I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress

Chapter 302: Asking Du Ming Li

When he arrived at his room, the first thing his eyes went on was the Sound Transmission Stone placed on the centre table.

Seeing it, he was immediately reminded of the Sound Transmission Stone given to him by Du Ming Li.

’Didn’t she say that I can call her anytime I needed something?’ With that thought, Yi Chen sat on the sofa and took out the stone from his storage ring.

It was in the shape of a transparent circular orb, and in its centre, there was some white marking which Yi Chen couldn’t understand.

Pouring his Qi into the stone, he saw the stone vibrate for a moment before, finally, a voice came from the other side.

"Greetings, this is Du Ming Li from the Red Velvet Pavilion..."

"Lady Du, it’s me, Yi Chen." Yi Chen answered after listening to her voice.

"Ah, it’s Master Chen. I’ve already informed the technical team, and they’ll be here by this week’s end to start with the repair," Du Ming Li stated the very next moment.

"I understand, thank you." Yi Chen nodded with a subtle smile on his face.

"Haha, it’s only right for me to do this much for you, Young Master Chen." Du Ming Li lightly chuckled and continued, "Besides, was there something Young Master Chen wanted to inquire?"

"Actually, there is...while going around the Lava City, I came across a lot of stores that had the name ’Violet’ on them. So, they were obviously related to the Violet Heaven House..."

"Right." Du Ming Li nodded her head while listening as Yi Chen continued.

"I wanted to ask Lady Du’s honest opinion of the Violet Heaven House and whether it’s a good organisation, or not?...the reason I asked this is that they were charging an enormous amount for just simple Qi Nourishing Pills and I couldn’t help but get frustrated at that."

"Whether it’s a good organisation or not, you ask?" Du Ming Li repeated with a subtle hint of interest on her face.

"Well, as Young Master Chen would have known by now, the Violet Heaven House is one of the four great families from the Silver Cloud Kingdom and runs various organisations under its name.

As for the high price of the pills, Young Master Chen is concerned that the rise is only there because of the investment they have done in ensuring the Kingdom’s safety, which might seem a lot to Young Master Chen.

However, to most of the residents, it’s only normal. The reason for that is the fact that they are all well aware that without the help of the Violet Heaven House, they would have long been dead.

They have built the protective barriers around all the major cities, distributed the yellow tablets for a minimal price, set up various stores and businesses in the kingdom to ensure that the economy kept running.

So overall, the Violet Heaven House has a very high reputation in the entire continent..." A light chuckle escaped Du Ming Li’s lips as she continued, "However, since Young Master Chen had personally asked for my opinion about them, then my answer will naturally be different from the facts which I just restated."

She paused for a second as a smile formed on her face and said, "Personally, I don’t like them at all."

’Does she also know about the tablets?’ Yi Chen thought curiously and asked, "Are there any particular reasons?"

"Lots of reasons," Du Ming Li chuckled and said, "Firstly, it’s naturally because they are our competitors. Though the Red Velvet Pavilion is far from competing against the Violet Heaven House, we are in the position to compete with the Violet Trade Pavilion, which trades goods and conducts auctions just like our Red Velvet Pavilion.

Though we have a reputation of being the best merchant guild in the entire continent, there are still certain Kingdoms where the Violet Trade Pavilion holds dominance...particularly here in the White Jade Kingdom.

The reason is naturally how integrated the Violet Heaven House has managed to become within the entire Kingdom during this period by achieving things we as just a merchant guild wouldn’t have been able to.

And that’s the reason why the Red Velvet Pavilion branch here was so empty and situated in such a secluded place in the Lava City; we have lost our position to them here."

A bitter smile formed on Du Ming Li’s lips as she finished her second point.

Hearing what she had just said, Yi Chen thought to himself, ’So just like the Inn, the Red Velvet Pavilion’s branch is also affected...’

Second is the fact of how entrenched they are with the Imperial family in this Kingdom. They have signed several policies to ensure that they’ll be able to maintain the monopoly of the market in the Black Rock Kingdom.

One such is also the cause for Young Master Chen’s plight. They had long made a deal that if any other entity wanted to maintain a transportation array in the Kingdom, then they’d have to pay an exorbitant fee to the Kingdom. This fee is so high that only the Red Velvet Pavilion has been able to afford it..."

"So that’s how it is..." Yi Chen muttered in realisation.

"Yes." Du Ming Li nodded from the other side and said, "Lastly, it’s because of the Violet Cloud Pavilion."

"Violet Cloud Pavilion? What’s that?" Yi Chen furrowed his eyes when he heard the name. He didn’t remember seeing it when he was making his way through the main market area today.

Hearing Yi Chen’s question, a surprised expression formed on Du Ming Li’s face as she answered his question, "It’s something which the Violet Heaven House runs in all the seven great kingdoms. To be honest, I’m a little surprised that Young Master Chen doesn’t know about it, as it’s quite famous among men."

"Famous among the men? Why?" Yi Chen asked while also nodding at her earlier words. He had yet to explore the enormous marketplace of Jade City as he had mostly been busy in his cultivation, so it was normal for him not to know all the stores that were there.

An impressed smile formed on Du Ming Li’s face when she heard that question and answered, "The Violet Cloud Pavilion is famous for the enchanting liquor it produces, with each bottle going for a thousand high-grade stones..."

’So, it’s an alcohol outlet,’ Yi Chen nodded in realisation, only to realise that he was too quick to make a judgment just a second later.

"...However, despite this, it’s not the main reason for the Violet Cloud Pavilion’s popularity. For the rich men that seek company at night, they provide them with an exquisite line of women to serve them."

Du Ming Li’s voice turned harsher.

"...These women, they are trained from a young age to serve these men in the finest possible manner and at times are even sold to these lecherous men only to suffer a fate worse than death."

She scoffed hatefully before saying, "Therefore, despite all the good things they have done for others, my opinion of them has always remained negative."

"So that’s how it is..." Yi Chen nodded in understanding when he heard her words.

Despite the clues he had gathered through the system’s remark, the system had never blatantly said that the Violet Heaven House was lying and was exploiting the entire Black Rock Kingdom.

It was a conclusion he had come to after putting together all the points he had heard from others and drawing inferences.

Therefore, even though little, there was still a chance that there were more things involved which he had no clue about and in reality, the Violet Heaven House was not the villain he had made it out to be.

However, at that time, because of his desire to get the mission reward complemented with his previous bad experience with buying pills, he strongly labelled them as villains.

Something which he had started to worry about a little as he made his way back to the Inn.

However, the moment he finished hearing Lady Du’s words, the little worry he carried in his heart all faded away.

’There’s no way an organisation that deals with prostitution has good people running it...’ he thought to himself. All he needed was this information, and all his conclusions were added on as his desire to seek the evidence intensified.

Individually, he could do nothing against the Violet Heaven House even if they were in the wrong...However, if it was an expert at the Ninth Heaven Ascension Stage, then the possibilities were endless.

With those thoughts in mind, he asked the next question, "Also, among all the representatives of the Violet Heaven House in the Lava city, who is the strongest? Does Lady Du have an idea about it?"

Du Ming Li said after a second.

"That...would be Cao Li. She takes care of all the things related to the Violet Heaven House in not only the city but also the entire Kingdom."

"...then does Lady Du know of any way it would be possible for me to meet her face to face? Even if it’s from afar, it doesn’t matter." Yi Chen asked the very next moment.