Yu Weiwei's face turned cold as he said:
"Sir, please investigate it for us. If Agar indeed said such things like this, I'm willing to confront him. Otherwise we will take back our jade vases at the original price and leave your territory immediately."
Northam looked at them, one composed and the other seemingly puzzled and said:
"I apologize to both of you. I would like you to stay with us for a few more days. If it turns out you have nothing to do with this, I will let you go immediately. However, if I find out that you are indeed connected to Jinghan and Zakkel, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"No, we have..."
Nie Huanzhang wanted to says more but was forcefully taken away. The two were brought to a relatively clean prison. Nie Huanzhang fiercely pounded on the prison door, cast a resentful glance at Yu Weiwei and shouted:
"Damn it! I really want to kill you. What the hell is going on? Ah, I promised Wangshi to return Jingdu for his examination and now.... What do you explain for this?"
Yu Weiwei comforted him gently and whispered:
"It is okay, Everything will be fine. If you can't make it on time, I'll ask for His Highness personally to apologize to your fox…no, your younger brother. Okay?"
"It's not about apology or not. You've damn ruined me."
"There is no use talking about it now. It's already like this. I just want to know how much you know about Agar."
Nie Huanzhang paused and said:
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong about him?"
"I suspect that he is involved in more than just illicit trade. What is his position in Jinghan?"
"Well, his eldest brother is the current leader in Jinghan, who is the different mother with Agar. Agar's mother was a slave to the former leader so although he has a certain status in Jinghan, he can't enter the central position. He's at the mercy of his several elder siblings. Dissatisfied with this, he left the clan and started doing business on his own. I've know him since I started running to Huichun, introduced by my master. Although we're not close friends, we've had a good cooperation. He doesn't deceive me and I don't deceive him. That's it."
After pondering for a moment, Yu Weiwei said:
"This time he made use of us. I think he might be working as a spy for his eldest brother. From what I see, the Jinghan clan isn't as carefree and peaceful as one might think. Maybe they don't like to fight and slaughter but they're involved in some opportunistic activities and they've been laying out their plans for a long time. They depend on Furu for some goods and Haji's wife is from Jinghan. Don't forget where Yiza's father is from. They keep good relationship with two clans. But this time they want more from this marriage."
Nie Huanzhang asked in confusion:
"I don't understand. What is the meaning?"
Yu Weiwei said:
"I ask you where Yiza's father is from."
"Jinghan. And her mother is from Hural which has close ties with Khan Zakkel in Handu."
Yu Weiwei glanced at Nie Huanzhang teasing and said:
"You're smart and you're right. Usually, when a girl marries, she lives with her husband's family. However, Yiza's parents live in Yiza's mother's clan because her mother is only one child in her family. For a man, especially for a man in Huichun Tribe, marrying into the bride's family isn't a very honorable thing and Yiza's father didn't feel any shame about it. This makes me wonder whether it's part of the plan by Jinghan. Now let me talk about another thing. Last time Doga planned to stabilize the relationship with Furu by the marriage. Haji was also involved in that marriage. This indicated that Haji's feelings for his current wife may not be very stronger anymore, which could potentially affect the relationship between Jinghan and Antare. Of course Antare might not care more about this but Jinghan also had to consider this matter. At this time Yiza's father brought up Yiza's marriage, which makes people ponder deeply. On the surface, he entrusted this marriage to the leader of Hural's leader and Khan Zakkel. However, upon further consideration, it is realized that Jinghan has subtly strengthened its relationship the Hural and Khan Zakkel."
Nie Huanzhang looked at him in confusion. Yu Weiwei continued to say:
"Why did Yiza's father leave this marriage decision to the leader of Hural and Khan Zakkel? His only condition was that she couldn't be a concubine. This isn't normal. Therefore, I speculate that Jinghan is in cahoots with Khan Zakkel and use Yiza's marriage to make connection with other clans. Like this Jinghan will keep the position in the whole tribe."
Finding it difficult to comprehend, Nie Huanzhang asked:
"Jinghan clan is one of eight clans and quite a significant one. Why would they do this?"
Yu Weiwei continued to explain:
"I think they aim to replace the Antare in the tribe or at least stand on equal position with Antare. Let us think about it. Yiza's marriage is manipulated by Khan Zakkel so he will undoubtedly use this marriage to strengthen his influence and power. Indeed, he plans to bring Furu back. The fact that Furu doesn't have responded indicates that Nandam in Furu is considering it because of the relationship and interests between Furu and Yuhong Dynasty. If Nandam were to agree impulsively to this marriage, it would inevitably lead to discord or even conflict between Furu and our country. This is what Zakkel needs. At that time, Furu would have to reconcile with Khan Zakkel and might even depend on him. The people of Jinghan could then use this opportunity to consolidate the relationship with Furu, considering most of the goods what Jinghan needs are from Furu. As for Furu, Nandam has to think about not only the relationship with Jinghan and Khan Zakkel but also the relationship with our country and more benefit from our country. Jinghan clan handled this plan quite well but unexpectedly, Haji from Antare interfered this marriage, causing some disruption on Jinghan's plan. What Haji wanted to marry this girl also destroyed Zakkel's calculations. Now Furu is even more reluctant to make a premature decision to avoid offending Antare. Zakkel has to consider Northan's thought and Jinghan has to find another way to suppress Antare."
"My goodness, it's so complicated! How did you come up with all this? Are you sure it is accurate?"
Yu Weiwei smiled and said:
"I'm not sure but this is the trend. As for how I came up with this, well, I'm an advisor who are always thinking a lot about things like this every day."
"But tell me how Agar makes use of us."
"I suspect that as soon as Agar received your letter, he informed the leader, his eldest brother in Jinghan. And the leader let Agar use us to create chaos within Antare, knowing the intentions from Northan and Haji's wife."
Nie Huanzhang continued to ask:
"What I don't understand is, you see, Haji's wife is from Jinghan and Yiza's father is also from Jinghan. Anyway, Jinghan and Antare are tied by marriage. The future leader will undoubtedly be the son of Haji's current wife. So why would Jinghan create the chaos like this?"
"Let me ask you when Haji and his current wife got engaged."
"Child engagement."
"And how was Antare's power at that time?"
"Well, they had just finished a major battle as the main force and their power was not as strong as before. Oh, I see. At that time Antare needed Jinghan to consolidate their power."
Yu Weiwei continued to explain:
"Yes, at that time Antare needed Jinghan. However did the relationship between Antare and Jinghan improve? Obviously not. You've also mentioned that Agar least likes dealing with Antare because the people from Antare look down on the people from other clans. That means that even though Antare needed Jinghan's help, Antare still maintained a condescending attitude, not just towards Jinghan but also towards other clans, including Handu. Do you think the people from Jinghan can stand this? So what they want isn't just control over Antare but to suppress Antare's arrogance, at least stand on equal position."
"So, does Antare know about all this now?"
"What do you think? If Antare doesn't know, why are we locked up here now? I believe Northan suspects that we might be sent by Jinghan to disrupt the internal affairs within Antare."
Nie Huanzhang asked with a knowing smile:
"Are we?"
Yu Weiwei burst into laughter, saying:
"Of course not. We are truly straightforward traders, seeking nothing but money."
Unaware of the events unfolding outside the prison, the situation had escalated in Haodu, involving various families. Haji took the initiative and sent his wife back her parents' home with a divorce letter. This not only strained the relationship between Jinghan and Antare but also drew dissatisfaction from some families in Antare. In order to preserve his influence in the clan, Haji had to work hard to appease this discontent. With Zakkel subtly fanning the flames, Northan had to agreed to let Haji marry Yiza, compromising to prevent the schemes of the people from Jinghan. However, unexpectedly, Doshi's family also received a verbal promise from Zakkel, allowing him to marry Yiza. Upon hearing that Northan had agreed to the marriage between Haji and Yiza. Doshi's family gathered some families and confronted Northan, resulting in a standoff. Both sides were unwilling to back down, forming a precarious situation. Various families declared their stances and tensions even escalated to physical violence. Unable to break the deadlock, Northan had to resort to strong measures, suppressing Doshi's faction and agreeing to Haji's marriage. Meanwhile, Zakkel happily sent Yiza to Haodu. From then on, Antare's internal division became apparent with two major factions restraining and suppressing each other. The Antare's power declined further. What's even stranger was that the pair of jade vases disappeared during the chaos in Haodu.
When Nie Huanzhang and Yu Weiwei rushed back to Liangzhou on swift horses, Nie Huanzhang once again saw that pair of jade vases, placed intact in the hall of Yuhong Xuan's mansion, just as Yuhong Xuan had remarked:
"It took me nearly five years' salary to buy them. I can't let Yu Weiwei destroy them. The money we got is given to my soldiers as the rewards."
Nie Huanzhang didn't bother to think about who had stolen the jade vases and brought them back. His entire focus was on the capital. He just wanted to hurry back, hold his baby tightly, shower him with affection and witness him being number one in the examination. He missed him a lot!