Chapter 571 Catching the Thief 2
The secret room still contained Song Peng's stolen goods. As long as he didn't move them away, Fuguizhai would be in danger every day. Ran Heng didn't want his years of hard work to go to waste.
Song Peng didn't dare to blow up Fuguizhai; his things hadn't been moved yet, it would be such a waste to blow them up!
“There are many more on the second floor as well. You two can go and take a look,” he said.
Xie Shang said, "We won't watch it today. We'll come back another day when Young Master Ran officially holds a tea and poetry gathering."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the door of Fuguizhai was suddenly closed, and several masked men in black appeared inside.
The masked leader said coldly, "It's an honor to have such a distinguished guest. Mr. Ran, why don't you quickly invite our guest upstairs?"
Xie Shang said coldly, "So you were planning this all along."
Jiang Fenghua sneered, "This is how Boss Ran treats his guests."
"They won't hurt you. As long as you cooperate with them and get them out of customs, you'll be safe." Ran Heng's eyes were full of apology. He just wanted Song Peng to leave quickly and not hurt his family.
"Since they need our help but dare not show themselves, Boss Song sent a few lackeys to greet us, while he himself became a coward." Xie Shang shouted upstairs, "We're not here to cause trouble."
At this moment, Song Peng came out from the stairwell. "Lord Xie, how have you been? I do have a batch of pearls to sell. If you are still interested, Lord Xie, I can give them all to the beauty next to you without you spending a penny. If you cooperate with me, we can have even bigger business. Making money by serving the court doesn't come so quickly."
"Since you know that I am an official appointed by the imperial court, you still dare to bribe me. Boss Song is truly fearless of death and unafraid of the soldiers surrounding this place."
Song Peng said, "If I were really afraid, I wouldn't be standing here. The entire Fuguizhai is riddled with fire mines. Now that you're in, don't even think about leaving safely, unless we can all be safe."
He scoffed at the imperial court with utter contempt, saying, "How many officials in your Great Zhou Kingdom's court are not corrupt and take bribes? Everyone wants to be an official, and once they become officials, everyone wants to make a fortune from it. I don't believe that Lord Xie is an honest official."
"You're just small-time merchants, yet you seem to know quite a bit about the court of the Great Zhou Kingdom," Xie Shang continued. "You're all from the Great Zhou Kingdom, aren't you? And you've all had a few years of education. Why do you hate the court so much, and yet you've become pirates? Is there some unspeakable reason for this?"
Song Peng said coldly, "The officials in the court only know how to protect each other, and they are only after money and women. How many of them are truly dedicated to serving the people? They are just a bunch of hypocritical villains. Lord Xie, why don't you join us? I guarantee you will live a carefree life and have no worries about food or clothing."
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "If a person doesn't look out for himself, he'll be punished by heaven and earth. Even in officialdom, one is not free to do as one pleases. You haven't entered officialdom, so you won't understand. Once you enter the big dye vat of the imperial court, no one can escape unscathed. I still prefer the corrupt atmosphere of officialdom and have no interest in being a pirate."
"I presume you were once students of the Great Zhou Kingdom? As long as you haven't entered the court, you are pure. Once you enter the court, you will be just like ordinary people. I dare not make such a boastful statement, and I doubt you would either! We are merely on different sides; there's no need for us to fight each other."
Song Peng thought to himself: "If a man doesn't look out for himself, he'll be punished by heaven and earth." That saying is not wrong. So he didn't enter the imperial court, but became a pirate. Was he wrong? He was just trying to survive.
At this time, Song Peng's men also captured Wu Sanye, a wealthy old man, and even Shen Bingxuan.
Song Peng said, "They are all Meng Yao's relatives, and you are officials from the Great Zhou Kingdom. I think the more people there are, the more protection we will have."
Shen Bingxuan's eyes were brimming with tears, and her mouth was gagged. The moment she saw Jiang Fenghua, she cried even harder.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Fenghua exclaimed, "Miss Shen, what are you doing here?" She gestured for her to be quiet. Song Peng didn't know that she knew Shen Bingxuan; he probably only thought she was Meng Yao's fiancée and General Shen's daughter, so he didn't know when he had arrested her.
Meng Yao didn't mention Shen Bingxuan's disappearance last night, so she guessed she might have been kidnapped this morning.
Jiang Fenghua asked calmly, "Since you're only after money, why did you arrest Master Wu? And who is the other person? And who is that young lady?"
Song Peng said, "He has excellent skills. Let me introduce you to this gentleman over here. He is the respected Mr. Wenbo, a true master sculptor. As for this young lady, she is an unexpected surprise. She is General Shen's beloved daughter and the cousin of the Prince of Nan."
Jiang Fenghua remembered that Lin Yu had said that Master Wenbo knew her, and that they had come to visit Master Wenbo this time. However, Meng Yao said that Master Wenbo had gone to find good materials and was not in Licheng at all.
She knew that her elder brother and Lin Feng were outside with their men. With her and Xie Shang's martial arts skills, they should be able to break through. However, Song Peng had three hostages who had no martial arts skills, and even Shen Bingxuan had fallen into his hands.
Xie Shang immediately said, "We can send you out of customs, but you must give me the 100,000 top-quality pearls you promised free of charge."
Song Peng was taken aback, then laughed and asked, "What does Lord Xie need so many pearls for?"
“Of course, it’s a gift. I have no grudge against you. We don’t want to come all this way to make enemies with a bunch of pirates. I can send you away, but not a single pearl can be lost.” His voice was icy, and his eyes were even more indifferent and ruthless: “As for the hostages in your hands, they are none of our business. You can kill or torture them as you please.”
He grasped Jiang Fenghua's hand, his meaning clear: he didn't want to care about people or things that didn't concern him; he only wanted to protect those he cared about.
Song Peng didn't expect him to react this way, but when faced with interests, everyone is selfish. "Deal. As long as Lord Xie sends us away safely, I will present 100,000 top-quality pearls as a token of my sincerity."
The jewelry and jade artifacts in his secret room were more valuable than pearls; pearls were the most abundant item in the vassal state.
"Ran Heng, give Lord Xie one hundred pearls first," Song Peng instructed.
Ran Heng hurriedly went to open the secret room to get the pearls. A short while later, he returned with a bag in his hand, filled with plump, round, and extremely beautiful pearls.
Xie Shang smiled and said, "Mr. Song is indeed a man who does big business. I'll keep it for now, and we can cooperate in the future for mutual benefit."
Song Peng burst into laughter, and the next moment, his men held knives to Xie Shang and Jiang Fenghua's necks.
Xie Shang asked, "What does Boss Song mean?"
Song Peng said, "Lord Xie, please rest assured. If you really escort us through customs, you will be safe. Tell your men guarding outside to step back, otherwise, swords have no eyes and it would be bad if Lord Xie and Miss Jiang were hurt."
Xie Shang said in a deep voice, "If that's what you want, Mr. Song, then I'll return these one hundred pearls to you. I'll find another way to get them in the future, so I won't trouble you any further."
Xie Shang acted swiftly; the next moment, the knife that was at Xie Shang's neck was suddenly placed against the neck of the masked man in black.
Jiang Fenghua pressed the dagger against the man in black's heart, startling him so much that his hand trembled and he lost his grip on the knife.
Xie Shang said, "I hate being threatened with a knife more than anything else in my life. I have said that I only want pearls and I don't care about anything else. Why won't Lord Song believe me?"
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