Chapter 36: My thoughts exactly!

Can even bandits become unemployed?

This remark left Liu Jinyu completely speechless. Yet, upon second thought, it was indeed the truth: the bandits of Fierce Bandit Mountain did not want the old or the young, accepting only the strong and able-bodied.

"Master Chen, if I truly had that much wealth, I would certainly bring it forth. But my purse is truly tight. Might I offer a slightly smaller sum?" Liu Jinyu squeezed out a smile and said.

Li Xiuning and the others cast strange looks at him, their faces filled with puzzlement.

This fellow was truly bizarre. The bandits of other clans made their living through plundering and robbery.

Yet he, a bandit leader, was brazenly taking the initiative to deliver money to Chen Xuan.

Anyone could see that something fishy was going on here!

At this moment, even Xu Ruolan, who typically loved money as much as her own life, remained silent.

There was certain wealth you might have the life to take, but not the life to spend!

For money to be delivered right to one's doorstep like this—if there wasn't a major catch, it was simply impossible!

Chen Xuan stared at Liu Jinyu, sizing him up for a moment. He had a hunch that this fellow would cling to him like a dog-skin plaster.

If he refused to let him follow, the man would surely find some other way to latch onto him.

"If I remember correctly, you are one of Lord Qin's men from the imperial court. Lord Qin holds the position of Minister of Rites among the Six Ministries. Wouldn't following him be far better than following me?"

Earlier today, when they stormed Liufeng Stronghold and nearly choked the life out of Liu Jinyu, this scoundrel had already brandished his backing.

That Lord Qin, serving as a minister of the imperial court's Six Ministries, held a rank half a step higher than Sima Xiba's father, the Vice Minister.

Liu Jinyu had anticipated that Chen Xuan would bring this up. Naturally, he was well-prepared and replied without a moment's hesitation:

"Lord Qin is indeed my patron, but I am well aware that he merely regards me as his running dog. If I stay with him, I will never rise in the world; I will spend my entire life as a bandit trapped in this wretched, barren corner of Fierce Bandit Mountain."

"A true man should harbor ambitions across the four seas. I, Liu Jinyu, am a man of upright appearance and grand aspirations—how could I spend my life as a despised bandit?"

"Besides, the imperial court has never ceased its campaigns to suppress the bandits of Fierce Bandit Mountain. According to my intelligence, the recent suppression efforts were poorly handled, causing the court to lose face. The Emperor is furious and is already considering reorganizing the army to launch another campaign, determined to turn Fierce Bandit Mountain into a mountain without bandits."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan chuckled and interrupted him, saying, "Aren't all you bandits on Fierce Bandit Mountain the lackeys of those great court officials? If the court sends another large army to suppress you, the people behind you will protect you."

Put bluntly, the poor performance in suppressing the bandits was simply a result of these high-ranking officials undermining things from behind the scenes.

Seeing Chen Xuan speak so lightly of the matter, Liu Jinyu offered a bitter smile and said, "It is not as simple as you think. Although the bandits of Fierce Bandit Mountain are all tied to people in the court, the court cannot possibly afford to maintain bandits for everyone."

"In truth, only a minority of high-ranking court officials harbor bandits on Fierce Bandit Mountain. Within the imperial court, factions stand like a forest; where there are treacherous ministers, there are naturally loyal ones as well."

"Besides, who holds the highest authority in the court? Naturally, it is the Emperor. When the Emperor is determined to wipe out the bandits, who beneath him would dare to engage in petty tricks over and over again?"

"Therefore, we bandits of Fierce Bandit Mountain have our heads tied to our waistbands. Every extra day we live is an extra day we earn."

According to Liu Jinyu, the Emperor was certainly aware that court ministers were harboring bandits. Under the very nose of the Son of Heaven, there were no secrets.

It was just that in the past, the imperial court had chosen to turn a blind eye.

Yet this last time, the court had actually dispatched troops to suppress the bandits, only to fail in resolving the threat and losing face in the grandest manner possible.

This incident had turned the entire imperial court into a laughingstock, even becoming the butt of jokes among neighboring states.

The Great Qian Dynasty possessed vast territories and a million brave soldiers, yet it proved incapable of dealing with mere bandits within its own borders.

This naturally raised doubts about the true combat effectiveness of the Great Qian Dynasty—was it merely bloated and weak?

Consequently, many neighboring states that had previously appeared docile began to harbor wild ambitions.

This matter had not only slapped the imperial court across the face, but it had also brought shame upon the Emperor himself.

Thus, the Emperor had already formed a cabinet, intending to purge the treacherous sycophants and reorganize a grand army to sweep through and pacify Fierce Bandit Mountain once and for all.

"As a mere bandit, how do you come to know about affairs of the imperial court?"

After listening to Liu Jinyu's explanation, Chen Xuan felt genuinely surprised.

Even if Liu Jinyu's patron was a Minister, someone of such elevated status and high office would never discuss such matters with a low-level bandit like him.

Liu Jinyu forced a smile and said, "Although I am a dog raised by Lord Qin, I am different from other dogs. I have brains, and I have my own people planted inside the Qin residence."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan instantly wore a look of astonishment.

This fellow was truly a talent; he had actually managed to plant his own informants right under the Minister's nose.

Which bandit in the world could pull off such a feat?

Naturally, human hearts are separated by flesh, and one can know a person's face without knowing their heart. When walking out in the world, one could not fully trust the words of even a good person, let alone a bandit.

However, since matters had already reached this point, and since Liu Jinyu was determined to follow him, regardless of what hidden motives the fellow might harbor, he happened to lack capable hands under his command anyway.

Chen Xuan deliberately paused for a moment, putting on a thoughtful expression. After musing for a brief while, he said with a smile that was not quite a smile:

"In that case, you may follow me."

Liu Jinyu immediately dropped to one knee and cupped his fists: "Many thanks to Master Chen for taking me in!"

Behind him, Little Six imitated his actions, dropping to his knees with cupped fists: "Me too!"

Immediately afterward, without waiting for Chen Xuan to speak, Liu Jinyu proactively offered: "Master Chen, we cannot produce a vast fortune here at Liufeng Stronghold, but a modest sum is well within our reach."

"We brought all our worldly possessions with us on this trip. The brothers need to eat and drink, so we must keep a portion, but the filial offering we present to you can amount to roughly one thousand taels of gold."

Chen Xuan had seen sensible people, but never one quite this sensible. Although it fell somewhat short of the ten thousand taels of gold he had initially demanded, this one thousand taels of gold was essentially a pie falling straight from the sky.

Without changing his expression, Chen Xuan nodded and said, "A little later, take an inventory and hand the money over to my wife."

Liu Jinyu immediately looked toward the group of women, instantly finding himself in a dilemma.

Among these seven women, which one was the legitimate wife?

He could not very well ask outright.

Li Xiuning perceived his hesitation, stepped forward, and said, "Just hand it to me."

Nominally, she was the primary wife; the others, even An Ruoxue, were merely concubines.

Although Chen Xuan had not yet consummated his marriages with them, their statuses had already been fixed. Regardless of legalities or technicalities, the Chen family had forcefully bundled them all together as wives for Chen Xuan.

Beside them, Xu Ruolan curled her lips in displeasure. She wanted to manage the finances, but alas, she was merely a concubine and lacked the qualifications to do so.

Unless Li Xiuning proved unwilling to live with Chen Xuan and the household lost its primary wife, she would have no chance to compete for the position.