Chapter 31: Surrounded on All Sides

Page 1 of 3

The weather in the capital could change in an instant. The Yan Shop, which had been bustling with customers only yesterday, was now as deserted as an abandoned temple.

Malicious rumors spread like a plague. From the newspapers to the storytellers, and through the idle chatter of teahouses and alleyways, everyone was saying the same thing: “The Ye family witch sells poison. Her perfume disfigures people, and her pastries make them ill.”

The noblewomen who had once queued outside the shop were gone. In their place stood clusters of onlookers, pointing and whispering, disgust and fear in their eyes. Every now and then, a few women would put on a show of weeping and wailing, clutching rotten vegetables and pretending they were about to hurl them into the shop.

“That black-hearted Ye witch! She ruined my daughter’s face!”

“After eating your pastries, my son began vomiting and suffering from diarrhea. He’s at death’s door!”

Those supposed “victims” wore exaggerated makeup and shrieked in piercing voices. Their performance was painfully obvious. Yet the uninformed townspeople believed every word. They pointed at the shop and whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with contempt for the so-called Ye witch.

The shop assistants stood just inside the doorway, staring at the spectacle outside with faces drained of color. They had never witnessed anything like this. Fear and unease spread rapidly among them.

Ye Qingyan stood behind the counter, her expression calm. She knew this was merely the first move in the Wang family’s campaign of public slander.

Yet more deadly than rumor was cutting off her very foundations.

She tried contacting new suppliers, but the results sent her heart sinking. It was not only spices and flour. Even the glass workshops that made her perfume bottles, the carpenters who crafted her pastry boxes, and the silk merchants who supplied her wrapping cloth all refused her orders in unison.

“Shopkeeper Ye, I’m terribly sorry. Our orders have been full lately, and we simply cannot fit you in.”

“Shopkeeper Ye, our shop is undergoing renovations. We are not taking any business for the time being.”

Every answer was polite yet firm, leaving not the slightest room for negotiation.

Ye Qingyan understood. The Wang family had wielded its power as the capital’s wealthiest clan and nearly sealed off every one of her supply channels. Suppliers large and small throughout the capital were either under the Wangs’ control or had been threatened, bribed, or coerced by them. She was trapped in an invisible net, unable to move.

“Shopkeeper, this cannot go on!” An old assistant approached her trembling, his face etched with worry.

Another young assistant quietly echoed him. “With all the rumors spreading outside, there’s no way we can keep doing business. Perhaps... perhaps we should close the shop.”

Ye Qingyan’s gaze swept over them, and she noticed that many of their eyes were wavering. She knew the people within the shop were already beginning to lose heart.

“Shopkeeper, I heard the Wang family treats those who know how to read the situation rather generously...” one assistant who was always fond of gossip suddenly remarked in a strangely mocking tone.

Ye Qingyan’s eyes turned cold as she stared straight at him.

Under her gaze, the man grew uneasy. He lowered his head and dared not say another word.

Page 1 of 3

The Wang family had not only cut off her retreat; they had also begun bribing her people. If she had not always treated her employees generously, some of them would likely have packed their belongings and left already.

At that moment, someone sent by Father Ye came to summon her home.

When Ye Qingyan returned to the Ye residence and had only just stepped through the courtyard gate, she heard her father’s furious roar.

“You insolent wretch! Look at what you’ve done!” Father Ye held a newspaper in his hand and pointed at the defamatory articles, his beard trembling with rage. “The entire capital is saying that you, Ye Qingyan, are wicked and immoral, bringing shame upon the family! How am I supposed to show my face after this?!”

Ye Qingyan stood there calmly without defending herself. She knew that any explanation would be futile at that moment.

“Close that shop at once! Immediately! Apologize to the Wang family and beg them to spare the Ye family!” Father Ye pointed at her and shouted until his voice was hoarse. He was not concerned about his daughter’s business. He was afraid of offending the Wangs and bringing disaster upon the Ye residence.

“Father, I have done nothing wrong,” Ye Qingyan replied evenly.

“How dare you talk back! I’m warning you: if you do not give me an explanation for what happened today, you are no longer a member of the Ye family!” Enraged, Father Ye smashed the teacup beside him.

Ye Qingyan looked at him, her heart turning cold. She knew she could rely on no one.

When she returned to the shop, Ye Qingyan sat alone in the empty room, staring at the dwindling silver recorded in the account book and the completely bare storeroom. For the first time, she felt an overwhelming sense of panic.

Money, raw materials, and public opinion—three mountains pressed down upon her, leaving her almost no way out.

Since arriving in this era, this was the first time she had felt so helpless and desperate. Commercial warfare in ancient times was far more ruthless and direct than she had imagined. There were no laws to restrain the powerful, only authority crushing everything in its path.

She felt more alone than ever before.

[Imperial Decree: Traitor! Your incompetence in managing commerce has left the national treasury empty. This is a grave offense! I shall have you thrown into the imperial prison!]

The system’s cold voice suddenly rang out in her mind.

Ye Qingyan jerked her head up and shouted at the empty air, “Your Majesty! I have been wronged! It is not that I am incompetent—the enemy is simply too cunning! They cut off my supplies at the source, severed my provisions, and then smeared my reputation! How can this be called incompetence? The Wang family is clearly abusing its power to bully others!”

[Enough excuses! The national treasury is empty. That is an undeniable fact!]

The system’s voice remained unmoved.

“Your Majesty! You cannot treat me this way! You cannot stand by while your loyal minister is destroyed by villains! I have labored day and night for your treasury, exhausting my heart and mind. How could you treat me so cruelly?”

Ye Qingyan threw herself into a tantrum before the system, her voice edged with tears. At that moment, she had no concern for her dignity. All she wanted was to pry something—anything—out of that wretched system.

Page 2 of 3

[Silence! What intolerable racket! I am wise and mighty. How dare you make such a commotion before Me?]

Unable to bear her pestering any longer, the system finally relented. Its tone carried a trace of impatience.

[Very well! All brawn and no brains! Seeing how pitiful you are, I bestow upon you the Tongue of Negotiation. Go reason with those rats at once. If you fail again, come and present your head to Me!]

Ye Qingyan froze, then immediately opened the system panel.

[Skill: Tongue of Negotiation]

[Description: During negotiations, the host will unconsciously utter tyrannical declarations pleasing to the Emperor. The effect is unknown.]

Ye Qingyan stared at the bizarre description and immediately felt an ominous foreboding.

Tyrannical declarations? Was this thing meant to help her negotiate, or simply offend everyone she met?

She muttered inwardly that the system truly meant her no good.

Just as Ye Qingyan was studying the strange skill, a faint knock sounded from outside the door.

Chen Huai’an appeared in the doorway. He cautiously glanced outside and, after making certain that no one was watching, slipped inside.

“Miss, I found something out.” Chen Huai’an lowered his voice and handed Ye Qingyan a map. “Fifty miles beyond the city, there is a smuggling caravan that does not answer to the Wang family of the capital. Its leader is known as One-Eyed Dragon. He has a strange temper and is extremely difficult to deal with, but this is your only chance of survival.”

Ye Qingyan accepted the map, her gaze settling on a blurred mark.

“Thank you,” she said to Chen Huai’an.

She looked out at the darkness beyond the window and made a decision.

Ye Qingyan prepared through the night. At dawn the following day, she disguised herself, took Chen Huai’an with her, and quietly left the capital. What she did not know was that the Wang family had also sent an envoy, bearing terms far more generous than hers, who had already reached One-Eyed Dragon’s stronghold ahead of them.

The Wang family intended to seal off every last path to her survival.

And she was heading straight into the snare they had prepared long ago.

Page 3 of 3