Chapter 442: Deliberately Snatching Bumbutai (Daily Ten-Thousand Requesting Rewards!)

Ushered out of the inn, Fan Yongdou's face turned extremely ugly.

His spirits were low now, and he seemed somewhat agitated, because he truly had no idea what to do next—the difficulty of this affair had grown enormously.

This pampered young lord before him was simply a fellow who understood nothing. Didn't this wastrel know how to weigh trade-offs? Didn't he understand interests?

He just stared openly, without the slightest concealment, at a little girl barely ten years old?

Utterly useless at accomplishing things, but more than capable of ruining them!

But against such a pampered young lord, Fan Yongdou had no good options.

Using force was a very bad idea. If he chose force, no matter the final outcome, it would be a failed result—it would make the court deeply dissatisfied with Zhangjiakou. Once it drew the attention of the court, everything Fan Yongdou possessed would be finished.

But without force, this wastrel wouldn't see reason, and cooperation couldn't be reached.

A genuine dilemma.

And that Wukeshan too—wasn't it just that they wanted his younger sister Bumbutai? Why was he being so stingy about handing her over?

No, he still had to find Wukeshan and continue a heart-to-heart talk, carefully analyze the pros and cons. This matter absolutely had to be handled well.

Meanwhile, inside the inn.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Wei Chao and asked directly: "That Fan Yongdou has left already, hasn't he?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. He's already gone." Wei Chao replied.

"No need to bother with them." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said: "Continue according to our plan. Have people keep an eye on them. If they make any move, we must guard against it immediately."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Wei Chao hurriedly acknowledged.

Leaving the inn, Fan Yongdou found Wukeshan at the first opportunity and recounted the day's events to him, his expression utterly sour.

After finishing, Fan Yongdou looked at Wukeshan and said: "I think we'd better agree."

"No." Wukeshan shook his head directly, his attitude very resolute.

This matter concerned his cooperation with the Jianzhou barbarians. Although the Great Ming was very powerful in Zhangjiakou, it was not the same in Liaodong.

Even though the Liaodong border troops had blasted Nurhaci to death with cannons, that had merely been seizing an opportunity by trickery.

Now Hong Taiji had become the Great Khan. If Wukeshan did something wrong, it could very likely bring disaster upon his tribe. Even if this matter failed, no other mistakes could be made.

Wukeshan looked at Fan Yongdou and said: "Prepare what I need, and we'll leave immediately. As for everything else, we'll discuss it later."

He could no longer afford to worry about anything else—he was extremely concerned for his younger sister Bumbutai's safety.

That pampered young lord was simply too stubborn, set entirely on having Bumbutai. He'd been given so many benefits, so much money, and still wouldn't budge—only wanting Bumbutai. A person like that was far too dangerous! Who knew why such a person had come to Zhangjiakou?

He shouldn't have brought his sister along in the first place.

Such a dangerous wastrel—who knew what he might do? If he struck without restraint and seized Bumbutai, Wukeshan had no influence here at all, and trouble would come easily.

Even this old man surnamed Fan before him was not to be trusted. His dealings with him were nothing more than for money. When truly pushed to the wall, this man would probably sell him out.

So Wukeshan felt the best course now was to leave.

Fan Yongdou looked at Wukeshan, his face dark, and asked: "Is there no room for negotiation at all?"

Wukeshan shook his head once more, his tone utterly certain: "No, I absolutely cannot leave my sister behind. My sister is too young—once left behind, trouble would easily arise. I can't bear it."

"Besides, my sister is already betrothed. Going back on our word would cause problems. At that point, we couldn't bear it internally."

Raising his head to look at Fan Yongdou, Wukeshan continued: "Let us leave at once. Once we're gone, he'll have no leverage. Then you can continue negotiating with him. If it works out, fine; if not, part ways completely."

But Fan Yongdou didn't think it would be so simple—if he let the people go, what would that pampered young lord do?

Fan Yongdou couldn't afford to worry about that now. Wukeshan could just dust off his hands and leave, but Fan Yongdou couldn't. When it truly came to that point, it would be just him dueling with this wastrel, and he might well be taken down.

Fan Yongdou pondered for a long while and did not agree.

Wukeshan stared at Fan Yongdou, silent for a long time.

And so the two remained deadlocked.

Before the two could continue speaking, someone suddenly walked in from outside, came directly to Wukeshan's side, and whispered something in a low voice.

Fan Yongdou looked at Wukeshan, the inquiry in his gaze unmistakable.

Wukeshan glanced at Fan Yongdou as well, waved his hand to dismiss his man, then turned to Fan Yongdou and said: "Irgen Gioro has come. I'm afraid it's also about this matter."

Hearing this, Fan Yongdou furrowed his brow.

This matter had nothing to do with him. Recently the two sides had indeed been in contact, and indeed discussing business. After all, the Jianzhou barbarians had suffered a great defeat in Liaodong and needed many such goods and intelligence reports.

But this didn't involve Wukeshan's side. Although their two families were allies, many things were not mixed together. Now that they had actually sent someone over, there was something strange about this affair.

Glancing at Wukeshan, Fan Yongdou's face showed a questioning expression.

Clearly there was something in this that Fan Yongdou didn't know about, and he hoped Wukeshan could provide an explanation.

But Wukeshan shook his head, showing no intention of speaking.

This was something Wukeshan could not tell Fan Yongdou.

"Let him in." Wukeshan glanced at the man beside him and ordered.

The man nodded, turned, and walked out.

Before long, a figure walked in from outside—it was indeed Irgen Gioro.

Upon seeing the two, Irgen Gioro wore a smile on his face, cupped his hands in greeting, and said: "Greetings to you both."

The few exchanged pleasantries for a while, then sat down once more.

Wukeshan looked at Irgen Gioro and said: "What business do you have coming here?"

"About the matter outside." Irgen Gioro said: "Word has already spread outside now, and many people are watching this affair. I want to know—what exactly do you plan to do?"

"What does this matter have to do with you?" Fan Yongdou raised his head and looked at him, asking.

This was what Fan Yongdou cared about most. He had already sensed that something was off about this affair.

That pampered young lord was set entirely on wanting that little girl, and now Irgen Gioro had come as well—clearly there was something in this that Fan Yongdou didn't know, very likely connected to that little girl. So he very much wanted to know the inside story.

Irgen Gioro glanced at Wukeshan, did not answer Fan Yongdou's question, but asked directly: "You haven't agreed, have you? You should know how serious this matter is."

Wukeshan gave a cold snort and said: "Of course I haven't agreed. I also know how serious this matter is."

After saying this, Wukeshan turned to look at Fan Yongdou and continued, "It's already very dangerous for me to stay here. I'll have him prepare the things and leave right away."

Irgen Gioro nodded and said, "That makes sense. This is indeed a good idea."

That the two of them had so quickly gotten onto the same page did not surprise Fan Yongdou. These two were originally of one family anyway; it was just that this matter had drawn them even closer together. That is to say, there was something in this that had made them grow closer.

Thinking of the relationship between the two families, a thought immediately formed in Fan Yongdou's mind.

Raising his head to look at the two men, Fan Yongdou said, "Wukeshan, your younger sister hasn't been betrothed to them, has she?"

The marriage alliance between the two families could be said to have a long history. If a young girl had been betrothed to them, that would not be impossible. This was also the reason Wukeshan had been so insistent.

At this moment, Fan Yongdou suddenly understood everything.

Neither Wukeshan nor the other man spoke, which was as good as admitting the matter.

Fan Yongdou immediately drew in a cold breath. He turned to look at Wukeshan and said, "It seems the person your sister is betrothed to is no ordinary figure. Otherwise, it wouldn't be like this."

After saying this, Fan Yongdou thought for a moment and said, "It seems my guess is correct. If it were just an ordinary person, you wouldn't care so much."

"This time, the cooperation terms that playboy begged out of us are extremely generous—he's even willing to tell me the cause of your Great Khan's death. Now that's interesting. You don't even want that?"

Wukeshan and the other man exchanged a glance, then Wukeshan said, "Our younger sister is betrothed to their new Great Khan."

This made Fan Yongdou frown. He said, "Wasn't your aunt already betrothed to their new Great Khan? Now your younger sister is also to be betrothed to him?"

Neither Wukeshan nor the other man spoke, tacitly admitting the matter.

Fan Yongdou immediately began complaining inwardly.

Fine, you people do whatever you want, but it can't be this chaotic, can it?

However, Fan Yongdou also knew that this matter probably couldn't be accomplished.

That playboy wanted to snatch away the Great Khan's consort—that was impossible. The Jianzhou barbarians would never agree, and Wukeshan would never agree either.

This was a signal of alliance between the two sides. The political implications were too heavy.

A new Great Khan ascending the throne needed to consolidate his position; and on the Mongol side, the Khorchin tribe was their supporter. If the two families formed a marriage alliance at this time, the meaning would be too obvious to be any more obvious.

After pondering for a moment, Fan Yongdou raised his head and said, "That playboy didn't do it deliberately, did he?"

Upon hearing this, Wukeshan and the other man were both startled.

Wukeshan said hesitantly, "That shouldn't be the case, right? He shouldn't know about this. This matter hasn't spread yet."

"That's hard to say." Fan Yongdou shook his head and said, "You can find out a lot of news about the Great Ming; perhaps the Great Ming can also find out news about you."

"If that really is the case, then this matter is troublesome. That playboy is probably targeting us, which is why he's been so desperate to have Wukeshan's younger sister."

Wukeshan and Irgen Gioro exchanged a glance, and a flash of killing intent passed through both their eyes.

Clearly, this matter had blown up. If what Fan Yongdou said was correct, then it probably couldn't end peacefully.

Wukeshan looked at Fan Yongdou and said, "Can you sound him out?"

Fan Yongdou shook his head and said helplessly, "Impossible. He came very suddenly, and I can't get a word in with his trusted men either. There's simply no way to find out any information. So it can only be speculation."

"Then we can't just sit and wait for death." Wukeshan said with a grim face.

"What do you want to do?" Fan Yongdou said with an extremely ugly expression.

"Seize him." Wukeshan said decisively. "Catch him and question him thoroughly to confirm what's really going on. If he truly knows about our matter, then this time it cannot end peacefully."

"What if he doesn't know?" Fan Yongdou immediately panicked, speaking with some urgency. "Directly moving to seize someone—and seizing that playboy at that—the commotion will be far from small. By that point, there'll be no way to contain the situation. Even the court will be shaken."

"You can push it onto us." Wukeshan looked at Fan Yongdou and said, "Just find a few men to secretly kidnap him. No one will know who did it. Once we've gotten the answers, we'll leave immediately. Afterwards, you can say he revealed his identity and was kidnapped. That should be enough to satisfy the authorities."

"If he doesn't know about our matter, we'll release him and just demand some money; if he does know, then he came for us this time, and there's nothing more to say."

Looking at the vicious expressions on Wukeshan and the other man, Fan Yongdou remained very hesitant.

He had done smuggling before, had plenty of courage, had many men in the north, and had pulled off big jobs before.

But this time was simply too big. Fan Yongdou had no confidence in his heart.

"No, no, we can't do this." Fan Yongdou shook his head and said, "This is far too dangerous. Why don't we agree to his terms first and let him tell us the information."

"No!" Wukeshan glared at Fan Yongdou and said, "I won't allow my sister's reputation to be tarnished."

Irgen Gioro also shook his head, his opposition extremely clear.

Fan Yongdou might not care, but Irgen Gioro absolutely could not not care. Otherwise, things would become troublesome, and he wouldn't even be able to explain himself when he returned.

Seeing the attitude of Wukeshan and the other man, Fan Yongdou immediately grew angry.

Two stubborn blockheads—I'd love to see you dead!

If something really went wrong, these two could just pack up and run away. But he himself couldn't run.

Fan Yongdou let out a sigh and said, "We can make a move, but it must be done silently. The men that playboy brought are no ordinary hands. If you fail, then we'll be in real trouble."

"Don't worry. To seize one person, it's not like we have to fight them. We just need to think of a way." Wukeshan said with a grim face.