Minghe thought to himself, "My lord, you are the culprit! So many people are causing trouble because of you!" Of course, he dared not say these words aloud, and only asked, "My lord, what should we do?"
Yan Zhen paused and said, "As long as Xin'er is alright, there's no need to worry about it. We've been dealing with enough seawater transportation lately."
Minghe respectfully replied, "Yes."
I'll say a few words about An Wan in the comments section later, so I won't go into details here. Come on, everyone!
Chapter Seventy-Two: Extortion
The relocation of the entire city was a major undertaking. There were soldiers stationed along the seventy li from the capital to the temporary palace, forming a natural defensive barrier. Since it was to avoid disaster, all the court officials wanted to be the first to leave, and minor officials like An Youwei naturally had to be the last to go.
An Xin helped Xu Ruolan pack her bags on one side. The emperor lived in the imperial palace, while the officials lived in separate courtyards. To put it bluntly, the officials suddenly became neighbors, and those with many servants in their homes found their courtyards extremely crowded. These women, who were used to being pampered, were finding it hard to cope with this sudden change. On the other hand, Xu Ruolan, who was used to suffering, was unusually strong at this moment.
Xu Ruolan folded a few clothes and looked at An Xin, saying, "Xin'er, I heard from your father that you want to stay in the capital?"
An Xin paused for a moment, then turned back and smiled, "Mother, since I've taken on the case in Fengxian Village, I will see it through to the end. You don't need to worry."
Xu Ruolan's eyes reddened, and she took An Xin's hand, saying, "Xin'er, since Duanfeng Mountain is so terrifying, how can I be at ease leaving you here? Your sister just returned not long ago, and our family has finally reunited. If something happens to you, how can I live?"
An Xin's eyes flickered. She couldn't just abandon the matter of Fengxian Village and leave. She was probably the only one in the world who knew the key to removing the poisonous gas from the lake.
"Mother, I will take good care of myself, don't worry." An Xin didn't want to explain further, but she also didn't want Xu Ruolan to worry, so she added, "I will write you a letter every few days to let you know I'm safe, so you can rest assured."
Xu Ruolan knew An Xin's personality; once she made up her mind, she would never change it. She was afraid that her worries would only add to her daughter's anxieties. Thinking of this, Xu Ruolan quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and said no more.
As soon as An Xin stepped out of her room, she saw An Wan walking towards her. Since returning from the palace, An Wan seemed to be acting strangely. Now, seeing An Xin, she ignored her and walked past. An Xin paused, and Lu Zhu whispered, "Miss, is the Second Miss angry with you?"
An Xin said indifferently, "No need to pay attention to it." She already felt a sense of estrangement from this younger sister, and now it felt even more distant. In her previous life, she had no brothers or sisters and was used to being alone, so she naturally didn't feel any sense of loss.
An Xin went straight out of the mansion. The market was bustling with people. The people of the capital had not yet heard the news of the city relocation, but they seemed to have sensed something unusual. After all, it was quite abnormal for the capital to be fully mobilized by its troops.
"Miss An." A voice suddenly came from behind. An Xin stopped and turned around. Minghe appeared like a ghost. An Xin thought that the capital city was really small. No matter where she went, she always ran into people she didn't want to run into.
An Xin remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
Minghe glanced at the restaurant on the side and said, "The master is entertaining merchants upstairs. Please come upstairs for a chat, Miss An."
An Xin's eyes flashed, and she looked up at the building. She saw someone sitting by the window, fanning himself, his eyes shimmering as he looked at her. An Xin's lips twitched, and she looked away and walked straight into the restaurant.
Yan Zhen, the dignified Right Chancellor, is inexplicably hosting some shady merchants. It should be noted that in this era, merchants did not have a high social status, and officials of ordinary status rarely had contact with them. I wonder what kind of trouble this Right Chancellor is up to now!
An Xin was led by Ming He to a luxurious private room. The beaded curtains were lowered, and maids were going in and out. An Xin did not hesitate and casually lifted the curtain to go in.
The Right Prime Minister leaned back on the soft couch, sitting at the top, while on his left and right sides, several merchants with greasy faces and big bellies looked at the person sitting there with smiles on their faces and timid expressions.
It should be known that everyone knows the famous crosstalk performer You Xiang, but very few people have actually seen him. Now that they have seen him, they all exclaimed that seeing is believing! You Xiang is truly stunningly beautiful, like a celestial being!
These merchants traveled between the Central Plains and the Western Regions year after year and had seen all sorts of people, including many handsome men. But they had never seen anyone with the appearance of the Right Chancellor before!
Seeing An Xin enter, Yan Zhen smiled and stood up, saying, "Xin'er, come here. Let me introduce you to some bosses."
An Xin paused and walked over. Yan Zhen pointed to a man dressed in flashy clothes with a fat head and big ears and said, "This is Boss Chen Guang. He has been traveling between the Central Plains and the Western Regions for many years, selling Central Plains silk to the Western Regions and making great contributions to the Central Plains."
An Xin's face stiffened, and her lips twitched as she said, "Hey, hey..." Don't put it so high and mighty, okay? To put it bluntly, aren't you just a fabric seller?
Chen Guang hurriedly stood up and bowed to An Xin, but did not know how to address her.
Yan Zhen smiled languidly and said, "This is my fiancée, An Xin, daughter of An Youwei, the magistrate of Taicang."
Everyone's mouths dropped open. His fiancée?! This was An Xin, the fiancée with whom the Right Chancellor had such a complicated relationship?! This was the An Xin who solved the major case in Fengxian Village?!
Chen Guang hurriedly replied, "I've heard so much about you! I've heard so much about you!"
An Xin glared at Yan Zhen with a sour look, but she couldn't lash out in public, so she could only force a smile.
Yan Zhen affectionately pulled An Xin's hand and pointed to another man with a round belly and a thick waist, wearing gold and silver, saying, "This is Lu Da, the number one cloth merchant in Dayi. Every year, Mr. Lu pays a huge amount of taxes to Dayi, and his contribution to Dayi is beyond the reach of ordinary people."
Mr. Lu, beaming, rose and bowed to An Xin, saying, "Miss An is a heroine among women, a true heroine who is no less capable than any man!"
An Xin forced a smile and said, "Mr. Lu, you flatter me."
Then Yan Zhen introduced several other people. As An Xin listened, she found that they all had something in common: without exception, they were all in the cloth business.
An Xin's heart skipped a beat, and then she heard Yan Zhen laugh and say, "Gentlemen, you know a great deal about fabrics. Do you know what the best fabric in the world is?"
The group exchanged glances and asked in unison, "What aspects do you mean by 'good writing,' sir?"
Yan Zhen shook his folding fan and said, "Naturally, it's all aspects."
Chen Guang pondered for a moment and said, "In terms of fabric, silk is the most exquisite, and in terms of durability, the silk brocade woven from celestial silkworm silk is the best. In terms of value, the brocade of clouds is the most precious."
An Xin's heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Yan Zhen, a strange emotion flashing in her eyes, before turning her head back to Chen Guang and asking with a smile, "How tough is the silkworm silk that Boss Chen mentioned?"
Chen Guang respectfully said, "Heavenly silkworm silk is extremely rare, and its rarity makes it precious. As for how tough heavenly silkworm silk is, there is a sect in the martial arts world called the Jade Maiden Sect. This sect is composed entirely of women, and they use heavenly silkworm silk as their weapons. In other words, the toughness of heavenly silkworm silk is such that even swords cannot cut it!"
An Xin's heart surged with emotion, and she suddenly understood the purpose of Yan Zhen's play: to find the Heavenly Silkworm Silk for her!
Heavenly silkworm silk is extremely rare. She had thought of going to Yan Zhen, but she had never mentioned it to him. How could he have known beforehand? A strange feeling welled up in her heart, and An Xin smiled faintly: "I suppose all of you bosses have quite a bit of heavenly silkworm silk on hand?"
She dislikes wasting time and prefers to get straight to the point to save time.
Upon hearing this, the bosses' expressions changed slightly, and they exchanged glances.
An Xin smiled and said, "The Prime Minister did not invite you all here just to have tea. As the saying goes, no one visits a temple without a reason. I will ask you directly: how much silkworm silk do you all have?"
Those who are in the fabric business will inevitably have some silkworm silk in their possession, since this kind of silk is precious. Just like antique dealers will definitely have some favorite antiques at home, and porcelain dealers will definitely have some fine porcelain at home. Yan Zhen summoned all these people, naturally assuming that they must have silkworm silk in their possession.
No merchant is honest; these merchants are all shrewd. Trying to take advantage of them by being roundabout will only give them an escape route. It's better to be straightforward and catch them off guard.