formulate a careful strategy. He understood that any rash action could lead to the failure of the entire plan and even endanger the safety of the Shu King and his family.
Wang Defa was very pleased to see Wen Hejun being so humble. He felt that the people of Wei were really good people.
He patted Wen Hejun on the shoulder and said in a tone of an elder: "Okay, okay, brother, you will definitely have a bright future in the future. If you can't make it in Wei in the future, you can come to Shu to seek refuge with me at any time. I will go back and report to the imperial concubine so that she can come with peace of mind." After that, Wang Defa turned and left, leaving Wen Hejun standing there alone.
Wen Hejun was thinking about how to proceed next. How could he enter Rongcheng when meeting Concubine Wang?
When Concubine Wang saw Wen Hejun, her eyes lit up instantly. Dressed in Confucian robes and clutching a folding fan, he looked like a detached, elegant gentleman. His gentle demeanor, nurtured by Confucianism from a young age, captivated Concubine Wang. She was captivated by his refined demeanor, as if she had seen the ideal gentleman.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com