Chapter 135
Chapter 135: The Deal
Meeting Xia Meng Yan’s cool, distant eyes, Lord Zheng felt his heart shrink for no reason. [This should not be happening. Why am I afraid of a girl?] He kept his voice steady as he said: “I will investigate what you said.”
“If the results are true, what does Lord plan to do?” she asked.
Standing off to the side, Qiao Xi Wan had expected a brawl, or at least threats and someone begging for mercy. But this felt like a negotiation. She suddenly seemed unimportant. [So I do not matter.]
Xia Meng Yan smiled as she said: “About the Qiao Family last time, for your sake I let it go. This time your daughter tried to kill me. You are not planning to brush it off again, right?”
She did not mind offending the Zheng Family. The salt license mattered to the Lin Family. She had been able to stir things up in the Capital because she had the Lin Family behind her. If she could win benefits for the Lin Family now, she would not miss the chance.
Looking at her, Lord Zheng suddenly felt that when Xia Meng Yan smiled, she looked a little like Old Master Lin. She had half the Lin Family’s blood, so of course she carried the air of an old friend.
“Miss Xia wants revenge?” he asked.
The room was so quiet that a pin could be heard. None of the onlookers dared breathe.
Zheng Ming Lan had not expected that Xia Meng Yan would not only meet Father’s eyes but also talk with him so calmly.
Not far away, Qiao Xi Wan clenched her hands in envy. This was the kind of person she wanted to become.
“I do. Will Lord Zheng give me the chance?” Xia Meng Yan asked, tossing the question back.
Lord Zheng was not all-powerful in Man Lin City, but he was still the master here. Xia Meng Yan was not foolish. She would not put herself and her child in danger.
He looked at her, then laughed in a sudden, open way without answering her question as he said: “Miss Xia is skilled. If you truly wanted peace, you would not have let those madams go down the mountain. Among so many handles, you chose to expose only this matter about my son. You are knocking on the Zheng Family.”
“You joke, Lord. Miss Zheng wanted my life. If I did not fight back, neither the Lin Family nor the Xia Family would agree,” she said, lifting a cup to take a sip of tea. “Besides, I am thinking for you. If Young Master Zheng marries and this comes out later, many people will be offended.”
“Thank you so much,” ground out Zheng Jing Nian through clenched teeth as he said: “If you had not meddled, people would not be laughing at me. Xia Meng Yan, no excuse can make up the Zheng Family’s loss.”
Xia Meng Yan gave a short laugh as she said: “Wasn’t it Young Master Zheng who caused the Zheng Family’s loss? This would come out sooner or later. If your sister had not tried to kill me, I would not have done this. In the end, it is your own family’s problem.”
“Enough,” said Lord Zheng, cutting him off. He looked at Xia Meng Yan as he said: “Eldest Miss Xia, what do you want?”
“Lord Zheng is straightforward,” she said with a warm smile. “I want Man Lin City’s salt license for twenty years and the port management rights.”
“Impossible,” Lord Zheng snapped, slamming the table as he said: “Three years of the salt license is already the limit. And you still want the port’s management rights. Such big talk.”
Xia Meng Yan did not get angry. Her voice grew even gentler as she said: “It seems Lord did not understand me.”
Lord Zheng blinked and turned her words over in his mind. Then his eyes went wide as he said: “You mean you can keep me in this post for twenty years?”
Xia Meng Yan rose slowly and rested her hand on Duan Yi Chen’s arm as she said: “If you are not in this post, how will the Lin Family get the management rights?”
Excitement stirred in Lord Zheng. He had been on edge for years, afraid that one wrong step would get him demoted. If she could keep him here, never mind twenty years, a lifetime would be fine.
“Why should I believe you?” he asked.
“Duan Yi Chen,” said Xia Meng Yan softly.
She felt the man beside her flinch.
Lord Zheng could no longer stay calm as he said: “You mean the Eldest Princess’s only son, Heir Apparent Duan?”
“Yes. Miss Zheng has hovered around me for so long because she was looking for him, wasn’t she?” she said.
Annoyed, Lord Zheng shot his daughter a glare. No wonder they could not find him. Others had found him first.
Xia Meng Yan went on as she said: “With my father and Duan Yi Chen together, keeping Lord Zheng in his post for twenty years should not be hard.”
“If you can persuade Heir Apparent Duan to keep me in Man Lin City for twenty years, then the salt license and the port will be under the Lin Family’s say,” he said, joy rising in his heart. People praised the Capital, but a noble house without roots went there only to be eaten. Better to be a local emperor.
“Good. Please look after the Lin Family in the future,” said Xia Meng Yan, bending her knees a little to give him face.
Duan Yi Chen supported her, and his eyes turned cold. [How dare he make my person bow. Does he deserve it?]
Lord Zheng laughed heartily as he said: “Miss Xia is too polite. The Lin Family has done business in Man Lin City for many years in a proper way and has done a lot of good. I have wanted to find a chance to thank the Lin Family. This time, if your people had not acted in time when Cloud Mountain Temple caught fire, more people would have died.”
[Old fox. You came up with your excuse that fast,] thought Xia Meng Yan, though she said with a mild smile: “It is only right. Officials and people are one family.”
“What a fine line, officials and people are one family. I still have some family matters to handle. Miss Xia, feel free,” he said.
“I should return to rest. I am taking these people with me,” said Xia Meng Yan with a wave, and Duan Yi Chen led their group away.
Watching Xia Meng Yan’s back, Zheng Ming Lan stamped her foot and said: “Father, why did you agree to her? Twenty years? With the Lin Family’s power, they will surely monopolize Man Lin City.”
Lord Zheng gave a cold smile as he said: “Do we have a choice?”
Zheng Ming Lan fell silent.
“The Lin Family’s power grows stronger by the day. Even without Xia Meng Yan, the Lin Family would still soar. If such results happen under my watch, it is a win-win. Why should I refuse?” he said. Then he turned to his children. Thinking of Xia Meng Yan’s calm just now, he raised his voice as he said: “From now on, treat Xia Meng Yan well. If you play any more dirty tricks, do not blame me for disowning you.”
Xia Meng Yan did not know Lord Zheng had praised her. After leaving, she found a quiet spot and said: “Miss Qiao, you can go now.”
Qiao Xi Wan could not believe that Xia Meng Yan would let her go. She had heard the whole deal. Was Xia Meng Yan not afraid she would tell?
“You are not afraid I will tell?” she asked.
Looking her up and down as if she were hearing a joke, Xia Meng Yan said: “No matter what, I saved you. If you repay kindness with betrayal, I will not be soft next time.” The key was this: since it involved the Zheng Family, even a fool would not run her mouth. Lord Zheng would not lightly offend the Lin Family. The Qiao Family, by contrast, was nothing.
Seeing the contempt in Xia Meng Yan’s eyes, Qiao Xi Wan’s face burned as she said: “Elder Sister Xia, rest assured. Everything about Cloud Mountain Temple is known only to me in the Qiao Family. As for my maid, she died while fighting the fire.”
Xia Meng Yan smiled as she said: “Little Sister Qiao is smart. I do not need to say more.”
She left with her people.
Back in the courtyard, Xia Meng Yan’s smile faded.
Pouring tea for her, Duan Yi Chen asked: “What is wrong? You were fine just now.”
“Lord Zheng agreed too fast. Something is off,” she said, taking a sip and feeling her body relax. “Anyone else would dream of a transfer to the Capital. But when he heard he could stay in Man Lin City for twenty years, his joy did not look fake.”
“It might be that this post has a lot of profit,” he said.
“No matter how much profit, it cannot match the Capital,” said Xia Meng Yan, looking at him as she added: “We came to Man Lin City to find the Huo Family’s hidden agents. Have you thought about this? The Huo Family grew so fast here because someone local helped them.”
Duan Yi Chen’s hand, halfway through peeling an orange, stopped. Surprise flashed in his eyes as he said: “You mean Lord Zheng is with the Huo Family too?”
“I hope not. Otherwise, you and I might not leave Man Lin City alive,” she said.
Xia Meng Yan had already cast the bait. Now they would see whether the person behind the scenes took the hook.