Chapter 46: City-wide Funeral
The moon rises and the sun sets, and the bustling city that was bustling with traffic during the day has now become completely silent.
On the deserted street, a crowd of people in black night clothes suddenly surged in like a tide, quietly but quickly surrounding all the places marked on the map.
Ruan Xing stood on the attic in the distance, raised the torch and lit the signal smoke.
In an instant, the shouts of killing shook the sky.
Under the firelight, Ruan Xing's fair little face was stained with a half circle of dim yellow color. She turned her head to look at the assistant clerk next to her. He was wearing heavy clothes and Liu Shouye was supporting him.
"Sir, I will leave the rest to you. I have no intention of knowing the secret case of the palace, and I don't have any credit for the case. I just hope that Jiangning City can return to its past without any more disturbances."
"What Boss Ruan wishes is also what I wish. Jiangning City will still be the Jiangning City we are familiar with." The assistant said with a smile.
Ruan Xing nodded slightly, turned around and went downstairs.
"Lu Youqi should be successful soon, so I won't go over to see him. You can discuss the funeral arrangements and compensation for the families of the sacrificed gang members with him later." Ruan Xing yawned slightly and instructed Hong Xi.
As a result, she already knew it from the simulation, and it wouldn't make much difference whether she went or not.
"Boss, the gang members who participated in the operation have not yet withdrawn. If we let the patrol guards go now, wouldn't that be..." Hong Xi gradually lost his voice under Ruan Xing's scrutinizing gaze, and finally said, "I spoke out of turn."
"Didn't you already know their fate? It's a little too late to be kind now." Ruan Xing said softly, "You should know that if you want them to live, you could have sent them away to escape when I told you this afternoon, but you didn't say it. Are you afraid that I would kill you after I found out?"
In every simulation, Hong Xi did not choose to dismiss his subordinates. She did not think that Hong Xi would be loyal to her so quickly. He just understood his own position deeply and knew that if he made a wrong step, he would die.
"Or are you just using these meager words to soothe your guilty conscience? Then why didn't you feel guilty when you helped the Red-headed Taoist to collect boys and girls?" Ruan Xing said meaningfully: "You have never disobeyed my words since the first time you saw me. You know, I have always wanted to kill you, but because you know the situation, I can't find a reason to kill you. Then why did you dare to say that to me just now? Is it because I am more generous to you than the Red-headed Taoist, so you mistakenly think that I am a good person?"
"Your subordinate..." Hong Xi's body was shaking slightly as he knelt on one knee.
"Stop testing me and just do what you should do." Ruan Xing waved her hand and ignored him, then got on the carriage back home.
Hong Xi is a person who is very good at setting boundaries for himself. He is unwilling to cross the line but will test the edge of the bottom line. This may be because the Red-headed Taoist basically does not care about anything and concentrates on research and delegates power to him.
In the past, he made decisions on his own about the gang's affairs, and only turned to the Red-Headed Taoist for help when he really couldn't make a decision. But now, he was ordered around by Ruan Xing every day, and was rewarded with two bottles of medicine for completing a task. This made Hong Xi think actively, and he dared to test and question Ruan Xing's decisions.
Unfortunately, Ruan Xing noticed it immediately.
It’s not a big problem. After some careful training, he can still become a qualified tool.
Ruan Xing didn't take it too seriously. She went back to continue drinking tea, eating fruit and enjoying the service of the maids. She gave Hu San a few days off so that he could seize the time to break through to the peak of his internal strength. Because she was very satisfied with the maid Zhang Chenghui presented, she also rewarded Zhang Chenghui with a bottle of medicine.
The next day, she suddenly remembered that Ruan's mother would be unemployed after cleaning up the weaving workshop. She called the housekeeper to ask, "Has there been any news from Lu Youqi's clan? Has anyone contacted me?"
"No news." The housekeeper shook his head and continued, "Miss Ruan Tao went out today. You said before that in addition to the daily supply of medicinal bath liquid, you would give Miss Ruan Tao an extra 20 taels of silver so that she could see if she was short of anything. Miss Ruan Tao did not use up this part of the quota and changed it into cash and went out."
Ruan Tao was much more soft-hearted than her. It seemed that she was afraid that Ruan's mother would lose her job and have no money to spend, so she sent the money.
Ruan Xing nodded, "Don't worry about her. Wait until she comes back and give her 20 taels of silver."
The next few days were uneventful until the latest news came from the capital.
The assistant magistrate, despite his illness, escorted the prisoner back to the capital. In the main hall, he made an impassioned speech, each word of which was heartbreaking. He narrated how Sun Erlang and he had worked tirelessly to investigate the case and collect evidence, how Sun Erlang had been murdered and died of anger, and how he had been ordered to capture the wanted criminal with Sun Erlang's handwritten secret order, even at the risk of being seriously injured.
At the end, the deputy minister knelt down and sincerely requested the emperor to give a grand funeral to such a loyal minister like Sun Erlang and to confer titles on his descendants. Then he died with a smile on his face in the hall.
The emperor wept bitterly, saying that he had lost two more important ministers. He conferred the title of first-class duke on Sun Erlang, lowering his rank to hereditary, and the title of third-class marquis on Jianshi, lowering his rank to hereditary. He gave both of them 100 gold coins, drafted an inscription for the tombstone, and buried them in their hometown. In addition, Liu Shouye, the former commander of the left of the patrol security department of Jiangning City, was promoted to Jianshi of the patrol security department, temporarily taking over the position of city lord until the end of this term.
Ruan Xing breathed a sigh of relief. The matter was finally successfully dealt with. Without the new city lord and Liu Shouye being his own man, the Red Head Gang could safely make money for themselves in recent years. The gang's assets had long been returned by Liu Shouye and were currently being managed by Wang Dongxing. After looking at this month's accounts, although there had been many twists and turns this month, at least most of the stores had no losses on their books. In the future, they should be able to return to the glory of making a profit of 10,000 or 20,000 taels a year.
On that day, the body of the secretary had been sent back from Kyoto. The entire secretary's mansion was hung with white banners, and Ruan Xing was invited to attend his funeral.
On the way there, we also met many families wearing linen clothes, with white cloth tied on their foreheads, carrying the coffin out of the coffin.
Wang Dongxing was sitting in the same carriage with her. Seeing this, he said, "The coffin shop has the best revenue this month. The price of an ordinary paulownia coffin has increased by more than two cents compared to previous years, not to mention other candles and paper money. Tsk tsk... Jiangning City hasn't had such a big event in many years."
"Really?" Ruan Xing also lifted the car curtain and looked, "Did so many people die in Jiangning City?"
"Why not? A group of people were killed in the assassination case of the assistant, a group of people died in the arrest of the criminals a few days ago, you killed a group of people to silence them, and another group of people implicated in the weaving case were imprisoned and beheaded. It's a thousand households. There are only ten thousand households in Jiangning City. One out of ten families is holding a funeral. How can it be a lot?" Wang Dongxing counted with her while counting on his fingers. "Fortunately, my family is fine, and it's a blessing in disguise. It has become easier for me to transfer the household registration of the brothers in Qianling Mountain."
After arriving at the Qianshi Mansion and presenting the funeral offerings, Ruan Xing whispered to Liu Shouye, "I am in mourning."
Liu Shouye smiled bitterly, "I have already prepared myself mentally, but this day is still hard to accept."
Wang Dongxing patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother Liu, the dead are gone, and the living are still remembering them. Ah Cheng is now a young marquis. You should raise Ah Cheng well, and you will be worthy of your brother-in-law. His spirit in heaven will surely be pleased. Moreover, you are now a clerk at such a young age. You may be transferred to Kyoto in the future and rise to a high position."
"It's just an empty title, there's not even a real county. It's just a nice name to tell others about it. I have never taken part in the imperial examination, so I can only hold a military position. But I have never practiced martial arts. The best I can do in this life is a deputy magistrate. You don't have to look up to me." Liu Shouye shook his head, and after settling them down, he went on to receive other guests.
Wang Dongxing said to Ruan Xing, "Boss, we are so familiar with Brother Liu, why don't we help him and give him some of the internal energy training techniques and medicines. Then he can be transferred to the capital, and our Red Head Gang can have a say in the government. Only the Qianling Guards can practice internal energy in the government, and those with insufficient family backgrounds can't even get in. When we were young, we couldn't stand the hardship of external energy training, so we never practiced martial arts." If it was before, when Ruan Xing had never met Sun Erlang, it would not matter, but now she couldn't do that, "No."
After helping Liu Shouye, if he was really transferred to the capital and someone discovered the clues, she would be assassinated by the eunuchs again.
"Why?" Wang Dongxing was a little confused.
Ruan Xing couldn't tell him in detail, "Not right now."
After she goes to the capital, when her realm reaches the innate level or she enters the stage of cultivating immortals, she won't have to worry about those dead eunuchs in the royal family. By then she can help Liu Shouye learn martial arts. Maybe she can even develop the Red Head Gang and bring other nearby cities under her command, and then she can make even more money.
Moreover, with Liu Shouye's luck, he might not need her help. He is the son of a wealthy businessman and he has become a deputy at the age of sixteen. It is hard to say that this has nothing to do with his strong luck. In other novels, he would be the protagonist of a beautiful, strong and tragic character.
Wang Dongxing was dejected, "Okay then."
Ruan Xing then asked, "How much can the industry collect this month?"
"More than four hundred taels." Wang Dongxing blinked and began to calculate. "The profits from the previous month have been taken away by the Patrol Security Bureau. The profits from the remaining half month have been affected and are not much. However, the profits from the shops related to funerals have increased a bit, which can be regarded as filling the gap."
"More than four hundred taels..." Ruan Xing pondered for a moment, "Is it enough to keep the gang running?"
"Not quite enough. Normally, the monthly consumption is about 600 taels."
Ruan Xing thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll leave you three thousand taels of silver notes. You should manage the business well while I'm away. I'll take all the rest of the gang's money."
"Ah? Where are you going?" Wang Dongxing was surprised.
"Go to the capital, Huaining. Wait... and leave in a few days." Ruan Xing said.
She also wanted to wait and see whether Ruan's father's relatives would come to cause trouble again, and how Ruan Tao would deal with it.
Wang Dongxing said with some worry: "How many people do you need? Pei Qianhu originally wanted to expand his business to Huaining City, but he went there several times but failed and almost offended someone. I'm afraid you will be in trouble if you go there."
"Nowadays, very few people know my identity. I only bring my sword and leave alone. No one will recognize me."
A few days later, the housekeeper came to give Ruan Xing the good news, saying that Ruan Tao had achieved minor success in her internal and external cultivation, and Hu San had also achieved major success in her internal and external cultivation.
"Pretty fast." Ruan Xing was not surprised. Practicing martial arts is a very expensive thing. If you have talent and perseverance, you may spend less money and more time. For example, those gang members in the hall who strengthen their muscles and bones every day, they don't have money to take medicinal baths every day, so they can only practice hard. It will take at least three to five years to achieve the external strength. If you have money to take medicinal baths and fill up the medicine, even if you don't have talent, you can force yourself to achieve a small success in internal and external strength in a few months.
She called Hu San over and said, "Not bad, your internal strength has caught up with your external strength. As you cultivate both internal and external strength, your speed will be much faster than before. You should work harder to achieve internal and external perfection as soon as possible."
"Yes, I will live up to the young lady's cultivation!" Hu San said solemnly.
"I will be going on a long journey soon. When I'm away, you will be in charge of all the affairs of the gang. If you can't figure out something, you can discuss it with Wang Dongxing and Liu Shouye. You can use the liquid medicine in the warehouse at will, and you can reward other managers if they do a good job. It's up to you to decide. I won't say much more. The Red Head Gang is just a stable money bag to me. You have to help me protect this money bag and don't let anyone steal it." Ruan Xing patted his shoulder and instructed with trust.
Hu San was stunned. "You're going out without me?"
"It's enough for me to bring a sword. Your biggest responsibility now is to be a good deputy gang leader, not to be my groom. And this time, I plan to learn how to ride a horse." Ruan Xing said without question:
"By the way, I asked you to keep an eye on my mother. How is it going? Is anyone causing trouble for her?"
Hu San calmed down and replied, "There were some gossipers after the incident at the weaving workshop, but when Miss Ruan Tao returned that time, she not only brought silver but also scolded them, so no one said anything anymore. Later, Master Liu temporarily took over the position of city lord and reopened the Household Taxation Bureau. There were many vacancies in the Household Taxation Bureau, so I also stuffed some educated gang members in as clerks. When the weaving workshop organized embroiderers and weavers, I hired my wife back. Now my wife is living a peaceful life.
It's just that there's a man who claims to be Madam's senior brother, who often comes in and out of the house under the pretext of helping with housework. Recently, some rumors have been spread. I've checked, and it was Madam's second sister-in-law and mother-in-law who spread them, saying that Madam, a newly deceased widow, had an affair with a man outside her family and was not a good wife. Last time, you said that those Ruan family members should be left to Miss Ruan Tao to deal with, so I didn't touch them."
"Does my sister know about this?"
"I don't know yet. Miss Ruan Tao has only gone back twice in the past half month. The rest of the time she has been practicing in her room."
Ruan Xing knocked on the table when he heard this and ordered, "Find a way to let her know about this inadvertently."
Soon, Ruan Tao accidentally heard some "gossip" chatting between some maids in the headquarters. She took action and found the butler to inform him before leaving.
Ruan Xing followed her quietly. After hearing her scolding the Ruan family, she took out a dagger and cut off the tongues of several people. She even didn't spare Ruan Da and Ruan Dasao, who were still lying in bed after being caned. Before leaving, she made a cruel statement:
"This is the last time. I'll spare your lives for my father's sake. If it happens again, I'll make sure my family is the only one with the surname Ruan in Jiangning City!"
Ruan Xing looked at this scene and silently asked Hu San, "What do you think? Do you think she is soft-hearted?"
"That's not the case." Hu San shook his head. "She doesn't know you're the gang leader yet. She's just afraid that killing someone will cause you trouble."
"So that's it."
Ruan Xing's heart moved slightly and he smiled unconsciously.
Thanks to book friend 20240505085011622 for the monthly ticket~
(End of this chapter)
