Arthur Evans was truly at his wit's end. He hadn't slept well for two days, anxiously waiting for someone to finally arrive with a reply.
Arthur rushed forward and asked urgently, "The letter—where is it? Quick, give it to me!"
The messenger was clad in a black cloak. As he entered, he pulled back his hood, leaving Arthur Evans stunned. "Jade, why did you come in person?"
Jade looked travel-worn, clearly having rushed over. Behind her trailed several elite bodyguards from the Xiao family and the Fire Brigade.
"This business involves over a million silver taels. If it falls through, the loss will be huge. I sensed something was off in Kingston, so I decided to come see for myself." Jade entered, poured herself some tea, and looked up at Arthur. "Fourth Uncle, I bet you haven't been idle these past two days, searching for new buyers everywhere. So, how did it go?"
Arthur sighed heavily and reported the situation of the past two days to Jade.
Jade listened, not particularly surprised. She merely raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Fourth Uncle, someone is definitely up to something here."
Arthur replied, "Yes, I noticed it too. Someone is secretly sabotaging us, disrupting our business! Jade, what do you think?"
Jade paused for a moment and said, "I did some digging before I came. Mr. Ma is old friends with the Qian Family Patriarch—they've known each other for decades. Right after Mr. Ma backed out of the deal, I checked the personnel changes in Kingston and found that Mr. Ma's son, Martin Ma, is set to become the new mayor. Fourth Uncle, isn't it obvious? The Qians are pulling the strings behind the scenes. Kingston is their turf, and other merchants fear them, so no one dares to work with us."
Arthur gritted his teeth in anger. "That old dog from the Qian family! Why did he have to sabotage us at such a critical moment? Has he forgotten the lesson from the Zhao family, and still dares to go against the Qin Palace?"
Princess Jade Hayes let out a sarcastic laugh. "Before trouble lands on their own doorstep, there's always someone who thinks they're the chosen one. Quentin Qian is no different. But he's a bit cleverer than the House of Zhao—he didn't show his face, instead he pushed the Ma Family and those porcelain merchants out as pawns. He's not openly challenging the Palace of Qin, just throwing dirty tricks to disgust us."
Arthur Evans let out a heavy sigh. "Jade, Kingston is Qian family's turf. They've been running things here for decades. Now the Qians are targeting us, refusing to supply us with porcelain. What do you think we should do about it?"
Princess Jade Hayes raised an eyebrow at Arthur Evans. "Don't worry, Uncle Arthur. The Qian family may have deep roots in Kingston, but the way they control the independent porcelain dealers is just brute force and intimidation, plus heavy taxes and protection fees. The Ma Family is close to Quentin Qian, so of course they listen to the Qians, but those small dealers—I bet they've long been angry but too scared to speak up. We can start with them, see if any are gutsy enough to work with us and supply this batch of goods."
After speaking, Princess Jade Hayes pulled a ledger from her coat. It listed all the porcelain merchants in Kingston.
Princess Jade Hayes and Arthur Evans analyzed the merchants’ backgrounds, finally picking three or four who seemed most likely to stand up to the Qian family.
"Let’s go. I’ll pay them a visit myself and see who’s got the guts to be the first to eat crab," Princess Jade Hayes said, snapping the ledger shut and standing up. She told Arthur Evans, "Uncle Arthur, I’ve got a secret plan that hasn’t been set in motion yet. Since we’re here in Kingston today, it’s the perfect chance to kick it off."
Arthur Evans was stunned. "What secret plan?"