The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 185 Sword Pointing at the Shang Family
"Is there any news from the Anqing Gang?" Shang Mingshu hadn't expected to get involved with this outsider. The government had let them get away with it, and the Anqing Gang was known for its benevolence and righteousness. She had never had any dealings with them before, so they shouldn't have made things difficult for the Shang family.

"We can't get the money to work." He Mu's expression was grave.

The worst outcome for such a large guild, with hundreds of people at all levels, is that they can't get any money out of it.

This means that money cannot easily resolve the issue.

Shang Mingshu ate at a leisurely pace, her long eyelashes slightly lowered, seemingly focused on the food in front of her.

Seeing that Shang Mingshu remained silent for a long time, He Mu mustered up his courage and said, "Madam, the Anqing Gang's intentions are hard to fathom. They stopped us on the grounds that our grain was the same as a batch of grain they lost some time ago. When I showed them the purchase receipt, their manager smiled and said that he never suspected us of being thieves, but suspected that we had purchased their stolen grain."

Several grain sacks had indeed been tampered with, matching the markings they had described. They were using this to withhold grain, and the gang leader was personally investigating. This concerned the lifeblood of hundreds of members of their Anqing gang, and they wanted our cooperation; the government meant the same thing.”

But Huizhou Prefecture needed grain, and they couldn't afford to wait.
He Mu knelt down and said, "It was my fault for not handling things properly, and someone accidentally tampered with my work."

If it weren't for those few bags of grain that had been marked by someone at some unknown time, how could they have gotten stuck here and needed their wives to risk their lives to come day and night?
"Get up. This is not your fault for being negligent."

She needed the food urgently, and He Mu was able to gather it in a short time and transport it all the way to her doorstep. You can imagine how much effort it took. No matter how careful she was, she couldn't prevent someone from taking advantage of her.

Setting down her chopsticks, Shang Mingshu's gaze swept across the window frame, catching a glimpse of the sky obscured by a small patch of thick clouds, and she fell silent.

Judging from the attitude of the Anqing gang, they seem unwilling to confront her directly, yet they drag things out, even managing to fool the government.

The sword is aimed at the Shang family.

She had no time to waste. The situation in Huizhou Prefecture did not allow her to waste time. From the moment her father accepted the prefect's entrustment and joined forces with the officials and merchants of Huizhou Prefecture to provide disaster relief, and from the moment she took the lead in opening the Shang Clan Ancestral Hall to receive the disaster victims, many things were no longer entirely under her control. They depended on fate and the hearts of the people.

The divine mandate is the disaster in Huizhou Prefecture, and the people's hearts are wondering if someone is taking advantage of this to disregard human life, willing to sacrifice the people of the prefecture to the point of utter destruction for the Shang family.

"My lady, Chen Dalang has arrived." Just as Shang Mingshu was deep in thought, a guard announced from outside.

"Please come in quickly." Shang Mingshu immediately stood up to greet the guest.

"Third Miss Shang," Chen Che said, his breathing slightly uneven, "is everything alright at the manor?"

Huizhou Prefecture was hit by floods, and the docks were closed to ships. The whole of Jiangnan was worried about the disaster. Merchant ships from Hangzhou Prefecture and Huizhou Prefecture had the closest exchanges. Chen Che knew about it immediately and wanted to see Shang Zishu, but his mother imprisoned him.

Chen Che also contributed to the transport of grain from Hemu to this place. He originally planned to seize the opportunity to infiltrate the grain transport team and follow them into Huizhou Prefecture.

"The household is still well." Shang Mingshu said gently. Chen Che and Shang Zishu were engaged, and Shang Mingshu included this future brother-in-law in her family.

Chen Che felt somewhat relieved, but then worried about the current situation: "Third Sister, is there any way to get out of this predicament?"

"I already have some ideas," Shang Mingshu replied with a smile.

Chen Che carefully observed Shang Mingshu's expression. Seeing her composure, he knew that this future sister-in-law was no ordinary person. Since she said she had a way, she could definitely solve the problem. He felt relieved and asked, "Third Sister, is there anything I can do to help?"

“I need someone’s help.” Shang Mingshu, wary of being overheard, went to the inner room. “Brother Chen, please wait a moment.” She ground ink and picked up her brush, writing down the points where she needed Chen Che’s help.

Chen Che carefully memorized the message and handed the paper back to Shang Mingshu, saying, "Don't worry, Third Sister, I will do my best."

Chen Che didn't stay long; he came and went in a hurry.

Shang Mingshu burned the letter to ashes and instructed He Mu to keep an eye on the grain at the dock, as she needed to rest for a while.

Originally, Shang Mingshu thought they were about to take action, but when she arrived, she found that it hadn't come to that. She was exhausted from the long journey, so she took a rest to recharge and also to make others anxious.

"She only saw Chen Che? And then she stayed indoors?" Shi Qingyu was neither far nor close to Shang Mingshu, and she had people watching Shang Mingshu's every move.

"Yes, Shang San doesn't seem to be in a hurry," Yingzi reported truthfully.

"Are you sure she didn't go out?" Shi Qingyu was worried that Shang Mingshu was trying to avoid suspicion and was no longer at her lodgings.

"I swear on my life." Yingzi was a little annoyed. Shi Qingyu doubted her abilities. If Shi Qingyu hadn't been so wary of Shang Mingshu and told her not to alert her, she could have kept a closer eye on her.

"Where is Chen Che? Where did Chen Che go?" Shi Qingyu didn't care about Yingzi's attitude.

After Chen Che left, he went to investigate who had given the Anqing gang the benefits.

Shi Qingyu frowned: "Guard the dock well."

Yingzi couldn't help but remind her, "Madam, this time you used Master's private seal, which has attracted the remnants of the White Lotus Sect. Be careful not to get burned."

Shi Qingyu is now the mistress of the Zhao family head in Shaoxing. She has considerable wealth from her business dealings and is highly favored by the Zhao family head, who allows her to move freely outside and even assigns a highly skilled martial arts maid like Yingzi to protect her.

The younger brother of the Zhao family head was the adopted son of Chief Minister Yan, who rose to the position of Minister of Works. His private seal naturally made the officials in the area retreat in fear.

They knew that Huizhou Prefecture was in danger, but they did not neglect the imperial court's orders in the slightest. This was Shang Mingshu's private grain, and with the Anqing gang taking the lead, they could keep it as they pleased. If the imperial court investigated, they could claim ignorance. This was why they avoided seeing Shang Mingshu's people.

The Anqing gang was bribed with a large sum of money by Shi Qingyu.

To deal with the Shang family, Shi Qingyu was willing to pay any price this time. She herself said that if she succeeded, she could seize the Shang family's assets and offer them up, but if she failed...

"Shang Mingshu has no time to deal with this, so she has no choice but to take it by force!" Shi Qingyu gritted her teeth.

On that day in Yingtian Prefecture, she didn't hesitate to expose the White Lotus Sect in order to lure Shang Mingshu to come and kill her, causing Shang Mingshu to become enemies with the White Lotus Sect. She fanned the flames, and now the White Lotus Sect members are lying in ambush around the dock. Once Shang Mingshu leads her men to make a move, they will disguise themselves as members of the Anqing Gang and rush in. She wants to leave Shang Mingshu's life here!
Without food aid, the Shang family would be massacred by refugees in Huizhou Prefecture. She also learned that Shang Mingshu had led the merchants of Huizhou Prefecture to open ancestral halls to take in refugees! These refugees would not be merciful; everyone would do anything to survive and turn against each other. Moreover, she had already arranged for people among the refugees in Huizhou Prefecture. These merchants, who were also being bitten by the refugees, would hate the Shang family first!

After the disaster, the entire Shang clan will face the combined retaliation of major merchants!

She wants to wipe out all the merchants!