Chapter 281: Chapter 248: The Great Treason Case

The Huang Family Manor.

"What, after Huang Yihu brought Can’er and the others in, they haven’t come out, and the ancestral hall door is shut tight?" Huang Baiyuan realized the severity of the situation.

Huang Yihu and those disciples are currently the best fighters of the Huang Family. If these people are stuck in the ancestral hall, do the old folks have to intervene personally?

Moreover, the things hidden in the ancestral hall’s storeroom!

That’s the most critical.

If those things get exposed, the entire Huang Family will be in grave danger.

The ancestral hall must be reclaimed.

Huang Baiyuan hardened his resolve, immediately called a trusted subordinate, whispered a few instructions, and the subordinate listened, looking at him in terror, asking, "Patriarch, do we really have to do this?"

"This is the only option now; hurry, or our Huang Family will face a catastrophe!"

"Yes, Patriarch."

The trusted subordinate shivered and quickly ran out of the manor.

...

Dongshan Prefecture, Shanyuan Square.

Ye Mansion.

"Patriarch, it’s been three days, and Miyuan should have sent word by now; not only is there no news, but he hasn’t returned..." Butler Ye Cheng reported.

Ye Shengyuan has been overwhelmed recently; Su Chen suddenly returned from Great Yue, bringing back a vast amount of goods bought from Great Yue, selling widely in Li Jing to earn a huge profit, and forcibly lowered the prices of imported goods from Great Yue by a tenth.

Although this has aroused some resentment, the Su Family is, after all, a royal merchant, the richest in Lanzhou, with the backing of a top-tier sect like the Snow Mountain Sect.

This time, it is rumored that the Snow Mountain Sect sent experts to escort them, deterring those with ill intentions from taking action easily.

Upon Su Chen’s return to Dongshan, Su Qi and Bai Feng, this couple, had already secretly stayed at the Star-Picking Tower days in advance; these two unexpectedly visited Lin Miao quietly, clearly showing the close relationship between the two families. The horse plague incident in the Su Family’s ranch last year involved the Ye Family, benefiting them significantly.

Now the Su Family has solved the horse plague, reportedly obtaining a formula that can treat horse plague after isolation, controlling the epidemic.

The Su Family keeps this formula highly confidential; Ye Shengyuan has tried various means yet failed to learn anything.

The other two royal merchants who raise horses probably also probed in vain.

The Su Family’s ranch incident this time led to a clean-up of personnel at the ranch; those disloyal were all removed.

The other two families being far away, the Su Family’s retaliation won’t affect them immediately, but the Ye Family is in Lianzhou, and the Su Family has already started targeting them.

The Ye Family’s basic business is wholesale of medicinal materials in Dongshan Prefecture.

This business accounts for over forty percent of Dongshan’s medicinal wholesale market, allowing them significant influence in the Medical Association.

Though the Su Family is engaged in the medical industry, their share is negligible, hardly noticeable in Dongshan Prefecture, with only some presence in Lanzhou, which isn’t much.

Families like the Su Family, the richest in Lanzhou, naturally dabble in all sorts of businesses; the Su Family started with horse breeding, then ventured into transportation and trade, doing whatever is profitable, with horse breeding as their primary business, which is why they became suppliers of war horses to the court.

The Su Family suddenly announced their entry into the medicinal market, seemingly supporting Lin Miao, but their real target is the Ye Family.

During the horse plague incident, the Ye Family’s actions are evidently known by the Su Family.

If the Su Family, with its wealth and connections, truly wants to dive into the medicinal business, they are indeed a formidable enemy to the Ye Family, especially since Great Yue Country occupies over seventy percent of medicinal production.

With the Su Family’s status and financial power, trying to forcibly carve out a share in Dongshan City seems only too feasible.

They are royal merchants, enjoying tariff discounts on imported medicinal materials; on this point, the Ye Family cannot compete, and furthermore, the Su Family has direct trading rights with foreign countries.

The Ye Family’s medicinal wholesale requires intermediaries from whom they purchase from Great Yue Country, needing further imports from major medicinal merchants.

The Ye Family has an additional step compared to the Su Family, causing prices to be naturally inferior.

If the Su Family seriously ventures into the medicinal industry, it would be a huge disaster for the Ye Family.

The Ye Family’s advantage is their long involvement in the medicine-related industry, while the Su Family is not a specialist in this field.

The medicinal industry is complicated; a small misstep can lead to ruin.

Furthermore, the issue with the Green Blade Sect; they intend to target Lin Miao directly, Mrs He has also ordered their extermination of Lin Miao and Sun Youwei.

This action presents a rare opportunity; the Green Blade Sect has dispatched a Meridian Passage Realm elder and over a dozen elite disciples to deal with Lin Miao and several women, normally an effortless task.

However, from the departure of Ye Mi Yuan, he has a vague unease.

He hopes his instinct is wrong.

Now it seems that the problem is quite serious.

"Master, the eldest young master requests to see you."

"Let him in!" Ye Shengyuan commanded.

A moment later, the eldest young master of the Ye Family, Ye Xiyuan, walked in with small steps, his head lowered, and greeted meekly, "Father."

"What is it?"

"Today, the Su Family rented the shop No. 2 Jia in the East Market and the warehouse behind it, directly opposite to our shop No. 1," Ye Xiyuan said.

"Isn’t No. 2 Jia the Longsheng Silk and satin Shop? The lease hasn’t expired yet, has it?"

"Yes, it doesn’t expire for another year and a half, but the Su Family, being wealthy, simply paid extra to buy Longsheng Silk and satin Shop directly."

"What?" Ye Shengyuan was shocked, remembering that the Su Family suffered a major setback last year, almost breaking their capital chain. How could they now have the funds to pay a premium for Longsheng Silk and satin Shop?

"No, although Longsheng Silk and satin Shop’s business isn’t as good as before, it hasn’t reached the point of being for sale. I saw the owner Zhou Long just a few days ago, and he didn’t mention this matter?"

"The Su Family Trading Company received a large batch of silk from the Great Yue Country, priced nearly ten percent cheaper than market rates. Moreover, its quality and color surpass those of Longsheng Shop, with ample supply, and there will be a continuous influx of silk..." Ye Xiyuan explained.

Ye Shengyuan took a deep breath, If the Su Family Trading Company’s low-priced, high-quality silk is continuously supplied, the biggest local silk shop, Longsheng Manor, would inevitably go bankrupt.

Engaging in a price war is a nightmare for merchants like Longsheng Manor.

However, generally, people wouldn’t do such a thing, as it’s easy to make mortal enemies in this market, leading to unending grudges.

But the Su Family turned around and acquired Longsheng Manor at a premium, implying that this is merely a strategy, with the true intent not necessarily against Longsheng Manor, but rather targeting the shop No. 2 Jia they had rented.

"Keep an eye on all the Su Family’s actions. Report any situation immediately!"

"Yes, son understands." Ye Xiyuan bowed, retreated three steps, and then turned to leave.

...

Dongshan Prefecture Government Office.

Zhuo Qingfeng hurriedly walked into the pavilion from outside and, seeing Prefect Pei Jian lying leisurely on a reclining chair, enjoying the shade, bowed, "Mr. Dong, the Green Blade Sect has taken action."

"Oh, who did they send?"

"The seventh elder Yu Renxiong, along with the fifth-ranked disciple of the inner sect, Chang Yuqing, and others. They’re all skilled members of the Green Blade Sect, with everyone’s cultivation at the Blood Fusion Realm," Zhuo Qingfeng wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"This Yu Renxiong should have just recently advanced to the Meridian Passage Realm, right?" Pei Jian asked.

"Yes."

"Do you think Lin Miao can handle this challenge?"

"He has the Snow Mountain Sect’s twin guards by his side, plus the protection of the Su Family, it should be no problem," Zhuo Qingfeng replied.

"But he returned this time without any masters from the Snow Mountain Sect accompanying him..."

"Publicly no, but it’s hard to say privately. Our Mr. Lin is quite resourceful, having encountered trouble several times, yet managed to solve it without needing your intervention," Zhuo Qingfeng said.

"I suspect there is another power backing him besides the Su Family and Snow Mountain Sect!" Pei Jian nodded.

"Mr. Dong, what should we do?"

"Let’s watch and see how it develops. The Su Family and Ye Family must have torn their faces by now, right?" Pei Jian closed his eyes, gently fanning the palm-leaf fan in his hand.

"Yes, the Su Family acquired Longsheng Silk and satin Shop, aiming for shop No. 2 Jia and the warehouse in the East Market," Zhuo Qingfeng remarked.

"Is the Su Family making a formal entry into the herbal medicine market now?"

"Yes, this time the Su Family bought a large batch of medicinal herbs from the Great Yue Country, only a small portion was sold in Li Jing, while the majority was transported to Dongshan. However, they’re currently stored in a manor outside the city."

"The Su Family’s manor?"

"No, it’s Huaye Tower owner Qin Yanran’s manor. The manor is a place where she raises some abandoned infants. Additionally, last year she began expanding the manor by constructing many buildings, and people have seen a considerable amount of sand and charcoal being transported inside, but no one knows what it’s for," Zhuo Qingfeng replied.

"Is Huaye Tower now Lin Miao’s enterprise?" Pei Jian asked in surprise.

"Yes, but so far there’s been no change in ownership. But Huaye Tower is halfway connected to Lin’s Mansion, becoming Lin’s Mansion’s backyard..."

"Qingfeng, what do you think is the relationship between Lin Miao and Qin Yanran?"

"Qin Yanran arrived in Dongshan over ten years ago, immediately purchasing Huaye Tower and running it ever since without any unusual incidents. But since Lin Miao moved next door, a series of changes occurred, and now even Huaye Tower has closed, undergoing renovations, possibly no longer operating as an entertainment house," Zhuo Qingfeng said. "Regarding their relationship, there are numerous rumors, suggesting Qin Yanran is Lin Miao’s elder relative, separated early in life but now found. Others say Qin Yanran’s aging and unable to maintain the operations of Huaye Tower, so she’s cooperating with Lin Miao for a transformation. The most ludicrous rumor is that Qin Yanran has taken a fancy to Lin Miao, like a cougar infatuated with a younger man. But Qin Yanran appears not very old and fairly attractive. Back when she first opened Huaye Tower, many had thoughts of pursuing her..."

"What’s Qin Yanran’s background?" Pei Jian’s eyes slightly opened, asking.

"She came to Dongshan City over ten years ago, and no one knows where she came from. After arriving in Dongshan, she spent a fortune buying Huaye Tower, then put down roots in Dongshan City. She’s very beautiful, and in Dongshan City, few women like her engage in this trade, so she caused a sensation upon arriving, quickly became famous, and Huaye Tower has always been one of Dongshan City’s most top-tier entertainment houses..." As Zhuo Qingfeng is Pei Jian’s advisor and confidant, he naturally understands his boss very well, having already conducted a thorough investigation to respond readily when asked.