"What's the point of it being written in black and white?!"
Ouyang Ning Nuo tore the contract to shreds as soon as he escaped from the black market. This was the biggest failure of his business career and the most thorough loss he'd ever suffered in a business negotiation!
The contract stated that he wouldn't take a single cent of the profits from the partnership between Pill Fiend Pharmacy and Medicine City. However, Long Fei Ye wouldn't interfere with any of Zhangsun Zelin's businesses.
When Long Fei Ye had agreed to this condition, Ouyang Ning Nuo had been puzzled. However, he couldn't find any loopholes in the contract.
Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Long Fei Ye would detonate the gunpowder and blow up the entire black market.
After all, he was the other boss of Sky Domain Black Market!
When he first learned that Zhangsun Zelin was working with Western Zhou's Chu Clan to smuggle gunpowder, Ouyang Ning Nuo had been looking for an opportunity to topple Zhangsun Zelin and swallow the other half of Sky Domain Black Market.
When Gu Beiyue told him about Pill Fiend Pharmacy, he knew his chance had come.
Once Long Fei Ye found out about the gunpowder in the black market, Zhangsun Zelin would be finished. Ouyang Ning Nuo was waiting for Long Fei Ye to make a move. He was waiting for Zhangsun Zelin to be driven into a corner and sell off his businesses. Then, Ouyang Ning Nuo would be able to keep a low profile and slowly become the only boss of Sky Domain Black Market.
But!
This perfect plan had been ruined by Long Fei Ye. Not only did Ouyang Ning Nuo lose Zhangsun Zelin's businesses, he'd also lost the other half of his business!
Moreover, Long Fei Ye hadn't broken the contract. The contract stated that he couldn't interfere with Zhangsun Zelin's businesses, but it didn't say that he couldn't destroy them.
In any case, would Long Feiye admit that burning it down counted as a form of "meddling" in their affairs? Would Long Fei Ye admit that he was the one who started the fire?
"Damn it!"
Ouyang Ning Nuo, who had always been good-tempered, was furious. He scattered the pieces of the contract on the ground and stomped on them several times, but he still couldn't calm down.
Although legitimate businesses were profitable, how could they make money as fast as the black market? Who knew how long it would take to recoup the losses this time? Moreover, Sky Domain Black Market was connected to many officials in Tianning's imperial court. Now that the black market was gone, the chain of profits was gone as well. If he wanted to win over these people to facilitate his other businesses, he'd have to think of another way.
"Long Fei Ye, you better not fall into my hands one day!"
Ouyang Ning Nuo spat out those words before turning around to leave. Meanwhile, the other boss of the black market, Zhangsun Zelin, had just arrived. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw that the black market's emergency exits had all been opened. Everyone had fled, and thick smoke billowed out of the black market.
He stared blankly for a moment and was about to rush in when a servant hurriedly pulled him back. "Master, everything has been blown up and burned. We can't go in!"
Zhangsun Zelin fiercely slapped him and said angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? Scram!"
Pushing the servant aside, he recklessly rushed towards the door. However, just as he reached the door, he was choked by the thick smoke that gushed out. He coughed for a while before he could catch his breath.
None of the servants behind him dared to approach. Zhangsun Zelin stared blankly at the exit, forced to accept the fact that the gunpowder had exploded. He felt like he'd suffered a huge blow, and it took him a long time to recover.
When Chu Tianyin had first sought him out for a partnership, he'd drawn him a beautiful blueprint. The first thing he'd promised was to use the power of the imperial court to help him seize the other half of Sky Domain Black Market from Ouyang Ning Nuo's hands. But now …
Zhangsun Zelin recovered his wits and roared, "How did the wine cellar explode?"
Was the explosion an accident, or was it man-made? If it was an accident, he might be able to escape. If it was man-made, then he was doomed.
"Master, news of the gunpowder in the wine cellar suddenly spread. Half of the black market knew about it and fled. That's why the wine cellar exploded. Someone must be messing with us on purpose! "the servant reported.
Zhangsun Zelin's expression turned even uglier. Just then, the sound of hurried hooves could be heard. It was the arrival of the government.
The first few explosions in the black market had caused as much of a commotion as an earthquake. Everyone in the surrounding villages had sensed it. It had only been a little over two hours, but the nearest government office had already sent people over. Soon, the capital governor's men, the imperial guards, and many other forces would arrive.
Despite his despair, Zhangsun Zelin still managed to calm down. He immediately boarded the carriage. "Return to the imperial capital, quickly!"
Someone had done this on purpose. The imperial court would definitely investigate him soon. He had to hurry back and prepare a backup plan! At the very least, he had to transfer all of his assets and businesses.
Stockpiling gunpowder was a threat to the imperial capital. If the imperial court wanted to investigate him, they didn't need any evidence! They would first seal off all of his avenues of escape and trap him in the imperial capital before slowly discussing the evidence with him!
With the departure of the two leaders of the black market, the Council of Elders that had been established by them naturally disbanded on its own. Everyone had left, leaving behind a burning mess.
By the time Mu Qingwu arrived with a large group of imperial guards, Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi had finally left. Emperor Tianhui must have heard of the situation by now.
But they'd hardly reached the city gates when they saw Long Tianmo leading a group of men out of the city.
Han Yunxi laughed out loud. "Your Highness, this crown prince is probably even more impatient than His Majesty, isn't he?"
"Mm," Long Fei Ye replied mildly, his tone light and breezy.
In the past, Chu Qingge had repeatedly invited Han Yunxi to the palace. It wasn't clear what the woman's motives were, but she couldn't escape the label of crafty plots and machinations. Meanwhile, the empress dowager had been keeping an eye on her the entire time, hoping to sow discord between her and Chu Qingge so she could reap the benefits.
Now that the "gunpowder case" had been exposed, neither Chu Qingge nor the empress dowager would have time to make trouble for her for a long time. They were too busy dealing with each other!
Thinking up to here, Han Yunxi couldn't help but sneak a peek at Long Fei Ye, only to see the mastermind behind the scenes reading a scroll with his head bowed. It was as if the impending storm had nothing to do with him at all.
He never interfered with the affairs of the imperial court, but every time he made a move, he could stir up huge waves in court and even the harem. This was His Highness Duke of Qin's methods and one of his most revered traits.
By the time Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye returned to the Duke of Qin's estate, Gu Qi Sha was already waiting for them at the gates.
As soon as he saw them get off the carriage, Gu Qi Sha rose to his feet. "Long Fei Ye, why didn't you tell this old man that you found gunpowder?"
Would Long Fei Ye answer him? Of course not! Besides the woman he was holding hands with, who else had he wasted his breath on?
He didn't even look at Gu Qi Sha as he led Han Yunxi through the gates. Gu Qi Sha immediately followed after them, but the guards blocked their way as soon as they entered the estate.
"Han Yunxi, for better or for worse, we're business partners. Is this how you treat your guests?" Gu Qi Sha asked loudly.
"Do you need something?" Han Yunxi finally spoke up.
"This old man was planning to stay in the capital and personally follow up on the Medicine Ghost Valley's affairs," Gu Qi Sha replied.
"And then?" Han Yunxi asked patiently.
Gu Qi Sha chuckled. "This old man thought it over and over and decided that it's more convenient to stay at the Duke of Qin's estate."
Han Yunxi was about to speak when Long Fei Ye suddenly agreed. He ordered Cold, "Chu Xifeng, prepare a guest room!"
Leaving aside Han Yunxi, even Gu Qi Sha was taken aback. But since Long Fei Ye dared to let him in, he had the guts to stay!
Just like that, Gu Beiyue settled down in a small courtyard in the Duke of Qin's estate. If Gu Beiyue's recuperation last time didn't count, he would be the first guest ever to stay overnight at the Duke of Qin's estate.
When they returned to the Hibiscus Courtyard, Han Yunxi finally spoke up. "Your Highness, are we really keeping him here?"
"So you don't have to run away all day," Long Fei Ye replied mildly.
If Gu Qi Sha had stayed anywhere else, he would've gone to Han Yunxi every two or three days to discuss the Medicine Ghost Valley. She really would've had to run away all day.
"Your Highness is too considerate," Han Yunxi didn't think much of it.
As expected, Gu Qi Sha found Han Yunxi that very afternoon to discuss the design of Pill Fiend Pharmacy's storehouse. Han Yunxi invited him to the flower gardens to discuss the matter. Naturally, Long Fei Ye accompanied them.
Needless to say, Gu Qi Sha was quite attentive. He'd picked out a few details on the storehouse design plans since he was the most knowledgeable about medicine. Han Yunxi would listen to him unconditionally.
A few days later, various versions of the gunpowder explosion spread throughout the capital city. Some of the rumors came from Long Fei Ye himself.
Emperor Tianhui was furious and ordered a strict investigation into the source of the gunpowder. He also listed Zhangsun Zelin, Ouyang Ningnuo, and a few other merchants with connections to the black market as suspects. All of their businesses in Tianning were sealed off for further investigation.
Although Zhangsun Zelin and Ouyang Ningnuo were both bosses of the black market, Zhangsun Zelin couldn't compare to Ouyang Ningnuo, the head of Cloud Realm Trade Consortium.
Ouyang Ningnuo's businesses in Tianning were sealed off, but he still had plenty of businesses in Northern Li, Western Zhou, and even Medicine and Medical City. He wouldn't go bankrupt, and Emperor Tianhui wouldn't dare to be too rude and unreasonable with his status.
But Zhangsun Zelin was in trouble. Most of his businesses were in Tianning, so Emperor Tianhui was sure to eat him up.
Less than five days after the gunpowder explosion, he finally decided to give up everything in Tianning and went alone to Tianning's largest private bank, Abundant Treasure Private Bank. He told the manager directly, "I'll have to trouble you to inform His Highness Duke of Qin that Zhangsun Zelin requests an audience."
Few people knew the identity of the owner of Abundant Treasure Private Bank, so the manager had no choice but to make the report.
How many taxes had the Sky Domain Black Market stolen from the national treasury? How many legitimate businesses had they suppressed in Tianning? How many people in dire need had they cheated?
How could Long Fei Ye treat Zhangsun Zelin nicely?
Currently, he was brewing tea with Han Yunxi in the back courtyard. Coldly, he ordered the manager, "Have him wait a moment."
Wait a moment?
Thus, Zhangsun Zelin waited anxiously for an entire day in the private bank. If he wasn't under someone else's control, he would've slammed the door and left.
All of the silver drafts in his hands were of high value. The ten or so of them were the real gold and silver he'd saved up over the years from both illegal and illegal businesses. It was also the only thing he could use to escape overseas and make a comeback.
Because the face value was too high, in order to prevent theft, if he wanted to take out these banknotes to trade or receive cash from foreign banks, he had to stamp it with his own seal and that of the Master of Baofeng Bank.
Thus, he had to see His Highness Duke of Qin no matter what!
He waited and waited until it was finally time for dinner. The manager brought Zhangsun Zelin to the tearoom …
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