Chapter 182

First Volume, Chapter 182: Is Backup Arriving?

Qin Xiaofu looked bewildered and asked softly: "Young Master, where in our camp is there any tonic?"

Qin Feng first gave the County Commandant an awkward smile, then turned and glared at Qin Xiaofu, snapping: "Are you stupid?"

Then he whispered a few words into Qin Xiaofu's ear.

Qin Xiaofu grew more and more astonished, his gaze shifting repeatedly as he looked at Qin Feng; even after so long by Qin Feng's side, Qin Xiaofu still felt he had vastly underestimated Qin Feng's shamelessness.

Soon after, Qin Xiaofu brought a wooden box as Qin Feng instructed, shoved it into the County Commandant's hands, and grinned slyly: "My Young Master values loyalty above all. Though these tonics are extremely precious, given your past friendship with Minister Qi, we sell them at cost—zero profit, as the saying goes: pluck one hair and benefit all under Heaven."

At this moment, the County Commandant only wanted to flee this mess as quickly as possible, daring not hesitate a moment; he snatched the box and asked nervously: "May I ask, how much for these tonics? I must report accurately to Minister Qi."

Qin Xiaofu answered without hesitation: "Just three ten thousand taels."

The County Commandant's heart lurched—he wondered what tonic could be worth three ten thousand taels? Was it deer antler or ginseng?

Forget it!

These three ten thousand taels? Consider it a protection fee!

The County Commandant nodded like a chicken pecking grain, immediately opened the box—and his face turned green.

These top-tier tonics worth tens of thousands of taels were nothing but mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and other edible fungi!

The County Commandant cursed himself for being naive.

He knew Qin Feng was shameless—anyone who got close to him got crushed.

Yet here he was, throwing himself right onto the blade.

But then he reconsidered: three ten thousand taels weren't much—if it bought him his life, it was a fair deal.

After all, if he angered Qin Feng, the merchant, thirty ten thousand taels might still not be enough to escape!

He glanced at Lin Feimo beside him.

Angering this man was just as deadly!

The County Commandant forced a smile uglier than crying, stared at the box of mushrooms worth a few coppers, and lied with a clear conscience: "Good, good, good! No wonder these are Young Master Qin's treasured tonics—selling them for three ten thousand taels? Not a single tael of profit! I'll return at once to report the good news to Minister Qi."

Seeing this, Chen Cheng's jaw nearly dropped.

What the hell is going on here?

This man is a County Commandant of the Jingdu Prefecture—and yet he fears Qin Feng so much? Where's the dignity of a Beijing elite investigator? This is outrageous!

Chen Cheng couldn't help but shout: "Look closely—what are these things? Three ten thousand taels? Not even three hundred coppers!"

The County Commandant quickly shut the box, smiled apologetically at Chen Cheng, and lied with eyes wide open: "Young Master Chen, you don't understand—these fungi are rare mountain delicacies, highly beneficial to Minister Qi's illness. If there's nothing else, I'll return at once to report and collect the silver to deliver to Young Master Qin."

With that, the County Commandant signaled his men and fled like a man escaping fire.

Only those who've clashed with Qin Feng can develop such awareness.

Qin Feng had originally planned to visit the Jingdu Prefecture—but seeing how cooperative the County Commandant was, he abandoned the idea.

Liu Hongyan's cheeks flushed, and she shook her head in amazement.

This brat had turned the wastrel lifestyle into an art form—no one else could match him.

Yet seeing Qin Feng so calm, Liu Hongyan's worries gradually faded.

Always before, Liu Hongyan had protected Qin Feng—but now, she unconsciously stepped slightly behind him.

Liu Hongyan had realized: for trivial matters, Qin Feng would never refuse.

But in major situations like this, it was far safer to let Qin Feng handle things.

Lin Feimo, standing across from them, felt his face burn.

The County Commandant's blatant lie was a clear signal to Lin Feimo: on this one mu three fen land of Beijing, to trouble Qin Feng, you must first weigh your own weight.

But Lin Feimo refused to believe it—his Lin Family's status far surpassed the Qin Family by several tiers.

If he didn't force Qin Feng to kneel and beg forgiveness today, wouldn't that disgrace the Lin Family's name?

Thinking this, Lin Feimo sneered and immediately summoned men, ordering them to scour Beijing house by house and bring everyone they could find here!

He refused to believe that all of Beijing bowed to the Qin Family!

Soon, the courtyard of Minister of Revenue Li Fu.

The servants of Li Fu had already reported every detail of the camp incident to Li Xu.

Learning Qin Feng and Lin Feimo had clashed, Li Xu grew troubled.

The Ministry of Revenue's Deputy Director bowed deeply: "Your Excellency, Young Master Lin is the niece's son of Imperial Consort. If we ignore this, won't we anger the Imperial Consort? It may cause trouble later…"

Before the Deputy Director finished, Li Xu waved him off with a deep smile: "The stakes here are deep. Interfering now would only invite fire to burn us. The Qin Family is currently favored, while the Lin Family stands behind the Grand Protector and the Imperial Consort—this tension between two great clans is not bad for us."

Watch the tigers fight?

Hearing this, the Deputy Director's eyes lit up.

After all, the Hubei Party belonged to the Second Prince's faction.

The relationship between the Imperial Consort and the Second Prince was Weimo—but ultimately, the Ministry of Revenue answered only to the Second Prince, not the Imperial Consort.

Moreover, if the Qin and Lin Families truly broke apart, it would benefit the Ministry of Revenue in every way.

So rather than curry favor, it was better to wait and watch.

The Deputy Director sat back down, his expression now gleeful: "Man plans, Heaven laughs! Years ago, Lady Qin offended the Imperial Consort and was banished to the Ancestral Land—seven long years. Now these two old enemies meet again—it's HeavenlyDao's retribution, hahaha!"

Li Xu nodded, waved his hand: "Beidi War Command: all Ministry of Revenue Officials must stay out of this—let the Qin and Lin Families fight it out!"

Outside the camp Door, Lin Feimo seethed, determined to crush Qin Feng!

But as time passed and the sun climbed high, the heat grew unbearable.

Even though his servants tried every trick to cool him, sweat still beaded on his forehead.

In contrast, Qin Feng sat lazily in the Cool Pavilion, left hand holding a watermelon, right hand holding sour plum soup, with Xiao Xiangxiang fanning him and massaging his shoulders—utterly carefree.

Lin Feimo grew angrier, his composure slipping further.

At that moment, a armored officer rode up on horseback.

Lin Feimo's eyes finally lit up—this man was an officer of the East Camp!

The East Camp officer dismounted from his Horse, bowed to Lin Feimo, and said in a deep voice: "I pay my respects to Young Master Lin!"

Lin Feimo felt a surge of joy—this East Camp Commander-in-Chief had been a longtime friend of his grandfather, Grand Protector, and would surely stand up for him. He immediately asked: "Where is the Commander-in-Chief?"

The East Camp officer did not dare delay, quickly answering: "Your Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief is arriving at once!"

Perfect!

Qin Feng's time to die has come!