Volume Two: Inheriting the Legacy, Embroidered Uniforms Stained with Blood - Chapter 159: A Contest of Wealth

The night was still, the lantern light was soft, yet the hearts of many were already growing tense.

Chen Mukuan let out a cold hum and said in a rough voice, "So he has arrived as well. My brothers, do you think we should bow our heads in defeat, or play along with him?"

Jiang Cheng frowned slightly and said, "It seems Jiang Suiyun is determined to win this."

"Jiang Suiyun?" Yang Ning turned his gaze to Yuan Rong and asked, "Who is this sacred entity?"

Hearing Yang Ning's question, those men could not help but look over, their faces displaying expressions of astonishment, as if knowing Jiang Suiyun should be a matter of course, and Yang Ning's question seemed very strange.

Yuan Rong explained, "Eldest Young Master Jiang Suiyun of the East Sea. He belongs to the Jiang family of the East Sea, who deal in maritime business and maritime trade. The head of the family, Jiang Xiaoqing, owns a fleet composed of dozens of ships. If anyone in Great Chu can truly be said to possess wealth rivaling a nation, it is none other than the Jiang family."

"Wealth rivaling a nation...!" Chen Mukuan sneered, "If our families fought him single-handedly, we would admit we are no match for him. But... with our families joining forces, what is Jiang Suiyun supposed to be?" He looked towards Zhu Yuchen and said, "Brother Zhu, since he wants to play, we will accompany him. We shall match wits with him in your name, what do you think?" Turning to look at Qiu Fang and Jiang Cheng, he asked, "You two aren't planning to get cold feet, are you?"

Jiang Cheng hesitated slightly, but Qiu Fang smiled with composed ease and said, "If Brother Chen wishes to amuse himself, Qiu will not remain indifferent." He called out downwards, "In the name of Young Master Zhu, send those two old wild ginsengs over."

Chen Mukuan immediately grew excited and shouted, "In the name of Young Master Zhu, send that set of tea utensils I brought over."

Jiang Cheng hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Also in the name of Young Master Zhu, add another five hundred taels of gold."

Zhu Yuchen smiled and said, "Since my brothers are supporting me so generously, I naturally cannot fall behind." He said in a deep voice, "Add another eight hundred taels of gold!"

The small boat quickly bobbed away.

Yang Ning thought to himself that he truly did not understand the world of these filthy rich men. Just to spite Jiang Suiyun, they were throwing out staggering sums in a mere instant.

Soon, a voice drifted over from the direction of the Grand Pleasure Boat: "Young Master Zhu of the Zhu Family Silk Firm bestows upon Shen Jiaonu one thousand three hundred taels of gold, two roots of top-grade old mountain ginseng valued at eight hundred taels, and a set of antique tea utensils valued at six hundred taels, making a total of two thousand seven hundred taels! Currently, Young Master Zhu's total rewards amount to three thousand taels of gold, ranking him in first place!"

An uproar arose all around.

Although Yuan Rong was acquainted with these men, seeing them throw around such sums still left him quite startled. In this brief moment, they had already tossed out four thousand taels of gold—enough to sustain five hundred ordinary households for at least a year. Yet they were squandering a massive fortune on a courtesan of the pleasure quarters merely for the sake of pride. He shook his head inwardly, silently cursing these men as fools with too much money and zero sense.

With this grand display, no one else around offered any rewards.

These nobles, aristocrats, wealthy merchants, and local gentry understood very well that this was a showdown between the Jiang family of the East Sea and the Zhu family of Hangzhou. Both were among the wealthiest titans in all of Great Chu. Earlier, everyone had bestowed rewards partly to join in the fun and partly to try their luck, seeing if they might have a chance to hold Shen Jiaonu in their arms.

Now that these two grand masters had stepped forward, there was no longer any need for anyone else to make a move. No matter how generous one might be, it was impossible to outspend these two. Shen Jiaonu's privileged patron would ultimately be one of these two men.

The announcer on the Grand Pleasure Boat repeated the tally three times, yet no one else offered any gold. Jiang Suiyun also seemed to have called it a day.

Seeing this, Chen Mukuan was extremely excited. He rubbed his hands together and laughed, "It seems Jiang Suiyun is nothing much after all. Brother Zhu, that punk can be considered a clever man who knows when to retreat in the face of difficulty."

According to the rules, after the tally was announced three times with no further bids, the results could be declared. Since Shen Jiaonu was the last to appear, the rewards for the Eight Beauties of the Qinhuai had all been determined. They could now announce the names of the Flower Queen and Flower Consorts, followed by the name of the favored patron.

However, after waiting for a moment, there was no sound from the Grand Pleasure Boat.

Although Yang Ning had not participated, he keenly sensed that something was amiss.

At that very moment, the sound of footsteps came from below, followed immediately by someone crying out in alarm, "What are you doing? You cannot force your way in."

Then a stern voice commanded, "Step aside! Anyone who dares to block the path shall be executed without mercy."

Hearing these voices, Zhu Yuchen and the others turned pale with fright.

Footsteps sounded near the ship's railing, and soon noises came from the staircase as well. Within moments, a group of people rushed up from the stairwell. Leading them was a man in black robes, followed by five or six others, all uniformly dressed in cyan robes, each with a cyan headband tied around his head.

After the black-robed man came up, he stood there and swept his gaze across the room, like a phantom melting into the night, mysterious yet carrying an air of cold detachment. His eyes held the color of dead ashes.

Zhu Yuchen and the others were supremely wealthy young masters, but whether or not they recognized this man in black, their eyes revealed a hint of contempt.

As he walked forward slowly, Yang Ning felt someone approach him closely. Turning his head slightly, he caught sight of Duan Canghai having drawn near to his side at some point, one hand already gripping the hilt of the saber at his waist.

"Who is Zhu Yuchen?" The black-robed man's gaze swept across them like a blade, his voice chillingly cold.

Zhu Yuchen frowned. After a momentary hesitation, he finally stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "I am Zhu Yuchen. May I ask what business Your Excellency has with me?"

Naturally knowing that the visitor meant no good, his choice of words was quite careful.

"You few must be Jiang Cheng of the Songjiang Tea Manor, Chen Mukuan of the Weitang Porcelain..." The black-robed man shifted his gaze. "My master asks that you all pay a visit."

His voice was rather cold and thoroughly discourteous.

Chen Mukuan could not help but retort, "Who are you, and who is your master? You tell us to come over, and we must go? On what grounds? If your master wishes to see us, let him come over himself. We have no time to go anywhere."

The black-robed man calmly replied, "If you do not go now, you will have no further opportunity to go."

"Are you threatening us?" Zhu Yuchen asked in a deep voice.

The black-robed man let out a cold snort. "A few clowns putting on an act are not yet worth my threatening." He raised a hand and said, "The boat is already waiting below. We leave now..." He added, "Everyone present must go."

Duan Canghai stepped forward, but Yang Ning raised a hand to stop him, smiling as he said, "Since someone is inviting us for drinks, it would be foolish not to go. Come, let us all go take a look and see what sacred entity puts on such a grand display."

The black-robed man stared intently at Yang Ning, then glanced sideways at Duan Canghai. Pausing slightly without further comment, he walked to the ship's railing, shook both arms, and leaped into the air. Like a hawk, he dropped down from the railing, landing steadily upon the small boat below without even causing the vessel to sway the slightest bit.

The men who had accompanied the black-robed man immediately split into two rows to stand by the stairwell, and one of them said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

Zhu Yuchen hesitated for a moment before finally taking the lead to walk over. The others had no choice but to follow. Yuan Rong looked towards Yang Ning, about to speak, but Yang Ning smiled and shook his head, signaling that Yuan Rong need not say anything, and followed along.

Several small boats were already waiting beneath the decorated pleasure boat. Boarding them, the group soon arrived alongside a vastly more luxurious and ornate painted boat. This craft was far more exquisite and splendid than the one belonging to Pearl, and while not as massive as the Grand Pleasure Boat, its decorations appeared even more lavish and extravagant.

The moment they stepped aboard, they saw a cyan-robed, sabered guard standing every few paces along the railing. Encircling the entire perimeter of the deck, there was no telling how many men there were.

These cyan-robed guards all wore single sabers at their waists, their expressions cold and solemn, every single one standing as motionless as a stone sculpture.

This painted boat looked more like a warship, brimming with a chilling murderous intent.

As soon as Zhu Yuchen and the others boarded and saw this formation, they realized the black-robed man's master must possess extraordinary backing. A bone-chilling cold swept over them, filling them with apprehension. Even Yuan Rong frowned. Only Yang Ning remained composed and unperturbed, hands clasped behind his back as he looked around, seemingly admiring the vessel's interior decoration, while Duan Canghai followed closely behind with his saber, wearing a stern expression.

"Surrender your weapons." Led by a cyan-robed man, the group reached the top of the stairwell. After the others had ascended, just as Duan Canghai was about to step onto the stairs, he was blocked by one of the guards.

Duan Canghai said indifferently, "Take it yourself if you can."

The cyan-robed man's face turned cold, and he reached out to grab the saber at Duan Canghai's waist. Before his fingertips even touched the scabbard, he felt a fierce, sharp gust of wind hurtling straight toward his forehead. Reacting quickly, he hurriedly took a step back and looked up, only to discover an iron fist resting mere inches from his eyes—the opponent needed only to push forward just a fraction further to shatter his face.

*Clang, clang, clang!*

The sounds of blades being unsheathed rang out instantly. Several cyan-robed guards nearby lunged forward with lightning speed, surrounding Duan Canghai in the center with all their blade tips trained directly on him.

Yang Ning glanced back and smiled faintly. "If they want to take your blade, it will be over your dead body. But for as many as you can kill, take them down. I'll take responsibility for the casualties."

Hearing the commotion behind them, Zhu Yuchen and the others stopped and turned to look down. Seeing several men surrounding Duan Canghai with drawn sabers, they were all struck with terror. But upon hearing Yang Ning's words, they were left utterly tongue-tied. Given the current situation—where the opposing side held overwhelming numbers, possessed obvious and formidable backing, and held every advantage—they truly could not imagine how Yang Ning still dared to speak so boldly.

Until now, they only knew Yang Ning as a friend of Yuan Rong, perhaps of decent status, but they remained entirely ignorant of his true background.

Following Yang Ning's instructions, Duan Canghai's previously severe expression relaxed somewhat. He chuckled and said, "These little pups aren't too hard to deal with."

The cyan-robed guards wore ferocious expressions, and someone barked, "Take him down first!"

As a few of them brandished their blades to charge forward, a cold voice suddenly commanded, "Stop! Let him up!"

Yang Ning looked up and saw the previously mentioned black-robed man standing at the head of the stairs. These cyan-robed guards clearly held him in great awe; at his single order, the guards immediately stepped back and dispersed.

Yang Ning slowly ascended the stairs, thinking to himself: How could a painted boat of such immense influence and momentum appear here on the Qinhuai River? He had initially suspected that the person summoning Zhu Yuchen and the others was Jiang Suiyun. Yet even if Jiang Suiyun possessed the wealth of the realm, he could never have the audacity to make such a flamboyant show of force right here on the Qinhuai River in the capital. Showing off wealth was one thing, but parading a large contingent of armed guards was simply courting death.