Chapter 203 - 121: Ejection

The moment Shen Mi and Wu Ziyu reached the first floor, they saw a dense crowd of people gathered at the entrance.

Every one of them was dressed in fine, respectable attire. The embroidery on their robes, the jade pendants at their waists, and the archer’s rings peeking from their sleeves all exuded the distinct air of wealthy merchants.

Some huddled, rubbing their hands, while others stood on tiptoe to peer inside. A few were whispering to the person next to them. The moment they saw Shen Mi descending the stairs, all eyes snapped toward her in unison. Smiles instantly plastered their faces, their eagerness bordering on sycophantic.

The two women saw many familiar faces with a single glance.

They were all from the merchant circles.

More than half of them were merchants who had previously worked with the Gu Family.

The Southern Trade Route, once held by the Gu Family, was their lifeline to wealth.

Now, that lifeline had fallen into Shen Mi’s hands.

They had rushed over, naturally, hoping to secure future collaborations with Shen Mi as soon as possible.

Those who negotiated first often gained the upper hand.

So now they were scrambling over one another, completely disregarding the time and place.

The remaining minority of the crowd let their gazes linger on Shen Mi for a moment before looking past her, clearly here for her younger brother.

Unfortunately, they didn’t see the young man rumored to have heaven-defying connections.

But they weren’t disappointed in the slightest.

Because they saw Wu Ziyu, which further confirmed the rumors: Shen Mi’s brother’s relationship with Wu Zhan was by no means ordinary!

Otherwise, how could the esteemed Miss Wu possibly condescend to dine with the Master of a mere Outer City trading house?

This smaller group had come to build connections. Although they failed to see Shen Mi’s brother, currying favor with Shen Mi would serve the same purpose.

For a moment, everyone desperately pushed toward the entrance. However, wary of the Immortal Tower’s Master, no one dared to be the first to step inside.

But their intensely eager gazes were so strong they felt almost tangible, pinning Shen Mi in place.

From this moment on, she was going to be very busy.

...

「The Shen Family’s Third Branch Estate.」

Inside the study, Shen Chongnian was staring at the account books on his desk. His eyes were dull and gray, with dark, bruised-looking circles around them. His ancient face was drained of all color.

One could tell he hadn’t slept all night. The figures in front of him were utterly heart-wrenching.

Business at the apothecary and the leather goods shop had been getting worse and worse, and the ledgers were too painful to look at.

The trading house was even worse. For the past month, they hadn’t sent out a single caravan due to staffing and weather issues, which meant their income was cut off. On top of that were the expenses from Shen Mi dismissing the last batch of employees... Every glance at the numbers made Shen Chongnian’s heart clench.

At this rate, the Shen Family’s third branch would probably collapse completely before the start of next spring.

At this thought, Shen Chongnian’s body went limp in his chair. His vacant gaze slowly shifted to a cabinet at the side of his desk...

’Do I really have to sell off our ancestral properties just to survive? But even then, how long can we last?’

Shen Chongnian let out a long sigh, his eyes quickly filling with despair.

"Father!"

"Uncle!"

Just then, two urgent voices called out from outside the study.

Before Shen Chongnian could grant them entry, the study door was thrown open. It slammed against the wall with a loud BANG.

In a great family, etiquette was paramount. Something like this had almost never happened before.

Shen Chongnian’s first reaction, however, was not anger or reprimand.

Instead, his expression tensed, and he shot up from his seat. The chair slid back half a foot behind him with a harsh scraping sound.

"What happened? Have the debt collectors come again? Didn’t we agree they’d give us a few more days?"

Shen Chongnian’s voice trembled, the despair in his eyes nearly spilling over.

"No, no!"

Shen Xingguo blurted out.

"Father, starting this afternoon, business at the apothecary suddenly boomed! It’s not just more people coming to fill prescriptions! Many major powers from the Outer City have placed bulk orders, and they’ve already paid the deposits—in silver!"

"This... How is this possible?"

Shen Chongnian was in complete disbelief.

"Uncle!"

Shen Xingwen, standing beside him, chimed in.

"It’s the same situation at my leather goods shop! Not only are the major powers placing bulk orders, but even the Patrol Office ordered a batch of leather hats! They paid seventy percent of the deposit up front! Seventy percent, Uncle!"

"This..."

Shen Chongnian was stunned for a moment, then sat back down with a THUD, muttering to himself.

"Could it be the Clan Leader helping us in secret? No... the family’s Inner City businesses have all been handed over to the Heir to manage... He has no regard for our third branch. Why would he be willing to help?"

"No! Father! It wasn’t the Clan Leader! And it certainly wasn’t the Heir who helped us! It was Chen Honored Elder!"

Shen Xingguo said excitedly.

"Chen Honored Elder competed at the Commerce Inspection Bureau! For Xiaowu, for our third branch, he won a Trade Document second only to those of the Eight Great Races—the most profitable and the most stable trade route!"

"And that’s not all!"

Shen Xingwen added.

"I also heard that Chen Honored Elder is the esteemed son-in-law of Lord Wu from the Commerce Inspection Bureau! The official documents were approved on the spot! They skipped all the procedures!"

"Son-in-law? That’s not what I heard!"

Shen Xingguo frowned.

"My friend said he has a friend who was there and personally heard Lord Wu call Chen Honored Elder ’brother’! He also said that Xiaowu was ’one of us’!"

"Enough, enough!"

Shen Chongnian slammed his hand on the desk, startling both of them.

He pushed himself up, leaning on the edge of the desk. His voice trembled even more violently than before, but the trace of despair in his eyes had vanished completely, replaced by an indescribable light.

"Chen Honored Elder has performed a peerless service for our third branch! Regardless of his relationship with Lord Wu, he is our third branch’s savior! You could even say he has given us a new lease on life!"