Most of the hostage princes were poor, because everyone had to support the Hidden Dragon Plan.
There was no helping it. Ever since their Lineages selected them to join the Hostage Prince Corps, their labels had been set in stone.
The Seventeenth Highness's "core following." There was no other path available-unless they betrayed their country!
But as descendants of the meritorious nobility, cultivation was a necessity too. Without money, they could not buy blood food or medicinal meals.
Wu Youren's family gave him little. Others received more, but it still was not enough!
Everyone knew that century-old wild mountain ginseng was better than ten-year-old ginseng. Who would buy the latter if they could afford the former?
Wu Youren had it even worse. He could not even afford blood food.
His predecessor's idea had been to make some money from "homemade spirits." Besides buying blood food, he could try doing something else too.
Nobody wanted to stay in Jin Garden forever-the residence for Jin's hostage princes.
Wu Youren did not complain about the Hidden Dragon Plan, because that would have been irrational.
But cultivation still cost money, right? How could anyone cultivate without replenishing their blood and Qi?
"Shortsighted as a mouse!" The stocky youth snorted coldly. "His Highness is in peril and desperately needs funds to maneuver!"
"We all suffer together and prosper together. When His Highness's hidden dragon leaps into the sky someday, will you be left without wealth and status?"
"Fine, you have a point." Wu Youren genuinely did not want to argue with him.
"But stealing my things was one thing. Then you threw me into the water. Is that what His Highness calls valuing me?"
"Could you be using His Highness's name to find a way forward for yourselves?"
That was indeed somewhat offensive, but the problem was that the other side had acted first. His predecessor's soul had already scattered to the winds!
A minor noble was no great personage, but there was still the word "noble" in the title. That distinguished him from ordinary people.
Class differences were an objective reality, but he was still entitled to speak.
If he did not say this, he would only look like an easy target-if they could push him in once, why not a second or third time?
He was not even sixteen yet. Could he still be called young if he had no fire in him?
Shi Linyuan said coldly, "If we wanted you dead, do you think you would have survived yesterday?"
"We had to make your position clear first. New prisoners always get a beating to break their spirit when they enter a cell!"
I understand that. Wu Youren nodded slightly. Gambling scammers always had to lose a little first, and robbers had to beat their victims first.
"You only need to understand one thing. If we want you dead, you absolutely won't live past tomorrow!"
"But this time I fell into the water..." Wu Youren could not help thinking of Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Youxiao again. "You went too far!"
Shi Linyuan gave another cold laugh. "You accused us of lining our own pockets. Wasn't that going too far?"
Could you get straight who did what first? Wu Youren did not want to trade barbs with a PUA expert. "Then what about the medicinal meals I need for cultivation?"
In truth, even in Great Jin, he would not have been entitled to medicinal meals. But asking only for blood food was no way to negotiate.
The hostage princes' clique was organized somewhat like a gang, yet had something of an imperial court about it too-in truth, it was all the jianghu.
There was no shortage of exploitation of those at the bottom, but they still had to pay some heed to rules and reason.
He had almost "drowned," and now someone was about to rob him of his livelihood. Surely bargaining was normal?
"Medicinal meals?" Shi Linyuan nearly laughed aloud. Even a single serving of blood food was a holiday feast for him!
They had all lived in Jin Garden for eight years. Who did not know everyone else's circumstances?
He curled his lip. "You want to compete with His Highness for profits?"
Sorry, don't expect a single damn cent. Do you want another dip in the water?
But this time, Wu Youren refused to yield an inch. "Then there's no point in my living anymore!"
Again, the hostage princes' clique was not, after all, a "dynamic social organization." If he dared to risk everything, the other side would have to consider the consequences.
Even leaving aside the profits from spirits, the death of a hostage prince could be either a major or a minor affair.
However, Shi Linyuan had come today intending to reap the harvest. At those words, he glanced at him. "You've changed!"
In his memory, this minor noble's grandson had never been so bold.
It took courage for someone to kill himself too.
"Maybe it's because I've died once." Wu Youren grinned without saying more.
"Then I'll come back tomorrow." Shi Linyuan's face darkened. "If you still won't hand over your source for buying spirits by then..."
So what if he had changed? When intimidation was called for, intimidation was still necessary.
How could he know it would not work without trying?
Wu Youren said bluntly, "I don't have a source for buying spirits!"
"You don't?" Shi Linyuan was first taken aback, then smiled, his smile rather sinister. "You won't even wait for us to discuss it?"
"There's no need to discuss it. I really don't," Wu Youren said bluntly. "But I can blend them!"
"You... blend them?" Shi Linyuan's eyes instantly lit up, and his voice began to tremble. "Really?"
Buying low and selling high was merely trade. Being able to produce it themselves... that meant sheer windfall profits!
At last, he could not resist a grunt. "Name your demands. Don't go overboard. You know what things are like in Jin Garden."
I know all too fucking well! Wu Youren sighed inwardly.
The Seventeenth Highness's Hidden Dragon Plan... does it really exist?
He did not want to say such pointless things. "Discuss it among yourselves. You know my demands perfectly well."
This discussion was quick. The following afternoon, Shi Linyuan came to see him again.
His terms were that Wu Youren would hand over the formula and receive five percent of the profits from selling the liquor.
The share was rather small, but he would not have to worry about anything. He could simply sit back and collect money.
Although Jin Garden was in the capital, it was almost entirely cut off from Liang's wider society. Selling liquor would involve far too many intermediaries.
Had his predecessor still been alive, he might have found such terms satisfactory.
But Wu Youren had, after all, lived through the age of the information explosion.
During those years of being harvested like a leek, he had seen far too many financial statements reporting negative profits.
He did not expose the issue. He merely asked them to provide weak liquor for him to blend, then sell it to them at a twenty-percent markup. Everything else would be none of his business.
After all, even obtaining weak liquor in Jin Garden was not easy.
But how could Shi Linyuan possibly agree? Would that not leave everyone revolving around this fellow?
They absolutely had to hold the core technology in their own hands!
After much negotiation, the two finally agreed to have Wu Youren demonstrate his ability to blend spirits first. Everything else could wait.
Ultimately, claiming he could blend them did not mean he could actually do it-what if he had obtained them through some other channel?
Shi Linyuan did not want to become someone else's laughingstock.
"Then I'll wait for you to provide the weak liquor." Wu Youren did not refuse such a test. "But spirits are poisonous. Drink sparingly."
"We're selling it outside," Shi Linyuan replied dismissively. "Liquor is poison that pierces the gut. Who doesn't know that?"
Several of the more central hostage princes had also tasted the liquor confiscated earlier.
They thought that apart from its strength, there was nothing much to it. It was inferior to the fine liquor His Highness drank daily.
If that's how you understand it, there's no problem! Wu Youren had been somewhat uneasy, but hearing this put his mind completely at ease.
That evening, Shi Linyuan delivered five jars of weak liquor, each weighing about five jin. "How long will it take to blend?"
"Three days," Wu Youren replied evenly. "It can't be any quicker."
Three days later, Shi Linyuan brought three people with him and collected the five jars of liquor.
Five hostage princes were already waiting for his return. They sat in a row and drank their fill.
"It really is strong!" Someone let out a long breath. "No worse than the fine liquor His Highness bestowed on us. Wilder... with a killing edge!"
"My tongue's even a little numb. This is liquor for real men. Those fine liquors, heh, are merely soft and smooth!"
"This liquor has the tang of rust. That minor noble's grandson... has he killed someone?"
In these hostage princes' eyes, the three syllables "Wu Youren" were not even worth mentioning. Doing so would truly lower their status.
"He was selected and sent here before he was eight. How could he have killed anyone?" someone said with a chuckle.
"Uh, why does your face look a little blue?"
"You're making a fuss over nothing. That's the liquor going to my head... the blood's rushing up!"
"If blood were rushing up, your face should be red. I've fucking seen plenty of people turn red from drinking!"
"Now that's nonsense. Blood rushing to the top isn't necessarily red. When you're furious, don't blue veins bulge too?"
"That makes sense. Blood pooled inside the body is blue, and it can turn black... it's only red when there's an open wound."
The hostage princes did have some knowledge. Their only shortcoming was being a little young.
In any case, everyone enjoyed their drinking that night, and the next day they sent over another five jars of weak liquor.
Someone had the idea of sneaking a look at how the minor noble's grandson blended liquor-no world ever lacked people looking for shortcuts.
Unfortunately, this was extremely difficult to accomplish. Every hostage prince lived in a separate dwelling.
Jin Garden was enormous, covering more than a square kilometer.
But that was not the point. The hundred hostage princes' lodgings occupied less than ten thousand square meters in total, and were separated from one another.
His Highness's residence occupied nearly twenty thousand square meters.
More than ninety-five percent of the remaining grounds consisted of recreation areas, martial training grounds, exotic beast enclosures, and the like.
Naturally, someone monitored contact between the hostage princes. Nobody bothered with trivial matters. The key was preventing them from organizing together!
Having the hostage princes sleep in bunk beds or the like was basically impossible-it would make them easier to watch, but it would also make organizing easier!
Certain arrangements existed for necessary reasons!
So anyone who wanted to watch the minor noble's grandson at close range first had to get past Liang's patrol guards!
Besides, Wu Youren was hardly ignorant of everything. How could he fail to think of guarding against people spying on his secrets?
In the short term, the hostage princes could not uncover his secret. As for the long term... there was no need to think that far ahead yet.
But when Shi Linyuan delivered ten jars of liquor on his third visit, Wu Youren felt this was no longer appropriate.
He believed he had already demonstrated his ability. He could not keep helping them blend liquor for free indefinitely. This time, he needed to charge a fee.
But Shi Linyuan said mysteriously, "We're currently arranging a very good reward for you. Keep doing it for free this time."
Wu Youren did not particularly mind helping once more. "Fine, then. If there's no news next time, I'll... I'm running low on ingredients too."
"Agreed." Without worrying about anything else, Shi Linyuan agreed first.
However, before the third batch of liquor had been finished, something happened in Jin Garden.
An elderly gardener from Liang died. His face was faintly blue, blood flowed from all seven orifices, and his corpse reeked of liquor!
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