The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#255 - Reasonable

Jiang Yuanmao's sneer pulled Lu Jing back from his thoughts.

However, he didn't rush to speak, but first glanced at the head of the Qianyuan Chamber of Commerce, then at the restless martial artists beside him, before stroking the black cat's back and saying.

"Oh, this cat is indeed mine, I didn't discipline it properly, and it hurt Guild Leader Jiang and Brother Gu. As its owner, I apologize to both of you on its behalf."

Gu Caiwei shook her head and said, "It's okay, I just got a little scratch anyway."

After speaking, her gaze fell on the black cat in Lu Jing's arms, a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes, and she opened her mouth as if to say something.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Yuanmao on the other side spoke before her, "Just an apology is enough?"

Unlike Gu Caiwei, the head of the Qianyuan Chamber of Commerce was more seriously injured. The black cat's bite was very solid, and two canine teeth directly pierced two blood holes in his arm.

The maid had already found a handkerchief to bandage him, and someone hurried to invite a doctor.

Jiang Yuanmao's second son advised Jiang Yuanmao to rest aside, but Jiang Yuanmao waved him away, then looked into Lu Jing's eyes and said, "I haven't had time to ask earlier, I wonder what kind of business you are in?"

"Me? Just a ginseng merchant," Lu Jing said.

"Ginseng merchant?" Jiang Yuanmao was a little surprised, seemingly not expecting a ginseng merchant to be among the guests at his birthday banquet, then he glanced at his eldest son, who was in charge of welcoming guests.

The latter quickly walked up to him and whispered, "Father, this man entered behind Wang Dianbo. I thought he was Wang Dianbo's attendant guard at the time, but now it seems that the two should have nothing to do with each other. He deliberately followed Wang Dianbo to sneak in."

So he was just here to freeload.

After learning that Lu Jing had no background, Jiang Yuanmao's last trace of concern disappeared. There were too many dignitaries in the capital. Before taking action, he always had to figure out the other party's background to avoid accidentally kicking a steel plate.

Jiang Yuanmao was able to build his business to where it was today, so he was naturally not a reckless person, and this was also why he had been enduring it until now, even though he had been bitten hard by the cat.

Seeing this scene, a rather absurd feeling rose in Gu Caiwei's heart.

Tonight, she had come to the banquet with the intention of causing trouble, but she didn't expect that things would develop to the point where there was someone even better at causing trouble than her.

To the point where Jiang Yuanmao couldn't even care about her at the moment.

However, Gu Caiwei couldn't help but feel a little nervous at this time. She hadn't brought any guards with her this time to cause trouble, because she knew that no matter what Jiang Yuanmao was like in private, he always had to pay attention to face and rules in public.

Especially in front of so many people, it was impossible to really tear off his face and attack a woman like her.

On the contrary, if she brought guards, it would give Jiang Yuanmao a target, and he would likely use the humiliation of her guards to beat her. Gu Caiwei herself didn't care, but she didn't want Cui Shi to be humiliated for nothing.

So she simply came herself.

But now she regretted not letting Cui Shi come with her.

Because she still had a Feng Jiulang by her side. The other party was a ginseng merchant from the north, and probably had done a lot of killing and treasure snatching. His hands were covered in blood, and he had no ties, so his actions were naturally unrestricted.

If the Feng fellow and Jiang Yuanmao's people started fighting later, and if he was no match for them, it was hard to guarantee that he wouldn't have the idea of using her as a hostage.

But if that happened, it would be exactly what Jiang Yuanmao wanted. Jiang Yuanmao himself was inconvenient to directly attack her, but if he used Feng Jiulang's hand to accidentally kill her, and then arrested Feng Jiulang and sent him to the authorities, killing two birds with one stone, then Jiang Yuanmao would laugh out loud in his dreams.

Thinking of this, Gu Caiwei wanted to distance herself a little further from Lu Jing.

Although she also knew that such a short distance would only take a blink of an eye for martial arts masters, it could still provide some psychological comfort.

It was just that Jiang Yuanmao's people had already surrounded the table, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, they had also surrounded her inside. Even if she wanted to leave at this time, she couldn't.

Seeing that Lu Jing had been "controlled", Jiang Yuanmao also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let me tell you, friend, the capital is not the north. Under the feet of the emperor, there are rules to be followed."

"Is the rule of this capital more people?" Lu Jing looked at the group of 镖师 (bodyguards) surrounding him and asked curiously.

"These people are just for precaution. What I'm telling you today is the rule that you have to pay the price for making mistakes. You are not on the guest list, but you sneaked into the restaurant, this is one mistake. You condoned your cat to injure people, this is the second mistake. But considering that you are a foreigner, I won't make things difficult for you.

"Leave this cat behind, and then get out of the capital completely, go back to your north to dig ginseng, and never come back again. If you can do that, I will let you go today," Jiang Yuanmao said indifferently.

"That's well said," Lu Jing couldn't help but applaud, "As expected of the guild leader, reasonable and well-founded. The only flaw is that you always tell these rules to others. If you could also follow the rules a little yourself, I think you wouldn't have had the face to withhold Brother Gu's batch of goods this morning."

Gu Caiwei was a little surprised when she heard this, seemingly not expecting the chance acquaintance Feng Jiulang to stand up for her. Although the other party was just using this to ridicule Jiang Yuanmao, he was still the only person in the restaurant tonight who was willing to say a fair word for her.

Gu Caiwei couldn't bear to see him being bullied by Jiang Yuanmao's people later, so she whispered, "A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him, why do you have to fight them head-on?"

"It's none of your business," Lu Jing waved his hand, "The thing I hate most in my life is people who say one thing and do another. Today, I have to reason with this Guild Leader Jiang properly."

Gu Caiwei shook her head straight. If reasoning was really useful, then her batch of goods wouldn't still be unavailable. And looking at Jiang Yuanmao's posture, he obviously didn't intend to continue reasoning with Lu Jing any further.