Chapter 30

Unwilling to give up, Ying Su bowed again and called out toward the interior: "Junior Ying Su pays respects to the Old General; I offer my salutations here!"

Having spoken, he bowed once more!

Yet from within came only repeated fits of coughing!

Just as Ying Su was about to bow again, Wang Ben stopped him: "Your Majesty the Emperor, after my father retired, his hearing became quite poor; I will find an opportunity to convey this matter on your behalf!"

"Wang Ben thanks Your Majesty the Emperor for your concern!"

Having spoken, he led his entire family in bowing deeply three times to Ying Su!

"Very well!"

Ying Su nodded, then indicated that he would have some precious medicinal herbs and other items sent over shortly.

Wang Ben bowed again in gratitude, stating that once his father's condition improved, he would certainly accompany his father to the imperial palace to express thanks for the grace bestowed!

Thus, the two exchanged pleasantries as they walked outward together!

Meanwhile, in Wang Jian's residence, a short while after Ying Su's departure, the coughing finally ceased from within Wang Jian's room!

Instead, bursts of laughter from Wang Lan rang out!

"You little rascal! Laugh, laugh, laugh! If you laugh any more, Grandfather will beat you!"

Wang Jian puffed out his cheeks in anger, his eyes wide!

Yet Wang Lan continued to laugh uproariously: "Grandfather, your acting just now was so convincing; I truly thought you were genuinely ill! It seems you have feigned illness quite often!"

Wang Lan laughed until she could not close her mouth.

Wang Jian merely shook his head repeatedly.

Just then, Wang Ben entered; seeing Wang Lan laughing, he immediately glared fiercely at her.

Wang Lan was instantly terrified and shrank her neck directly!

Although Wang Jian doted on her, her father Wang Ben did not indulge her; at the slightest disobedience, he would deliver a severe beating!

Therefore, she was very afraid of Wang Ben.

However, neither of the two men paid her any further attention; after dismissing her, Wang Jian asked Wang Ben:

"What did he say when he came over?"

Wang Ben handed that list to Wang Jian: "He said he wanted to find these people; I cannot fathom what scheme he is hatching!"

Wang Jian frowned deeply while examining the list; he likewise could not understand why Ying Su sought these individuals. After pondering for a moment, he spoke:

"This person is now a dangerous figure; His Majesty Shihuangdi will absolutely not be content to abdicate so easily. Sooner or later, the Shihuangdi Society will return. As for our Wang family's stance toward this youth, it remains as before: we can neither draw too close nor keep too far. Simply maintain an attitude of ambiguous distance!"

"Relying on our Wang family's prestige and merits, so long as we make no errors in choosing sides, there will absolutely be no major crisis!"

"As for these people, help him find them, but it is inappropriate for you to appear personally. Let Wang Li go, and additionally summon young Li from Li Xin's household; if the two of them depart together, it will not invite idle gossip!"

"Yes!"

Wang Ben departed.

On the streets of Xianyang City!

Walking along the road back to the palace, Ying Su was deeply dejected!

The visit to Li Si's home had yielded abundant gains!

But upon arriving at Wang Jian's home, there was absolutely no gain whatsoever.

That old fox Wang Jian was far too cunning; he completely wished to avoid any association with me.

However, I am not one to be trifled with either!

If you do not wish to associate with me, does that mean association becomes impossible?

If I have members of your Wang family perform tasks for me, making it known to all under heaven that your Wang family is assisting me, let us see whether you can still avoid association!

Indeed, sending Wang Ben to find Xiao He and the others served precisely this purpose!

Only... will it prove effective?

While Ying Su was pondering this in his heart, suddenly, a graceful young girl appeared directly before him, examining him with full curiosity:

"You... are you Ying Su?"

PS: Seeking flowers, seeking evaluation votes!!!

025. Li Si Sells Paper, Sky-High Priced Paper!

"Who goes there!"

Li Yuanba, startled, immediately stepped in front of Ying Su to block the way!

Simultaneously, swish-swish-swish, five guards of the Garrison Army appeared instantly, surrounding the young girl!

This...

The young girl was instantly frightened by the scene before her eyes.

Her face turned pale.

At this critical moment, Ying Su stepped forward; he waved his hand to push Li Yuanba aside, then ordered the Garrison Army to disperse.

Then, displaying a harmless smile, he looked toward her: "Who are you?"

"Hmph! I won't tell you!"

Having spoken, she quickly ran away; just before leaving, she turned back to glance at Ying Su, but upon discovering that Ying Su was watching her, she became frightened and ran far away rapidly.

Ying Su simply watched her retreating figure; at that moment, a smile finally emerged upon his previously dejected face!

Wang Jian, oh Wang Jian.

You old fox always wish to sever ties with me, yet you never expected that your granddaughter would disobey you!

She has developed an interest in me!

Laughing, Ying Su, without any delay whatsoever, immediately summoned a guard of the Garrison Army and issued an order:

"Investigate for me; ascertain clearly all the preferences of this little girl!"

"Here!"

The other party left quickly!

Great Qin, the Residence of the Left Chancellor!

Today, the Chancellor's residence was full of people!

How many?

Dense and packed, and almost all of them were high officials and nobles.

Every single one had an illustrious background.

Why had they all gathered at Li Si's residence?

Of course, they had been invited by Li Si!

And it must be said that Li Si was simply clever.

Merely by hearing that Ying Su wanted to sell paper at a high price, he immediately knew who to sell the paper to.

High officials, nobles, and merchants!

As for selling to the common people?

Li Si had no such idea at all!

Not only were the common people hard to sell to, but they also couldn't afford the price!

More importantly, buying it would be useless to them!

Remember, they couldn't even recognize characters; what use would selling it to them be?

So, Li Si didn't consider them at all!

His main focus was the nobles and merchants!

These people were extremely wealthy!

Many of them were great families that had been passed down since the Shang and Zhou periods.

Although these great families collected only about twenty percent of the land rent annually, yet... even if the rent per mu was only twenty percent, accumulating it over a thousand years would still result in a massive family fortune!

Furthermore, land rent was only a very, very small part of their income sources!

The majority of the nobles' income sources came from trading and private land!

Relying on the advantage of their noble status, when they conducted trading businesses, it was truly like a fish in water!

More critically, no matter how much money they earned, it all belonged to them; they would not pay a single coin in tax!