Chapter Fifty: In the End, All Return to the Cage

Gently pushing Qing’er aside, he took step after step toward Xi Hua, removed the longsword that Wang Eleven had placed across her, and positioned himself protectively in front of her, his calm gaze fixed on Lu Jiu. An invisible, overwhelming aura seemed to emanate from him, so formidable that not a single guard dared to make a move.

“I recall you once said you were a merchant, that all this bloodshed and violence did not suit you. You would never truly order your men to shoot Xi Hua and my two brothers, just as I could never truly kill you. Withdraw those crossbows now. Should a single bolt go astray and harm Xi Hua or the others, I will slaughter everyone in this room, and you must believe me—I am not making empty threats.”

He cast a glance at the guards and the cold gleam of their crossbows. Somehow, Lu Jiu actually believed Lu Liao would do as he said, though his pride chafed at the idea.

“What about the debt you owe me? And the one Xi Hua owes?” Lu Jiu demanded.

“I accept them all, including Xi Hua’s debt. You may count it all under my name,” Lu Liao replied with such gravity that none could doubt his resolve.

From behind, Xi Hua threw her arms tightly around Lu Liao, tears soaking the back of his robe.

With a wave of Lu Jiu’s hand, the guards withdrew from the room, leaving only Wang Eleven standing by his side.

“Very well. Now, let us discuss this matter,” Lu Jiu said.

Lu Liao wiped the tears from Xi Hua’s face with his sleeve, took her hand, and sat down beside the table, gazing quietly at Lu Jiu.

“I am not one to be a sore loser,” Lu Jiu began, “The shady business in the West Market and Gaoling County—I, and the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, will no longer interfere. We will focus on our own affairs. But what about the rumors you spread to ruin my reputation?”

Rage flickered in Lu Jiu’s eyes as he recalled the malicious rumors.

“And what about the scheme I devised for the Cheng family’s jade shop, which your Wang family’s Glass Pavilion stole and profited handsomely from?” Lu Liao retorted with a cold sneer.

“The tea you’re drinking,” Lu Jiu replied, staring into the amber liquid, “was brewed from spring water brought from Mount Guifeng. Tell me, is what you’re drinking now tea, or merely spring water?”

“Shameless,” Lu Liao muttered in frustration, unable to hold back.

“Right back at you,” Lu Jiu shot back, undaunted.

Hu the Elder scratched his head in confusion. “Tea is tea. What’s that got to do with a scheme?”

“Spring water, once boiled with tea leaves, becomes tea. If someone takes your young master’s idea and adds something of her own, is it still your young master’s idea?” Xi Hua snapped at him, shooting a glare.

“I want the Qingyun Society to publicly parade those troublemakers who disrupted my Four Seas Chamber shops, banging gongs and confessing their wrongdoing,” Lu Jiu stated his terms.

“I, Lu Liao, would never stoop to such a ridiculous stunt,” Lu Liao replied icily.

“So my Chamber’s reputation is to be ruined just like that?” Lu Jiu demanded, his tone heated.

“It takes the one who tied the bell to untie it. I can have the woman whose face was disfigured at Ningxiang Pavilion, parade through the streets, banging gongs, presenting you with a silk banner in thanks,” Lu Liao offered.

“How does that help?” Lu Jiu asked, his anger tinged with confusion.

“The woman’s face was not ruined by your perfumes and powders at Ningxiang Pavilion,” Lu Liao explained. “Her family’s lawful wife grew jealous of her beauty, which had become even more radiant thanks to your products, and thus won the master’s favor. Out of spite, the wife tampered with the cosmetics, which was eventually discovered. The master, furious, divorced his wife. The woman, after treatment at my Health Hall, not only regained her looks but was promoted from concubine to principal wife.”

With that, Lu Liao leisurely sipped his tea.

Lu Jiu instantly grasped the subtlety of the maneuver, a faint smile appearing on her face. “My Wang family has plenty of pharmacies. There’s no need for your Health Hall to trouble itself.”

Lu Liao shot her a glare—this heartless woman wouldn’t even let the Health Hall get a sip of soup.

Lu Jiu glared right back, unyielding. “Second, I want you as my adviser—for ten years.”

Lu Liao nearly leapt to his feet in outrage. “I, Lu Liao, a proud heir of the Ghost Valley, with knowledge to govern a nation—how could I ever stoop to serving in your petty chamber, let alone as a mere woman’s adviser?”

“Oh, how grand the strategist! Lauded as a military genius by a bunch of city rats and street foxes, brought in to match wits with little old me—almost on par with Su Qin, who once wore the seals of six kingdoms. I wonder, if your Ghost Valley ancestor Wang Chan knows of this, would he not send a thunderbolt from the heavens to strike you down?” Lu Jiu teased, her tone mocking.

This time, the blow truly landed—Lu Liao was mortified beyond words, feeling utterly unworthy of facing his ancestors.

Hu the Elder couldn’t help but burst out laughing. Wasn’t it just the other day someone said the little monk Wuhua deserved a thunderbolt from the Buddha himself?

Ignoring Lu Liao’s mortification, Lu Jiu continued in an unhurried tone, “I hear your Health Hall has recently launched a new tonic pill, miraculous in effect, selling for fifty taels a piece, drawing all the city’s rich and powerful. Fifty taels each—the person who set this price clearly has no sense.”

That price, which had pleased Lu Liao for so long, was now being utterly dismissed by Lu Jiu. He bristled. “Do you think the price is too high?”

“I once heard a story: two farmers discussing the emperor, believing his life was nothing but eating meat from a golden bowl every day. In my eyes, your understanding is not so different from theirs. Because you are poor, you are blind to how lavish the lives of the powerful truly are, how their vaults overflow with gold and jewels. Fifty taels a pill? Even five hundred would not be too much.”

Lu Jiu flicked open her folding fan, not even glancing at Lu Liao.

Hu the Elder burst out laughing again, until Lu Liao, in exasperation, kicked him across the room. Turning back to Lu Jiu, he declared, “The Lu family has always practiced medicine with integrity. We would never resort to such black-hearted profiteering.”

“Ha! Black-hearted? Do you know how those officials and nobles make their money? The likes of you could never imagine it. But a lower price has its advantages. Though there are many nobles in the capital, compared to the common people across the land, they are but a drop in the ocean.

“I am willing to cooperate with your Lu family, to expand production and sell the pills in every province of the Tang Empire—from the west to Arabia, north to Bohai, east to Japan, south to Champa. Imagine how much silver there is to be made.”

Lu Jiu fixed her gaze on Lu Liao, awaiting his answer.

“How much of a share will my Lu family get?” Lu Liao, no fool, saw the opportunity.

“One-tenth,” Lu Jiu said, raising a single finger.

“But it’s my family’s recipe!” Lu Liao protested.

“Don’t be greedy,” Lu Jiu replied. “Do you know how much investment and greasing of palms this will require?”

“Deal!” Lu Liao was never one to dither.

“Wait! We haven’t settled the matter of you as my adviser,” Lu Jiu persisted.

“No!” Lu Liao shook his head, resolute.

“Such bold words, taking on Xi Hua’s debt. Sixty-three thousand taels, plus interest—when will you pay it off? If you don’t agree to be my adviser, I might just have Miss Nightfall take clients. The delicate gentleman Xi Hua, whom I’ve renamed Nightfall—how do you like that name?”

Lu Jiu looked appreciatively at Xi Hua, who stood by Lu Liao’s side, her tone wistful.

“Five years!” Lu Liao, with his heart set on officialdom, could not bear the thought of ten years in Lu Jiu’s service.

“Deal!” Lu Jiu’s eyes sparkled with cunning.

The pair of ill-fated lovers exchanged a glance, helpless and bereft of words.

Lu Jiu instructed Qing’er to fill her glass with grape wine. She swirled the cup, watching the blood-red liquid dance within.

“My Heavenly Immortal House spent a fortune recruiting courtesans from all over the Tang Empire, yet now the Huji Tavern’s competition has driven my business to the brink. Do you have any bright ideas for a comeback?”

“With the wealth of the Four Seas Chamber, why bother running a brothel, profiting off women’s suffering?” Lu Liao had no wish to be scolded by his two elders.

“You have no idea. The profits here would scare you. Men think twice about buying a trinket for their wives, but put them in a brothel, and they’ll toss a fortune away for a single cup of tea with a girl.

“Moreover, the most important thing in business is information. And nowhere is information more abundant than in a brothel.”

Damn this scheming woman, Lu Liao thought to himself. Thank heavens she never learned the Ghost Valley arts, or I’d never have a hope of besting her. His mind raced.

“In my view, the Huji Tavern and your Heavenly Immortal House are entirely different in style—one refined and elegant, the other wild and passionate. Complementary, really. Give it time, and every pleasure-seeker in Chang’an will be drawn here. There’s no need for malicious competition. Pingkang Ward will become the most bustling, lively place in Chang’an by night,” Lu Liao replied, reasoning calmly.

“No! My Heavenly Immortal House is suffocating under the Huji Tavern’s pressure—I refuse to accept it!” Lu Jiu protested stubbornly.

“Then simply stage a spectacular scandal at Heavenly Immortal House—a public rivalry among noble scions. That will do the trick,” Lu Liao sighed, resigned.

This time, Lu Liao had well and truly lost—not only had he failed to save Xi Hua, he’d managed to get himself entangled as well. On the way back to the city, seeing Hu the Elder and Zhou Liuzi with their ashen faces, his mood soured.

“If a word of today’s events reaches Xiao Qi’s ears, I have some secret poisons here, and I’ll be sure to test them on you both.”

He found a pharmacy, bandaged the fresh, bleeding bite marks Qing’er had left on his arm, and returned home.

“Hey! Weren’t you just supposed to be discussing business? How did you end up hurting your arm?” Tang Xiao Qi seized Lu Liao’s hand, her tone suspicious.

Lu Liao sighed, looking aggrieved. “Oh, the person I was meeting keeps a vicious dog called Qing’er. For some reason, it took a dislike to me and bit me hard right here.”

Tang Xiao Qi eyed Lu Liao for a long moment, suspicion written all over her face.

“Lu Liao, are you lying to me? Wasn’t it that enchantress from the jade shop last time? Her maid is named Qing’er.”

Lu Liao opened his mouth, but could not find a word to say. How terrifying was Tang Xiao Qi’s intuition!

“Madam, I can vouch for him. The young master was indeed meeting as a representative of Jade True Monastery, discussing business,” Zhou Liuzi declared solemnly.