Wild winds gathered dark clouds. On the sea surface, waves surged to the heavens. Between the dark clouds and the ocean, a fleet struggled to navigate. The sails had been torn to shreds. Those sturdy sailors labored desperately to work the oars, climbing to the peaks of giant waves one moment, then sliding into hellish troughs the next. Some were swept into the sea by fierce waves. Before they could cry for help, they were pressed deep into the seabed by mountain-like surges. Those still alive continued struggling, continuing to work the oar blades. If they did nothing, the ships would be smashed to pieces by the waves.

A bare-chested, burly man exhausted all his strength to control the bow’s direction, keeping it facing the waves. A massive wooden orchid vessel broke through the waves, bursting out from the crest of a giant wave. The bow rose high, emitting continuous sounds of wood about to fracture. The helmsman was tied to the rudder. Despite icy seawater lashing his body, he spat out the seawater that had just been forced into his mouth and cried madly to the ocean: “Come on, come on! Your grandfather isn’t afraid of you!”

Yun Ye used poetic language to describe the hardships at sea. Wiping away tears, he said chokingly: “The waves gradually subsided, and the dark clouds moved to the distance. That helmsman still firmly gripped the rudder, as if still fighting the waves. The commander came to his side and told him he could rest. He didn’t move. The commander sighed, touched his nose to check his breath, and discovered he had already died. His hand still clutched the rudder, refusing to let go. With no other option, the commander had to remove the old rudder and replace it with a new one. He wrapped the man’s body tightly with the rudder in hemp cloth, and when the sun rose, they sent them together into the sea. All the men on the ship stood on deck to see him off. Someone sang a song. I only remember one line: May heaven protect us suffering men, may heaven protect us suffering men.”

Yun Ye sang this line Xi Tong had once sung in a low, hoarse voice. The room filled with quiet weeping. Who wept most among those seated? The Empress’s phoenix robe was soaked with tears.

“It sounds laughable—enduring such hardship just to give disaster victims more food to eat. To save grain, those men ate kelp every day themselves.”

“I’m a glutton, as you all know. I was spoiled by my master since childhood. How could I swallow coarse food? So I reprocessed the kelp according to my own ideas and was astonished to discover it was absolutely delicious. So I brought a lot of kelp from the coast, planning to sell it in Chang’an to buy those soldiers better clothes, finer weapons, a drink when they have leisure time, to send a bolt of hemp cloth home to their wives and children, or buy their little daughters a pretty ribbon costing five coins—that would be enough.”

“Earlier, Gao Yang laughed that I was knocked unconscious by a little fish. That wasn’t a joke—it was true. I’m very fortunate I was only hit by a small fish, because when I woke up, I discovered that right beside me had fallen a two or three hundred pound shark, smashed into pulp, with only its set of teeth remaining, still hanging on my foot.”

Speaking to this point, Yun Ye wiped his eyes again. Tears immediately flowed down in streams as he said loudly: “I was raised in comfort. Although I traveled east and west with my master, I never suffered hardship. When I went to the desert grasslands, I was surrounded by a great army with family generals and servants attending to me thoroughly. Though life on the grasslands was somewhat arduous, it was far from true suffering. This time was different—just a little more and I would have lost my life.”

Yun Ye’s words immediately acted as tear-jerkers again. Empress Zhangsun flowed with tears, looking at Yun Ye with an inscrutable expression. Yang Shi had long since burst into loud crying. Hou Lian’er couldn’t even bother to complain about Yun Ye anymore and cried until she went soft.

Truly the best business partner, Li Ke said to Yun Ye while sobbing: “Ye Zi, don’t be sad. I’ll buy one thousand pounds of your kelp at fifty coins per pound. Don’t think it’s too little. Have it delivered to my home right away. I plan to eat kelp every day, and the money can be used to improve things for the soldiers.”

People’s compassion is blind, especially when they lose their reason. The kelp quickly sold several tens of thousands of pounds. This was still with Yun Ye not allowing them to buy too much; otherwise, over a hundred thousand pounds of kelp wouldn’t be enough to divide among them.

Lan Ling also tugged at Yun Ye’s trouser leg, holding up her money pouch: “Brother Yun Ye, I have money too. I’ll buy some too. This money is to buy pretty ribbons for the soldiers’ daughters. Five-coin ones aren’t pretty enough.”

“Dream on! Don’t think you can buy me off with a few strings of cash. I saw you put away two beautiful gemstones. You think you can avoid suffering at the academy with a bit of small change? I’ll find you the fiercest teacher, the kind who isn’t afraid of the imperial family. Every day she’ll strike your palms. Don’t finish your homework—get beaten. Act mischievous—get beaten. Don’t eat properly—get beaten. Anyway, you’ll get beaten every day. At the academy, there’s no such thing as having a teacher take your punishment for you.”

Lan Ling burst into tears with a wail, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

“Good Lan Ling, good girl. You’re too young. Keep this money for yourself—you don’t need to buy kelp. If you like eating it, come to my house to eat it.” Yun Ye quickly returned her money pouch to her, looking like a good person consoling her.

“You’re bullying me! Mother Empress, Yun Ye is bullying me!” Lan Ling desperately tried to explain. She never wanted to buy any kelp in the first place. She just wanted Yun Ye to think she was a good child so she wouldn’t have to suffer at the academy. Who knew he’d see through her and even threaten her? The elders all thought Yun Ye was a good person for not letting her spend money. Seeing the elders’ sympathetic gazes, she knew her grievance had nowhere to be told, so her crying grew even louder.

Yun Ye and Li Ke left the inner quarters light as swallows. Li Ke kept telling Yun Ye how such-and-such prince’s household bought two thousand pounds, such-and-such commandery prince’s household bought fifteen hundred pounds, such-and-such princess’s mansion bought one thousand pounds, such-and-such duke’s mansion bought one thousand pounds…

“Remember to add that thousand pounds you promised to buy yourself,” Yun Ye vigorously rubbed his burning eyes. Damn it, he should have chosen tender ginger instead of old ginger—it stung his eyes too much.

“Ye Zi, I was just saying that to give you a starting point. You didn’t need to swindle me too, did you?” Li Ke immediately cried out in grievance, thinking Yun Ye had brought his nature as a crooked merchant to the extreme.

“You don’t know what’s good for you. This is for your own good. You were the first to say you’d buy, yet your household doesn’t have a single pound of kelp—what would others say about you? Could you bear the labels of traitor and spy?”

As soon as Yun Ye reminded him, Li Ke awakened as if from a dream. Cupping his hands to Yun Ye, he realized his brother truly wouldn’t swindle him. But how to finish eating a thousand pounds of kelp at home—that was a headache of a problem.

In the front hall, Li Er leisurely sipped tea. All the Li clan members also leisurely conversed with each other about how they would make things difficult for Yun Ye in a moment. However, a marquis’s face still had to be respected. Each household would buy three to five pounds—that counted as helping. They’d thoroughly disgust Yun Ye a bit, which would count as avenging the clan leader for being tricked into eating locusts.

After waiting a long time without seeing anyone, Li Daozong said: “Your Majesty, could it be that Yun Ye, seeing things going badly, has already greased the soles of his feet and fled?”

Li Er shook his head, thought for a moment, and said: “That boy’s abilities shouldn’t be just these tricks. Fleeing from battle isn’t his character. I’m wondering now what other methods he hasn’t used yet. In a while, no matter how delicious the food he brings is, we’ll just eat it. But when it comes to buying kelp, it’s still the same—we won’t buy. Let’s see what other tricks he has. I’m very curious. I don’t believe he can turn the tables in today’s game. After he admits defeat, it won’t be too late for us to buy some kelp to try.”

Seeing the sun already tilting westward, Li Er’s expression suddenly changed. He stood up and said to Li Xiaogong: “Things have changed. Yun Ye must have found another path. Xiaogong, can Yun Ye enter your inner quarters?”

Li Xiaogong’s expression also changed. He shouted: “This is bad! That boy is extremely close friends with Huairen. He’s been to the inner quarters of my home more than once. If he wants to go, no one at home would stop him. My wife also treats him like a nephew and never avoids him.”

Li Er heavily sat back in his chair and said to the Li Tang clansmen with a bitter smile: “It looks like our households will be eating kelp for quite a long time. That boy has won. We didn’t think things through.”

In the whole room, only Li Er, Li Xiaogong, and Li Daozong understood. The rest were still confused, looking at each other in bewilderment, while those three had lost all interest in talking.

Yun Ye washed his face and covered his eyes with a hot towel before finally recovering some of his usual flair. Strolling casually to the front hall, he saw everyone in the room staring at him, making his heart uneasy.

Li Er asked with a bitter smile: “Boy, how much kelp did the Empress buy? Is it enough for the palace to eat for a year?”

Yun Ye carefully replied: “Her Majesty wanted to buy ten thousand pounds. This subject said five thousand pounds would be enough for everyone in the palace to eat for a year. What this subject brought back is dried goods. After soaking in water, it will become tens of thousands of pounds, so five thousand pounds is sufficient for the palace.”

“Tell me the price. You better not tell me you charged a lot of money.” Li Er took a sip of water to soothe his agitated heart, trying his best to soften his tone as he asked.

“Not too expensive. This subject didn’t dare raise the price.”

“How much is ‘not too expensive’?” Li Er asked impatiently. He didn’t care how much money was spent—he only cared about how big Yun Ye’s scam was and whether he’d suffered a great loss.

“Fifty coins per pound. Fair price for young and old alike.” Yun Ye clung to the doorframe. If these people’s reactions were wrong, he would immediately bolt through the door and escape. Fools become very angry after being deceived.

Li Er sat down calmly. Li Daozong sprayed a mouthful of tea onto a commandery prince’s body. After coughing for a long time, he finally squeezed out a sentence: “When you were buying kelp at the coast, how much did you pay per pound?”

“Prince Huo, that stuff couldn’t be priced by the pound at the coast. It was all those fishermen selling it to me by the pile, by the pile. Just give them a few coins and they were satisfied. The transportation costs, however, were considerable.”

Li Er and Li Xiaogong exchanged glances and burst into laughter. The most interesting moment of the day was right now. Several top strategic masters, in a situation where they were certain to win, had been outmaneuvered by Yun Ye. He’d found a loophole and won in a way that left everyone speechless. The clansmen who only now understood joined in the hearty laughter, provoking the women in the rear courtyard to send maids to inquire about what exactly had happened.