Chapter 172: Irresponsible Lobbyist
Li Xiaonan hunched her shoulders and lowered her head, not daring to lift her eyelids. All she could see were the Crown Prince’s shoes and half a foot of his clothing placket.
The clothing placket revealed nothing special, but the shoes were brand new, with a thousand layers of thin soles. The craftsmanship was excellent; they were clearly high-quality items.
The shoe uppers and edges were indigo blue. The edges of the soles surprisingly featured the same hidden pattern as the uppers, with a staggered diamond design. It was quite attractive and fashionable. Judging by the shoes, the feet must be beautiful.
Her former colleague, who guided her life with metaphysics, once said: “People of great wealth and status always have beautiful hands and feet…”
“Miss Li.”
Li Xiaonan’s eyes were fixed on the Crown Prince’s shoes, and she didn’t react.
“Li Xiaonan!”
“Yes!”
This shout resonated deep within Li Xiaonan’s ears, and she immediately responded with a crisp “Yes!”
The Crown Prince burst into laughter, and Wen Bin also chuckled.
Gu Yan looked speechlessly at Li Xiaonan, who was glaring at him.
“The Crown Prince is speaking to you!” Gu Yan swallowed.
“The Young Lord said your scholarship is excellent,” the Crown Prince added with a laugh.
Li Xiaonan blinked rapidly, looking at Gu Yan.
She didn’t know how to respond. Saying it was indeed excellent seemed inappropriate, but if she was too modest, would that be considered deceiving the emperor?
“Why are you looking at him?” the Crown Prince laughed again.
“I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing,” Li Xiaonan could no longer remain silent.
“What did your Young Lord say to you to scare you like this?” the Crown Prince raised an eyebrow.
“He didn’t say anything. It’s you who are different, unlike them,” Li Xiaonan shrunk her shoulders.
When she worked before, she always placed her boss on a separate line above her colleagues. Now, facing the emperor, it was even more different; he couldn’t even be considered human.
“Did they all instruct you on what to do? Don’t mind them. Speak to me as you speak to your Young Lord,” the Crown Prince said with a smile.
“Yes.” Li Xiaonan had similar rules of etiquette as Wan Jing.
“You’ve frightened her,” the Crown Prince turned to Gu Yan and said with a smile.
“She’s quite bold,” Gu Yan gave a wry smile and continued, “Shall we talk about the Cheng Zi Gang?”
The Crown Prince gestured for Gu Yan to speak.
“President Zhu of the Silk Guild intends to support Foreman Zou’s wife, Mrs. Wu, in taking over the Cheng Zi Gang. Mrs. Wu is capable of leading the Cheng Zi Gang. Could you go and persuade Mrs. Wu to pledge allegiance?” Gu Yan stated directly.
The Crown Prince’s eyebrows rose, Wen Bin raised his eyebrows, and he carefully observed Li Xiaonan.
“What will you use to persuade her?” Li Xiaonan asked with a frown.
“What do you think?” Gu Yan glanced at the Crown Prince and retorted.
“The Silk Guild has silver to subsidize the porters’ wages for the Cheng Zi Gang, but Foreman Zou has been intercepting and using this money for himself. Mrs. Wu must know about this. What will happen to this silver?” Li Xiaonan asked.
The Crown Prince closed his folding fan and observed Li Xiaonan.
“There won’t be any more in the future,” Gu Yan spread his hands.
“And if she wants to become a noble lady or something, can she be granted that?” Li Xiaonan asked again.
“No,” Gu Yan answered curtly and directly.
“So it’s a case of getting something for nothing. We can only try,” Li Xiaonan chuckled.
“If Mrs. Wu can help the Young Lord revive the Maritime Tax Bureau, and her contributions are sufficient, it’s not impossible to grant her a noble title,” the Crown Prince said with a smile.
Li Xiaonan glanced at the Crown Prince’s shoes and remained silent.
Sufficient contributions, how much is considered sufficient? She hated these kinds of empty promises the most.
“When should I go?” Li Xiaonan asked, lowering her eyes.
“The sooner the better. If you have nothing else to do, then today. I’ll have someone send you, and have Wan Jing accompany you?” Gu Yan looked at the Crown Prince and replied.
“Then today. Wan Jing will go with me. I want to speak with Mr. Huang first,” Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan.
Seeing the Crown Prince nod, Gu Yan instructed, “Alright. Wan Jing, go change into suitable clothes, and let’s go.”
Wan Jing changed into a slightly worn fine cloth outfit similar to Li Xiaonan’s. They rode in an ordinary paulownia wood cart, amidst guards disguised as a small merchant caravan, blending in with the numerous merchant caravans coming and going to Linhai Town, and entered Linhai Town.
In the afternoon, the entire Linhai Town was busy hosting the Crown Prince’s incognito visit. Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing alighted from the cart in front of the Zou family’s corner gate, gave the surname Wu, claimed to be relatives from Mrs. Wu’s maiden family, and requested an audience with Mrs. Wu.
An old woman went to report and returned, leading Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing into a side room in the main courtyard.
Mrs. Wu was slightly thin and dark-skinned, with sunken eyes and a sharp, defined thin mouth. Her appearance and expression were extremely stern. She sat upright, coldly observing Li Xiaonan and Wan Jing.
Upon entering the side room, Li Xiaonan first looked around.
The side room was not large, and only Mrs. Wu was present. Li Xiaonan took a step back and leaned forward to look outside.
There was no one on the corridor in front of the side room. Two maids sat opposite, heads bowed, doing needlework.
“I have no family and no relatives,” Mrs. Wu said coldly, looking at Li Xiaonan, who was brazenly looking around.
“My surname is Li, and her name is Wan Jing. We are from the Prince’s Estate villa outside Pingjiang City,” Li Xiaonan introduced herself and Wan Jing.
Mrs. Wu narrowed her eyes and let out a cold laugh. “President Zhu came last night, and now you two have arrived. I already refused President Zhu yesterday. I am a widow who only wishes for a peaceful life and is incapable of being a pawn in the hands of you nobles. Please leave.”
“Oh, alright.” Li Xiaonan agreed too readily, causing both Mrs. Wu and Wan Jing to be taken aback.
“Should we leave directly, or offer a stick of incense to Foreman Zou?” Li Xiaonan turned and asked Wan Jing.
“We should offer incense, I suppose,” Wan Jing replied subconsciously, a little dazed.
“Then let’s go offer incense. After we’ve offered incense, we won’t come back. We bid you farewell,” Li Xiaonan turned to leave.
“Is this how Miss Li acts as a negotiator?” Mrs. Wu could hardly believe it.
“Yes!” Li Xiaonan paused, turned back, and looked at Mrs. Wu, saying, “My role as a negotiator is to persuade you not to side with President Zhu. Now, if you don’t intend to get involved with the gang and instead want to live the rest of your life according to your own wishes, then I have nothing more to say.
“Although Buddhism speaks of reincarnation through lifetimes, except for those with extremely rare and great opportunities, most people are truly aware only of the present. What we can feel is only this life, a mere few decades.
“You must be over thirty, right? Life is short, and the future is not long, only twenty or thirty years. In the past, this courtyard must have been filled with lively chatter. From now on, you should live the life you desire and enjoy the rest of your life.”
Li Xiaonan smiled, waved at Mrs. Wu, stepped over the threshold, offered incense at the memorial altar in the main house, and left directly with Wan Jing, getting into the cart.
Wan Jing’s eyes were glued to the gap in the carriage window, watching the Wu family recede. She abruptly pulled down the curtain and glared at Li Xiaonan, “Is this how you handle your task?”
“What else? What else can be done? She wants to live a peaceful life.”
“You didn’t complete this task!” Wan Jing was a little frantic.
“I never said I could complete it. Besides, your master said: persuade her not to stand on that side, but to stand on this side.
“Now she’s not standing on either side. This task can’t be said to be completed, but it also can’t be said to be uncompleted,” Li Xiaonan chuckled.
Wan Jing was stunned for a moment, then let out a laugh.
That made sense!
I’m not satisfied with the next chapter, I’ve hesitated until now. Forget it, I won’t post it, I’ll delete it and rewrite it tomorrow.
