Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Initial Formation
The brokerages across Fengri City’s jurisdiction have been particularly busy of late; the families of Sinful Officials are being delivered here for sale. The so-called "upper-tier" folks who used to command slaves themselves are now reduced to slaves, awaiting categorization and training. Who knows how many of them will simply become "losses" in the brokerages.
Normally, there are very few Sinful Official households, especially those noble young ladies and wealthy madams—they’re highly sought after. The brokerage staff are both busy and thrilled, a chance to make a hefty profit.
In addition to the influx of Sinful Official families needing intake and arrangements, the buying demand is through the roof. From cooks to servants, nursing home guards, maids, coachmen, and so on—the demand is several times the usual. The once-plentiful slave reserves are now suddenly stretched thin.
Zhu Shou is now in high spirits. Earlier this month, the old master seized the chaotic official shuffle within Fengri City to retire completely, settling in an estate just outside the city to enjoy his old age. Three of his offspring have been placed within the brokerage, all arranged by Zhu Shou, who now, quite naturally, sits in the Master of the Dental Practice’s seat.
Everyone thinks Zhu Shou just got lucky. He never had much chance to rise, but two rivals in the Imperial City managed to kill their own careers. Despite the odd circumstances, no one suspects Zhu Shou; no one believes he has that kind of ability or guts.
Then came the "Jingxi" operation’s purge; with people terrified, no one dared come to this trouble-ridden Fengri City to take over. Plus, the old brokerage master’s strong recommendation sealed the deal—Zhu Shou ascended to his lifelong dream without a ripple.
Of course he’s pleased, and for the first time Zhu Shou’s attitude toward that Evil Star surnamed Shen softened a bit. The man is certainly sinister and ruthless, but his words can be trusted. Maybe Zhu Shou can keep leveraging that power to climb even higher in the future?
On his desk is a pile of Identity Documents, all picked from the batch of slaves about to be sent out. Zhu Shou is overseeing their short-term "training"; that part’s handled by the Xuanqing Guard secret agents under Liu Meng’s command. Zhu Shou now belongs to the Xuanqing Guard too, having already signed off as Small Banner Officer.
The training is all about speed. These slaves are controlled by drugs, taught basic intelligence-gathering techniques, then promised a big reward—that’s it. All chosen for their quick wits, Zhu Shou knows exactly what qualities to select for.
This is already the second batch. Each round turns out about twenty such specially trained slaves. It’s a small drop in the bucket compared to Fengri City’s current demand, but it’s the most that Liu Meng and Zhu Shou, working together, can reasonably pull off. Still, if targeted deployment is done right, the results should be decent.
The man surnamed Shen is pushing hard on this. He knows this is the perfect moment to scatter agents across Fengri City, while lots of outside officials are settling in—once this window closes, opportunities like this won’t come again.
"Milord, it’s already the hour before noon."
Zhu Shou was buried in work. The mountain of tasks—besides the Xuanqing Guard’s secrets, even the brokerage’s daily affairs piled up endlessly. So anytime there was something urgent, he’d notify his Deputy or door staff ahead of time to remind him, lest he get caught up and forget.
Zhu Shou looked up, murmured an acknowledgment, cleared his desk, swept the secret agent dossiers into his portable Storage Bag, and then rose to leave the Public Office.
"No need to follow me—go on with your own duties. I might not be back this afternoon."
"Yes, milord."
The Deputy was Zhu Shou’s newly promoted one; his previous Deputy had been sent to Tan City’s brokerage to serve as Chief Officer.
Leaving the brokerage, Zhu Shou headed to the Teleportation Array, transferred through to a small city below Li City—Hao City. Exiting the array, he ducked into a nearby alley, pulled a black-veiled bamboo hat out of his Storage Bag and put it on—nowadays, Zhu Shou never goes without one. It does the job.
He emerged from the alley and, after twisting and turning, slipped into a small courtyard. Two down-and-out types squatting at the door, looking like beggars, fixed their eyes on him until Zhu Shou flashed his Waist Token—only then did they fall silent.
The courtyard was complex; there were two Inner Sect doors past the entry, each watched by guards, before it opened up deeper inside. Word has it this place used to be the Silver Vault for the money shop, now vacant after the business relocated, later bought by Liu Meng.
It’s now a training base for the brokerage’s secret agents.
"Lord Zhu’s here?"
Liu Meng’s supposed to be in charge, but the one constantly guarding the place is a cultivator nicknamed "Hook." The man’s appearance is utterly ordinary, with not a single distinguishing feature; only after repeatedly meeting him did Zhu Shou remember his face. Zhu Shou never asked his real name, nor did he care to know.
"Mm. Has Lord Shen arrived?" Zhu Shou didn’t waste words, went straight to the point.
"He’s been here a while. Right now, he’s watching the Xu Family Sisters practicing in the courtyard."
"Alright, I’ll go myself."
"Very well, Lord Zhu, please do as you wish."
Zhu Shou is now a Small Banner Officer for the Xuanqing Guard, but the people under Liu Meng’s command aren’t subordinate to him—their relationship is more of a partnership. The tone between them isn’t as distant as before, but neither is it familiar.
He found Shen Hao seated on a chair, watching two graceful women dancing and playing music.
One played the zither, one danced. Occasionally, the two sang in harmony.
The tune was Shen Hao’s own "Song of the Water Melody: When Will the Bright Moon Appear." Thanks to the Seventh Young Master of the Imperial City, this piece is now recognized as a classic across the Jingjiu Dynasty—a current crowd favorite.
"Milord."
"Oh? You’re here. Sit, let’s talk." Shen Hao gestured to the chair beside him, poured Zhu Shou a cup of tea from the table.
"Milord, what do you think? Are the Xu Family Sisters to your liking?"
Zhu Shou was overall in charge of the Xu Family Sisters’ training; Liu Meng’s role was just secret agent techniques and mindset conditioning. The most critical factor now was their "eye appeal" and artistic temperament—these would determine if the Xu Family Sisters could lure Bai Changqing. If Bai didn’t find them pleasing at first glance, all effort would be wasted.
Shen Hao had come early, listening and watching the sisters perform three songs already.
"Frankly, not bad. Compared to the Flower House songstresses, they’re nearly as good, though the top stars best them in zither art, singing, and presence. But the sisters have their strengths—lively and charming, their demeanor very much like young ladies of eminent families. Their manners are worlds better than the last time I saw them—quite impressive."
Zhu Shou smiled at the side: "Milord, this was tailored to your intelligence—the direction was set with your input. What we needed was two beautiful, slightly naive sisters from an eminent family; that angle is the most enticing for those older, cultivated, and lascivious types who still like to stir up trouble."
Zhu Shou’s perspective had shifted. Once, he felt trapped on a pirate ship, unwilling; now he realized he’d boarded a stable vessel, so naturally, his attitude towards Shen Hao changed too.
