The voice was calm and even, drifting through the upper floor of the teahouse. Wu Qilong sat there, unable to speak for a moment. He’d trained in the world of business for many years now — he was no ordinary, incompetent man. No matter how alarming the words, an ordinary threat couldn’t easily rattle him. But this time was different. Having already discovered the fading of the yellow fabric, and having realized the astonishing scope of Ning Yi’s interlocking scheme, what came next unfolded step by step in the same measured way — and Ning Yi, with perfect composure, simply tossed the concept of confiscation and execution of the whole clan onto the table before him.
Few people could recover quickly from words like that when it concerned themselves personally — confiscation, execution of the entire clan. Wu Qilong had, of course, already considered the seriousness of the fading fabric, but at most he’d imagined some punishment. Even something that could technically be called “deceiving the emperor” wasn’t the sort of thing judged lightly — there was always room for negotiation, for mitigation. That was precisely why he’d found it so absurd for Ning Yi to open by demanding a third of the Wu family. But it was these very words from Ning Yi that had just pointed out a factor they hadn’t considered before.
There’s a war coming…
Manager Liao going to the capital, specifically to pin the charge of deceiving the emperor firmly on the Wu family…
Putting these pieces together…
Ning Yi drank his tea quietly, giving him time to absorb all this information, then continued speaking as though simply chatting.
“What the Su family can accomplish, plenty of other people in Jiangning can accomplish too. This was already decided back when you first got your hands on the yellow fabric. The first delivery — once you request a delay, the news of the fading will definitely get out.”
As he said this, laying out a plan almost entirely of his own design, he seemed at the same time to express something like regret toward Wu Qilong and the entire Wu family in front of him, as though entirely unconcerned — as if to say: when the time comes, we will inevitably see to your family’s complete destruction.
He went on. “That wouldn’t produce a good effect. Once everyone knows, the whole situation will slip beyond even the Su family’s control. Even if we don’t push things to a head in the capital ourselves, there will be others willing to use their influence to bring the Wu family down… Of course, the Su family will certainly keep at it too. After that, your family gets charged, the market falls into chaos, and we move in to grab market share — whether we can secure the best portion of it, how much effort it’ll take, that’s… well, the Su family will have some trouble with that too, I’d think.”
“So I’d rather get all this resolved before the imperial merchant delivery gets delayed.” Ning Yi refilled his own cup and shook his head. “Time will be a bit tight, but that’s also to ensure you actually hand everything over — no need to sort it all out in meticulous detail, just bring over whatever you can hand over. What we can’t absorb, Tan’er will surely know where to draw the line…”
“Of course, the most important thing is sincerity — that matters a great deal. If possible, I could show you the plan itself — I emphasized a few points to Tan’er at the time. First: absolutely no delaying. We don’t have time for negotiation. No matter what you say, once you request a delay, if things aren’t settled by then — even if just one small piece remains unsettled — the Su family will release the news. Once it’s out, the matter will no longer be something the Su family can control, and we’ll all just have to accept whatever fate follows. The second point is really just an extension of the first: you get one chance only. The Su family won’t entertain anything like ‘we want more, go prepare it and come back.’ So it’s best to get everything settled in one go. You should understand why it has to be this way.”
Having said all this in one breath, Ning Yi took a sip of tea. Wu Qilong placed both hands on the table and leaned back in his chair.
“You mean… my Wu family… is simply at your mercy?”
“Different way of putting it, but yes, that’s the gist.” Ning Yi pursed his lips and nodded, seeming to genuinely agree with Wu Qilong’s summary. “I think this is actually the most peaceful way to handle it. Of course, with everything laid out plainly like this, you can’t possibly feel good about it. But at this point… perhaps you should step back and look at the bigger picture, like a game of chess. If you’re already in checkmate, you can hardly expect your opponent not to finish you off — once checkmate is declared, the next move is naturally to take the piece. That, I trust you can understand?”
Wu Qilong looked at him as one might look at a madman, opening his mouth several times without managing to say anything. Ning Yi met his gaze calmly, and after a moment, nodded, murmuring softly, “You understand. I’m glad.”
Wu Qilong’s voice came out low and suppressed, almost word by word. “A third… if we give that to you, then the formula for the brilliant gold brocade…”
“There is no formula.” Ning Yi shook his head. “There was never a correct formula, from beginning to end. That’s exactly why the fabric faded — it’s why Tan’er fell ill in the first place. You’ve probably felt that kind of psychological pressure yourselves these past few days. She’d been researching it for three years, fighting this battle alone, and with Su Boyong attacked and wounded on top of it — that’s why she finally collapsed.”
“Then why should my Wu family still hand over this third?”
“Oh, it’s not a third — let’s clarify that first, so you can mentally prepare yourself. The third is what the Su family wants… There’s a way to handle this. When the time comes, the Su family will help smooth things over for the Wu family, both in the capital and here in Jiangning. Since the news will be kept sealed for now, no one else will know the Wu family has run into trouble. At that point, the Wu family will proactively accept punishment. First, you’ll pay to grease the wheels at every level, and the Su family will assist with that. Second, you’ll voluntarily contribute funds to be used as military provisions. And third — this is the most important part…”
Ning Yi paused. “You’ll need to voluntarily take on several times your current share of tribute cloth production. This should be enough to ensure the higher-ups don’t go so far as to confiscate the Wu family’s assets, because even in wartime, tribute cloth will still be needed — perhaps supplied to the Jin state. This will be a heavier burden — you’ll need to scale back your presence in the open market, hand over the ordinary fabric you produce yourselves to the court, and also buy more from the market as needed. And as you know, Tan’er has recently upgraded her looms, improving efficiency — so on the tribute cloth front, the Su family will actually have some capacity to help out too. There will certainly be surplus fabric available, which would give your side an outlet as well.”
“So: a third to the Su family, a third for various expenses toward the court — I’m not sure if that’s enough, but you should be able to manage it regardless. And in the years to come, though the Wu family’s presence in the open market will keep shrinking, you’ll hold onto the imperial merchant title, and in a few years, you’ll still be at least on the scale of a family like the Lü family, who’ve specialized in imperial merchant business all along.”
Wu Qilong’s fist struck the table.
“It’s hard to accept at first, I understand.” Ning Yi remained entirely unmoved. “But neither of us really knows what the upper reaches of the court are like right now. Having one path forward is always better than having none, isn’t it? As for the other path — sure, it’s not impossible either. Who knows, maybe the fading issue really will get solved. The Su family spent several years on this and finally accepted defeat; Su Tan’er fell ill because of it too. Maybe you’ll get extraordinarily lucky and solve the problem in a month or two. In ten days, you could gamble on that chance. We’ll release the news according to plan, and Manager Liao will be working things in the capital — that’s roughly how it’ll go. Or perhaps there’s some other solution I haven’t thought of. Oh, does your family have any reliable connections among the imperial relatives? I think it’d be worth reaching out to someone like that for help…”
“You…” Wu Qilong took a deep breath, pointing at Ning Yi. “You… you’re the ones trying to destroy my Wu family right now, and yet you sit here acting like it’s none of your business, offering me advice, heh…”
“Still don’t understand, do you?” This time, Ning Yi looked at him and frowned. “This isn’t some children’s game. In this world, you’ll often think there are all sorts of choices available to you, but in the end you’ll find there’s really only one — you just have to follow through with it. Destroy your Wu family? Why do you say it so lightly, as though it’s no different from someone hitting me with a brick once, the way it used to be? What do you want me to say to that?”
“This whole affair — you started it. Is that what you want to hear? I warned you all. Is that what you want to hear? Or ‘a swordsman still keeps his sword hand ready even among old friends, while the flatterers celebrate early success at court’? That poem — I hear the elder of your Wu family had it mounted and framed. He apparently said at the time that this was just how business worked… Is that what you want to hear? None of it matters. From beginning to end, I never intended to say any of this to you. I only wanted to make clear to you what the current situation actually is. As for why it turned out this way — that’s for you all to reflect on afterward. Bringing it up now — does that solve anything?”
“No one set out to target your Wu family specifically. It’s just that someone attacked and wounded Su Boyong — oh, and don’t say that has nothing to do with you, that you didn’t know about it, because that’s exactly the point. And then you set your sights on the imperial merchant title, the fabric started fading, Su Tan’er collapsed. The Su family ran into trouble, and everything since has simply been about solving that problem. No one wants anyone dead, no one wants to wipe out anyone’s family — solving the problem, handling things as well as possible — that’s simply what solving a problem looks like.”
“Before that night at the trade association’s annual gathering, no one knew it was you. It could have been anyone who ended up jumping in — you, or the Xue family, it would’ve made no difference. Now I’m telling you: there are two paths ahead. First, your entire family lives. Second, your entire family dies. Do I really need to spell out which one to choose? And as for the Su family’s side — as I said, since checkmate has already been declared, the next move is obvious. Even if it were left up to you to decide, wouldn’t the answer be perfectly clear either way?”
As he said this, Ning Yi’s expression had turned genuinely serious. He shook his head and sighed.
“Back to the matter at hand — I know this is difficult, hard to accept at first. Anyone would feel the same. Things happened too fast, the turn came too suddenly, and you haven’t had much time to process it. On top of that, you’re surely furious inside. I understand — even if it means my entire family dies, I won’t let you have your way. Most people would think that, at least at first — understandable enough. But no one person can think of everything alone. This is simply too big a matter, with too many decisions to be made.”
Ning Yi paused, glanced outside at the sky, then turned back to look at him sincerely. “It’s getting late. I wouldn’t mind chatting a while longer, but… you’d best head back soon. Things are likely to get quite busy from here — spreading word, planning countermeasures. Ten thousand years is too long — seize the day, as they say. Matters like this always come together better when everyone puts their heads together. Don’t waste time — every moment counts now.”
He said this with a smile, glanced at Wu Qilong’s expression, then picked up the chemistry book beside him. Across from him, Wu Qilong pushed back his chair and stood. Ning Yi, remembering something, looked up. “Oh, this pot of tea’s on me.”
Wu Qilong stood there for a few seconds, but in the end said nothing at all, his expression impossible to read. As he was about to descend the teahouse stairs, he turned to glance back. Ning Yi was still seated there, head bowed, brush in hand, sketching away, occasionally pausing to frown in thought or recollection, taking small sips of tea. The sheer ruthlessness of what had just been said, of the confrontation and the cards laid bare, the scope of what it could affect and the severity of its consequences — in his manner, it all seemed no different from that outdated little Persian chemistry pamphlet — just another “so-so” sort of thing.
The afternoon was still young, the sunlight casting his silhouette against the teahouse…