"The marriage is going to be held in 3 days and I don't have any plan. If we can't stop the marriage by any means, then, as a last resort, we will have to help Song Yue in escaping her house and hide her somewhere safe.
In such a case, your house is probably the safest one. I heard that a beast king of the legendary realm is staying at your store. Not even the Supreme Commander would dare to intrude without your permission.
In the meantime, I will send a letter to her great grandfather who is currently living in the countryside. Neither Minister Song nor Supreme Commander Bai can disobey him. Everything would be fine, then."
Lin Xue tried her best to convince him by indirectly stating that this task has low risk but high rewards when considering all the offers.
When Mark thought about it, he too felt the same way. It's not like he needs to raid the house of Song Yun and kill someone.
However, he also knew that he cannot blindly accept it and fall into a trap, in case the Lin Clan is cooking up a conspiracy. The Emperor has a good impression of him and he needs to take advantage of this to make the army depend on his weapons too much.
When they realize that they can no longer afford the weapons, he planned to offer EMI (equated monthly installment) to the army so that they procure more weapons from the store.
First, he will drown the Imperial Palace in debt, and then, he will eventually replace his father with a puppet emperor.
This is what he decided after the Emperor fulfilled his demands and the firearms were being acknowledged as official weapons in the Phoenix Empire.
As things can go south midway at any time, Mark felt the need to keep a backup plan, which is to start a civil war and cause unrest all over the Empire.
As he didn't want to go on rampages as he did with Song Clan and Sui Clan in the past, Mark thought of confirming the truth.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do." He didn't give his word that he'll help her as he wasn't sure what he was dealing with. Recklessly going on a massacre doesn't need scouting but if he wants to abduct her without taking a single life so that it seemed like she escaped on her own, he needs to be careful.
"I understand." A clear disappointment was visible on Lin Xue. She came here with a lot of expectations, believing that Mark would accept this task for the sake of money and also betting on his enmity with Song Clan and Ji Clan.
Maybe, he was no longer interested in money because he was earning more lately? Or maybe, he lost interest since she said she would compensate with ether crystals? If that's the case, should she raise the amount?
She thought about it but in the end, she threw away the thought of increasing the offer as it would directly imply that he was hesitating because of the low offer when there are woman's rights at stake. Didn't he argue about the societal issues regarding poor people and women's rights in the public trial? How can he turn his back on Song Yue, then?
Then, does that mean this guy was thinking about not offending the clans now that his store became popular and he has something to lose?
Since it appeared like she may not receive help from Mark, Lin Xue had decided to take it upon herself to risk it.
She turned around and walked away. Once her horse carriage is out of sight, the princess came out of the store and confronted Mark.
"Are you going to help out Sister Yue?" she asked as he took the seat.
"I'm really wondering whether you are here to carry out your punishment or spy on me." Mark hit back at her. He was surely not pleased to talk about this matter with her. If he was interested, he would have called out to her when Lin Xue was offering him a deal.
"It's not like you are talking in secret and I just don't want to put you into an embarrassing position while revealing myself when you don't want me to involve me in this matter," Shang Jiao defended her actions, taking Mark by surprise.
He didn't expect that his sister would be able to guess his thoughts accurately. It kinda reminded him of the second prince but at the moment, he didn't want to think of the guy who was delaying his order for a while as his mood is already disturbed because of Song Yun's actions.
In the end, he let out a sigh, "I have already defeated Song Yun two times now. If we confront each other again, he will die for sure, and no one including Lady Song and your father would appreciate it. It was one thing if I act in self-defense or for revenge but this one is different.
What you will do if you were in my situation?" He asked in return.
He thought that his sister would be troubled to answer but it didn't take a second for her to give her response. "I don't do things so that people appreciate my actions. I do it because I think it is right. And I have already decided to help out Sister Xue in a way I can."
"But, the laws of the Empire allow the Emperor only to stop the marriage if the bride or the groom comes out in the open and speaks against it. And Lady Song is house arrested if her words are to be believed. You plan on convincing Song Yun or something?" Mark wanted to know what she plans to do so that he can work around it.
Shang Jiao shook her head, "no, I never had the intentions to take my father's help or convince Uncle Song. The latter will treat me as a child while the former would reject it as he cares more about the welfare of the Empire over justice."
While she no longer hates Mark after learning the truth, Shang Jiao still had a little bit of resentment against her father for almost cutting off ties with the Ji Clan when he was supposed to deliver justice for them.
"Then?" Mark turned curious.
Shang Jiao let out a smile, "didn't you hear what Sister Lin just said? Uncle Song will listen to his ancestor."
"Well, you do as you wish and I will handle it in my own way." Mark wasn't interested in that option because he doesn't trust nobles. Where is the guarantee that this so-called ancestor of the Song Clan will help out Song Yue? Not to mention, old people would usually put the clan's prestige and benefits above the happiness of their children.
Slowly, time passed away. In the afternoon, a few customers arrived and the looks on them were priceless when they recognized Shang Jiao. None of them understood what was going on with neither of them gave an exact explanation.
At 5 p.m., Shang Jiao's shift is over and she took her to leave. However, she didn't leave for home. Instead, she went to meet Lin Xue to show her support.
Meanwhile, Mark continued his business as usual. It was only after midnight did he made his move.
