"Steward Liu? What is this?"
Although Pan Jingdong had heard about the Liu family's affairs, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.
When he saw Liu Heng again, Pan Jingdong was quite surprised. Why would he come to find him at this time?
"Enough with the nonsense, my young master wants to watch acrobats and listen to music tomorrow night. Name your price!"
"Tomorrow night?"
Hearing him say this, Pan Jingdong was stunned. Wasn't the Liu family's young master in prison right now?
"What about tomorrow night? Can't my Liu family afford you?"
As Liu Heng spoke, his fierce gaze truly startled Pan Jingdong.
"No, no, no, Steward Liu, you're truly wronged. Even if you lent me ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare play such tricks in front of you. It's just that my current patron prepaid for three days, and I can't get away tomorrow night..."
"I'll pay double!"
Glancing at the brightly lit Fuyun Tower again, Liu Heng said casually.
"This really isn't about money. You know we're just performers who travel the land. How dare we offend anyone..."
Although Pan Jingdong was a bit tempted, the reward money they had received from just these two performances was even more than what Zhe Shijiu had prepaid them.
With such good business, he really didn't think double the price was enough.
"I'll pay two hundred guan! Just for tomorrow night. If you dare not come, then we'll see! Don't think that because my young master is in jail, everyone in the Liu family is dead. Either take the money and perform, or from now on, the name Cai Feng Troupe will no longer exist in Sumao City. Think it over carefully!"
After glaring at him fiercely, Liu Heng got back into his carriage and drove away.
This left Pan Jingdong completely bewildered. What in the world was going on?
The other party had already booked the entire restaurant and prepaid them. If they told them now that they wouldn't perform, he knew they wouldn't agree.
But then Liu Heng pulled this stunt.
The Liu family had fallen this far. Who could guarantee that Liu Heng wouldn't go completely off the rails...
Pan Jingdong finally understood what it meant to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
With things having escalated to this point, even he didn't know how to resolve it.
"Godfather, what's wrong?"
When the show ended that night, Pan Jingdong was still dejected, sitting there distractedly, lost in thought. Seeing his dispirited state, Pan Yunniang, the star of the Cai Feng Troupe and Pan Jingdong's goddaughter, asked softly.
"What else could it be? We've run into trouble!"
At his words, the previously jubilant troupe members immediately quieted down.
Seeing that all attention was on him, Pan Jingdong frowned and recounted the day's events.
"If we don't go, will that fellow surnamed Liu really dare to use force?"
"Not go? Why not go? That's 200 guan! With that money, at least we won't have to worry about our livelihood for months!"
"We already took their money. You saw how many people were there today, upstairs and downstairs combined, probably over a hundred. Do you dare offend them?"
Pan Jingdong's words stirred up a wave of whispers throughout the troupe.
"Godfather, I actually think there might be a way..."
Seeing that Pan Jingdong was about to lose his temper, Yunniang suddenly stood up.
"Tell me about it!"
Hearing her, Pan Jingdong's spirits immediately lifted, and he quickly asked.
"Actually, I observed today. Most of the people present today are rough folk. How about this: tomorrow, after my sisters and I finish our performance, we'll go upstairs and toast each of them. Once they've had too much to drink, whether we perform or not, it won't really matter..."
"But these people, I think their alcohol tolerance is pretty good. Can just a few of you handle it..."
This idea sounded good, but getting over a hundred people drunk made even Pan Jingdong's lips twitch.
"It depends on the person. Besides, we don't need to get them all drunk. As long as they're all groggy, we can leave a few people here to manage the scene, and the rest can go to the Liu family. It shouldn't be a problem..."
"We don't have any other options now, so we can only take this risk. But be careful, don't let them take advantage of you..."
Having been pushed to this point, Pan Jingdong had no choice but to try this less-than-ideal solution.
"Don't worry, Godfather. Didn't you say that wine and women are the most intoxicating? My sisters and I are good at handling men!"
As Yunniang said this, she gave him a flirtatious glance. Even though Pan Jingdong was distracted, he felt a shiver run through him.
"Sir, we've already inquired. Just as you predicted, the Liu family has indeed offered a hefty sum to have them perform tomorrow!"
At the inn, after consolidating the information, Zhe Shijiu couldn't help but admire Shao Bowen's foresight.
"Then tell the brothers to rest well during the day tomorrow and put on a show for them at night!"
After two days of reconnaissance, Zhe Shijiu and his men were now very familiar with all the surroundings of Fuyun Tower.
Recently, Sumao City had been suffering from malaria, and the streets were already sparsely populated at night.
Often, after the hour of Hai (9-11 PM), there wouldn't even be a ghost in sight on the streets.
As long as they were careful, with the Cai Feng Troupe providing them with an alibi afterwards, even if Zhang Jing suspected them, what could he do?
What's more, at least it seemed now that they were true enemies with Director Liu!
They were the ones who captured Liu Yutang, they provided Liu Yutang's confession, and they were the plaintiffs in this case, the true victims.
Even if Zhang Jing suspected everyone else, he wouldn't suspect them, would he?
"Sir, don't worry. They are all experts from the scouting camp. A little bit of killing and arson won't be difficult for them!"
As Zhe Shijiu spoke, he kept rubbing his hands together. It had been a long time since he had killed anyone, and now, he truly felt his hands itching...