36: The Chen family's background, a celestial official's token!
Chen Chuanwen quietly returned to Longwei County, first sending Howling Heaven back home, and then handing over the three martial arts Secret Manuals he had obtained to Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng happily put away the Secret Manuals. His martial arts Clan was quite poor, but this time they finally had something to enrich their foundation.
"Hmm... from now on, we will all practice this 'Grass-Skimming Flight' movement technique manual. As for the Drawing-Blade Slash, Chuanwen, you learn that first. Let your mother practice this 'Fuliu Sword' manual; since she doesn't like practicing with sabers, practicing with a sword is fine too!"
Chen Changsheng said with a chuckle while flipping through the Secret Manuals.
"Father, besides the Secret Manuals, there is something else that is very strange!"
Frowning, Chen Chuanwen explained how the Black Wind Bandits were taking orders from a young master of the Lin Family in the Prefecture City.
"Hmm... the key should lie with Liu Jinshan!"
Chen Changsheng tapped the tabletop with his index finger, lowered his head in thought for a moment, and said.
"Alright, Chuanwen. We were the ones who killed the Black Wind Bandits, but don't let that be exposed for now. As long as there's no evidence, others likely won't suspect us. After all, our Family only has one Bone-Refining Martial Artist!"
"Moving forward, deal with those merchants however you planned. We'll act as if we know nothing about the Black Wind Bandits!"
In truth, Chen Changsheng also wanted to find out the reason, but he knew that the great families in the Prefecture City were not something the Chen Family could contend with, not even with Howling Heaven's help.
Therefore, glossing over it was not a bad idea!
"Alright, Father. Then I'll return to the county seat to handle the situation. I believe the official measures they sought should be coming into play soon!"
Chen Chuanwen nodded. His thoughts actually coincided with Chen Changsheng's: deal with this group of merchants first, and as for the Lin Family of the Prefecture City, they could investigate that slowly.
In Longwei County, the Chen Family's wine shop and tea shop, which should have been bustling with people, were now desolate.
A group of soldiers and several tax collectors had surrounded the shops.
When Chen Chuanwen arrived at the shop, he saw a military captain and the head of the tax collectors chatting and laughing in front of the entrance.
"Heh, it seems this group of merchants has some tricks up their sleeves, not only sending soldiers but also finding tax officials."
Chen Chuanwen sneered inwardly and then strode toward the two people talking.
"My lords, I wonder what business brings you to surround our shop entrance?"
Chen Chuanwen said with a cupped-hand salute, neither humble nor arrogant, quietly watching their performance.
"Impudent! Seeing imperial officials, why hasn't a mere merchant like you performed the grand salute!"
That military captain looked big and crude, but he was quite methodical. Speaking like this was merely to give Chen Chuanwen a show of authority and make him panic!
"According to imperial regulations, when commoners encounter imperial officials outside the county yamen, they only need to perform a cupped-hand salute; kneeling is not required!"
Chen Chuanwen chuckled, unfazed by the captain's fierce expression, and spoke with a calm demeanor.
"Oh, speaking of imperial regulations, we've found that both your tea and wine shops have evaded taxes. Your Family is fined ten thousand taels of silver, or else you won't be opening for business again!"
Seeing the captain rebuffed, the tax official beside him—being a fellow imperial official with the same objective—naturally stepped in to help and cause trouble for Chen Chuanwen.
"Our military intelligence has received word that a barbarian spy is hiding in your wine shop. You are now suspected of colluding with the Barbarians. Come with me to the military camp!"
The captain's move was even more ruthless. The tax official only framed Chen Chuanwen for tax evasion, which at most would lead to bankruptcy.
But the captain's accusation was collusion with Barbarians, a capital crime that would result in the execution of the entire Family!
Truly, the word 'official' has two mouths; whether a crime was committed is entirely up to them. With such blatant slander, where could one go to seek justice?
Fortunately, Chen Chuanwen was also someone with a background!
"Does the Lord Captain suspect that a friend of the Immortal Official is colluding with the Barbarians?"
"How about we go to the Immortal Official to let him judge the matter?"
Chen Chuanwen sneered and slowly pulled a token from his robe.
It was a heavy wood token engraved with the two characters 'Baili'. The Materials of this token weren't considered precious, but at this moment, it was more dazzling than gold in everyone's eyes.
This was Immortal Official Baili's token?
One must know that an Immortal Official only has one such token, and they wouldn't easily give it to others. Once it was in someone's hand, it represented the personal presence of the Immortal Official.
In an instant, cold sweat trickled down the foreheads of both the captain and the tax official.
"Cough, cough! Young Master Chen, this is a misunderstanding. The military scout must have mistaken someone else. How could a friend of the Immortal Official collude with the Barbarians!"
The captain laughed awkwardly to appease him. This time, his Face was completely lost; he had to swallow his own words.
"Heh, it's good that it's a misunderstanding!"
"Lord Tax Official, you believe my Family has evaded taxes. Do you have any evidence?"
Chen Chuanwen chuckled, letting the captain off the hook, then fixed his gaze directly on the tax official who had come to find trouble.
"No, no, how could the Chen Family evade taxes?"
"It was just a joke I made with Young Master Chen earlier. Actually, I came to announce that the Chen Family's businesses have always had a good tax record. I came specifically to praise and offer condolences!"
"Young Master Chen, if you feel the taxes are too heavy, we can discuss reducing them by a few points!"
The tax official was truly a civil official—completely shameless. Not only did he gloss over the matter, but he also wanted to use his position to cling to the Chen Family, or rather, the thigh of the Immortal Official behind the Chen Family!
"So it was all a joke and a misunderstanding!"
"It seems my Family is a law-abiding business. Since that's the case, I still have business to attend to and won't keep you two. When I have some free time, I will personally set a table and invite you both for tea!"
Chen Chuanwen said with a smile, then extended his hand in a gesture to see them out.
"Then we won't stay. Let's have tea sometime. Brothers, withdraw!"
The captain and the tax official quickly took the opportunity to retreat, leading their subordinates away from the Chen Family's shop. In their hearts, they were cursing the merchants who had sent them silver to high heaven.
They called the Chen Family country bumpkins with no background? Their backer was the number two figure in the county seat. This is what they call having no background?!
They would definitely get their revenge. If Chen Chuanwen hadn't been unwilling to cause trouble and let things escalate, the two of them would have surely suffered the consequences!
"Alright, boys, don't just stand there. Resume business and get back to your work!"
After the two groups left, Chen Chuanwen sent the watching workers back to their tasks.
Meanwhile, he quietly took his long saber and headed to the tavern where the merchants gathered, hiding in a corner.
At the gates of Longwei County, Liu Jinshan was returning dejectedly with a group of merchants.
"Liu Jinshan, are the Black Wind Bandits you found even reliable? We agreed to meet today at noon, but there wasn't even a shadow of them!"
"Yeah, Liu Jinshan, you didn't swallow our silver, did you? Did you actually even contact the Black Wind Bandits?"
A group of merchants kept complaining to Liu Jinshan, demanding an explanation. After all, each of them had put up a large sum of silver!
"Everyone, there must have been an accident. Give me three days. Once the three days are up, I will definitely give you all an explanation. At worst, I'll return the silver to you!"
With a grim Face, Liu Jinshan offered both explanations and promises, finally suppressing the voices of the crowd.
"Since the Black Wind Bandits didn't show up, we can't just wait around. The connections we've sought have already been activated. Next, let's gather at the tavern again to discuss how to deal with the Chen Family!"
That old man Wang Xuan was still persistent; he was determined to destroy the Chen Family. Although they hadn't brought in the Black Wind Bandits, they had utilized their official connections. Since the Chen Family had no one in the government, they would surely be in a panic now.
He wanted to take everyone to the tavern again to devise a plan to deal with the Chen Family.
Little did he know that Chen Chuanwen was currently like a hungry wolf, hiding in the tavern where they were meeting!