Chapter 134: Acquiring a Stake

Anna’s remark caught Yan Yan completely off guard. When had she ever become close friends with Anna? Even if she found Anna to be a pleasant person, her status as an original shareholder of the East India Company made a true friendship impossible.

After all, the century of humiliation in Chinese history was something Yan Yan could never forget, no matter how hard she tried. Thinking of this, she suddenly understood the man in black from the Heaven and Earth Society; he must have felt the same way, as that history was something he could never forget either.

Yet, Yan Yan knew she was different from that man. She loathed that humiliating century of late Qing history, but she would never think to kill all foreigners to change it. She understood that to change things, one had to become strong oneself. One must adapt to society in one's own way, rather than expecting society to adapt to oneself.

With this realization, Yan Yan relaxed. She glanced at Anna and asked playfully, "So we are good friends now?" Anna nodded immediately, "Of course. Yan Yan is my only friend in the Great Qing."

Anna spoke with conviction and sincerity, yet Yan Yan could only see the predatory nature of a capitalist hiding behind that beautiful face. Yan Yan smiled faintly. "In that case, Anna, sell this batch of muskets to the Tenth Prince at the price he offered."

Anna was stunned and raised her eyebrows. Yan Yan signaled for her to stay calm. "I naturally won't let a good friend lose out. In the future, I will certainly look after your silk business in the Great Qing."

At these words, Anna looked at Yan Yan in pleasant surprise. "Are you saying you are willing to sign an agreement with me?"

Yan Yan glanced at the Ninth Prince and smiled. "While I would like to do silk business with a friend, that previous agreement had some issues. If you are interested, why not take a look at the agreement I have drafted?"

Anna narrowed her eyes, observing Yan Yan with curiosity. Yan Yan’s smile remained, but the aura she exuded had changed, exerting an inexplicable pressure. "What? Does Anna not believe I can draft an agreement?"

Anna shook her head silently. After a moment, she said, "Very well. Tomorrow, I will bring my assistant to discuss the agreement with you." She then turned to the Ninth Prince and smiled, "I ask for your convenience, Ninth Lord, to allow my assistant to leave the ship. His name is Jack; he is a gentleman."

Watching Anna’s solemn demeanor, a thought struck Yan Yan: Jack was likely the true shareholder of the East India Company, and Anna was merely a social emissary he had dispatched.

After Anna left, the Tenth Prince looked at Yan Yan with delight. "Little Sister-in-law, did you secure the muskets?" Yan Yan nodded. "Yes, Tenth Lord, prepare the silver. One thousand taels per musket, ten thousand taels of silver in total."

The Tenth Prince’s eyes widened, and he looked at the Ninth Prince with a pitiful expression. "Ninth Brother, I am..." He patted his pockets, looking utterly penniless.

The Ninth Prince chuckled. "Let your little sister-in-law cover it for now; pay her back when we return to the capital. You owe me more than ten thousand taels anyway." Although the Tenth Prince was disgruntled about repaying the debt upon returning to the capital, he was relieved that the Ninth Prince was willing to foot the bill. He did not realize that he had become the poster child for debtors, currently being pursued by the entire imperial court.

The next morning, Yan Yan prepared the meeting room, laying out the agreements in Chinese, English, and Manchu—prepared with the help of an interpreter—and waited for Anna and her partner.

To her surprise, the Ninth Prince arrived leisurely after breakfast. Yan Yan looked up in confusion. "My Lord, why are you here?" He sat beside her, gently smoothing the hair from her forehead, and whispered, "I just came to see you. Speak boldly; no matter the outcome, I will back you." Yan Yan felt a lump in her throat.

The Ninth Prince must have noticed her tossing and turning the night before. Although she had prepared the agreement long ago and reviewed every detail with him, she still felt nervous—just as she would in her past life whenever she had to double-check important tasks.

"Thank you, My Lord," Yan Yan said from the bottom of her heart.

The Ninth Prince smiled softly and patted her hand. When an attendant announced the arrival of Anna and Jack, he released her hand and sat to the side, looking relaxed.

Jack was a man in his thirties. As Yan Yan had suspected, he was the primary decision-maker throughout the negotiations, while Anna merely helped manage the mood. Jack was clearly surprised by Yan Yan’s keen business sense. After nearly two hours of negotiation, Yan Yan secured a twenty-percent stake in the sales revenue. This meant that for every one hundred taels of silver worth of silk exported from the Great Qing by the East India Company, she would receive twenty.

This also meant that Yan Yan was no longer just a supplier; she had become a minor shareholder in the East India Company, responsible for the costs and risks of the silk business. To achieve this, she had invested most of the wealth she had accumulated over the past two years.

She owed this leverage to the Ninth Prince’s control over the silk industry. Only when drafting the agreement did she realize that most of the silk trade in the Great Qing was held in his hands.

Jack seemed satisfied with the outcome and had Anna stay in the Great Qing as a long-term liaison. Yan Yan glanced at Anna, whose smile felt slightly insincere before she quickly composed herself.

Following this, the Ninth Prince began his official meetings with the foreigners. It was then discovered that among the British delegation, there was a painter named David who specialized in oil paintings. The Ninth Prince, sensing Yan Yan might appreciate such things, brought back several of David’s works for her to admire.

Yan Yan realized that the British Empire had begun testing the waters in the Great Qing much earlier than she had thought—she had always believed trade initiatives only began during the Qianlong era. She silently prayed that the Great Qing’s military and national strength would not fall too far behind the Western nations. If the first impression was one of power, it would serve as an invisible deterrent against the West in the future.