Chapter 36: Dog Blood on the Head

  The loss of money from the two hijackings is secondary; what's most important is that this business route has now been exposed, which is equivalent to being written off.

  Chu Qiyan's temples throbbed violently, and her facial expression was also cold and frightening.

  Chu Lingyun was stunned for a long time before she finally came back to her senses, disbelievingly saying, "It can't be, all these years have passed peacefully, how could he suddenly and for no reason——"

  She had already abruptly stopped talking, looking at Chu Qiyan with a bewildered expression, "Could it be that you suspect that he discovered what happened in Chuzhou last time?"

  She can guarantee that she has no flaws on her part in this matter.

  Chu Qiyan's lips curled up in a cold, mocking arc as he slowly said, "Chu Qifeng is not like Chu Qihui that fool. Even if he didn't get any concrete evidence, afterwards, if he had the heart to do so, then after analyzing all aspects of the situation, the first people he would suspect would naturally be us, the Nanhe Wangfu. Moreover——"

  Chu Qiyan said, her eyes turning even colder as she spoke, "Guo Daifu fell off a cliff while picking herbs on the mountain? Do you believe that? The timing is just too coincidental!"

  Chu Lingyun originally thought he was worrying unnecessarily, but now he couldn't help but take it seriously. His face suddenly turned extremely ugly as he asked, "Are you saying that the East Palace has already begun to counterattack us?"

  "I don't know if it's the East Palace, but this time with the merchant line, Chu Qiufeng is definitely involved. He must have had a hand in it." Chu Qiyan said, standing up and shaking off the tea stains on his robe, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips. "To think about it, I was too careless. At the time, I calculated that Chu Youyang would be the crown prince and Chu Qiufeng's Achilles' heel, so I made my move to find a breakthrough from Chu Youyang. I didn't expect him to escape unscathed. Now this matter has backfired because it involves Chu Youyang, and Chu Qiufeng will take action without solid evidence, which isn't surprising."

  Chu Qi Feng is a steady and meticulous person. If it weren't for this incident offending his taboo, he would never have done something so obvious.

  Chu Lingyun still found it hard to believe and said: "Such a big thing, he dares to take the initiative to show off to us just with the prince's hand?"

  "This is indeed the case, he wants to use this matter to demonstrate his power over us, not just a demonstration, but also a warning!" Chu Qiyan said, her eyes gazing through the window at the distant night sky, dark and somewhat mysterious. "You must have heard some rumors about the Eastern Palace recently, in regards to the matters related to Chu Sunyang, the Crown Prince and Chu Qifeng's attitudes are surprisingly consistent. Chu Sunyang is a sensitive topic between us and the Eastern Palace, this time we suffered a loss, remember for next time, don't easily try to provoke that young lady."

  This also means that Chu Jinyang is the weakness of both Chu Yian and Chu Qifeng. The price of 200,000 taels of silver may be high, but it's worth it to get such information.

  Chu Lingyun seemed lost in thought, recalling the events that had taken place over this period of time, and suddenly felt a sense of unease in her heart.

  Chu Qiyan was thinking of something else in her heart and didn't notice that her expression was different.

  Finally, Chu Lingyun calmed down and grabbed Chu Qiyan's sleeve anxiously, saying, "Qiyan, how are we going to explain this to Father? If he finds out that it was our mistake that caused this loss, I'm afraid he will..."

  "Just pretend nothing happened then." Chu Qiyan said without thinking, "Later I will go and explain the matter of Shang Xian to him, you don't need to show up, I will take care of this. As for the last time we went to Chuzhou, from now on let's just forget it ever happened, don't mention it again."

  Chu Yimin is ambitious, but his thinking is not meticulous enough, and many things that pass through his hands often leave behind flaws.

  The last time Qiufeng was designed, it was entirely the work of Lingyun and Qiyuan, which even Junyang did not expect.

  Chu Lingyun heard this and slightly calmed down, saying, "Alright, I'll go ask Mother Empress later to intervene on your behalf. Tomorrow is the birthday of the Grand Empress Dowager, Father Emperor should also take advantage of the occasion and won't really do anything to you."

  "Hmm!" Chu Qiyan nodded, but the gloom in her eyes couldn't be dispelled.

  The sister and brother counted down to the next day's event again, then Chu Lingyun took a step ahead and left.

  Chu Qiyan didn't delay either and directly returned to Chu Yimins study, where she briefly told him about the Shang Lin matter.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, Chu Yimin was furious upon hearing this and directly threw the half-eaten ginseng chicken soup in his hand at him. The bowl hit Chu Qiyan's head squarely, causing blood to flow profusely.

  "That trade route, established for seven years without any issues, and now you suddenly come to me saying that the goods were robbed by mountain bandits?" Chu Yi Min paced back and forth in the room, his temples bulging with anger. His slightly chubby body was now panting heavily due to rage. "Immediately send a letter in my name to the Qingzhou prefecture, have them investigate and catch those daring mountain bandits! Make them spit out all the silver they swallowed! Does no one fear that they will lose their lives for daring to rob something from the Nanhe Wang Fu?"

  Chu Qiyan was drenched from head to toe, looking extremely disheveled. Upon hearing this, she remained unmoved and knelt upright, saying, "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be investigated. If it is exposed and the Emperor finds out that we used personal relationships to control the Western Regions' trade routes for personal gain, it will not just be a matter of losing some silver."

  The emperor was the founding monarch, who had a very tight grip on both civil and military affairs as well as finance. The Southern River King's mansion was already taking a great risk in this regard, but it needed silver to expand its power, and Zhu Qiyan couldn't do anything about it.

  But now——

  Even if it's a dumb loss, they can only admit it!

  "Two hundred thousand taels of silver, and you tell me it's a small amount of money?" Chu Yi Min was still furious in his heart, pointing at Chu Qi Yan and scolding him, "I handed over the business to you to manage, is this how you manage it for me?"

  Chu Qiyan didn't utter a word, letting him scold and beat her without talking back.

  The queen finally arrived and temporarily calmed down Chu Yimín, who was furious.

  The news reached Chu Xiu Yang's ears that night, but because the incident occurred in Chu Yi Min's study, the specific details were unknown, and all that was known was that Chu Qi Yan had been scolded by Chu Yi Min until he was covered in blood, and even physical force had been used.

  "This is quite unusual!" At that time, Chu Xiangyang had already lain down, and upon hearing the words, he turned over on his bed, propping up his chin to gaze at the palace lantern on the outer table, a faint smile spreading across his face.

  Chu Yi Min may not be a great talent, but he is after all Chu Qi Yan's father. If there were to be discord between this father and son, then the road ahead for Chu Qi Yan would surely be even more tortuous.

  Then she——

  Do you need help adding fuel to the fire?

  Digression

  Nanhe Paozi is really narrow-minded, isn't it? Actually, there are pig-like opponents everywhere, and every family has a difficult-to-recite scripture.

  The college entrance exam is about to begin, and I'd like to wish all the girls who are going to take the exam a victorious outcome and excellent results!