"It's alright. It all depends on the price the buyer offers." Shen Qianmo smiled faintly, looking like a businessman, but her eyes glanced at Nalan Rong. Nalan Rong was playing with the teacup in her hand, looking nonchalant and seemingly not caring about Nalan Xin's behavior at all.
Upon hearing Shen Qianmo's reply, Nalan Xin immediately beamed and continued, "Then, Brother Chi, would you be interested in making a deal with me?"
Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow. This Nalan Xin was far too impatient. He hadn't even figured out his background yet, and he was already trying to make a deal with her?! No wonder Nalan Rong was holding back; she wanted Nalan Xin to be the scapegoat and test her limits.
"In that case, Chi Mo happens to have a batch of excellent weapons, all of them top-notch, capable of cutting through iron like mud," Shen Qianmo said slowly, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Sharp as a knife!" Nalan Xin swallowed hard, as if he could already see himself ascending the throne. With such a arsenal of weapons, controlling the capital through clandestine forces would be a piece of cake. (Please repeat after me and remember.)
Even Nalan Rong, who had been leaning back in her chair, slowly sat up straight, her gaze towards Shen Qianmo filled with more probing and contemplation.
Shen Qianmo's expression remained unchanged; she simply picked up her teacup and slowly took a sip. Nalan Rong, you don't want to move, but I'm forcing you to. How can I allow you to just stand by and watch?
“However, those weapons are top-quality. They’re quite expensive, so we can’t just carry them around.” Xuan Lou, seeing the calculation in Shen Qianmo’s eyes, interjected knowingly.
"That's alright! I can send someone to get it," Nalan Xin said hurriedly upon hearing this.
“Third Brother. We’re just watching the show right now. I hate hearing about important things when we’re watching a play.” Nalan Rong glanced at Nalan Xin with a displeased look, tapped the table casually, and looked at Shen Qianmo with a smile, saying, “Brother Chi, watch this show carefully.”
Shen Qianmo smiled knowingly. Although she had been talking to Nalan Xin, she hadn't missed the good show that was playing on the stage.
Nalan Rong was implying that she should find good partners and not just focus on immediate gains.
"Alas. This girl is truly pitiful. She married the wrong husband and ended up like this." Nalan Rong glanced at the play on the stage, a playful smile playing on her lips, feigning regret.
Shen Qianmo lowered her gaze. Was this an implication that if she chose the wrong partner, the end result would be dire? Perfect, she was just worrying about how to subtly refuse Nalan Xin. Since Nalan Rong had given her this way out, she might as well accept it respectfully.
“Chi Mo is suddenly feeling unwell. We can discuss the business deal later.” Shen Qianmo touched her forehead, smiled apologetically at Nalan Xin, and then smiled at Nalan Rong, “I’ve disturbed your enjoyment, Brother Rong. Let’s watch a play together another time.”
"Very good." Nalan Rong smiled nonchalantly, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes. He enjoyed cooperating with intelligent people, and this Chi Mo suited him perfectly.
"Let's go." Xuan Lou deliberately pretended to care about Shen Qianmo's health and pretended to help Shen Qianmo away from Liufangzhai.
"How was it?" As soon as he left Liufangzhai, Xuanlou put away his concerned expression and asked in a nonchalant manner.
Shen Qianmo naturally knew that Xuan Lou wasn't asking about her health, but rather about her opinion on Nalan Rong and Nalan Xin. She then curled her lips into a smile and said, "Nalan Rong is exceptionally intelligent and meticulous. Although Nalan Xin is not as good as him, he has the support of Linwei, so he is not inferior to Nalan Rong."
In this way, it would be quite a good thing for two tigers to fight each other. Her purpose in coming was to incite a battle between them, to let them fight to the death first, and then wipe them out in one fell swoop, surrendering to Crown Prince Nalan Wei. At that time, Nalan Wei would undoubtedly trust her greatly, and by sowing discord between him and Empress Ye Xinxin, the Li Kingdom would truly be in chaos, and no one but her could salvage the situation.
With happy smiles on their faces, Shen Qianmo and Xuan Lou walked along when they noticed that the people were all making way for a carriage. The carriage wasn't particularly luxurious, nor was it moving very fast, so they didn't know why the people were all giving way to it with such respect.
"Young man, whose carriage is this?" Shen Qianmo asked.
"Are you from out of town? You don't even recognize the general's carriage?" The young man who was stopped by Shen Qianmo looked at her in surprise, as if he couldn't believe it.
The Great General?! Is that the Great General Yuanshan who has risen to fame in the Li Kingdom in the past year? I heard that this Great General is a brilliant strategist. In the past year, the Li Kingdom has swept away many small countries on its borders, and the people no longer have to worry about war. Therefore, the people of the Li Kingdom admire this Great General no less than they admire their king.
"You all admire him?" Shen Qianmo asked knowingly. She wanted to see if the people making way for him truly admired the great general or were merely in awe.
"Of course! Without the Great General, where would we find such a peaceful life?"
"That's right! The General is wonderful."
Listening to the people's words, Shen Qianmo frowned slightly. If this general was indeed so prestigious, then it seemed she had one more thing to do.
We should either recruit this general to our side or kill him!
He raised his hand slightly, seemingly doing nothing, but the horse that passed in front of Shen Qianmo suddenly seemed to be startled, and reared up wildly. The coachman was completely unprepared for the usually docile horse to react in this way, and he watched in a flustered manner as the horse lurched back and forth in place, while the carriage seemed to be about to collapse.
As the people screamed and the coachman panicked, a blue figure darted past and gracefully mounted a horse. The horse seemed to be suddenly restrained and stopped moving.
"Thank you for your help, brother." The carriage curtain was lifted, and Shen Qianmo heard a familiar male voice. She couldn't help but frown. She seemed to have heard this general's voice somewhere before.
Turning around, I saw a man and a woman sitting inside the car. The man was wearing a blue robe, still as gentle and polite as ever, but with a more composed and weathered air than a year ago. The woman was dressed in luxurious clothes, her features unchanged, but the arrogance of a year ago was gone, replaced by a gentle and dignified demeanor.
“It’s you.” Shen Qianmo blurted out. She never expected to meet them here, let alone that they would become the general and his wife of the Li Kingdom.
"Who are you?" The woman looked at Shen Qianmo with a puzzled expression, trying hard to recall what she saw. She didn't seem to recognize the man in front of her. She looked at her husband with a confused expression as well, and asked him.
Shen Qianmo looked around and realized that there were too many people and too much noise, so it wasn't the place to talk. She smiled and said, "I have long admired the name of the Great General."
"Brother, you flatter me." He had thought the man was an old acquaintance, but now it seemed he was just someone who admired him. In truth, there was nothing about him that was worthy of admiration; he was merely repaying the kindness shown to him by the King of Li.
Shen Qianmo nimbly dismounted from her horse. She smiled at the two of them, then grabbed Xuan Lou's sleeve and left.
The two watched Shen Qianmo's retreating figure, recalling her breathtaking smile and ethereal demeanor. Even with her ordinary appearance, her extraordinary beauty was undeniable.
"Yuanshan, don't you think that man just now looks a lot like someone?" the woman asked.
“Like the third young lady of the Prime Minister’s mansion.” The man nodded firmly.
Could it be her?
The two stared at the retreating figure and fell into a silence.
These two were Yao Yuanshan and Shangguan Pian, who had been saved by Shen Qianmo a year ago and left Qi Yue together. After leaving Qi Yue a year ago, they wandered around and eventually came to Li Kingdom. By chance, the King of Li Kingdom witnessed Yao Yuanshan's skills and talents and gave him important responsibilities.
Yao Yuanshan was originally from a military family and was skilled in military strategy. After becoming a deputy general, he made many outstanding achievements and was promoted one after another within a year, eventually becoming the current Grand General.
"You know those two people just now?" Xuan Lou noticed Shen Qianmo's expression earlier and was somewhat surprised, as it clearly indicated that she knew the two people.
Shen Qianmo smiled and said in a good mood, "It's more than just knowing them; I've even saved their lives."
She remembered that Yao Yuanshan and Shangguan Pian had promised to repay her for saving their lives. She had only helped them that day because she didn't want to see such courageous people die so inexplicably; she hadn't taken their promise of repayment to heart. Little did she know that today she would actually need their help.
With her status as a Grand General and the military force under her command, she could easily control the entire Li Kingdom. Things seemed to be going much more smoothly than she had imagined.
"Oh? How do you know the Grand General of Li Kingdom?" Xuan Lou raised an eyebrow and asked curiously. How could Shen Qianmo know the Grand General of Li Kingdom?