Chapter 440: Different Paths, Same Goal

ow fish!"The woman made the first offer."I offer one thousand silver taels, plus two jade ornaments and three antiques!"The second man's tone was full of certainty.The last man hesitated for a moment,..."What you said, I've been thinking about it. I've asked Yaozu to inquire about the鏢 bureaus in Huai'rou County. We can entrust them with protecting the children and escorting them back to Sū Nü Palace. I'll send a carrier pigeon message ahead of time to let Suyun make the preparations."

Wang Zhenzhen, over the past few days, examined the bones of the remaining five children and found that two had unusual skeletons, suitable for martial arts training. These included the young boy and the five-year-old girl with pigtails. They were the boldest of them all, always asking her about Lianyi and wanting to become her disciples.

The remaining three children, two boys and one girl, may not have extraordinary talent, but if they persevere, they can achieve something. All three are five or six years old, knowing nothing about the world except that their eldest brother said that martial arts were promising and wouldn't lead to starvation. They declared their desire to learn martial arts and expressed their fearlessness towards hardship.

The oldest of the five young boys was twelve years old, the one they called "big brother". He was allowed to stay because he could control the rest of the kids, preventing them from crying and causing trouble, essentially easing the burden on the bandits. If it hadn't been for the capture of the "Phoenixes Perch in Wisteria" mother and son, he too would have been sold to the Mongol nation along with these children before long.

"Alright, I had them make two sets of clothes at a clothing store that day. They should be delivered today. I can't let her go back to the Pure Maiden Palace wearing such tattered clothes."

"Just do what you see. If you run out of money, just tell me."

Although Wang Zhenzhen practiced martial arts in the Su Nü Palace, she was born into a wealthy family and had always been well-provided for in terms of food, clothing, and shelter.

"Auntie, please don't worry. The five thousand taels of silver the bandits contributed this time are all here with me. I'm going to have the youngsters take them back. After all, it's a harvest from my training, a way for me to show filial piety to my master and repay the favor of Su Nü Palace."

Liàn Yī thought about her eighteen years at Sù Nǚ Gōng. Because of her body, she had hardly done anything. Since she was now out training and had earned silver through her own efforts, naturally, she wanted to give back.

"You're in charge of this."

Wang Zhenzhen had no objections.

She only knew about the six thousand taels of silver bills on the surface, unaware that there was a mountain of bandits' wealth hidden in the ripple space. Currently, Qi Qishi suspected something was amiss but couldn't find any flaws in Ripple. The wealth accumulated by the bandits in Qing Shixia Valley had vanished into thin air, remaining an enigma to this day.

Wang Ya zu completed the task, knocked on the inn's door, and said after entering:

"The escort agency just happened to have a shipment passing through Changchuan Town, and they could take the child back along the way. They quoted fifty taels."

"Can you bargain"

"Fifty taels isn't expensive!"

Wang Yaozhu blurted out.

"My, my, you're quite the rich young master, aren't you You have no idea what it's like to struggle for every copper. Me and my senior sister have been out here training for ages and haven't even spent fifty taels!"

Then I'll go discuss it with them again.

Wang Yaizu said with discernment.

"It's alright, as long as the鏢局 can safely send people back, this money is well spent."

When are they leaving

"Tomorrow morning, if there is no reply by afternoon, they will not wait for us. They will set off at dawn."

Wang Yaozu's inquiries were quite clear.

"Alright, you take the silver and make the contract with them. I'll have a carriage ready to send them tomorrow morning."

"Great!"

Ripples didn't waste words, tossed five ingots of silver to the other party, telling him to run errands.

Just then, the tailor from the ready-made clothing store arrived to deliver goods. Lian'er instructed the shopkeeper to boil some hot water, and she cleaned up the five children, dressing them in new clothes, shoes, and socks. She also informed them where they were going.

"Heroine, can we meet again"

The little boy whispered.

Of course, once I've made a name for myself in the world, I'll go back and bring glory to the Su Nü Palace. By then, I'll assess your skills.

How long will that take

This time, the question came from a little girl.

"Maybe a year, maybe two years. Who knows."

"We must practice hard and not disgrace the female heroes."

The little boy clenched his fist and said.

Ripple smiled and nodded, finally sewing the five thousand taels of silver bills into the young boy's clothes. She told him that when he saw Suyun, he should give him the clothes, and then he would understand.

After settling everything, Wang Yaizu came back panting. He handed the signed contract to Lian Yi and hesitated for a moment before speaking:

I saw an acquaintance at the鏢局.

Who

"A classmate who I had a falling out with at school." Let me know if you have any other translations you'd like me to do!

"He is from Huai'rou County"

"No, but the director of the Shipping Department is his grandfather."

What is his name

"Hai Zang Hong."

Wang Yaozu immediately replied.

Have you had a conflict with him

"No, I recognized him. He probably doesn't know it's me, after all, my current attire is rather ordinary."

Wang Yaizu finished speaking and then glanced at the coarse cloth clothes on his body.

“I told you, everything comes down to your little life. We set off the day after tomorrow. You should go get some rest first!”

The ripples sent people scattering, so he turned to ask Wang Zhenzhen.

"Auntie Zhen, is Wang family's business involved in shipping"

Of course, sailing is extremely risky, but high risk comes with high rewards, so it's the main source of income for our Wang family. For three generations, our Wang family has opened up a passage at sea, known as the Golden Maritime Route, which has always been under our control.

Wang Zhenzhen thought for a moment and said.

No wonder it attracted so many covetous gazes. This is a golden goose, and now that it's monopolized by the royal family, some people naturally won't be willing.

"The Wang family has also looked for partners, but the high cost scared them off. Some people withdrew because they couldn't afford the losses after one or two ships went missing."

Wang Zhenzhen heard all of this from her mother, Wu.

"If that's the case, why not cooperate with the Royal Family They are the greatest backers, and the royal family is essentially a merchant."

"The Royals only want the benefits, not the risks. What can we do about it"

Wang Zhenzhen spread her hands and said.

"Don't overthink it, you'll know everything once you get back to Wang's house."

The future of the Wang family is whether to face the challenge head-on or retreat from the rapids, it all depends on what the current head of the family decides.

"I see, Auntie Jen! I just think it's a bit too coincidental that Wang Yaozhu's classmate showed up."

On the other side, Hai Zang Hong walked out of the鏢局 following Wang Yaozu's back, holding his folding fan in his hand, lost in thought.

"Master, the letter to the old master has already been sent back through the鏢局. When shall we set off"

"No rush, go do something for me."

Hai Zang Hong instructed his attendant.

"Yes, Master, please tell me what you wish."

"Find out where that person is staying."

Hai Zang Hong pointed at the gray-clothed coachman who was merging into the crowd and instructed.

"Yes, I'll go right away."

After the attendant bowed, he dashed after him.

At last, Wang Meimei, who had been waiting at the entrance of the county government office, finally saw Xiao Shu. She immediately went up to him and asked:

"Xiao Gege, how is it going"

We were used, the message was fake.

"So it's really true then."

Wang Meimei's face immediately fell.

"Who else did you hear say it was fake"

"I heard the ripples say, she said that since the other party was a spy, if they had really gotten the treasure map, they would have acted long ago and wouldn't be hiding in Qing Shixia Valley. So what do we do next"

"All the rumors about treasure originated from Longxi."r of War, he now held a lowly position, yet he still knew the ins and outs of the Imperial City."Still, Master is clever. It was the second Miss of the Prime Minister's family who fell into the water...