In the front courtyard of the Wang residence, at the octagonal pavilion.
Turning back time by a quarter-hour…
Luo Jiu had just finished lunch and was preparing to rest when passing by the octagonal hall, someone called out to him.
“Luo Jiu,” Qin Si, accompanied by Feng Daniu, stood by the pavilion beckoning to Luo Wenqian.
“Oh, Qin Si,” Luo Wenqian responded casually.
“I hear you’re planning to invest in and take over the Sifang Money House. I wonder if our Qin family could buy in as shareholders?” Qin Si asked directly, knowing Luo Jiu’s nature—if you tried to make small talk, he could talk circles around you.
“That wouldn’t be right. Normally, for us, the more shareholders the better, but you first sabotaged the Sifang Money House and now want to buy in—that seems rather improper, doesn’t it?” Luo Jiu said, raising an eyebrow.
Hearing these words, Qin Si’s heart skipped a beat, but he laughed it off: “What are you talking about? Even jokes should have limits.”
“Whether it’s a joke or not, we all know the truth. Yesterday I received news that Master Xuan and Master Yan are now in Tartar territory, taken in by Bahan Naji. I hear they’ve even been given official positions by Anda.” Luo Jiu continued. The Bahan Naji he mentioned was Anda’s grandson.
“What does that have to do with me?” Qin Si laughed.
In his heart, he knew Luo Jiu must have discovered something, but he had been very careful with this matter and arranged it cleverly. Even if Luo Jiu understood, he definitely wouldn’t have evidence, so Qin Si wasn’t particularly worried.
Indeed, he had arranged the escape route for Masters Xuan and Yan, who had fled the Imperial Textile Office with embezzled funds. Otherwise, with the government office watching them so closely, how could they have escaped?
He had done this because it was a rare opportunity. The Qin family had always been entrenched in the north, but unexpectedly, the court suddenly lifted the maritime ban. Going forward, overseas markets would be the major source of profit. Additionally, with Anda’s raids, although their family had connections with the Tartars, the entire northern market was becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Therefore, when he first came to Nanjing, he proposed cooperation with Luo Jiu and the Li family, even at a loss.
However, before the cooperation could begin, due to a case of property donation in Huizhou, Master Hai had leveraged the powerful Xu family, throwing both official and merchant circles in Nanjing into chaos.
Thus, he saw an opportunity. If Sifang Money House fell, the Hui merchants would surely suffer great losses, as Wang Sifang was the president of the Hui Merchants’ Association. Most Hui merchants in Nanjing conducted their financial transactions through Sifang Money House.
This would inevitably create a market vacuum in Nanjing. The Qin family had no shortage of capital, and they could potentially take control of Sifang Money House. The chaos in Nanjing represented an opportunity for the Qin family.
Therefore, Qin Si decisively added fuel to the fire, arranging for Masters Xuan and Yan from the Imperial Textile Office to seek refuge in the north, taking large sums of money with them, and pushing Sifang Money House to the brink.
Originally, when Wang Sifang got into trouble, he had been waiting for Sifang Money House to collapse so he could take control with his substantial capital. However, he hadn’t expected Luo Wenqian and Hu Zonglin to react so quickly, taking over all Wang family affairs through the merchants’ association almost immediately after Wang Sifang’s troubles began. Thus, he had no opportunity to intervene.
It was truly frustrating.
Today, he had come under the pretense of visiting Wang Sifang, but his real purpose was to see if there was still any opportunity.
However, he hadn’t expected Luo Jiu to see through his schemes. This meant there was no chance for cooperation now.
His father had been right—in the north, Luo Jiu would be the Qin family’s greatest rival. Unfortunately, when Luo Jiu first ventured north, they hadn’t managed to suppress him, allowing him to carve out his territory.
Now with the maritime ban lifted, plus Luo Jiu’s control of the military sword market, and recently Li Zhenniang helping him acquire Japanese sword-making techniques, Luo Jiu’s rise to power seemed inevitable.
Thinking of this, Qin Si’s expression darkened.
Meanwhile, Luo Jiu narrowed his eyes. Qin Si was refusing to admit anything, and he indeed had no evidence at the moment. However, anything done by humans would have flaws, and eventually, he would find a way to expose this matter. For now, there was no need to say more.
So he calmly said to Qin Si: “Do as you please, Qin Si. I’m busy, so I won’t entertain you.” With that, he turned and walked through the front courtyard, around the corridor, and into a study room. The investing parties had already been determined—his family’s Yihou Sheng Company, Hu Zonglin’s Hu Ji, Wang Cuiqiao’s Huiyuan Money House, and the merchants’ association’s collective shares.
There were many things to arrange regarding share distribution, contracts, deeds, and so on—he had no time to waste arguing with Qin Si.
“Please, go ahead,” Qin Si spread his hands, watching Luo Jiu leave.
“Fourth Master, does this mean our previously discussed cooperation won’t happen?” Feng Daniu asked from the side, referring to the originally planned cooperation between Qin, Luo, Li, and Feng Daniu.
Qin Si nodded grimly. Under these circumstances, cooperation was impossible. This time he had not only failed to catch the chicken but lost his rice as well.
Just then, he saw a woman at the corridor entrance in the distance, carrying a tea tray with a teapot and cups, speaking to a young woman of about eighteen in a goose-yellow dress.
“Qing’er, take the tea over there,” Madam Hu Jiang pointed toward the study at the end of the corridor. The young woman in goose-yellow was, of course, her concubine-born daughter Hu Qing’er.
Hu Qing’er’s face flushed red, and she called out very reluctantly: “Mother…”
“Listen to your mother, this is for your own good. Where else could you find someone like Luo Jiu?” Madam Hu Jiang said. She had spent the past two days trying to persuade this girl, using both threats and enticements, but the girl maintained this unwilling attitude, truly infuriating her.
“Go in quickly, I’m watching. Your marriage arrangements are ultimately my responsibility.” Madam Hu Jiang glared. This statement carried a strong threatening tone—, if Hu Qing’er didn’t comply with Madam Jiang’s wishes this time, she wouldn’t have any good prospects in the future.
Hu Qing’er, with tears in her eyes, stood dazed for a good while before finally picking up the tea tray and walking haltingly toward the room Luo Wenqian had entered earlier.
She didn’t come out for a long time.
Qin Si began to understand the situation, especially when he saw the woman call two more people who hurried toward the study at the end of the corridor and then saw Li Zhenniang following the Wang family woman also heading toward that study. He realized Luo Jiu was in trouble.
However, this could be an opportunity for him. Since the ink competition, he had developed some genuine interest in Li Zhenniang. Of course, this wasn’t the main reason—the main point was that the Li family had good relations with Wang Cuiqiao, who came from a pirate background. Going overseas was a small matter for her people, and Li Zhengping also traveled between the two oceans, reportedly having established quite a few foreign connections. When he had wanted to cooperate with the Luo and Li families earlier, this was what he had his eye on. Now, if things fell apart between Luo Jiu and Li Zhenniang, that would be his opportunity.
Thinking this, he also went to join them. The scene that would unfold would surely embarrass Li Zhenniang, and he could play the hero. His calculations were clear.
By now, everyone had reached the study.
Madam Hu Jiang gave a signal to Ma Sao beside her, who then pretended to be walking too hurriedly and unable to stop, crashing into the door.
Unexpectedly, the door opened with just a light touch, and Ma Sao, unable to catch herself, tumbled completely to the ground.
“What are you doing? Have you no manners left?” Just then, a voice rang out from inside—somewhat elderly but very serious, and suppressing anger.
“Old Madam, how… when did you arrive?”
Through the open door, the study was visible, but Luo Wenqian was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there sat an elderly woman with graying hair, and beside her sat Hu Qing’er, who had entered earlier, now helping the old woman massage her legs.
This elderly woman was, of course, the Hu family matriarch.
“Is my presence here strange? You people not only fail to help the Wang family but cause nothing but trouble. I’ve heard everything at home—you’ve completely embarrassed both the Hu and Wang families. Enough. Since the merchants’ association has taken over the Sifang Money House matter, and your men are handling affairs, you women folk should stop causing trouble. Everyone come back with me now,” the Hu matriarch said calmly, suppressing her anger.
After all, for such shameless matters, she could only deal with them behind closed doors at home. Family scandals should not be aired publicly.
At this moment, seeing Old Madam Hu’s expression, Madam Hu Jiang, who knew her mother-in-law best, understood that the calmer the old madam appeared, the angrier she was.
She couldn’t understand it—she had seen Luo Wenqian enter this room and hadn’t seen him leave, nor had she seen the old madam enter. Yet somehow this dramatic change had occurred.
However, by now, Madam Hu Jiang also understood that her plans must have been seen through, and she had thoroughly embarrassed herself.
“Did you hear me?” Old Madam Hu asked in a stronger voice when Madam Hu Jiang didn’t respond for a while.
“Yes, I’ll go pack up right away,” Madam Hu Jiang responded with a pale face, gave a bow, and turned to leave.
At this point, most people didn’t understand what had happened, assuming it was about the trouble the two families’ young members had caused at Yihou Sheng a few days ago. Although their behavior had been somewhat excessive, everyone understood, given the significant losses.
Seeing Old Madam Hu’s handling of the situation, people praised the Hu family’s strict discipline and dignified manner.
Zhenniang said nothing at this point, merely glancing at Wang Yan, but that single look made Wang Yan’s face flush red with shame. It seemed to say that despite being an elder, Wang Yan’s words had been completely unreliable.
Wang Yan was so frustrated she nearly suffered an internal injury. She had clearly seen everything, yet in the end, Old Madam Hu had appeared instead—obviously, Madam Hu Jiang had also been outmaneuvered.
As for who had done the outmaneuvering, it was obvious—it must have been Luo Jiu and this Li girl. No wonder she had been so calm earlier.
The true situation was indeed known to Li Zhenniang. This study had been specifically chosen by Luo Wenqian—there was a small side door behind the bookshelf. After entering the study, Luo Wenqian had left through this door, and Old Madam Hu had entered through it, thus averting a scene.
“Wang family daughter-in-law, your aunt has told me that Sifang is unconscious, and my daughter is ill. We’ve been poor hosts. I’d like to invite you to my place to keep this old woman company for a while,” Old Madam Hu now addressed Wang Yan, having dispatched her unworthy daughter-in-law.
“There’s been no lack of hospitality. I’ve been the one imposing. While keeping Old Madam company would be wonderful, I’ve been away from home for some time and am worried about matters there. I’ve already booked a passage back to Huizhou for tomorrow. I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Old Madam,” Wang Yan replied. She had no time to keep Old Madam Hu company, and she knew the old madam wasn’t sincere in asking. Everyone understood the situation. Now that the old madam had spoken, she couldn’t stay any longer and had to leave for now.
“Oh, that’s fine then. I wish you a safe journey,” Old Madam Hu said.
“Thank you, Old Madam,” Wang Yan responded with a curtsy before leaving with her people.
“Miss Li, please take me to see my daughter,” Old Madam Hu then said pleasantly to Li Zhenniang.
“Yes, Old Madam, please,” Zhenniang curtsied and went forward, gesturing to Hu Qing’er, and together they supported the old madam to Madam Hu’s room.
As Zhenniang helped the old madam out of the room, they passed Luo Wenqian coming from the opposite direction. The two exchanged smiles.
Watching this scene from the side, Qin Si felt quite dejected—these two were not so easily outmaneuvered.