Chapter 730: How Much for the Damages?

Upon hearing this, Wang Li glanced toward the shop. The floor was covered in antique fragments. He thought he even saw the exquisite blue-and-white porcelain he had just been admiring; a single piece was worth tens of thousands of taels.

’How much would all that cost...’

At that thought, he immediately shrank back, afraid they would come after him.

Li Mu was a bit dazed. He looked at the shop, the floor littered with shattered treasures, and felt a pang of regret. However, he had no intention of paying. "On what grounds should I be the one to pay?"

"On what grounds? You’re the ones who smashed everything, aren’t you?"

"Yes, but it was because—"

"Forget the ’buts.’ ’Yes’ is all that matters. If you break something, you pay for it. Even a three-year-old knows that. Surely the great director of the Beili Imperial Merchants understands this?" The Shopkeeper raised an eyebrow and added, "Or are you saying the Beili Imperial Merchants are so used to bullying commoners that you can smash up shops whenever you please?"

Li Mu was rendered speechless.

"Hmph. Even if you’re a big shot who can smash things up as you please in Beili, this is Nanyuan. This is Dayu City. We won’t tolerate your insolence. If you don’t pay up today, you can wait to face a lawsuit." The Shopkeeper planted his hands on his hips, determined to see this through.

"Official Li, getting into a lawsuit in Nanyuan won’t look good for you. You should just pay up," Zhan Chi commented coolly from the side.

Li Mu’s face contorted with rage. He spun around and snapped, "Zhan Chi, stop your gloating!"

"Hah. You brought this on yourself. Who else is there to blame?" Zhan Chi had never liked Li Mu. Ever since taking over the imperial merchants from Gu Shuo, he had grown more arrogant with each passing year. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The Emperor trusted him a great deal. The ban on private businesses in Beili had been Li Mu’s suggestion. The Emperor was single-mindedly focused on filling the state coffers; the process was unimportant as long as it brought in more money.

As a result, the civilian economy in Beili was now in shambles, and it was difficult for people to make a living.

"That’s right. I heard he’s the head of the entire Beili Imperial Merchants. After smashing up someone’s shop, he can’t just refuse to pay, can he?"

"If he dares to renege, we’ll petition the Emperor that the Beili Imperial Merchants are tyrannical, unreasonable, and dishonest."

"Tsk, tsk. No wonder Beili forbids private enterprise. With someone like him in charge of the Imperial Merchants, it’s the common folk who suffer. Sigh, good thing we weren’t born in Beili."

"You said it. The people of Beili have it so rough."

The crowd of onlookers was quite large, with people from various nations.

Li Mu clenched his fists and turned to glare fiercely at Wang Li.

Wang Li sensed this was bad. Clutching the ginseng, he turned to run but was blocked by Li Mu’s guards.

"Official Li, what is the meaning of this?"

"I wasn’t the only one who smashed up Jisheng Hall. Where do you think you’re going, Official Wang?" Since he couldn’t get out of paying, he certainly wasn’t going to let Beili shoulder the entire burden alone.

"If you hadn’t started this, Official Li, my men wouldn’t have made a move. This has nothing to do with us."

’It’s so much money. How could I possibly pay for it?’

"It takes two to tango. Both our sides were involved, so we should split the cost evenly."

"It has nothing to do with us."

Wang Li stubbornly repeated that one line, infuriating Li Mu to the point he was practically hopping with rage.

"Shopkeeper, two groups of people were involved in the destruction. You can’t make me pay for everything alone," Li Mu said, looking at the Shopkeeper in exasperation.

The Shopkeeper shrugged. "I don’t care how you split it among yourselves. All I care about is that every single item in my shop is paid for in full. Clerk, tally up all the broken items. We’ll send the bill to this gentleman’s residence."

"Right away!"

"This isn’t fair—"

"Now you want to talk about fairness? What happened to that domineering attitude you had when you were trying to strong-arm a sale? You’re Official Li Mu of the Beili Imperial Merchants, correct? I’ll deduct this ten thousand-gold deposit slip you gave me. The final bill will be calculated and delivered to you tomorrow, Your Excellency. You can go back and start raising the funds now... oh, wait, my mistake. How could the head of the Beili Imperial Merchants possibly need to raise funds? Your Excellency, just remember to have the money ready." The Shopkeeper chuckled and went back into his shop.

’I’ve hit the jackpot today!’

Of course, Wang Li had no intention of being the fall guy. He shot his personal guard a look, shoved aside the person in front of him, and bolted.

Amid the noisy crowd, it took Li Mu a moment to react. "General Zhan, quick! Don’t let him get away!"

"What does that have to do with me?" Zhan Chi said coldly.

"Zhan Chi, you...! I will report your actions to the Emperor, General Zhan!" Li Mu ground his teeth in hatred.

"Don’t trouble yourself, Official Li. I’m going back to write my own memorial right now. I’ll be sure to report your actions to the Emperor, word for word." ’Who doesn’t know how to tattle?’

’You can’t be too honest in this world. A little embellishment is the key to survival.’

Li Mu ground his back teeth, unable to retort. He had just inexplicably lost an exorbitant amount of money. The Emperor was obsessed with wealth; if he found out, he would surely be furious. The thought made him regret provoking Zhan Chi.

Seething with suppressed anger, he pushed through the crowd and stalked toward his inn.

’The Emperor didn’t send someone to protect me. He sent a harbinger of my doom.’

"Jisheng Hall is going to make a fortune this time." Huo Feng glanced inside the shop. It was all high-quality merchandise. He had been wandering around Dayu City all afternoon and had noticed that the prices in antique shops, in particular, had suddenly skyrocketed.

"That representative from the Beili Imperial Merchants seems so arrogant. He must be used to throwing his weight around, just like..." Jiang Yue was about to complain about Huo Liran again, but she caught sight of Huo Feng and quickly bit her tongue.

"Just like who?" Huo Feng pressed.

Jiang Chenyi knew what she was about to say and shot her a discreet glare.

Jiang Yue shrugged. "It’s nothing."

A flicker of confusion crossed Huo Feng’s face. Before he could puzzle it out, he looked over and saw a general in full armor walking toward them. His expression froze, and he subconsciously took a few steps back.

Jiang Chenyi pulled Jiang Yue behind him, his eyes wary. "May I ask what business you have with us, General?"

Zhan Chi walked past them and stopped in front of Ye Qianning.

Jiang Chenyi spun around and took a step forward. "What do you want, General?"

Zhan Chi reached into his tunic, pulled out a thick stack of silver notes, and handed them to Ye Qianning.

Huo Feng, who had been tense, looked on in surprise as Zhan Chi produced the thick stack of silver notes.

Jiang Chenyi was also taken aback. ’Those silver notes are...?’

"I don’t want them. I have my own money," Ye Qianning said.

"Take them. Go shopping, buy yourself something you like, and eat some good food. You’re nothing but skin and bones. If your master and grandparents saw you like this, they’d be heartbroken." Zhan Chi pressed the silver notes into her hand.

Ye Qianning looked at the silver notes, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I can’t just gain the weight back. Besides, being thin looks good."

"Nonsense. Pang Pang is much better." With a gentle and doting look in his eyes, Zhan Chi ruffled her hair. "Mr. Zhan has some matters to attend to. I’ll be back to have dinner with you tonight."

"You mean you’ll be here to watch me eat," Ye Qianning muttered with a pout.

"It’s to make sure you’re not a picky eater."

"I know, I know. You should go and get your work done."

"I’m off, then."

Zhan Chi reluctantly pulled his hand back, looking over his shoulder every few steps as he walked away...

Ye Qianning touched her forehead, but an irrepressible smile played on her lips. ’It seems some things haven’t changed at all.’

Huo Feng’s handsome face was contorted in shock. The stern, imposing general from yesterday now had a look of such utter adoration in his eyes...

Jiang Chenyi and Jiang Yue were dumbfounded. They stared blankly as the handsome general in his simple armor walked away, still turning to look back in their direction even from a great distance.

"S-Sister Ye... you know that general?" Jiang Yue turned back and couldn’t help but ask.