Episode 94

As Guan Qing emerged from the crowd, her dress swishing like water as she walked, Cao Zhang stopped playing with the teacup lid and his voice had a mocking tinge to it now, “If you put it that way… that’s not wrong either.”

He shifted his leg to change his sitting position, “So, how do you want to settle this, Miss Guan?”

As if she couldn’t stand how vulgar his new sitting position was, Guan Qing’s gaze moved past the willows by the pavilion and toward the pond in the distance, “The government is watching corrupt practices closely, and they are keeping everyone in check with the new laws. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you with your issue in the way you would like, but we can negotiate the price of the supplies. How about I give you an additional 20% discount for this summer’s grain?”

As she spoke, her gaze turned toward Madam Zhang and Manager Liu. It was clear where this 20% was going to come from.

“You want to keep these two people alive?”

Cao Zhang’s lips suddenly curled into a wicked smile, “Make that 50%.”

Guan Qing frowned slightly.

Cao Zhang’s smile did not face, “The Guans manage such a big business. I don’t think you’d suffer that great a loss if you do that.”

Guan Qing looked down at the bracelet around her wrist for a while before speaking again.

“The investigation into the murder of the pacification commissioner is still ongoing. You’re connected to the case because you were one of the last few who saw the victim alive that night and things are already very sensitive for you. Are you sure you want what Manager Liu has?”

She paused as though to let him think, then continued in the same flat, calm and unhurried voice, “If I were you, I wouldn’t want to be involved in any other trouble, any trouble that would be difficult to explain.”

Cao Zhang’s smile faded. He was now staring intently at Guan Qing.

Guan Qing bravely looked back at him. Her eyes were blacker and gleamed like jewels, “You have a lot of connections and a huge variety of tactics at your disposal, so I’m sure you’d find a way out of this yourself. Manager Liu isn’t really that important to you, is he?”

Their surroundings were extremely quiet.

Regardless of whether it was because they wanted to know what was going on or because they feared the leader of the Green Gang, nobody uttered a word, so the conversation between the two of them could be heard loud and clear.

Song Caitang could not only hear them clearly, but she could see them clearly too.

She observed the small changes in Guan Qing and Cao Zhang’s expressions as they spoke and had a feeling that these two had met before…

What they were saying probably had other implied meanings too.

“Miss Guan, you’re a pretty lady who is good with words, but it’s a pity…” Cao Zhang’s eagle eyes stared intently at Guan Qing as he pointed at Manager Liu and Madam Zhang. His low voice seemed to imply more than what he said, “When it comes to discussing business, the stakes are important. I don’t care if these two things live or die. But you… seem to care very much.”

In other words, the one who valued the stakes more would have to pay the higher price. He was certainly not pleased with what Guan Qing was offering.

Guan Qing glanced at Madam Zhang and did not speak.

Madam Zhang bit her lip as she gripped her handkerchief tightly. She clearly wanted to say something, but she was concerned about what the people watching would think. Or perhaps she wasn’t sure what Cao Zhang was thinking about and wasn’t sure if anything she said would improve the situation, so she decided to shut her mouth.

And let Guan Qing handle it.

Song Caitang felt so bad for Guan Qing.

Madam Zhang was supposed to be the mistress of the Guan family. While it was true that it wasn’t good for a married woman who was supposed to only take care of her household to speak to a man like this, was it actually better for a young, unmarried woman like Guan Qing to do that instead?

This woman enjoyed spending the Guan family’s fortune, kept eyeing the family’s assets, schemed against her own family members, never stood up for the family when it was needed, was shortsighted, did not seek to improve herself… Song Caitang did not appreciate having such a woman as the mistress of her household.

She was distracted for a while and didn’t take note of what Guan Qing’s response was. But Cao Zhang seemed to have gotten angry. His lips were pursed and his eyes were narrowed, “Tsk. Everyone says that the Eldest Young Mistress of the Guan family is someone with tough and formidable tactics, as well as an excellent understanding of the business world and impressive foresight that is incomparable. But you’ve turned out to be a fool.”

“As far as I know, these two aren’t good characters at all.” He pointed at Manager Liu, “This guy doesn’t have his employer’s interests at heart at all. He’s very selfish and is willing to betray absolutely anybody. As long as he’s not satisfied with what he’s getting, he’s willing to switch sides and go up against you. And this woman,” he pointed at Madam Zhang, “has no backbone, thinks too highly of herself and has dreams loftier than the clouds, but has no capability whatsoever. Isn’t it partly her fault that you’re still unmarried even at this age?”

“If you ‘discuss business’ with the leader of a gang like myself, you’d be even more despised and unwanted as a wife in the future. You can protect her, but she can’t protect you at all. Guan Qing, what are you getting out of this?”

Cao Zhang walked to the side of the pavilion and leaned against the pillar. He sneered as he stared down at Guan Qing from his height, “You’re afraid that there’d be nobody to arrange a marriage for you? Or you’re afraid that nobody would be there to send you off on your wedding day and you’d have to yell ‘the auspicious hour is here, the wedding sedan can leave now’?”

Saying that was a little out of line.

To say such mocking words in front of an unmarried woman was clearly putting her on the spot. Guan Qing normally did not care, was strong willed and open minded, but she was still a young woman. These words were clearly meant as an attack on her, so she finally snapped.

“That’s none of your business!”

Song Caitang could see that Guan Qing’s face was a little red and her fists were tightly clenched. She now glared at Cao Zhang like he was an enemy.

“Miss Guan, why do you say that?” Cao Zhang seemed very pleased with himself for successfully causing a change in Guan Qing’s expression. One side of his lips curled upward again, “Isn’t this already my business?”

He was referring to the business of taking the two lives of Madam Zhang and Manager Liu, but because he didn’t elaborate, the “business” at hand became more ambiguous. How else was a man part of a woman’s intention to get married?

Guan Qing was angry, but she did not lose her cool. Her voice turned frosty, “Leader Cao, I think you’re thinking too highly of yourself.”

She met Cao Zhang’s eyes, their stare equally steely. Neither side was weaker than the other.

But to the crowd watching, she was a woman, while Cao Zhang was a man. To them, he already had the upper hand, so she had already lost out.

That was the reality of living in this sort of society.

The crowd had already begun whispering among themselves, and their gazes and actions were clearly not in Guan Qing’s favor.

Song Caitang couldn’t stand it anymore. She walked out from the shadows, went around the pavilion and went up to Guan Qing, taking the spot in front of her cousin.

“Being involved in dangerous and illegal activity is a difficult job which forces you to avoid people most of the time and it’s hard for you to live a normal life, so it’s normal that you would become jealous of others. But to actually get nasty because of that… that’s not very manly of you.”

Her brows were raised as she stared straight at Cao Zhang, “I thought you were someone who knew how to behave in social situations, so what happened today? If you’re afraid to discuss business with my elder sister, then say so. My elder sister has kindly chosen a quiet place to discuss so that you could cry without anyone noticing if needed.”

Her words were cleverly chosen. Not only did they attack Cao Zhang, but it also elevated Guan Qing. The whole of Luanze knew that Guan Qing’s marriage had not been settled yet, so there was no need to cover that up. As long as Guan Qing’s reputation remained above board, she was not going to lose this fight!

Everyone’s expressions shifted slightly. Guan Qing stared at Song Caitang very disapprovingly.

This was her battle, so whether she won or lost depended on her own capability. She could fight by herself and she didn’t need to drag her cousin down with her.

But her cousin was here to defend her…

Guan Qing glared at Song Caitang for a while, then pulled her behind her. She stared steely at Cao Zhang, “I’ve already stated my terms. If you agree, then the money will reach you even if you’re keeping tabs. But if you don’t care for this money and you don’t want it, it doesn’t matter to me. The Guans never force anybody to do business with them. So, what’s your answer?”

Song Caitang observed Cao Zhang’s expression. Guan Qing was not backing down and her words were fierce, so logically speaking, Cao Zhang should have gotten angry. But he didn’t.

Not only was he not angry, but he also rubbed his chin and looked a little curious as he said in a slow voice, “You two sisters are very close, huh.”

He then hopped down from the pavilion and came very close to them, standing especially close to Guan Qing since she was in front of Song Caitang, “Why don’t we wager a bet?”

Guan Qing immediately became wary and took two steps back with Song Caitang, “What do you want?”

“Don’t get so nervous, we’re just stating terms here,” Cao Zhang stood still, his eagle-like eyes slightly narrowed and glinting like a knife, “If you can achieve what I’m asking for, then never mind 20% - even if you only offer 10%, I’ll take it!”

Song Caitang had a feeling that this demand had something to do with herself.

Just as she had expected, Cao Zhang did not wait for Guan Qing to react and pointed at Song Caitang, “this cousin of yours is an excellent coroner, isn’t she? She’s the one from the body dissection department of hell who knows how a person died and what they did before they passed on, isn’t she? Let’s use this case then. Within five days, if she can help the authorities to crack the case and find the killer, I will not pursue the matter about Manager Liu and Madam Zhang. I’ll let you do just 10%, and as long as you’re shipping something within my gang’s territory, I’ll give you 20% off the shipping cost!”

Song Caitang’s mind started working rapidly and she suddenly felt like… Cao Zhang wasn’t saying this because he hated Guan Qing and was trying to make life difficult for her. He seemed to have said these things on purpose.

But he wasn’t someone easy to read or deal with.

Just like what Guan Qing said before, Cao Zhang was definitely capable, since he was able to become the leader of the Green Gang. He didn’t need Lu Guangzong to write a special note for him. Any official would do, so he could set his sights elsewhere. But the murder case made things difficult for him, since he was connected to the case. If it could be solved quickly, he would be able to resolve his gang’s matter quickly as well.

Even if he only got a 10% discount, it was still a discount. The Green Gang used illegal means to ship goods, so their cost was low but they charged merchants expensively, so even though he offered her a 20% discount, he was still making a big profit.

Either way, Cao Zhang would not lose out.

Guan Qing’s hands trembled violently when she heard his terms.

This hooligan! Did he think cracking a case was as simple as ordering dishes at a restaurant?!

Song Caitang reached over to hold Guan Qing’s hands tightly.

This seemed to have given Guan Qing tremendous strength. She gritted her teeth and agreed to it, “Fine!”

Cao Zhang was a little surprised that she would agree so readily to it and was stunned for a moment before smiling again, “You trust her a lot, huh.”

Guan Qing continued to keep Song Caitang behind her and faced Cao Zhang’s eagle eyes herself, “She’s my younger sister. Why wouldn’t I trust her?”

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, as though she was saying, did you expect me to trust you instead?!

Her usually calm and beautiful exterior now had eyes burning with fury and an animated expression, so she seemed to brim with boundless energy. Cao Zhang suddenly burst out laughing.

He was quite handsome to begin with, just that he gave off a rather sinister aura. When he burst out laughing, his entire aura became lively and bright, as though he had nothing to do with the violent and bloody Green Gang.

It was Guan Qing’s turn to be stunned.

But that only lasted a moment. She grew even more wary, wondering what this shameless man was up to this time.

Cao Zhang didn’t speak to her and looked toward Song Caitang instead, “What about you, Miss Song? What do you say?”

Song Caitang smiled.

Her chin was raised slightly and her eyes gleamed brightly, “My older sister trusts me so much, so how could I disappoint her? I’d be looking forward to the discounts and I hope your brothers in the gang will understand why you’re doing this.”

“The brothers have chosen me as their leader, so they will support all my decisions and you don’t have to worry about that. I can afford to lose a thing or two,” said Cao Zhang evenly as he stared at the two cousins. “But as for the two of you… the men of the Green Gang are not people who are particularly caring in nature.”

It sounded like both a threat and a mock.

Cao Zhang then turned and walked off without looking at anybody, leaving the entire crowd in shock.

Of course, most of the shock was with regard to Song Caitang and Guan Qing.

Both ladies had been confident and bold, and had dared to stand firm in front of Cao Zhang. Some men wouldn’t have been that brave. And about the murder case – they had made such a big promise in front of everyone. That really floored them.

Was there something about the fengshui of the Guan family residence? How did they produce so many formidable young ladies?

They were so petite, so young and unmarried young upper class ladies who usually stayed at home a lot. How were they able to do so much?

Everyone started whispering among themselves.

Someone among them said “what a pity”, and it was quite loud.

What a pity…

Indeed, it was a pity!

How did such talented ladies end up in a family of merchants and be forced to dabble in such matters?

Everyone instinctively turned toward Madam Zhang. It was because of this woman.

It was a pity… that this woman’s brain didn’t work very well.

These were such intelligent children and she had watched them grow up, so how hard would it have been to get them on her side? Children had pure hearts, so if you were good to them, they would respect you. Madam Zhang had embarrassed herself so badly today, yet Guan Qing still stood up for her. If Madam Zhang had been good to Guan Qing more than a decade ago, Guan Qing would have fought even harder for her. Madam Zhang wouldn’t have had to scheme or anything like that. Guan Qing would have worked hard and given her anything she wanted!

Moreover, she had an equally formidable cousin, Song Caitang. If Madam Zhang had put in the effort, she would have had two weapons in her arsenal. She wouldn’t have to fear anything in the world!

But this woman was too blinded by her evil heart to realize what sort of opportunity she had missed.

Madam Zhang knew she was in trouble when she saw the way everyone was staring at her.

She had really embarrassed herself terribly today and she didn’t have the guts to go out for the time being. It was going to be hard for her to leave the house for at least the next few months.

Besides, she knew Guan Qing well, even if the rest didn’t. Guan Qing had suffered for protecting her, so Guan Qing would definitely make her pay for it.

What would Guan Qing and Madam Bai come up with?

Take away her authority? Ground her?

No!

Madam Zhang used her handkerchief to dab hard at her eyes as she began to cry, “Why do you think I did all this?” She wailed miserably at Guan Qing, “Did you think I didn’t know how dangerous it would be to work with someone like that?”

“I did it for this family!”

“Did you think that just because you’re good at managing the business, you don’t have to worry about anything? Do you know how many people out there have their eye on the Guans?”

“Do you know that the Guans could collapse anytime with just one word?”