Chapter 830 - 833: Something’s Wrong

Chapter 830: Chapter 833: Something’s Wrong

Going to such great lengths this time, if they only managed to harvest the storefronts, it would be equivalent to working for nothing. The real grand prize was the recipes in Jin Qianqian’s hands. Otherwise, even if they acquired the shops at a low price, they would only gain a small profit.

Xu Yangguang’s expression turned serious. Leaning forward slightly, he said, "I’m all ears."

The two discussed for a long time before finally going their separate ways. Sitting in his carriage, Xu Yangguang looked back at the receding building behind him before dropping the curtain. He spoke into the empty air, "Have someone keep a close eye on him. Let’s see who else he’s in contact with."

There was no response from the air, but Xu Yangguang merely leaned back against the cushions, closing his eyes to rest. As soon as the carriage came to a halt, his eyes snapped open.

"Where is the Old Master?" he asked the moment he entered the manor.

"The Old Master is waiting for you in the study," the chief steward, who had been waiting at the second gate, replied immediately.

"Go, have the kitchen prepare a meal for me and send it to the study later." Xu Yangguang secretly cursed Bai Jinglie for being stingy. He had traveled all that way, yet the man hadn’t even had the courtesy to offer him a meal.

"Yes, sir," the chief steward quickly agreed. He waited until Xu Yangguang entered the inner courtyard before hurrying off to give the orders.

Upon entering the study, Xu Yangguang saw the old man sitting inside reading a book with Xu Zhongren.

"Zhongren, head out for now. I have matters to discuss with your grandfather," he said.

Xu Zhiwen raised a hand to stop him. "Zhongren is getting older. He will have to shoulder the responsibilities of this family in the future, so it’s time he learned about certain matters.

"There’s no need to hide things from him anymore, and you can start delegating tasks to him."

Xu Yangguang glanced at Xu Zhongren and silently acquiesced.

"How did the talks go?" Xu Zhiwen asked directly.

"That Marquis Wu’an is quite difficult to deal with," Xu Yangguang replied. "We’ve met several times, but I haven’t been able to dig up a single piece of useful information.

"However, there is one thing I can confirm for certain: his hostility toward Gu Wenheng is absolutely real."

"You’re stating the obvious," Xu Zhiwen snapped. "There’s no need to look into the grudge between those two. What I want to know is, is he trying to play both sides?"

"I tested the waters, and he shouldn’t have the guts for that," Xu Yangguang said. "Now that the Crown Prince has been established, the other Princes don’t dare act rashly.

"Father, regarding what we’re doing now, should we inform the Fifth Prince?"

Xu Zhiwen stroked his beard and smiled. "Just do as I instructed. I will handle the Fifth Prince personally.

"However, you must keep a close watch on both sides. Don’t end up doing all the hard work only for someone else to reap the benefits."

Xu Zhongren listened quietly. In his early years, his fiery temper had offended quite a few people. As a result, the family had barred him from participating in many matters. This was a rare opportunity for him. If he didn’t understand right now, it didn’t matter; he would eventually catch on if he listened more.

Xu Yangguang was somewhat surprised that his son hadn’t interrupted this time. It seemed the old man’s efforts over the past few days hadn’t been in vain; he had finally managed to discipline the boy. He turned back to his father and said, "It’s just that with such a massive sum of wealth, the other party wants to take the lion’s share. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?"

"Whether it’s appropriate or not, let’s just get the deed done first," Xu Zhiwen said. "Anyway, within our sphere of influence, we won’t let others take advantage of us.

"Although the Crown Prince has been established, we haven’t reached the final step yet, so we still must be prepared.

"Our manor’s family wealth alone isn’t enough to sustain things, so you need to act quickly."

Over the years, they had openly and secretly roped in many people. Gu Wenheng and his wife had initially been their top choice. Unfortunately, the couple was impervious to both threats and persuasion, and since their memorials could reach the Emperor directly, the Xu family hadn’t dared to push them too hard.

Ding You was a good thing. The mourning period was the perfect opportunity for them. If they made their move now and laid low for a few years, even if Gu Wenheng managed to make a comeback, the political climate would have long since changed by then.

"The Holy Emperor is far too biased," Xu Yangguang said, feeling aggrieved on behalf of his grandson. "Today in court, I caught wind of some rumors. The Crown Prince is already taking over the affairs of the glass workshop. It seems the Holy Emperor is truly preparing to relinquish his power.

"The Crown Prince’s status is already perfectly justified. If he also gains control of the wealth in the Holy Emperor’s private treasury, I’m afraid that when the time comes, the Fifth Prince..." He left the sentence unfinished, knowing his grandson would be reduced to nothing more than a Prince in name only.

"Is this true?" Xu Zhiwen sat up straight, a look of urgency finally appearing on his weathered face.

"I heard people mentioning it, and I’ve already sent someone to inquire. On my way back, I received confirmed news that the person who has been managing businesses for the Holy Emperor over the years has indeed been seen entering and exiting the Eastern Palace.

"Father, could it be that the Holy Emperor’s health is...?"

Xu Zhiwen raised a hand to cut him off. "Watch your words. Make sure to have people investigate this thoroughly. If things have truly reached that point, we will have to readjust many of our plans.

"Right now, we cannot afford to panic and mess up our own formation. It’s possible that these people are acting on their own initiative; seeing that the Crown Prince’s position is secure, they might just be trying to curry favor with their new master in advance."

Deep down, Xu Zhiwen knew this possibility was slim. After all, anyone capable of being a trusted confidant of the current Holy Emperor wouldn’t be so antsy. He glanced at his son and grandson. This family could not descend into chaos...

Reading over the intelligence gathered today, Hua Shunming coughed dryly a few times before sitting there and sneering. It seemed that as his health had gradually declined over the past two years, these people had begun to view him as weak as well.

To prevent the brothers from turning against one another and ultimately slaughtering each other, he had planted people beside all of the Princes. However, the temptation of the throne was simply too great, and there were always those who couldn’t resist jumping out to cause a stir.

How could he not know that the wealth held in Mrs. Gu Jin’s hands rivaled his own private treasury? But so what? As the Emperor, even he had the magnanimity to tolerate it, yet unexpectedly, some people were even more impatient than him. What did wanting that wealth mean? It was nothing more than wanting extra bargaining chips to compete with the Crown Prince.

If the other Princes possessed abilities superior to the Crown Prince’s, he wasn’t the kind of man to blindly stick to the rules of succession anyway. Although he felt angry, Hua Shunming didn’t send anyone to stop them. Instead, he just ordered his men to keep an eye on things and quietly leak this information to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince’s side was far too quiet, and that wasn’t a good thing.

Bai Jinglie and the others never imagined that things would go so smoothly. It hadn’t even been half a month since they started, yet they had already scooped up dozens of shops.

"So, the moment we revealed a little bit of our edge, the other party just dumped their shops?" Bai Jinglie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. If he were in their shoes, he would have guessed that someone was targeting him, and he wouldn’t have handed over the shops so breezily. Since they hadn’t been ruthlessly suppressed, the shops naturally couldn’t be acquired at rock-bottom prices. This was a far cry from what they had envisioned.

"We find it very strange too. Did word leak out?" Meng Haotian voiced the doubts in his heart. The other party’s reaction was truly too bizarre, almost as if they had anticipated it.

"Impossible. From the time I discussed this with you until now, I’ve only been surrounded by my trusted confidants." An ominous premonition swelled in Bai Jinglie’s chest. "Could you have let something slip on your way to Shangjing?"

"That’s unlikely. Our families..." Meng Haotian started to say.

"Did you think of something?" Bai Jinglie gritted his teeth. Sure enough, they were just merchants, acting so carelessly. It seemed the problem lay on their end.

"That’s unlikely, and it shouldn’t be the case," Meng Haotian said, looking at the other Family Heads. Judging by their expressions, they had probably all guessed what happened too.