Chapter 183 Ambitious
Du Yuanhua did have ulterior motives.
He has made the Du Family Cloth Shop a thriving business in the past two years, but he knows in his heart that the market in Jiangnan is basically saturated and it is difficult to make any major breakthroughs.
Other businesses occupy the surrounding towns, and he has already used all his skills to get a share of the pie. If he wants more, he will inevitably be suppressed by other local businesses.
As for expanding to more distant places, even the capital, and wanting the Du family's cloth shop to flourish everywhere, he would need to find a very powerful backer.
Meng Lingge's father was originally the best choice, but he wanted to be an honest official and cherished his reputation. He would avoid doing things like pulling strings for relatives or even acting as their backer.
When Wen Zhiming rebelled and declared himself king, most people turned pale at the mention of it, fearing they would be implicated. But for Du Yuanhua, this was a golden opportunity.
The current emperor is not a benevolent ruler, and the people have long suffered greatly. It is only natural that some people would rebel.
As long as he uses the wealth of the Du family to serve the King of the Northern Frontier, the Du family will naturally rise in status when the King of the Northern Frontier becomes emperor. At that time, the Du family may even be able to supply the imperial fabrics for the palace, and the Du family will become the largest fabric merchant in Jiangnan and even the Golden Moon Kingdom.
This is an irresistible temptation for a businessman obsessed with making money.
Of course, it's hard to say who will win or lose right now. If the Northern Frontier King suffers a crushing defeat, the entire Du family may lose everything. But fortune favors the bold. If he loses, he can always start over. This may be the only chance for his Du family's cloth shop to rise to prominence.
After truthfully telling Meng Lingge his thoughts, he continued with a longing look, "The King of Northern Frontier needs to maintain 60,000 elite troops. He will definitely need to recruit more soldiers after moving to a new location. The Du family is not very wealthy, but it should be able to help him with his immediate needs. My cousin only needs to introduce me to him. I will personally negotiate with the King of Northern Frontier whether he is willing to do business with me."
At this point, he suddenly remembered his previous investigation and asked in surprise, "Lingge, wasn't your previous husband an idiot? Was he just pretending to be crazy all along?"
Meng Lingge chuckled inwardly. Du Yuanhua hadn't even figured out Wen Zhiming's situation yet, but he wanted to use the Du family's wealth to cooperate with him. This showed how eager and ambitious her cousin was for this business.
At this moment, Du Yuanhua's eyes showed no personal emotion whatsoever, only the surprise and madness of a businessman discovering a business opportunity. No wonder he was able to get the entire Du family business to be handed over to him at such a young age. Usually, Du Yuanhua was gentle and refined, but when he sensed a business opportunity, he immediately became focused and serious, displaying extraordinary demeanor.
After learning of Du Yuanhua's intentions, Meng Lingge felt much more at ease.
She had no choice but to seek refuge at the Du residence, which had already caused the Du family a lot of trouble. She really didn't want to trouble Du Yuanhua any further, but if Du Yuanhua needed her help for his business, she was very willing to do her best to assist him.
Moreover, this matter is even more advantageous for Wen Zhiming.
She had absolutely no reason to refuse.
However, from the Du family's perspective, they still had to give the necessary reminders.
“My husband was poisoned before, and he only regained consciousness after the Anshun Prince’s Mansion was sealed off.” Meng Lingge said seriously, “Big cousin, better safe than sorry. Even if you don’t take risks, you can still become rich in the Du family business. But if you get involved in this mess, it’s hard to say whether you will make a fortune or lose everything.”
"The business world is full of ups and downs, and success is achieved through peril. If I don't have this much courage and boldness, how can I make the Du family prosperous? Lingge, this is an opportunity that will not come again. I have the courage to go all in and the courage to accept failure."
Du Yuanhua's actions were not impulsive; he had actually been waiting for an opportunity.
A new emperor brings a new court; in fact, a change of emperor brings not only a change of court officials, but also a complete transformation of the nation's scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. In the early stages of the rebellion, few have taken sides. He was able to be among the first to stand with the Northern Frontier King. Once the Northern Frontier King becomes emperor, the Du family will reap rewards many times greater than what they have sacrificed.
Although he didn't know the King of the Northern Frontier very well, his cousin was always clear about right and wrong, and was intelligent and resourceful. How bad could a man be who could keep her by his side?
He's far better than the current emperor who favors eunuchs, and with the added advantage of his father, the Prince of Northern Frontier,'s military achievements, he's bound to be more popular than the emperor.
There are risks, of course, but as a daring and enterprising businessman, he wouldn't miss such a good opportunity even if there was only a sliver of a chance of winning, let alone now that his chances of winning are at least 50%.
Du Yuanhua was ambitious, and seeing his insistence, Meng Lingge had no choice but to nod and say, "Then my cousin will come with me. Whether or not to do this business, cousin and my husband can discuss it further. My husband has given me enough bodyguards, so there's no need for you to bring those guards. Too many people will only delay the trip."
Du Yuanhua knew that his guards, even if they were all together, were no match for a single secret guard, but he couldn't very well let them go back now and attract the attention of those guards.
After considering it, he asked a few guards to help out at the nearby shops for a while. If anyone asked about his whereabouts, he was told that he had gone elsewhere to explore business opportunities.
After reaching an agreement, the group was preparing to set off again when a green figure strode down from the carriage.
“Miss Meng.” Green Water walked up to Meng Lingge, bowed her head and said softly, “Young Master Du just said that you might not be heading towards the capital. He suggested that I could choose to return to the Du residence or go to the capital alone. But after thinking it over, I still want to go with Miss Meng. I beg you to take me in.”
Lu Shui was rescued by her master and worked in the Du family. She was not a servant who had her indenture bought out, so she was free to move around. She hadn't left before because she was well-fed and clothed in the Du family, but she was only a teenage girl after all, and her days were indeed a bit boring.
When Du Yuanhua ordered her to return to the capital with Miss Meng, she was overjoyed.
Miss Meng was kind and easy to talk to, and the capital was where her brother was going, so she was very satisfied with the job. However, before she could be happy for long, their itinerary was changed.
Returning to the Du residence was still dull and boring, and she didn't have the courage to go to the capital alone, so she still wanted to go with Meng Lingge.
Meng Lingge had a good impression of Lu Shui, and upon hearing this, she asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to the capital to find your brother?"
Green Water shook her head with a somber expression. "I was separated from my brother for many years. I was young at the time and don't remember many things. I don't know my brother's exact location. All I have left is this inconspicuous token, which I imagine is very difficult to find."
She rolled up her sleeves, revealing a white jade gourd tied to her wrist, engraved with the words "Green Water," which was quite exquisite and charming.
Meng Lingge felt that it looked very familiar, as if she had seen it on Zheng Qingshan's left hand before. After all, it was rare for a grown man to wear such a small and delicate object, so she took a second look at it and it left a deep impression on her.
The characters engraved on Zheng Qingshan's white jade gourd seem to be Qingshan.
The same objects, but all they bear are their own names.
Is it a coincidence?
Meng Lingge remained expressionless and smiled slightly, saying, "Since you are willing to follow me, and I am also lacking a female doctor by my side, then you can come with us. But we must first make the rules clear. I can tolerate minor flaws in the people around me, but I cannot accept betrayal. If you cannot do that, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Green Water's eyes lit up with surprise, and she nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, young lady, I can definitely do it."
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