"Why didn’t you seek trade with us before?" Yang Zhenshan asked.
The Gorcin Clan had been annihilated six years ago, yet the Snow Spirit Palace had only now come knocking, which was clearly somewhat illogical.
"Uh, actually we did approach the General in charge of Chongshan Town before, but he refused us!"
Xue Zhongjin seemed very sincere, showing no intention of concealment.
"I don’t know!" Xue Zhongjin looked at Yang Zhenshan, his eyes filled with earnestness.
Yang Zhenshan thought for a moment and could roughly guess the reason.
At that time, Ji Feiyu was probably too busy consolidating military power in Chongshan Town to have any interest in doing business with the Snow Spirit Palace.
Or perhaps he simply looked down on the business of the Snow Spirit Palace, considering at the time he had control over the lucrative trade with the Wuliang Hu Clan.
Compared to the Wuliang Hu Clan, the Snow Spirit Palace’s business was truly insignificant.
Ji Feiyu may have looked down on it, but Yang Zhenshan could see its value.
A mosquito’s legs are still flesh.
Even if it only earned a few thousand taels of silver a year, that was still a significant sum.
Hundreds of thousands, millions of taels, those were all made up of many thousands of taels.
Moreover, this was not something Yang Zhenshan needed to handle personally, nor did Yang Mingzhi need to do so; Yang Mingzhi could simply arrange for a few civil servants to take charge.
"I don’t mind doing business with you, as long as you maintain a peaceful attitude towards Chongshan Town and Da Rong, I am willing to befriend you and trade with you!" Yang Zhenshan stated his position.
This was his stance; if possible, he didn’t want to engage in endless battles with the Hu Clans. War meant death, and over the years, quite a few of his soldiers had died on the battlefield.
The girl who had been quiet until now suddenly spoke.
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, like the sound of wind chimes.
"Of course it’s true, but shouldn’t you introduce yourself?" asked Yang Zhenshan.
Since meeting these people, he had been curious about the girl’s identity.
Clearly, her status and position in the Snow Spirit Palace must be higher than that of Xue Zhongjin.
"I am the Palace Master of the Snow Spirit Palace, you can call me Xue Qiaoer!" The girl said crisply.
Yang Zhenshan showed a look of surprise and looked towards Xue Zhongjin.
This name is quite nice and interesting.
She really is quite lovely.
But for her to be the Palace Master of the Snow Spirit Palace, that was truly unexpected.
Xue Zhongjin, seeing Yang Zhenshan’s surprise, said, "Indeed, she is our Snow Spirit Palace’s Palace Master. The position of Palace Master in our Snow Spirit Palace follows the rule of bloodline inheritance."
"Our Palace Master is the great-granddaughter of the previous Palace Master and is the thirty-eighth legitimate eldest daughter of our Snow Clan."
The Snow Clan has always been the controller of the Snow Spirit Palace, and the position of Palace Master has always been passed down to the women of the Snow Clan.
According to the rules of the Snow Spirit Palace, after the death of a Palace Master, the eldest legitimate daughter of the newest generation of the Snow Clan should be supported by nine elder clan members to inherit the position.
The newest generation means the youngest generation, not selecting from the descendants of the Palace Master, nor is the Palace Master position assured for every legitimate eldest daughter of each generation of the Snow Clan.
Only upon the death of the Palace Master can the legitimate eldest daughter of the youngest generation inherit the position.
Even if this legitimate eldest daughter was still in infancy.
The reason for such rules is manifold; for starters, the actual controller of the Snow Spirit Palace is not the Palace Master, but the nine elder clan members, with the Palace Master serving more as a symbolic figurehead, so age is not important.
Secondly, the Snow Spirit Palace’s Palace Master represents more than a position; it is a bloodline inheritance.
As for what kind of bloodline inheritance it is, that is the secret of the Snow Spirit Palace. Although Xue Qiaoer and Xue Zhongjin are honest, they will not reveal such secrets to Yang Zhenshan, an outsider.
Yang Zhenshan was not particularly concerned with the secrets of the Snow Spirit Palace, having a general understanding of the internal situation was sufficient.
As for Xue Zhongjin and Xue Qiaoer, Yang Zhenshan felt they were unlikely to be malicious, so there was no issue with doing business with them.
As for whether Yang Zhenshan would be deceived, if he did not even have the ability to read people’s character, he felt that he might as well retire and find a place to live out his days peacefully, rather than being duped without even realizing it.
After another brief chat with Xue Zhongjin and the others, Yang Zhenshan did not keep them and gave them official documents to bring to Yang Mingzhi in Fuzhou City.
For Yang Zhenshan, this was a minor matter. The reason he had agreed to see Xue Zhongjin and the others was, one, to make a profit, and two, he was interested in the forces of the snowy expanse.
Previously, Da Rong did not border the snowy expanse, so there was no need to pay attention to the forces there.
But now that Chongshan Town bordered the snowy expanse, and with the development of Fuzhou City, there will certainly be many interactions with the forces within the snowy expanse as villages are established at the foot of the Haciwen Mountain Range.
It is better to prepare early and understand the forces of the snowy expanse to avoid being caught off guard by any sudden changes.
A few days later, Yang Zhenshan invited several merchants back to Chongshan Town.
Wang Zhenze from the Wang family of Prince Jing’an, Lin Qi from the Lin family of Jing’an, Zhang Qingsong from the Zhang family of Liao’an, Qi Ting from the Qi family of Huai’an, and Zhen Yang of the Zhen family from Ping Yuan once again gathered in the grand hall of the General Mansion.
Zhen Yang was a widow; her husband had met with misfortune on a business trip eight years prior, leaving her and their child alone.
In order to preserve the Zhen family’s property, Zhen Yang had no choice but to come forward and take up the heavy responsibility of the Zhen family.