Chapter 363 - 272: The Face of the Noble Families and the Silver Treasure Box

Chapter 363: Chapter 272: The Face of the Noble Families and the Silver Treasure Box

"I will follow all of Your Excellency’s orders." Graham had a very clear understanding of his situation—a necessary skill for any competent merchant—so his reply was swift and decisive.

Wu Liangchen nodded in satisfaction.

He was finding that he quite liked dealing with clever people like Graham; it saved him a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, the world was full of fools, so his hand was often forced.

"Serve the food."

In truth, Wu Liangchen wasn’t hungry, as he had already eaten before going to the palace.

But looking at Graham and the others, he figured they had been "invited" to the palace before they could even eat breakfast. After everything that had happened since, they were surely starving by now.

At his command, the kitchen, which had been standing by in full readiness, immediately sprang into action.

To cater to Wu Liangchen’s palate, they had even specially recruited a master chef from a restaurant in Tokyo that specialized in Great Yan cuisine.

With a flurry of frying, stir-frying, stewing, and deep-frying, a colorful array of dishes was brought out like a flowing river.

And this time, it wasn’t young maids serving the dishes, but noblewomen, each one dressed splendidly.

Leading the way were Yokoyama Misaki and Takizawa Sayon.

They had the best positions for serving, as they were closest to Wu Liangchen.

Seeing Yokoyama Misaki dressed to the nines, Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but find it amusing.

’These people will really stop at nothing to curry favor with me.’

Wu Liangchen suspected that if he so much as crooked his finger, these noblewomen would strip naked and throw themselves into his arms without a moment’s hesitation.

Graham naturally noticed what was going on. But having dealt with the shameless and bottomless depths of the East Sea nobles many times, he was already well-acquainted with their ways and didn’t find it strange.

Soon, the table was laden with all sorts of dishes. Yokoyama Misaki didn’t leave; instead, she and Takizawa Sayon stood by the table, wine pot and cups in hand, taking on the task of serving drinks.

This was an extremely menial task, usually performed by maids, but at this moment, the two women felt it was a great honor.

The other noblewomen were even watching the two of them with eyes full of jealousy.

Wu Liangchen was the first to raise his cup. "Let this toast calm everyone’s nerves. I’ll drink first as a sign of respect."

With that, he drained his cup in one go.

Seeing this, Graham and the others naturally hurried to raise their own cups and drain them as well.

Wu Liangchen set down his cup, and Yokoyama Misaki immediately stepped forward to refill it.

Though her movements were clumsy, the sight of her slender, fair hands holding the jade-white wine pot and slowly pouring was a beautiful picture in itself.

"Thank you." After the cup was full, Wu Liangchen tapped the table lightly and offered his thanks.

Yokoyama Misaki was overwhelmed by the gesture and quickly replied in a low voice, "You are too kind, my lord."

Wu Liangchen smiled, then raised his cup again. "Come, let’s keep drinking."

But Wu Liangchen’s smile made Yokoyama Misaki’s heart flutter like a frightened deer; she felt as if she were about to faint.

Takizawa Sayon watched her with envy, wanting to step forward and pour wine as well but not daring to.

’I’m not as well-liked or as brave as Yokoyama Misaki.’

After three rounds of drinks and several courses, Wu Liangchen rose from his seat and said to Yokoyama Misaki, "Please see to it that they’re shown to their rooms to rest. I’m heading back to mine."

"Of course, my lord. Don’t worry," Yokoyama Misaki said at once.

Wu Liangchen turned and left.

With his departure, the tense atmosphere in the hall instantly relaxed. A few of the Folangji merchants leaned back in their chairs as if a great weight had been lifted, feeling more exhausted than if they had just fought a battle.

Although Wu Liangchen hadn’t intentionally projected his aura, the natural, oppressive feeling that emanated from his every move was still suffocating.

Graham, meanwhile, had recovered from his initial shock and disappointment.

With the death of the East Sea Monarch, the business channels he had worked so hard to establish were now severed.

It was hard for him not to feel disappointed by this.

But now, seeing Wu Liangchen’s overwhelming presence and hearing the news that the fleet had been annihilated before the Huangpu Guard...

A completely new idea suddenly sparked in Graham’s mind.

’Why not take this opportunity to expand my business to Great Yan?’

Before, the East Sea nation had been situated right in the middle of the shipping routes between the Folangji and Great Yan. To reach Great Yan, one had to take a long detour, and with the East Sea nation’s constant interference, he had never made the trip.

’Now that those are no longer issues, why not take the chance to go?’

At this thought, Graham’s confidence began to rekindle.

Meanwhile, news that the Monarch had been killed and most of the palace destroyed spread like wildfire, quickly circulating among the common folk of Tokyo.

The name Wu Liangchen once again echoed through every public forum in Tokyo.

Some were shocked, some were furious, and some were secretly delighted.

The only ones in short supply were those who felt sad.

Although the Monarch was called a living god, he was too distant from the common people—so distant he had become a mere symbol. Naturally, not many would feel sad over his death.

However, because the East Sea Monarch had held power for so long, his sudden death immediately made the already complex situation even more fraught with undercurrents.

Scenes of collusion and betrayal, of interests and grudges—dramas and conspiracies alike—began to play out in every corner of Tokyo.

...

In a quiet room, Wu Liangchen, in a rare show of caution, put on a pair of gloves and slowly unwrapped the parcel on the table.

It was the spoils of war he had taken from that man.

The overwhelming evil aura from the man had made Wu Liangchen cautious, unwilling to touch the contents of the parcel with his bare hands.

After opening it, he found only a single, dusty token inside.

A few blurry characters were carved on it.

Tatsuya Takaguchi.

Wu Liangchen frowned.

’That’s it?’

’What good is a token?’

Keeping his gloves on, Wu Liangchen picked it up and examined it closely.

The token seemed to be made of brass. It had a peculiar shape—thin at the top and short at the bottom, with many sawtooth-like protrusions along the edges.

Wu Liangchen suddenly felt the shape was somewhat familiar.

’Doesn’t this look a bit like the keys from my past life?’

Wu Liangchen fell into thought.

’If this is a key, then there must be a corresponding lock—a lock that was very important to Tatsuya Takaguchi.’

’Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept it so carefully wrapped up.’

’And the most likely place for it would be where Tatsuya Takaguchi lived.’

At this thought, Wu Liangchen immediately got up and summoned Yokoyama Daisuke and Ota Masayuki.

"Go find out where this Tatsuya Takaguchi lived."

"Yes, sir!"

The two men dared not delay and left at once to carry out their orders.

Tatsuya Takaguchi may have been mysterious, but he wasn’t impossible to trace.

Especially because he had to be supplied with blood every day, many clues about him remained in the palace.

Thus, news came back quickly.

He lived in a small, separate courtyard just a stone’s throw from the palace.

’That makes sense.’

’The mechanism made of golden threads had a limited range; it couldn’t be too far away.’

Upon receiving the news, Wu Liangchen immediately went to the small courtyard.

Once inside, he saw that the layout was very simple. The ground was covered in yellow sand, and there wasn’t even a single tree.

But Wu Liangchen sensed that something was wrong.

He could smell a faint, rotten stench. Though very subtle, he could still identify it: the smell of corpses.

Wu Liangchen was silent for a moment, then stamped on the sandy ground beneath his feet.

He was certain that piles of bones lay buried beneath it.

His discovery upon entering the main hall confirmed his suspicions.

The walls and floor of the room were covered in mottled bloodstains. Some had been there so long that they were mostly flaked away, while others were still fresh.

Looking at these bloodstains, Wu Liangchen could almost imagine how the young people brought here had been brutalized by this Tatsuya Takaguchi, their bodies drained of every last drop of blood.

’He really deserved to die!’

Wu Liangchen snorted coldly and strode into the bedroom.

This room was also covered in bloodstains.

Wu Liangchen flipped over the bed and began to search carefully.

He was sure that if the token was a key, then the lock had to be somewhere in this courtyard.

And the bedroom was the most likely place.

Sure enough, when his hand touched the third brick under the bed, Wu Liangchen’s eyebrows shot up. He pulled out a loose brick, revealing a small, silver box underneath.