After listening to Ruan Xingzhu's explanation, Song Qingshu also understood the general situation of the Yang family. The current family head of the Yang family was her husband, Yang Zhenzhong. He also had a second brother, Yang Juyuan, who was the supervisor of Hejiang Cang in Xingzhou. Most of the other family members were officials in various parts of Sichuan. Although the official positions were not prominent, and some were not even officials, they were all important departments with real power. Therefore, they formed a huge network.
At the same time, many of the Yang family members were doing business. With the protection of this network, coupled with the strong alliance with the Ruan family, they could be said to be powerful in Sichuan. They were fully deserving of being a prominent family.
"The Yang family is indeed second only to the Wu family in West Shu." Song Qingshu was full of praise. The reason why the Wu family could be first was because Wu Qiang and Wu Lin were here in the past. The Wu family's people ran the business for them. However, after Sichuan was conquered by the Mongols, the Wu family's influence was not as strong as before. They might not even be able to compete with the Yang family now. Moreover, unlike the Wu family who attracted the wind, the Yang family was a model example of making a fortune in silence. After all, the official position of the family head was just a general judge, and the second-in-command was only the supervisor of Hejiang Cang in Xingzhou. In the eyes of the big shots in the court, they were just small officials.
Ruan Xingzhu was also a little proud. She smiled and said, "If Young Master is interested, I will introduce the Yang family to you when we arrive in Sichuan. I believe Zhenzhong and the others will be very interested in cooperating with Young Master."
"Then I will have to trouble Madam." Song Qingshu was having a headache. If he could get the support of the Yang family, he could easily influence Sichuan. Although it was not as exaggerated as secretly controlling Sichuan, it was still possible to influence a quarter or a third of Sichuan. However, the problem now was that he had just slept with the wife of the family head yesterday. If the Yang family knew about this, he would have one more big enemy out of thin air.
Song Qingshu had long passed the age of ignoring everything for physical pleasure. He would think more about the influence behind the scenes. If he had known in advance that it was Madam Ruan last night, no matter how seductive she was, he would not have touched her. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret in this world.
"This woman actually did not reveal her identity at that critical moment yesterday. Did she do it on purpose?" Song QingShu looked at the woman in front of him suspiciously. She was dressed in a simple, elegant, and pure white dress. She even looked like a fairy, but who knew if she was two-faced or not …
Feeling his gaze, Ruan Xingzhu blushed and turned her face slightly to the side.
Feeling his gaze, Ruan Xingzhu blushed and turned her face slightly to the side unnaturally.
As if sensing her doubt, Ruan Xingzhu changed the topic. "Gongzi, we're about to enter Sichuan. How are we going to sail? Are we going to Emei first?"
Qingshu thought for a word, "Madam Ruan, Yan, Qingshu Xuan Qingshu is, I will Qingshu. It would be very inconvenient to access the Emei Mountains in the future. Now that he and Zhou Zhiruo were not in charge of the Emei Mountains, once the news was leaked, the remaining disciples might not be able to protect the treasures. If it caused trouble to the Emei Sect, he would not be able to face Zhiruo.
Surprise flashed in Ruan Xingzhu's eyes, but she quickly nodded and said, "No problem."
Song Qingshu looked into her eyes and said meaningfully, "What I mean is not to borrow the power of the Yang family." Because of the matter between him and Ruan Xingzhu, the Yang family was like a time bomb. He did not dare to bet on them.
Ruan Xingzhu was startled, but she quickly realized what he was worried about. Her heart was beating wildly, and she pursed her lips and smiled. "Our Ruan family is a first-class imperial merchant after all. Who knows how much goods we have to transport on a daily basis. Although this batch of goods is hot, it is not a problem for us."
"Alright, I will leave it with you for now." Song Qingshu waved his hand and gestured for her to leave.
After Ruan Xingzhu left, Ren Yingying could not help but ask, "Song, do you really trust this woman?"
"This woman speaks half-truths. Of course, I can't trust her." Song QingShu smiled.
Ren Yingying could not help but say, "Then why did you let her keep the treasures? Are you going to throw the treasures at her because she is beautiful? "
Song Qingshu laughed. "No matter how beautiful she is, she is not as beautiful as you. Moreover, she is a married woman."
Ren Yingying pouted. "Who doesn't know you like that … You love to 'bully' married women …"
Song Qingshu was drinking tea. He almost spat it out when he heard that. "Who said that? This is slander!"
Ren Yingying looked at him playfully. "The Ninth Princess and Miss Zhou all said the same thing."
"Ahem, don't listen to their nonsense." Song Qingshu was speechless. Had his reputation been so bad? "I just want to make it easier to transport the treasures back to Golden Snake Camp after the matter in Sichuan is over …"
In this era, the road was tortuous and time-consuming. It was also very unsafe. Therefore, whether it was marching to war or transporting goods, the waterways would be used. Song Qingshu's sphere of influence had not yet covered Sichuan, so he could not transport the treasures back to Golden Snake Camp by himself. Now, the best way was to borrow the Ruan family's merchant ship. After all, the Ruan family was the number one imperial merchant in the world. The checkpoints along the Yangtze River would let them pass, so they could directly transport the treasures to Yangzhou. Once they reached Yangzhou's territory, the treasures would be safe.
Hearing his explanation, Ren Yingying was relieved, but she was still a little worried. "What if Madam Ruan becomes greedy and wants to take the treasures for herself?"
"Greed will definitely arise. The key is whether there are effective checks and balances." Song Qingshu patted her little hand. "Don't worry, I have a way to control her."
Ren Yingying opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she did not say it.
"By the way, your Sun Moon Sect should have a branch in Sichuan, right?" Song Qingshu was perfecting all the details in his mind, so he did not notice her reaction.
Ren Yingying came back to her senses and nodded. "Yes, but these people are good at fighting in Jianghu. If they want to use them in the court, I'm afraid …"
Song Qingshu smiled. "Don't worry, they don't need to be very capable. We just need to transfer some people to help keep an eye on the place where Ruan Xingzhu keeps the treasures and inform us if there is any unusual movement." Although he was confident that he could control Ruan Xingzhu, he still needed someone to keep an eye on her just in case.
Ren Yingying could not help but laugh. "That's not a problem. If they can't even keep an eye on her, the Sun Moon Sect doesn't need to mingle in Jianghu."
"You haven't taught me to play the guqin for a long time. Today, continue to teach me The Smiling, Proud Wanderer." Song Qingshu took a guqin and came over.
"Hmph, I can hear you and Madam Ruan playing the guqin in the secret room these days. You can go to her." Ren Yingying could not help but say sourly. Even now, she was still brooding over it.
Song Qingshu laughed awkwardly. "You see, Madam Ruan has even prepared to teach me to play the guqin. It's really painstaking. It's not my fault that I couldn't recognize her for a while."
Ren Yingying snorted. "Forget it. Seeing that you saved me in the end, I won't argue with you. Oh right, it's not good for us to stay in Madam Ruan's bedroom. Let's move back first." Actually, she was not a woman who was easily jealous. Normally, even if her lover took a concubine, she would not have the slightest objection. However, the situation this time was too strange. The key was that Ruan Xingzhu had been impersonating her identity to be with her lover for the past few days. This was unbearable. Therefore, she could not help but complain for a while. However, she had gradually calmed down.
Song Qingshu also felt that it was inappropriate to enter and leave Ruan Xingzhu's bedroom so openly. He still wanted to cooperate with the Sichuan Yang family. If any rumors were to spread to her husband, it would really increase the number of variables.
The two quickly returned to their own rooms. Then, they began to play the guqin on the deck, living the life of a celestial couple.
Ruan Xingzhu stood in the distance and silently watched the two show off their affection. Thinking about how the woman next to Song Qingshu was still herself, she could not help but feel a little absent-minded.
Pearl, who was beside her, laughed and said, "Madam, are you jealous?"
Ruan Xingzhu spat and said, "Why would I be jealous? I'm just a little shaken. I haven't gotten over my identity yet."
The reason why she had been successful in impersonating others was not only because of her excellent disguise skills, but also because of her acting skills. She knew how to hypnotize herself and put herself in the shoes of the target. That way, even she would think that she was the target. Naturally, it would not be easy for her to reveal any flaws.
Of course, this also had a side effect. It was easy for her to be immersed in the target's life and not be able to get out of it for a while. Every time, she would need to spend some time afterward to get used to it.
This time, impersonating Ren Yingying could be said to have given her all. She had never been so engrossed in her acting before. Subconsciously, she had treated herself as Ren Yingying. She had even replicated Ren Yingying's love for her lover. Unfortunately, in the end, she still fell short of success.
That was fine. The biggest problem was that normally she would take the initiative to return to her identity. That way, she would be able to quickly get out of her disguise. But this time, she had been seen through by her opponent. She had been forced out of her disguise. This caused many of the emotions and emotions of her identity as Ren Yingying to remain in her memory.
For example, she even felt that she had an inexplicable fondness for Song QingShu. In the dead of the night, she would recall the scene of the two of them sticking to each other like glue that night, and her heart would race and she would toss and turn in bed.
Of course, she knew that this was not love. But she knew that if she continued to immerse herself in these emotions, it would be hard to avoid falling in love with him. Thinking of her identity as a married woman, she could not help but sigh, "What a sin …"
"Madam, are we really going to rely on him?" Pearl continued to ask.
Ruan Xingzhu grunted, "Of course not. But we can use this as an excuse to deal with him."
"Then has the Madam thought of a way to get the treasure?" Pearl laughed strangely, "Why don't you consider my suggestion? Use a honey trap …"
"Miss Ren is already by his side. You still want to use a honey trap? Do you want us to die faster?" Ruan Xingzhu pulled on the maid's ear. She did not know what she was thinking, but she felt her entire body soften.
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