Chapter 952: The Palm
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Pang Jing lightly tossed and catched the gold ingot in his hand again and again. Every two or three tis, he would stop, hold it before his eyes, scrutinize it, and then start tossing it again. He didn’t seem to be trying to find any clues, and it was more like he was gauging the purity of it, like a scrupulous rchant.
ng Mingshu was sitting diagonally opposite him, his eyes moving up and down alongside the gold ingot. As if hypnotized, he looked wooden and had totally forgotten about the question that Pang Jing had asked him.
The two had t each other several tis before. In Pang Jing’s eyes, this was probably the process of two strangers becoming close friends, so he cared about his manner even less as he put one foot on the chair and the other on the ground, leaning his body against the back of the chair. Suddenly, he grabbed the gold ingot, twisted his head aside, and smiled. “Old ng, you still haven’t told yet whether this gold ingot belongs to your family or not.
This form of address, “Old ng,” reminded ng Mingshu of his father. He hurriedly answered. “Please pardon . I was being absent-minded. Er… It seems that… this ingot does belong to the ng family, but… ”
“But what?”
“I don’t an to hide anything from Your Lordship… ”
“Wow, why are you being so polite? There are no outsiders here. Just call “Little Pang” or “Younger Brother Pang.” Both are okay.
Overwheld by the unexpected favor, ng Mingshu smiled but then called him “Elder Brother Pang,” which was a more common form of address. “I don’t an to hide anything from you, Elder Brother Pang, but during these past two years, the ng family has been haunted by a lot of troubleso issues, both internal ones and external ones. It is possible that one or two thieves from within my family stole this ingot. It does belong to my family, but I’m not entirely certain about whether it was stolen or snatched.”
Pang Jing didn’t get angry after hearing this perfunctory answer. Instead, he walked up to ng Mingshu and patted his shoulder. “No matter what, this is an important clue. I’ve already sent so n to investigate. You have to know that it was not easy for to get this gold ingot. Both the Heavenly Mountain Sect and the Departnt of Guards were staring at it with covetous eyes. Fortunately, I got there quickly and snatched it. The leaders of both sides weren’t there, so nobody stopped . Ha-ha.”
“Elder Brother Pang took decisive action. I admire you.”
“Actually I admire you more than you admire . Old ng, you’ve lost almost all of your wealth, and yet you’re not anxious at all. Even I, an outsider, am more anxious than you. Your composure has really shad .”
ng Mingshu’s heart lurched. Realizing that he had overacted, he abruptly stood up and smacked his right fist into his left palm. “Alas, Elder Brother Pang, there’s sothing that you don’t know about. I’m not calm. Actually I even want to commit suicide. But if I do that, then I wouldn’t have the nerve to face my father and elder brothers in the underworld. I’ve been forcing a smiling face upon myself all along. There’s no ‘composure’ in at all.”
Pang Jing put on a slightly surprised face. “Elder Brother ng was a victim during the robbery. Even if you don’t try to search for the money, there’s certainly no need for you to force a smiling face upon yourself. What’s going on? Are you afraid of offending anyone?”
“This… it felt like we were old friends upon first eting, and Elder Brother Pang is a Central Plains dignitary, so I’ll be honest with you. The situation in Jade City is very complicated. Big fish swallowing little fish has always been the rule here. The ng family is a middle-sized fish at most. The one who dared to rob the ng family was naturally a big fish. I could only swallow the bitter pill in silence. If I don’t keep quiet, then I’m afraid I might offend the big fish and be swallowed.”
“Ha-ha. What a school of fish. Tell , who’s the big fish in Jade City?”
“I think that there’s no need for to tell Elder Brother Pang the answer.”
“The Unique King and the Dragon King?”
“Exactly.”
“Which one of them does Elder Brother ng suspect?”
ng Mingshu had predicted that this day would co sooner or later, so he was surprisingly composed. With a perfectly affected look of despair, he answered in a low voice, “The Unique King.”
“Golden Roc Castle and the ng family have been allies for so many years, and you are also in-laws. How could you suspect the Unique King?”
“In the past, Golden Roc Castle was a killer organization, and there were so affairs that were inconvenient for them to deal with in public, so the ng family would offer help in that aspect. The cooperation between us went fairly smoothly with no disagreents. But afterwards, the Unique King wanted to be a true king, so he considerably downsized his killer army. After that, there was no need for him to do everything covertly. Therefore, he naturally felt that the ng family had beco redundant. My father… was actually killed by a killer over a year ago. Golden Roc Castle even sent soone here to pose as my father in order to cover up their deed. Nominally, the ng family had been robbed of all money overnight. But in fact, I suspect that Golden Roc Castle had already transferred most of my family’s wealth away long before the robbery, which was why they would kill the impostor and fake the robbery.”
ng Mingshu made these remarks in a asured tone. There was both a reasonable speculation and a deep indignation in his words. Even he himself partially believed his lies.
Pang Jing obviously appeared to believe him, nodding repeatedly. “This makes sense. I was thinking that the Unique King should have helped the ng family get revenge even if Elder Brother ng didn’t request them to, given the relationship between the ng family and Golden Roc Castle. But unexpectedly, they did nothing, as if they don’t know about the robbery at all.”
ng Mingshu sighed repeatedly. “I’m only telling Elder Brother ng this in private - I don’t dare ask them to return the money. I only hope that they’ll let live.”
“Ha-ha.” Pang Jing let out two laughs, pressed his right hand to ng Mingshu’s shoulder, and thought for a while before saying, “Why didn’t you ask the Dragon King for help? He’s a mortal enemy of the Unique King’s.”
“How dare I!?” ng Mingshu was taken aback, as if he had just heard extrely shocking news. “I live in northern Jade City… It’s as if I live in the palm of the Unique King. Golden Roc Castle has been watching my every move.”
“Um. I can understand why you’re concerned. If - and I an if - I can convince the Dragon King to intervene and help you get the money back through negotiation or by force, what would you say?”
“Golden Roc Castle-”
“What are you afraid of? If the Dragon King becos the Lord of Jade City, then northern Jade City will no longer be in the hands of the Unique King.”
“Are you sure that the Dragon King will beco the Lord of Jade City?”
“That’s why I said ‘if.’”
“Tha-That would be for the best.”
“But I think that the Lord of Jade City, regardless of if he is the Dragon King or soone else, won’t offer help for nothing. The Central Plains may put so pressure on that person. Is Elder Brother ng willing to pay a price?”
It suddenly dawned on ng Mingshu that Pang Jing had been paving the way for proposing his own conditions all along. He clenched his teeth and said, “It would be like a divine providence if I got my lost money back. What kind of price wouldn’t I pay? I’m willing to donate half of the money to the helper.”
After leaving the office of the Governor, ng Mingshu broke out into a cold sweat and galloped back to the Bodhi Garden. The more he thought about it, the more scared he felt. Pang Jing was a secretive man. He had been acting dumb from start to finish. It was very likely that he knew so inside information.
He urgently wanted to have an audience with the Dragon King, but he didn’t dare to do anything reckless, so he instead wrote a letter to Xiao Fengchai and implied his intentions in an ambiguous manner.
Before he could finish the letter, a servant ca inside and reported that Lü Qiying was requesting his presence.
ng Mingshu thought for a while and then recalled this person nad Lü Qiying was a rchant who worked for the Dragon King. Both surprised and delighted, he hurriedly had the servant invite him into the study.
Lü Qiying’s status was now far higher than before. He used to be the tavernkeeper of the Southwall Tavern, soone who wasn’t even eligible to enter the front gate of the ng family, much less have an audience with the patriarch of the ng family in the study in the Bodhi Garden. Now, with the Dragon King as his backer, he was the owner of the biggest caravan in Jade City and earning dozens of gold ingots daily while the ng family was in a disastrous state.
Lü Qiying stood in the middle of the study with his hands crossed behind him. He was looking around, all sorts of feelings welling up in his mind. The first remark he made when he saw ng Mingshu was, “This Bodhi Garden is not in its previous good condition. You need to revamp it.”
Stunned, ng Mingshu had no idea what he ant. “To what do I owe the honor, Tavernkeeper Lü?”
Lü Qiying slightly furrowed his brows. Hardly anybody called him “tavernkeeper” anymore. Usually, people respectfully called him “Elder Lü.” “It’s said that there is a big hole under the Bodhi Garden. How did the ng family deal with it?”
Upon seeing that Lü Qiying was so arrogant, ng Mingshu was stunned again. “I blocked all the passages on four sides and excavated a couple of holes in the middle. After the ice in the river lts, I’ll fill it with water. Er. Why are you here exactly?”
“To buy the Bodhi Garden.”
ng Mingshu was confused for a while. After connecting a few facts, he suddenly understood and beca furious. “Who sent you here? You’re not eligible to live in the Bodhi Garden. Get out! Now!”
This was the first ti that ng Mingshu had gotten angry after he had beco the patriarch. His anger surged up like flood breaking through the dam. He forgot all about the fear that he had suffered from during the past few months.
Standing there listening to his curses, Lü Qiying stayed composed. Eventually, he smiled. “All right. I think that those servants out there have heard enough. Second Young Master ng, let’s get down to business.”
ng Mingshu’s anger suddenly subsided, “You-You were… sent here by the Dragon King?”
Lü Qiying shook his head. “Lady Xiao sent here.”
“Fengchai?” ng Mingshu vaguely rembered that Xiao Fengchai had been on bad terms with Lü Qiying. Why would she ask him to co here? So he softened his tone. “I broke up with that woman… ”
“Ha-ha. Second Young Master ng is indeed a cautious man. Fortunately, I brought a token.”
Lü Qiying fished out a jade pendant which ng Mingshu identified as a gift that he given Xiao Fengchai at their first eting. “You’re really… What did Fengchai send you here for?”
“There’s sothing we need to talk about. Sothing big.”
ng Mingshu was still a little angry, with an embarrassed look on his face. He walked to the doorway and peeped out through the crack in the door for a while. When he turned around, his face had returned to normal. “Go a head.”
“Did the Second Young Master ng see the gold ingot in the office of the Governor?”
“I did.”
“Is it really from the ng family?”
“It is.”
“Has the Second Young Master ng ever thought about how that gold ingot ended up in an outsider’s hands?”
“I don’t know. It should… What’s the Dragon King’s opinion?”
“Like I said, I was not sent here by the Dragon King.”
ng Mingshu sensed that there were suspicious overtones in his words, so he imdiately beca vigilant, regretting having ntioned the Dragon King of his own account. “Don’t just ask . Tell what you think.”
Lü Qiying smiled, “I think… Lady Xiao thinks that the case of the original robbery is no longer an issue. The appearance of that gold ingot was not an accident. Sobody planned it out to draw people’s attention to this case. There must be an ulterior reason.”
“What kind of ulterior reason?” ng Mingshu had always trusted Xiao Fengchai’s judgent, but he didn’t like Lü Qiying, so his voice was very apathetic.
It seed as if Lü Qiying had no intention of pleasing the Second Young Master ng at all. Instead, he beca reserved, pacing up and down in the study. After a while, he suddenly stopped and said, “We both know that the robbery was faked. It was just a show. But I’m afraid that soone wants to make it real.”
Feeling as if all his wisdom had been consud in the office of the Governor, ng Mingshu was perplexed by Lü Qiying’s hint. After quite a while, he suddenly understood and was taken aback, and he broke out into a cold sweat again, “You-You… Fengchai… Who do you work for exactly?”
“Money. I work for money. Lady Xiao works for you. She regards you as her future and doesn’t want you to be plotted against without knowing what.”
ng Mingshu dejectedly sat down on the chair and mumbled, “The Dragon King wants to make the robbery real. Is it because he wants to eliminate ?”
“Not just you. I’m afraid that all of us who know the truth are his targets. Second Young Master ng, you should take precautions as soon as possible. Lady Xiao is counting on you.”
“What am I supposed to do? Ask the Unique King for help? He won’t let get away with that.”
“Alas. Second Young Master ng has always been a smart person. How have you still not understood? Lady Xiao wanted to tell you that there are going to be upheavals in Jade City very soon. It doesn’t matter who becos the Lord of Jade City, because there’s only one person who will be in de facto control of the city.”
“The Central Plainsman, Pang Jing.” It was not until this mont that ng Mingshu realized whose palm he had been running around in this day.
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