After the fairy disappeared

Chapter 1367 Four Billion Dollars
"It's just a small felt towel, to wash away the dust from your body."

But when the palace guards took the basket, they found it was very heavy. It was obvious that the gifts inside were not just "felt towels".

In fact, in addition to a soft frosted sheep felt worth ten gold coins, the basket also contained a scented bead that could absorb the odor of sweat, a sheep-fat white jade ring, and five small goldfish, each worth ten gold coins.

As soon as they met, Island Master He gave each of them hundreds of thousands of dollars, which made Commander Zhao's serious expression relax a little: "Island Master He is thoughtful."

He Lingchuan said a few polite words and asked Fan Shuang: "Brother Fan, have you checked the gift?"

The carriage was ready to go, and there were sixteen boxes of gifts.

"We've tested it." Fan Shuang said with a smile, "Commander Zhao and I tested it together, it's great, there's no problem!"

"Seal the box."

At He Lingchuan's command, everyone from the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce climbed onto the carriage and sealed the boxes with stickers.

Everyone got on the car, and it started rumbling eastward.

The journey to Yao State finally began.

……

At 3 p.m., it started to rain heavily.

The Weng brothers are still hiding in the valley.

This natural rock hollow was too narrow to accommodate two grown men; the leaves on the top were too sparse to block such heavy rain.

The water drops flowed down the cracks in the rocks, making a series of tinkling sounds at the feet of the two people.

They were already soaked, but fortunately they were strong.

Weng Su was still staring at the entrance to the valley. The rain curtain reduced visibility and he could hardly see the situation on the ground.

Weng Xing wiped the water off his face and said, "Brother, is Xue Zongwu coming?"

It seemed that this was not the solution. But if they moved to another place to look out, they would not be able to see the valley entrance.

The two brothers waited anxiously for several hours, and it was almost past the hour of Wei, but there was still no sign of Xue Zongwu's group.

"The weather is bad, he may have changed his schedule at the last minute." The weather in the mountains changes rapidly and no one can predict it.

"Then what should we do?" Weng Xing touched his belly. The cakes he had for breakfast were finished and he was hungry again.

Although he still had some dry food, he particularly longed for a bowl of steaming hot oil-splashed noodles, preferably with some fragrant meat sauce on it.

He can finish a bowl of noodles in just three mouthfuls.

"Here." Weng Su handed him a wine bag, "Drink some wine to warm yourself up."

Weng Xing took it and gulped down a few gulps.

"Xue Zongwu will definitely come after the rain stops at the earliest, or tomorrow morning at the latest!" Weng Su was full of confidence, "If he doesn't come here, where else can he go!"

\\\\\

He Lingchuan finally stepped into Yao Kingdom.

This is the core area of ​​the entire Golden Plain, an absolutely blessed land, with good weather and abundant products for many years. 70% of Yao's territory is plains, and it is a well-deserved plain country. Its area is second only to Luodian, but its soil and climate are much better than Luodian.

There is a big river, the Bailang River, which runs through the north and south of Yao State, and countless branches extend from it, like capillaries throughout Yao State, transporting river water to all parts of the plain.

After entering Yao Kingdom, Fan Shuang, as the guide designated by King Yao, actively introduced the local customs and practices to He Lingchuan.

From the border all the way eastward, the towns and villages that He Lingchuan passed by became more and more prosperous and more and more popular.

Although it is all in the countryside, the road conditions and maintenance are much better than other places in Shanjin, and there are a constant stream of cars coming and going, as well as business travelers.

He Lingchuan also visited two or three markets and found that the goods sold there were exquisitely crafted and rich in variety. He even saw hundreds of kinds of candies and cakes in a small market in the countryside. They were all arranged in the same color and were colorful and very eye-catching. Children surrounded them and refused to leave.

From a businessman's perspective, He Lingchuan believes that the food, clothing, housing and transportation of the Yao people are far better than those in other places, and trade is also quite developed. It is indeed more dynamic and more worthy of investment than other countries in the Golden Plains.

Fan Shuang smiled and said to He Lingchuan: "Our country is the richest place on the Golden Plain. The dignitaries and promising people from all countries hope to settle in Yao Country."

"Prosperity and stability are what everyone yearns for." He Lingchuan said with a smile, "Who wouldn't want to come to a good place?"

The Golden Plains are a place of poverty and misery, while Yao Country is the only one that is stable and prosperous. Naturally, others are trying their best to get here.

People go to higher places, and money flows to more places. Over the years, Yaoguo has gained both people and money, and has lived an unusually comfortable life in the so-called "land abandoned by heaven".

Two days later, they arrived in Dou County.

Just as He Lingchuan's intelligence said, although both are county towns, Dou County's area and population are less than 30% of Taoshui's. There have been no high officials or prominent families here, it is just a small and unknown county. The richest local family only built a gatehouse ten feet high.

King Yao's birthday celebration is approaching. Normally, officials, merchants, and transport teams heading to the capital would not go through here.

Dou County was not their first choice.

However, He Lingchuan and his party wanted to stay in Dou County, but they found two or three inns, but they were all full!
Fan Shuang was surprised: "Oh, there are so many people in Dou County recently?"

He Lingchuan's heart moved: "Isn't it like this usually?"

"Well, it's usually very quiet here." They happened to pass by a restaurant, which was bustling with people.

Fan Shuang repeatedly expressed her apologies for the poor arrangements, and then wanted to use her connections to get a room for He Lingchuan in the best local inn.

As for the other people from Yangshan Chamber of Commerce, they have to stay in another inn.

"No need, absolutely no need." He Lingchuan refused very neatly, and it was obvious that he was not being hypocritical. "When you are away from home, you don't need to be so particular. Just find me a clean inn. I want to live with my brothers. It doesn't matter if the location is a little off the beaten track."

If we don’t live together, it will be inconvenient to move around.

He insisted again and again, and Fan Shuang had no choice but to do as he asked, and indeed she found a quiet place to live near the county town.

The inn is clean and spacious, but the location is a bit remote.

This was exactly what He Lingchuan and others wanted.

It is easier to move when there are fewer people. As Dou County is bustling with people, it is no longer a suitable place for cover.

In this operation, He Lingchuan brought Wang Fubao and a dozen Yangshan warriors with him. Also accompanying them were Fan Shuang and his followers, as well as the six palace guards specially assigned to He Lingchuan by King Yao!
If He Lingchuan did not encounter any complications on his way to Yaodu, there would be almost no danger, so King Yao sent a few people to him symbolically. Both sides knew that the real trouble would come after he met Qingyang.

Wanqi Feng led his men to roam around the area, secretly gathering intelligence for him and tracking Xue Zongwu.

Therefore, He Lingchuan actually brought out two teams this time, one bright and one dark.

After having dinner with Fan Shuang and returning to his own courtyard, He Lingchuan's expression became solemn.

He had an ominous premonition.

Before it got dark, Wang Fubao came in and quietly handed He Lingchuan a note: "Information sent by Wanqi."

He Lingchuan took a few glances and his face turned gloomy.

Dong Rui's heart skipped a beat: "What happened?"

"Xue Zongwu did not enter the Tao River, but went around it." He Lingchuan clicked his knuckles, "Not only Xue Zongwu, but many dignitaries also avoided the Tao River. The current Tao River is not as lively as Dou County."

"Why is that?" Dong Rui asked curiously, "Didn't you say that all these powerful people had to go to Taoshui to pay respects to the Feng family and use their connections?"

"The Feng family is also closed to visitors." Wanqi Feng went to the Feng family's neighborhood and found that there were few cars and horses there. The Feng family's door was closed and almost no one came to visit. "It seems that something has happened to Taoshui."

This disrupted He Lingchuan's plans.

Xue Zongwu had never entered Taoshui, so the original sniper plan naturally failed.

Plan No. 1 failed before it even started.

He Lingchuan would not give up easily: "We have to hurry from tomorrow. With Fan Shuang, our speed is a bit slow."

But they couldn't just abandon Fan Shuang and King Yao's palace guards.

Dong Rui suggested: "Where will Xue Zongwu settle down next? After missing Taoshui, they have to find a place to stay."

"It's troublesome." He Lingchuan stroked his chin, "They gave up Taoshui and turned northeast. I'm afraid they are going to the ferry to take a boat!"

"Shall we go too?"

"We were going anyway." Taking a boat is the easiest way to go.

That night, news also came from the eyeball spider that He Lingchuan secretly placed on Fan Shuang.

Changes in the Feng Family of Taoshui——

The Grand Regent attended the court and accused the Left Prime Minister Feng Zhirao of accepting huge sums of money and forming a clique for personal gain!
Officials rarely have clean hands, especially in Yao State, which is a wealthy place. Even a small bribe is not allowed to be put on the table. However, the amount of money that Zuo Prime Minister was accused of accepting was a bit large, more than 4 million taels of silver.

Four billion coins. When this figure was announced, the people in the capital of Yao State were excited.

Ordinary people can never earn so much money in their lifetime.

Moreover, the "more" in the four million "more" taels is still under further verification, and no one is qualified to make an offset.

Of course, people's attention is focused on the huge amount of bribes, but He Lingchuan and Qingyang's focus is on the four words "forming a clique for personal gain."

Corruption and bribery are certainly hateful, but these four words are what really offend the king.

It had only been less than seven days since the incident broke out, and the people in the remote town had not heard of it yet, but the upper class nobles should know everything about it. Fan Shuang had been on a diplomatic mission abroad for too long, and when he asked someone tonight, he was shocked.

No wonder everyone was afraid to go to Taoshui, just to avoid suspicion during this sensitive period, so as not to be regarded as Feng family’s “partisan”.

Xue Zongwu certainly wouldn't go either. Qingyang was eyeing the royal court covetously, and he didn't want to get involved in any scandal at this time.

……

Bailang River, Longkou Ferry.

Looking down from a high place, this ferry looks like a wide-open dragon's mouth with visible whiskers and fangs, hence the name.

The Weng brothers were standing halfway up the mountain, looking at the thousands of boats racing below, and were dumbfounded for a moment.

"So many ships?"

The Longkou ferry was lined with sails like flags, with ships coming and going. There were dozens of large ships alone and no less than two hundred small boats.

"We just passed this ferry three months ago, and there were only five or six boats at most at that time?" Weng Xing murmured, "Why, Xue Zongwu wants to pass through here, so all the other officials and nobles come to join in the fun?"

"I don't know what happened to Taoshui. They didn't go there anymore. They all came here to take the boat." Weng Su's brows were about to knot. "It's troublesome. There are so many people!"

The nobles who were rushing to the capital did not go to Taoshui, but turned to Longkou Ferry.

　Thanks to Desire is Power for the reward, we have a new cute new owner~!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)