Chapter 6: 6. The Hidden Crisis

"Is this what my father has given me?"

By the light of the torches, Luoning looked at the carriages stopped at the Outer Castle of the estate, his tone somewhat disappointed.

Before him were a single warhorse, six carriages loaded with grain, and ten servants standing beside the carriages.

Seven horses, six carriages, ten servants.

Huoerhuate stood to the side, introducing them: "Young Master, this is a warhorse of excellent quality; its market price can reach 100 gold coins! And these six horses, while not warhorses, are of relatively high quality; each is worth at least twenty gold coins."

"The carriages are loaded with two thousand jin of barley, five hundred jin of wheat, five hundred jin of flour, two hundred jin of dried meat, fifty jin of coarse salt, and ten jin of fine salt. This food is enough for you, these nine elite soldiers, and your servant for a year."

"Besides this, there are pots, tableware, cups, and other daily necessities. Although not many, they are enough for your daily use."

Luoning chuckled; it was quite comprehensive, but the quantities were a bit small.

These barley and wheat were all unhulled; although they totaled three thousand jin, how much was actually edible?

Was the Count trying to make him live a year of feast and famine?

As for the nine elite soldiers...

Luoning glanced at the nine men standing by the carriages, who had only a sword each and not even armor. Looking at their listless appearance, were these the elite soldiers of Wushan Castle?

Who are they trying to fool!

The servant standing to the side, however, made Luoning feel quite good; he looked like he had strength.

Sigh, forget it, forget it...

Luoning shook his head inwardly; he was in no position to be picky now, so he would take whatever he could get.

While comforting himself, he asked: "Besides these, is there anything else? What about the one hundred gold coins my grandfather gave?"

He cared more about this; as long as he had money, he could buy what he lacked himself.

On the market, barley was 3 copper coins per jin; if he bought three thousand jin, it would only cost 9 gold coins, which was still affordable.

"Here it is!"

Huoerhuate fished a black pouch out from his bosom, and the sound of coins clinking together rang out with a jingle, sounding very pleasant.

"In addition to the 100 gold coins given by the Marquis, Lady Daianni also gave 50 gold coins, saying that you should develop well over there and remember to come home and visit when you have time."

Luoning's eyes lit up.

Good heavens, his predecessor's stepmother was actually alright; she would actually take the initiative to sponsor him 50 gold coins.

Why would she sponsor him?

Luoning pondered; was she not worried that he would threaten her son's position after he rose to power?

In reality, this was Luoning overthinking.

From Daianni's perspective, it was a question of whether Luoning could even survive after going to Shanlin Town, let alone talk about rising to power.

Moreover, where would an ordinary person rise to power from?

So in Daianni's eyes, Luoning and her son were not on the same level; she did not need to compete with him.

On the contrary, by doing this, in the eyes of Marquis Lulansi, she was truly considering the descendants of the Wushan Family.

"Express my gratitude to Daianni for me!"

Luoning said casually, taking the money pouch from Huoerhuate's hand; this heavy feeling was truly quite good.

Huoerhuate nodded in acknowledgment, "Additionally, Young Master, the Master asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Oh?"

Luoning was somewhat surprised; he had previously asked Huoerhuate to take a message to Weijinsi, but he had not expected the other party to send a message back to him as well.

"What did the Count ask you to tell me?"

It seemed that this message was somewhat awkward for Huoerhuate to say, so he spoke in a low voice: "The Master said that after you receive these things, you should leave Wushan Castle first thing tomorrow morning."

Luoning: "..."

Previously, when Huoerhuate delivered his appointment letter, Weijinsi had told him he could leave within two days. Now that he had received the resources, the other party wanted him to leave first thing tomorrow morning.

It looked like giving away these things had probably already made Weijinsi unhappy.

At the thought of this, Luoning could not help but laugh.

"Huoerhuate, thank my father for me."

"Ah?" Huoerhuate was somewhat confused.

"Thank him for his tolerance in letting me stay in the castle for one more night."

Huoerhuate offered a forced smile; he could hear the faint sarcasm and provocation in these words, but he could understand the resentment of Luoning, as a son, toward his father's attitude.

Luoning put the money pouch away and pointed at the servant who had satisfied him; this guy had much more spirit than those nine elite soldiers.

"What is your name?"

The servant walked forward and performed a standard servant's bow, "Your most loyal servant, Chahaer, greets you, Master!"

"Hello, Chahaer."

Luoning nodded at him, "Follow Huoerhuate and let him help arrange the accommodation for the night. Also, be prepared; we will set off tomorrow morning after breakfast."

"As you wish, my Lord!" Chahaer bowed in acknowledgment and turned to make arrangements.

Although Shanlin Town was not a good place, Chahaer's dream was to become a steward for a great noble like Huoerhuate.

So when he heard that Huoerhuate was looking for a servant to serve Luoning, he volunteered.

He knew that although going to Shanlin Town was dangerous, it was also an opportunity.

Being a small servant in Wushan Castle might lead to a more stable life, but it would be too difficult to realize his dreams.

"I hope the Baron can gain a foothold in Shanlin Town!"

Chahaer prayed in his heart; only when his master was stable would he have the possibility of realizing his ideals.

Luoning asked Huoerhuate to arrange accommodation for the group of guards and the servant, then returned to his room with the money pouch.

Now his savings had reached 173 gold, 54 silver, and 18 copper, totaling over 178 gold coins.

Added to the invisible assets of warhorses, horses, and carriages, Luoning's current net worth might exceed that of some nearly bankrupt Barons.

To be able to obtain these resources after being disdained by his father and stripped of his inheritance rights, to be honest, already far exceeded his expectations.

"I'm leaving tomorrow, so I must take everything that needs to be taken!"

Luoning looked around the room; there were quite a few clothes and books stored here, and since these things were his, he could not leave them behind.

Hmm, the table can be forgotten; it is too big to transport, and there is no shortage of wood in the mountains, so he could just build a few himself when the time comes.

Oh right, there are also blankets, which will be useful on the road.

Luoning began to busy himself.

……

The night was deep, and inside Wushan Castle, apart from the guards on night duty and the servants who had not finished their work, most people who could rest had basically already rested.

In a longhouse, the nine guards chosen to accompany Luoning to Shanlin Town could not sleep at all.

Unlike Chahaer, they were not going to Shanlin Town voluntarily but were forcibly assigned; dependent on Wushan Castle, they had no right to object.

"Sigh, just thinking about leaving Wushan City in two days makes me feel weak all over!"

A guard lay on his side on the hay, his tone full of worry.

"I've heard that Shanlin Town is a dangerous place. I don't know how many people are eaten by Magic Beasts every year, and in those deep mountains and old forests, you can't even guarantee one meal a day; going there is just waiting for death."

"Yeah, and I don't know what the lords are thinking. For Lord Luoning to go to Shanlin Town as a lord, they should at least arrange a Professional Knight; having us few commoners escort him, doesn't that mean they don't even value Lord Luoning's safety?"

"Heh, you don't know yet, do you? That Luoning has already been stripped of his inheritance rights, which is equivalent to being abandoned by the Count. You tell me, would the Count still arrange a Knight to protect such a person?"

"There's actually such a thing?"

Inside the longhouse, the nine guards chatted one after another; the more they talked, the more desperate they became, and the more they felt that they were also abandoned people, and going to Shanlin Town was just going to their deaths.

Perhaps because they were immersed in this atmosphere of despair, two timid ones had already begun to sob softly; they did not want to die.

Finally, a large man suddenly lowered his voice, "Since no one wants to go to Shanlin Town, how about we dump that Luoning halfway and run off on our own?"

For a servant to abandon their master is a capital crime.

When this person's words fell, the longhouse fell into a deathly silence.

After Along while, someone finally asked timidly, "If we do this, won't we be hunted down?"

"Heh, don't forget, that guy Huoerhuate just gave Luoning over a hundred gold coins! With this money, where can't we go?"

Mentioning this, a light seemed to appear in everyone's eyes.

That was a full one hundred and fifty gold coins; their group combined couldn't earn that much money even after being guards for a hundred years.

"We, are we going to rob Young Master Luoning's money? He is a noble!"

"What are you afraid of? There are plenty of remote and uninhabited places on the way to Shanlin Town; if we do it there, who would know it was us?"

"As for our future lives, once we have that much gold, where can't we live?"

That person encouraged them; in reality, this idea had been circling in his heart for Along time, and all he lacked was help.

Now he only needed to persuade these guards; when it came time to act, Luoning and Chahaer, being commoners, would have no power to resist.

By then, they would have money, horses, and supplies in abundance; being a bandit wouldn't be bad either, as there were more and more bandit groups in Wushan Territory anyway.

Under his instigation, the greed in the others' hearts surged even more violently; the longhouse was filled with the scent of betrayal.

(End of this chapter)