Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
That was exactly Yu Youyao’s intention. “King Liang is going to raise an army and rebel. The world will be in turmoil. The first to be in chaos is the hinterland of the Central Plains with weak military but is rich. The Huai River area is where the Min people live. The news of the Xie Residence’s withdrawal from Quanzhou will be exposed sooner or later. King Liang will definitely be able to guess that the Xie Residence is going to the Huai River. As long as they set up checkpoints along the way, the Xie Residence will beco at on the chopping block.”
The mariti transport was in the hands of the Imperial Court, so it was very easy to make mistakes.
The Imperial Court’s control over mariti transport was extrely weak. The Xie family’s rchant ships had always been operating along the southeast coast. They were well-prepared and had wider connections. When King Liang realizes that the Xie family has fled, he can only watch helplessly.
Old Master Xie nodded in relief. “Little Yao’er has thought it through. We’ll do as she wants. When we go to the Huai River area, we need a travel pass issued by the Quanzhou governnt office. The Xie family is a huge taxpayer, and the governnt is keeping a close eye on us. It’s absolutely impossible to let the Xie family leave Quanzhou. It’s also very risky to process fake customs docunts and identity docunts. If we’re not careful, we can be exposed. Moreover, there are checks along the way. There are too many variables.”
“Due to King Li of Zhou’s previous example, Youzhou is in a bitterly cold place at the border, and there are often external enemies disturbing it. There are too many variables waiting for the Imperial Court to send an army. If we’re not careful, it will cause another disaster like King Li of Zhou’s. Therefore, the current Emperor has given the North the privilege of not paying taxes on salt to buy supplies that the Imperial Court can’t distribute in ti. We just have to disguise ourselves as rchants from Youzhou and it’s very easy for us to leave Quanzhou.”
Neither the Jiazhou Residence nor King Liang would have expected that they had King Yue Fei’s token and clearance docunt.
From the looks of it, going to the North was far safer than going to the Huai River.
Hence, this matter was settled.
Yu Youyao cald down.
The next day, Yu Youyao went to the governnt office with her Eldest Aunt and Third Cousin.
Old Master Lin, Madam Yan, and Lin Ruoru had also arrived.
Under the witness of the officials of the Jiazhou Residence and the governnt office, they agreed on the details of buying dicine and disaster relief with the Lin family. After confirming that there were no mistakes, the two sides ford a contract.
Under Yu Youyao’s strong request, it was decided that Lin Ruoru would be in charge of the cooperation.
Old Master Lin was a little unwilling, but Yu Youyao used the excuse that she was a woman and it was not good for her to interact too much with other n. Old Master Lin also knew that she was a daughter of an official and was particular about many things and had strict rules, so it was not appropriate for him to refuse.
When she left the governnt office, it was already afternoon.
Old Master Lin had invited everyone from the Xie Residence to eat at the Guiyuan Temple on Earth Gate Street. He also knew that it was not appropriate for Yu Youyao to go to a place like a restaurant during her mourning period.
Yu Youyao declined politely as it was inconvenient for her to stay outside for long because she was filial.
Before leaving, Yu Youyao said casually, “I heard that Master Lin’s ancestral hotown is in Zhejiang. Later on, his family’s business expanded, so his entire family moved to Quanzhou in Fujian. However, Master Lin has access to the dicinal herbs in Jiangnan and often travels back and forth to Zhejiang. My cousin is an old friend of the Governor of Zhejiang, Lord Ye. Old Master Lin is from a big family in Zhejiang, so I think he knows Lord Ye. In the future, when Master Lin goes to Zhejiang, I’ll have to trouble you to greet Lord Ye on behalf of my cousin and .”
The Lin family had moved to Quanzhou only to develop the family’s foundation.
However, in fact, the Lin family’s foundation had always been in Zhejiang.
Old Master Lin’s eyes flickered as he quickly nodded in agreent.
After Yu Youyao left, Master Lin and Madam Yan got into the carriage.
In the sealed carriage, Madam Yan imdiately lowered her voice and asked, “What did the County Head of Shaoyi an? It doesn’t sound like she’s really asking you to greet Lord Ye for her.”
If she wanted to greet him, she could just send you a letter. Why would she need others to do it for her?
The Lin family was only a rchant family and had a selfless relationship with Lord Ye. They had no interactions with each other. No matter how she looked at it, it was not appropriate to hand over greetings to the Lin family!
Old Master Lin looked thoughtful. “The County Head of Shaoyi is from the Yu Clan, and their descendants are all over the court. In recent years, the Emperor has wanted to put the Yu Clan in an important position. Many of the Yu Clan mbers are in important positions in the court. The Jiazhou Residence must be crazy to go against the County Head of Shaoyi.”
Madam Yan frowned. “The Jiazhou Residence clearly has ill intentions towards the County Head of Shaoyi.”
It looked like a farce.
It was a dangerous conspiracy.
The commoners are not able to fight with the officials. Usually, when the rchants gathered together, they could still keep the local officials in check. However, once they were in the hands of the governnt, they were almost at on the chopping block.
The ones who resolved this crisis were the County Head of Shaoyi and the Lin and Yan families.
Old Master Lin gently twirled the green jade tablet in his hand. After a while, he said, “Tell , why did the County Head of Shaoyi, a dignified daughter of an official, co to Quanzhou?”
Madam Yan shook her head. “I heard that because her grandmother passed away, she fell sick from worry so she ca to Quanzhou to recuperate.”
Old Master Lin scoffed. “If a family mber passed away, you should not travel for three years.”
Madam Yan also felt that there was sothing hidden behind this. Then, she heard Old Master Lin say, “Is it possible that Eldest Miss Yu knew in advance that Lord Jia was going to harm the Xie family, so she specially ca to Quanzhou?” At this point, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was very likely. “As soon as the County Head of Shaoyi settled down in Quanzhou, she bought dicine from the Lin and Yan families to relieve the disaster. If not for this, the Xie family would have already been in the lilight.”
Madam Yan’s heart skipped a beat. “The Xie family is the richest family in Quanzhou. If anything happens to the Xie family, Quanzhou will definitely be in turmoil. rchants like us who are led by the Xie family…”
Old Master Lin’s expression gradually turned solemn. “The County Head of Shaoyi is reminding and warning at the sa ti.”
The Lin family’s foundation was in Zhejiang. The Lin family could give up on their operations in Quanzhou, but not their roots. As long as their foundation was still there, the Lin family would not fall.
Zhejiang was under Lord Ye’s rule. If the County Head of Shaoyi and Lord Ye had any relations, it would be as good as holding the Lin family by the throat.
She could only choose to cooperate with the County Head of Shaoyi.
What a shrewd person.
No wonder it was said that the County Head of Shaoyi was a chess player. We were all chess pieces on her chessboard. We had to be obedient and useful chess pieces so that we wouldn’t be eaten.
Old Master Lin thought about it. “Use the matter of the County Head of Shaoyi’s disaster relief to transfer our family’s operations in Quanzhou back to Zhejiang. We have to do it secretly and not let anyone discover it. Leave so businesses to soone we trust to slowly sell.”
Madam Yan felt a little uneasy. “Just based on the words of the County Head of Shaoyi… Isn’t that a little too rash?”
However, Old Master Lin did not think so. “The Jiazhou Residence has ill intentions towards the Xie Residence. If one move doesn’t work, they definitely have a backup plan. Our family has always followed the Xie Residence’s lead, and our situation in Quanzhou won’t be good in the future. In any case, our family’s foundation is in Zhejiang. It won’t affect much even if we give up on operating in Quanzhou. Quanzhou isn’t far from Zhejiang. We’ll watch from the side and see the situation. When the ti is right, we’ll return to Quanzhou. Our previous business will still be here.”
The Lin family controlled almost 70% of the dicinal herbs in the Jiangnan area. Their business in Quanzhou was irreplaceable.
At this mont, the court was unstable. Self-preservation was the best strategy.
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