CH 107

Chapter 107: Such a Meager Sum of 500,000, Trying to Bribe Me?

“Yes!” Lin Beifan nodded.

“Why is that? By giving the manufacturing method of the air balloon to the Prince of Northern Hebei, you are helping an evil person! Once he creates the flying artifact, air balloon, his ambition will inevitably expand and war will follow soon!” Bai Guanyin wrinkled her brow.

She found Lin Beifan usually quite intelligent, but why did he become muddled in this situation?

A thought already surfaced in her mind, to retrieve the manufacturing method of the air balloon, kill all the witnesses, and deal with it secretly.

Lin Beifan smiled faintly, “Rest assured, he can never make it!”

“Why?” Bai Guanyin asked curiously.

“Because…” Lin Beifan mysteriously said, “I made some slight changes to the manufacturing method I gave him! This one change guarantees he can never make the air balloon!”

“Where did you make the changes?” Bai Guanyin asked.

“The material used for the balloon!” Lin Beifan laughed, “Our flying artifact air balloon has a simple structure: a large balloon, a basket, and fuel. It is easy to imitate the basket and prepare fuel. The key is the balloon! Whether or not we can make a tough, airtight, and heat-resistant balloon is the key to flying the air balloon!”

Bai Guanyin nodded, “That makes sense. Continue.”

“Therefore, I made some changes to the material used for the balloon. These changes are very slight, but fatal! As long as they follow the steps accordingly, then…”

“They cannot make the air balloon?” Bai Guanyin guessed.

“No, they can make it, but it will fail!” Lin Beifan chuckled, “The air balloon has high requirements for the balloon-it must be tough, airtight, and heat-resistant. If it’s a little bit lacking, it’s impossible! Based on my manufacturing method, they can definitely make the air balloon, but it cannot fly high, far, or for any decent amount of time! It might even break when it rises only ten or twenty meters into the air and fall back down!”

“So, they will only suspect their own craftsmanship, not blame me! Therefore, they will repeatedly experiment with manufacturing, resulting in huge human and material losses, and time consumption! Even in the end, they might fail!” Lin Beifan said.

Bai Guanyin said speechlessly, “You are truly wicked!”

“Thank you for the compliment!” Lin Beifan proudly laughed, “In fact, when I made the air balloon, I knew King Jibei would come and ask me for the manufacturing method. Since that was the case, why not take the opportunity to make some money? Look, this 2.5 million taels of silver, that was easy money!”

Lin Beifan handed over the silver notes of 2.5 million taels.

Bai Guanyin silently accepted it and said, “However, you still need to be careful! Your behavior can also be considered as betraying the country, and once things are exposed, you will lose your head!”

“Thank you for the reminder, I will be careful!” Lin Beifan nodded, walked to the desk, and picked up the brush.

“What are you doing?” Bai Guanyin was puzzled.

“I’m going to write several more copies of the manufacturing method of the air balloon and try to make more money!” Lin Beifan replied.

Bai Guanyin left speechlessly.

Back in the palace, she reported the matter to the Empress.

After listening, the Empress’s mouth twitched.

Then she stood up and exclaimed angrily, gritting her teeth: “This scoundrel! I have repeatedly ordered him not to leak the method of making the divine artifact, and he still dare to commit a crime against the wind. Does he not regard me as anything? I have treated him so well, but he betrayed me without hesitation! This bastard makes me so angry!”

Bai Guanyin smiled at this happy couple and found it extremely interesting.

“Your Majesty, calm down! He did not betray you, but helped you earn 2.5 million in funding and even tricked the Prince of Northern Hebei. The loss of one is a gain for the other, and now that Prince of Northern Hebei is weaker, your power is stronger!”

“Qingxuan sister, you’re right, but his actions really make me angry!”

The empress was both angry and tired: “He always dances on the edge of a knife, constantly pushing the boundaries, making me scared and unable to relax! When will he become honest and stop causing trouble?”

“How about… telling him your identity? He shouldn’t be causing trouble then!” Bai Guanyin smiled.

“I’m afraid that if he knows that I’m supporting him, he’ll become even more reckless and lawless!” The empress gritted her teeth.

“You’re right!” Bai Guanyin laughed.

Now that the world is against them, they can still play so recklessly and crazily!

If he knows that the empress is behind him, his ambition will swell, and he would play even more recklessly.

There is no doubt that he can do it!

It’s better to maintain the current status quo and make him calm down.

Due to the empress’s anger, she glared at Lin Beifan frequently for the next two days even though he did nothing wrong.

Lin Beifan couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. Women are truly strange creatures, and the empress is even more so!

Before, she loved him so much that she refused to let him go, but now she throws a tantrum and treats him as if he betrayed her. It’s really hard to serve her.

“As the ancients said, accompanying the king is like with a tiger, especially a mother tiger!”

On this day, when Lin Beifan returned from the Imperial Academy, he was intercepted by a wealthy merchant.

“We don’t know each other, so why are you blocking my way?” Lin Beifan asked.

The other party had a round belly, looked quite rich, and smiled like a Maitreya Buddha, saying, “Mr. Lin, we don’t really know each other, but I’ve always admired your talents! Now that we’ve met on the street, I would like to invite Mr. Lin for a few drinks! Does Mr. Lin have the honor?”

As he spoke, he quickly handed a few silver bills to Lin Beifan and stuffed them into his sleeve.

Lin Beifan looked down and saw that there were ten thousand taels in total and smiled.

“You are thoughtful. I like to make friends like you. Please lead the way!”

The wealthy merchant was overjoyed: “Thank you, Mr. Lin, for giving me this opportunity. Come with me, the food and drink are ready!”

They arrived at a nearby restaurant and walked into a luxurious room.

As the wealthy merchant said, the food and wine were already prepared.

The wine was good, and so was the food.

Everyone sat down, and the wealthy merchant smiled and said: “Mr. Lin, I also prepared a group of singing and dancing beauties. Let’s have a drink and enjoy their performance together, shall we?”

“Good, guests follow the host.”

The wealthy merchant clapped his hands, and a group of beautiful and graceful singing and dancing girls walked in and began to perform.

Everyone drank and ate together while watching the performance of the singing and dancing girls.

During the process, the wealthy merchant introduced himself as Wang Fugui, a merchant who traveled north and south. He was especially hardworking and had a good business sense, so he created an astounding wealth in just 30 years.

This alone made people look at him in a different light. You see, the situation in Great Wu was very chaotic and turbulent. The various feudal lords were in constant conflict, and corrupt officials oppressed the people.

Jianghu were filled with strange and dubious people, and many ordinary people could not survive. They became bandits or mountain overlords.

After about half an hour of eating and drinking, Lin Beifan spoke up, “Mr. Wang, why did you invite me here? We have eaten and drank enough. Let’s talk about business.”

“What you said is right,” replied Wang Fugui, dismissing everyone else in the room.

Then he sat down in front of Lin Beifan, looked around, and whispered, “Mr. Lin, I’ll get straight to the point. I came here for the air balloon-making formula, the Divine Artifact. As long as you give it to me, I will give you a satisfactory price!”

Lin Beifan rebuked, “Mr. Wang, you are very bold! You are an ordinary citizen, who dares to covet the imperial air balloon! This is a matter of life and death! Are you not afraid that I will report you to the officials and get you arrested?”

“Of course I’m afraid!” Wang Fugui replied bitterly, “But I have no choice! To tell you the truth, if I don’t get the formula, I will still lose my head!”

Lin Beifan asked, “You don’t have the courage to do that. Who is behind you? Speak up!”

Wang Fugui whispered, “At this point, I won’t hide it from you anymore. Behind me is the Prince of Southern Jiang! It is because of the Prince’s support that my business has grown so big!” Lin Beifan narrowed his eyes.

The Prince of Southern Jiang is another prince with rebellious intentions. He lives in the Southern Jiang region and is therefore known as the Prince of Southern Jiang.

With the prosperous commercial industry in Southern Jiang and his advantageous location, the Prince of Southern Jiang naturally began to do business and earned a lot of money. In terms of wealth, there are probably only a few in the whole Great Wu who can compare with him!

Even the wealthy Prince of Northern Hebei is slightly inferior in front of him. Needless to say, he is a big fat sheep! Seeing the Divine Artifact- Air Balloon, he couldn’t help but reach out his hand.

“Mr. Lin, since the Air Balloon’s invention, the Prince has been determined to get it! You are the inventor of Air Balloon and the first person to fly with it. If you can offer the manufacturing method of the Air Balloon to the Prince, he will be very happy and will give you a very satisfactory reward!”

“In addition, the Prince also said that he admires your talents very much! If you can work for him, there will definitely be benefits for you! This is a gift from the Prince, a total of 500,000 taels. Please accept it!”

Saying that, he handed over a thick stack of silver notes. Lin Beifan raised his eyebrows. The gift is 500,000 taels, 200,000 taels more than the Prince of Northern Hebei! It must be said that this Prince of Southern Jiang is very generous! So damn rich!

Lin Beifan shook his head resolutely: “Take it back, I won’t accept the money!”

Wang Fugui was shocked: “Mr. Lin, you…”

Lin Beifan unhappy said: “Do you think that this little money can buy me?”

Wang Fugui blinked his eyes and said in doubt: “Isn’t it?”

He had already inquired that this official had a special love for money and had embezzled several million taels of silver in just two months after taking office. Therefore, he sent the money, knowing his interest. But he didn’t expect that the other party seemed to have principles and refused to accept the money.

“Of course not!” Lin Beifan stood up and pointed at Wang Fugui’s nose angrily, “Let me tell you, it takes a lot of money!”

Wang Fugui: “Huh!”

Lin Beifan said unpleasantly: “A mere 500,000 taels, I’m too lazy to pick up if you throw it on the ground! You feel embarrassed to to give it, and I feel embarrassed to accept it!”

Wang Fugui: “Huh!”