Feng Shuo's men interrogated the former officials who were offered by Yang Zheng, but in the end they got nothing out of them.
These former officials only had a vague understanding of the treasure map, and had never even seen what the parchment scroll looked like.
Feng Shuo's staff consulted various ancient books and tried many methods, but they still could not figure out what was on the treasure map. Gradually, they felt that the map was most likely a cover to lure Xing'an Hou into the trap.
The news that the treasure map was fake spread out. After Jiang Yanyi brought Ruyi Tower and Noodle Shop to join the Chamber of Commerce, he began to incite the merchants in the Chamber of Commerce to donate for military supplies. The merchants suffered heavy losses and had many complaints against the government.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the military camp was short of money. They had originally doubted whether the treasure map was fake, but when they saw that the government was forcing the merchants to pay up, they began to believe it.
Jiang Yanyi still couldn't figure it out. If the group of female traveling doctors just wanted to use the fake sheepskin scroll to deceive Marquis Xing'an, why did they fight so hard to snatch the sheepskin scroll
Unfortunately, she looked at it over and over again, but still couldn't find the secret of the parchment scroll, so she didn't dwell on it anymore. She just treated it as an ordinary piece of parchment and concentrated on doing the current task.
Jiang Yanyi has almost visited all the people in the Chamber of Commerce one by one. Today is the day for fundraising. Manager Xu is the head of the Chamber of Commerce, so the fundraising will naturally be held at Lai Fu Restaurant.
Aunt Guo injured her arm and was inconvenient to move around, so Jiang Yanyi asked her to rest and now she takes Huo Jianjia with her wherever she goes.
Lai Fu Restaurant is right at the entrance of Duhufu Street, just a few steps away from Jiang Yanyi's former shop.
Jiang Yanyi walked over, and by coincidence, she ran into the former young master of the noodle shop, Tian Dalang, who was blocked in the alley by a group of hooligans and was beaten and kicked.
He had just crawled out of the alley when he was dragged back again. Passersby saw him and had no time to avoid him, so how could they stop him
One of the bald men stepped on Tian Dalang's face, holding a kitchen knife in his hand, and said viciously: "You bastard! You dare to come to the gambling house to bet money when you have no money? I'll chop off your arm as compensation!"
Tian Dalang was so scared that he screamed and begged for mercy. He saw Jiang Yanyi standing across the street and shouted as if he had seen a savior: "Manager Jiang! Manager Jiang, save me!"
He didn't know that Jiang Yanyi was adopted by the Chu family, and still called him Jiang Yanyi as before.
Jiang Yanyi only saw Tian Dalang being trampled in the alley after hearing the shouts. He thought he was being retaliated by the gambling owner again, so he changed his tone and said, "Jianjia."
After receiving Jiang Yanyi's instructions, Huo Jianjia walked over and swung left and right, knocking several big men to the ground.
Several big men rolled on the ground in pain, unable to understand what was going on. Looking at the skinny little girl, a punch from her hurt as much as a kick from a horse. They dared not to do it again and rolled away in shame.
Jiang Yanyi walked closer, saw that Tian Dalang was covered in injuries, and said, "Go see a doctor."
Tian Dalang got up with a bruised face and bowed to Jiang Yanyi: "Thank you very much for your help, Manager Jiang. This minor injury of mine is nothing serious."
Jiang Yanyi asked him: "Who are those people?"
Tian Dalang said with some embarrassment: "I owe the gambling house some money, I will pay it back."
He said a little, but since it has reached the point where he is about to chop off his hands, it must be more than a little.
He didn't go to the pharmacy, probably because he didn't have enough money to treat his injuries.
Jiang Yanyi sighed, took out five taels of silver and handed it to him: "Young Master, take care of yourself. I have something else to do, so I'll leave now."
Tian Dalang was holding the silver coins with mixed feelings in his heart. He suddenly called Jiang Yanyi and said, "I heard that Shopkeeper Jiang joined the Chamber of Commerce. I congratulate you first, but you should be careful. When I was in the gambling house, I saw Shopkeeper Xu, Mr. Lu, Mr. Zhang, and Mr. Chen gathered in the private room of the gambling house to discuss something. It seems that they mentioned you."
Although he likes gambling, he also knows a thing or two about business. Jiang Yanyi suddenly joined the Chamber of Commerce. Those old foxes in the Chamber of Commerce might be planning how to split up her prosperous Ruyi Tower and Noodle Shop!
Jiang Yanyi paused. The people that Tian Dalang mentioned were all well-known figures in the Chamber of Commerce.
She asked: "When did it happen?"
Tian Dalang said, "Just two days ago, the carriages left in batches, as if they were afraid that people would find out that they went to the gambling house."
Jiang Yanyi thought that the fundraising was a sure thing, but after hearing what Tian Dalang said, his heart sank.
She underestimated those old foxes in the Chamber of Commerce. She thought she could lure them into the trap by using threats and inducements one by one, but she didn't expect that those old foxes agreed to her suggestion in private.
Jiang Yanyi said to Tian Dalang: "Thank you."
Tian Dalang waved his hands repeatedly: "It is Tian who should thank Shopkeeper Jiang."
Going to Lai Fu Restaurant again, Jiang Yanyi couldn't help being distracted, thinking of countermeasures in his mind.
A high platform was built in front of the Lai Fu Restaurant, with red silk hung around it. Many people gathered on the street to watch the fun, whispering to each other about the wealthy businessmen in Xizhou raising funds for military supplies.
As soon as Jiang Yanyi arrived, a waiter led her to the private room on the second floor.
The people with the most say in the Chamber of Commerce are all there, and Madam An Shao is among them.
The largest pharmacy in Xizhou was opened by the An family. A big part of the reason why Jiang Yanyi was able to persuade the wealthy businessmen in the Chamber of Commerce to raise funds so quickly was that Madam An directly sided with her.
The wealthy businessmen all knew that the military camp was short of money, but the An family was so powerful that they had already contributed money obediently. What right did they have to challenge the government
The idea of public fundraising was proposed by Manager Xu and several other employees, probably because they wanted the people of Xizhou to see that the government was asking them directly for money.
Jiang Yanyi had been prepared for this move of theirs, and had bribed a few of the people who were best at stirring up trouble. When the time came, they would praise the crowd and suppress the unpleasant voices.
When she entered, all the merchants in the room looked at her, but they didn't have much good intentions, as if they wanted to give her a warning. Jiang Yanyi looked past them without looking away and sat down next to Madam An Shao.
In order to appear more stable, she wore a sandalwood green brocade emerald feather shirt today and an emerald ring on her hand.
The emerald was too green, and if it was in someone else's hand, it might look a bit old, but Jiang Yanyi's hands had well-proportioned fingers, long knuckles, creamy white with a touch of mature green, which seemed to have an invisible sense of majesty that made people feel breathless.
After she entered the room, she didn't say a word and immediately overpowered them.
Madam An Shao looked much better than before. She smiled and took the initiative to talk to Jiang Yanyi: "Was it snowing heavily on the way here?"
Jiang Yanyi glanced at Shopkeeper Xu and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper Xu is very thoughtful. It's only a few steps from my house, and there won't be much wind."
Shopkeeper Xu is the head of the Chamber of Commerce, but when there are many people around, he will never take the initiative to be the bad guy. He will only instigate others to say unpleasant words.
He was the one who was most opposed to raising funds for the military. After Jiang Yanyi visited the wealthy businessmen one by one, the wealthy businessmen secretly went to the gambling house. It was probably Manager Xu's idea.
Jiang Yanyi ignored everyone else, but suddenly took the initiative to mention Manager Xu. Firstly, he wanted to warn Manager Xu that he knew about his little tricks; secondly, he wanted to make the people who entered the gambling house with Manager Xu that day suspicious.
Sure enough, after Jiang Yanyi said this, not only was Madam An confused, but the other wealthy businessmen also looked at each other and looked at Shopkeeper Xu differently.
Shopkeeper Xu did not expect Jiang Yanyi to attack his mind at this time. He thought that Jiang Yanyi knew that he had secretly made an appointment with wealthy businessmen to have tea. He felt uneasy and could only reluctantly curl the corners of his mouth towards Jiang Yanyi.
He originally wanted to team up with a few wealthy businessmen to donate less money. After all, the law cannot hold everyone responsible. No matter how powerful the King of Liaonan is, he cannot confiscate their homes just because they donated too little.
Now Jiang Yanyi seemed to know that he was the instigator. If the money raised later was not enough, he would have conflicts with Jiang Yanyi, and Jiang Yanyi would turn around and report him to the King of Liaonan.
It is not enough to punish a small businessman like him...
The more Shopkeeper Xu thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his palms were full of sweat.
When the auspicious time for fundraising arrived, there was already a bustling atmosphere outside the Lai Fu Restaurant with the sound of gongs and drums, and people from the Chamber of Commerce walked out of the private rooms one after another to raise funds outside.
As the host, Shopkeeper Xu had to greet everyone in the Chamber of Commerce. When Jiang Yanyi and Madam An Shao left together, Shopkeeper Xu asked, "Shopkeeper Chu, can I have a word with you for a moment?"
Mrs. An saw that Manager Xu had something to discuss with Jiang Yanyi, so she said something to Jiang Yanyi and left first.
Huo Jianjia had been following, so Jiang Yanyi was not worried about the danger. When they reached the entrance, she asked knowingly, "What does Manager Xu want to talk to me about?"
Shopkeeper Xu said awkwardly, "I hope Shopkeeper Chu won't take offense to what happened in the past."
Jiang Yanyi said, "Shopkeeper Xu, what are you talking about? If you hadn't opened this antique soup shop, Master Yao wouldn't have come to work in Ruyi Building. I should be thanking Shopkeeper Xu."
Shopkeeper Xu was embarrassed by Jiang Yanyi's words, but he also knew that things were different now. For some harmless business matters, the King of Liaonan might just think that Jiang Yanyi himself was not good at business, and he would not deal with him directly, so he was fearless.
But the problem now is that the King of Liaonan's army is short of money. Jiang Yanyi is helping the army to raise funds, but he takes the lead in asking wealthy businessmen to donate less. The King of Liaonan will probably kill him directly.
Shopkeeper Xu said humbly, "I will no longer run this antique soup shop, nor the noodle shop. I would like to ask Shopkeeper Chu to be magnanimous and not to argue with a mere businessman like Xu..."
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "I'm afraid that's not what Manager Xu had in mind when he invited you guys to the gambling house."
Jiang Yanyi told all about the gambling house, and Shopkeeper Xu was filled with despair. He wanted to say something else, but Jiang Yanyi only said, "If the prince sees that the amount of military funds raised is not bad, maybe he won't care so much."
Shopkeeper Xu regretted his decision. He originally wanted to keep more money in his pocket, but now he has to pay even more money.
But when it comes to saving your life and property, what do money and other material things matter
***
When it came to the public fundraising, Manager Xu was the first to step forward to raise funds, and he directly donated a huge sum of 30,000 taels.
The few officials who had met with Manager Xu earlier were completely dumbfounded. They thought that what Jiang Yanyi had told them before was true, and that Manager Xu deliberately asked them to donate less in order to kick them out and get the benefits that originally belonged to them. They quickly asked the servant to go home to get the banknotes.
Some small businessmen followed the actions of the wealthy businessmen. Seeing that the wealthy businessmen had donated almost half of their assets, they followed suit even if they felt sorry for the money.
The pharmacy doesn't make much money, and Xizhou is poor. The three thousand taels of silver in Madam An's hand are all she can take out. During previous negotiations, many wealthy businessmen were only willing to take out one thousand taels of silver at most.
Seeing this, she couldn't help but feel confused and asked Jiang Yanyi who was sitting next to her: "Miss Chu, this is..."
Jiang Yanyi had not expected that the fundraising effect after her intimidation for Manager Xu would be so good. She was very happy, but she was worried that she was outside, so she remained calm and smiled at Madam An Shao: "It seems that everyone wants to contribute to Xizhou."
It's a rare day that it's not snowing, and the sun hanging in the sky is just a white shadow without any warmth.
Huo Jianjia stood behind Jiang Yanyi. In order to hide the birthmark on her face, she combed a lot of her hair down to cover it.
In order not to scare others, she did not carry her heavy sword, but only hid a dagger in her sleeve to protect Jiang Yanyi at the critical moment.
On the roof opposite the restaurant, something flashed in the sunlight, and Huo Jianjia raised her head instantly.
When Huo Jianjia discovered someone was shooting arrows at Jiang Yanyi, he immediately shouted, "Master, be careful!"
At the same time, she pulled out the dagger hidden in her sleeve. With a "clang" sound, the sharp arrow hit the dagger and sparks flew, before being blocked.
Before everyone knew what was happening, the figure on the roof opposite had disappeared. Huo Jianjia chased after him with a dagger in hand. When she ran past the statue of Guan Gong in front of the restaurant gate, she turned back and threw away the dagger. She took off the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and rushed into the crowd again with her small body carrying the sword.
Everyone came to their senses then, screaming continuously. Manager Xu's heart almost stopped beating. If anything happened to Jiang Yanyi, his whole family would probably die.
The author has something to say: Sorry for the late update
The deadline for submitting the paper has come, and I am worried about the paper data every day qaq