Chapter 140

Chapter 140: She Wouldn’t Humour Him

Shang Xing Yu muttered, “I knew I shouldn’t have saved her!”

Sheng Zhi Wan raised an eyebrow: “What did Liu Manor do to you?”

Did Liu Manor think he was just a useless playboy and not worthy of their young miss?

In her past life, Liu Manor first promised Liu Yan to the Second Prince as a Secondary Consort. Later, when the Second Imperial Brother died, they bundled up Liu Yan and Liu Xu and sent them into the Third Prince’s manor.

They were that ambitious, so it was normal for them to look down on the current Shang Xing Yu.

But when Sheng Zhi Wan thought of that, she felt an unspoken irritation in her chest.

It felt just like the last time in the wine house, when she heard Shang Xiu Yuan, Wang Huai Zhi, and the others belittling him.

In her past life, when Eastern Wa invaded and everyone was helpless, it had been Shang Xing Yu who drove the enemy out with a fierce, absolute presence and reclaimed the Five Prefectures.

It had also been Shang Xing Yu who stopped the Sheng Kingdom from collapsing further and kept the commoner from being scattered and displaced.

Yet someone like that was being looked down on by a pack of idle parasites and scheming climbers.

Why?

Sheng Zhi Wan’s brows knit tightly.

Shang Xing Yu had only been complaining, but when he saw her frown, real regret rose in him.

Shang Xing Yu forced a careless tone: “What could they possibly do to me?”

Shang Xing Yu added, “I just thought that if I’d known saving her would make Princess unhappy, I should’ve pretended I didn’t see anything.”

Sheng Zhi Wan did not touch the tea he had poured. She set it on the table: “Hah. That was Liu Manor’s young miss. Could Young Master Shang Er really bear not to save her?”

Shang Xing Yu curled his lip: “What’s there to bear or not bear?”

Shang Xing Yu scoffed, “If she hadn’t looked so ugly splashing around in the water, I wouldn’t have even bothered to pull her up with my whip. Now that she touched my whip, I can’t even use it anymore.”

As Shang Xing Yu spoke, he regretted it even more.

Sheng Zhi Wan froze: “That was how you saved her?”

Shang Xing Yu’s eyes filled with disgust: “What else? Was I supposed to fish her out with my hands?”

Sheng Zhi Wan could not help it. She laughed: “Even a miss from the Liu Family can’t catch your eye. Then what kind of woman can?”

The moment the words fell, the man’s gaze locked onto her face.

In the dim room, that look felt almost solid.

The smile on Sheng Zhi Wan’s face stiffened little by little under that burning stare.

In the end, it was as if she could not bear it anymore. Her lashes trembled, and she looked away: “Since Young Master Shang Er is back, how did things go in Te Dan?”

Shang Xing Yu let out a soft laugh and did not press her for an answer.

For him, this was already good.

After all, the boldest he had ever been was stealing a bride in a dream – and she had beaten him up for it.

Shang Xing Yu coughed and pushed down the sweetness in his chest. He turned serious: “We already closed the net.”

Sheng Zhi Wan stared: “What? So fast?”

It was more than two months earlier than she had expected.

Shang Xing Yu nodded: “We misjudged before. Te Dan’s Merchants’ Guild system made it much easier to spread the bulbs, and Te Dan’s merchants were far bolder and more willing to gamble than we thought.”

Shang Xing Yu continued, “But when things go too far, they swing back.”

Shang Xing Yu took out a sheet of paper: “Princess, please look. This is the profit from this time.”

Sheng Zhi Wan accepted it and unfolded it.

When she saw the number, she sucked in a breath.

There were a full thirty-six million taels of silver.

On top of that, there were promissory notes stamped by the various Te Dan Merchants’ Guilds, worth more than sixty million taels, that had not been exchanged in time.

Shang Xing Yu explained, “Also, as Princess instructed, I already had people exchange as much of the silver as possible into grain, fodder, horses, and medicine.”

Shang Xing Yu added, “As for iron goods, that part was difficult. Te Dan controls it tightly, and also, once we cross from Te Dan into the Sheng Kingdom, it will likely be seized and sealed…”

Sheng Zhi Wan nodded: “That’s fine. Store it outside the Yi Zhou border for now.”

Te Dan bordered the Sheng Kingdom at Yi Zhou and Zhi Zhou. Yi Zhou was in the north, and Zhi Zhou was in the south.

Sheng Zhi Wan planned to use the northern cold disaster to gather refugees and train troops, so it was naturally more convenient to send supplies to the farther-north Yi Zhou.

But that was only her worst plan.

War always hurt the commoner most. If she could take power smoothly, Sheng Zhi Wan would rather feed those people for nothing…

Shang Xing Yu asked, “It’s a lot of silver. It will probably take three to five more days to enter the capital. Where does Princess plan to store it?”

Sheng Zhi Wan lowered her gaze: “Split it into two parts. One part will be stored in Young Master Shang Er’s trading house.”

Sheng Zhi Wan continued, “The other part will trouble Young Master Shang Er to have people deliver it to Xian Long Mountain.”

Sheng Zhi Wan told him about the cold disaster in Mo Bei. She also told him that Xian Long Mountain had an iron mine, and that she had already had Du Yi Zhi buy cotton and use the disaster to organize manpower to dig the mine.

Sheng Zhi Wan said quietly, “But having a mine is not enough.”

Sheng Zhi Wan looked at Shang Xing Yu: “The cold disaster in Mo Bei will create countless refugees. When that happens, the deaths and injuries will be impossible to count. I want to use this money to keep some people alive, and use them for my purposes.”

Her words were careful, but the meaning was clear.

Raising private troops was something that would get anyone beheaded the moment it was exposed.

Sheng Zhi Wan was laying her cards on the table in front of Shang Xing Yu, and also testing him.

She knew Shang Xing Yu had troops under him, but Shang Xing Yu did not know that she knew.

If Shang Xing Yu truly stood on her side, even if it was only because of that strange feeling he carried, he would reveal something at this moment.

Even if Shang Xing Yu did not reveal it, as long as Shang Xing Yu agreed to gather refugees and train troops for her, it would tie the two of them to the same boat, completely.

The room went silent. Sheng Zhi Wan’s lashes trembled lightly.

Shang Xing Yu nodded.

Then Shang Xing Yu stared at her, steady and unblinking. In his deep eyes, a few bright sparks rose: “Since Princess trusts me enough to hand me such a large sum of silver, I won’t hide it either.”

Shang Xing Yu said, “I have a group of people who are very skilled at training soldiers.”

Shang Xing Yu said, “I also have a group of troops at the border between Shuozhou and Ting Zhou. If Princess is interested, I can find a chance later to bring Princess to see them.”

His tone was calm, as if he were not talking about secret troops at all, but about some beautiful place waiting to be visited.

Sheng Zhi Wan felt stunned.

She had expected Shang Xing Yu to agree, but she had not expected Shang Xing Yu to lay down his bottom line so directly, and even tell her where those private troops were.

Others might have doubted him, but Sheng Zhi Wan had lived once already. She had seen Shang Xing Yu rise like a sudden army, and she naturally knew he had launched his troops from Ting Zhou and Shuozhou to fight Eastern Wa.

So Shang Xing Yu was not lying.

But…

Why?

Did Shang Xing Yu trust her that easily?

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, the question Shang Xing Yu had pressed down for so long nearly broke free.

He had wanted to take it slowly, but…

Did she really not remember anything at all?

Shang Xing Yu asked suddenly, “Does Princess know why I saved the Liu Family’s young miss?”

The topic turned too fast, and Sheng Zhi Wan did not react in time.

But Shang Xing Yu did not need her answer anyway.

Shang Xing Yu said to himself, “Right. A noble lady like Princess probably forgot a long time ago.”

Sheng Zhi Wan frowned: “What?”

Shang Xing Yu snorted: “Nothing.”

That sulky expression did not look like “nothing” at all.

Sheng Zhi Wan glanced at Shang Xing Yu and nodded: “Since it’s nothing, then Young Master Shang Er should return early.”

Sheng Zhi Wan continued, “As for Xian Long Mountain, I will trouble Young Master Shang Er to handle it.”

After she spoke, Sheng Zhi Wan told Shang Xing Yu the way she contacted Du Yi Zhi.

Her tone was purely business.

The frustration in Shang Xing Yu’s chest had only just cracked open, and it was forced shut again.

He did not believe Sheng Zhi Wan could not see his mood.

She simply refused to comfort him.

Shang Xing Yu felt stifled. He nodded, took the token, and walked to the window.

He lifted the window with one hand, then his steps stopped abruptly.