A dream ends life

As soon as the morning court was over, Yu Luohan gave the little emperor a few words of advice and hurried out of the palace. When Wu Peiyi found out, she felt deeply uneasy.

Yu Luohan had never been so anxious to leave the palace. Once there was a chance, there would be a second time. She would not allow Yu Luohan to be too far away from her!

Yu Luohan hurried out of the palace today mainly to find those merchants to raise money. The other reason was the death of Prince Wu, which involved his mother and uncle, and he had to follow up.

Although the words his mother scolded him with were careless, they also woke him up. If he kept walking around in the palace like this, there would already be rumors circulating outside.

When the young emperor first ascended the throne, he was worried about them, mother and son. Now it is time for him to keep his distance. He will always protect them, mother and son, at an appropriate distance.

Someone in his house was looking for him, but he, the Grand Tutor, couldn't receive the message. It can be seen that Wu Peiyi was not as weak as he thought.

If he had received the news and returned home that day, his mother and uncle would not have done such a stupid thing as hiring someone to kill someone, and they would not have gotten into such a big trouble.

With this thought, Yu Luohan began to think more uncontrollably.

If, if Ah Ci hadn't been in trouble, she would naturally be the one in charge of the Taifu Mansion, and her uncle and mother wouldn't have ended up like this.

If, if Ah Ci had not been injured, they should have been a happy family, just like before, no, even happier than before. Ah Ci was pregnant with their child, and then they would be a family of three.

Having lived in Xiaogou Village, he could easily imagine how happy his family of three would be.

Yu Luohan thought of their child who disappeared before he was born, thought of the way Su Ci looked at him every time, thought of that day in Xiangguo Temple when Su Ci performed a ritual to pray for their child's soul to be reborn, but he was accompanying Wu Peiyi to travel around the mountains and rivers.

Yu Luohan broke out in a cold sweat. How could his family have come to this point step by step? Why did it happen like this!

Yier, Yier just cares about him too much. She has always been gentle and kind. He shouldn't think of her like this.

Everything that happened at home was related to Wu Peiyi. After this sentence flashed through Yu Luohan's mind, he quickly shook his head to get rid of those thoughts.

He and Yi'er were childhood sweethearts. Even if they were not husband and wife, they were close friends who knew each other best. How could he have such an idea!

Yu Luohan quickened his pace. He wanted to deal with those merchants as soon as possible. Only in this way could he solve the urgent problem.

They arrived at the restaurant where they had agreed to meet in advance, where all the famous merchants from the capital had already gathered.

Yu Luohan walked in slowly, and everyone stood up and saluted him.

Among the classes of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants, merchants had a low status and in front of Luo Han, they had to bow down and behave themselves.

"No need to be polite, please take a seat!" There was no change on Yu Luohan's face.

After walking around the crowd and sitting down at the upper seats, these people took their seats.

There were eleven people sitting there, all of whom were invited by Yu Luohan through invitations earlier. Because of his status, as long as they were not out, all of them were present.

A fifty-year-old man stood up, clasped his fists and said, "Master Taifu, I wonder what you want me to do today?"

This man is Shi En, the head of the Shi family, a wealthy family in Shangjing City. He has a strong family background, many direct and collateral branches, and a huge family, making him the leader among the merchants in Shangjing.

All merchants who come to the capital follow the lead of the Shi family. It's not because the Shi family is so virtuous that they can convince others, but because the Shi family is so large and has so many complicated connections that the consequences of offending the Shi family are very serious.

The Shi family has a wide range of business and is good at marriage alliances. They will send their carefully cultivated daughters to the residences of various high-ranking officials.

The money earned was used to support these women to get promoted, consolidate their status, and help their husbands' careers. And these women would use their status to give the Shi family more convenience.

Although the method is not glorious, it is effective. Moreover, such incidents are common and the officials are happy to see it happen.

Which official could refuse the opportunity of having a beautiful woman in his arms and having more money in his pocket?

The daughters of the Shi family were cultivated with a huge amount of resources. Each of them is very smart and considerate. Officials who can get a daughter of the Shi family are all symbols of status!

In other words, only those who are useful to the Shi family will be favored by the women of the Shi family. If anyone has a concubine sent by the Shi family, it will be something for men to brag about and gain face.

Yu Luohan was very satisfied with the tact of the head of the Shi family. He was still thinking about how to talk to these people. Since he had handed him the ladder, there was nothing wrong with talking.

"To be honest, I invited you all here today because of the flood in Xunjiang River..."

Yu Luohan spoke slowly and calmly.

Everyone present looked at each other, exchanging information silently with their eyes. They knew about the flood in Xunjiang River, and they had withdrawn their businesses from the area near Xunjiang River to Shangjing to avoid risks.

It seems that Yu Luohan is holding a Hongmen Banquet today, but they have to jump into it even though they know it is a trap.

Yu Luohan took in their expressions, and when he finished speaking, the room was silent.

Everyone lowered their heads, looking thoughtful.

Yu Luohan said in a cold voice: "Now is the time for the court to recruit people. I hope everyone will do their part to help Dongyong prosper. Set an example for Dongyong merchants."

"Of course, the court will not let your efforts go in vain. According to your contributions, a monument will be erected to record your achievements. Your names will be written on the monument and recorded in history."

The merchants looked at each other, obviously not very satisfied. Merchants are profit-oriented, and what they care most about is how much benefit they can get. Those illusory reputations are pursued by the richest people in the world, not their cup of tea.

Shi En squinted his eyes and looked very Buddhist, as if he was on the same front with everyone.

Yu Luohan was not answered, and he felt unhappy. His expression turned cold. Shi En smiled and said, "Master Taifu is very busy with official duties. It is our honor to have dinner with you today. We must not leave until we are drunk with you today!"

"Let me drink first to show my respect!" Shi En raised his glass and drank it down.

The others followed suit and toasted Yu Luohan one after another, and the atmosphere in the room became relaxed.

These people surrounded Yu Luohan and toasted each other. Halfway through the banquet, Yu Luohan brought up the issue of money again, and Shi En spoke first.

"The people of Xunjiang are in trouble, so we will not stand idly by. Your Excellency Taifu cares about the people, which is a blessing for Dongyong. Today is a rush, so we should have a rule on how to act, how to act, and how much to act. How about this?"

Shi En frowned, looking very worried. After thinking for a while, he said, "This matter is of great importance. Please allow me to discuss it with everyone. Is it feasible to give the Grand Tutor a chance to return home tomorrow?"

Yu Luohan didn't expect these old foxes to be so difficult to deal with. They didn't refuse to pay, but just said to discuss it. He was speechless and had no choice but to agree.

After seeing Yu Luohan off, everyone stayed together and gathered around Shi En to discuss countermeasures.

In the next room, Su Ci slowly finished his meal, got up, walked out of the private room and left the restaurant.

Chunshui and Dongliu followed her with smiles on their faces.

Master Yu has to pay the price for dealing with these old foxes unless he gets skinned.