Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 505 The beauty hidden in the golden house
Li Linfu knew that Wu Wenshen still had some reservations, but since he had already used a plan, how could he let the other party escape so easily?

Then he said with a smile, "If it's just a matter of lacking money and using schemes, there are plenty of wealthy families in the capital. With Young Master Yuwen's influence, there's no need to go to great lengths to get Lord Wu involved. But Lord Wu does have an advantage that others don't have: Lady Wu of the Pei family is a close relative of you, and General Gao, the Duke of Bohai in the Imperial Palace, was originally her servant. Now he's in charge of the overall affairs of the flying money. If Lord Wu can use this to persuade you, then seizing Zhang Dai's assets will naturally be much easier!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wenshen was secretly pleased. He had spoken with his cousin, Wu, several times and had sensed that she did not particularly like her nephew, Zhang Dai.

If we can leverage the Wu family connection, we can not only strike hard against Zhang Dai, but we might also be able to get involved and share in the spoils. Making money on the spot is much safer than highway robbery!
After all, once he returned to Chang'an, he intended to become a respectable and upright person from the upper class, and naturally he could no longer engage in those past businesses.

He has only been in the capital for a short time, yet he has already spent money like water. Even if he gains favor with Consort Wu Hui in the future, he will still need to spend money and maintain these connections, so he will need to explore new sources of income.

Upon thinking of this, Wu Wenshen was also greatly moved and decided to have a good discussion with Madam Wu later. However, he did not reveal his thoughts to Li Linfu. He only said that Madam Wu was a noble lady and he dared not disturb her. He would visit her if he had the opportunity and ask her for her plan.

In Li Linfu's eyes, Wu Wenshen's petty thoughts were as clear as the lines on his palm. The reason he deliberately brought up this relationship was to lure Wu Wenshen to consult and verify with the Wu family.

His own words might not be enough to persuade Wu Wenshen to invest a large sum of money, but if the Wu family also strongly agreed, it would undoubtedly increase the persuasiveness and make Wu Wenshen spend a fortune to help.

Once this guy invests the money, things will be much easier. Li Linfu certainly wouldn't dare to covet Yuwen Kuan's money.

But Wu Wenshen, this fat sheep, not only amassed a fortune through shady dealings, but also recklessly barged into the capital, thinking he could gain influence and become a guest of honor among princes and nobles simply by spending money. Such thinking is truly laughable! If we don't slaughter him, we'll really be doing ourselves a disservice!
Therefore, Li Linfu was determined to use Wu Wenshen to fill the hole and pay off his debts. He also knew a lot about Wu Wenshen's background from the Wu family, so he was not worried about being attacked or retaliated against.

The two exchanged sweet words, each harboring their own thoughts, but they still managed to have a pleasant conversation.

After agreeing on a time to visit Yuwen Rong's house with Li Linfu, Wu Wenshen stood up contentedly and walked out of the pavilion. He looked up and saw Pei Zhen, the son of Pei Guangting, lingering under the corridor not far from the pavilion, so he hurriedly went to greet him.

"Why does Master Pei come out of the hall? If you need anything, just tell my servant."

Wu Wenshen approached Pei Zhen, bowing and laughing as he looked back at the pavilion, secretly estimating the distance. From this vantage point, it was difficult to hear the conversation that had just taken place in the pavilion, which gave him a slight sense of reassurance.

Upon hearing this, Pei Zhen waved his hand and said, "There's nothing I need, but the smell of wild herbs in the hall is too strong, so I came out to get some fresh air."

"So it turns out that Master Pei doesn't like exotic foreign customs? How rude of me!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wenshen immediately said apologetically, "Please forgive my rudeness, Master Pei. Please allow me to offer you more gifts when we return to the hall!"

Pei Zhen was about to refuse, but Wu Wenshen pulled and persuaded him to return to the hall.

After Wu Wenshen left, Li Linfu got up and prepared to leave the pavilion, but stopped when he saw Pei Zhen.

He still felt a little guilty, especially when he saw that Pei Zhen's appearance and style were quite similar to his father, Pei Guangting. He felt quite uneasy when facing him, so he continued to stand in the pavilion. He only came out after seeing Pei Zhen being dragged back into the hall by Wu Wenshen.

Because Pei Zhen disliked the Hu women, Wu Wenshen waved for several people to leave after returning to the hall. When Li Linfu came out, he saw several Hu women leaving the hall looking dejected.

Li Linfu was in high spirits, about to have his prey snatched away, when he saw several beautifully dressed and graceful Hu women, and his desire surged. He didn't go into the main hall, but instead beckoned two women over and had a servant from the Wu family lead the way to the guest rooms.

After a night of pleasure, Zhang Dai awoke the next day. Two Hu women had already gotten up, washed, and dressed, and were standing outside the bed curtains waiting for him to rise. Hearing movement from inside the bed, they quickly bent down and brought him a brand-new robe.

Even though Zhang Dai was quite bold, when he saw the two Hu women enter together, he couldn't help but rub his waist and hips, which had been sore from being squeezed by those long, beautiful legs the night before. He got dressed and got out of bed with the careful service of the two Hu women.

"Sixth Brother, are you up? How did you sleep last night?"

Kang Lide stood in the outer hall. When he saw Zhang Dai come out, he hurriedly stepped forward and greeted him respectfully with a smile. Behind him stood a tall, middle-aged foreign man with blue eyes and a full beard. Kang Lide introduced him, saying, "My father went out of the city yesterday. When he returned this morning and learned that the Sixth Prince had graced us with his presence, he came here to wait for us."

"So it's Kangsabao. I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting!"

Upon learning the man's identity, Zhang Dai returned the greeting with a smile and a cupped-fist salute. This middle-aged foreigner was none other than Kang Lian, Kang Lide's father, a renowned foreign merchant in the West Market, whose wealth rivaled that of Wang Yuanbao. Furthermore, Kang Lian served as a magistrate in the Jingzhao Prefecture, assisting the court in managing a group of foreign merchants.

"Sixth Master, you're too kind. Did you enjoy the service of your two young ladies last night? If they pleased you, I'll keep them in my residence and wait for your return. If they didn't, they'll be sent to the outer hall, so they won't be left here to annoy you any further!"

Kang Lian stepped forward and smiled at Zhang Dai.

Upon hearing Kang Lian's words, the two Hu women who had served him the previous night immediately looked pitifully at Zhang Dai, hoping that he would put in a good word for them.

The Hu people are often shameless and have little sense of ethics and morality. These two Hu girls look somewhat similar to Kang Lian and his son, so they must indeed be Kang Lian's daughters.

However, this does not mean that they were the pampered young ladies of wealthy Hu merchants. In the eyes of profit-driven Hu merchants, they were also commodities. Even if they enjoyed a superior upbringing and material life, it was all on the premise of exchanging it for greater profits.

Even in Chang'an today, people from the Central Asian tribes still generally adhere to certain ethical and moral standards. In the Western Regions, it is quite common to offer one's wife and daughters to honored guests. Zhang Dai, in this case, is absolutely worthy of the Kang family offering their daughters to curry favor.

Judging from Kang Lian's words, if these two women could win Zhang Dai's favor and attract him to visit his home frequently, they could be kept at home specifically to entertain him. Otherwise, they would probably have to be kept at the winery as ordinary courtesans to receive guests.

These foreign merchants are truly shrewd and pragmatic.

Zhang Dai was somewhat resistant to this approach. He still had red marks on his chest from the passionate kisses of the two Hu women the night before, and naturally didn't want them to be in a bad situation, especially since their father, Kang Lian, was the one who paid for their upbringing.

Zhang Dai nodded and said with a smile, "In that case, I'll trouble Kang Sabao to do so. Both ladies are so valiant and hospitable; I will visit them often when I have time in the future."

Upon hearing this, Kang Lian and his son secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although Kang Lian had many wives, concubines, and children, raising two charming women was not easy. Last night, they deliberately offered them up under the pretext of a shortage of Hu women in the shop. If they couldn't win over Zhang Dai and get him to visit their home frequently, it would undoubtedly be a great pity and a waste.

The two young Hu girls were overjoyed and wept. Ignoring their fathers and brothers, they rushed to Zhang Dai's side and kissed him gratefully, making Zhang Dai quite embarrassed.

After waving the two Hu women away, Zhang Dai looked at Kang Lian and said with a smile, "I heard from your son that Kang Sabao will have a caravan traveling through the Hexi Corridor to the Western Regions in mid-September?"

Upon hearing this, Kang Lian nodded and said with a smile, "Normally, it is not advisable for merchant groups to travel west after autumn, but this spring, King Xin'an led the Heavenly Army to bravely capture Shibao City, and Tibet suffered heavy losses in terms of troops and territory. Its people and affairs must have been greatly devastated. If we take goods west now, we will surely make a great profit."

The former Tuyuhun territory in Qinghai was also an important passage for Silk Road trade. It was originally controlled by the Tubo Kingdom. Now, with the fall of Shibao City, the Tubo forces around Qinghai have been successively swept away by the Tang army.

Kang Lian was prepared to seize the opportunity presented by the weakened state of the Tibetan army and transport goods to the Western Regions, even if it meant enduring the hardships of wind, sand, frost, and cold, thereby squeezing out the market share of Tibetan smugglers.

“I also have a team that will be heading west next month. It’s not going all the way to the Western Regions, but will stop at Shanzhou. Could you arrange for them to travel with Kangsabao’s caravan? If we can go to Longxi together, I will also arrange for soldiers to escort and protect them along the way.”

Zhang Dai planned to send a batch of tea to protect the border this year, while tea purchased from Shannan and Huainan was also being sent to the south of the city for further processing. However, he ultimately lacked similar experience. Going to Shuofang was fine, but if he wanted to go to Hexi, he would like to find an experienced traveler to join him.

"This is just a small matter. How could I dare disobey your orders, Sixth Brother! When you are ready to depart, just send someone to inform me."

Upon hearing this, Kang Lian nodded and smiled. He was eager to get closer to Zhang Dai, and was naturally happy to lend a small favor.

With Kang Lian's promise, Zhang Dai felt much more at ease and had breakfast with the Kang family. After breakfast, the sun was high in the sky. Just as he stepped out of the Kang family winery, he saw Pei Zhen and Li Xia riding up together.

"It's a pity Zhang Liu, you couldn't attend the banquet last night. The Hu woman who served wine at Wu Wenshen's house was truly captivating!"

Li Xia rode up to him, deliberately lifting the hem of his half-hidden robe to the side to reveal the luxurious saddle adorned with gold and jade, and said with a smile.

Zhang Dai rolled his eyes when he heard the boy boasting. What a naive guy. Last night I became someone's new son-in-law in this winery. Do I have to tell you that too?

(End of this chapter)