bookbashuk Chapter 474: Meeting of Two Gods of Wealth
Chapter 474: Meeting of Two Gods of Wealth
Chapter 474 Meeting of the Two Gods of Wealth
After seeing off Gong Shangjiao the next day, Gong Yuanzheng went straight into the Zheng Palace and refused to come out.
At the same time, Gong Zishang was busy sorting out the affairs of the Shang Palace, and was extremely busy. Gong Ziyu was still soaking in the cold pool in the back mountain, and it seemed that he would not be able to get out in a short time.
As for the elders, due to their old age and the fact that they openly protected Gong Ziyu before, Gong Shangjiao used the elders' old age as an excuse to have the infirmary staff prepare bitter tonic soup for them for three meals a day, and the medicine was specially added with ten times the amount of Coptis chinensis. Now, these elders are paralyzed in bed due to the bitterness, and even getting up has become a difficult task.
As for Madam Wu Ji, she either spent her days taking good care of the orchids in the yard, or going to the ancestral temple to burn incense and pray for Old Zhiren and the young master.
Shangguan Qian thought to herself that since she entered the palace, she did not seem to have caused any substantial harm to Yun Weishan, but now she was being plotted against like this, and she really couldn't swallow this.
However, Shangguan Qian did not dwell on this for too long, and soon she came up with a plan. Coincidentally, this was all thanks to Gong Shangjiao, because with him, Shangguan Qian only needed to order someone to buy some things outside the palace gate, and then drop some small gifts for Yun Weishan's Jackdaw.
After Gong Shangjiao arrived at the first town, he was lucky enough to meet Xie Yuchen who happened to be out checking the accounts.
Although Gong Shangjiao had never seen what his younger brother called Brother Xiaohua looked like, he still knew something about his younger brother's father's business.
Xie Yuchen was a luminous figure standing there, but he was also a stranger. Moreover, whenever he went in or out, he was personally greeted by the shop owners. Combined with the information his younger brother had said, Gong Shangjiao estimated that the man was most likely the Xiaohua brother his younger brother had mentioned.
"Jin Fu, pass the visiting card over later."
Although Jin Fu was puzzled, he still did what Gong Shangjiao told him.
After Xie Yuchen inspected all the shops and returned to his residence, the maid handed him a visiting card from Gong Shangjiao at the right time.
"Is this the brother with the same surname who went on the expedition?"
Xie Yuchen held the visiting card painted with gold and silver, and his fingers carefully touched the name written in iron and silver on it.
"The Corner Palace is the palace's external face and is responsible for the palace's financial affairs."
Xiao Cui seemed to have said nothing, yet also seemed to have said everything.
"It seems that this palace gate all depends on the Corner Palace for survival!"
"Young Master is right, but the bulk of the money the palace makes comes from the medicines developed by the young prince, and a small part comes from the gunpowder weapons of the Shang Palace."
Xiao Cui knelt beside the table and poured tea for Xie Yuchen.
"I heard that the palace has a mortal enemy named Wu Feng. Is this true?"
Xie Yuchen never fights a battle without confidence, let alone in this unfamiliar world.
"Wu Feng started out as a news dealer, but after accumulating some money, he started working for others.
Later, Wufeng gradually became powerful and no longer adopted a conciliatory policy towards the people in the martial arts world. Instead, he adopted direct threats. If they were rejected, he would exterminate the entire family.
The palace gate has been hiding in the valley of the old city. The previous master of the Jiao Palace also led people to help some sects resist Wufeng's attacks.
But there is only one lord of the Corner Palace, and there are times when he is powerless no matter what.
Later, the martial arts world was divided into two parts, half of them were controlled by Wu Feng with drugs and worked for them, and the other half sought refuge in the palace.
Until ten years ago, Wu Feng disguised himself as a victim of the Thunderbolt Hall and went to the palace gate to seek refuge. No one knew what the palace gate master was thinking, that he would agree to let a sect that had been attacked by Wu Feng enter the palace gate.
Young master, you also know what happened later. The palace suffered heavy losses in that battle. The Lord of the Jiao Palace was killed, and the Lord's wife and the second son of the Jiao Palace were killed.
The Lord of Shang Palace became a useless man and could only rely on precious medicinal herbs to survive throughout his life.
All the people in Zheng Palace, from the Palace Master to the guards and maids, died in the battle. Even the side branches were slaughtered, leaving only the ignorant young Palace Master who was escorted to the secret passage by the maids. "
Xie Yuchen sees things from the perspective of an outsider, and sees them much more clearly than those who are deeply involved.
"What about Yumiya? The other three palaces were almost extinct, but nothing happened to Yumiya?"
Xiao Cui glanced at him expressionlessly and said calmly, "Except for a few guards who died in Yugong, no one else was injured."
"Oh?" Xie Yuchen raised his lips slightly, revealing an interested smile, "This is quite interesting."
Xie Yuchen muttered to himself thoughtfully, "This Yu Palace is in charge of the secret sentries at the palace gates. The other three palaces have suffered such heavy losses, why is it that only Yu Palace can stay out of it?"
The guard who had been quietly waiting beside Xie Yuchen echoed, "Young Master, I think this matter is quite strange. Perhaps from the beginning, Wu Feng pretending to be Pili Tang was an elaborate conspiracy."
Xie Yuchen's eyes fell on Xiao Cui, and he saw that her pretty face was wearing an elusive smile. He stared at Xiao Cui, and suddenly, without warning, he made a move and pinched Xiao Cui's cheeks.
"Xiao Cui, what kind of deep hatred is there between you and Wu Feng?" Xie Yuchen's voice was low and majestic, revealing an unquestionable momentum.
Xiao Cui's face turned pale instantly, and she widened her eyes, obviously very surprised by Xie Yuchen's behavior. However, she did not struggle, but just looked at Xie Yuchen quietly, as if waiting for him to continue asking questions.
"From the beginning, you have been intentionally or unintentionally guiding me to pay attention to the matter between Wu Feng and Gong Men," Xie Yuchen stared at Xiao Cui with a sharp gaze, "You may seem calm on the surface, but the hatred that flashed in your eyes cannot be concealed no matter what."
Xiao Cui was pinched on the cheeks by Xie Yuchen, but she was only flustered for a moment, and then returned to her usual calmness. There was no fear in her eyes, and her expression was still calm and composed, as if all this had nothing to do with her.
She said slowly: "Before I sold myself to His Highness, I was the eldest daughter of the Zhuhua Sect. The reason why my father was unwilling to go along with Wufeng was because he knew very well about Wufeng's shameless behavior.
After Daddy rejected Wufeng's request, he didn't expect to bring about a disaster of killing.
Later, I learned the real purpose of Wu Feng's massacre of my Zhu Hua Sect. If my senior brother and I had not been out that day, I am afraid that we would have died in that pool of blood."
After hearing what Xiao Cui said, Xie Yuchen suddenly became interested. He released Xiao Cui's hand and asked, "Oh? What treasure do you have in Zhuhua Sect that could make Wu Feng do such a thing?"
Xiao Cui's eyes dimmed a little. She whispered, "The Zhuhua Sect has a magical medicine from the Great Wilderness. The ancestor of the Zhuhua Sect risked his life to get it from the Great Wilderness. This magical medicine has magical effects. It is said that it can bring people back to life. It is the treasure of the Zhuhua Sect."
Speaking of this, Xiao Cui's eyes revealed a deep feeling of longing, and it was obvious that she had deep feelings for the Zhuhua Sect.
Xie Yuchen stroked his chin thoughtfully and continued to ask: "Since it is such a precious elixir, it must be well kept. How could it be leaked out?" Xiao Cui's eyes suddenly showed hatred, and she said viciously: "That traitor! It's all that traitor! My father and mother saw that he was begging outside at such a young age, and they couldn't bear it so they took him in in the sect, but who knew!"
"That person accidentally learned the secret of your sect and used it as a bargaining chip to climb up the ladder, so he told Wu Feng."
Xiao Cui closed her eyes to ease the hatred in her eyes.
"Your Highness knows, but there are so many Wufeng people. How can Your Highness know who led the Wufeng people to break into the Zhuhua Sect?"
"The Eastern Ghost who has not yet become a Ghost-level assassin - Pei Xu."
"Your Highness understands. Please go down! Our guests are here."
Xie Yuchen sat at the table, holding a book in his hands, seemingly reading attentively, but in fact his mind had already flown outside the yard.
He could sense someone stepping into the yard, and that person was Yuan Zheng's brother Gong Shangjiao.
Xiao Cui took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, tidied her clothes, and then quietly left Xie Yuchen's room.
Led by the housekeeper, Gong Shangjiao crossed the courtyard and came to Xie Yuchen's guest house.
As soon as he reached the door, Gong Shangjiao ran into Xiao Cui, whose eyes were red. Xiao Cui lowered her head and hurried past him, as if she didn't want others to see her appearance.
Gong Shangjiao couldn't help but take another look at Xiao Cui. He felt that this maid looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her. He turned to the housekeeper in confusion and asked, "Who was that just now?"
The housekeeper quickly explained, "Oh, that was the personal maid assigned by His Highness to the young master. Maybe she did something wrong and was reprimanded by the young master."
Gong Shangjiao nodded, thinking about something. He followed the housekeeper to Xie Yuchen's door. The housekeeper knocked on the door a few times and then said loudly, "Young Master, Master Jiao is here."
Strangely, Gong Shangjiao did not hear any response from the room, but the butler pushed open the door without hesitation and motioned him to go in.
Gong Shangjiao entered the room alone, and when he walked around the screen, he saw a beautiful woman sitting in front of the window, holding a book in her hand and reading it with great interest.
Gong Shangjiao has been in the martial arts world for so long, and he has seen all kinds of people, but he has to say that the person in front of him gives him the same feeling as his younger brother.
"Mr. Jiao, please take a seat!"
Xie Yuchen slowly put down the scroll in his hand, then stretched out his right hand with a smile, motioning Gong Shangjiao to sit opposite him.
Seeing this, Gong Shangjiao raised the corners of his mouth slightly, walked slowly to the chair opposite Xie Yuchen, and sat down gracefully.
The moment Gong Shangjiao sat down, an exquisite chessboard suddenly appeared on the originally empty table. The grid lines on the board were clear and the chess pieces were neatly placed, as if they were cast by magic.
Seeing this, Gong Shangjiao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and looked at Xie Yuchen opposite him with a little surprise, as if he was a little surprised by this sudden change.
Xie Yuchen still had a smile on his face. He asked softly, "Can you play chess?"
Gong Shangjiao hesitated for a moment, then replied, "I know a little bit."
Xie Yuchen nodded without saying anything more, but just signaled Gong Shangjiao with his eyes to pick up the chess pieces in the chess box.
Gong Shangjiao followed instructions and reached out to pinch a chess piece. It felt warm and delicate to the touch. He took a closer look and found that the chess piece was actually made of warm jade, exactly the same as the one he had seen in the Zheng Palace.
"Warm jade chess piece?" Gong Shangjiao murmured softly.
Xie Yuchen smiled slightly, seemingly not surprised by Gong Shangjiao's reaction. He said calmly, "It seems that Yuanzheng's relationship is really as they said."
Gong Shangjiao raised his head and met Xie Yuchen's eyes. Their eyes met in the air for a moment, and then they looked away.
After a moment of silence, Xie Yuchen suddenly spoke up, "I heard that Master Jiao has a lot of insights into business. Coincidentally, Your Highness also knows a lot about business. I wonder if we can learn a thing or two from each other?"
Gong Shangjiao felt that the person in front of him seemed to have bad intentions, but he didn't know how he had offended this person.
"Thank you, Master. You are joking. It's just that they gave me some face. It's just luck!"
Xie Yuchen didn't talk much to him, "Playing chess is like being a person, Master Jiao, you'd better not do two things at once."
Gong Shangjiao looked at the chessboard. His chess pieces were almost all eaten up. Now he had a feeling of being powerless to turn the situation around.
"I heard that Gongmen Zhiren passed away, and the current Zhiren actually wants to interrogate Yuanzheng. I wonder what Master Jiao feels when he thinks back on this matter now?"
Gong Shangjiao only felt that this man's chess pieces were forcing him into a desperate situation step by step, but at the same time, he left him a very dangerous way to survive.
"Yuan Zheng doesn't need to do that. He never interferes with the affairs of the palace. He is devoted to developing prescriptions, and his favorite thing is his herbs."
Xie Yuchen gently put down a white piece and said, "Since Master Jiao knew, why did he still say that Yuanzheng should enter the dungeon?"
"I..., I am also doing this for the good of the expedition!"
Xie Yuchen chuckled and waved his hand, sweeping all the chessboards on the table to the ground.
"For the expedition?"
"If you don't want it, you can just say so. Our Hua family has a little bit of wealth, so we can still afford an expedition."
"The old one is confused, and the young one is confused too! In my opinion, it would be better for Gongmen to propose a merger with Wufeng as soon as possible!"
"For a useless thing like this, the head of a palace is actually needed to pave the way for it! And it's a child who hasn't even reached adulthood yet!"
"You guys are so shameless! You are taking the medicine developed by the expedition, enjoying the convenience brought to you by the expedition, using the priceless treasures sent to you by the expedition, and yet you still want to skin him alive!"
"Why, pick up the bowl to eat, put it down and curse!"
Gong Shangjiao had no way to defend himself. After all, they were indeed wrong in doing these things.
"If Yuanbao hadn't gone in time, I'm afraid Yuanzheng would have been wronged and would have just been hiding in his bed crying without telling us!"
Xie Yuchen is not a pushover like Zhuo Yichen, "Your Highness is not a pushover like Yuanbao, don't even think about fooling me!"
"I'm telling you, I came here to support the expedition, not to lecture you on some great principles!"
"You can talk to people rationally, but not to animals!"