134 Transaction (2)

Lian Fei, appearing confident and victory-assured, whispered something to another man. That man lifted his chin, looked at the three of us with a smug expression, and said, "Just wait and see. If you dare to offend Young Master Lian, you probably won't even know how you died."

Once the man finished speaking, he left immediately.

The Emperor pulled me aside, handed me a jade pendant from his person, and said, "Take this jade pendant and go find Lian Qi."

"Yes."

"Xuan'er, go with him," the Emperor added, turning to Jiang Xuan.

"Father, I would rather stay by your side."

The Emperor replied, "There is no need. I can handle that young brat. You know how I used to slay enemies on horseback back in the day."

Jiang Xuan did not defy the Emperor's command, so he accompanied me to find Lian Qi.

In truth, neither of us had ever been to the Lian estate, but fortunately, the residence of Lian Qi, the Minister of Rites, was easy enough to locate in the capital with a few inquiries.

Before we even reached the Lian estate, we spotted that man leading over a dozen people behind him. Jiang Xuan pulled me aside, and we hid in the shadows.

"If we encounter him head-on now, there is no guarantee he won't resort to trickery," Jiang Xuan whispered beside me.

I nodded, understanding his concern. If we were intercepted by those men halfway, the wager would automatically be lost. We waited until they had moved on before emerging and heading to the Lian estate.

Jiang Xuan stood to one side while I stepped forward to speak to the servant guarding the gate. "Please, inform your master that we wish to request an audience."

The servant glanced at me with disdain and said, "Who are you? Is our master someone you can see just because you want to?"

I replied, "It is our young master who wishes to see your master. It is a matter of great importance."

The servant sneered, "Save it. Everyone who comes to see our master claims it's for an 'important matter.' It's always the same—they're all looking for favors. Come on."

The servant held out his hand and gestured at me.

Before I could understand what he meant, I suddenly saw a high-quality jade ornament appear in his hand. I turned my head and saw that Jiang Xuan had simply handed it over.

The servant recognized it as a premium piece immediately.

"Young Master..."

Jiang Xuan gave me a look, signaling me not to say more.

"Sir, wait a moment. I will go and report this at once." Seeing the wealth and realizing the jade was no ordinary trinket, the servant guessed that the man before him was either rich or noble, so he hurried into the estate to deliver the message.

"Young Master, that was your personal item. How could you just give it to him? I actually have some loose silver on me."

"No need to waste time. He won't be able to keep it."

I nodded. Lian Qi’s position was already precarious; how could a servant manage to keep something of Jiang Xuan’s? We waited at the gate for the servant to return.

Not long after, the servant returned. I asked, "Can we go in now?"

The servant replied, "Our master has already retired for the night. Come back tomorrow. But don't come too early—our master has to attend court in the morning."

"If you cannot arrange a meeting, return the jade ornament to us," I said, anxious and angry.

The servant replied arrogantly, "What jade ornament? I’ve never seen one."

Facing such a scoundrel, I was furious. "You clearly took my young master's jade ornament just now, and now you deny it?"

The servant said impatiently, "So what if I took it? Didn't I run an errand for you? My master didn't say he wouldn't see you; won't you see him tomorrow?"

I argued, "But we haven't seen him now. Give us the jade back, and we will return it to you when we see him tomorrow. What if you try to demand more from us tomorrow?"

The servant laughed, "You little thing are quite clever. Even if I demand more tomorrow, so what? You are the ones begging for our master. If you don't want to see him, then forget it. I’m not begging you."

"You—"

Jiang Xuan pulled me behind him and suddenly reached out to grab the servant’s wrist.

"Are you trying to hit me? You—" Before he could finish, he began to yelp in pain.

Jiang Xuan said coldly, "I think this is more effective than the jade ornament. Will you take us inside, or shall I break your hand?"

"I will, I will, I will!" The servant led us inside, then suddenly gave a signal, and over a dozen more servants rushed out.

The head steward stepped forward and said, "Is the Minister's estate a place for you to run wild?"

With so many people, even if Jiang Xuan was highly skilled in martial arts, it was not convenient to fight. Besides, the Emperor was still waiting, and delays could lead to complications.

Seeing that a person of authority had arrived, I thought perhaps they could be reasoned with. The previous servant had likely wanted to pocket the jade and hadn't even informed Lian Qi, hoping to brush us off.

"Steward, please wait. We truly have an urgent matter to see Minister Lian. However, this servant’s attitude was extremely arrogant, and he gave my young master a hard time. My master and I do not believe this is the character of the Lian family; if this got out, wouldn't it tarnish Minister Lian's reputation? We had no choice but to come in and see for ourselves."

Upon hearing this, the steward glanced at the servant whom Jiang Xuan was holding.

Jiang Xuan released the servant's wrist, and the man immediately roared, "Don't listen to his nonsense! They wanted to barge into the Lian estate, and when I tried to stop them, he hit me!"

"Useless thing, get out of the way." The steward stepped forward, sized up Jiang Xuan, and said, "There must be some misunderstanding here. I will certainly discipline this servant properly. However, it is late, and our master has likely retired for the night. It is truly inconvenient to disturb him."

I asked, "If this concerns your young master, would it be convenient to disturb him?"

The steward froze; he must have been aware of the incident involving the young master earlier. He asked, "I am not sure how this concerns our young master?"

I didn't bother with further pleasantries. I handed the jade pendant the Emperor had given me to the steward and cautioned him, "Whether Minister Lian wishes to see us, let him decide after he sees this pendant. This matter concerns your young master's life and death. Whether you go report this to your master or not is up to you. My master and I will not force you."

With this, the power dynamic shifted; they were now the ones in need of us, and we held the initiative.

Jiang Xuan caught my drift, smoothed his sleeves, and said, "Little Xiao, since Minister Lian is unwilling to see us, let us leave."

"Yes, Young Master!"

We had only taken two steps before the steward stopped us. "Please stay, both of you. The previous rudeness was due to our staff. Please wait in the parlor for tea while I go report to my master."

The steward gave a wink to the servants nearby, clearly implying we were not to leave until he gave the word.

Jiang Xuan and I were calm. Once the steward showed that pendant to Lian Qi, wouldn't Lian Qi be terrified enough to come running to us?

Sure enough, just as the servant served the tea and Jiang Xuan lifted his cup, barely even stirring the lid, someone came rushing in.

"This humble official greets..." The man, dressed in haste with his buttons not even fully fastened, must have been Lian Qi. He fell to his knees before Jiang Xuan with a thud, realized who it was, and stammered, "This humble official greets the Ninth Prince."

At Lian Qi’s words, the steward and all the servants behind him knelt as well.

Jiang Xuan continued to stir his tea, remaining composed.

I spoke up, "Minister Lian certainly has a high-and-mighty air. Our Ninth Prince almost failed to meet you."

Jiang Xuan did not speak, so Lian Qi dared not rise. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand and nodded repeatedly. "You are right. It is my dereliction of duty for not managing my household staff properly."

Hearing this, the steward knelt forward. "It is my dereliction of duty. The Master has been busy with state affairs and has had no time to attend to the household. It is my fault for failing to supervise. I beg the Ninth Prince to punish me."

Jiang Xuan finally spoke slowly, "But it seems to me that it is not just your household staff that you have failed to supervise, Minister Lian, but your own son as well!"

Lian Qi looked blank and asked, "I do not know what my unworthy son has done to offend the Ninth Prince..."

"Minister Lian might want to ask your steward."

Lian Qi, still on his knees, turned to the steward and demanded, "Speak up! What happened?"

The steward trembled and said, "This old servant does not know what happened. Just a moment ago, someone came saying the Young Master wanted a few servants to go help. So I..."

"You scoundrel! Why didn't you report such a matter to me?"

The steward replied, "It is my fault. I beg the Master to punish me."

"Needless to say, I must discipline you, or the face of the Lian family will be completely lost."

Jiang Xuan said, "Enough. You don't need to scold your steward now. This matter is not over yet. You have surely seen that jade pendant. Your son is currently with the owner of that pendant."

"What?" Lian Qi collapsed onto the floor. "Does the Ninth Prince mean that my unworthy son is currently with..."

"Get up already! Who knows what other outrageous things your son might do." Jiang Xuan stood up and smoothed his clothes.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes!" When Lian Qi stood up, his legs were soft. The steward tried to help him, but he pushed the steward away and kept wiping away cold sweat.

"Ninth Prince, to save time, shall we take a carriage?" Lian Qi suggested, following behind Jiang Xuan.

"Minister Lian, you have quite the official airs, traveling with such a grand entourage every time you go out?"

Lian Qi continued to wipe his sweat.

We walked forward, and just as we were nearing the alley, we heard the sounds of fighting. Jiang Xuan and I hurried over, only to see the Emperor already engaged in a struggle with the people there.

Just then, at Lian Fei's signal, a man nearby pulled out a dagger. The Emperor was busy fighting and did not notice the danger approaching from behind.

"Father, watch out!" Jiang Xuan panicked, lunging forward to kick the man away, but his aim was slightly off. The man's dagger grazed Jiang Xuan's arm.

The Emperor, having turned around, kicked the man in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.

"Attack, all of you!" Lian Fei shouted in a panic.

"Stop, you rebellious son!" Lian Qi shouted while wiping his sweat.

"Father?" Lian Fei had not expected Lian Qi to arrive.

Lian Qi, now past caring about Lian Fei, hurried to the Emperor and knelt. "This humble official arrived late due to intoxication, I beg the Emperor’s forgiveness."

The Emperor stood with his hands behind his back, motionless. Lian Fei had not yet recovered his senses.

"Rebellious son, come here at once!"

Lian Fei finally snapped out of it and fell to his knees with a thud. "I beg the Emperor’s forgiveness! This humble official deserves to die, I deserve to die!"

The Emperor snorted coldly at Lian Fei and asked, "Our wager—did I win, or did you win?"

Lian Fei trembled all over. "It is the Emperor... the Emperor has won."

The Emperor looked at the people kneeling on the ground and then at Jiang Xuan. "Your wound..."

"I am fine, Father."

Jiang Xuan stepped aside, leaving the rest to the Emperor. I retreated to his side and saw blood dripping onto the ground from the arm he was clutching.

"Ninth Prince, let me bandage it for you."

"No need. It's just a superficial wound."

I whispered, "The Emperor is here now, and the situation won't escalate. Let me bandage it for you."

Jiang Xuan looked at me and finally nodded.

I rolled up his sleeve and found a deep gash.

I said, "There is no medicine here. I can only bandage it simply, but you must see an imperial physician when we return."

With my head down, I tore a strip of cloth from my own clothing. As I bandaged the wound, seeing the flowing blood, I felt a strange pang of heartache. Even if it was just a superficial wound, it was not minor. I lowered my head, carefully cleaning it, and couldn't help but ask, "Ninth Prince, it must hurt, right? You lost so much blood!"

"Little Xiao."

"Yes?" I looked up at him.

"You talk too much."