Chapter Ninety-Seven: Intercepting the Letter

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It especially highlighted how dire his current situation was. He could no longer help Prince Yan amass a large sum of silver. However, the letter had long ago been swapped by Lord Chen, quietly waiting for him to slip up further. Yet, after half an hour passed, there was no news that the court intended to ban the import or export of chiffon yarn. Officials in Luojing continued to buy chiffon yarn as usual to make garments. How could this be?

“Didn’t you hear reliable information? Why hasn’t the court issued any orders yet?” Old Master Du was furious.

“Father, those reports were indeed reliable at first, but later for some unknown reason, the court simply ignored them.”

What? So all that yarn had been wasted in vain?

“Besides, other merchants like us have already sold their chiffon yarn too,” Du’s second young master said slowly, somewhat easing his worries. It wasn’t only their family’s problem; almost all competitors were in the same boat.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the steward hurried over with some news.

“Master, the Zhou family has resumed normal chiffon yarn sales, and their prices are now more than double what they were before!”

Impossible! A major merchant had bought up all the yarn they had produced, so how could the Zhou family still be operating?

“That’s impossible; there’s no more chiffon yarn production anywhere nearby.”

“True, there isn’t, but the Zhou family bought it from that down-and-out imperial merchant. Nearly all the officials’ sons, including some ministers in Luojing, are buying from him now.”

They were utterly confused. How could this be?

“No, it can’t be!” Old Master Du refused to believe it and fainted from shock.

But the facts were clear. Among the surrounding city districts, only the Zhou family still had the chiffon industry, monopolizing the entire market and immediately attracting numerous customers.

However, as chiffon yarn prices rose, some city residents grew dissatisfied. They found the price fluctuations strange.

“Why did the price suddenly drop a while ago, only to rise sharply again now?”

“This must be a scheme by the merchants. Ordinary people like us can’t afford such expensive yarn; it must be the wealthy and powerful buying it.”

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“Indeed, it’s tens of times more expensive than the coarse cloth we usually use.” The townsfolk treated it as mere gossip over meals.

But for the Du family, it was a devastating blow. They found it hard to hold their heads high before other merchants. After holding the position of the richest family in Blue City for so many years, this affair surely meant they would lose it.

“It’s all thanks to you. If you hadn’t come up with this idea, they wouldn’t have sold their products at such low prices so decisively,” Zhou Chenjing said excitedly. They too were shocked by the situation.

“But don’t be complacent. Old Master Du won’t give up easily,” he said calmly. Indeed, they had helped the Zhou family solve a problem, but this was only the beginning.

Moreover, the correspondence between the Du family and Prince Yan had yet to reveal any clear issues. They would just have to wait a little longer.

“But they no longer have their pillar industry. How can they remain the richest in Blue City?”

Hmph. This person was still too naive. If they made no moves publicly, wouldn’t they act covertly? From the start, everything had been done in secret. They had probably thought too simply, which led to this misunderstanding.

Han Qing didn’t offer much explanation but instead went straight to Lord Chen.

“Have you found any clues in these letters?”

“They’re just simple requests for help, nothing about secretly hoarding copper mines or the like,” Chen Tianwei shook her head. So far, they had found no useful information and were only wasting time here.

“Keep looking?”

“We’ve intercepted three letters now, and none contain anything unusual.”

“Let me see.”

Sometimes, the secret lies hidden within. Simple words alone are of little use. Though puzzled, Chen Tianwei handed all the letters to him. He held them up to the light and, judging by the usual thickness of the rice paper, immediately realized this was no ordinary paper. If he guessed right, there was a hidden mystery within.

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“Bring some ink paper and clean water…”

Once all the tools were ready, the contents of the letters began to emerge clearly.

Were they increasing manpower for copper mining? These messages appeared one after another. Old Master Du must have been unable to contain his anger long ago.

“Do you see clearly now?” Chen Tianwei nodded, belatedly realizing how foolish she had been. She had thought these letters were ordinary from the start, but they had been looking in the wrong direction all along. No matter how simple the matter, they had botched it.

“Should we arrest Old Master Du immediately?”

“Lord Chen, do you think Prince Yan would be subdued based on this? He could simply tell His Majesty it’s a frame-up and turn the tables on you,” Han Qing said without emotion. They had nearly ruined everything.

“Then what should we do?”

“Old Master Du will surely panic in the coming days. If all goes as expected, he’ll find an excuse to notify Prince Yan. Then it will be much easier to catch them all at once.”

Right. That was the wise choice. Other approaches would only push the truth further away.

After fainting for several days, Old Master Du recovered and regrouped. Having worked hard all his life, he would never let a mere chiffon yarn business destroy him. Impossible.

He immediately gathered his confidants to devise a plan.

“Father, why not tell Prince Yan about this and let him decide?”

“But if he shows up, Blue City will no longer be under your control.”

“We can’t just watch the industry we’ve protected for so many years be seized by others. Besides, I’ve heard that someone is secretly manipulating the Zhou family in this matter.”

The men discussed incessantly. That statement made the old master understand clearly: someone was secretly aiding the Zhou family.

“I heard it was Han Qing, and from what I know, Han Qing had a close relationship with a fallen royal family member in Northern County City,” he said.

With this chain of clues, the old master was completely awakened.