Rebirth of the Female Antagonist: XUANRONG Chapter 52: Slaves

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In a blink of an eye, XuanRong's poison integration had stabilized slowly. She no longer needed to use acupuncture and could now directly swallow the poison mixtures. Twenty different combinations should be taken daily without any lapses. Although the quantity was very small, just a quarter of gě[1], it was enough to send XuanRong to hell. The pain was very excruciating, making XuanRong weak and helpless. As time pass by, her body finally accepted the poison and she was now able to drink the mixture without blinking an eye. Although it was still painful but at least, it was now bearable.
XuanRong was currently riding a carriage. Her destination was the town's slave market[2] where human being were being sold like vegetables. Ever since she started the poison integration, during the time when she could not stand up and was bedridden, XuanRong slowly thought of a plan on how to increase her manpower. Since she was still unqualified to approach those people she wanted to recruit, she could only rely to herself. After contemplating for a while, she decided to produce three different divisions that would become the foundation of her own forces.
The first group would solely focus on intelligence and information gathering. She would groom a certain batch of people to become spies, information sellers and storytellers. Information was very important. As long as one knew the hidden skeletons of those dirty officials, one would be able to make them dance under one's palm. Once you have their weakness, those people would be easy to control by blackmailing them. Aside from gathering information, XuanRong would find capable people who were well-versed in spreading rumors and gossips. One of the most powerful weapons one could use to attack other people was the power of words. One could not win over a thousand mouths[3] and one's weak scream would be drown into the sea of voices. Once people already passed their judgement, one would definitely not be able to revise the situation no matter what explanation one would say. XuanRong had experience it firsthand. In her previous lifetime, her reputation reached the bottom pit thanks to the power of gossips and rumors. Thus, she knew how useful creating rumors were. XuanRong also believed in a saying, 'one person spreads a lie, ten thousand people spread it as truth'[4]. By manipulating the information, one could turn lies into truths which would be good for framing people.
The second group would be focusing on money-making businesses. As the Eldest Di Daughter of the Xuan family and the only pearl within the residence of the Blood General, Great General Chen, XuanRong does not lack money. The dowry her mother brought in the XuanFu[5] was enough to feed her for three lifetimes. Unfortunately, she could not use it since Xiao Lou was the one managing everything inside the XianFu, and it would be inappropriate for a young child to ask for her mother's dowry. XuanRong could only wait until she reaches her marriageable age, but XuanRong does not have the luxury to wait. She needed money in order to mobilize her pawns and increase the range of her network. She could not borrow a large quantity of money from her maternal grandfather to avoid any suspicion. Good thing that aside from the small businesses Wang Min Jue left, the manor in Lu Shan had a small jewelry shop.
In her previous lifetime, she was XuanFei's personal hair ornament designer. It was an accident when she discovered her talent in designing beautiful hair ornaments and trinkets. XuanFei's beloved hairpin, which was given by her, was broken into pieces. Not wanting to see her beloved younger sister cry in front of her, she clumsily drew the hairpin and added some designs. She then ordered their personal jewelry smith to create a new one based on her design using the broken pieces. The result was better than she imagined. Since then, she became engrossed in creating new designs, hoping to see her little sister's happy face. Unfortunately, her efforts were unreciprocated. Instead, XuanFei got jealous of her talent and when she was disowned by her own family and was cursed by her own father, XuanFei crippled her fingers one by one. Using a large hammer, she broke all the bones on her fingers before she was given to those bastards who humiliated her.
Now, given a change, she would use this opportunity to build a first-class jewelry store with unique designs of hair ornaments and other accessories, that even the imperial family would fight for it. She could also use the ornaments as a container of her poison for self-defense. Living in a dog eat dog world, anything could happen. She should prepare for the worst.
If the first two groups were for offence, the last one was her line of defense. This batch of people would be taught both qinggong and poison practice. Although XuanRong knew that she would not be able to create a group that would be on par to the organizations within the Jianghu, but at least, she would have her own people that could do her bidding. If she would encounter disaster, she would have the chance to fight back. She might not win but the percentage of a safe escape would increase. In order to be successful in her upcoming revenge, she had to have capable people around her. Only having An Wei was not enough.
She already planned everything in advance. The only thing left was the human resources. The fastest way to acquire a huge quantity of manpower was to buy slaves. Money in buying slaves was not a problem since in the past two years, she was able to bring Wang Min Jue's businesses to its peak, producing double amount of profit every month. Since Wang Min Jue's businesses were a stolen case[6], the properties and businesses were not registered under the Xuan family but to her name. She was not obliged to report anything in the residence, so, all the profits were directly placed in her personal care.
"XiaoJie, we have arrived."
The carriage jolted once before it stopped, pulling XuanRong out of her trance.
"En. Let's go."
XuanRong used the entire day to select capable slaves. She was not afraid that those slaves she bought would betray her. It was not because of how the merchants 'educate' their goods but because XuanRong could use a poison to control them. Once she was satisfied, she could bestow their freedom and give the antidote.
After selecting a few more female slaves, XuanRong ordered YuShen to bring all the slaves back to the manor. She wanted to take a stroll around the market before coming back. After sending YuShen and the rest away, XuanRong, together with YuYing, AnWei and two more guards, walked away from the section where slaves were sold. She happily walked while buying a thing or two. After walking around the market for a quarter of shichen[7], XuanRong decided to return to the manor. Since the carriage left with YuShen, An Wei ordered one of the two guards to buy a new carriage.
Waiting for the carriage, XuanRong mindlessly moved her eyes around the lively market. She was looking passive when a commotion in a distant place caught her attention. A small child who has a delicate face was being harassed by three men. XuanRong observed that the child was wearing plain mourning clothes while there was a person covered with a cloth on the ground beside her. The poor child was only eleven to twelve years old but she was already alone. XuanRong suddenly felt a tiny prick inside her heart. She saw herself on that child.
*step*
*step*
*step*
XuanRong moved and walked towards the young child. She wanted to help her.
"Young Miss---"
An Wei immediately followed her footsteps.
"Stop!"
XuanRong shouted when she saw that one of the men who was harassing the poor child raised his hand, planning to slap the little girl.
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[1]. A quarter of gě is equal to twenty-five milliliter [http://www.chinasage.info/measures.htm#]
[2]. A certain part of the market where they sell different kinds of slave.
[3]. No matter what you say, one person cannot win in an argument with the entire population.
[4]. Ren Chuan Xu Wan Ren Chuan Shi: A lie will become truth once people believe in it.
[5]. Xuan family's residence
[6]. Reimbursement for Housekeeper Wang's thievery.
[7]. One Shichen is equal to two hours in modern time

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