Half a month later.
While Prince Fu's Estate had yet to make a move against the Sun Family Pharmacy, news that Guangnan Prefecture had been occupied by rebel forces spread far and wide.
In an instant, the populace was in an uproar. The streets and marketplaces were filled with discussions about the rebels. Even Yulan, who rarely stepped outside the inner chambers, asked Yu Xian with considerable curiosity what the rebels looked like.
Overall, however, the general atmosphere remained relatively relaxed, leaning more toward a spectator's mindset. After all, Guangnan Prefecture and Changning Prefecture were separated by a thousand miles; no matter how formidable the rebels were, they wouldn't be able to attack anytime soon.
Furthermore, no one believed the rebels could amount to anything.
Yue State boasted thirty-two prefectures, divided among twelve vassal princes, with an army well over a million strong. No matter how one looked at it, a single Guangnan Prefecture could not stir up any great waves.
The ones most affected were undoubtedly the merchants heading south.
At this time, information traveled primarily by carriage, horse, and boat.
While the southern waterways had been officially blockaded, cargo ships unaware of the news continued to converge from all directions, only to be completely jammed and blocked in the ports.
The two brothers who had previously conversed with Yu Xian could be considered lucky; they had sold their goods early at fair prices to Baibao Pavilion and suffered little loss.
However, far more merchants were forced to leave their goods stranded at the ports. Every day they lingered meant another day of losses, and some perishable goods dropped in price by the tier with each passing day.
At this point, they had two choices: grit their teeth and take a gamble that the imperial court would immediately suppress the rebellion, allowing them to continue south. Once the southern unrest subsided, supplies would be in desperate demand, and they might even reap a massive profit.
Alternatively, they could sell their goods at a low price, recovering whatever they could.
Now, it was a race to see who could sell the fastest.
Prices suffered a catastrophic collapse overnight. Goods originally worth ten taels of silver could now be had for a single tael, with sellers desperate just to clear their inventory and get out. Under such pressure, the market showed a trend of continuing to plummet.
While the southbound merchants suffered a complete disaster, various commercial firms in Changning City made a killing. Spearheaded by giants like Baibao Pavilion, they swallowed up countless quantities of goods at ultra-low prices within a short period.
The frequent transactions caused the market to heat up intensely, and many small merchants from the surrounding areas voluntarily swarmed into Changning City, eager to get a slice of the pie from this feast.
The entire Changning City buzzed with excitement as a result.
Amidst this illusory prosperity, the Grand Jade Exhibition, hosted by Baibao Pavilion, finally kicked off.
On this day.
Yu Xian brought Yulan along, carrying five thousand taels of silver, and strolled all the way to Baibao Pavilion like a wealthy young master out for a sightseeing excursion.
As for Chen Yi, she remained immersed in bitter cultivation, unwilling to go out.
According to her, in just two more days, she would achieve Qi Guidance into the Body. However, she had said those exact words ten days ago.
Two days after two days, heaven knows how many more two days would be needed.
Seeing her pious devotion to cultivation, Yu Xian had almost failed to resist giving her a spirit stone to give her a push.
Yet, remembering that he still had the dull-witted Yulan by his side—and that his two spirit stones might not even help Yulan successfully sense spiritual Qi—he extinguished that thought.
He was reluctant to give away spirit stones, but on this trip, he could pick a few pieces of jade rich in spiritual Qi and give them to her.
At the entrance on the first floor of Baibao Pavilion, the crowd was surging. Looking out, it was a sea of bobbing black heads, and the deafening clamor nearly pierced the heavens.
"Wow, so many people."
"Master, should we squeeze our way in?"
Yulan tightly hugged Yu Xian's arm, her face showing a trace of timidity, yet her eyes hidden with eager anticipation.
After all, she was still a teenage girl by nature who loved bustling crowds.
"No need, let's take the other path."
Yu Xian patted Yulan's hand and walked toward a different entrance.
The flow of people here was sparse, and Baibao Pavilion guards lined both sides—each one robust and radiating a murderous aura, practically missing only a sign that read "No Entry for Outsiders."
A major commercial association like Baibao Pavilion naturally possessed a VIP passage, requiring an invitation letter for entry.
Yu Xian had no invitation letter, but he had the Prince's token.
Prince Fu's Estate was the sovereign authority in Changning City.
The token in his hand was enough to grant him unimpeded access to the vast majority of places in the city—a rather pleasant hidden benefit.
Once Yu Xian presented the token and the interior was notified, a tall female attendant immediately walked out.
The female attendant was in her early twenties, with ordinary features, a flat figure, and her hair tied in a high ponytail, giving off an efficient and refreshing vibe.
"Greetings, Official Yu. Manager Liu truly could not pull himself away today, which is why he was unable to greet you the very first moment. He asked me to convey his apologies to you.
My name is Lan Xiaohe, and I will be serving you henceforth.
There happen to be a few jade stones at this exhibition that meet your requirements. Would you like to go take a look now?"
"It is a wonder Manager Liu still remembers my request. Pass along my thanks to him, and you can lead the way directly."
Yu Xian had a very favorable first impression of the female attendant. This Manager Liu knew how to pick people and hadn't sent some useless vase to fool him.
"Understood, please follow this way."
Lan Xiaohe's attitude was respectful, her posture standard, and she kept a slight bow all the way, displaying exceptional professional poise.
Soon, the group of three arrived at the second-floor exhibition hall.
Compared to the noisy and crowded first floor, this place appeared significantly more spacious.
The grand hall was divided into individual booths, piled with jade stones of various colors and forms alongside massive boulders, with people stepping forward from time to time to negotiate prices.
The method of negotiation was also quite interesting: two people would thrust their hands into each other's sleeves to bid, ensuring outsiders could neither hear nor see their prices.
Others gathered in clusters, and from time to time, a cheer would erupt from the center, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.
"What are they doing? It looks quite lively," Yu Xian asked.
Lan Xiaohe glanced over and explained, "They are gambling on jade. Jade gambling uses raw jadeite ore as a stake, with people cutting the stones on-site and bidding. Once good jade appears, the price skyrockets, but if no jade is found, one loses everything.
That is why jade gambling has earned the reputation of being 'heaven on one blade, hell on the next.'"
Jade gambling? Wasn't this the primary choice for protagonists in ancient urban supernatural novels to get rich?
Yu Xian grew slightly interested. His spiritual sense should be able to see right through the stones.
Yet, his Dharmic Instrument was still more important at the moment.
Soon, Lan Xiaohe led Yu Xian and Yulan to a jade exhibition booth.
"Sir, I wonder if this piece of solid jade meets your requirements?"
Lan Xiaohe pointed to a massive, irregular light-green jadeite stone displayed in the center of the booth. Roughly estimated, it was about three feet square—a solid block of jade roughly one meter in length, width, and height.
It contained quite a few cotton-like impurities, but such a massive volume was already a rarity.
Yu Xian had no particular study of jade, but figured such a large piece of jade was more than enough for him to forge an instrument embryo.
Thus, he asked, "What is the price of this jade?"
The booth owner was a robust, bearded man. Hearing this, he stepped forward and extended his wide sleeve, signaling for a counter-offer.
Yu Xian waved his hand and said, "I don't know how to do this. Why don't you just name your price directly?"
The bearded man was stunned at first, then looked toward Lan Xiaohe on the side.
If this person hadn't been brought by someone from Baibao Pavilion, he would have already started chasing them away.
Lan Xiaohe stepped forward: "Sir, this is considered the rule of this trade. They don't want others to hear their bottom line prices, as that would cause them losses. Shall I translate for you?"
"That works too," Yu Xian said indifferently.
Thus, Lan Xiaohe proactively reached her hand into the bearded man's sleeve, and the two began haggling.
Before long, Lan Xiaohe withdrew her hand and whispered in Yu Xian's ear:
"Sir, he says this piece of jadeite is a minimum of ninety-eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight taels of silver, just to bring good luck."
Yu Xian shuddered on the spot, his face turning pale.
"What the hell, are they robbing people?!"
He had spent less than three thousand taels of silver in nearly half a year in the Mortal Realm. One hundred thousand taels was enough to make him violate his principles and take a risky move.
Thinking along these lines, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes.
Rob the bastards!
"Sir! This is Baibao Pavilion."
Lan Xiaohe immediately panicked, as if she had perceived Yu Xian's dark thoughts.
"Forget it, forget it. I'll give you guys some face."
Yu Xian waved his hand. He was only thinking about it anyway; he had even thought about sleeping with the Princess Consort.
All in all, he was still a law-abiding good kid. Taking small bribes usually sufficed—how could he possibly harbor malicious thoughts of killing people to seize treasures?
Walking night paths too often eventually leads to running into ghosts.
Wanting to steal every time he saw a good item, fostering such a simple and crude bad habit—what if one day he ran into some crafty old monster? That would be the end of his path and life.
After all, most people who possessed treasures, aside from a lucky few, possessed formidable strength.
He now lacked for nothing in food or drink, held a lofty status, and possessed an ascending path of cultivation. Taking even the slightest risk was a disrespect to his golden cheat.
Yu Xian was just about to ask if Baibao Pavilion offered a lending service—after all, everyone ate from the Prince's hand, so they were colleagues; the interest ought to be cheap—when...
"Bah! Putting on airs, wasting this granddad's time."
The bearded man had long been displeased with this wealthy young master who neither understood the rules nor stopped putting on airs.
Now, seeing him actually scared off by one hundred thousand taels, he figured the fellow was just all show and no substance. He spat a curse under his breath and turned back to his post.
"Did he just spit at me?"
Yu Xian looked stunned, wearing an expression that seemed to say, "Doesn't he know I'll lose my temper?"
Seeing this, Lan Xiaohe nearly stopped breathing, knowing things had gone terribly wrong and growing so anxious she was on the verge of tears.
"Sir, please don't be impulsive! Otherwise, the manager won't spare me. Let me apologize to you on his behalf.
Aside from this material, there are others elsewhere. I will lead you to take a look."
"Why are you apologizing for him?"
Yu Xian glared at the bearded man and shouted, "Hey, big beard! Are those stones beside you for sale?"