Chapter 365: You can name your price, but don

Saying that, it sounds as if everyone is just a penny‑pincher!

Bai Liren isn't a penny‑pincher—could Chinu be? Could Afang be?

Even her, and Chunri Jian who's still out there……

They look like utter good people?

At most just pay a bit more attention……

Du Shanü pondered for a moment, then said:

"Then let's meet this Guangzhou envoy."

"Let's hear how much silver this person is asking for, then decide."

All in all, the movable silver in the treasury should still be about three thousand taels; if we also convert the value of valuables like tea and silk, gritting our teeth we could also scrape together a full five thousand taels of silver.

Five thousand taels of ready cash is, in these days, truly a staggering fortune.

A prefectural magistrate's yearly salary, including grain stipend, amounts to only three to four hundred taels.

Five thousand taels could cover a prefectural magistrate's salary for over ten years, buy ten thousand mu of good farmland, or purchase more than ten sets of high‑class multi‑courtyard homes.

If converted to grain, in a normal year one tael of silver buys about two to three shi of rice, one shi being about 120 catties; five thousand taels thus amounts to rice on the order of a million catties, enough to feed over a thousand people for a whole year.

If converted to livestock, an ox or cow costs roughly ten taels each; a horse colt, depending on quality, fluctuates between fifty and one hundred twenty taels.

In short, Du Shanü's determination this time is considerable.

She trusts Chen Weifang's counsel; since Afang says the other party is capable and truly willing to work for money, she is indeed willing to raise a "huge sum" to try to bribe Bai Liren.

After all, everyone knows the situation in Qiong Zhoufu; that place is frankly no match for her now.

But Guangzhou Zhoufu has always been a major stronghold, guarding the lifeline of most overseas maritime trade; it cannot lack substantial troops and supplies.

If she aims to unify the south and then launch a northern expedition, she cannot avoid taking Guangzhou Zhoufu.

However, however……

War will involve bloodshed.

And if a person loses too much blood, they will die.

If fighting can be avoided, Du Shanü truly does not want to point her crossbow at her own kin.

Her blade and her crossbow should be aimed at those tribes seeking to move south, and she ought to be doing things that benefit all under heaven.

Rather than getting stuck in a mire‑like civil war, which would only let the foreign peoples laugh at us.

When Du Shanü spoke these words, her voice wasn't loud, drifting into the smoke and haze, faintly echoing with some emptiness.

But everyone knows the weight of these words.

Their lord is unique in being a woman yet possessing a steadfast heart and a fierce resolve……

Rare in the world.

This time, even though Chen Weifang usually dislikes Bai Liren, she now hopes to bribe him, thereby gaining an inside‑outside opportunity that would let them swiftly seize Guangzhou Zhoufu and then march north.

Northward.

Northward.

Any Yin Dynasty person who still has heroic blood in their veins cannot help but be obsessed with these two words.

Not long ago, it's likely that every commoner asked themselves in their hearts why Heaven is so unfair, granting only the northern barbarians the 【Blazing Fire Oil】 while giving the southern Han not even a breath of respite……

And now, if it's this female lord, she might actually be able to……

"Pat, pat, pat……"

The retreating‑and‑returning footsteps broke everyone's train of thought.

Chunrijian had been chatting outside with the envoy earlier; now, having received orders, he naturally led the Guangzhou envoy in to see:

"Reporting to my lord, this is the envoy dispatched by the Guangzhou Zhoufu prefect, acting on the prefect's command, carrying documents to pay respects."

Du Shanü had been vexed over raising the silver for a while; hearing this, she casually lifted her gaze to look into the hall——

Chunrijian remained in his former deferential, obedient demeanor.

But this time, beside him stood an additional middle‑aged man of about fifty years.

The middle‑aged man's appearance was ordinary, his build ordinary, even his clothing fabric ordinary.

Round face, stubble slightly whitened, travel‑worn.

If not for the fact that he was sent by Bai Liren, he would blend in as an ordinary person tossed into a crowd, disappearing after a few breaths.

Yet, precisely such a person, upon meeting Chunrijian, could directly blurt out that he had come to extort a bribe and so on……

One would think, appearances can surely be deceiving, right?

Du Shanü, while rinsing her mouth with the clear water Chen Weifang had provided, pondered how to speak.

And while she sized up the people in the hall, the visitor likewise suppressed a heart pounding like a drum, silently sizing her up——

Seated in the place of honor, the one Chunrijian called "my lord" was neither the Chen Weifang he had heard about on the road, nor the prefectural judge Ruansizong……

but rather a young‑looking, lovely woman.

Beside the woman was Chen Weifang, whom he had occasionally followed his father to meet.

However, this Chen adult, who usually opposed his father with a cold stare, showed none of his former elegance, instead holding the tea cup with one hand and supporting its base with the other……

Obviously he was attentively serving tea to the woman beside him, with meticulous patience, drawing sideways glances.

Yet everyone in the room, except the woman, gave him extra looks.

The woman finished rinsing her mouth, then turned her head aside and spat the water into the empty cup held by another man.

That man presumably had just finished serving the woman and was about to withdraw.

A faint white frost still clung to the inner wall of the empty cup, evidently from a little dairy snack like cow's milk.

Three people, one in the center, two attending at the sides.

The woman is lovely, Chen Weifang is refined, and even the man standing behind her possesses a gorgeous, striking appearance, with a hint of ineffable beauty in his brows and eyes……

The hall was bleak; clearly not a trace of gold, pearls, or jade ware.

Yet just having this woman present already gives such an imposing presence!

The middle-aged man's heart beat like a drum; he faintly sensed that the situation had completely surpassed his master's expectations—

A woman!

The one in charge here is actually a woman!

He had even specially inquired about this place beforehand; although he had also heard that Yongzhou was made a food fief, with some princess he'd never heard of—

But he never could have imagined……

Now even Chen Weifang and the likes of Chunri have already submitted to her!

Chen Weifang still stands at her side, appearing every bit the attentive husband.

What is going on?

This, this master never anticipated this situation!

Will the lady lord be the same as the male lord?

Given such a variable, should he still proceed with the bribe for his master as usual?

Hmm……hmm!

Still must proceed as usual!

Although he was indeed somewhat surprised that a woman was in charge here, he could not fathom her depths……

But if she truly has the ability to control so many officials, she ought to know the importance of his master!

As the master said, even if a prefecture is dirt poor, could it really not scrape together a mere ten thousand taels of silver?

No matter what happens inside Yongzhou, or how the world falls into chaos, the master's silver will surely not be lacking!

The middle-aged man had followed Bai Liren for years and seen many scenes; in the blink of an eye he was stunned only a few breaths, then bowed and said:

"I, a petty subordinate, was privately dispatched by the prefectural judge, not an official envoy of the prefecture. I carry a sealed letter from the judge; matters unsuitable for official documents are fully recorded here. I hope you, sir… I hope the one in charge here will peruse it."

Du Shanü had been waiting for these words; hearing her, she gestured, and the letter appeared in her hand.

To outsiders, all they saw was Du Shanü casually tearing off the wax seal, lowering her eyes to read… read… read…

Huh?

This reading is taking a bit too long, isn't it?

Chen Weifang slightly turned her head and reminded in a gentle voice:

"Wise Lord, this on the letter is……"

Du Shanü was startled awake, suddenly lifted her head, and said:

"……After careful thought, I have lived a clean life; I am certainly not of the same kind as Lord Bai—come, see the guest out."

Chinu: "?"

Chen Weifang: "?"

The middle-aged man below: "?!"

No way! No way?!

How could you just send the guest away like that?

From the moment he stepped in, he had only said a single sentence!

How does this lady lord open her mouth just to send the guest away, playing so out of convention!?

?? Prize-free question—who in this chapter is the most devastated?

? 1. Shasha, who was extorted for ten thousand taels.

? 2. The Bai family's old servant, inexplicably driven out.

? 3. Afang, mistaken by the Bai family's old servant to be Shasha's original wife.

? 3. Just as he rose to take away the dirty cup, he ended up, because he wasn't seated, being given a contemptuous glance by the Bai family's old servant for no reason, (in others' eyes) losing his position as the wife master's husband, Chinu.