The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Chapter 115 The Feast at Hongmen: A Mere Pursuit of Wealth

For this banquet, Master Lu not only invited Shen Hanyu, but also wealthy families on the ship.

Those men were completely unaware that this was a trap, and were happily trying to curry favor with Master Lu.

As soon as Shen Hanyu appeared, Master Lu's gaze fell on her.

"Come, come, let me introduce you all. This is the third young lady of the Luo family in Chang'an. The Luo family's merchant guild is the largest in the Great Yong Dynasty. You should have heard of that name, right?"

"Natural nature."

Everyone here is a merchant, so they must know the Luo family.

However, Miss Luo and her companions had never seen her before, but the token at her waist was undeniably genuine.

If we maintain a good relationship with the Luo family, future trade routes will be easily accessible.

Their target of flattery became Shen Hanyu, who, wearing a veil, found a place to sit down.

"I'm not feeling well, so please enjoy yourselves."

She coughed twice, and her body reeked of Chinese medicine.

Master Lu realized that Shen Hanyu's actions were genuine, which would be beneficial to his future plans.

"Miss Luo is quite approachable. Replace the wine on Miss Luo's side with tea."

The subordinates worked quickly and replaced the teacup in front of Shen Hanyu.

The kitchen staff brought up the food, and it certainly looked like a dinner party.

"Don't be shy, everyone. We're almost in Suzhou, and who knows, we might even have some collaborations there. Getting to know each other beforehand isn't a bad thing."

Master Lu seemed much more amiable than when Shen Hanyu first met him, but what lay beneath that amiability remained a mystery.

"I knew the president of the Hengyang Chamber of Commerce was easy to get along with, and today's meeting confirms it. I wonder what President Lu is going to Suzhou to sell?"

Master Lu smiled and said, "They're just some silk and jade items, which are very fashionable in Suzhou these days. What about you all?"

After a few drinks, the group opened up to each other, not revealing everything, but what they did say was enough to make Master Lu happy.

Master Lu and Zhang Da exchanged a glance, and another round of food and wine was served. The atmosphere at the table was lively, but the tea in front of Shen Hanyu remained untouched.

However, everyone's attention was diverted by Master Lu, and they didn't pay attention to what was happening to Shen Hanyu.

The people outside came in; they were Master Lu's gang of thugs.

"President Lu, what are you doing?"

The long knife was pressed against the necks of those people. Those who came to the banquet were all merchants who were powerless, and since Master Lu was using the name of the Hengyang Chamber of Commerce, no one suspected anything, so it was easy to succeed.

Shen Hanyu glanced at the knife at her neck; so this was exactly what Master Lu was planning.

They recruited wealthy people on board to take advantage of the chaos. The goods from one Hengyang Chamber of Commerce were no longer enough for them; now they wanted to rob everyone on board.

Master Lu stood up and said frankly, "The ship will dock in two days. I only care about money and don't want to take your lives. Hand over all your money and I'll let you go and let you get to Suzhou safely."

At this point, someone finally noticed that something was wrong with Master Lu.

"You are not the president of the Hengyang Chamber of Commerce!"

Zhang Da grinned as he carried the knife.

"That damn chairman is long dead. He died when he boarded the ship. If you don't want to end up like that chairman, you'd better hand him over now."

Zhang Da clapped his hands, and someone outside threw a head in, causing screams to erupt in the room.

That head belonged to the president of the Hengyang Chamber of Commerce.

Shen Hanyu closed her eyes. The president of the Hengyang Chamber of Commerce had really been murdered. These people chose to make their move two days before landing, so they must have a way to escape. Nine times out of ten, they were the pirates Jin Chui had mentioned.

Miao Cui and Jin Chui stayed by Shen Hanyu's side. They weren't afraid at all. The people they had arranged were in the shadows, ready to take action against the pirates as soon as Shen Hanyu gave the order.

"Fourth Master, we found these in their warehouse."

There were many more things outside the door. When we invited them for drinks, Master Lu had already sent someone over.

"The people who went to Miss Luo's place haven't returned yet."

Master Lu's gaze fell on Shen Hanyu.

"Miss Luo, have you suspected my identity all along?"

Now that things have come to this, Shen Hanyu is too lazy to argue: "Whatever Master Lu says goes. Isn't Master Lu afraid of retaliation from the Luo family?"

“Your Luo family are a merchant family, and you don’t know how to suppress bandits. Besides, the imperial court has sent countless people to suppress bandits, but they haven’t all been arrested.”

Zhang Da put his hands on his hips, finished speaking, and then burst into laughter, his face full of smugness.

Upon hearing the word "bandit," some people at the table nearly fainted.

They turned out to be a bunch of desperados.

Their knees buckled: "Master Lu, spare our lives! We are willing to hand over all our treasures!"

Master Lu nodded in satisfaction. These old mudskippers must be hiding some good treasures. If he didn't make them bleed a little more, this trip would have been in vain, and he would have offended such a big trading company.

Not to mention that they've offended the Luo family now. After making this profit, they can hide away and have some peace and quiet for a while.

The group was all calculating their options, and Master Lu looked at Shen Hanyu: "Where is Miss Luo?"

Shen Hanyu removed the knife from her neck with her fingers, and the person behind her looked at Master Lu with a questioning gaze.

Master Lu waved his hand, signaling him to put the knife away. Even if a sickly, weak woman had a martial artist with her, it wouldn't help.

The moment the knife was removed, a number of people jumped out of the house; these were the people Shen Hanyu had arranged.

The group escorted Shen Hanyu toward the door.

"Girl, let's get to a safe place first."

Without any hesitation, Shen Hanyu left the cabin under the escort of Miao Cui and Jin Chui.

"Miss Luo, Miss Luo, help me!"

When the group saw Shen Hanyu run away, they immediately shouted for her to help them.

Shen Hanyu couldn't help. She had originally planned to travel discreetly and brought a limited number of people. It was already quite good that she could protect herself.

"Walk."

Shen Hanyu didn't turn her head; she knew what she had to do.

Sounds of fighting came from inside the house. Shen Hanyu wrapped her outer robe tighter around herself as the wind picked up on the deck.

"What about those who were sailing the boat? Tell them to report the news and ask the nearby government offices for help, so they can send someone over. This can't go on like this."

Shen Hanyu was clear-headed. If everyone on this ship was under Lu Siye's control, then she would think of other ways.

"I'll look for it!"

Jin Chui volunteered.

“I can handle things on my own. Things are in chaos right now, so I’ll go find someone. I’m familiar with this ship.”

Shen Hanyu hummed in agreement and told him to hurry back, hoping he could bring good news.

Upon arriving at her lodgings, Shen Hanyu packed her belongings, ready to leave at any moment.

The worst outcome is that I jump off from here.

"Girl!" someone outside came over. "There are a few more boats down there. It seems they're there to pick up Master Lu and his pirates."

Shen Hanyu thought for a moment. These people would definitely need help to take the things away, which was not surprising. However, the arrival of this group greatly increased the number of people involved.