Chapter 444: The Ninth Prince

On May 15th, midsummer was approaching. Although it was still early in the morning and the sky was not yet bright, the scorching heat already made people feel unbearably hot.
With a wave from Lin Dong and Ma Chun’s call, several workers removed the door panels.
Buzz…
A continuous high-pitched buzzing sound rushed into the inn.
Outside, there was a crowd of people and a stream of carriages.
“Everyone, calm down! Take your time…”
Ma Chun called out at the entrance. Yet his voice, like a starting gun, prompted the crowd outside to rush in toward the inn’s door.
In an instant, Ma Chun’s and the workers’ voices were drowned out by the rush. They themselves were forced to step back repeatedly. Even Ma Chun, who had reached the level of a martial artist at the mental realm, staggered continuously without using his spiritual power, almost falling.
Fortunately, the rush didn’t last long. After about fifteen minutes, things finally stabilized. Looking at the main hall, it was already packed. Workers ran back and forth, shouting as they moved around like spinning tops. The entire Lin’s Inn, with five floors, had no empty tables—200 tables in total—whether for wealthy guests or ordinary patrons. There wasn’t a single seat left. Around the area, many more patrons stood around, unable to get a spot.
“I never thought people in the capital would love such a hustle,” Ma Chun thought with some emotion as he watched the overwhelmed workers.
“The prices in the capital are exorbitant, but people there have plenty of extra money. With ten taels of silver, one can get a VIP card that allows storage—something usually only available to martial artists. Those who are a bit more generous will definitely be interested.”
Lin Dong replied indifferently. Such a booming opening was within his expectations. Compared to people in other places, the capital was the center of power. Just for the sake of face, the imperial court wouldn’t allow its prosperity to lag behind other regions. Moreover, there were many other advantages. While people here might not be happier than those in other counties or cities, they certainly had much more money. Otherwise, in a small village, one tael of silver could sustain a family for a year, but in the capital, the same amount would leave a family starving in less than a month.
“Owner, will they really come?” Ma Chun couldn’t help but ask. On normal days, he would have been overjoyed at such a successful opening and busy greeting guests. But today, he couldn’t feel happy.

Opening a business without joining a guild meant that Lin Dong, as a local merchant, had no privileges in the capital. Enemies who hid behind the scenes could easily find any excuse to bribe the authorities, ensuring they could come up with dozens of reasons to shut down the shop. Lin Dong chose to go all in, which Ma Chun considered extremely risky—one mistake could plunge Lin’s Inn into trouble. Even if it managed to recover, repeated closures and rumors would severely damage its reputation. “I think so,” Lin Dong replied, not entirely sure. He wasn’t a prophet; he couldn’t predict everything. Ma Chun sighed bitterly—those words made things even more uncertain. “Go get busy! What’s meant to happen will happen. If not… there’s always a way to deal with it,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly. Ma Chun nodded helplessly and turned to arrange for the staff to serve customers when three people entered through the door. The first was in his sixties, with a pale face and long beard, appearing calm yet commanding, enough to make anyone realize he was extraordinary. Next to him was a young man in his twenties, handsome, exuding an air of arrogance that clearly marked him as someone above ordinary people. Behind them was a man in his early thirties with a blank expression and steady steps—easily identifiable as a bodyguard. Ma Chun had never seen these three before, but with his keen eyesight, he immediately turned to greet them. “Lord Fu, Young Master Fu, please come to the private room upstairs.” Fu Tongshan glanced at Ma Chun in surprise but nodded without looking away. Meanwhile, Fu Zizhou couldn’t help but steal glances at Lin Dong at the counter. Lin Dong watched the dining hall calmly, his attention fully on the tables of customers. “Lord Fu, Young Master Fu, please!” Ma Chun turned to lead them. Fu Tongshan nodded and stepped forward, while Fu Zizhou glared at Lin Dong before following. More than half an hour later, Ma Chun rushed down. “Boss, it’s past the agreed time.” “Just send a staff member to handle it,” Lin Dong said casually. “As long as we keep Fu Tongshan here, whether Liu Yuedun shows up or the authorities come to shut us down, our losses won’t be too great.” Ma Chun nodded, took a deep breath, and, after his anxiety subsided slightly, began assigning tasks to the flustered staff.

Time passed by minute by minute, and noon was approaching. Nearly two hours had gone by since the agreed time, yet the inn was still bustling with customers coming and going. Not a trace of Liu Yuedun could be seen.

Bang!

A loud noise suddenly erupted outside the inn, audible even in the noisy hall.

“Someone was killed! Someone was killed…”

In the next moment, panicked shouts came from outside, causing the customers who were already surprised by the bang to stand up all at once.

Lin Dong frowned slightly. Ma Chun stepped forward immediately, but after just a few steps, a group of people entered the inn.

Leading the group were two men. One was in his fifties, with a kind face that exuded warmth and approachability. The other was of similar age. At first glance, his colorful robes and dazzling jade ornaments might lead one to assume he was younger, but upon closer inspection, the thick, deep crow’s feet around his eyes, despite his fair complexion, made it clear he must be at least fifty.

Behind them were six menacing guards.

“Who is the owner of Lin’s Inn?” asked the kind-faced elder loudly.

Lin Dong remained silent, his mind filled with murderous intent. As his focus shifted outward, the scene outside the door became clearly visible to him.

In a crowd, a young man in his early twenties lay on the ground, a clear knife wound visible on his throat. Next to him was a cart loaded with several sacks.

Considering the noises earlier, the angry onlookers staring at the inn, and the young man’s attire, it was unlikely he had any prior connection with these people. Lin Dong could almost be certain that the young man had been unable to move aside quickly enough while pushing the cart, resulting in a swift knife strike.

It wasn’t even a fight—it was simply killing without hesitation. Such tyranny and brutality made Lin Dong resent his own temperament for the first time. He wanted these people to experience what it was like to have their throats cut in an instant, but he couldn’t. He had already guessed their identities.

Killing officials, or even princes and princes, was something the imperial power would never tolerate.

“Gentlemen, take care of what’s going on outside first!” Ma Chun said with a hostile expression. He had also guessed their identities but couldn’t hide his displeasure.

The jewel-encrusted elder snorted heavily. One of the guards behind him took out a gold plaque and held it in front of the door. Instantly, the onlookers fell silent. Though filled with anger, no one dared to look directly into the inn.

Under his focused gaze, Lin Dong could see clearly the front of the gold plaque: Ninth Prince!

In just three words, those who dared to hold him accountable for ordering murders were few and far between in the Great Han Kingdom.
Lin Dong stood up and said calmly, “I am the owner of Lin’s Inn!”
“Dare you! Don’t you kneel before the prince?” a guard shouted abruptly, his voice shaking the entire hall.
Lin Dong remained unmoved, but the patrons in the hall immediately became frantic, not daring to make a sound. As one person knelt, they all fell to their knees as well.
Ma Chun frowned and said coldly, “Prince? Aren’t princes all in their twenties or thirties? Where is a prince here?”
At these words, the patrons began to tremble uncontrollably, fearing retribution. Such remarks were extremely bold and clearly meant as an insult to the Ninth Prince.
With the new emperor on the throne, numerous princes had been granted titles. In the history of the Great Han Kingdom, it was not uncommon for princes to become kings. According to the kingdom’s laws, any prince who achieved the rank of a third-rank official through military or political achievements was eligible for a kingdom. Currently, fifteen princes met this requirement.
In other times, not being granted a kingdom wouldn’t matter much, as the status of being a prince was still prestigious. But the current emperor was Emperor Qianwei, already in his seventies, with twelve princes over fifty.
At such an advanced age, they were constantly addressed as the Third Prince, Fifth Prince, Seventh Prince… It was humiliating.
It might be fine to be called by such titles usually, but since they lacked the ability to become kings, being mocked was like adding salt to their wounds.
The six guards’ expressions changed drastically as they prepared to step forward, but were stopped by the Ninth Prince, Liu Yuchang, with a wave of his hand.
“It seems you have great confidence in Fu Tongshan,” Liu Yuchang said with a hint of mockery in his eyes. Though he was hot-tempered and ruthless, he valued his status and didn’t want to engage in verbal arguments with Lin Dong and Ma Chun.
They were just a bunch of fools. If they couldn’t be killed right away, arguing with them would only bring shame to himself. Later, Fu Tongshan would surely make them understand what it meant to have their entire family executed.
“Go ahead and try! Fu Tongshan is upstairs,” Lin Dong said, somewhat troubled. Judging from the Ninth Prince’s tone, relying on Fu Tongshan to intimidate the merchant guild seemed unlikely. After all, he hadn’t expected the person accompanying Guild Leader Liu Yuedun to be such a prince.

Originally, according to Lin Dong’s guess, the person behind the schemes who made the chamber of commerce president ignore Fu Tongshan time and again must have someone of the prince or prince-like status as their backing. In fact, Lin Dong even thought this backing might be a prince who had already been granted a kingdom and was eligible to compete for the throne. After all, if it were the Fenglin Restaurant behind these schemes, with its wealth, only those princes eligible to compete for the throne could protect them from trouble.

Unexpectedly, the prince who arrived had a lower status than expected, yet the difficulties became greater. If it were a prince eligible to compete for the throne, his intelligence would definitely be extraordinary; even in a hostile relationship, he would surely not engage in open conflict with Fu Tongshan. In that case, Fu Tongshan would only need to make slight compromises in other areas—after all, it was just an inn, not something worthy of being chosen as a battlefield by such a prince.

But this Ninth Prince… clearly didn’t take Fu Tongshan seriously at all.