Chapter 113: I want you to kill Shopkeeper Li

Shopkeeper Li was not there.

The one receiving them was the burly man who had passed on the message last time; the shop assistants all addressed him as Manager Zhao.

Upon seeing Chen Guanlou, Manager Zhao did not display the arrogant and overbearing attitude he had last time, but he was not overly polite either. He pointed toward the upper floor, his tone tinged with impatience, "The goods are on the second floor. Go on up."

Chen Guanlou had always lived by the principle that if others respected him by a foot, he would respect them by a yard. Since Manager Zhao was not being polite to him, he naturally would not be polite to the other party.

He led Master Du straight up to the second floor.

The porcelain was packed inside a wooden box.

Manager Zhao personally took the porcelain out of the wooden box: a white porcelain long-necked vase with red flowers.

Chen Guanlou knew nothing about porcelain, understood nothing of the craftsmanship or schools of thought, and could not determine its age. He only knew that this porcelain was truly beautiful—an incomparable beauty. As for whether it was real or fake, that required Master Du to cast his eyes upon it.

Master Du suppressed the excitement in his heart, walked forward, and after receiving permission, began to observe it carefully.

Chen Guanlou took the opportunity to examine the room's furnishings. Directly facing the entrance was a square table with two armchairs. On the left and right sides were antique shelves made of carved rosewood, which looked expensive at a glance. Various ornaments were placed on the shelves, including porcelain, gold, silver, and bronze ware, lacquerware, books, and more.

On the front wall hung a painting; he could not recognize whose handiwork it was. He figured it wasn't a cheap item either.

After about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, Master Du finished his observation. He pulled Chen Guanlou into a corner, looking somewhat anxious, fearing that Manager Zhao might overhear.

He whispered, "I'm afraid this matter cannot be done."

"Did Master Du see something? Speak freely, there is no need to be afraid."

Master Du was clearly hesitant. He pulled Chen Guanlou outside the door again before saying, "With my experience, the porcelain is definitely authentic; it should be a product of the official kilns from the Yong'an era of the previous dynasty. However, it is highly likely that it flowed out of the palace, and one doesn't know which prodigal son brought it out to sell. Pawnshops outside usually don't dare to accept such goods for fear of inviting trouble. Only the Sitong Bank, with its deep background, would dare to engage in such a trade. Once we get our hands involved in this matter, we will never be able to wash them clean. Who knows, one day we might lose our heads."

Chen Guanlou nodded repeatedly, "Master Du's words are reasonable. I was also worried about this very thing before. Sure enough, good things don't come looking for me, and when things do come looking for me, they aren't good."

"Then what do you suggest we do? People have arrived here, and the goods have been seen; the other party won't let us leave easily. How about we ask the Great Master for advice?"

The only person Master Du could think of who had the ability and power, and who could also speak on their behalf, was the Great Master of the Hou Fu.

Chen Guanlou had also considered this question: whether to ask the Great Master of the Hou Fu for help. In the blink of an eye, he dismissed this idea.

Even if Shopkeeper Li were truly setting a trap to frame the Hou Fu, the Hou Fu could completely sever ties with him. Even if they didn't sever ties, they had other ways to resolve it. The Hou Fu's foundation was there; nobles and nobles had intermarried for generations and had always stood together. The power of their alliance was something even the old Emperor would fear by three parts. There was simply no need for the Hou Fu to stick its neck out for him, Chen Guanlou. What kind of figure was he? He had no value worth helping.

Furthermore, setting a trap was just his personal speculation. What if there was no trap, and it was simply a matter of greed for money?

The richer one is, the greedier one becomes; the richer one is, the more one wants to be even richer. No one would complain about having too much money. Opening up a stable path to wealth with a continuous stream of money coming in—why not do it? Even if discovered, who would dare to report it?

As for this matter, wanting to break the trap does not lie with the Hou Fu. One must pull a third-party force into the mix to stir up these muddy waters, making Shopkeeper Li too busy to attend to anything else.

He comforted Master Du, signaling that there was no need to panic. He would resolve the subsequent matters.

He walked back into the room and said to Manager Zhao, "Tell Shopkeeper Li, give me a few days, and I will get the accounts done."

Manager Zhao was clearly very dissatisfied, "Doing some accounts requires a few days?"

Chen Guanlou chuckled coldly, his eyes full of disdain, "Do you think doing accounts means just picking up a pen and writing a few things in the ledger? Go ask the bank's accountant; ask him if he dares to operate like that? If he says it's possible, I'll do the accounts right in front of you now. What is called doing accounts, and why did Shopkeeper Li insist on finding me when I'm not a professional accountant? The key lies in one word: real! Striving for everything to be real enough. Otherwise, why would you set aside professional accountants and use a layman like me?"

Manager Zhao was left speechless, with no way to refute.

He had also asked Shopkeeper Li this question, but Shopkeeper Li had ignored him, only giving him a look that told him to figure it out himself.

He scratched his head, feeling a bit confused, "Exactly how much time do you need? Don't think about stalling."

Chen Guanlou said very casually, "Ten days or half a month is always needed."

"No! Three days at most."

"Three days? Three days won't work. If you have the ability, do it yourself. Ask my Master Du; the goods we released before all took more than half a month. Looking at the goods, setting the price, finding a buyer, closing the deal... there are too many things in between. Since it must be real, of course, we have to go through the full process. The goods don't pass through my hands, but the process cannot be omitted. Ten days at the minimum."

"Five days!"

"Ten days!"

"Seven days!"

"Eight days!"

"Eight days it is." Manager Zhao relented, "You had better do what you say and don't do anything extra. I will be watching you the whole time."

Chen Guanlou swept a glance at the other party, evaluating their ability; he could beat the other party with one hand.

"Watch as you please, just don't interfere with my work."

Having secured eight days, Chen Guanlou was very satisfied.

He first sent Master Du home, then went to the Heavenly Prison to report for duty.

He went to work and left work as usual, treating the people tailing him from the bank as if they were nothing; it was easy to shake off those few pairs of eyes and arrive at the fighting guild.

The manager of the fighting guild was an old acquaintance who still remembered him.

"Boss Lou hasn't been here for a long time. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Chen Guanlou signaled the manager to go to a quiet place to talk, "I'm looking for the Swordsman."

The manager's eyes rolled around, "Boss Lou means..."

Chen Guanlou handed him a tael of silver, weighing two liang, "Tell the Swordsman to wait for him at the old place tonight. If he doesn't come, the favor he owes will be doubled."

The manager was a bit confused; he had no way of knowing about the private transactions between Chen Guanlou and the Swordsman.

"But, but, the Swordsman won't be back for a while."

"That's his problem; you don't need to worry about it."

Chen Guanlou waved his hand and left gracefully.

In the middle of the night, he set up a banquet table in his courtyard and also prepared a pot of wine—top-grade yellow wine.

There was movement on the wall.

The Swordsman was used to climbing over walls and didn't have the habit of knocking on the door to enter.

"You're looking for me."

"Qi Wuxiu!" As soon as Chen Guanlou opened his mouth, he called out the Swordsman's full name.

Swordsman:...

It didn't matter that his name had been called out. He sat on a bamboo chair, picked up a wine cup, poured himself a drink, and drank on his own, "I've been busy lately and haven't had time to drink. Speak, what's the matter?"

"I want you to kill Shopkeeper Li of the Sitong Bank."

Pfft!

Qi Wuxiu hadn't even swallowed the mouthful of wine before he sprayed it out directly. ===== CHAPTER 114 =====