The Deepest Affection in Qin's Time

Chapter 120 For Zi Nu's sake

Unlike usual, Zi Nu was not wearing a purple dress with black stockings today.

Instead, she wore a long, flowing dress with a gradient of blue and purple hues and a layer of purple tulle over her chest.

Her hair, which had been styled into a cloud-like bun with silver hairpins, was now loosened and held up by a ribbon and three silver hairpins, hanging down behind her head.

If she remained serious and unsmiling, she might appear even more aloof and elegant.

"Even if you become a block of wood, you will be the smartest block of wood."

Zi Nu said with a smile.

Her voice was soft and melodious, beautiful and pure, like a stream flowing through the water, clear yet charming and alluring, making the listener's heart race.

Han Fei, unusually, did not take the opportunity to harm Cao Yuan.

Because he and Cao Yuan had already reached a secret agreement before they came to Zilan Pavilion.

He would help Cao Yuan get together with Zi Nu as long as Cao Yuan stopped harassing his sister.

Faced with his brother-in-law's threats and inducements, Cao Yuan readily agreed.

Now he doesn't need to bother Honglian at all; Honglian has already learned to come to him on her own.

So...

Han Fei clapped his hands and praised, "What Miss Zi Nu said is absolutely right. Brother Cao is indeed exceptionally intelligent. Even I am ashamed of my own inferiority."

Then he changed the subject and said with emotion, "Speaking of which, if it weren't for Brother Cao's help, we would probably have been taken advantage of by the Nightfall during this trip to Nanyang. Thousands of farmers in Nanyang would have suffered, and the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Cao Yuan secretly gave his brother-in-law Han Fei a thumbs up.

He is indeed a good wingman.

He will definitely treat Honglian better then, so as not to disappoint his brother-in-law's high expectations!

Zi Nu looked at Cao Yuan in surprise, and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Could it be that Mr. Cao Yuan was also involved in the Nanyang incident?"

At this moment, Wei Zhuang, who was leaning against the French windows, couldn't help but look over as well.

For so long, he traveled between Xinzheng and Nanyang with Han Fei, but he never heard Han Fei mention anything about Cao Yuan being involved in this matter.

Looking at Cao Yuan's smiling face, Han Fei couldn't help but think it was a bit smug, and he really wanted to go up and punch him hard.

But for his sister's sake, he restrained his impulse.

"Ahem..." Han Fei composed himself and said seriously, "Of course."

"If Brother Cao hadn't informed me of Nightfall's conspiracy beforehand, I wouldn't have noticed the changes in Nanyang, let alone been able to intervene in time to stop it."

Zi Nu was even more surprised.

She felt that Zilanxuan's intelligence-gathering capabilities in South Korea were unmatched by any other forces, except for Nightfall and the Korean Iron Blood Alliance, which was controlled by the Korean royal family.

Even so, she didn't get the slightest bit of news about Nanyang.

All that is known is that Ji Wuye once sent his only son, Ji Yihu, to Nanyang to gain experience and refine his skills for many years.

At first, she thought Han Fei had learned about it through the royal family's influence, but she never expected that this matter was so closely related to Cao Yuan, who had been doing nothing all this time.

Cao Yuan secretly gave his brother-in-law Han Fei another thumbs up.

I never expected my brother-in-law to be so decisive, directly giving him the credit for Nanyang.

"Hehe." Zi Nu chuckled and raised her wine cup with great charm, saying, "I never expected that you would be the one to make the greatest contribution to the Nanyang affair. On behalf of Zi Lan Xuan, I would like to offer you a toast."

This incident in Nanyang not only thwarted Nightfall's conspiracy, but also caused Nightfall to lose a lot of manpower and resources.

Zilanxuan was thus able to extend its reach to Nanyang through Tang Qi, the leader of the Seven Absolutes Hall, where it established strongholds, gathered intelligence, and sought profits.

"I dare not accept such praise." Cao Yuan raised his cup and clinked it with Zi Nu's, then drank it all in one gulp.

"Actually, I just reminded Brother Han a few things at the right time, which is not a great achievement."

Zi Nu smiled and said, "Sir, you are too modest. Being able to provide the right information at the right time is not something that ordinary people can do. It requires both keen insight and wisdom."

Han Fei watched Cao Yuan and Zi Nu flattering each other, and he couldn't help but feel extremely envious.

To be honest, he initially had some feelings for Zi Nu, but now...

Han Fei shook his head slightly. Let's protect my little sister from being kidnapped by that scoundrel Cao first!

“Now is not the time to celebrate.” Wei Zhuang walked over, his face cold and his tone indifferent. “Just now, the Seven Absolutes Hall sent a report that Emerald Tiger, one of the Four Fiends of the Night, left the city overnight and rushed to Nanyang.”

Upon hearing Wei Zhuang's words, Han Fei lost his footing and spilled some wine.

"Sigh," Han Fei sighed, "I never thought that the thing I was most worried about would still happen. Nightfall would rather suffer mutual destruction than let the people of Nanyang go."

Zi Nu's smile faded.

"Looks like we need to start raising money."

Cao Yuan had already guessed what had happened from their conversation.

However, he didn't speak, but just listened quietly to their conversation.

"How much money do we need in total?" Wei Zhuang asked Han Fei.

Han Fei lost his appetite for drinking and placed the wine cup on the table.

"On the way back to Xinzheng, I had already calculated it. The best way is to buy grain from Wei and transport it back to provide disaster relief."

Then he dipped his finger into the wine in the glass and gestured on the table.

“From Xinzheng to Daliang, it is about 500 li, and a round trip is about 1,000 li. Now that it is winter, travel is inconvenient, and it will take at least a month to make a round trip.”

Zi Nu said, "Time is not a problem. Even if the people of Nanyang suffer from the disaster, it will only affect their food supply next year. There is no need to rush."

Han Fei nodded and continued, "Including the food consumed on the way, the food that needs to be purchased in Daliang, and the tariffs between the two countries, even if Wei doesn't make things difficult for us, we will still need at least four thousand gold coins."

After Han Fei uttered the number, the elegant room fell noticeably silent.

Four thousand gold coins is not a small number; even some powerful families do not possess more than that much disposable wealth.

Because most of the old nobles and great nobles possessed wealth in the form of land, people, and other things that were difficult to convert into cash in the short term.

“...Unless I sell Zilan Pavilion, I can only offer 1,500 gold coins.”

Zi Nu spoke, revealing her limits.

Zilanxuan was indeed making a fortune every day, but the more they earned, the more they spent.

In particular, Zilanxuan also needs to collect and purchase intelligence. The fact that she has managed to save more than a thousand gold coins is already the result of her careful calculation.

Wei Zhuang silently got up and opened a hidden compartment in the elegant room.

"Boom!"

An enormous money bag landed on the table with a dull thud.

"These are about eight hundred gold coins, which were recently offered as tribute at the Seven Wonders Hall."

Wei Zhuang spoke of it casually.

However, Cao Yuan and Han Fei both looked at him with strange expressions.

Of course, their glances conveyed different meanings.

Cao Yuan could only sigh, realizing that Uncle Wei had indeed followed the same old path and started collecting protection money in the underground gangs of Xinzheng.

Han Fei, however, was surprised.

It's obvious that the Seven Absolutes Hall simply can't come up with that many gold coins.

No wonder Wei Zhuang has been mysteriously disappearing lately.

It seems they went to help the Seven Absolutes Hall eliminate and incorporate other underground gangs.

This explains why Wei Zhuang could easily produce eight hundred gold coins.

After Zi Nu and Wei Zhuang took out their money, they found that there were still 1,700 gold coins left. They looked at Han Fei, and the meaning in their eyes was very clear.

Han Fei chuckled awkwardly, "I've only just returned to Xinzheng, where would I get any money?"

He had just paid off his debt to his younger sister and was extremely short of money.

Wei Zhuang pondered for a moment and said, "I can ask the Seven Absolutes Hall for an advance of next year's annual allowance, which is about three hundred gold coins."

Zi Nu frowned slightly, pondered for a while, and then said, "Give me two months, and I should be able to gather two or three hundred gold coins."

If Zilanxuan were still making a fortune like before, it wouldn't be a problem to scrape together five or six hundred gold coins within three months.

However, due to the conflict with the night, Zilanxuan has had little business these days, and wealthy nobles and merchants of all sizes in Xinzheng who have the means to spend money dare not come.

What she meant by collecting gold coins was actually just selling some items and selling some information.

She didn't need to say it; Wei Zhuang and Han Fei could deduce it themselves.

"No need for that, I have it here."

A voice, neither too loud nor too soft, rang out, and the three people who were deep in thought all turned to look at Cao Yuan.

Cao Yuan met the gazes of the three men and coughed lightly.

"Seventeen hundred gold coins, right?"

Seeing that Cao Yuan didn't seem to be joking, Han Fei couldn't help but swallow and ask, "Brother Cao, can you really come up with that much money?"

It wasn't that he didn't trust Cao Yuan, but he simply couldn't see how Cao Yuan could come up with so much money.

He remembered that when they were drinking and carousing together at the Zuimenglou in Linzi, Qi State, Cao Yuan seemed to be a little short of money.

On the way back to Han from Wei, Cao Yuan was able to freely spend tens of gold coins on food and drink.

That was only because Cao Yuan had Jing Ni by his side at that time.

As a former top-tier assassin, it's normal for him to have several hundred gold coins on him.

But this also shows that Cao Yuan didn't have much money at all.

Cao Yuan said disdainfully to Han Fei, "Don't use your suspicious eyes to question my noble character. Do you think everyone is like you, saying you're inviting people to dinner, but when it comes down to it, all you do is pawn things to pay off debts?"

Han Fei's face flushed, and he retorted, "That was an advance payment. Do you understand what an advance payment is? An advance payment is not a mortgage."

Cao Yuan immediately retorted, "According to Brother Han, that's stealing, not burglary?"