When Zhang Long saw his heir fall silent, he thought the heir was angry, and his heart grew uneasy.
Gritting his teeth, he said, "Your Highness, that Ran Chao is harboring evil intentions. He clearly means to harm you. How about I find someone to kill him?"
That was right, he had decided to kill Ran Chao!
He had originally rendered a great service this time, but who would have thought that bastard had schemed against his brothers and even his heir? He couldn't put up with that. When had he ever suffered at the hands of anyone but the heir?
Besides, that bastard was an enemy anyway. Killing him would be slaying an enemy and earning merit.
Lin Yi glanced at him and said with righteous indignation, "Hmph, am I the sort of petty person who calls for blood over such a small matter? If I were, how could I rule Northern Liang in the future?"
"What?"
Those words left Zhang Long and Zhao Hu dumbfounded. They thought they must have misheard. When had the heir become so magnanimous that he wouldn't retaliate after being set up?
An eye for an eye seemed more like the heir's creed.
How had he suddenly changed, becoming so grand and magnanimous? There had to be something strange going on.
Could it be that the heir had already arranged for someone to deal with the Ran Clan?
That was right, it had to be!
Seeing their expressions, Lin Yi knew what they were thinking and couldn't help laughing. "It's only poisonous salt. Just because others can't deal with it doesn't mean I can't!"
"The Ran Clan wanted to set me up, but they've only brought humiliation upon themselves!"
Just because others couldn't solve the problem didn't mean Lin Yi couldn't!
He possessed an ancient salt-making technique, so he naturally had a way to process rock salt too.
The main problem with rock salt was its impurities, and poisonous salt was poisonous because of those same impurities. All he had to do was filter and purify it, and there would be no problem at all.
With that, the problem of the poisonous salt would fall apart like bamboo before a blade!
"What? Your Highness, you can treat poisonous salt?"
At Lin Yi's words, the three men's eyes lit up, and they felt invigorated in an instant. If the heir really could treat the poisonous salt, then everything could be readily resolved.
When they saw Lin Yi nod, they immediately grew excited.
"My heavens, that's poisonous salt, and His Highness actually has a way to deal with it!"
"In that case, Ran Chao didn't just fail to set His Highness up; he gave His Highness an earth-shattering fortune instead."
"Mountains of edible salt-its value is simply unimaginable."
"In short, my lord has struck it rich!"
The three men could hardly contain themselves. If Lin Yi really could treat the poisonous salt, the value hidden in it would be terrifying. This was a salt mine with enough salt to feed Northern Liang for a lifetime. How much money would that be?
An astronomical figure!
How could twenty thousand strings of cash compare to its value?
The heir had made an absolute killing this time!
Lin Yi nodded and smiled at Jia Xu. "Wenhe, take care of this matter. A heavily armed guard needs to be posted around the area. I'll give you the salt-making method later, and you'll be fully responsible for it!"
He had every confidence in Jia Xu's abilities. With Jia Xu handling it, nothing could go wrong.
"Rest assured, my lord. I'll have it arranged," Jia Xu said with a nod. As a strategist, he naturally knew the importance of money. Without it, one could scarcely take a single step.
Now that his lord had obtained such an enormous source of wealth, he had an opportunity to dominate the world, and they had to protect it.
But Jia Xu had already begun planning to wipe out the Ran Clan. Otherwise, they would be a menace sooner or later. Nothing could be allowed to happen to this enormous source of wealth, so the Ran Clan had to go.
Just then, Lin Yi suddenly heard a discussion behind him. His heart stirred when he realized it was about him.
"Have you heard? To avenge the heir, the chief steward launched another purge. He swept through several gang factions in one go and arrested quite a few bad people."
"Good grief, the chief steward really does dote on the heir. He actually thought the heir hadn't killed enough people. That's ruthless."
"Hmph, the chief steward fought his way out of purgatory. The people he's killed could be piled into a mountain. If someone really angered him, blood would probably flow in rivers."
"As long as he doesn't go after the heir, I think he's a good man."
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen the heir at the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion for a long time. Has he really turned over a new leaf?"
"Hehe, judging by his recent actions, the heir really has shown a bit of the wisdom befitting the heir of Northern Liang. If he can keep it up, Northern Liang will have a fine successor."
"I think the heir's pretty good too, even though he didn't give me any land. He killed several of my enemies, and now I don't have to worry about bandits and robbers anymore. The heir killed them all."
"That's true. Northern Liang City is probably the cleanest place under heaven now."
"Put that way, the heir really has done a great deed."
The people who could afford to visit the Wafting Fragrance Pavilion naturally lacked neither money nor land. In fact, Lin Yi's land distribution really hadn't brought them much benefit.
But for them, the greatest benefit had already appeared.
The heir had cleaned up the disorder in Northern Liang City, and they no longer had to worry about bandits and robbers stealing their money. That was the greatest benefit of all.
Only without danger could they enjoy themselves.
For that alone, the heir's merit was boundless.
Hearing their words, Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction. These people had a good eye; they knew to be grateful to him, their heir.
Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Long suddenly spoke up beside him.
"Your Highness, these people are talking absolute nonsense..." he said indignantly.
Huh?
Lin Yi looked at him. It seemed this brat had never died before, daring to say something like that.
Seeing the hostile look in the heir's eyes, Zhang Long hurriedly explained, "These people only know that Your Highness wiped out this disorder for the sake of the common people. They don't know that besides your kindness toward the people, you have many other virtues."
"Oh? Let's hear them."
"In my humble opinion, Your Highness has courage in the face of enemies, confidence in the face of difficulties, and the resolve to kill when faced with evil. You also possess the aura of a king who cares for all under heaven. These people are too shallow in the end; they've only seen what lies on the surface!"
Holy shit!
When Zhao Hu heard that, he was awestruck, as though Zhang Long were a heavenly being. Then he glared at him.
They had agreed to be screwups together, yet this brat had secretly learned to suck up all by himself. Wasn't that a bit too shameless?
What courage, what confidence, what resolve to kill? It was all bullshit.
It was plainly a willingness to cause trouble, the confidence to stir things up, and then the resolve to teach his own brothers a lesson. As for the aura of a king, the heir had always had that.
He sneered. "Hmph, as I see it, those are just His Highness's most basic virtues. His greatest virtue is how he astonished everyone this time, sweeping away the forces of darkness throughout Northern Liang City. In my eyes, this deed is just like when His Highness the Prince founded Northern Liang. It's nothing less than the creation of heaven and earth!"
Holy shit!
Zhang Long was startled!
The two brothers exchanged a glance, each dazzled by the other's display. It seemed the heir wasn't the only one growing; they were growing along with him.
In short, the heir was awesome!