Ten Thousand Taels

Inside the carriage, which was moving smoothly.

Sun Hu saw the other party's guest suddenly open his eyes. "Where has the carriage arrived?"

"Anping Avenue, just past the alley ahead!" Sun Hu replied, then, noticing the strange expression on his face, asked, "Did Master Gu give any instructions?"

Gu Shan said in a deep voice, "Just now I suddenly had a bad feeling, and I'm afraid the Embroidered Robe Bureau has already noticed. I won't go to your residence today. Go back and tell your father that we can talk another day!"

"Ah!" Sun Hu exclaimed in surprise, instinctively leaning against the window and peering out through the carriage curtain. "How could this be? I only found out about Master Gu's entry into the city today at the last minute. He's only just entered the city, and he's already been discovered?"

Gu Shan said in a deep voice, "Once you advance to the Master level, you will understand the profound mysteries of this realm."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Shan's figure flashed and disappeared inside the carriage.

Sun Hu's face darkened, his mind racing.

'Although the Embroidered Robe Bureau had already arrived in Bei'an Prefecture City, their whereabouts had been kept under control. They had specifically arranged for the meeting today to keep those two men in Purple Robe occupied, and they certainly couldn't escape now.'

Gu Shan, however, had a sudden urge to ask: Could it be that there were more than two people in Purple Robe from the Embroidered Robe Bureau, or was Gu Shan doing this on purpose, simply to increase his bargaining power?

Regardless, Gu Shan's departure was, in his opinion, a failure in his work, and his father certainly didn't need to think carefully about how to explain it.

*****

Night falls.

Sun Hu sat upright in his room. After some time, a servant came to report, "Sixth Master, the Master has returned and requests your presence in the study!"

Sun Hu rose and, following the servants, went to the study. He bowed to an elderly man who was looking at paintings at his desk, saying, "Son greets Father!"

"Come and see a painting I just received today!" Sun Ren said without looking up.

Sun Hu strode to the desk and saw a traditional Chinese ink landscape painting on it. He examined it closely for a few moments and said, "This seems to be the work of Master ' Mo Chan '."

"Hahaha!" Sun Ren nodded and said, "That's right, it was painted by the master ' Mo Chan ' himself."

"It is truly a joyous occasion for Father to receive Master Mo Chan's calligraphy!" Sun Hu immediately offered his congratulations.

Sun Ren smiled, carefully picked up the painting from the table, and hung it on the wall behind him.

"Back when Master Mo Chan had not yet advanced to Grandmaster, he came to Great Long for travels. At that time, our Sun Household only had one Master. Now, in just thirty years, we have already risen to the ranks of the three great Aristocratic Clan of Bei'an Prefecture. If you can advance to Master, our Sun Household's position will be even more secure."

Sun Hu immediately replied, "Father, rest assured, I will certainly study hard and strive to become Master as soon as possible!"

"Hmm!" Sun Ren nodded, took a few steps back, and while looking at the painting, asked, "What do you think about Gu Shan's last-minute change of heart?"

Sun Hu said, "I haven't advanced to the Master level yet, so I don't know the wonders of this sudden whim. I can't judge whether what Gu Shan said is true or false, but I tend to think that Gu Shan wanted to raise the price at the last minute, which is why he deliberately refused to meet me. His purpose is to use the Embroidered Robe Bureau to put pressure on me."

Sun Ren slowly shook his head and said, "Wrong!"

Sun Hu's expression hardened, and he said, "Where did I go wrong? Please correct me, Father."

Sun Ren took a few steps back and said, "The Hui Barbarians are even more anxious about our deal with Hui Barbarians, and they want to finalize it as soon as possible. That's why Gu Shan risked everything to come and negotiate in person, all to finalize this deal quickly. He has no other intentions. Since he sensed something, it means he has indeed been discovered."

Although only two people in Purple Robe appeared to be from the Embroidered Robe Bureau, it's unknown how many actually came. Since he sensed it on North Peace Avenue, there must be more people in Purple Robe hiding in the shadows.

"Ah!" Sun Hu exclaimed in surprise, worriedly asking, "If that's the case, wouldn't Gu Shan be in danger? If he's captured, will it implicate the Sun Household?"

Sun Ren glanced at Sun Hu and laughed, "If Master were so easily captured, he wouldn't be Master. Don't worry, even if Gu Shan is captured, he won't implicate our Sun Household. Otherwise, who would want to do business with the Hui Barbarians in the future?"

"Father is right, I was overthinking it!" Sun Hu was relieved and asked, "Then, what should we do next?"

"Just wait! Once Gu Shan has dealt with the aftermath and ensured it's safe, he'll naturally come looking for you!"

Sun Ren spoke, he suddenly looked towards the door.

Two knocks followed. "Master, someone just threw a letter in from outside the mansion. It says it's for Sixth Master."

"Come in!" As soon as Sun Ren finished speaking, the butler pushed open the door and handed over a letter.

Sun Ren glanced at the letter, which was addressed to him in a crooked handwriting: 'To Sun Hu. Hui'

He then handed the letter to Sun Hu, "Take a look at what's written inside?"

Sun Hu took it and glanced at the word ''. His heart tightened. He quickly opened it, took out the letter inside, opened it and looked at it.

He glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically. His voice trembled as he handed over the letter, saying, "Father, please read this!"

Sun Ren took it, and lines of crooked, illegible handwriting came into view.

"Sun Hu, your affair with the Hui Kingdom has been exposed. Prepare one thousand taels of gold immediately and bury it under the big willow tree at the western end of North Peace Avenue within three days, or the Embroidered Robe Bureau will come to arrest you."

"Hehe!" Sun Ren chuckled, glanced at the butler, and gestured for him to leave. After the butler left, he handed the letter back to Sun Hu.

"Look, this is the Embroidered Robe Bureau. They're practically everywhere. You've only just entered the city today, and you've already been targeted!"

Sun Hu, his face grim, apologized, "I was careless, Father. Please punish me!"

Sun Ren shook his head and said, "Why punish you? The one who can keep an eye on Gu Shan without revealing their whereabouts must be Purple Robe. You can't defend against that."

Upon hearing this, Sun Hu felt somewhat relieved, then asked himself, "What is the meaning of the Embroidered Robe Bureau demanding a thousand taels of gold?"

Instead of answering, Sun Ren asked Sun Hu, "What do you think the Embroidered Robe Bureau's intentions are?"

Sun Hu looked at the letter in his hand, pondered for a moment, and said, "I think there are three layers of meaning?"

"Those three floors?" Sun Ren asked.

"Firstly, they deliberately stirred up the enemy's attention, intending to sabotage the deal."

"Secondly, they want to see how the Sun Household reacts in order to find evidence of their dealings with the Hui Kingdom."

Thirdly, they used the opportunity to extort money.

Sun Ren nodded and said, "You're right. The Embroidered Robe Bureau has always been ruthless in its pursuit of solving cases. If they had solid evidence, they would have already reported to the Emperor. Why would they need to resort to such despicable methods?"

He snorted coldly, "A thousand taels of gold? This is an insult to the Sun Household! Prepare ten thousand taels of gold immediately and bury it in the place specified in the letter."

"Ah!" Sun Hu asked in surprise, "What do you mean by this, Father?"

Sun Ren laughed and said, "I want to see if the Embroidered Robe Bureau dares to take this money. If they really do, then they are colluding with us. How dare they then secretly report slanderous words to the Emperor?"

"If they dare not take it? Heh? Perfect. Let Gu Shan and the others handle it. They'll leave all the Embroidered Robe Bureau here. I want them to know that this is Bei'an Prefecture City, not Long City."