Chapter 843: Old Master Wants to Use

Xiao Ningyuan smiled and said: "Head Wang, please wait a moment."

He walked over to Xiao Ze's side, bent down and whispered a few words in his ear.

Xiao Ze nodded slightly, took out his own token from his sleeve, slipped it between a stack of banknotes, and handed it to him.

Xiao Ningyuan casually shoved the banknotes and token into Xiao Ningxun's hand: "Go on an errand; we'll have tea with Head Wang here."

Xiao Ningxun glanced down, curled his lips, stood up, and gave Xiao Er and Lu Qi a look.

The two said nothing, stood up, and followed him out.

"Where are you going?" Tuan Tuan, holding Luo Zhenjiang's shoulder, stood on his leg and bounced outward, "I want to go too!"

"All right, all right, all right," Luo Zhenjiang hurriedly steadied her, scooped her up, and strode after them: "Let's go together."

The group left the cloth shop and hurried along the stone-paved road.

Tuan Tuan lay on Luo Zhenjiang's shoulder, looking left and right curiously: "Third Brother, where are we going?"

"To the Imperial Treasury Bank," Xiao Ningxun said, moving swiftly, "Let's move the silver!"

Luo Zhenjiang paused: "The Imperial Treasury Bank?"

"What is that?" Tuan Tuan asked.

Luo Zhenjiang lifted her up: "It's the Imperial Court's bank."

Xiao Er looked back: "Boss Luo, you've been holding her all the way; let me hold her for a while."

Luo Zhenjiang tightly hugged Xiao Tuanzi in his arms: "Once we leave Jiangzhou, if you want to hold her again, I'll only hold her for a few days—do you still want to fight me for her?"

Xiao Er smiled and rubbed his big hands together silently.

Lu Qi laughed and shook his head: truly, whoever holds the young lady doesn't want to let go!

Hurrying along, they turned a few streets and soon saw a storefront.

The storefront was not large; the gate stood open, two guards with sabers at their waists guarded the entrance, and on the black lacquered plaque the four golden characters "Imperial Treasury Bank" glowed with a deep, dark light.

Xiao Ningxun stepped forward to the door and thrust his token forward.

The two guards examined it closely, their pupils constricted, and they both dropped to one knee: "We pay our respects, Seventh Prince."

Xiao Ningxun stepped over the threshold and headed straight for the inner hall.

The shopkeeper sat behind the counter, moving the abacus beads; he looked up at the newcomers, his brows slightly furrowed—this group looked unfamiliar, not like government officials.

He was about to question them when Xiao Ningxun gently placed his token on the counter.

The shopkeeper glanced at the token, his whole body trembled; he hurried out from behind the counter, threw himself to the ground in a kowtow, his voice shaking: "I, the lowly official, did not know Your Highness had arrived; my failure to welcome you properly deserves ten thousand deaths..."

"Enough," Xiao Ningxun raised a hand to cut him off, took back the token into his sleeve, and laid the stack of banknotes on the counter: "Exchange this for silver—110,000 taels."

The shopkeeper scrambled up, took the banknotes with both hands, examined them carefully, and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, I'll see to it right away."

Having said that, he turned and ran toward the silver vault in the back hall.

Tuan Tuan poked her head out from Luo Zhenjiang's shoulder, curiously looking around at everything.

She reached out and tugged at Xiao Ningxun's sleeve: "Third Brother, what does this place sell?"

Xiao Ningxun reached out toward her, intending to take her from Luo Zhenjiang's arms.

Luo Zhenjiang, however, tightened his hold on Tuan Tuan and twisted his body.

Xiao Ningxun smiled, withdrew his hand, and said: "This place is the Imperial Court's bank; it stores the Imperial Court's silver."

"Oh," Tuan Tuan nodded, "It's Imperial Uncle's silver, right?"

"Exactly! Tuan Tuan, you're so clever!"

Luo Zhenjiang couldn't help but ask: "Third Young Master, why didn't the Seventh Prince reveal his identity at the cloth shop earlier?"

"If Head Wang knew the Seventh Prince had come in person, that Wu fellow would have been driven out long ago—why go through all this trouble?"

Xiao Ningxun shook his head: "If the Seventh Prince revealed his identity, Head Wang would naturally not dare to neglect him, but Wu Shuang would surely send the news back to Taiwan Island."

"By then, it wouldn't be a mere business contest but a clash between two nations, and this battle would be unavoidable."

Luo Zhenjiang fell silent for a moment, then asked: "But wouldn't that require spending a great deal of silver?"

"Just the cloth shop alone comes to 110,000 taels, and there are the porcelain shop, tea shop, drugstore..."

Xiao Ningxun shook his head: "Boss Luo, do you know how much silver a war consumes?"

"Leaving other things aside, just the daily consumption of a mobilized army is no less than 10,000 taels."

He paused, his voice softening: "More importantly, once fighting breaks out, countless soldiers' lives will be at stake."

Luo Zhenjiang's whole body shuddered.

"Since the red-haired barbarians have come to trade, we should settle things with silver, not fill the gap with human lives."

Xiao Ningxun looked toward the shopkeeper hurrying from the back hall and said: "This is what is meant by subduing the enemy without fighting."

The shopkeeper came trotting back from the back hall, followed by dozens of guards; four people formed a team, jointly lifting a box and setting it on the ground.

"Your Highness," the shopkeeper wiped sweat from his forehead and said respectfully, "We've only moved half so far; shall we put it at the entrance for you?"

Xiao Ningxun nodded.

The shopkeeper hurriedly ordered: "Quick! Put it at the entrance! Then go back to the vault and bring out the rest!"

"Yes!"

The shopkeeper looked at those boxes and said: "This silver weighs over a thousand catties; to haul it away you'd need at least six horse-drawn wagons with two horses each."

"The bank only has three wagons on hand, which is nowhere near enough; please wait a moment, Your Highness—I'll go arrange more right away."

"No need," Xiao Ningxun waved his hand, turned to Luo Zhenjiang, and said: "Boss Luo, do you have any manpower?"

Luo Zhenjiang grinned, looked down at Xiao Tuanzi in his arms, and said: "Be good, cover your ears."

Tuan Tuan blinked, then obediently covered her ears with both little hands.

Luo Zhenjiang walked to the doorway, placed his thumb and index finger in his mouth, and gave a hard blow.

A sharp whistle burst forth instantly, the tone high and bright, rolling along the stone-paved road.

Tuan Tuan covered her little ears and giggled: "Sounds great! I want to learn too!"

Luo Zhenjiang laughed heartily: "When you're older, Uncle will teach you!"

Soon after the whistle blew, hurried footsteps came from across the street.

A lean man darted out from the alley entrance, covering three steps in two strides to rush before Luo Zhenjiang, clasped his fists in salute: "Chief! What's up?"

Luo Zhenjiang pointed at the boxes on the ground: "Get me six two‑horse carts, I need them!"

He paused: "Call more brothers over, and do it quickly!"

The man said nothing more, turned and ran.

The guards brought out the remaining boxes, laying them on the ground—a full twenty‑five large boxes.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi opened each one to check, verifying the count.

Soon, the sounds of wheels, hooves, and feet blended together as a mighty crowd surged toward the silver shop.

Luo Zhenjiang looked up and was instantly stunned.