護花近衛 - 第3852章 求助閣主 - 翰墨軒

Just as Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang were about to flee in haste, a sheet of letter paper came drifting lightly down before them—the very letter Nan Tianguan had earlier brandished to intimidate Hong Zhong, the one bearing the signature of a Four-Direction Inspector of the Hong Shadow Division.

"You think a scrap of paper like this is enough to threaten this old man? Do the two of you take the Hong Clan Merchant Guild for such simpletons—or such petty knaves? This garbage, you had best take it back and keep it for your own leisure reading!" Hong Zhong stood at the second-floor window and smiled faintly. "Mind how you go. I won't see you out."

The onlookers in the street burst into cheers. Hong Zhong had run his business in the inner streets of this market quarter for decades, ever courteous and generous to all, and his reputation was spotless; his popularity was far beyond the ordinary, no comparison at all to a so-called man of the hour like Nan Tianguan.

"You've got nerve! Mark my words, you old bastard—this score, I will settle with you properly one day, and I'll be watching to see how much longer you keep that branch steward's seat!" Nan Tianguan spat the curse through clenched teeth, and then, amid the laughter and jeering of the crowd, he and Yu Jiang slunk away in utter disgrace, covering their faces.

Watching the two bedraggled figures scurry off, Hong Zhong gave a faint smile and murmured to himself, "How much longer I keep it? As long as I please, of course."

"Elder Hong, you've lost a great deal of face this time. That creature will never let the matter rest—you had best be prepared," one of the guest retainers beside him warned.

Sure enough, once Nan Tianguan returned this time, he would inevitably contact that Four-Direction Inspector again, and Hong Zhong's conduct would surely draw displeasure; trouble would not be long in coming.

Hong Zhong, however, shook his head dismissively. "It doesn't matter. There's no need to take a clown too seriously. A mere letter, and he thinks to frighten this old man? The Three Heroes of the Nan Clan think far too simply. A Four-Direction Inspector of the Hong Shadow Division? Hah."

At these words the several guest retainers beside him exchanged glances and smiled, mockery written plain on every face.

Using a Four-Direction Inspector of the Hong Shadow Division to threaten a branch steward—in logic, there was nothing at all wrong with Nan Tianguan's approach, for normally no branch steward of the Hong Clan Merchant Guild would dare ignore such a threat.

Had it been anyone else, Nan Tianguan's errand should already have been brought to a flawless conclusion.

But Nan Tianguan had made one fatal mistake: Hong Zhong's position in the Hong Clan Merchant Guild had never been that of a mere branch steward. He bore another, far more essential identity—his surname was Hong.

Hong Zhong seldom spoke of this identity, and the four guest retainers had all but forgotten it; now, recalling it with a start, they understood why he had acted as he did.

"Still, the fact that they cannot touch this old man does not mean they will simply let it go. What worries me now is that young brother Lin Er." A trace of concern creased Hong Zhong's brow.

From his several encounters with Wei Zhao, he had already glimpsed a potential of astonishing magnitude—a potential the like of which, for all his experience, he had never seen; a rare commodity worth hoarding. As a merchant, his keen instincts told him that this Lin Er was the rare prize he had been waiting for all along.

If he let it slip by, he might never have such a chance again in this lifetime.

Hong Zhong knew very well that no matter how Nan Tianguan might goad that Four-Direction Inspector of the Hong Shadow Division, he could never truly threaten him.