Chapter 907: Guts, the lions maw (1/2)
Tang Li wanted to see her?
Ning Jing replied, “Tell him I won’t! And you might as well pass on the message: he can forget about running away. He’ll never make it!”
Han Yunxi laughed wordlessly. She rather missed Tang Li herself. “If you’re not going, then I’ll go?”
“What do you want to do?” Ning Jing grew nervous.
“Just chat a bit with him. I’ve hit it off with him in the past, so there’s plenty to say,” Han Yunxi grinned.
“Do you think you can still hit things off with him now? Don’t forget your status,” Ning Jing reminded coldly.
“Shall we make a bet?” Han Yunxi asked. Although she hadn’t seen Tang Li since publicizing her identity and had no idea about his stance on things, she was certain of one thing: Tang Li had worshipped Long Feiye as his big brother since he was a child and wouldn’t dare to defy him.
If Long Feiye had already acknowledged her, why wouldn’t Tang Li recognize his sister-in-law as well?
Ning Jing showed zero interest and only said icily, “Don’t tell him about our matters. If you want to go looking for trouble, then I won’t stop you. I’ll check out things at the auction halls in the meantime. The mastermind behind the scenes isn’t so simple.”
As she prepared to leave, Han Yunxi hastily stopped her. “Let me ask you something.”
“Ask!” Ning Jing said simply.
“Where’s Gu Qishao and Mu Linger?” Han Yunxi asked. Bai Yuqiao had fallen from Gu Qishao’s hands into Ning Cheng’s, so what happened in between? He had clearly wrote her a letter saying all was well, but had it been faked?
“Gu Qishao left ages ago. Mu Linger’s with Manager Jin, you can find her yourself,” Ning Jing said before leaving.
Han Yunxi was a bit surprised. In other words, Gu Qishao and Mu Linger had been in the Three-Way Black Market with Ning Cheng? Then if Gu Qishao was gone, why had Mu Linger fallen into Manager Jin’s hands? Gu Qishao, that fellow. He left Mu Linger behind again? Han Yunxi chased after Ning JIng to ask for details, but the woman was already gone.
She decided to leave Tang Li aside and find Manager Jin instead, but she had no idea how to do that. She immediately had someone send for Fifth Elder. Besides Ning Jing, he was the only person she didn’t have to worry about in this Myriad Merchant Hall. Fifth Elder arrived and told her in detail about Gu Qishao and Mu Linger’s dealings in the gambling house. Although he had no idea that Ning Cheng had fabricated any letters, Han Yunxi could guess as much by now.
“Your Royal Highness, Master Ning must have put Mu Linger under house arrest because of a misunderstanding. Now that that’s cleared up, this subordinate will send someone to bring Miss Linger here right away,” Fifth Elder said reverently.
Han Yunxi nodded, but soon enough a retainer rushed over to say that Manager Jin refused to release the girl.
“How dare he! This subordinate will find him personally,” Fifth Elder huffed, but Han Yunxi stopped him.
She asked, “Why did Ning Cheng have Mu Linger put under house arrest with Manager Jin?”
Although Manager Jin’s indenture agreement was with Myriad Merchant Hall, he was still the leader of Thousand Gold Pavilion. However, his East Valley private bank was under his own control and independent of Myriad Merchant Hall! By putting Mu Linger under house arrest, Ning Cheng should have chosen a place within Myriad Merchant Hall rather than let Manager Jin take her to his property.
Fifth Elder replied, “Your Royal Highness, Manager Jin and Master Ning might be servant and master, but they also count as friends. This subordinate doesn’t understand the details of this matter, so I’ll call Uncle Cheng here. He should know.”
Han Yunxi’s eyes flashed with a complex emotion before she said, “Where is Manager Jin’s indenture agreement?”
“All of Myriad Merchant Hall’s servants are looked after as a whole, so their agreements are in the warehouse. But Manager Jin’s an exception, so his agreement is under Master Ning’s care. This subordinate has no idea where it could be,” Fifth Elder said, before adding, “However, Master Ning wouldn’t take it with him wherever he goes, so Uncle Cheng might know. I’ll find him immediately.”
“No need,” Han Yunxi stopped him. “Take me to the East Valley private bank instead.”
Fifth Elder was completely obedient to Han Yunxi and did as he was told without another question. He led her past the small paths to the bank, just as a dark shadow flittered past the ceiling to tail after them. Who else could it be but Xu Donglin? His Highness had instructed him to look after the princess, so he was to report her movements as soon as she left Myriad Merchant Hall.
While Han Yunxi was heading for East Valley private bank, Uncle Cheng was drinking tea with Manager Jin in its very back yard.
“You don’t need to think about further business at the gambling houses. I’m willing to guarantee that Myriad Merchant Hall has no way to revive them. Heheh, even Golden Wing and East Origin Hall doesn’t have the skills,” Uncle Cheng said sternly.
Manager Jin had gotten a handle of things at the gambling house by now. In his judgment, the gambling business at Three-Way Black Market wouldn’t be viable for at least two years. Golden Wing Hall had explained all of the cheating techniques used by swindlers there, so who would dare gamble again? He drank his high quality tea leaves and didn’t reply.
Uncle Cheng continued to speak. “Now that the princess is back, your agreement with Ning Cheng is null and void. Hehe, don’t blame me for reminding you that you can’t get back the limitless gold card you lost to Gu Qishao. Manager Jin, you’ve definitely lost this time!”
Even without his reminder, Manager Jin already realized this as soon as he learned of Han Yunxi’s identity. He allowed Uncle Cheng to analyze the situation without a word.
“Aye, a loss is a loss. It’s only a trifling gold card without limits, so East Valley Private Bank can afford the loss. However…” Uncle Cheng trailed off.