Chapter 184: Sell the Goods? Find an Old Friend

The Liu Mansion received the goods smoothly.

There was only a minor disagreement over the value of the goods.

Chen Guanlou had leverage: your master is in my hands. I can't kill him, but making him wish he were dead is just a word away. Do you want your master to live—or to live worse than death?

The Liu Mansion had no choice but to grit their teeth and accept the loss.

After all, the Liu Mansion was wealthy and powerful; a few ten thousand taels of antiques and paintings wouldn't break their bones or shake their foundation—just a bitter loss, leaving them deeply resentful.

Du Fuzi whispered to Chen Guanlou: "Aren't you squeezing the Liu Mansion too hard? He's still Jiang Tu's man?" Looking at the antiques and paintings worth far more than twenty thousand taels, he involuntarily swallowed. If this deal went through, his cut would be over a thousand taels—more than he'd earned in the past ten years.

We've hit it big!

Chen Guanlou told him to rest easy.

"The two factions are fighting fiercely, and even the Grand Lord's supplies have been delayed. There are bound to be more big cases ahead. Jiang Tu is a busy man—he has no time to care about people like us."

He learned of the Grand Lord's delayed supplies from Fan Yucheng, who got the news from Sun Daoning.

The thirty thousand taels originally planned for the salaries of officials in the capital were seized, supposedly to fund rewards for the troops suppressing rebels in Jinzhou—but even after the Spring Festival had passed, the money still hadn't been disbursed. Other supplies were likewise delayed.

The Grand Lord had urged several times, but with Jiang Tu locked in battle with the civil officials, everyone was too busy fighting to care about supplies. The Grand Lord flew into a rage in his command tent, cursing the court for being controlled by a pack of selfish, corrupt pests. Whether he secretly cursed the old emperor was unknown.

The Grand Lord likely kept his mouth shut—he knew there were surely embroidered uniform guards spying on him. Better to say nothing about the old emperor.

Without supplies, the next phase of military operations could only be postponed.

On the battlefield, opportunities vanish in an instant.

The Grand Lord was helpless; he could only mobilize his connections in court and among the nobility, pressing the court to send supplies and reward silver immediately. If they didn't arrive soon, he couldn't control his subordinate commanders—and if something unthinkable happened, don't blame him.

The most anxious people weren't the Grand Lord, but officials from Jinzhou and neighboring prefectures. Their hometowns were being ravaged!

Their hometowns had first been plundered by rebels, and now might be plundered a second time by a band of soldier thugs. Military devastation was far worse and more destructive than rebel raids—just thinking about it sent chills down their spines.

These officials pulled every string they had, urging the court: stop fighting, focus on the real business!

But no one listened to them.

They'd been fighting Jiang Tu so fiercely they'd gone mad, beaten their brains out.

And Jiang Tu had the old emperor's protection—he was incredibly resilient, with wave after wave of sycophants licking his boots.

Who would care about Chen Guanlou going to the Liu Mansion to pluck a few feathers?

Du Fuzi thought it over and agreed with Chen Guanlou's reasoning—it made sense. They were tiny shrimp, insignificant people no one would bother to watch.

With the goods in hand, the next problem was how to sell them.

Chen Guanlou remembered his "old friend," Li the Shopkeeper of Sitong Money Exchange.

Last time, Li had tried to swindle him, but Chen Guanlou turned the tables—thanks to Qi Wuxiu.

More than half a year had passed; Li had fully recovered from the incident, and the case was closed.

Selling antiques and paintings stolen from the palace was out of the question. But he still dealt in civilian antiques and paintings. After all, Sitong Money Exchange was huge and rich beyond measure—it had to expand its business.

When Chen Guanlou showed up voluntarily, Li was genuinely surprised. He'd assumed the boy, after last time, would avoid Sitong Money Exchange entirely and never return.

Chen Guanlou had carefully considered choosing Li the Shopkeeper.

Many shops in the capital could swallow ten thousand taels' worth of antiques and paintings at once. But none had the backing as solid as Sitong Money Exchange.

If he sold to a small shop, they'd ask too many questions, dig into every detail—risking future trouble.

Of course, Chen Guanlou wasn't afraid of questions—he could openly reveal the truth.

But the key was, after hearing the truth, not every shop had the nerve to take the deal, given the connection to Jiang Tu. Even if Jiang Tu was powerful enough to ignore such a small matter, what if he didn't?

Jiang Tu, known as Jiang Imperial Consort, was the old emperor's favorite. So many people had impeached him year after year, hunted for his faults, tried to kill him—but he still lived, and grew bolder. Look at the arrogant men on the streets—half of them at least had sworn loyalty to Jiang Tu and served as his enforcers.

After weighing all options, Li the Shopkeeper was still the best choice. He'd dared to traffic in palace treasures—what was a few thousand taels from the Liu Mansion? Even ten times that, he'd swallow it whole, with no fear of consequences.

What if Li tried to double-cross him?

Chen Guanlou smiled. Let him try—see if his blade is sharp enough.

He also wanted to test the strength of a fifth-rank martial cultivator, and measure his own worth.

When Li learned Chen Guanlou had come to do business—even a modest deal—he immediately perked up. He recalled his old, wild scheme, but alas, the embroidered uniform guards had cut off his profits, dragging the Crown Prince into a scolding from the old emperor.

Why only scold the Crown Prince, and not the Prince of Jin? Sitong Money Exchange had shares held by both.

Naturally, because the Crown Prince was the bigger target—in the old emperor's eyes, the Crown Prince was the greatest threat. If he died today, he'd be succeeded by the Crown Prince within an hour, who would immediately seize power, command civil and military officials, and turn the court upside down.

Could he tolerate that?

No!

The Crown Prince deserved the scolding.

Chen Guanlou was invited to the back garden pavilion for tea—premium Longjing, served by maidens so beautiful they could have been chosen for the imperial harem. Early spring, still chilly, the maidens wore thin robes, revealing most of their full, plump bosoms—ripe, tender, juicy.

Chen Guanlou glanced twice. To admire beauty is human nature. He simply appreciated beauty—don't view him through the eyes of a lecher.

"Li the Shopkeeper really knows how to enjoy life."

"If you're willing to join Sitong Money Exchange, all this could be yours."

"Hahaha… I'm used to the Heavenly Prison. Coming here into this soft embrace feels oddly uncomfortable."

For a moment, Li the Shopkeeper truly considered recruiting Chen Guanlou. Seeing the man refuse without hesitation, he grew angry—what a fool. What glory was there in clinging to that wretched prison? Young men still lacked long-term vision.