There are too many female protagonists with deceased husbands in the Qin Dynasty's Past Books.

The Moon Goddess couldn't help but wonder what exactly this guy had suffered that made him so eager to erase the traces.

"What new instructions does Lord Donghuang have?"

Upon hearing the instructions from Donghuang Taiyi, Dongjun immediately became serious and dared not be negligent. He also understood why the Moon Goddess, who should have continued her secluded cultivation, had appeared here.

"His Majesty the Eastern Emperor has decreed that the Mohist school..."

Chapter 53 To Gamble or Not to Gamble

Qianlong Hall, the venue for the Yibao Conference.

Situ Wanli, who had clearly just gotten out of bed, still looked sleepy and confused, and even doubted whether the subordinate who rushed to report had made a mistake.

There was no appointment, no warning.

The arrival of distinguished guests in the middle of the night, especially from the secret outpost outside the city where the Yi Bao Conference was being held, was already quite strange.

Moreover, the people who came were carrying a coffin.

What's going on here? Are they planning to cause trouble?

Situ Wanli, who arrived at breakneck speed on horseback, almost threw up his dinner.

After finally arriving at the secluded base as quickly as possible, Situ Wanli straightened his clothes and tried his best to appear energetic as he prepared to greet his distinguished guest.

As soon as you open the door, you're greeted by the aroma of hot food and wine.

Well, there was no need for him, the host, to entertain them; the distinguished guests ate on their own, and they ate with great relish and enjoyment.

Even the servants serving the dishes were panting heavily from exhaustion.

What caught Situ Wanli's attention most was the complete stranger at the table. It wasn't just the spectacular sight of the man devouring the food, but also his astonishingly large physique. Even sitting there, Situ Wanli had to look up to see him.

It felt as if a small mountain was standing in front of me, and the muscle contours that changed slightly with my movements were like the jagged rocks on the cliff.

Furthermore, there are ferocious, beast-like patterns crisscrossing and intersecting.

In addition, their tattered clothing and heavy chains binding their limbs gave them a distinctly barbarian appearance, unlike the people of the Central Plains...

A sense of ferocity and brutality washed over me.

The coffin that the subordinate had specifically mentioned in his report was right at the feet of this burly man—a large, dark coffin.

It also exudes an ominous and chilling aura.

Not to mention the subordinates and servants who were entertaining the group, who were trembling with fear and sweating profusely, even Situ Wanli, who had seen all kinds of situations, couldn't help but feel immense pressure upon seeing this scene.

However, being the head of a peasant family, he was quite shrewd and calculating.

Despite being secretly alarmed, Situ Wanli remained outwardly calm, smiling as he looked at the figure at the table who had barely touched his chopsticks:

"Young Master Jiang, I didn't expect we would meet again so soon."

"Why didn't you give us a heads-up before you came? The next Yi Bao Conference is still a long time away. I'm afraid you'll have to make a wasted trip."

"Ha, to be honest, Brother Situ, I've come here to seek refuge."

Situ Wanli had intended to carefully probe the other party's intentions before deciding how to entertain this uninvited guest. Unexpectedly, Jiang Mo was surprisingly frank, stating his purpose directly from the outset.

Jiang Mo, his face somewhat pale, waved his hand, pointing at Wushuang Gui, who was happily eating opposite him:

"Brother Situ, you can surely tell that my brother is a descendant of the Baiyue people. It's not easy to find him a place to rest in Xinzheng City these days, so I have no choice but to shamelessly send him to your place for a few days to rest."

That's incredibly shameless.

I previously said, "If you have any needs, feel free to come to Qianlong Hall."

But that's just a common polite remark in business, not something you should dump such a huge problem on me!

Jiang Mo's words made Situ Wanli's eyebrows twitch.

He could certainly tell the origin of the burly man; after all, his appearance and attire practically screamed "remnant of the Baiyue people" on his face.

Moreover, Situ Wanli could tell that the three people in front of him had all been through a major battle.

Even though Jiang Mo appeared calm and composed, with no sign of anything amiss, the marks left by rolling on the ground at least two or three times were still quite glaring.

The fact that the same was true of the beautiful woman next to him made Situ Wanli even more alarmed.

This stunningly beautiful woman, whose strength he couldn't immediately discern, was no pushover. The fact that she had been forced into such a sorry state suggested that the enemy Jiang Mo and his companions had just faced...

Yan Lingji noticed the glance that Situ Wanli was giving her.

However, she didn't mind. She simply raised her glass to Jiang Mo's lips and offered him a sip of the fine wine that she had just tasted and found quite good.

It wasn't intentional to show affection in front of Situ Wanli.

She just felt that Jiang Mo didn't look well, and he hadn't eaten much during the meal, so she was a little worried about him.

Taking a sip of the mellow, sweet wine, Jiang Mo gave Yan Lingji, who was nestled beside him, a slightly helpless pat on the shoulder, signaling her not to disturb their serious conversation. His gaze, however, remained fixed on Situ Wanli, whose face showed hesitation.

How to deal with Wushuang Gui is indeed a rather tricky matter.

After all, the other party's physique and appearance are obvious, unlike Yan Lingji who can blend into Zilan Pavilion with a little disguise. The risk of being exposed is extremely high.

It was precisely because he had considered the potential trouble that Jiang Mo brought the person to the Hidden Dragon Hall.

This way, even if they were accidentally exposed, it wouldn't implicate Zi Nu and the others. Jiang Mo wouldn't feel much guilt if something went wrong at Qianlong Hall.

It's just a business transaction.

Whether a deal can be closed depends on the risks and crises involved, but even more important is the potential profit.

Seeing that Situ Wanli seemed hesitant and about to refuse, Jiang Mo cleared his throat:

"Brother Situ, there's no need to make a decision so quickly. I still have at least tens of thousands of taels of gold here, and I'd like to discuss the sale with you slowly."

Tens of thousands of taels of gold.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was startled, except for Wushuang Gui, who had no idea what the concept meant and was still eating heartily.

Yan Lingji, who was about to feed Jiang Mo, almost shoved the chopsticks up his nose.

She gasped in surprise, hurriedly catching the rib that had fallen from the chopsticks with her delicate white hand, and stuffed it into Jiang Mo's mouth. It was as if she was worried that Jiang Mo was just bragging without thinking, making some impossible promise in the heat of the moment.

So they quickly stuffed food into each other's mouths.

Tens of thousands of taels of gold!

Even though Yan Lingji wasn't particularly sensitive to money, she knew that this was an astronomical figure that was hard for ordinary people to imagine.

Let alone tens of thousands of taels of gold, even tens of thousands of taels of stones would take a long time to move.

Oh no, with Wushuang around, as long as there's a container that can hold tens of thousands of taels of gold, moving it wouldn't be difficult.

The problem is, where can you find free gold that they can just take away?

Ten thousand taels of gold—this news startled even Situ Wanli. As a businessman, he understood the true meaning of this sum far better than Yan Lingji.

If it were an asset worth ten thousand taels of gold, Situ Wanli could easily produce it himself.

Judging from Jiang Mo's tone just now, he was clearly going to take out ten thousand taels of gold in one go. Such arrogance made Situ Wanli feel shocked.

The difference between assets and cash—just a piece of paper—is enormous.

If it were anyone else, even another distinguished guest of the Hidden Dragon Hall, who wanted to do business with him for ten thousand taels of gold, Situ Wanli would not simply laugh it off and waste the opportunity, but he would inevitably have some doubts in his heart.

But now that Jiang Mo has said these words, Situ Wanli has to think carefully about what he's saying.

This person's origins are mysterious, and not only does he have someone like Zi Nu by his side, but he also seems to have gained the favor of some noble person...

Oh, how could I have almost forgotten?

Speaking of Baiyue, that noble person also came from Baiyue.

Could it be that today's events were actually carried out on her orders? That makes sense; ten thousand taels of gold is indeed nothing to that noble person.

Yes, that esteemed person has always been so extravagant.

Thinking of this, Situ Wanli suddenly felt enlightened, and the doubts that he had been racking his brains to understand suddenly became clear.

So, the way she looked at Jiang Mo immediately changed.

Especially when his gaze inadvertently swept over Yan Lingji, who was nestled close to him and serving him intimately, his eyes immediately filled with even more admiration.

Amazing!

I initially thought you were handsome and that you were a gold digger, which is why you were able to gain the favor and trust of that important person.

But now it seems I underestimated you.

Young Master Jiang, you clearly want intelligence, you have a confidante; you want power, you have a stunning beauty; you want wealth, you have a beautiful and wealthy woman…

Wow, that's really enviable!

Even Situ Wanli, the head of the Farmer's Hall, couldn't help but secretly envy this woman who had worked so hard for so many years.

And now, he has realized an excellent opportunity that could save him ten years of hard work.

It's not that I want to compete with Jiang Mo for a gigolo.

Instead, they saw an opportunity to connect with that important person through Jiang Mo, thereby establishing a further cooperative relationship.

However, Situ Wanli was not blinded by the enormous profits.

As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Xinzheng in South Korea is not within the core power sphere of the Farmer's Clan. As the leader of the Hidden Dragon Hall, he is quite isolated and helpless here. Therefore, he has always maintained neutrality and does not participate in the disputes between the various forces in Xinzheng City.

If we agree to Jiang Mo's offer of protection today, it will be difficult to maintain neutrality.

Once you enter the game, it will be a huge gamble.

To gamble, or not to gamble.

This is truly a difficult decision.

The other farm disciples in the Hidden Dragon Hall nearby were unaware of these matters and naturally couldn't think of anything too far ahead. Seeing their hall master deep in thought, seemingly seriously considering the business Jiang Mo had just mentioned, they concluded that he indeed had the capital to spend lavishly.

They were all immediately invigorated.

Even though he was yawning, he was no longer sleepy and began to explain the origins and flavors of each dish with bright eyes.

The waiter, who had been busy serving dishes, suddenly stopped feeling weak in the legs and sore in the arms, and ran as fast as he could, as if he had inexhaustible energy.

They dared not even dream of big deals.

They only hoped to please this wealthy patron, hoping that he might be pleased and casually bestow something upon them, which would be enough to satisfy their desires.