Chapter 511: Someone Wants to Snatch Zhu Youxiao's Maidservant

Zhu Youxiao nodded, said nothing more, and continued strolling through the Academy, as if his earlier question had been asked on a whim.

But everyone present knew full well that His Majesty would never ask such a question casually.

While Zhu Youxiao was strolling, Xu Xianchun had already finished interrogating Chen Zhenglin.

He glanced at the testimony in his hand, then at the documents, and nodded with satisfaction. "Go on, return to your post as Salt Transport Commissioner. When I need you, I'll say so. These materials I'll forward to His Majesty; as for the final outcome, that depends on how His Majesty handles it."

Hearing this, Chen Zhenglin breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly he still had some room to maneuver for now — he hadn't been arrested outright. This time His Majesty's ambitions were vast; plainly put, he wanted to sweep away all the mess in Jiangnan.

Under these circumstances, if he cooperated fully, he might even receive lenient treatment from His Majesty. That would be a good thing for him.

Chen Zhenglin rose to his feet, clasped his hands toward Xu Xianchun, and said, "Then I beg Lord Xu to look after me and put in a good word before His Majesty."

Xu Xianchun would never entangle himself with a man like that; these days he wouldn't even dare accept money.

The lesson from last time had been deeply impressed upon him — if it happened again, he certainly wouldn't get another chance like this.

So Xu Xianchun said with a stern face, "Serving His Majesty loyally is worth more than anything else. Enough, go attend to your duties."

"Yes, Lord Xu." Chen Zhenglin rose, a trace of embarrassment on his face, but still turned and walked out.

After Chen Zhenglin had left, Xu Xianchun also stood up and let out a breath.

This matter had been handled well. With what Chen Zhenglin had provided, plus the intelligence from Nanjing, he could begin making arrests in Yangzhou.

With his rich experience in handling cases, Xu Xianchun knew there was no major problem with this one.

If anyone wanted to raise troops in rebellion, that wouldn't be the Embroidered Uniform Guard's affair — it could be left to the Imperial New Army to handle.

As for the rest, he only needed to arrest them. In a case like this, with so many implicated, catch one and you'd surely haul out a whole nest.

Now Xu Xianchun had two leads; once he reached in and grabbed, he'd certainly pull out plenty.

Xu Xianchun turned to his subordinate and said, "Have a carriage prepared. I need to report this to His Majesty at once."

Hearing this, the subordinate hesitated and said, "My lord, His Majesty is not at Lichun Court."

At these words, Xu Xianchun's face instantly darkened.

He turned to look at his subordinate and asked, "How do you know His Majesty isn't at Lichun Court? Are our men keeping watch on His Majesty?"

Hearing this, the subordinate was startled.

Keeping watch on His Majesty?

Who would dare keep watch on His Majesty?

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's duty was not to protect His Majesty. If it wasn't your duty to protect him, and you were tracking His Majesty's movements — did you want to lose your head?

The subordinate understood Xu Xianchun's meaning and quickly said, "My lord, no. Our men happened to encounter His Majesty on the street going out with his attendants, and they said he went to the Imperial Academy."

Hearing this, Xu Xianchun relaxed, but still glared at his subordinate and said, "Even if you know such things, you must pretend not to. Are you an idiot?"

"Have someone prepare the carriage at once. I'm going to seek an audience with His Majesty. If he's not there, I'll wait there. Useless!"

Scolded, the subordinate dared not delay in the slightest and quickly said, "My lord, please wait a moment — I'll go at once."

With that, he turned and ran out.

Watching his subordinate's departing back, Xu Xianchun shook his head helplessly.

Straightening his robes and cap, picking up the documents from the table, Xu Xianchun turned and walked out with a grave expression.

Whether His Majesty was there was one matter; whether you went was another.

Zhu Youxiao had no idea that his own Guard Commander had already rushed to the gate to wait for him. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much.

Because at this moment Zhu Youxiao had encountered something far more interesting — he had never imagined he'd run into a plot like this.

Far from boring him, it made him extremely excited.

Looking at the man standing before him, Zhu Youxiao could tell this was a wealthy man.

Judging by his age, he was a rich second-generation heir. On his feet were boots of Qingyunfang silk, at his waist a sash of Qingyunfang black silk; the jade pendant at his belt was clearly fine Lantian jade; the folding fan in his hand was obviously the work of a master craftsman; and the hairpin in his topknot was plainly from a great artist's hand.

Beside him stood two women — clearly a pair of twin sisters, stunningly beautiful. Two page boys also followed at his side.

Apart from lacking bodyguards, he looked even more wealthy and noble than Zhu Youxiao. Just this display alone outdid Zhu Youxiao's own.

Zhu Youxiao would have been interested in such a person anyway; who would have thought this man would come right up to him and brazenly make a request — it got Zhu Youxiao excited.

He finally had a chance to be the male lead of a cheap romance novel, and that feeling was pretty satisfying.

"May I ask your name, brother?" Zhu Youxiao asked with a smile.

The expression on Zhu Youxiao's face was radiant, his manner utterly cordial, his whole person radiating anticipation.

Zhu Youxiao's question left the wealthy young master across from him momentarily stunned.

The reason was simple — the rich young master had seen plenty of flatterers, but he had never encountered someone as sincere as Zhu Youxiao, which actually made him a bit uncomfortable.

But he adapted quickly. "Well said. I am Han Guotai." The wealthy young master Han Guotai clasped his hands toward Zhu Youxiao and said with a smile.

Though he was speaking to Zhu Youxiao, Han Guotai's gaze never left Chen Yu'er standing beside him.

In fact, from the moment Han Guotai had walked over, Zhu Youxiao had realized this man was after the woman by his side.

Ever since Zhu Youxiao had arrived here, whether men or women of Yangzhou, their gazes hadn't left Chen Yu'er.

Zhu Youxiao had originally thought they'd just look; he never expected someone would actually dare make a move.

So Zhu Youxiao had excitedly gone to meet him — which led to the scene before them now.

Wei Chao beside him felt helpless; His Majesty's fondness for games was far too great.

The man across from them might be flashily dressed, and his outfit clearly showed he was rich. But even Wei Chao could tell this was plainly an empty-headed fool — who knew which family had produced him.

Qi Yuanfu, standing beside Zhu Youxiao, was ready to strike at any moment — if this worthless fool dared to threaten His Majesty, he'd kill him on the spot.

He didn't care who the man was — whoever he was, the Son of Heaven's personal guard was just that arrogant.

"Han Guotai — a fine name." Zhu Youxiao praised. "May I ask what business you have stopping me, brother?"

"Simple. I've taken a liking to your maidservant here. Name your price." Han Guotai turned to look at Zhu Youxiao, wearing an air of arrogance. His manner said plainly: "I've set my eyes on her, so you'd better hand her over."

Zhu Youxiao nearly laughed out loud — people like this actually existed in the world.

Wei Changsheng, standing beside Zhu Youxiao, stepped forward and cautiously leaned close to Zhu Youxiao's ear.

Seeing that the Emperor did not object, Wei Changsheng spoke cautiously: "Your Majesty, this man is the son of Han Qingsheng, a famous merchant of Yangzhou. Han Qingsheng is a representative of the Hui merchants—he has a hand in the entire salt industry of Yangzhou."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, understanding Wei Changsheng's meaning.

These salt merchants were not easy to deal with now. One should know that in this era of the Great Ming, the salt merchants of the entire realm controlled five-sevenths of the nation's finances—in plain terms, five-sevenths of the country's money was in their hands.

And of that five-sevenths, two-thirds was in the hands of the Hui merchants. Their position could be said to be pivotal—if they stamped their feet, the nation would tremble.

Those who could be called great salt merchants could mobilize capital in the millions of taels at will; those who could be called colossal merchants could casually move tens of millions of taels of silver.

If the Hui merchant guild were to mobilize its resources, even a hundred million taels would be no problem. One could see just how much wealth these people controlled—this was their capital. Holding money or power, they could be said to be at the height of their influence.

It was precisely because he understood this that Zhu Youxiao had been enduring all along.

Seven years since his transmigration, he had been tinkering with this and that, rearranging things here and there, constantly working on one project after another—yet he had never dared to move against them, had never even let a hint of hostility show, until now, when he had finally dared to come.

Zhu Youxiao knew very well that once these salt merchants were cleared out, there would be no one left in the realm who could oppose him.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao nod, Wei Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then spoke again: "Your Majesty, the salt merchants live in great extravagance. Every household keeps some 'thin horses' to be given away as gifts. So exchanging women among themselves has long been customary—sometimes it is even regarded as an elegant pastime. They have grown accustomed to it over the years. This Han Guotai stopping Your Majesty should be precisely about this matter."

"Fine." Zhu Youxiao wore a smile on his face and said with admiration: "Truly fine."

In fact, this custom had existed as far back as the Tang dynasty—in those days, servants were still private property, treated like livestock; one could beat them to death without consequence and merely pay a small fine.

By the Song dynasty, the situation had improved considerably, but the practice of gifting concubines to one another remained a habitual affair among cultured gentlemen.

By the Ming dynasty, things were different. Zhu Yuanzhang came from a background of hardship and could not stand such practices. If riding in a sedan chair carried by men was already treating people as beasts, then what of gifting women to one another?

What the superior likes, the inferior will carry to excess!

What Zhu Yuanzhang disliked, few in the realm truly dared to do, and so the customs of the Great Ming were greatly reformed in the early years of the dynasty.

Moreover, in the capital and other such places, such matters were uncommon—forcibly seizing common women was still punished.

Who would have thought that in Jiangnan, a land where culture and education flourished, such practices would rise again?

Was this progress or regression? Or perhaps simply the result of having too much money to burn?