Chapter 314: The Chief Seat

Seeing Lin Dong frown, Liu An didn’t dare interrupt his thoughts rashly and could only wait aside.
Finally, Lin Dong’s furrowed brows relaxed as he turned to Liu An and asked, “Is there anything else?”
“Well, there’s this money. I originally didn’t want to accept it. A thousand taels of silver—just enough to make a good impression on the new prefect.” Liu An said helplessly, “I didn’t expect that official to refuse to take it back no matter what. I even tried giving him two more taels to see his reaction, but he was so panicked he still wouldn’t take it… It seems it’s not just because of orders from the new prefect; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so scared.”
“The possibility of wiping them out all at once is basically gone. But this new prefect has managed to bring those officials under control right away—his methods are truly extraordinary.”
Lin Dong felt helpless. If this prince was simple-minded, although it might cause trouble for the inn’s future operations, the inn’s features that the royal family shouldn’t notice could still be concealed. But if this prince had extraordinary skills, given the inn’s current situation, he surely wouldn’t hold onto them over such a trivial matter. Yet, those features that the royal family shouldn’t notice would be even harder to hide.
In short, no matter what kind of person this new prefect was, his status would only bring harm to Lin Ji Inn.
“Owner, what should we do?” Ma Chun asked cautiously, looking at Lin Dong.
“What else can we do? We can’t let the inn’s business suffer. Once it’s ready, send someone to the prefecture office. As for the rest, we’ll see tomorrow.” Lin Dong asked, “How’s things with the merchant association?”
“The official document arrived a month ago. Due to the tight schedule, the first batch of funds was raised by merchants from various cities. After the money arrived, interest would be paid monthly until it was fully repaid,” Ma Chun explained. “After the document came out, the merchants met together and resolved the funding issue right away. Many rushed to take on the responsibility, but no one wanted to compete with the owner of Xiangyun Gambling House. Choosing a location was a bit tricky, but fortunately, there was enough money allocated for building the merchant association. We ended up choosing an empty house in the city that could be slightly modified for use. The most difficult part was selecting the president and ten vice presidents—both positions came with perks like official titles and tax reductions, so no one could convince the others…”
Ma Chun smiled and said, “The owner isn’t interested in becoming the president of the merchant association, is he?”

Lin Dong shook his head. Although there were many extra benefits, the president and vice presidents of the chamber of commerce would have to put aside their businesses and spend most of their time there. Not to mention that Lin’s Inn sometimes required him to make decisions on its own. Just giving up the opportunity to cultivate and gain strength would result in a loss ten thousand times greater.

“Many merchants have recommended the shopkeeper as president. The number of those who recommended him isn’t any less than that of those well-known wealthy merchants who retire at home,” Ma Chun said with a smile.

“What was the outcome?” Lin Dong had no interest in being inexplicably thrust into the position of president or vice president.

“It caused a huge mess,” Ma Chun said helplessly. “In the end, it was decided to wait until the new prefect arrived and ask him to act as a witness. Everyone who wanted to be president or vice president would write down their names. Then, each merchant would submit eleven names, with the one with the most votes becoming president, and the top ten others becoming vice presidents.”

“That’s a good idea!” Lin Dong nodded slowly. Having the new prefect act as a witness left no one any objections. With voting, those who wanted to be president or vice president would surely try their best to please all the merchants and offer them benefits, ensuring that no one suffered a loss.

“It’s okay, but it depends…” Ma Chun gritted his teeth. “It depends on what the prince intends to do.”

“We’ll know tomorrow!”

Lin Dong waved his hand. For troublesome matters, he could only wait until tomorrow to meet the prince and decide what to do.

After returning to the back yard with Yun Lan, while Yun Lan went to find Mo Jianchen and Xue Qinghong, Lin Dong headed to the storage room.

Opening the door to the storage room and moving aside a row of discarded wooden planks, he saw a burly man tied up tightly, his eyes wide open.

After pulling out the rag stuffed in Cheng Bao’s mouth and untying the thick hemp ropes around his body, Lin Dong stepped behind him, placed his right hand on his back, and sent a trace of spiritual energy into his dantian. After checking briefly, he withdrew his hand.

“It’s not bad. With some effort, he can recover his spiritual energy in two days.”

Cheng Bao turned angrily, staring intently at Lin Dong, his eyes filled with terrifying fury as if he wanted to devour Lin Dong.

Lin Dong ignored him, took out his golden sword, tossed it to Cheng Bao, and said casually, “Your comrades have all been killed.”

“Then go join them…” Cheng Bao suddenly swung his golden sword at Lin Dong’s head.

With a howling wind and fierce momentum, Lin Dong simply smiled. He raised his index and middle fingers and effortlessly caught the blade.

“I said it before… Their deaths actually have nothing to do with me.”

Cheng Bao’s eyes were almost popping out in fury as he snarled, “It’s none of their business. They dared lock me up for five or six months. Just for that, unless you’re willing to become the second chief of my gang, you’ll die!”
“The question is, can you kill me?” Lin Dong said disdainfully.
Cheng Bao’s rage surged, but no matter how hard he gripped the knife handle, the blade held between Lin Dong’s fingers wouldn’t budge even a little.
“I still say the same thing: forget that damned Tiansha Gang and just be my second head chef at Lin’s Inn,” Lin Dong said calmly. “I guarantee your reputation, status, and wealth will be far better than being some gang chief.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Cheng Bao tried desperately to pull the golden knife free from Lin Dong’s fingers but couldn’t.
Lin Dong wasn’t bothered by Cheng Bao’s attitude. Ever since he captured him, he had seen that his persuasion had already tempted Cheng Bao. In Cheng Bao’s mind, becoming a renowned chef was also an irresistible temptation.
Add to that nearly half a year of imprisonment, and Lin Dong was 100% sure Cheng Bao had fully given it thought. After all, being a chef was far better than being a bandit.
His current stubbornness was just bluster. Giving him a way out would surely bring another top chef to Lin’s Inn.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Dong smiled. “How about I give you a chance?”
Cheng Bao remained silent, staring coldly at Lin Dong.
“If you beat me, you can leave right now, and I’ll follow you as the second chief,” Lin Dong said cheerfully. “If you can’t win, it’s okay too. If you can resist my first three attacks and still have strength left, I’ll let you go too. If you lose… how about you just be my chef obediently?”
Cheng Bao gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with anger. These words were an absolute humiliation for him.
Knowing full well that he couldn’t use his spiritual power now and was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person, being forced into such a hopeless gamble was nothing but mockery. For the chief of the mighty Tiansha Gang to be mocked and toyed with like this was beyond endurance.
“By the way, the fight is in three days,” Lin Dong suddenly released the golden knife, causing Cheng Bao to stagger backward and almost fall. Then, with ease, he added, “And I won’t need that big iron ball I used last time. Besides, there will be only the two of us there—no extra pressure at all.”
Cheng Bao was stunned, looking at Lin Dong in disbelief.

If that huge iron ball weren’t used, if that unbelievably young powerhouse weren’t here, and with the golden sword in hand, wouldn’t he have a sure victory?
“How about it? Will you gamble? I’m not patient and don’t have time to stall with you,” Lin Dong said calmly.
“I’ll gamble!” Cheng Bao gritted his teeth. What’s the point of not taking a chance when it’s his only opportunity? In his view, even if Lin Dong had the assistance of the Golden Armor Snake Inner Elixir, he was still only at the fifth or sixth level of the Mental State stage. With his own strength, even if he couldn’t win, relying on the Immortal Art, if he couldn’t withstand three attacks, it would be a joke.
Lin Dong stepped forward with a smile, patted Cheng Bao on the shoulder, took out some dried food from the mobile counter and threw it on the ground, then said, “Congratulations on becoming one of the founding elders of our Lin’s Inn. Stay here for three days first. After that, I’ll take you to the kitchen.”
“You’re quite confident!” Cheng Bao said coldly. “Don’t think that just because you have the Golden Armor Snake Inner Elixir and are one or two ranks higher than me, you can beat me.”
“You’ll find out then. Remember, don’t wander around during these three days.”
Lin Dong turned around with a smile, left the storage room, and closed the door.
With the bet settled and a bandit left in the backyard, he wasn’t worried about much, but the inn’s staff had little ability to protect themselves. Lin Dong immediately went to see Old Ding and asked him to keep an eye on Cheng Bao before returning to his room to practice.
The next morning, Lin Dong left his room early, inspected the lobby and the lodging buildings thoroughly, then got on the carriage.
As Liu Hua kept waving the whip, the carriage slowly moved toward the government office. By the time they reached the city, although it was still some time before noon, dozens of carriages of various sizes were already parked outside the government office, with more arriving one after another. Clearly, although the banquet was scheduled for noon, neither the wealthy merchants nor the officials arrived on time.
In the Great Han Nation, there were certain rules for attending banquets—guests had to decide the timing of their arrival based on their status. Lin Dong looked up at the sky and waited for a while before ordering Liu Hua to wait outside. He got off the carriage, glanced around, and noticed that while he was empty-handed, everyone else had an invitation in one hand and a gift box handed to them by their servants in the other.
“Manager Lin, it’s been some time since I last saw you at Lin’s Inn.”
“Thanks to Boss Yang’s frequent patronage of the inn, we’ve run short of spiritual beasts and materials, so I’ve been busy arranging things,” Lin Dong replied with a smile.
“Manager Lin, I heard you don’t plan to compete for president or vice president? It’s a shame given your reputation.”

“I’m just the owner of a small inn. How could I compete with a real tycoon like Boss Wang for the positions of president and vice president? It’s better to withdraw early and still gain some benefits,” Lin Dong said with a smile, exchanging pleasantries with the well-known wealthy merchants around him. “Just yesterday, I was thinking about whether to use the silk sent by Boss Wang to make long robes or short jackets. It’s top-quality silk, and I really don’t want to waste it. There are hundreds of merchants in the city, but only Boss Wang has such generosity. I don’t have that kind of boldness.”

“Owner Lin is really good at joking. Just a few plates of maple leaf-stewed turtle and a few vitality balls— isn’t that much for Lin’s Inn? I promise to include Owner Lin’s name among the eleven candidates.”

“Boss Yang, if you had said so earlier, I would have tried to run for president and vice president.”

Laughing lightly, Lin Dong and a few familiar wealthy merchants went to the entrance. As explicitly stated in the invitation, several guards stationed outside refused to let anyone bring in gifts.

With a wave of his right hand, Lin Dong took out the invitation from his mobile counter, handed it to the guard, and strode into the courtyard.

“Lin’s Inn! Owner Lin has arrived!” The guard called out, and immediately, a maid stepped forward from the group and hurried over to Lin Dong.

Led by the maid, he made his way to the back hall of the government office. The courtyard was crowded, with over twenty large round tables. Aside from one empty seat at the top, most of them were already occupied, leaving few spots left.

“Owner Lin!” Cheng Wencai, who was whispering with a few colleagues at a table, quickly stood up upon seeing Lin Dong arrive, clearly hoping to have him sit with them.

Speaking of Lin Dong, when Cheng Wencai was the county magistrate in Southwest County, he didn’t hold Lin Dong in high regard. But after Lin Dong came to Autumn Wind City and helped calm down the fierce woman in charge, his opinion changed significantly. Moreover, Lin’s Inn was now quite remarkable, and it had close ties with his father-in-law, Li Jiancheng, who had been transferred to another place as a prefect. Whether it was wealth or influence, Cheng Wencai wanted to build a good relationship with Lin Dong.

Cheng Wencai was in charge of the household affairs. Although Lin Dong didn’t like him very much, he didn’t want to embarrass him either. After turning a few steps toward Cheng Wencai, the maid beside him spoke up to stop him: “Owner Lin, your seat is over there.”

Her fair fingers pointed to the empty main table.

Lin Dong was stunned, and the wealthy merchants and officials around him were also shocked.

The first person to catch the attention of the new prefect had finally appeared.

However, his status was somewhat unexpected—seemingly a bit insufficient.

There was only one main table, and excluding the new prefect, there were only nine seats available. Manager Lin of Lin’s Inn indeed had a renowned status in Autumn Wind City. But if seats were to be assigned one by one, he would definitely not make it into the top nine.

Without mentioning anything else, the largest pawnshops, gambling houses, salt merchants, and rice shops in Autumn Wind City—except for the salt merchants, none of whom dominated the market—had already seen one company take precedence in each of these three most profitable industries. Alone, three people had clearer advantages than Lin Dong and were more qualified to sit at the main table. There were also several elderly figures in Autumn Wind City who wielded significant influence but rarely appeared in public. In terms of earning ability, they might be on par with Lin Dong or even slightly inferior, but in terms of reputation, they were a notch higher. If they were all within the new prefect’s invitation range, they too would be more qualified to sit at the main table.

And this was only considering the business community. There were also the martial artists, scholars, and notable officials in Autumn Wind City. Upon careful calculation, Lin Dong could rank well into the thirties.

Not only wealthy merchants and officials, but Lin Dong himself was somewhat surprised. If he truly thought he was qualified to sit at the main table, he wouldn’t have arrived so early. By convention, important figures always arrived last. This was a privilege exclusive to them, as well as a sign of their dignity.

“Uh… are you sure?” Lin Dong turned to look at the maid.

“No, the prefect specifically instructed this,” the maid shook her head.

Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. Perhaps the new prefect had only invited wealthy merchants and officials. If that were the case, he wasn’t entirely ineligible after all. Lin Dong glanced around the room and nodded lightly before following the maid toward the main table.

Everyone present was a notable figure in Autumn Wind City, all shrewd individuals. After a brief moment of surprise, they calmed down. Like Lin Dong, they came to the same conclusion: the new prefect’s banquet might be limited to wealthy merchants and officials.

Upon reaching the main table with the maid, Lin Dong, being self-aware, planned to pull a chair a little further away from the main seat when the maid beside him spoke up, “Manager Lin, this way, please.”

Following the maid’s gesture, Lin Dong saw it was the main seat.

“Are you sure? That chair should be the prefect’s seat.”

With the arrival of the first guest at the main table, the once noisy courtyard had become quite quiet, so Lin Dong’s words were clearly heard by everyone. Nearly two hundred pairs of eyes turned toward the maid.

“No, it can’t be wrong…” The maid was only seventeen or eighteen years old and had never before been stared at by so many important people. She felt goosebumps all over her body and spoke in a nervous, hurried tone, “It’s… it’s the order from the prefect.”

Everyone frowned simultaneously, and instantly, the entire courtyard fell silent. Those words were truly astonishing.

There had indeed been cases where the host gave up his seat at a banquet, but only if the guest held a higher status than the host. Only those who were world-famous figures in the Great Han Kingdom could make the new prefect give up his seat. After all, this new prefect had another identity—he was the fifty-eighth prince of the Great Han Kingdom! That identity represented the royal family. Unless there had been many precedents of princes showing humility, even the head manager of Tianwei Pavilion wouldn’t have the right to demand that a prince give up his seat.

Either his ears were malfunctioning or the maid had misheard.

Lin Dong frowned slightly and asked, “Are you sure?”

The maid nodded firmly.

Seeing her nervous yet determined gaze, Lin Dong had a sudden realization about the identity of this fifty-eighth prince, and an ironic smile couldn’t help but appear on his lips.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this would be a huge problem!

Tapping his slightly throbbing head, Lin Dong went to the main seat, pulled the chair back a bit, and sat down.

The entire courtyard was in an uproar.

No matter how things stood, the owner of a small inn in a provincial town shouldn’t sit at the main seat in front of a prince. Even if the maid was wrong and bore the blame, it would still be a grave insult. The punishment could range from mild to severe—the prince might just laugh it off, or he could just as easily order Lin Dong’s execution.

For a moment, most people wore mocking expressions, surprised that a simple banquet could turn into such a spectacle. This Manager Lin was quite bold to act so recklessly.

At the same time, a few people who had met Lin Dong before or had some acquaintance with Ma Chun, the manager of Lin’s Inn, spoke up to warn him.

But Lin Dong just shook his head. Right now, all he could think about was how to deal with this huge problem posed by the new prefect—he had no time to argue over a seat with the maid.

As the winter sun moved higher in the sky, fewer seats remained empty. Deputy prefects, clerks, pawnshop owners, gambling house owners… As one important person after another entered, all nineteen large round tables were filled, yet the main table still only had Lin Dong sitting there.

Not even the deputy, who could be considered the second-in-command of Autumn Wind City, was brought to the main table, making the situation increasingly mysterious. As everyone watched Lin Dong sitting alone at the head table, they grew more excited to see what would happen, and those who wanted to persuade Lin Dong to come down became even more anxious. Only Lin Dong, the person sitting at the main table, though deep in thought, was the only one who hadn’t considered this matter at all.