Daishan Turns The Wind Chapter 21

The Perfumer Case (2)

Sun Zhengmo was surprised: “What are you two doing here?”

Suddenly remembering something, she shot up, put her hands on her hips, and shouted, “I’m not working today, so I’m not counting this as paid labor, got it!”

Shan Wuzhou silently observed the surroundings, looking for traces.

Feng Yuluo was persistent: “What is the grand play you’re plotting supposed to achieve?”

Sun Zhengmo became excited, picked up a piece of paper, and enthusiastically displayed it: “A grand plan to make my perfumery famous throughout the world.”

In her eyes, there was nothing but the burning desire to make money.

Since it was inappropriate to touch her, Feng Yuluo picked up a brush and secretly poked her arm.

General Yang Yi had left a wound on that person’s arm.

Sun Zhengmo felt bewildered and said unhappily, “Even though I’m a widow, you can’t just flirt with me, can you?”

Hearing this, Shan Wuzhou frowned, looked at Feng Yuluo, and mentally made another note.

She looked completely unfazed by pain. Feng Yuluo thought he might have been mistaken. Perhaps beautiful women just look similar?

Sun Zhengmo suddenly remembered and asked nervously, “Oh right, why did you two come here? Did something happen at the shop?”

Feng Yuluo then recounted the events on the main street. He finished by opening his eyes wide and adding that they rushed over to protect her, fearing for Boss Sun’s safety.

Sun Zhengmo said dismissively, “How can a living person not make enemies? Assassination is just assassination; it affects my business for a day. But it’s a real pity Yang Ye died. Between the capital and the border, he forced dozens of people to their deaths. He should have been torn apart by five horses to repay his debt.”

“…” Was that young man, so handsome, dignified, and from such an illustrious family, truly so despicable behind the scenes?

Feng Yuluo asked her to continue talking about General Yang Yi, but Sun Zhengmo wasn’t interested. She told them to ask the shop assistants if they wanted to know more, then pulled the two of them over to discuss her grand plan for getting rich.

“When it comes to making money, how can we rely solely on small fish eating shrimp? That speed is too slow, the effect is too poor. If we don’t make changes, we’ll just be eating free meals and doing useless work!”

True to her nature as a boss, a few sentences wiped away four days of hard work by Feng Yuluo and Shan Wuzhou, belittled the enormous sum of two hundred and seventy-three taels they earned, and slapped a useless label on them.

Feng Yuluo ground his teeth, a loud grating sound.

Sun Zhengmo realized her mistake and laughed awkwardly: “My apologies, I was wrong. Shan Wuzhou here has made a great contribution.”

After all, he was a visible, walking advertisement, and she specifically nodded in affirmation toward Shan Wuzhou.

Shan Wuzhou remained unmoved.

Feng Yuluo decided to let it go. One couldn’t always rely on others; as long as the money was paid, that was enough.

Sun Zhengmo continued her impassioned speech: “Therefore, we must borrow strength to thrive, stand on the mountain peak, stand in the clouds, stand beside royalty, and thereby let everyone know about our Sui’an Perfumery.”

“How do we borrow?”

“Simple, we borrow from those in high places. I’ve been laying the groundwork for over ten days, bribing and maneuvering, and successfully arranged a meeting with Eunuch Xu, the palace procurement officer. The plan is to dine with him, drink, build a relationship, and ultimately take over the palace’s spice and incense business. This is the first step toward our success!”

Boss Sun was a master of persuasive rhetoric.

“Is there a second step?”

“Of course. After securing Eunuch Xu, we’ll move on to securing Eunuch Liu, who is behind him.”

“…” Was there going to be a Eunuch Zhu behind Eunuch Liu?

Sun Zhengmo dramatically flicked her sleeve, picked up a gilded jade-handled silk hibiscus fan, and said with graceful poise, “Liu Gao, the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Palace, the incense supply business is his word alone. Think about it: if all the imperial consorts, princesses, county princesses, and noblewomen in the palace use our incense, how much money will we make?”

Just talking about it, Boss Sun seemed to see ten thousand taels of gold and laughed heartily twice.

Watching her self-motivated enthusiasm, Feng Yuluo suddenly asked, “Why exactly did Yuanbao choose you?”

A sharp glint flashed in Sun Zhengmo’s eyes. She said, “That’s a good question, I want to know too. Is a demon coming to my door a good omen? It told me it would guarantee my wealth, which is why I kept it. But I’m too shrewd to believe it completely.”

“You two are cultivators, quickly check if I have any malevolent energy or anything on me. Will it affect my wealth? If it does, clear it for me. I’ll give you extra… I’ll give you extra money once we secure the palace business.”

Feng Yuluo was silent for a moment, thinking that Yuanbao was probably attracted by her intense desire for sudden wealth.

That evening, in a private room in a pleasure house.

Sun Zhengmo hosted Eunuch Xu, presenting two boxes of precious pearls. Eunuch Xu nodded with a gentle smile. After his attendant collected the gifts, he began ordering dishes and wine.

Shan Wuzhou and Feng Yuluo stood stiffly on the roof of the opposite building, acting as hidden guards. Hearing that Eunuch Xu was quite unscrupulous, Sun Zhengmo asked the two to protect her, lest she pay the money only to be taken advantage of.

Of course, Boss Sun, who started from scratch, knew that she was the most reliable person, so she tucked a dagger into her pocket, saying that in case of emergency, she would thoroughly castrate him.

As Eunuch Xu got drunk, he started acting lewdly. Boss Sun understood and called for people. Eunuch Xu excitedly pointed out ten handsome young male courtesans.

Sun Zhengmo cursed under her breath but maintained a polite smile on her face.

Feng Yuluo watched from afar and also cursed him as a bastard.

Only Shan Wuzhou said nothing, merely turning his head away in disgust.

Feng Yuluo noticed that his disciple had been much quieter lately, even overly subdued. He wouldn’t speak unless necessary and wasn’t acting in his usual manner. He seemed very tense.

What was wrong?

Feng Yuluo tentatively asked, “Are you unhappy lately?”

Shan Wuzhou nearly twisted his neck off, stubbornly insisting he was not.

Feng Yuluo: “Oh.”

The moonlight was faint, and there were occasional frog croaks from the pond. There was no wind on the roof, making it stuffy. Besides that, there was suffocating silence.

Forget it. An Ancestral Master was an Ancestral Master after all. Despite the occasional offense, it was customary to be more considerate of the Patriarch. Besides, Shan Wuzhou’s neck was too sore. He turned back as if nothing was wrong, wanting to say something to ease the atmosphere.

He saw Feng Yuluo resting his chin on his hand, gazing at the night sky, completely at ease.

In that instant, Shan Wuzhou wondered what he was even bothered about. No wonder people said that by the end of life, nothing was truly meaningful. You should just eat when you should eat and drink when you should drink.

Feng Yuluo saw him turn his face back, his eyes lit up, and he smiled: “Let’s play a game.”

That brightness inexplicably soothed the irritation in Shan Wuzhou’s heart. After experiencing the impermanence of the mortal world through all his ups and downs, he maintained a calm expression and asked, “What game?”

“Guess what Yuanbao wants to do this time, and guess why General Yang Yi was assassinated.”

Shan Wuzhou secretly sighed. They wouldn’t guess a damn thing.

He replied perfunctorily: “Yuanbao wants to absorb positive thoughts to neutralize the evil, allowing itself to become as powerful as possible within a safe range.”

“As for the assassination, there were so many assassins, yet the first arrow went straight for Yang Ye. Given Yang Ye’s wickedness, and the fact that General Yang Yi was at least aware of and condoned his actions, one wave of assassins must be motivated by personal vendetta. Secondly, the possibilities are numerous: conflicts between court factions, border enemies, or other personal enemies.”

Feng Yuluo clapped: “Excellent, you’ve eliminated several wrong answers.”

Shan Wuzhou’s face instantly darkened. He clenched his fists, veins bulging. Master Feng Yarui truly had great foresight; perhaps he secretly equipped the Ancestral Master with an impenetrable Golden Bell Shield.

“Then you guess!”

Feng Yuluo said earnestly: “Yuanbao is playful. It used to target people based on their emotional knots to beat or scold them. This is the first time it has seen someone with such a heaven-defying desire for wealth and such strong initiative. It just wants to play along.”

“As for Yang Yi, he’s the Protector General. Returning to the city with such a warm welcome clearly shows he is overshadowing the Emperor. The old Emperor dislikes him, so he sent people to assassinate him. And why kill Yang Ye first? Because Yang Ye is the heir and easier to kill than the General. If he’s killed, Yang Yi, being old and childless, will have no one to pass the fruits of rebellion to.”

“Also, you noticed there were several groups at the scene, right? But every single one had a clear target—Yang Yi and Yang Ye—and they didn’t guard against each other during the action. When the order to retreat came, they all withdrew completely. Such well-trained coordination must have unified command behind it!”

Shan Wuzhou said coolly, “Very good, you’ve eliminated another wrong answer.”

“…” What goes around comes around. Feng Yuluo was so amused he laughed, completely losing his composure as he stubbornly argued with his disciple, “What I said is logical and based on meticulous deduction.”

Meticulous deduction, Shan Wuzhou suppressed a laugh and scoffed.

“Yuanbao is playful, but if there wasn’t a hint of hatred involved, it wouldn’t have chosen Sun Zhengmo.”

“Secondly, if the Emperor sent assassins, he would only send death warriors who would not stop until their goal was achieved. They wouldn’t run away just because of a single word. They would either take the head or die on the spot.”

Shan Wuzhou lightly stepped on a roof tile. The grating sound was jarring, and he immediately stopped. After the last case, he had become sensitive to noise.

Feng Yuluo was stunned for a moment, then pushed him admiringly: “You’re so smart! We must be very close to the truth now.”

He nearly made Shan Wuzhou fall off. Shan Wuzhou couldn’t understand where the frail Ancestral Master got such strength—was it from carrying sandbags during training?

Feng Yuluo, having acted like a jerk, stroked his chin in contemplation, looking very much like a certain type of person: “Boss Sun is so desperate to make money, her emotional knot might be related to money. Based on the previous hosts Yuanbao chose to parasitize… did someone bully her using money?”

The evening was the perfect time for speculation and wild guesses. He felt something was about to surface and began pacing the rooftop.

“She also said she’s a widow. Who was her husband? How did he die? Was it related to money? These could all be our breakthroughs.”

Shan Wuzhou nodded, finding this deduction somewhat reasonable. His tone softened slightly: “What about General Yang Yi’s matter?”

Feng Yuluo waved his hand: “Ignore it. Everyone has their own destiny. Unless they come looking for us, we shouldn’t actively interfere in other people’s grudges.”

“…”

So, they were just gossiping earlier?

Shan Wuzhou rolled his eyes.

A widowed woman, mourning her husband, making and selling incense, running a business, constantly hustling for money. Because the capital was too big and had too many talented people, she had to learn how to manage relationships for Sui’an Perfumery, enduring humiliation in places like pleasure houses.

Feng Yuluo sighed inwardly.

He looked at the increasingly chaotic room. Eunuch Xu was acting wildly, completely out of control.

As for Sun Zhengmo, she dodged and weaved, kicking away Eunuch Xu’s leg. Seeing the jewelry boxes she had presented, a flash of painful reluctance and resentment crossed her face. Seeing no one was watching, she quietly plucked a few pearls out, revealing a sly, successful smirk before scurrying out of the room.

Feng Yuluo, who had been feeling sentimental: “…”

Truly the person Yuanbao would choose!

After escorting Boss Sun back, she said the matter was mostly settled. Once Eunuch Xu sobered up, he would help introduce her to Eunuch Liu. Then, after more money, dining, drinking, ordering courtesans, and more money, the business would pretty much be secured after a few rounds.

Shan Wuzhou remained silent, dutifully acting as a guard.

Feng Yuluo offered a few compliments and then asked the question that puzzled him: “You spent so much money on bribes and gifts, thousands of taels, right? How much incense do the palace consorts need for the perfumery to earn it back and make a fortune?”

Sun Zhengmo was half-drunk, half-awake: “You don’t understand this, do you? The consorts only use a tiny box of the highest quality, but there are many people inside and outside the palace. The goods are one thing, the money is another.”

Feng Yuluo thought Boss Sun might be too drunk; he certainly hadn’t understood.

The maid helped Sun Zhengmo into the bedroom, fetched water, and wrung out a face towel. Turning around, she found an extra person in the room. Startled, she was about to scream when the person turned back, blinked her large eyes, and raised a finger: “Shh!”

The maid recovered, looking helpless and wronged: “Miss Mu.”

The person giggled, took the face towel, and walked to the bed to wash Sun Zhengmo’s face herself. She was covered in a black cloak, with a red brocade robe underneath. The cuffs of her sleeves were tight, making it easy to perform these tasks.

The maid stood by, helping to remove the hairpins and let down the coiled hair. The heavy makeup was gradually wiped clean, revealing a young, delicate, oval face.

Sun Zhengmo was groggy. Feeling her face, sticky all day, being cleaned, she felt comfortable all over. She opened her eyes, saw the visitor, and squinted into a smile: “You snuck out again. Aren’t you afraid the Empress will scold you?”

Miss Mu wiped her hands. Her phoenix eyes, highlighted by the candlelight, looked a little domineering. She said, “The Empress wouldn’t dare.”

Sun Zhengmo lifted her ankle and stretched lazily, her voice soft: “True. Who told our Mu Mu to be so clever?”

Mu Mu was pleased by the praise: “You’re so tired. Is the matter settled?”

Sun Zhengmo closed her eyes, lulled into sleep by the gentle scratching sensation. She hummed an “Mmm”: “No, it’s difficult. Making money is too hard.”

Mu Mu paused, then smiled as she tucked her into bed, murmuring, “Blessings for wealth, blessings for making money, everything will be fine.”