102 Still Clueless (1/2)

As Manchu continued to laugh, An Sun's brows arched as he looked over in Rin's direction.

Sensing his gaze, Rin averted her eyes and continued to drink her tea.

Raising an eyebrow, An Sun plops himself down on a mat by the table and begins pouring himself wine.

”Quit with the suspense Manchu, spit it out. What's so funny?”

Wiping a tear from the corner of his eyes, Manchu looks over at An Sun and chuckles.

”Nothing, nothing.”

An Sun frowned at Manchu's response.

Once again, he turns to look at Rin for an answer, but she merely shook her head.

Even she didn't know why Manchu was laughing, however, having to repeat her previous question to An Sun, she didn't dare.

Slightly irritated, An Sun's eyes clouded.

Manchu felt an eerily, icy gaze fall upon him, sending a chill down his back. Composing himself, Manchu straightens himself up and coughs.

”How did things go with Duyi Zhong?”

Retracting his cold stare from Manchu, An Sun tsked. ”That man sure is stubborn.”

”Then I take it he declined.”

An Sun shook his head while drinking his wine. ”No, he agreed.”

”He agreed that easily?” Rin asked, her brows scrunched together tightly, disbelief showing on her face.

”Why do you seem surprised?”

Rin scratched her cheek. ”To be honest, based on Duyi Zhong's personality he doesn't seem to be one to give in so easily. Especially if it involves his men.”

An Sun nodded. ”You're right, in the beginning, he didn't agree. As expected, he claimed my demands were too high.”

Twirling the cup of wine in his calloused hand, An Sun's dark eyes stare at the furnace. ”But after some convincing, he agreed to give us two-thousand more of his men if we provide him with one-hundred more pounds of grains. He even said he'd be willing to add in five hundred more if we're able to get vegetables, fresh or frozen.”

Both Rin and Manchu's eyes widened when hearing these words.

”What?” Both said in unison.

A frown quickly settled on Rin's face. ”Lord An, I don't mean to be rude but are you certain you want to trade them one-hundred pounds of grains?”

An Sun's eyes looked at Rin, a single brow raised. ”You don't agree?”

”Not exactly. However, one hundred pounds of grains, that's all we have. What about the rest of our soldiers?”

Manchu sipped his tea, but it was clear that he too agreed.

”Do you really think I'd allow my men to starve?” His brows twitched at the two's stares.

Rin shook her head.

Chugging down more of his wine, An Sun says, ”I can always ask my father to send a supply of food for my men. It won't seem suspicious either since he believes we'll be looting more small provinces farther North.”

”Yes but…”

”Bai Lan.”

Rin went silent. She was surprised by the way An Sun had addressed her. It had been the first time he called her by her name rather than 'kid.'

He looked at Rin with a calm and serious expression.

”You may be smart based on the books you've read and what your grandfather told you. But when it comes down to trading, you're still quite clueless. And at the very least I know my boundaries.”

Astonished, Rin froze for a moment. The corner of her lips twitched as it was clear he was saying she was dull in several areas.

However, rather than taking offense to his words, she agreed. He was right, she had no knowledge when it came to trading or establishing an alliance.

But that didn't mean she wasn't aware of how strange An Sun's plan was.

Noting the conflicted expression on Rin's face as she spoke to An Sun, Manchu coughed lightly. ”Can't there be another way to handle this?”

An Sun was calm as he replied, ”Even if there was, it's already been done. I issued an order to my father for a new supply of grains and if he can, fresh or frozen vegetables. As for the rest, it's all been resolved.”

Rin and Manchu went silent.

Why did they even bother arguing with him when he had already settled everything?!

Tired, Manchu chugged his tea and took the jug of wine and began pouring it into his cup.

With times like this, he really needed a drink.

Sighing helplessly, Rin looked at An Sun. ”If my Lord already settled it then I guess there's no use arguing over it.”

An sun grunted in response and sipped his wine. As if recalling something, his eyes shifted toward Rin's small body.

While drinking her tea, Rin sensed a gaze on her and looked in An Sun's direction.

”Is something wrong?”