In the small courtyard by Quchi.
Days of continuous rain had washed the dirt from between the flagstones clean anew.
Fine raindrops drifted down as a cool breeze blew.
Blooming cotton roses lined both sides of the path, their fragrance mingling with the scent of damp earth and spreading through the entire courtyard.
Chen Yi sat quietly in the main hall, sipping tea. Wang Ji sat respectfully beside him, recounting the news from the Tea Horse Road.
"My lord, those mounted bandits are truly terrifying."
"Not a single Wei Dynasty merchant returning from the Western Regions Buddhist Kingdom was spared. He led his people and slaughtered them all."
"If our Shuzhou Wan Family caravan had not sensed something amiss from afar and narrowly escaped with their lives, who knew how many more would have died?"
Chen Yi gave a quiet grunt but said nothing, his thoughts churning without cease.
As the one who had personally arranged Lü Jiunan's "fake death," he had long expected that King Landu could not possibly remain indifferent to the matter.
Even if King Landu did not dare lead the bandit alliance's army into Shuzhou, he would still do things that seemed reasonable.
Such as slaughtering passing merchants, or spreading word that he sought revenge against "Liu Wu."
Of course, this was not a bad thing.
At least, it was not bad for Chen Yi.
At that thought, he asked without revealing anything, "How has Shu Prefecture City responded?"
The instant he asked, he already had the answer in his heart—chaos had arisen.
And indeed, that was the case.
Wang Ji said, "To be honest, my lord, once the news arrived, grain prices in the East and West Markets jumped straight from three taels per dan to six taels."
"Even so, certain Aristocratic Families who received