Several days had passed since his meeting with the Khitan merchant Yelü Qi at Luyin Pavilion, but Second Prince Zhao Tingyedelt like he was sitting on pins and needles, consumed by anxiety as every day dragged by like a year.
He had long since ordered his men to secretly investigate the man's background, yet to this day, they had found absolutely nothing. Given how mysterious the other party's background was, and the fact that Yelü Qi was privately offering prices nearly tenfold the market rate to the aristocratic elites of the Imperial City—according to his informants, no less than ten people had met with Yelü Qi in private over the past few days, and quite a few of them were already eager to try their luck. Among these nobles, the ones most likely to snatch the deal were Gu Linyuan, son of the wealthiest man in West City, and Prince Ping, Zhao Tingyue.
Lately, Gu Linyuan had been frequently inviting the man to drink across the four cities of the Central Plains, visit night markets, compose poetry, and listen to music. This display of merrymaking and refined leisure suggested he would stop at nothing to secure this deal, and would not rest until he did.
Chapter 54