Liars

When Zhangsun Nanqiao left Li Garden, her expression was nowhere near as pleasant as when she had arrived.

Li Ziye would yield to neither soft words nor hard tactics; neither oil nor salt could get through to him. It truly infuriated Zhangsun Nanqiao.

Soon, news of Zhangsun Nanqiao's rebuff at Li Garden reached the Yin Clan and the Merchant Alliance.

The three parties had never been united to begin with. With the Li Family's business a fat piece of meat everyone wanted a bite of, their outward harmony concealed even greater discord.

If possible, each of the three wanted to monopolize the opportunity to cooperate with the Li Family and thoroughly suppress the other two.

Late that night, a great fire blazed within the Merchant Alliance, illuminating half the imperial capital as brightly as day.

Inside Li Garden, Li Ziye was practicing his sword beneath the moon when he saw the distant flames. A dangerous smile curved his lips.

His second brother had finally begun to act.

The timing was perfect!

The next day, before dawn had even broken, half the imperial capital was in turmoil.

Members of the Merchant Alliance stormed into the Yin Family Bank in a fury, demanding answers.

Among the goods burned the night before, they had discovered a waist token carelessly left behind by someone from the Yin Clan.

Outside the Yin Family Bank, commoners who had come to watch the excitement packed the area so tightly that not a drop of water could pass through. Everyone wanted to see what had happened.

They had heard about the fire at the Merchant Alliance, too. Judging by the current situation, however, it seemed to have something to do with the Yin Family Bank.

"Everyone, everyone, please calm down. Please calm down."

Inside the Yin Family Bank, even Yin Zhong, the Yin Clan's old patriarch who was about to celebrate his sixtieth birthday, had been alerted. Leaning on his cane, he hurried out.

"Old Master Yin, give us an explanation!"

At the head of those who had come to demand answers, the Merchant Alliance's steward threw a waist token engraved with the character "Yin" onto the floor and spoke furiously.

A servant stepped forward, picked up the token, and respectfully handed it to the old patriarch beside him.

Yin Zhong took the token, his expression darkening slightly. After a moment, he said, "This token does indeed belong to our Yin Clan. But this fire was absolutely not set by anyone from our clan. This old man dares stake the Yin Clan's century-old reputation on it. This was absolutely not our doing!"

"Old Master Yin, our Merchant Alliance lost so many goods. You can't shirk responsibility with just a few words!" the Merchant Alliance's steward said angrily.

"Steward Yao."

Falsely accused for no reason, Yin Zhong was also finding it hard to save face. "What do you want?" he asked heavily.

"What do I want? Compensation, of course!"

The Merchant Alliance's steward said furiously, "I've already calculated the bill for you. Three hundred thousand taels in total. If you're even one tael of silver short, our Merchant Alliance will fight your Yin Clan to the bitter end!"

"That's right, to the bitter end! The Yin Clan has gone too far!"

An indignant voice rang out among the Merchant Alliance's people. Abrupt as it was, it came at just the right moment to ignite everyone's anger.

Looking over, one would see a youth with delicate features, sunny good looks, graceful manners, and an extraordinary bearing, rising unstained from the mud, washed in clear ripples yet free of ostentation.

If Li Ziye could add adjectives to describe his own appearance, they would surely fill an entire Xinhua Dictionary.

At this moment, however, no one had the leisure to look at what Li Ziye looked like.

"That's right, to the bitter end! They've gone too far!"

One person lit the spark, and everyone erupted. With Li Ziye "kindly" fanning the flames, all the Merchant Alliance's people grew agitated. Their clamor surged like waves, their emotions spiraling further and further out of control.

In the crowd, Li Ziye shouted himself hoarse to help, his face and ears flushed. He looked even more worked up than the Merchant Alliance's people.

At the front, the Merchant Alliance's steward glanced back at the youth shouting most enthusiastically in the crowd and gave him an approving look. This young man was promising. He knew how to read the situation.

Once they returned, he would have to give him a proper promotion!

"Have you heard? The goods burned last night were the Merchant Alliance's introductory gift to the Li Family of Yuzhou City, worth three hundred thousand taels of silver. Now the Yin Clan has torched them. The Merchant Alliance has suffered a devastating loss!"

"An introductory gift worth three hundred thousand taels of silver? The Merchant Alliance is that generous?"

"If they could win the chance to cooperate with the Li Family, what would three hundred thousand taels matter? Besides, those goods weren't entirely being given away for nothing. Still, none of that matters now. With the goods gone, cooperating with the Li Family probably won't be so easy for the Merchant Alliance."

"The Yin Clan is ruthless enough, too. I hear they also want to cooperate with the Li Family this time. They probably feared the Merchant Alliance would get ahead of them, so they resorted to this underhanded move."

"Exactly. After suffering such a huge loss, the Merchant Alliance certainly won't let this go. Just wait for the show!"

Outside the Yin Family Bank, busybodies whispered among themselves. One told another, two told two more, and before long, everyone along the street knew the "inside story."

Naturally, our fellow Li Ziye had sent people to spread this inside story as well.

Inside the Yin Family Bank, Yin Zhong watched the seething crowd both inside and outside, his expression growing darker and darker.

This is trouble!

If he handled this poorly, even the Yin Family Bank's reputation would be ruined.

A bank's business depended on its reputation. If that reputation went rotten, who would still dare do business with his Yin Family Bank?

At this thought, Yin Zhong suppressed his anger and looked at the Merchant Alliance's steward before him, speaking pleasantly. "Steward Yao, look, our Yin Family Bank and your Merchant Alliance have had no grievances, old or new. Why would we do something that harms others without benefiting ourselves? Someone must be framing us. I hope you won't let yourself be used."

"Used? Are you saying our Supervisor Yao has courage but no brains?"

Before the Merchant Alliance's supervisor could speak, Li Ziye's voice rang out from the crowd again, sowing discord.

"Exactly! You commit the crime, then try to shift the blame onto someone else. You dare do it but won't own up to it. Our Supervisor Yao won't fall for your tricks!"

Immediately, a young man in blue beside Li Ziye chimed in.

Li Ziye and the young man in blue exchanged a glance, then both looked away.

I've run into someone in the same line of work!

Both had come to stir up trouble.

Sure enough, after the two echoed each other and fanned the flames, the Merchant Alliance's steward at the front looked distinctly displeased. Looking at the Yin Clan's old patriarch before him, he said heavily, "Old Master Yin, the physical evidence is right here, yet you still want to argue? Must this go to the authorities before you'll admit it?"

"Steward Yao."

Hearing that the authorities might be alerted, Yin Zhong's expression shifted. He stepped forward and lowered his voice. "This truly wasn't our Yin Clan's doing. Could you do this old man a favor and give our clan ten days? I will certainly have someone uncover the whole story and give the Merchant Alliance an answer."

"Ten days?"

The Merchant Alliance's steward snorted coldly. Rather than lowering his voice as Old Master Yin had, he raised it somewhat. "You ask for ten days the moment you open your mouth, Old Master Yin. Are you trying to give the Yin Clan time to find a scapegoat to take the blame? That's a favor I can't afford to grant!"

Behind them, Li Ziye pricked up his ears in the crowd. Hearing their conversation, he immediately shouted, "Steward Yao is right! We demand justice today!"

"That's right, justice! The Yin Clan has gone too far!"

Beside him, the young man in blue chimed in as well, fanning the flames together with him.

"Justice!"

Already seething, the Merchant Alliance's people could hardly withstand such provocation and immediately began shouting along.

In the crowd, Li Ziye and the young man in blue silently memorized each other's appearance, preparing to send people to investigate each other's identity after today.

Anyone in the same line of work whom they could encounter here would either be the mastermind or someone who stood to benefit from this affair. An enemy's enemy was a friend. Perhaps there would even be opportunities to cooperate in the future.

The farce inside the Yin Family Bank grew more and more intense. Outside, more and more commoners gathered, all playing the melon-eating spectators, eager to see the two sides come to blows.

Seeing that he had stoked this fire well enough, Li Ziye prepared to grease his soles and leave.

Beside him, the young man in blue noticed and quietly slipped out from the back of the crowd as well, preparing to withdraw.

Outside the Yin Clan's premises, the two smiled at each other and extended their hands.

"Li Dazhuang," Li Ziye introduced himself.

"Sun Erniu!" the young man in blue replied with equal honesty.

They shook hands, immediately pulled them back, then turned and left.

Pah! Who are you trying to fool?

Li Ziye and the young man in blue fiercely scorned each other inwardly!

After returning to Li Garden, Li Ziye sent someone to investigate the young man in blue's background.

Likewise, after returning to his residence, the young man in blue immediately sent someone to investigate Li Ziye's identity.

"Li Ziye?"

"Zhangsun Fengyu!"

After looking through numerous portraits, both recognized the other at a glance.

Liar!

Li Ziye and Zhangsun Fengyu once again scorned each other's character.

"You're saying the Li Family's legitimate son also slipped in among the Merchant Alliance's people to cause trouble at the Yin Family Bank?"

At the Zhangsun residence, after hearing her nephew's account, a hint of surprise appeared on Zhangsun Nanqiao's lovely face as she spoke.

"That's right."

Zhangsun Fengyu took a sip of tea, his face full of disdain. "I've never seen anyone so shameless. He even lied to me, saying his name was Li Dazhuang!"

"Didn't you lie as well, calling yourself Sun Erniu?" Zhangsun Nanqiao mercilessly exposed his hypocrisy.

"Aunt, why are you taking an outsider's side?"

Zhangsun Fengyu said in surprise, "Could it really be as the rumors say? Have you taken a fancy to that Li Family brat? Aunt, you must think carefully. That brat is even younger than your nephew!"

"Get lost!"

Zhangsun Nanqiao scolded irritably, "I think your skin is itching for a beating. Shall I tell your father to loosen up your muscles and bones?"

"Hiss, Aunt, I was wrong."

Zhangsun Fengyu immediately admitted defeat. "But, Aunt, what exactly do you think the Li Family's legitimate son intended by doing this?"

"To fan the flames and make the three sides fight among themselves."

Zhangsun Nanqiao said calmly, "The Li Family was forced to come to the capital by the imperial court. Naturally, they aren't willing to compromise so easily."

"Then was last night's fire at the Merchant Alliance also set by the Li Family?" Zhangsun Fengyu asked gravely.

"Not necessarily."

Zhangsun Nanqiao shook her head. "It might really have been the Yin Clan's handiwork. After all, with me returning disappointed from Li Garden and the Merchant Alliance suffering such a heavy blow, the Yin Clan would be the direct beneficiary."

"But if the Yin Clan really did it, why would they leave evidence behind? That doesn't make sense," Zhangsun Fengyu said in puzzlement.

"Perhaps they really did leave it behind by accident."

As she spoke, a radiant smile appeared on Zhangsun Nanqiao's lips. "Of course, the Li Family is also under suspicion. Fengyu, that Li Ziye is very interesting. You could get closer to him."

"Closer?"

The corner of Zhangsun Fengyu's mouth twitched. "I'm just afraid that by the time we get close, he'll have become my uncle."