Chapter 10 Lü Buwei (Part 2)

  The middle-aged man had an extraordinary air, dressed in luxurious attire. He was either a noble among nobles or a rich man among the wealthy. Zhao Ping's mind turned with thoughts as he secretly thought: "If he is really a friend of Qin Yiren, I suppose there will be many benefits?"

  As soon as he thought of the benefits, Zhao Ping's mind was racing and couldn't be stopped. With a smile on his face, layer upon layer of smiles piled up, and he asked: "Sir, are you really a friend of Qin Yiren? I have been guarding him for three years and have never seen any friends come to visit."

  A hostage is an abandoned child. Generally speaking, it is rare for a hostage to have the possibility of returning to their home country. They either die abroad or grow old and die in a foreign land. Among ten hostages, not even one can return to their home country.

  Qin Yiren's experience is the best interpretation. Since he was placed under house arrest, no one has ever come to visit him. The middle-aged man who claimed to be Qin Yiren's friend really surprised Zhao Ping.

  "Haha!" The middle-aged man burst out laughing and said, "It's not quite accurate to say that we're friends, but rather that we've just met a few times."

  "Oh. A casual acquaintance. I said so, even the Qin state has given up on him, who would care about this abandoned son of Qin?" Zhao Ping nodded heavily and asked: "In that case, sir, what brings you here?"

  "It's nothing major, just that three years ago, Qin Yiren borrowed a thousand gold from me and I've come to collect the debt." The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and smiled in response, making one feel warm and pleasant like a spring breeze.

  "Collecting debts?" Zhao Ping almost lost his smile and said, "Sir will be disappointed. Qin Yi has no money on him, can't eat enough, can't wear warm clothes, where does he have any wealth? Moreover, it's a huge sum of thousands of gold."

  The gold of the Warring States period was a gold ingot, shaped like a horse's hoof, also known as "horse hoof gold", equivalent to the colloquial term "gold coin". A thousand pieces of gold is a huge sum of money, even selling Qin Yiren would not be worth this amount.

  "It doesn't matter." The middle-aged man waved his hand and didn't take it to heart at all.

  "Hmm, what if sir is here to collect his debt?" Zhao Ping was a greedy person and wouldn't let go of such an opportunity.

  "The officer gave me convenience, I naturally want to return it, divide two shares." The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and replied immediately.

  "Two tenths" refers to two percent, which is twenty taels. This was not a small amount for Zhao Ping. However, he knew that the middle-aged man in front of him was very wealthy and would not miss this opportunity. He shook his head and said, "One tenth."

  "You've gone too far, sir." The middle-aged man added weight to his words.

  "Eight-tenths."

  One quarter.

  "Fifty percent."

  "Deal."

  The two of them haggled over the price, finally agreeing on a discount of five percent. Five percent was fifty gold coins. Zhao Ping's eyebrows rose in delight as he smiled and said, "Sir, please forgive me, but your servant cannot enter. Please come in, sir."

  A middle-aged man rushed up to the old man and said, "Ximen Lao, you just wait here. I'll be right back." With a flick of his sleeve, he strode through the gate and hurried off.

  Ximen Lao Die responded with a grunt and walked aside with four guards waiting.

  "Can he really get the money?" a red-clad minor official asked softly in Zhao Ping's ear.

  "Heaven knows." Zhao Ping shrugged.

  "Is the grown-up still haggling with him?" The little official in red was puzzled.

  Zhao Ping raised his chin with a pleased smile, saying: "If we can really get it, we'll have an extra sum of money. If we can't get it, I won't lose anything at all. This kind of thing absolutely cannot be missed."

  "The adults are wise." The little official in red hurriedly flattered.

  "Shhh!" The soft-soled boots trampled on the leaves, making a rustling sound, and a foul smell wafted up to his nose. The middle-aged man scrunched up his face, but nodded heavily.

  "This is great! This Qin Yi's life is worse than death, and he won't be able to avoid bowing his head to me." The middle-aged man thought to himself.

  "Halt!" A middle-aged man was walking along when he heard a loud shout and found himself face to face with a tall, imposing figure blocking his path.

  The middle-aged man took a look and saw that the man in front of him was very tall, but he was so thin that he didn't have a good figure. He wore a long gown on his body, which was empty and fluttering, like it was wrapped around a bamboo pole.

  "Who are you?" the middle-aged man asked.

  The man blocking the way was indeed Ma Ge, his face sinking as he said, "I'm asking you."

  "I am a friend of Young Master Yiren, and I have come to visit him. Please inform him of my arrival." The middle-aged man explained his purpose.

  "Master's friend? How come I've never seen you?" Magai was Qin Yiren's personal bodyguard and was extremely familiar with Qin Yiren's affairs, almost all of his friends knew him.

  "In Lu Buwei's residence, I met with the prince in Qin State." The middle-aged man introduced himself, surprisingly he was that infamous great merchant Lu Buwei.

  "Lu Buwei?" Ma furrowed his brow, thinking for a moment, but he had never heard of this person. He said, "Wait."

  It was when they met in Qin State that it must have been before Magai was sent to protect the strange person of Qin, no wonder he didn't recognize him. Magai dropped a sentence and quickly left.

  "What a strange thing, what a strange thing." Lü Buwei gazed at the back of Ma Ge's figure, repeatedly exclaiming in surprise: "I've heard that Qin's guest is poorly fed and thinly clad, how can his personal bodyguard be dressed so thickly?"

  Lü Buwei came to see Qin Yiren, naturally it was a matter of buying the country. He had already inquired about Qin Yiren's situation and knew that he was penniless, without food or clothing. However, when he saw Ma Ge, he saw that Ma Ge was wearing thick clothes, although the robe was extremely ill-fitting and did not match his slender body like a bamboo pole, it did not match the image of being poorly dressed or shivering with cold that he had imagined.

  He never expected that Qin Yiren would rob Zhao Ping and his men, getting their warm clothes.

  "Could my information be wrong?" Lü Buwei furrowed his brow and fell into thought: "The more difficult Qin's circumstances, the better he will listen to me; if his situation is not bad, it will be hard for what I am planning to succeed. What should I do about this?"

  Qin Yiren leaned against the wall to bask in the winter sun, feeling warm and cozy all over his body. He felt a bit lazy.

  Just then, footsteps sounded and Ma Gai hurried over, asking "What's going on?"

  "Report to the young master, there is a man named Lü Buwei who wants to see you." Ma Ge loudly replied.

  "Lu Buwei?" Qin Yiren sprang up from the ground like a spring, his mouth wide open in shock.

  "Yes, he claims to be Lü Buwei. Young master, what's going on?" Magai looked at the appearance of Qin Yiren with great surprise, it was just one person coming to visit, why so surprised: "He claims to have known you in Qin State, and it turns out to be true."

  Qin's astonishment was due to Lü Buwei's purchase of the state being too well-known, and it is still circulating two thousand years later.

  What's even more astonishing is that Qin Yi Ren himself was bought, how could he not be shocked?

  He had just been pondering Lü Buwei's offer to buy the state, wondering whether to accept or refuse it, and after so much deliberation, he still hadn't come up with a decision.

  "My current situation is extremely difficult, a matter of life and death, I must be careful and seek help. If the price is right, it's not impossible." Qin Yiren thought to himself: "I'm the seller, so I'll sell at a good price."

  At this point, Qin Yiren's eyebrows furrowed: "How can we sell it for a good price? Like that soft egg, not haggling at all is too cheap, so cheap that one would wear a green hat. Hmm, got it."

  Qin Yiren's eyes sparkled like the stars on a night sky, exceptionally bright.

  "Sir, will you see him or not?" Ma Gei hastily reminded him as he saw Qin Yiren hesitating without speaking.

  "Magai, come here." Qin Yiren beckoned with his hand, and Magai leaned in close. Qin Yiren whispered something in his ear.

  "Ah...!" Ma Gai was shocked beyond words, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets.