After breakfast, Shi Lan leaned back in her soft chair, thinking about how to fulfill the original owner's wish.
The original owner died unjustly, and upon learning of her family's impending annihilation before her death, her resentment drove her to not only want the lives of Zhu Yan and Yuan Yuan, but also to completely destroy the Zhu family army founded by Zhu Boyan, whom she had forced to marry into the Zhu family.
She frowned in thought. Taking the lives of just two people wouldn't be difficult for her, but to destroy an army of tens of thousands would require careful planning.
After some consideration, she summoned Tan Yue and ordered her to invite Shi Yan.
Shi Yan is the son of Shi Lan's eldest uncle. He is the third child in the Shi family. He is cheerful, good at socializing, and quick-witted. He is also shrewd and capable, and is deeply trusted by his uncle, who is the clan chief. He controls the shops in Pingcheng and Yuncheng.
The area around Yuncheng is mostly mountains. Back then, Zhu Boyan was a mountain king on a mountain dozens of miles away from Yuncheng. When the situation was chaotic, he cleverly seized the opportunity, secretly recruited soldiers and horses, and took Yuncheng in one fell swoop before other forces attacked.
Pingcheng was originally just a small village. The small hill at the entrance of the village was where Zhu Boyan made his fortune. He used the money he plundered to build up the place and named it Pingcheng. At the same time, he also built a main road between the two cities and set up three visible checkpoints and five hidden guard posts to protect the area within a radius of two hundred miles.
After the Shi family became related to the Zhu family by marriage, they responded to Zhu Boyan's suggestion and opened many shops in Pingcheng at a loss. Other small families followed suit, even though they knew they would not make money, because of the prestige of the Zhu family army.
In reality, Pingcheng only had a population of a little over a thousand. The shops in the market were doing very poorly, and those that were able to open were only keeping going by the owners subsidizing their own expenses.
Zhu Boyan was a rough man who didn't understand business at all. He only heard reports that people were coming and going in the shops every day, and the flow of people was constant. He became envious, so with his tacit approval, the tax revenue here was more than 20% higher than that of Qingcheng, which was under the jurisdiction of the Liu family.
The shop owners' ancestors had lived in Yuncheng for generations. Even though they were dissatisfied with Zhu Boyan, they endured it because they couldn't bear to leave their homeland. The Shi family was the same.
Only Shi Yan, who had studied away from home in his early years, had a different perspective from those who stayed here. In the original owner's memory, only Shi Yan opposed the original owner's marriage to him. Later, he even secretly contacted her and vaguely revealed his desire to move.
At that time, the original owner was not without consideration, but after much deliberation, he was still worried that this move would anger the Zhu family. The Shi family had a large population and countless riches, and leaving rashly would definitely cause a great stir. Moreover, with warlords rising up everywhere, they would inevitably be coveted wherever they went. After much deliberation, Shi Yan agreed with the original owner's concerns, and the relocation plan had to be abandoned.
As the sun rose higher, Shi Lan tapped her slender white fingers, squinting as she pondered deeply.
Tan Yue reported through the beaded curtain, "Young Madam, Young Master Shi has arrived."
Shi Lan stood up, a smile on her face, "Please come in."
The curtain was lifted by the maid, and a ray of sunlight slanted in, revealing a man in a dark blue robe with bamboo patterns striding in.
"Fifth Sister," Shi Yan said with a gentle smile, standing tall.
Shi Lan took two steps forward uncontrollably, her heart surging with intense emotions.
Shi Lan patted her chest and deliberately steadied her steps. "Third Brother."
Shi Yan raised his eyes and carefully examined Shi Lan for a moment. A trace of pity flashed in his eyes, which were somewhat similar to hers. "Fifth Sister, you've really suffered."
Shi Lan took a deep breath, poured him a cup of tea, and then smiled and said, "I'm sheltered from the wind and rain here, so there's no hardship at all."
Shi Yan sighed softly. In just over a month, a beautiful and charming young girl had been worn down into a haggard and pale young woman. How could such a life be considered good?
Seeing his downcast expression and knowing that his concern for her didn't seem fake, Shi Lan felt much more at ease.
As long as the Shi family doesn't abandon her, her chances of plotting against the Zhu family will be even greater.
Concentrating on sensing her surroundings and confirming that no one else was around, Shi Lan approached Shi Yan and whispered to him about Zhu Yan's favoritism towards Wang Yuan and his desire to promote her to the position of secondary wife.
Upon hearing this, Shi Yan immediately flew into a rage. "I said before that the Zhu family started as bandits and have no sense of order in their actions. Now it seems that this is indeed the case. How dare he tell me that you get along well and ask me to raise more funds for his army?"
Shi Lan frowned and said, "You gave it to him?"
Shi Yan gritted his teeth in hatred, “Not yet. When you got married, your father gave him 30,000 silver dollars. Now the family doesn’t have much cash. I was planning to collect some debts from outside in the next couple of days and raise 20,000 for him to tide him over, but it seems that’s not necessary now.”
Shi Lan nodded and said, "The Zhu family are all ungrateful wretches. No matter how much money the Shi family gives them, it will never satisfy their greedy desires."
When Shi Yan heard her say this, he knew that she loathed the Zhu family. Recalling Zhu Boyan's attitude of using both soft and hard tactics on him, he couldn't help but ponder the thought that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.
"Fifth Sister, actually..."
"What?" Shi Lan saw his hesitant manner and already knew what he was about to say.
Shi Yan turned his head away from her dark, bright eyes, a blush flashing across his face. "I have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it."
Shi Lan smiled slightly, "We are family, Third Brother, please speak freely."
"My seventh uncle has a distant relative in Qingcheng. He said the Liu family is doing quite well there. The Liu family, like ours, is a family with a history of hundreds of years. So I sent someone to inquire about them. The person who came back reported that the Liu family is very generous and the local people have a very good opinion of them."
Shi Lan nodded and asked, "So? Where do you plan to move the Shi family there?"
Shi Yan shook his head and said, "Moving the whole family is no small matter. I just have this idea now. I'm mentioning it to you now that we've come this far. I haven't told my father yet, but I think the chances of success are probably not high."
Shi Lan picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, feeling the warm tea soothe her throat. "Third Brother's idea is good. We really can't stay in Yuncheng for long. Qingcheng is nice, but it's not the first choice."
Shi Yan's eyes lit up when he heard Shi Lan's words, and he looked delighted.
Shi Lan paused for a moment, then continued, "The current situation is unstable. The Shi family is wealthy and attracts attention. No matter where we move, we will be watched. The best course of action now is to leave here and go to Southeast Asia. Didn't Third Brother say that the people there are simple and honest and that life is stable? I think we should try to contact them."
When Shi Yan was studying, he had indeed heard people talk about Nanyang, but he had never been there and had no idea what the situation was like there. In addition, the distance between here and Nanyang was far. If they wanted to go there, they would not only have to persuade the whole clan, but also prepare a lot of passion. Moreover, Yuncheng is not near water. If they wanted to cross the ocean, they could only go through Qingcheng, but that was Liu's territory. It was impossible for them to sneak past Liu's family and borrow a route quietly.
Shi Yan frowned and explained his many concerns one by one.
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