Duan Lan had been in Yu State for quite a while now, and there hadn’t been any movements or news about him, making Ji Xinhe almost believe that he posed no threat at all.
Of course, Ji Xinhe didn’t think that Duan Lan would spend his time leisurely sightseeing. During this time, Duan Lan must have been secretly investigating Mu Houchu’s hidden troves of soldiers. However, there hadn’t been any news for so many days, which meant that he had been unsuccessful in his investigation.
After all, the true location of Mu Houchu’s "hidden soldiers" was probably a place Duan Lan would never think of in his lifetime.
Yet, he suddenly appeared now, and with a provocative look on his face, as if he was somewhat confident. Whether he was truly confident or not, it at least showed one thing - he probably had a plan now.
Thinking of this, Xin He’s face darkened slightly.
Xiaoyu tentatively asked, "Madam, do you think there is a problem with Minister Duan suddenly appearing here?"
Xin He shook her head: "I hope I’m just being overly suspicious."
"Madam, it is reasonable for you to think so. The purpose of Minister Duan staying in Yu State is to deal with His Highness. This move is bound to come sooner or later. Now, as long as Minister Duan has a slight suspicion, we cannot let it go easily."
"I also think so, but Duan Lan’s whereabouts in the past few days have been known to everyone, and he hasn’t made any excessive moves. Even if I want to be on guard against him, I’m afraid I have nowhere to start." Xin He said solemnly.
This matter was indeed tricky. Duan Lan must know that he wouldn’t expose any flaws and therefore dared to blatantly provoke her in person.
So what if Ji Xinhe was suspicious now? Duan Lan hadn’t shown any flaws so far, and since coming to Yu State, he had been sightseeing very ostentatiously. She really couldn’t find anything unusual, and in the end, she could only suspect him. She didn’t even know where to start her defense.
After pondering for a long time, Xin He still couldn’t figure out a way, and finally rubbed her temples, "Forget it, let’s talk about it when we get back. Let’s go to the Winding Pavilion first."
"Yes," Xiaoyu replied.
The horse carriage slowly moved towards the Winding Pavilion.
Stopping at the entrance of the Winding Pavilion, Xin He was helped out of the carriage by Xiaoyu and Shulan and gracefully entered the building.
As soon as the servant of the Winding Pavilion saw Xin He, he hurriedly welcomed her, "Lady Mu is here? Please come inside, are you here to look at jewelry or clothes?"
Xin He spoke indifferently, "Let’s look at the jewelry."
With that, she went straight to the second floor.
The servant hurriedly said, "Alright, I’ll go prepare a private room for you, madam." And he was about to sprint towards the front.
However, Xin He suddenly asked, "Where is your shopkeeper?"
The servant smiled, "Our shopkeeper is currently attending to a guest, but he’ll be here shortly. Lady Mu, please wait in the private room first."
"Which esteemed guest?"
Lowering his voice, the servant said, "It’s Master Wang from the Wang Family himself."
The Wang Family? Ji Xinhe understood and casually nodded before entering the private room.
But upon entering, before she could even close the door, she heard voices coming from the corridor.
"Master Wang, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but the things your Wang Family did before were really unacceptable! Just think about the relationship between our two families over these years. Even though the Winding Pavilion has made a fortune, we didn’t forget to bring the Wang Family along. The most prosperous wharf in Yu State now, which is right outside Lian’an Town, isn’t half of the business supported by our boss?" Manager Jin snorted coldly.
Master Wang’s voice had become much more humble, as he hurriedly grabbed Manager Jin’s sleeve, "The incident of withholding goods last time was an accident. I really didn’t expect to get involved in such a big issue. The higher-ups ordered me to do this - how could I refuse? Do I not care about the lives of my family? Oh, I regret it so much, which is why I immediately came to apologize in person as soon as the issue was resolved!" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
It wasn’t something a small Wang Family could afford to offend, and anyone with eyes could see what kind of position the Winding Pavilion held in Lian’an Town, or even in Yu State. The Wang family relied on operating the wharf to make money, and the flow of goods was their most profitable asset.
Not to mention anything else, the industries owned by the Winding Pavilion’s boss accounted for almost half of the flow of goods! If they really offended the Winding Pavilion and its boss because of this, and they stopped doing business with the Wang family, the Wang family would suffer a great loss.
Moreover, the Winding Pavilion was very influential in the commercial circles of Yu State. Just take their fashion shows held four times a year, none of the famous ladies and noblewomen missed those events.
In the entire commercial circle of Yu State, anyone who offended the Winding Pavilion or Huamanlou was asking for death. With a single word from the owners of these two businesses, you would probably be at odds with all the established families in Yu State!
Unless the Wang family didn’t want to continue their business, they would only dare to ignore the Winding Pavilion today.
But even though Master Wang’s attitude was so humble now, Manager Jin’s face still looked grim, "Master Wang, with your words, you seem to have cleared your own responsibility. Just saying that it was ordered by the higher-ups, you can forget all the years of friendship between us. Your attitude is as if you want us to beg the Wang Family."
"I dare not, I dare not!" Master Wang hastily said.
Manager Jin snorted, "You don’t dare? You dare a lot! Asking me to withhold my goods was one thing, but when I visited your house three times, you put up an aloof attitude and refused to meet me. Now that the matter is resolved, you dare to show your face and want to please both sides of the deal?! Do you really think the Winding Pavilion has no temper? You better not think too highly of yourself! The wharf business in Yu State is not exclusively for your Wang Family!" Manager Jin’s voice raised.
Upon hearing this, Master Wang’s face turned pale with fear, and he hurriedly said, "Manager Jin, please calm down. This was my own mistake at the beginning, and I came here personally to apologize. Let the past be the past."
The voices outside were not quiet, and it seemed as if they were standing right in front of Ji Xinhe’s door, talking. Xin He guessed that this was probably done deliberately by Manager Jin. He stood at her door to discuss this matter, actually hoping she would make the final decision.
In any case, the Wang Family had completely offended the Winding Pavilion this time. Even if they personally came to apologize now, if such an issue could be resolved simply through an apology, wouldn’t it make people think that the Winding Pavilion was really easygoing, always yielding in every situation, and even allowing people to take advantage of them?
But if this matter was not resolved, it would be equivalent to rectifying the Wang Family, and even crippling the Wang Family’s business, giving them a little lesson.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
