He also said that originally, Cui Fengnian had planned to come personally, but he couldn’t get away from his business in Yan. Since Chen Qingsheng would be stationed permanently in Gua Du City on behalf of Cui Fengnian from now on, he had come specially to pay his respects to General Gong, hoping that General Gong would take good care of Cui’s shops in the future.
General Gong looked at Chen Qingsheng, who had been from Jin last time he came but had now become a Zhou person, and said with a smile: “Now that Great Zhou’s navy and Dongyi’s navy have already started fighting, and our Dongyi navy lost most of their forces at Long Island, the entire nation of Dongyi is clamoring for revenge. Your master is having you come to Dongyi to open a treasure shop at this time—aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to stay in business?”
“Well, it’s precisely because of this reason that my master sent me to seek General Gong’s protection. Moreover, my master has already said that since Great Zhou and Yan are currently engaged in their national wager, even if they fight… in the end, Dongyi and Great Zhou will still have to shake hands and make peace, still have to sit down and negotiate terms. Great Zhou is acting impulsively because of Prince Han Cheng’s matter, wanting to destroy Dongyi, but as long as Dongyi seeks peace and respectfully returns Prince Han Cheng’s remains along with Great Zhou’s envoy Lord Liu, Great Zhou most likely won’t pursue the matter further. Otherwise… in the end, wouldn’t it be Yan who benefits? If Yan wins the national wager, Great Zhou won’t even have a capital left. The Great Zhou’s Emperor can’t make such a losing deal. My master’s judgment has always been accurate, so he’s having us come at this time… while Yan’s merchants have all fled, it’s the perfect time to pick up the bargains!”
Upon hearing this, General Gong laughed and sighed about merchants being shrewd, then accepted the ancient musical score book that Chen Qingsheng had brought.
Not only that, Chen Qingsheng also said that this time Cui Fengnian had sent him to open a treasure shop, and he knew that Cui’s Treasure Shop was preparing to hold a treasure appraisal gathering. His master, Cui Fengnian, had him bring a luminous pearl as large as a plate to serve as the shop’s treasure. If General Gong was interested, he could come that evening to view the treasure.
Chen Qingsheng delivered the invitation without being pushy, but when delivering invitations to other prominent figures and generals guarding the city, he mentioned that he had personally delivered an invitation to General Gong, hinting that General Gong would also come to view treasures that night. Moreover… Cui’s Treasure Shop had prepared generous gifts for everyone, hoping they would all come to show their support.
A luminous pearl as large as a round plate—who had ever seen such a thing?
Some said that Chen Qingsheng, the manager of Cui’s Treasure Pavilion, was lying, while others said they’d go see for themselves to find out!
Since Cui Fengnian’s reputation was well-known, and Chen Qingsheng was Cui Fengnian’s manager, those who received invitations naturally wanted to investigate for themselves.
Chen Qingsheng scheduled the luminous pearl viewing banquet for the end of the xu hour and beginning of the hai hour, saying that the deeper the night, the brighter the luminous pearl would be.
This had been discussed and agreed upon between Chen Qingsheng and Bai Qingyan before he left.
The banquet was set for the end of the xu hour, while Great Zhou’s army would attack Gua Du City at the end of the hai hour. After an hour passed, those city-guarding generals would probably be half-drunk. Combined with Chen Qingsheng’s skill and ability in dealing with the city guards, he could then use the banquet as an excuse to send some food to the city guards, which would be very appropriate.
At the third quarter of the hai hour, small boats silently landed on Dongyi’s territory. In the distant dark sea, not a glimmer of light could be seen. When the warships were about to approach Dongyi, Bai Qingjue had all the lights on the ships extinguished, silently approaching the shore.
When they were about to reach the shore, he had the Bai Family Army transfer to small boats, landing quietly one by one.
At this time, Bai Qingyan, far away in Liu Guan, didn’t have the Bai Family Army directly attack Liu Guan City. Instead, taking advantage of the night, she set an ambush on the road between Liu Guan City and Gua Du City.
Dongyi was a small country with a small population and limited military forces.
Bai Qingyan had calculated that if fighting broke out in Gua Du City and they requested reinforcements, the fastest reinforcements that could come from the western direction would be from Liu Guan City. So… as long as Liu Guan City’s commanding general wasn’t only thinking of protecting himself, he would certainly send troops to provide aid. Bai Qingyan could take advantage of when Liu Guan City sent troops to reinforce Gua Du, ambushing them here, first eliminating part of Liu Guan City’s forces, making it much easier to attack the city afterward.
Fighting would begin in Gua Du City at the hai the hour. Even if Gua Du City’s commanding general was slow to react, within half an hour, he would realize he couldn’t withstand Great Zhou’s army and would send for reinforcements. From Gua Du City to Liu Guan City… riding at full speed would take less than two hours.
Bai Qingyan only hoped to capture Liu Guan City before dawn, replenish supplies, rest briefly, and then continue advancing toward Dongyi’s capital.
On Chen Qingsheng’s side, since he didn’t want to reveal Bai Jintong’s identity to the world, he still needed to put on the act.
The night was perfect, with a bright moon and sparse stars.
In this luxurious rented courtyard, Chen Qingsheng held a flowing water banquet, with seats arranged along the winding artificial stream in the courtyard.
From the flowing water stone basin, bamboo tubes would fill with water and fall to strike the stone basin. In that gurgling stream, they would release plates that could float in the water, containing dishes that these Dongyi people had never seen before. Small stone lamps the size of palms were closely arranged on both sides of the stream, their flickering light illuminating the various delicious delicacies on the floating plates. The shimmering, clustering bright light made the food look as beautiful as a painting, so beautiful that people couldn’t bear to use their chopsticks.
Chen Qingsheng stood smiling in the center of the courtyard surrounded by the stream, introducing treasures that made everyone look again and again, truly letting people know that Cui’s Treasure Pavilion had some substance.
Chen Qingsheng glanced at the time, estimating it was about right, then said with a smile: “Next is what I’ve invited everyone here to appreciate tonight—our Cui’s Treasure Pavilion’s treasure of the shop.”
As he spoke, Chen Qingsheng clapped his hands confidently. Soon four servants carried a treasure platform covered with white crane embroidered crimson cloud brocade to Chen Qingsheng’s side.
“This treasure is called a luminous pearl. During the day, it looks quite ordinary, but in the dark of night, it’s as bright as the moon. If it’s indoors, it can make the interior as bright as day. If it’s outdoors… It’s like a moon on Earth. So… this treasure is called Moon Among Clouds.” Chen Qingsheng stood beside the treasure platform, looking like he was about to reveal a mystery. “This is also our Cui’s Treasure Pavilion’s treasure of the shop. Please, honored guests, appreciate it.”
Having said this, Chen Qingsheng pulled away the white crane embroidered crimson cloud brocade in one motion, and his expression immediately changed dramatically.
The guests also began discussing among themselves…
“Isn’t this just a round stone?”
“That’s right, we don’t see it as bright as the moon—it’s not glowing!”
“What’s going on?! Where’s the Moon Among Clouds?” Chen Qingsheng stared wide-eyed at the round stone placed on the treasure stand, his face pale as death. “Guan Jiu! Where’s the Moon Among Clouds?!”
The named Guan Jiu stumbled and crawled to Chen Qingsheng’s side: “This… this, Manager, I don’t know what happened either. We’ve been watching the Moon Among Clouds the whole time without taking our eyes off it!”