Chapter 4379 — The Banquet Invitation

"Don't worry yourself sick over it. We couldn't get Wei Zhaotong convicted this time, but there's no way he can keep serving as branch manager, and he certainly can't stay on at the Weihu Branch. So he's not much of a threat to you," Wei Zhao reassured him.

"Truly?" Chai Laoshi asked at once.

"Truly. Hong Zhong has already said so. The worst outcome this time is that Wei Zhaotong gets recalled to the Zhongdao headquarters and made an ordinary chamber steward. But Hong Zhong still means to go to the Zhongdao headquarters in person and push for severe punishment. Whether he succeeds, only time will tell," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

"Recalled to Zhongdao as a chamber steward?" Only then did Chai Laoshi finally let out a long breath, and he said with lingering fear, "That'll do, then. If he'd stayed on here as branch manager, I'd truly have had no way to live."

"Ha, you needn't fret over that. Never mind Wei Zhaotong being recalled to Zhongdao—even if he stayed right here, he wouldn't dare touch a hair on your head. After all, we're here, aren't we? Besides, Hong Zhong is going to the Zhongdao headquarters himself, and the final outcome is still uncertain. What I said just now was only the worst case," Wei Zhao said with a smile, clapping Chai Laoshi on the shoulder.

"Oh, oh, that's good, that's good." Chai Laoshi had been afraid that the whole matter would quietly fizzle out and that Wei Zhao and Hong Zhong would simply cast him aside and forget him. Hearing this, he finally felt a weight lift from his heart and could steady himself a little.

"Just set your mind at ease. Hong Zhong is no ordinary man to be fooled so easily. However solid Wei Zhaotong's backing at headquarters may be, this matter will never be allowed to dissolve into nothing," Wei Zhao said with a smile. Hong Zhong hadn't said so outright in his letter, but Wei Zhao could more or less guess the man's intent.

This trip of Hong Zhong's to the Zhongdao headquarters was, plainly put, a trip to haggle with the high-ups there: either they agreed to further punish Wei Zhaotong, or they made concessions in other respects. It might not be entirely satisfying, but it had to be one or the other.

Wei Zhao wrote back to Hong Zhong at once. The letter contained only two lines. The first was that there was no problem on his end and everything was Hong Zhong's to decide. The second was that Chai Laoshi, deputy manager of the Weihu Branch, was worth employing.

Given the understanding between them, Wei Zhao believed those two short lines were enough to make Hong Zhong grasp his meaning. No matter how one looked at it, Chai Laoshi was a man of some use, and he had no background or backing to speak of. Hong Zhong was short-handed just now, so he might as well promote the man and take him under his wing.

As for how to deal with Wei Zhaotong, by Wei Zhao's own temper it would be root and branch—this sort of human scum who had exhausted every last shred of decency deserved to be struck down with a single blow. Still, he could understand Hong Zhong's difficulty. The man was, after all, one of the Hong Merchant Guild's own, and he had backing at the Zhongdao headquarters. He wasn't someone you could simply kill at will.

Since Hong Zhong had already stepped forward to take the matter in hand, Wei Zhao would say no more, whatever the outcome. One good turn deserved another—Hong Zhong had trusted him without reservation, and he in turn trusted Hong Zhong absolutely.

And if it came down to it, he was only the Hong Merchant Guild's honorary vice chairman. Dealing with Wei Zhaotong was neither within his authority nor his duty, and there was no private grudge between them either. He had stepped in this time purely because he could not stomach such a shameless petty villain. As for how the Hong Merchant Guild finally handled it, that was beyond Wei Zhao's control, and he had no wish to control it.

After having Chai Laoshi send the letter off, Wei Zhao spent the next two days, apart from continuing to have people gather information, keeping Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao company, talking and chatting. The Morning Star Academy's selection trials in the Weihu sea region had been under way for several days now and were clearly nearing their end; the time he had left with the two girls was running out.

Wei Zhao meant to stay with them right up until they left. After all, once they parted, who knew how many thousands of miles would lie between them, and when he might next be together with the two of them was anyone's guess. There was, however, an interruption in the middle of it: Steward Song of the Qingtian Escort Agency came calling.

"Young Hero Ling, might I ask you to pay our Qingtian Escort Agency a visit? Everyone in the agency is hoping you'll come back and take a look. Do you happen to have the time?" Steward Song said, cupping his hands with a face full of smiles.

"Steward Song, I'm only a nominal escort of the Qingtian Escort Agency. Anyone could have been sent with a message to fetch me—why trouble you to come invite me in person?" Wei Zhao could not help but be surprised.

By strength, this Steward Song was the agency's number two man; by standing, he was in no way below Qi Wenmo, the young master. For a figure like that to come invite him in person was already a considerable show of respect.

"Young Hero Ling, you're too kind. Given your standing and the great debt the agency owes you, at the very least the young master should have come to invite you. Sending an old man like me is already a breach of courtesy," Steward Song said with an apologetic smile. "But the chief escort returned today, and the young master couldn't get away for the moment, so I could only come in his stead. I beg you to overlook the lapse."

"Not at all, not at all. When you put it that way, Steward Song, I really can't bear it. In that case, let's head over now," Wei Zhao agreed readily.

Since the chief escort had returned and they had come to invite him at this particular moment, it was plain they wanted him to meet this chief escort. Just now Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao were with their master, and there was nothing important on the Hong Merchant Guild's side, so Wei Zhao happened to be free. A trip to the Qingtian Escort Agency to meet this long-heard-of but never-met chief escort would not go amiss.

"Splendid—after you, please!" Steward Song was delighted at this and at once sent someone back to the agency to report the news, while he himself accompanied Wei Zhao back, deliberately keeping half a step behind out of respect.

Wei Zhao was both the great benefactor of the Qingtian Escort Agency and honorary vice chairman of the Hong Merchant Guild, and moreover close to the personal disciples of the Divine Nun of the East Sea. A figure like that could not be taken lightly anywhere, and ordinary folk could never summon him. Wei Zhao had agreed so readily that even he, grand steward of the Qingtian Escort Agency though he was, felt honored and flush with face.

Through several streets and alleys, the two soon arrived at the Qingtian Escort Agency. The whole place was decked with lanterns and streamers, the crowd packed layer upon layer, every face beaming with joy—a rare scene of festival.

Wei Zhao could not help but find the sight a little strange. So the chief escort had come home—hardly a stranger. Was there any need for such pomp and bustle?

Yet on the faces of the escorts throughout the agency, this joy was plainly heartfelt, not forced smiles mustered to make up a crowd. Clearly this chief escort he had never met was no simple figure—this was true devotion of the heart, and in that respect at least, Qi Wenmo still fell far short of his father. (To be continued..) R752