Kang Yueran returned a blessing and said, "I am sorry for the offense, Lord Du, please forgive me!" There was a spy in the yamen, she didn't know who it was, and she didn't know the terrain of the yamen, so it would be easy to be exposed. It would be better for her to come in openly. Anyway, she has always been brave.
Du Jian smiled and waved his hand, "Let's not be polite, please take a seat!"
"Master Du doesn't seem surprised at my arrival?"
"At the end of last year, I returned to the capital to report on my work. I met Prince Ping and heard a lot about the girl."
Du Jian, ostensibly a member of Emperor Jianning's staff, defected to Duke Lu at the emperor's behest. Two years ago, under Du Ruhui's guidance, he pledged his loyalty to Chai Shijing.
Anyone who could please all three parties must be quite scheming. As for who Du Jian really worked for, only he knew.
Kang Yueran didn't want to delve into it and said with a smile, "I'd like to thank you for letting me go!" Du Jian only ordered Hou Zhensheng not to let her ship dock, but did not prohibit other merchants from having dealings with her, which was considered to leave her a way out.
"Miss, you're too polite! Just don't blame Du!"
Kang Yueran said sincerely, "How dare I blame you? You are also helpless."
After the polite words, she got down to business. "I won't waste any more time. Lord Du, please tell Duke Lu that I came to Ningzhou solely to do business. If he insists on stopping me, I will follow his example and openly open shops and win over officials in the southwest."
He's a smart man. He should understand that if he blocks my business, I'll just make a little less money. If a few officials are tempted, his losses will be much greater than mine. Southwest, it can't withstand scrutiny!"
Du Jian's smile remained unchanged. "Oh? Miss, you know a lot about the southwest?"
"I don't know! However, Black Dragon Mountain and the Hou family are unlikely to be isolated cases. I'm afraid we'll find a lot of them if we investigate."
"How do you know?"
Kang Yueran adjusted himself to a comfortable position, leaning back in his chair. "Master Du, you're asking knowingly. Duke Lu has lived in the capital for a long time, yet he still maintains a firm grip on the southwest. Aside from the Huaizhou garrison, who are loyal to him, he can only bribe the other officials into obedience."
Du Jian stroked his beard and nodded, "Miss Kang is right! But it is precisely because of this that Duke Lu will not allow you to extend your hand into the southwest."
"So what if he gets in? As long as the 300,000 Huaizhou garrison obeys his orders, he won't have to worry. Besides, if I can see through it, can't the emperor? Is there no one else in the world who can see through it?
Tell him I'm definitely going to step in. If he insists on breaking this window paper in front of everyone in the world, let him do it! When the time comes, it won't be me who will be the one being criticized by everyone."
Kang Yueran rolled his eyes and continued, "Lord Du, you've been the governor of Ningzhou for four years. You know the southwest better than I do. Why don't you give me a compromise? After all, I can't come here every time. If Duke Lu does something bad to me again, I really can't do anything to him."
Du Jian didn't refuse immediately. He thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you form a partnership with the Hou family? In Duke Lu's eyes, Hou Zhensheng has been clipped and can no longer fly out of his palm."
"While Hou Zhensheng's current situation was the fault of the previous governor, it was also due to the greed fostered by Duke Lu among the officials. Not only could Hou Zhensheng not resent Duke Lu, but he must be grateful and pay a large sum of money every year.
Humph! If I were Hou Zhensheng, I would definitely not surrender sincerely, and Duke Lu might not really believe Hou Zhensheng either."
Kang Yueran smiled bitterly and added, "Although I'm not a good person, I don't want to be a bad person either. The Hou family is already walking on thin ice. If I stand on it again, the ice will crack and I will die."
A hint of surprise flashed in Du Jian's eyes. He didn't expect Kang Yueran to say that. "Young lady, you are so righteous!"
"Oh! What's the point of being righteous? I'd rather cooperate with Black Dragon Mountain. Just help me pass on the message!"
Kang Yueran twitched his ears, glanced towards the door, and said quickly, "I came to Ningzhou only to do the grain transport business, and I don't want to interfere in the political or military affairs of the southwest. I would like to ask Lord Du to intercede with Duke Lu on my behalf. I can't stay any longer, so I'll take my leave now!"
She opened the door and walked out, used the Flying Tiger Claw to jump onto the wall, and ran out quickly.
Du Jian heard footsteps outside the door and slammed the table hard, "This is simply too much!"
The personal servant ran in and said, trying not to laugh, "Master, I came here alone."
Du Jian rubbed his sore palms and said, "Go back to the room and sleep!"
The city gate was closed. Kang Yueran used the space to leave the city, rode her beloved little motorcycle, and returned to the boat.
Ma Shun and others finally felt relieved when they saw her return safely.
Kang Yueran gave a few instructions and went back to his room to sleep.
The next day, Hua Rongyue personally led people to transport the medicinal materials to the dock.
Kang Yueran took a quick look and said, "Just this little? I thought there were a lot more."
"I do have some, but I've already reserved it for another merchant. I can't go back on my word."
"Okay! How much silver? Just name your price."
Hua Rongyue bit her lip. She wanted a higher price, but was afraid that Kang Yueran would think she was dishonest.
Kang Yueran didn't know much about medicinal herbs, so she couldn't tell good from bad, nor could she tell expensive from cheap. "How about this, I'll give you 20% of the price you sell it to others."
Hua Rongyue's face lit up with joy, "Really?"
"Of course, the boat is mine, and the herbs aren't much, so I won't pay for it."
"Of course you won't pay, these are all good medicinal herbs. Just give me six hundred taels."
The bamboo baskets were about three feet high, two feet long and wide, fifteen large baskets in total, and only cost six hundred taels? Kang Yueran was extremely surprised, "What kind of medicinal herbs are these? They are too common to be transported to the north, you..."
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