Chapter 167: Chapter 167: General Li Wants to Keep a Pet, Merchants Chase Profits

The next day, Pei Shaoqing went to bid Lu Dingchuan farewell.

Lu Dingchuan told Pei Shaoqing that he had already ordered the various Hundred Households to dispatch men to rendezvous in Yazhou and follow Pei Shaoqing’s commands. Medicine King Valley was located in Yazhou.

That afternoon, Pei Shaoqing returned to Tongzhou.

"Husband, you must be tired. Did your trip to the Prefecture City go smoothly?" Xie Qingwu asked with concern.

"It did." Pei Shaoqing nodded, took out a list, and handed it to her. "I’ve already met with Li Yi."

"Although these six men don’t hold high ranks, they all wield real power." Xie Qingwu took the list and looked up at Pei Shaoqing. "We must be wary of Your Majesty’s spies on one hand, and on the other, we must guard against these men betraying the Crown Prince to advance their own careers. We can’t approach them rashly."

"I plan to first arrange for a few subordinates to conduct a simple investigation on them." Pei Shaoqing sighed. "It’s a pity that so few cats in the Mao Camp can understand human speech and read. Otherwise, we could just send cats to stay by their sides. They could handle both the initial investigation and the subsequent surveillance."

Besides General Li, there were only four other cats in the Mao Camp who could understand human speech after taking a Spirit Awakening Pill.

Of those, the calico had been sent to the Capital City.

"If we could get our hands on a Pill Formula for the Spirit Awakening Pill, I could try to refine it. Even if the resulting pill only had half the effect of the original, it would still be a great help," Xie Qingwu said wistfully, handing the list back to Pei Shaoqing.

Never mind whether they could even find the raw materials after the depletion of Spiritual Qi, or whether she could successfully refine a Spirit Awakening Pill even with the formula. The main problem was that they didn’t even have the Pill Formula.

Pei Shaoqing put the list away. "That’s easier said than done. Times have changed; the world is a different place. Things that were common in ancient times are now incredibly rare. Where could we possibly find a Pill Formula for the Spirit Awakening Pill?"

"Medicine King Valley!" Xie Qingwu said suddenly.

Pei Shaoqing froze. "Medicine King Valley has it?"

"I’m not certain." Xie Qingwu shook her head, her red lips pursed. "But if we absolutely must find one, then Medicine King Valley is the most likely place in all of the Great Zhou to have the Pill Formula for the Spirit Awakening Pill. For generations, Medicine King Valley has been voraciously collecting all sorts of Pill Formulas. They probably don’t even remember everything they have in their storehouses."

"Then let’s pray that the Medicine King Valley storehouses do contain the Pill Formula for the Spirit Awakening Pill," Pei Shaoqing said in a low voice.

’If we can really refine the Spirit Awakening Pill—even without a perfect replica, even with just one percent of the original effect—the quantitative change would lead to a qualitative one. We could forge General Li’s Mao Camp into a truly elite team of secret agents.’

He then sent someone to summon Sun Youliang and ordered him to arrange for a few men to secretly investigate the six people on the list.

There was no guarantee how much loyalty these six men still held for the Crown Prince. At the very least, Pei Shaoqing needed to know his allies and his enemies before he would make contact.

’Besides, he was rather hoping their loyalty to the Crown Prince had faded over time. After all, if they were die-hard loyalists, it would be difficult for him to poach them.’

"My lord! My lord, you’ve returned! This humble servant has missed you to death!" Just then, General Li ran in with a theatrical expression and threw itself around Pei Shaoqing’s leg.

Pei Shaoqing shook his leg, flinging the cat off like a stubborn plaster. "Out with it. What do you want from me?"

"Aiya, my lord, why would you say such a thing?" General Li scrambled up from the floor, its chubby face visibly fawning. It trotted over to Pei Shaoqing’s feet and rubbed its head against his leg. "This humble servant simply missed my lord terribly."

While acting cute, its eyes darted upward, cautiously observing Pei Shaoqing’s expression.

"Oh? Is that so? If you really have nothing to ask of me, then forget it," Pei Shaoqing said with a humorless smile.

General Li chuckled, stood up straight, and rubbed its paws together like a fly. "Now that my lord mentions it," it said sheepishly, "I had almost forgotten. There is indeed a small favor I’d like to ask."

"You’re a furball of pure cunning," Pei Shaoqing scoffed, tilting his chin up. "Spit it out."

"As you command!" General Li snapped to attention and looked at Pei Shaoqing. "This humble servant would like to request that my lord buy me a human pet to order around. It’s truly inconvenient for me out in public. Just now, I was at the teahouse listening to a storyteller. When I got engrossed and wanted to tip a few taels of silver, I couldn’t easily take it out."

It had been entertaining this idea for a long time.

Because it couldn’t speak human words in public, nor could it casually pull things out of its Storage Jade Pendant, life was extremely inconvenient. Therefore, it wanted to buy a human to keep as a pet.

The human could serve as both a mount and a servant, doing things for it that it wanted to do but found inconvenient.

Xie Qingwu was flabbergasted. A cat actually wanted to raise a human as a pet, with itself as the master!

"You’re a pet yourself, and you want me to buy you a human pet? Why don’t you just ask for the moon while you’re at it?" Pei Shaoqing laughed in exasperation and kicked it, sending it flying. "If you want one, go find one yourself," he said lightly.

"Fine! Then this servant will go and capture a human to be my pet!" General Li declared resolutely.

’I must capture a high-quality pet. Not only must they be clever, but they also have to be good-looking. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be embarrassing for the great Lord Li to be seen with them in public?’

Xie Qingwu’s brow furrowed with worry. "Will General Li be alright? What if it runs into someone with ill intentions who tries to trick it?"

"Trick it?" Pei Shaoqing smiled and shook his head.

He wasn’t worried about General Li being tricked.

General Li might look simple and honest, but in reality, it was full of wicked ideas and utterly ruthless. If someone actually dared to trick it, being a demon, it would not hesitate to eat them.

He said slowly, "My dear, don’t just think of it as a cat. It’s a demon. Cruelty and cunning are a demon’s true nature. General Li only acts silly in front of us. An ordinary person would be lucky if their legs didn’t turn to jelly upon meeting it. How would they ever find the courage to trick it?"

In his eyes, General Li was just a little raccoon cat.

But in the eyes of an ordinary person, it was a Great Demon.

***

A group of local Tongzhou merchants were having a gathering.

The Zhao Family was in the grain business. Their market wasn’t just limited to the local area but extended to the surrounding regions as well.

They were among the top local gentry, and today’s gathering had been initiated by the head of the Zhao Family, Zhao Shiren.

"Shopkeeper Zhao, what’s the meaning of calling us all here? Surely it’s not just for food and drinks?"

"We’ve pretty much finished eating. It’s about time we got down to business. Everyone’s on a tight schedule."

"Exactly. Brother Zhao, don’t keep us in suspense."

The merchants urged Zhao Shiren on with a few words here and there.

"Gentlemen, please be quiet." Zhao Shiren raised a hand to gesture for silence, his eyes sweeping across the room. After a moment, he spoke. "Gentlemen, how has business been these past few months?"

"It’s been alright. Ever since Lord Pei wiped out the bandits on Phoenix Mountain, our business income has become more and more stable."

"That’s right. Thanks to Lord Pei, we no longer have to constantly worry about our goods and money being stolen."

The crowd answered, each person chiming in.

"Hah!" Zhao Shiren sneered. "Business is indeed more stable than before," he said flatly, "but the profits we’re actually taking home are smaller."

In an instant, the room fell silent. No one present was a fool; they all understood what he meant.

Every month, they handed over a large portion of their profits to Pei Shaoqing, leaving less for themselves.

"Brother Zhao, what do you mean by that?" After a moment of silence, someone broke it by feigning ignorance.

Zhao Shiren spoke bluntly, "We’re all old friends who’ve known each other for years, so I won’t beat around the bush. In the past, when the Phoenix Mountain bandits were around, we just had to send some silver to the County Government Office and the Hundred Households from time to time. But now, the bandits are gone, and yet the profits we have to give away have actually increased. Are you content with that?"

The crowd was silent. They were naturally resentful about forking over such a large sum of money to Pei Shaoqing for no good reason every month, but no one dared to object.

"Brother Zhao, are you perhaps thinking of cutting off the payments to Lord Pei?" a merchant asked tentatively.

"Not something so drastic." Zhao Shiren’s mouth twitched. "My idea is to renegotiate the amount with Lord Pei. He doesn’t have to lift a finger and just sits at home collecting free money. As long as we apply pressure together, I’m sure he’ll agree."

Seeing that no one was committing, he added, "I will take the lead in talking to Lord Pei."

"Since Brother Zhao is willing to take the lead, then I have the courage to cheer you on from the sidelines. The bandits are gone now, so it’s really not right for Lord Pei to take so much for free every month. We earn our money the hard way."

"Well said! I support Brother Zhao. As long as you take the lead, I’m willing to follow and show my support."

Seeing that Zhao Shiren was willing to stick his neck out, the others quickly chimed in with their support. After all, they were all truly unhappy about giving away so much money for free every month.

Before, with bandits outside the city, they had relied on the Government Office to suppress them, or used the Government Office’s banner to deter the bandits while transporting goods. Now the bandits were gone, but the money they were paying was even more than before. Who could be content with that?

"Good!" Zhao Shiren beamed, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up. "There’s no time to waste. Let’s go now."

He was afraid that if they delayed, some people would get cold feet, so he wanted to strike while the iron was hot.

The group proceeded in a grand procession to the Pei Mansion.

Hearing that his "Gods of Wealth" had arrived together, Pei Shaoqing naturally had them welcomed warmly and tea prepared.

"Gentlemen, you’ve all come to visit together today. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Pei Shaoqing asked with a broad smile.

All the merchants turned to look at Zhao Shiren in unison.

Zhao Shiren took a deep breath, braced himself, and stood up to bow. "My Lord, we humble men have come today for just one matter. Business has been difficult lately, and the silver we’re taking home has become less and less. So, we’d like to ask for Your Lordship’s understanding and request that the tribute silver be halved starting next month."

Everyone nervously bowed their heads, not daring to look at Pei Shaoqing’s face. They were all on pins and needles.

"Oh, so that’s how it is." Pei Shaoqing’s smile was gentle. "I understand, I understand. After all, business is inherently unstable. As someone who just receives silver for free, what right do I have to be picky about a little more or a little less? Let’s do as you’ve suggested."

Everyone looked up in disbelief.

They couldn’t believe things had gone so smoothly!

They never expected Pei Shaoqing to be so agreeable!

For a moment, they were both shocked and delighted.

"Thank you for your understanding, My Lord!" The leader, Zhao Shiren, was in high spirits as he bowed deeply with a smile.

’He had other plans in mind. With the prestige gained from accomplishing this, he intended to form the Tongzhou Chamber of Commerce. And as for the position of its first president, he was, of course, the natural choice.’

This was his true goal, and he had deliberately made his move while Shopkeeper Qian was away from Tongzhou.

The other merchants also quickly rose to express their thanks.

Pei Shaoqing politely saw them off.

Then, his expression turned cold.

’This bunch of merchants actually dared to skimp on his silver.’

’Lighting a lantern in a latrine—they’re looking for death!’

’Looks like bringing in new investors was the right move after all.’

’When Shi Potian arrives, he’ll be put to good use.’

Speak of the devil. A servant came to report, "Master, there’s a person outside who claims his surname is Shi. He says he has come to visit at your instruction."

"Have him come in at once," Pei Shaoqing said immediately.

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