Chapter 77 The Little Koi Smells Out the Big Swindler
On the day of the grand ceremony, it was broad daylight.
On Mirror Lake, hundreds of boats race against each other.
These ships were all there to observe the ceremony.
However, all the boats consciously maintained a safe distance from the behemoth "Wan'an" in the center of the lake.
The route to the "Wan'an" was a long dock made of pontoons and wooden planks.
The entrance to the dock was heavily guarded.
Xiao Beichen personally led a squad of Xuanjia Army guards, clad in armor, hands on sword hilts, their eyes as sharp as eagles.
They meticulously checked every single invitation that was handed to them.
They verify names, check seals, and then scrutinize each visitor with a critical eye.
On the bow deck, Chu Chongjin, Mu Fang, and Yan Ziche stood side by side.
With perfectly appropriate smiles on their faces, they politely greeted each distinguished guest who passed through inspection and boarded the ship.
An elderly man with white hair and a sprightly spirit walked slowly, supported by his servant.
Chu Chongjin immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply to the old man.
"Mr. Su, your presence here truly adds to the grand occasion of this blessing ceremony!"
His tone was full of genuine respect.
"Your Highness has personally gone to Jiangnan to manage the floods for the sake of the country and its people. This is a blessing for the nation. How could I, an old man, not come?"
Su Wenyan, the tutor of three emperors, stroked his gray beard and returned the greeting with a smile, his eyes full of approval.
Behind him followed a young girl in a pale yellow dress, who was his granddaughter, Su Wan'er.
As soon as Su Wan'er stepped onto the deck, her bright eyes began to look around anxiously, searching for that small figure.
Soon, she spotted her target on the ship's side not far away.
Mu Yu was sitting obediently on a small stool specially prepared for her.
She clutched the mechanical lark that Chu Chongjin had given her tightly in her arms, her two little feet dangling in the air, swinging back and forth.
Su Wan'er's eyes lit up.
She lifted her skirt and ran quickly over.
"Little Fish!"
Hearing the familiar call, Mu Yu looked up, and a big smile immediately bloomed on her face.
"Sister Wan'er!"
The two little girls quickly huddled together, heads close, and began whispering secrets that only they could understand.
The surrounding guests were clinking glasses and chatting happily, and no one noticed the ordinary scene in this corner.
No one knew that this seemingly lively and ordinary welcome was actually a silent, life-or-death screening.
Mu Yu's small, pert nose is the most crucial and accurate detector in this screening process.
Whenever a guest walks past her, she subconsciously, like a small animal, gently "smells" the invisible aura emanating from them.
This was her instinct, and also the task she had agreed upon with Chu Chongjin.
She whispered her "comments" in Su Wan'er's ear.
"Sister Wan'er, look at that uncle in the blue clothes. The smell on him is white and shiny, like a quilt that has been sun-dried."
“Oh, that’s Imperial Censor Zhang. He’s known for his integrity and uprightness.” Su Wan’er played along.
"That chubby uncle who walks very slowly, his clothes are gray, and he smells bad, like a cold steamed bun that has been sitting out for a long time."
"That's Chief Clerk Wang, sent by the Ministry of Revenue. I heard he's been making mistakes in his accounting lately and gets scolded by his superiors every day."
"That old man, wow, it's golden!"
Mu Yu's eyes sparkled, as if she had really seen something extraordinary.
"It smells a bit like Ninth Brother's, but a little lighter, like golden rice porridge!"
She was referring to Su Wenyan, the tutor of the third emperor, who had just boarded the ship.
Su Wan'er only half understood what she was hearing, and thought it was just childish nonsense.
She found it very interesting, so she also played this "smell game" with Mu Yu with great interest.
Guests boarded the ship one after another in an endless stream.
Most of them were prominent gentry, literary figures, and wealthy merchants from the Jiangnan region.
The "flavor" of their luck also varies.
White and gray are the most common colors, representing a neutral or slightly unlucky period, or a period of bad luck with some setbacks.
Occasionally, a few bloated, wealthy businessmen would gleam with a faint golden light, the result of years of accumulated wealth, which smelled like strings of copper coins.
Mu Yu's little nose twitched incessantly as she carefully discerned every scent that drifted past her.
But she waited for a very long time, until her little feet stopped wobbling, and she still didn't smell that "sweet and cloying stench" from last night.
She was getting a little impatient.
Children's temperaments are inherently difficult to maintain.
Her little hands abandoned the "smelling" game and began to restlessly reach for a delicate sachet hanging from Su Wan'er's waist.
The sachet contained sweet pastries made by Su Wan'er's mother.
"I'm hungry, I want to eat sugar cake."
She pouted and mumbled indistinctly.
Her other little hand began to unconsciously pick at the small parts on the wing of the lark in her arms.
Although Chu Chongjin was dealing with the guests, his eyes never left Mu Yu out of the corner of his eye.
He noticed Mu Yu's fidgeting and a sense of unease crept into his heart.
Did they guess the wrong direction?
Or perhaps, the peculiar sweet smell emanating from that assassin last night was just an insignificant coincidence?
Sikong Ming's pawns were not among the guests this time.
Just then, a commotion and commotion, louder than before, arose at the entrance to the dock.
A middle-aged man, dressed in a luxurious brocade robe, slightly overweight, and with an extremely kind face, was walking through the crowd with a broad smile.
As he walked, he greeted the people around him warmly, showing that he was very popular.
He walked up to Xiao Beichen and respectfully handed him his invitation.
"Oh, General Xiao, you've really gone to a lot of trouble. You're too kind."
His voice was loud and clear, and his smile was so warm that he made a good impression on everyone at first sight.
"Qian Wansan, president of the Jiayu County Chamber of Commerce, greets the general."
Xiao Beichen accepted the invitation expressionlessly and carefully checked it against the roster.
After confirming that everything was correct, he coldly stepped aside to make way for him.
Qian Wansan.
This name is known to everyone in Jiangnan.
He was the richest man in Jiayu County, with businesses all over the prefectures and cities of Jiangnan.
More importantly, he was also a renowned philanthropist in the Jiangnan region.
It is said that he personally donated a huge sum of 30,000 taels of silver to help with the recent floods in Jiangnan.
He also used his own money to set up more than a dozen soup kitchens in various disaster-stricken areas, saving countless lives.
He enjoyed extremely high prestige among the people, and some even erected a longevity tablet for him.
Such a person could never be associated with dark terms like "assassin," "traitor," or "conspiracy."
Qian Wansan walked onto the deck with a beaming smile and light steps.
He greeted familiar gentry and celebrities with clasped hands throughout the journey, appearing completely at ease.
He walked enthusiastically to the bow of the boat and bowed deeply to Chu Chongjin and Mu Fang.
"This humble commoner, Qian Wansan, greets Your Highness the Ninth Prince and the Duke of Protectorate!"
"You two have worked tirelessly for the people of Jiangnan. We merchants have no way to repay you and can only do our bit. We are truly ashamed."
"Chairman Qian is a man of great virtue; the people of Jiangnan will remember your good deeds."
Chu Chongjin smiled and raised his hand.
"Please come in."
Everything seemed perfectly normal.
However, just as Qian Wansan turned around and prepared to walk into the cabin, he passed by the location where Mu Yu and Su Wan'er were.
Just as Mu Yu was about to reach out and snatch Su Wan'er's sachet, her little nose suddenly wrinkled up without warning.
All her movements froze.
The lark in my arms seemed to sense something and stopped its mechanical chirping.
In her eyes, which are invisible to ordinary people, she saw something extremely filthy and viscous, gushing wildly from the kind, fat uncle.
"Smelly!"
A childish, clear word rang out loudly amidst the noisy and chaotic environment.
The people talking around them were stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice.
All that could be seen was Princess Mu Yu, the young princess of the Duke of Protectorate, tightly covering her nose with her two chubby little hands.
Her little face scrunched up like a bun, her expression full of undisguised disgust.
Her little finger pointed at the back of Qian Wansan who had just walked away.
"That candy smells awful!"
Her voice sounded muffled because she was covering her nose, but every word was crystal clear.
"This is the taste!"
"It stinks a hundred times more than those black bedbugs from last night!"
"This uncle hid rotten, moldy osmanthus sugar in his clothes!"
Qian Wansan's tall body instantly stiffened.
The kind smile on his face froze completely at the corner of his mouth.
He slowly, inch by inch, turned around to look at the little girl who was pointing at him.
A fleeting look of uncontrollable astonishment and panic flashed across his eyes.
But he quickly masked this emotion with an even more amiable smile.
"Hehe, little princess, you're joking."
He chuckled twice, trying to ease the tension.
"I don't have any candy on me. Is it because someone's sachet smelled too strong and bothered you?"
As he spoke, he even pretended to lift his sleeve and smell it under his nose.
The surrounding guests laughed when they saw this.
They dismissed it as childish remark and didn't take it to heart.
"Chairman Qian is a renowned philanthropist in Jiangnan, how could he possibly be rotten?"
"Yes, Chairman Qian only smells of charity."
"The young princess must have smelled it wrong, she's just a child."
However, the expressions of Chu Chongjin, Mu Fang, Yan Ziche, and Xiao Beichen, who were standing at the bow of the ship, all changed the moment Mu Yu uttered those words.
They exchanged a quick glance.
His eyes contained shock, understanding, and a hint of cold killing intent.
There was no doubt left in my mind.
That's him!
That deadly serpent disguised itself with kindness and a good reputation, hidden beneath a sweet icing!
Chu Chongjin's smile remained unchanged, even becoming more friendly and gentle.
"Children speak without thinking, Chairman Qian, please don't take it to heart by arguing with a child."
He stepped forward and gently patted Qian Wansan on the shoulder.
"The ceremony is about to begin. Please come in, Chairman Qian."
"Your Highness is right. It was I who lost my composure."
Qian Wansan quickly cupped his hands in greeting, but fine beads of cold sweat were already seeping from his forehead.
He dared not look at Mu Yu's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, any longer, and hurried into the cabin as if fleeing in panic.
Watching his hasty retreating figure, Mu Fang's hand was already tightly gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Not far away, Xiao Beichen's eyes were also locked on the target like a hunting dog, waiting for the order.
Chu Chongjin shook his head slightly at them, his lips moving silently.
He clearly mouthed two words to them.
"Don't move."
Now is not the time.
The snake had already crawled into the cage on its own.
The next thing to do is wait patiently for the big fish hidden in the deep water behind it to surface on its own.
Su Wan'er looked at Mu Yu, who was still covering her nose, with a puzzled expression.
"Little Fish, what's wrong?"
"President Qian is a very nice person. He donated a lot of food to our family during the last flood."
Mu Yu stubbornly shook her little head, her face full of lingering fear and disgust.
"He's not good."
She lowered her hand, her tone unusually firm.
"He's not good at all."
Her little face was full of seriousness and earnestness, not at all like she was joking.
"He's even worse than that wicked second prince."
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