A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 135 No matter how good a person is, money is more reliable

There were screams coming from a dilapidated house outside Liangdu City. Not long after, Mu Liang walked out of the dilapidated house like a gentleman, followed by Lao Zhou holding a wooden stick. He shook his head and sighed:

"I've always heard of the intrigues in the harem, but I never thought the struggles among the women in the brothel would be so terrible. They were all forced into this quagmire and didn't know how to support each other."

"By the way, why did you stop me just now? Such a conscienceless villain should be beaten to death!" Seeing that Mu Liang didn't say anything, Lao Zhou continued to complain.

"Aren't you afraid of getting your hands dirty?" Mu Liang sneered, then shook his head helplessly at Lao Zhou's impulsiveness.

"He was beaten half to death anyway." Old Zhou curled his lips in disapproval and muttered.

"Half dead is better. If you are half dead, you won't be able to speak." Mu Liang's eyes, which were always smiling, now showed a cold look. Then he turned and asked, "What was Mother Yun's attitude when you sent Hong Qing back to Fengqifang last night?"

"Miss Hongqing did not perform last night. She stayed in her room after dinner. Therefore, no one in Fengqifang probably knew that she was kidnapped by bandits. When I sent Miss Hongqing back, Mother Yun was so scared that she cried out to the sky, "Son!" Tsk tsk, if you didn't know, you would think that Miss Hongqing was really her biological daughter." Old Zhou touched his chin and recalled carefully.

"No one knows?" Mu Liang snorted coldly.

"Of course, when I say no one, I mean other people, not Caiyi who colluded with the bandits."

"Send these two people to the authorities." Mu Liang sighed deeply and continued.

"Are we going to report to the authorities just like this? You have to tell the truth. But this is an internal fight within Fengqifang, and I'm afraid that Mother Yun won't let Hongqing come out to identify the two bandits in order to protect Fengqifang from being affected." Old Zhou was stunned for a moment, then expressed his concerns.

"Just say that last night, Mr. Li, a famous young master in Jiangnan, encountered these two bandits bullying a woman on the street. He spoke up to stop them and was almost killed. Fortunately, the servant arrived in time. Although Mr. Li was spared from this disaster, he was frightened and fell ill and is bedridden. I hope the government can severely punish these lawless criminals so that Mr. Li can rest and recuperate." Mu Liang naturally thought of Lao Zhou's worries, so he didn't plan to let Hong Qing report to the police, but instead did it in the name of his sworn brother.

The frequent exchanges between the young master of Jiangnan Li and Zhuo's family had long been known throughout the capital. Although Zhuo Yanzheng did not admit it himself, everyone tacitly agreed that Jiangnan Li was backed by the powerful imperial censor. For this reason, the always impartial Zhuo was occasionally criticized for collusion between officials and businessmen. Fortunately, Zhuo was open and honest and had the support of the prince. In addition, Jiangnan Li had always done business in a law-abiding manner and had a high reputation among the people, so those with ulterior motives did not find any handles.

"Pfft, Shopkeeper Mu, Mr. Li is mad at you right now, and you're going to sell him out today?" After hearing what Mu Liang told him, Old Zhou couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Get this done, and I'll remember your contribution last night and repay you many times over. How about that?" Thinking that his sworn brother had been ignoring him with a gloomy face since he went back last night until this morning, Mu Liang's cold face revealed a helpless smile, but then he raised his eyes and glanced at Old Zhou who was gloating, and asked in a calm voice.

"How can I pay you back several times over?" Old Zhou was surprised and delighted. Is there such a good thing? But he quickly calmed down and asked cautiously.

"The original three years will be reduced by two months."

"Is this the multiple repayment? Two months? How can you be so stingy?" Old Zhou felt as if cold water was poured over his head when he heard it. He stomped his feet in frustration.

"Since you don't want it, I'll take it back."

"Yes, yes, yes, two months is very good!" Seeing Mu Liang turning around to leave, Lao Zhou spinelessly put on a smile and walked forward to hold him back. A real man can bend and stretch.

"Later, you can go to Fengqifang in the name of your sworn brother and tell Hongqing the truth. It's up to her to decide what to do." Mu Liang looked at Lao Zhou, who showed a triumphant smile, and continued to give instructions.

"I think Manager Mu is too concerned about Miss Hongqing's matter?" Old Zhou stared at Mu Liang with suspicion.

"Well, I have some connection with her." Mu Liang nodded seriously without denying it.

"No wonder." Lao Zhou also smiled meaningfully. What else could the bond between men and women be other than love?

After Mu Liang left, Lao Zhou immediately sent the two bandits to the government office and passed on Mu Liang's words to the Jingzhao prefect without missing a word. When the prefect heard the name of Li, he naturally thought of the censor behind him. As a small official, he dared not neglect them. Seeing that the two bandits were lying on the ground and had been beaten half to death, he was too lazy to try them. He asked the chief clerk to write a confession and forced them to sign it, and then sentenced them to exile thousands of miles away.

Although Old Zhou, who was watching from the sidelines, had expected this, he was still frightened by such a perfunctory trial. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: In this world, power and influence are really the only things that count.

After Mu Liang inspected the four cloth shops and returned to the courtyard, he saw Li Yunye lying drowsily under a tree, with the "Business Sutra" in his hand almost falling to the ground.

"If you can't read it, don't force yourself." Mu Liang picked up the "Business Manual" with a doting look on his face, then replaced it with a bag of candied fruit and put it in Li Yunye's hand, and continued with a smile: "Try this."

"What? Just compensate me with a bag of candied fruit, and everything that happened last night can be forgiven?" Mu Liang's appearance made Li Yunye angry again. He threw the candied fruit back to him with a sullen face, took back the "Business Sutra" and stood up to leave, but was stopped by Mu Liang.

"Then tell me, how can I calm down?" Mu Liang asked hurriedly, helplessly. He started apologizing in the carriage last night and was still trying to coax his brother before leaving this morning, but his brother just wouldn't listen. In his memory, his brother Yunye would not be so petty.

"If you want to apologize, you have to show sincerity, right?" Seeing Mu Liang speak, Li Yunye calmed down his anger and said righteously.

"What kind of sincerity does Brother Yunye want?" Mu Liang narrowed his eyes and asked with a smile as he sat aside.

"If you want to put last night's events behind us, then okay, one thousand taels." Li Yunye spread one hand in front of Mu Liang and said seriously.

After what happened last night, Jiang Siyao finally saw clearly that no matter how good a person is, he is not as reliable as money. Brother Mu Liang is good to her, but he is not only good to herself. This time he wanted to push herself out for Hong Qing, but he might sell her out next time.

Mu Liang was stunned by his brother's words. He wondered if the person who wanted to trade money with him was still his brother Yun Ye?

Seeing that Mu Liang didn't speak for a long time and just stared at him thoughtfully, Li Yunye suddenly felt guilty: Did I quote too high a price? Even if he was a shopkeeper who managed four shops, his monthly salary would be less than two hundred taels. I asked for almost half a year's salary from him. Wasn't this too cruel?

"How about I give you a discount? How about five hundred taels?" Li Yunye's heart was beating fast as Mu Liang stared at him. He lost all his toughness and had to compromise.

Mu Liang lowered his head and laughed. How dare someone like him talk about business when he was so impatient? He began to worry about the future of Jiangnan's famous Li.

"What are you laughing at? Are you going to give it to me or not?" Mu Liang's smile made Li Yunye angry and annoyed again.

"Okay, okay, here you go." Mu Liang still stood up with a smile, then patted Li Yunye's shoulder and continued, "Let's go."

"What?" Li Yunye looked puzzled.

"The banknotes are in the study." Mu Liang sighed and walked into the house.

When he heard that he had to take the money, Li Yunye followed happily.