Chapter 130: with translation of chapter title

Chen Wuji had a strange expression.

He couldn't believe Chen Bushi had never been to such a place.

Chen Wuji deliberately asked, "How much silver does it take to come here once?"

"Very expensive!" Chen Bushi sighed deeply.

Chen Bushi said, "The tea fee is two hundred wen, and if you want to go upstairs you need at least two taels of silver. To become a guest of the top courtesans, it's even more expensive, requiring at least ten taels of silver."

Chen Wuji exclaimed, "The market's been awful lately—ten taels of silver, tsk tsk, I can't even imagine, I can't even imagine—you people are just inflating the price! What's wrong with having ten taels of silver? Sleeping here?" He was somewhat shocked.

Even during these days of soaring prices, the purchasing power of ten taels of silver remains very strong.

With ten taels of silver you can go to the East Market and pick out a horse or mule at leisure, even a plow ox.

But here, you can only get a night's sleep.

Tsk, this atmosphere is unacceptable.

Even if it were gilded, it wouldn't be this expensive.

"What's it got to do with me? Don't shout nonsense, kid!" Chen Bushi shouted.

"Besides, this is about romance and moonlight—it's not just a simple sleep. You're speaking so crudely, you don't know what refinement is." Chen Bushi said.

Chen Wuji glanced contemptuously at Chen Bushi and said, "I'm just a vulgar person; refinement and I have nothing in common. But you claim you've never been here—how do you know this so well? Surely there aren't few people who are familiar with this place."

"I only know a little; it's not a secret." Chen Bushi shook his head, firmly refusing to admit he was a regular at these pleasure quarters.

But he didn't know that Chen Wuji had also been a regular at such places.

Just looking at his appearance now, one could already guess roughly what was going on.

His appearance reminded Chen Wuji of a former colleague.

That guy is incredibly interesting.

Everyone occasionally suggested going to a club to organize a gathering to relax, but he would flush with embarrassment there, loudly berating Chen Wuji and the others for being shameless, indulging in pleasures, and letting down their families.

He even threatened to report those establishments.

But in private, he treated the urban village as a tourist spot, checking in repeatedly—he could go there five or six times a week.

He had essentially become a two‑faced petty person.

In Chen Bushi's reluctant gaze, they arrived at the Yu residence.

Chen Wuji checked the door lintel, then stepped forward and knocked loudly on the main gate.

After a commotion, a servant opened the side door.

He gave Chen Wuji and Chen Bushi a once-over and asked, "Who are you two looking for?"

"We are from Yangji Tiejiangpu; we have an appointment with your master to discuss important matters—this is the contract!" Chen Wuji produced the contract and casually waved it in front of the servant.

Hearing this, the servant dared not delay and hurriedly ushered Chen Wuji and Chen Bushi inside.

Upon reaching the front courtyard, he turned and said, "Please wait a moment; I'll go report to the master."

"Thank you for the trouble!" Chen Wuji nodded politely.

This servant appeared to be receiving such respect for the first time, even grew excited, gave Chen Wuji a silly grin, and trotted into the courtyard.

Chen Wuji gave Chen Bushi a look, lifted his leg, and followed at a leisurely pace.

Just as they rounded the screen wall, the two collided with a pot-bellied middle-aged man.

Chen Wuji took a glance and realized it was actually an acquaintance.

Isn't this the manager who previously came to his stall to buy meat, loving to buy up all the baskets?

Turns out this person is the steward of the Yu residence.

The Yu residence's manor doesn't look that big; the steward surely isn't numerous—probably just this one. So the person who coaxed Chen Qun into signing the contract must be him?

Chen Wuji's mind raced with calculations, and his eyes instantly turned fierce.

Without a word, he lunged forward, grabbed the middle-aged man's collar, jerked his left hand forward, and a long blade bearing the marks of years slid out of his sleeve, which he reversed to press against the steward's layers of fatty neck.

To avoid provoking the Yu household's people, both he and Chen Bushi hid their knives in their wide robe sleeves.

"What are you doing?!" the steward exclaimed, startled, his face instantly turning pale.

Chen Wuji unfolded the contract and held it before the steward, "Do you recognize this?"

Upon seeing it, the steward's face changed dramatically; he shook his head slightly and said, "No… I don't recognize it. Little brother, we've met before—I even patronized your stall, buying plenty of game. If you have something to say, let's talk it out; first, release me."

"Are there any other stewards in the Yu residence?" Chen Wuji asked.

The steward shook his head, "Just… just me."

"Only you, and you're still quibbling? Are you planning to have me chop off your head before you tell the truth?" Chen Wuji growled, "Tell me, why did you do this?"

"This… I, I…"

The steward's face turned sallow; he stammered for a long time but couldn't get out an explanation.

"What's the point of wasting words on him? Just kill him and be done with it." Chen Bushi said coldly, moving to press his knife against the steward's chest.

The steward trembled all over, shouting, "Sirs, sirs, it was my master who ordered me to do this—it has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me!"

"Yesterday a minor steward from the Zhang family came, spoke with our master for a while, and this morning our master ordered me to go to the blacksmith shop to follow a dark, skinny, raggedly dressed little brat and coax him into signing this contract."

"Besides that, our master also ordered me to go to Xishan Village tomorrow, find someone from the Chen family to buy livestock at a low price, then pretend they were stolen and report it to the xianya."

To avoid Chen Bushi's knife stabbing him, the steward spilled everything he knew like spilling beans, giving a thorough and candid account.

Chen Wuji and Chen Bushi exchanged a glance.

Both showed some surprise in their eyes.

Chen Wuji had always thought it was Master Yu eyeing his pot business, wanting to appropriate the skill for himself, never expecting the Zhang family's involvement behind this.

A prestigious clan with a present-day imperial censor as its family head—truly impressive.

To deal with these petty commoners, they even resorted to such tricks.

Chen Wuji truly didn't know whether to feel honored or sigh at the tragedy.

Looks like, the gang of fierce bandits that Zhou Buping brought are really important to Imperial Censor Zhang.

So important that even if he thought he would lose face, he would still try to find a way to wipe out the Chen clan.

Just then, chaotic footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard.

Several people rushed out wielding sticks, with a man wearing a cross-collared long robe and a stern expression, looking more like a scholar than a merchant, surrounded in the middle.

"Put the person down!" the man shouted angrily, hiding behind a few servants.

Chen Bushi sneered, gave a cold snort, forcefully brandished his knife, and strode over dragging it.

He walked quickly, his expression cold and ruthless, his bandit aura unmistakably revealed. He forced the servants to keep retreating, and one, so frightened his legs went weak, collapsed straight to the ground and scrambled away on hands and knees.

Chen Bushi moved as if through an empty land, and in just a few steps stood before that man, "Yu Bohai?"