Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 544 Negotiation
As Chen Yixiu walked back to the inn, he passed by Zhou Guangyuan's porcelain shop. Seeing people constantly going in and out of the shop, he knew that the business must be doing well.

“Those people support the Xie family because the shop sells porcelain from the Daming Prefecture porcelain kiln,” Li Shi said. “If Han Si hadn’t offended too many merchants, the Xie family wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of the situation.”

Although Chen Yixiu said he was sure he could bring down the Xie family, he was actually somewhat discouraged and even began to doubt whether he had taken the wrong path from the beginning. If he gathered merchants outside Bianjing and prevented them from hearing the Xie family's sedative words, would he be able to retain more people?
"We can only wait until tomorrow to see how things go."

Chen Yixiu and Li Shi conspired together for a while before going to rest.

As Chen Yixiu sat down and took a sip of tea, a servant came to report, "Master Guan has returned."

Guan Fenglin was implicated by Han Si and imprisoned. His business dealings in Bianjing were also thoroughly investigated by the government. Chen Yixiu sent people to the government to inquire about the situation, but to no avail. Unexpectedly, at this critical juncture, the county government released Guan Fenglin.

"Where is he? Did he go back to the Guan family?"

The servant responded.

"Quick, let's go there now."

Chen Yixiu rushed to the Guan family's house and was led to the main house by the steward. As soon as he entered, he smelled the scent of herbs, followed by a scream.

The steward whispered, "My master has been flogged, and the doctor is inside applying medicine to him."

Chen Yixiu inexplicably felt a sharp pain in his lower body.

After the doctor came out, Chen Yixiu stepped into the inner room.

Guan Fenglin was pale, wearing a long robe, lying on the soft couch, his forehead covered in fine sweat.

“Brother Guan has suffered,” Chen Yixiu said. “Why was he punished with caning?”

Guan Fenglin took a deep breath: "In order to get out sooner, I might as well confess my crimes as soon as possible. My crime is considered minor. I was fined some money, had to close a shop, and received a cane, and that was the end of it. Shanqing, on the other hand, will probably be exiled."

Chen Yixiu's business is not in Bianjing, and at least openly he has no dealings with Han Si and others, otherwise he would be afraid of ending up like Guan Fenglin.

Guan Fenglin moved his body carefully, which still aggravated his wound, causing his face to contort in pain: "We finally managed to expand our business to Bianjing. If Yunqi Temple hadn't been in trouble, we could have recruited many people into the sect, one openly and one covertly. Now it's all ruined by the Xie family. No wonder the Attendant was angry and ordered us to eliminate the Xie family."

Chen Yixiu looked outside.

Guan Fenglin said, "It's alright. There are guards at home. If anyone sneaks in, they will raise the alarm."

Chen Yixiu was relieved: "Then Wu Qian..."

Guan Fenglin said with a grim face, "He was originally hiding here with me, but after I was arrested, he slipped away. However, he's probably still in the city. His portrait is plastered all over the streets and alleys, so it won't be easy for him to get out."

“He messed up the job like this, and he still has the nerve to run away,” Guan Fenglin said coldly. “If his father weren’t the old leader’s adopted son, I would have dealt with him long ago.”

Wu Qian bribed Zhao Zhongliang to target the Xie family, thinking he could both eliminate the Xie family and remain uninvolved. However, he didn't even figure out Zhao Zhongliang's identity. The Xie family remained unharmed, while he was arrested by the imperial court.

“Right now, we can’t worry about Wu Qian,” Guan Fenglin said. “We can only wait for Manager Wu to come and rescue him himself.”

After the Supreme Leader ascended to the throne, he wanted Steward Wu to serve as his attendant, but Steward Wu refused. He remained in the sect, though without any official position; they simply addressed him as "Steward." Chen Yixiu, like Guan Fenglin, didn't care much for Steward Wu. When the old Supreme Leader was alive, Steward Wu held a high position in the sect, but after the Supreme Leader took over, he was sidelined. Rumors circulated that there was a rift between Steward Wu and the Supreme Leader, and that the Wu family had gradually faded from the sect. For some unknown reason, Wu Qian suddenly decided to take on a role and was entrusted with an important task by the Supreme Leader.

Perhaps the Supreme Leader intentionally showed favor to the Wu family in order to win over those old associates of the former Supreme Leader. Only through everyone's combined efforts can the Holy Church prosper, but unfortunately, Wu Qian is truly incompetent.

Chen Yixiu asked, "What should we do next?"

Guan Fenglin pursed his lips: "I know Zhang Dalang from Yaozhou. When he arrives, we'll discuss a business deal with him."

Chen Yixiu's eyes immediately lit up.

Guan Fenglin said, "Try to hold on during this period. After Zhang Dalang arrives in Bianjing, you must let him see the porcelain industry in such a state of disarray."

The Zhang family owns a large kiln, and their porcelain has been selected for sale at the border market. Given this, Zhang Dalang seems more suitable than Xie Yuyan to be the head of the trade. If Xie were the popular choice, that would be one thing, but in the current situation, wouldn't Zhang Dalang be tempted? Wouldn't he want to compete for the position of head of the trade?
This was Guan Fenglin's last resort.

"Where's Wu Qian?" Chen Yixiu asked. "Should we continue looking for him?"

Guan Fenglin waved his hand: "When Manager Wu came to Bianjing, we told him that we had searched everywhere but really couldn't find him."

Chen Yixiu then told Guan Fenglin about the recent events before leaving the Guan family. He didn't know when it started raining outside. As Chen Yixiu walked on the street, smelling the damp air, his anxiety seemed to subside somewhat.

Beneath a stone slab that Chen Yixiu had stepped on, Wu Qian huddled in the ditch below. It was only a street away from the city gate, but Wu Qian did not have the courage to go any further. He had seen with his own eyes two men, about his height, being taken to the county government office by yamen runners, presumably to have their identities verified.

The authorities were searching for him everywhere, and the Xie family offered a reward of one hundred strings of cash for anyone who could capture him.

Wu Qian wiped his face; his robes were soaked through. He hadn't eaten in a long time, and he felt cold and hungry, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

He had to wait until nightfall to get out of the ditch, but where would he go after that?

Just as Wu Qian was in a daze, he heard voices outside.

People sheltering from the rain under the tree whispered among themselves: "Have you heard? Baode Temple is going to start distributing porridge tomorrow. It starts before dawn and continues until nightfall."

"Other people give rice porridge, but the porridge at Baode Temple is different. Although it is mixed with rice bran, it is enough to fill you up."

“I heard that Master Zhiyuan also wants to find a place in the temple to take in some elderly and children and provide them with food and drink.”

"That abbot was truly compassionate; he also sent a lot of rice and grain to the refugees a while ago."

……

"If we go earlier tomorrow, we can get a few more bowls."

Wu Qian looked down at his tattered clothes and suddenly realized he had a place to go; those monks wouldn't look at the bounty notice.

The only thing that worried him was that the Xie family seemed to have some connection with Baode Temple, but Baode Temple was only distributing porridge and not arresting people, so he could get away with it by covering it up.

Having made up her mind, Wu Qian suddenly felt that the ordeal was not so difficult anymore.