World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 986 - 454: Suo Lun’s Tactics! Fang Qingyi Terrified!_2

Chapter 986: 454: Suo Lun’s Tactics! Fang Qingyi Terrified!_2

With Suo Lun’s familiar yet charming frivolous tone, Yi Manman couldn’t quite believe her own ears. Her heart aflutter, she lifted her face and looked towards Suo Lun.

Suo Lun glanced inside the side hall. Apart from Zhuang Zhixuan, there were a few eunuchs and palace maids, and no one else.

He waved his hand and said, "Everyone except Zhuang Zhixuan, leave."

"Yes!" The eunuchs and palace maids all withdrew.

Suo Lun’s hands mischievously reached for Yi Manman’s slender waist. "It’s been a few years, still so strong and sturdy? Did you really heed my advice and practice swordsmanship every day?"

Three years ago, Suo Lun had painted a picture for Yi Manman. It was of a heroine, how Yi Manman saw herself.

He then jokingly told her not to give up swordsmanship.

Yi Manman simply nodded her head dumbly.

Suo Lun pulled her up, sat down himself, and then tugged Yi Manman to sit on his lap.

This scene was identical to one from several years ago when Suo Lun was known as the ancestor of pleasure-seekers.

And seeing Suo Lun like this, the courtesans immediately let go of the fear in their hearts and felt that Suo Lun was still just as approachable as before.

"Manman, why don’t you ever visit me at the princess’s mansion?" asked Suo Lun. "My wife Zhi Yan is very generous. She definitely won’t get mad seeing that an old flame of mine came looking for me."

"This humble concubine is of low status, how dare I come defile the esteemed presence of the Duke," said Yi Manman.

"It was not easy for me to become wealthy. Without you all coming to find me, I can’t show off in front of people I know. How uncomfortable that feels," Suo Lun joked.

Yi Manman glared at Suo Lun and said coquettishly, "Even after becoming the Regent Duke, you’re still just as annoying."

Suo Lun asked, "So, what brings you to me?"

Yi Manman seriously said, "Last night, there were rumors that Gold Coin’s gold reserve in Tianshui City has disappeared, attempting to incite all the courtesans to withdraw their money from Gold Coin, trying to create a bank run. I felt the matter was of great importance, so I used the power of the Art Committee to quell the brewing storm and came looking for you early this morning. Thinking about it now, I realize how reckless it was."

Suo Lun was taken aback. He hadn’t expected the Hidden Yuan Association to strike their first blow against the courtesans.

Just imagine, if several thousand or even ten thousand courtesans went to Gold Coin to withdraw money this morning, what kind of turbulence would that cause?

Luckily, the brothels were his territory. The Hidden Yuan Association may have taken over the brothel owners, but these girls still remained loyal to Suo Lun.

Immediately afterward, Suo Lun saw a tremendous opportunity.

If the Hidden Yuan Association wanted to start the bank run crisis with the courtesans, then Suo Lun would use these girls to completely eliminate the crisis in its infancy.

Although Suo Lun had already found the gold reserves, after all, they had been completely melted into mountains and seas of gold and silver. To recast them into Gold Coins and silver coins would take a very long time.

Once the bank run was incited, it would still cause huge troubles, even a crisis, because in a short time, Suo Lun couldn’t mint a large amount of gold and silver into coins.

In an instant, Suo Lun also felt incredibly fortunate that after so many years, these courtesans still remembered him and had not allowed the bank run to flare up.

Suo Lun then gave Yi Manman a fierce kiss on the face, saying, "As expected of an old flame, still so in sync with me after all these years."

Yi Manman said anxiously, "Suo Lun, I only temporarily suppressed this turbulence. If Gold Coin’s gold reserves in Tianshui City really have disappeared, the consequences would be unthinkable. I have no idea how many older sisters would hang themselves or throw themselves into lakes to commit suicide."

Suo Lun nodded and said, "I understand, this money is their life’s savings! It’s not just the courtesans, but also the commoners who run small businesses, and the honest and hardworking soldiers. They are the main savers at Gold Coin. The money saved there represents their life’s savings. If it’s lost, they really might seek death."

Yi Manman quickly nodded her head.

Suo Lun said, "So I was originally prepared to confiscate the assets of the nobles and use the acquired Gold Coins to fill the gap for these common people, and from Tian Shui City, I also transport hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins into the city, ensuring these people can continue to survive."

Yi Manman’s face turned pale as she said, "Does that mean Gold Coin’s gold reserves truly disappeared? It wasn’t just rumors?"

At these words, the representative courtesans present also turned pale.

Suo Lun said, "They did disappear. The Hidden Yuan Association tried to make more than ten million Gold Coins vanish into thin air, forcing me into a corner. But this morning, I found this stash of Gold Coins. Guess where?"

"Found them?" Yi Manman, who had been in despair, had her mood lifted from hell to heaven once again as she excitedly said, "Where?"

Suo Lun said, "They melted all the gold and silver, casting it underground, a total of more than ten million jin [pounds] of gold and silver, cast beneath the vault. I dug three feet into the ground and finally found it."

"Really?" Yi Manman asked in disbelief.

"Really."

It was truly strange, when Suo Lun first mentioned digging up mountains and seas of gold and silver, these courtesan representatives were rather skeptical, but when Suo Lun talked about his three-hundred-round battle on the golden ground, they found his words particularly credible.

Such is the charm of a story.

Even in modern society, whether it’s Nobel Prize selections or presidential elections, people love to tell stories.