"I've said so much, perhaps you've already noticed something amiss."
Xie Ying finally spoke up: "Grandpa, are you talking about how selling rice is not as good as using shipping?"
The old man said, "Tell me, why did I say that back then? And what unusual thing did you notice?"
“What you said is not wrong,” Xie Ying said, “It’s just a pity that you were speaking to people of common origin.”
She herself was just an ordinary person, and she knew that a ship was something most people couldn't even dream of. Even she couldn't afford one.
But the old man, with a kind and amiable face, was making empty promises to a group of energetic young people.
He himself dressed simply, yet he could describe the water transport process of Weidu in such detail. This in itself is suspicious.
It's understandable that the old man was simply trying to help the young people find a way out, but what's strange is that his encouragement was more blatant than persuasive. This is evident in the fact that the old man personally calculated a clear financial benefit for the young people.
When Xie Ying was still a young general, although she had no experience with water transport, the Xie family had a famous merchant named Xie Fengqing. She was friends with Xie Fengling, and every time Xie Fengling challenged her, she would complain that Xie Fengqing was unscrupulous in his pursuit of profit, meticulously calculating everything from water transport routes to ship planks. If he could earn an extra penny, Xie Fengqing would never earn a penny less.
Because she had been influenced by the people around her, Xie Ying noticed the problem at that time.
Only those young people were completely fooled, and even when the old man pretended to fall, it was the two young men on the boat who argued on his behalf. Full of enthusiasm and good intentions, this man simply used them.
Even though the old man had done her a favor.
Xie Ying came with the old man because she remembered his help during the search at the shore. Now, she regrets it a little because she was soft-hearted and got on his treacherous ship.
She still doesn't know what the other party's purpose is!
Furthermore, how did the old woman know that the Marshal had also arrived in Weidu? Even she didn't know.
The old man said, "Your observation is very keen. My eyesight has always been excellent. I saw long ago that you were no ordinary person; you were just down on your luck for the time being."
Then, changing the subject, he chuckled softly, "Even a tiger fallen into the plains is bullied by dogs."
It was a mocking smile, or perhaps a self-deprecating one; it was unclear whether it was directed at Xie Ying or at himself.
Xie Ying remained silent, and the bandits in front invited them onto a small boat, which they then rowed along a narrow raft towards the camp in Sishui.
The camp was set up on both sides of the canyon. There were a group of wooden houses built with horizontal beams on the flat ground, and a swaying wooden bridge in the middle. The group went ashore and crossed the swaying wooden bridge to the entrance of the camp. Someone put down two baskets.
The old man and Xie Ying sat down on the baskets one after the other. Xie Ying then landed and stood on a wooden railing, discovering that behind the camp gate was a suspended waterfall with a rushing torrent below. No wonder they didn't go in through the gate; the camp gate was just a decoy.
The chieftain of Sishui was a bald man with a scarred face. When he saw the old man, he hurriedly came over and said, "Manager Qian, it's been a long time. How have you been?"
The old man exchanged pleasantries with the chieftain, during which Xie Ying learned that the chieftain was going to take Yang Gao away.
Yang Gao seemed to be very eager to curry favor with the old man, and in the end, he even chose the two best rooms for the old man and Xie Ying.
At night, people in Sishui could not distinguish between water and roads, so the bandits here did not go out at night.
Xie Ying noticed that the food in Sishui was quite good, and they didn't seem to be lacking money or food at all. She was puzzled by the bandits' demand for a ransom of fifty million; was the second young master still alive?
How come the second young master is still alive in private when he has been declared dead in public?
Xie Ying felt a pang of hesitation as she watched her become the one closest to the truth, but thinking of Qi Qi, she quickly made a decision. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
The old man didn't come looking for Xie Ying during that time. When Xie Ying was bored, someone would follow her when she went out, so she didn't dare to wander off. Until she reached a stable and saw the horses, she was immediately puzzled. Was there a place nearby to ride horses?
It seems that the terrain of Sishui is not as simple as it appears.
Soon Xie Ying was reminded by the bandits not to wander around. Xie Ying had just returned to her room, which was on the second floor, when she heard someone smash a glass in a private room on the other side of the stairs, followed by a loud argument.
"This is not what we agreed on!"
"How could you go back on your word!"
"Who gave you the audacity? You're dead now. You're no longer the Second Young Master, yet you still dare to be arrogant in front of me!"
The man shouted, "Insolence!"
The private room immediately became chaotic, and Xie Ying was pushed back into the room when she tried to peek out.
The old man entered the house after her and reminded her: "If you want to live, you have to keep your eyes in the right place."
"That man called himself the Second Young Master," Xie Ying said. "He's still alive."
The old man said, "Do you want to know why the second young master faked his death?"
Xie Ying nodded.
The old man said, "This is a matter for the prince's family."
“The Second Young Master faking his death will not do him any good,” Xie Ying said. “If someone wants to eliminate him, they can do so at any time.”
She couldn't believe that a royal second son who had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth and was pampered would abandon his status. There must be some reason why he had to do it.
The old man said, "People in this world are very greedy. If you tell them there is a gold mine here, and that the mine will soon belong to someone else, what do you think they will do?"
Xie Ying watched him act mysteriously, bombarding her with one question after another, but refusing to address the part she wanted to know. She remained silent.
Seeing that she was clearly interested but pretending, the old man smiled and said, "Then let me be clear about one thing: the reason I've taken a liking to you is because I know your identity."
"Your name is Xie Ying, and you are the eldest daughter of the former general."
Xie Ying's eyes immediately turned cold and sharp as she stared intently at the old man.
The old man said, "You were instructed to act alone."
Xie Ying quietly put her hands behind her back, already sweating nervously. The old man stopped provoking her and said, "The Second Young Master's matter has nothing to do with your merits. Just do what you should do."
"Who exactly are you?" Xie Ying finally asked. More than any of her previous questions, the old man's identity was what she most wanted to know.
The old man said, "Money is expensive. My name is Money is Expensive."
The entire city was in a state of mourning. The lower classes lit incense and began another day of work.
When Si Lei woke up, he sat on Si Hong's bed, his back hunched, his face full of grief.
The princess was crying in the backyard, while he was in his son's room.
Xie Xia heard that Si Lei had been refusing to eat or drink and had locked himself in Si Hong's room, so he went to Si Lei's room to persuade him.
Si Lei also seemed listless when he received him.
Xie Xia didn't understand his grief over losing his son. People in high positions like them couldn't just think of themselves. Si Lei hadn't dealt with Weidu's affairs for three days, and some people in Weidu were already starting to slack off.
The Xie family now guards all the checkpoints.
Xie Lanzhi followed behind Xie Xia. She looked around Si Hong's room, which was rather simple. As a member of the royal family, the only thing that showed his dignity was a Western-style mirror.
Xie Lanzhi was a little surprised when she saw the peephole. Could it be that there was already a rudimentary industrial structure on the other side of the ocean?
She walked up to the mirror, and Si Lei saw her. He thought women were naturally interested in mirrors.
He said, "My son Hong'er likes this mirror the most."
Xie Lanzhi bowed and asked, "Your Highness, may I ask where the mirror came from?"
Si Lei glanced at her, and Xie Xia quickly scolded her, "How dare you! Come over here!"
Si Lei quickly looked away, took a deep breath, and said, "They're from the four southern kingdoms. I heard these mirrors are very popular there. They belong to the Anluo craft."
"Anluo is a small or medium-sized foreign country, not worth mentioning."
It's insignificant now, but Anluo has always been a country adept at profiting from the misfortunes of other nations. Xie Lanzhi remained silent, already aware that Anluo's trade extended to the four Southeast Asian countries. The four Southeast Asian countries had already begun doing direct business with Anluo, whereas at the end of the Jin Dynasty, they had only had indirect contact.
Xie Xia was unaware of the marshal's intentions; he was more curious about something else.
"Your Highness, have you considered who you might have offended while you were out there?" Xie Xia said, "Is that why the bandits deliberately toyed with you and then killed the Second Young Master when you were raising the ransom?"
Upon hearing about the murder of the second young master, Si Lei became agitated: "Who could I possibly offend? General Xie knows the strength of Weidu's troops!"
Xie Xia said, "Don't misunderstand, I was just asking."
As he spoke, he glanced furtively at Xie Lanzhi. Xie Lanzhi gave him a wink.
Xie Xia replied, "My personal guards examined the Second Young Master's body and made some new discoveries."
"Perhaps the second young master..."
Upon hearing this, Si Lei immediately stood up, filled with shock, doubt, and rage. He was unable to remain calm; he had come to accept the mourning outside as normal and believed his son was dead. Now, with this dissenting voice, his first reaction was anger. Why was he angry? Xie Xia had ordered an autopsy, and the results were different—wasn't this a slap in the face to him as a father, implying he couldn't even recognize his son's remains?
He said, "You have no reason to doubt it. That corpse is Hong'er's! I am his father. Do you think I am inferior to you outsiders?"
Xie Lanzhi clasped her hands and said, "Your Highness, the general meant well, it wasn't..."
Si Lei interrupted her, flicking his sleeve at them: "Someone, show them out!"
Si Lei was too grief-stricken to calm down, but Xie Lanzhi understood, and she and Xie Xia left the palace.
On the way, Xie Xia walked ahead and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "He doesn't seem like someone who understands his son at all."
"Marshal, what did you see?"
Xie Lanzhi recalled the peephole in Si Hong's room and said, "His son's reach is very long, even longer than his father's."
Seeing Xie Xia's utter confusion, she continued, "The fact that the room is so simple shows that Si Hong himself doesn't care much about material enjoyment. As for his extensive reach, he's the one who controls the treasury and seeks compound interest. A businessman's nature is to stop at nothing to make a profit."
"The Marshal means that Si Hong's business has already reached the four Southeast Asian countries, and Si Lei looks down on the four Southeast Asian countries, so naturally he doesn't care." Xie Xia followed her line of thought and continued to analyze: "The amount of trade with the four Southeast Asian countries can only be reported by Si Hong himself."
As for the reported data, Si Lei couldn't possibly disbelieve it, given that it was his own son.
Let's continue speculating from there.
Xie Lanzhi said, "Suppose, I mean suppose that Si Hong didn't die but deliberately hid himself, do you think that's possible?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Xia's eyes widened. He couldn't understand why the second young master of the royal family would give up his life of luxury and wealth to cooperate with a bunch of bandits. What benefit could he possibly gain from doing this? Could it possibly be better than his current life?
"Then what was his purpose?"
Xie Lanzhi thought of a possibility, her eyes were frighteningly calm, and she even smiled faintly: "In chaotic times, there are things more important than money."
“A person who is used to wealth and luxury can only enjoy so much money, but fame and fortune are different.”
"Whether Si Hong has the ability or not, I don't know, but as long as he has ambition, it will surely be ignited one day."
Perhaps the other party had already made arrangements in secret.
If someone tells him where the road is and how to get there, then...
And so a high-stakes gamble began.
Xie Xia still found it hard to believe. Could the Marshal be so divine that he could uncover so many secrets just by examining the room's furnishings and performing an autopsy?
Seeing his astonished expression, Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but frown and say, "I have met Anshan before."
Although it was just a trap set by Anshan, his methods were already deeply etched in her mind. Now he was simply using the same methods he had used before on Weidu.
Weidu has convenient terrain, but the lack of strict control makes it easy for criminals to slip through the net.