Chapter Twenty: This Fortune, I'll Make It for You!
Xue Yuan knew that if Jian Qi proposed this suggestion, it meant even he felt powerless against Lord Yu! It was said that Lord Yu’s forces were filled with experts, including many extraordinary killers who could strike without a trace.
Running away was indeed an option, but a last resort. After all, if he fled, neither Lord Yu nor the Emperor would rest easy, and he might face a double pursuit. Jian Qi, with his repressed yet reckless and flirtatious nature, might even find being chased exhilarating... but Xue Yuan’s fragile heart couldn’t endure living in constant fear.
“But if I don’t run, Lord Yu will kill me sooner or later—if not once, then twice; if not twice, then thrice; even if he sends his top assassins personally, he will have me dead!” Xue Yuan recalled a time back on Blue Star when he had borrowed over twenty million from the bank and more than a million from loan sharks. Later, running into financial trouble, the loan sharks relentlessly pursued him, threatening to smash all his shops.
Helpless, he sought out the village bank manager who had arranged the loans. The manager gave him a cigarette and said, “Brother, don’t despair, there’s still true kindness in this world.” The next day, those loan sharks were arrested...
“Lord Yu is like those loan sharks trying to kill me, and the Emperor is like the bank manager hoping I can keep things together...” Thinking this through, Xue Yuan suddenly saw clearly.
“If the Emperor learns that Lord Yu wants to kill me to seize Jiangnan, he will definitely take action!”
“And once the Emperor moves, Lord Yu will know that even if I die, his plan won’t succeed and might even provoke greater vigilance and retaliation from the Emperor. He won’t waste resources and effort trying to kill me anymore.”
The problem now was that he was a fool—how to let the Emperor know without telling him directly, lest he be deemed “a madman unworthy of trust”? The only way was to cause a commotion—make Lord Yu’s schemes so widely known that the Emperor couldn’t ignore them!
Being a fool, causing a ruckus in Ningzhou seemed perfectly reasonable. But how to stir things up? Of course, by targeting Li Yuanwang, who had just pledged allegiance to Lord Yu, and Lord Yu’s confidant, Wei the Steward! Once these two were exposed, how could the Emperor remain unaware of Lord Yu’s intentions?
Xue Yuan made up his mind and said to Jian Qi, “Though Lord Yu wants me dead, we’re not without options! I’ve already thought it through, and when the time comes... hey?” Suddenly, he noticed Jian Qi was holding a different book.
“The Falling Blossom Sword Manual!”
Delighted and relieved, he said, “Jian Qi, you’ve finally realized the severity of the situation and remembered to study the sword manual?”
Jian Qi replied coolly, “Yes, this ‘Falling Blossom Sword Manual’ is the hottest serialized novel this year. It’s full of strategies and schemes! We might learn a thing or two.”
“A serialized novel? Strategies and schemes?!” Xue Yuan exploded in anger. “Jian Qi, you have the talent of a Sword Saint—don’t waste time reading such nonsense! I need your sword, not your brain!”
Your brain, I’d donate it without regret! Why doesn’t the entry note how strange your thought process is, as bizarre as a husky’s?
Jian Qi glanced at Xue Yuan and said lightly, “Swordsmanship isn’t forged by rote practice alone, Lord. You just don’t understand.”
Indeed, Xue Yuan didn’t understand swords. But he had already figured out how to play this game.
The show was about to officially begin.
...
Night fell over the northern city.
A swift horse galloped out of the city gates. The rider wore plain brown cloth but had eyes sharp as an eagle’s and knuckles protruding, clearly a skilled martial artist.
Passing through a bamboo grove, suddenly bamboo leaves drifted down. The horse seemed to sense something and reared, neighing loudly to a halt.
“Who goes there?”
A shadow suddenly flashed, landing before the horse.
“Jian Qi!”
“Jian Qi?”
“Jian Qi!”
Before the words finished, Jian Qi transformed into a blur, swiftly passing the horse. His sword unsheathed at the moment he brushed past, flashing like a white streak under the moonlight, slicing the rider’s neck.
“Splurt!”
Only when the head flew did the rider’s hand reach for his waist blade.
“A top expert under Lord Yu—turns out to be no more than this!” Jian Qi muttered, sheathing his sword.
He then searched the headless corpse and found a letter. On the envelope was written: “From student Li Yuanwang, to Lord Yu, for your eyes only!”
...
At the mansion.
The mansion was quiet tonight because Qian Zhongxian, afraid of being beaten by Xue Yuan again, had voluntarily moved to a separate villa, so no sounds of his groans echoed through the house.
Xue Yuan glanced at the letter Jian Qi handed him and asked, “Is the scene clean?”
Jian Qi nodded, “The body and horse are buried.”
“Professional!” praised Xue Yuan.
As long as the letter carrier’s body remained undiscovered, Li Yuanwang and Wei the Steward would take eight or nine days to realize the letter never reached Lord Yu but was intercepted.
That time would be enough for Xue Yuan to make his move.
“Now, I need to find the secret warehouse of Longsheng Cloth Shop. I must get that batch of goods!”
Xue Yuan had calculated that the goods, originally worth eight hundred thousand taels, could be flipped to at least one million six hundred thousand after speculation.
This sum was vital to his upcoming plans!
After all, using the Emperor to counterbalance Lord Yu was only a temporary measure. To truly control his fate, he needed money, allies, and soldiers!
Jian Qi said calmly, “The warehouse is easy to find—just follow Wei the Steward. The problem is how to move the goods.”
This troubled Xue Yuan as well.
The mansion guards couldn’t be trusted; they were all Qian Zhongxian’s men and might sell him out at any moment. Finding temporary laborers was no better; they didn’t understand secrecy and would have to be eliminated afterward, which Xue Yuan, a good-hearted man, couldn’t do. Jian Qi, a chivalrous swordsman and seasoned romance reader, wouldn’t agree either.
After much thought, Xue Yuan suddenly remembered someone.
Madam Wang still had charm!
“Jian Qi, have you heard of the Old Loyalists Society?”
“Yes. Fifty years ago, the late emperor conquered seven small southern kingdoms, unifying Central Plains. However, many elders from those kingdoms survived and have long sought to restore their states. They united and called themselves the Old Loyalists Society.”
“Impressive?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are they powerful now?”
“At first, not much. But in recent years, with frequent natural disasters, man-made calamities, and heavy taxation, many desperate commoners have joined. It is said to be the second largest rebel group after the Tianxia Alliance, with at least a hundred thousand members.”
Xue Yuan frowned, curious, “And the Tianxia Alliance is the first?”
Jian Qi nodded, “Yes, the most formidable.”
“Don’t mimic my voice—that’s my line!”
“You’re formidable!” Jian Qi scoffed.
Xue Yuan retorted with an eye roll, then fell into thought.
“I can’t openly build power now, but without power, I’m stuck. If I can control part of the Old Loyalists Society’s strength, it could revitalize the whole situation!”
“How to control them? That depends on Wang Yuer!”
...
In the mansion’s firewood shed.
Wang Yuer, her body still stained with blood, crouched in a dark corner, staring helplessly at the small ventilation window above, barely larger than a palm.
Accused of seducing Qian Zhongxian and causing his old injury to relapse, she was whipped fifty times by order of Lady Chu Qiuer and locked in the shed.
Essentially, a death sentence.
Now, with her wounds infected and fever raging, she knew her days were numbered.
“Death is nothing to fear, but it’s a pity the great revenge remains unfinished! Husband, in-laws, Yuer... I’ve done my best!”
Wang Yuer had been a lead actress in a traveling opera troupe, wandering the martial world since childhood until one day, she sang at a wealthy family’s hall and caught the eye of the young master, Wang Sheng, who secretly courted her.
As a mere performer of low status, she had no right to marry into the family. Yet, surprisingly, the Wang family, finding her honest and sincere, accepted their marriage.
To her, it was a blessing from heaven!
Grateful, she devoted herself to serving her husband and in-laws, determined to be a good wife.
Her husband, Wang Sheng, was diligent and ambitious, passing the imperial scholar exam and entering the Egret Academy for further study, with a bright future ahead.
She lived this happy life for over half a year—the brightest period of her life!
Sadly...
Wang Sheng’s schoolmate, Chen Qishan, son of Ningzhou’s governor, mocked Wang Sheng for marrying a former performer.
Shamed and furious, Wang Sheng argued with him and was beaten to death on the spot.
Chen Qishan claimed it was accidental and offered three hundred taels to settle the matter.
The in-laws refused and insisted on suing. In anger, Chen Qishan sent men to slaughter the entire Wang family.
That bloody night, she saw the beloved in-laws die at the hands of masked men.
Though she had some martial arts skills, she was no match. Initially, she intended to die with them but then thought that avenging them was her filial duty.
So she fought to escape!
By chance, she joined the Old Loyalists Society, which promised to help her seek revenge.
But now, that revenge might never be fulfilled!
Wang Yuer murmured, “Husband, when we meet again, I hope you won’t blame me. It’s me... who caused all this.”
In her haze, a sudden glow appeared outside the door, accompanied by a somewhat foolish voice:
“Hurry, open the door! Such a beautiful lady can’t be a bad person!”