Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Glory for Our Ancestors

“Second Young Master Shang, you’re always informed. Think hard—aren’t there more bandits near our Capital City for us to kill?” Ye Rong eagerly suggested.

“Kill bandits?” Shang Hang Yu rolled his eyes and sat down again. “Do you really think bandits are easy prey? With our meager skills, two hundred bandits would just wait around like tofu for us to chop?”

“Well… but we could do it like this time, attacking when they’re drunk. Drunken bandits are as stupid as sheep,” Chen Bao Jing laughed innocently.

Shang Hang Yu fell silent. His eyes swept over the four men, meeting their foolish yet confident gazes.

He chuckled softly. “Do you genuinely believe those bandits were just drunk?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did none of you hear clearly when Your Majesty praised us? Dali Temple discovered those bandits drank poisoned wine.”

“Poisoned wine is still wine, isn’t it?” Ye Rong didn’t think it mattered much. “We’ll just find a way to trick them into buying poisoned wine again!”

“You really grew your brain for nothing. Bandits risk their heads daily. Why would they conveniently buy poisoned wine just when we arrived?”

“Then… what happened?” Ye Rong blinked, puzzled.

Wasn’t it just luck?

“You’ve forgotten? When we found Princess Qing Ning, she had already escaped and was wounded. Clearly, the wine was secretly tampered with by her people beforehand.”

“Our achievements, in plain terms, were a gift from Princess Qing Ning.”

The four men froze in shock.

How… how could this be?

“Then why would Princess Qing Ning do that?” Ye Rong couldn’t quite grasp it.

Shang Hang Yu sighed. “Because we returned to help. Even though we didn’t do much, at least we didn’t abandon her in that bandit den.”

Ye Rong felt slightly comforted by this thought.

“So, basically, we’re still just useless fools?” Pei Yu An asked gloomily.

Great, not even wastrels—just plain fools now.

Shang Hang Yu shook his head. “Who said that? Whether you’re fools or heroes depends entirely on yourselves. Besides, no one else knows the truth. If you wish, you could still turn this into a real success.”

“How?” The wastrels perked up immediately.

Shang Hang Yu glanced at their eager faces and laughed lightly. “You really want to become heroes?”

“Of course!”

If given a choice, who’d willingly remain useless?

“No one was born wanting to accomplish nothing.”

“Becoming heroes isn’t easy,” Shang Hang Yu reminded them lightly.

Ye Rong hesitated briefly before declaring proudly, “It just means enduring hardship. If I dared to kill people, why would I fear hardship?”

“Exactly! Do you have a method, Second Young Master Shang? As long as it’s not hauling sandbags at the docks, we can manage,” Pei Yu An urged.

Shang Hang Yu fell silent. “It’s not that terrible.”

He beckoned them closer and whispered his idea.

“Pfft!” Ye Rong sprayed out his drink immediately.

Pei Yu An couldn’t resist checking Shang Hang Yu’s forehead. “Second Shang, have you gone insane?”

“That’s Tedan! Even if it’s smaller than our Sheng Kingdom, they have abundant grain and powerful armies. Wanting to earn silver is one thing, but this?” Ye Rong gasped, staring at Shang Hang Yu in disbelief.

Shang Hang Yu allowed them to scrutinize him calmly.

His composed look made Ye Rong feel as if their shock was somewhat exaggerated.

“Second Shang, are you serious?” Ye Rong finally asked cautiously.

“Ye Rong, have you gone mad too?” Pei Yu An stared in shock. “Even His Maj—” He quickly lowered his voice, “Even Your Majesty wouldn’t dare assume Tedan could be our granary and money pouch. How dare you?”

“So, will you join me or not?” Shang Hang Yu smiled casually. “If we succeed, it brings glory to our ancestors. If we fail, we’ll merely lose some silver.”

Pei Yu An scrutinized him again, grinding his teeth before finally relenting. “Could you explain more clearly, Second Shang? At least give us some confidence.”

Shang Hang Yu briefly outlined Sheng Zhi Wan’s plan.

Ye Rong’s mouth fell open. “So this is actually Princess Qing Ning’s idea?”

“Why did Princess Qing Ning pick you and not us?”

“A flowerpot, really? Can it do such wonders?”

“Isn’t Princess Qing Ning overthinking this?”

“She is just a girl after all. Without trading experience, how can she think it’s this simple? If trade were easy, the streets would be crowded with rich merchants!”

“Second Shang, maybe advise Princess Qing Ning not to bother with something so fruitless.”

The young men were clearly doubtful.

They weren’t interested in flowers anyway.

No matter how beautiful, flowers would wilt in days—how could they sell at the high prices Princess Qing Ning imagined?

Shang Hang Yu raised an eyebrow. “Yet, did any of you imagine you could actually defeat two hundred bandits?”

The four men glanced at each other awkwardly, speechless.

“But… how can that be compared?”