Chapter 29

"The Shen family of Gusu? They are said to be a wealthy household in Jiangnan, are they not?"

Huang Zicheng nodded slightly and said,

"Indeed. During the former Yuan, there was a great merchant in Jiangnan named Shen Fu, who styled himself Wanshan; thus, people of the time often praised him as Shen Wansan."

Qi Tai frowned tightly and said,

"But I have heard that this Shen Wansan had already died before the founding of our current dynasty?"

Huang Zicheng sneered and said,

"It is true that Shen Wansan died, but his son, Shen Wang, formed a close bond with Duke Liang, Lan Yu, in his early years."

"After the founding of our dynasty, the Shen family's business not only did not collapse; instead, relying on Lan Yu's reputation, it grew even larger."

"Now that Duke Liang is confined to his home, Lord Qi, what do you think is the Shen family's most urgent matter at present?"

Qi Tai's eyes immediately brightened.

"Is it to seek another patron?"

"Precisely!" Huang Zicheng stroked his beard and smiled: "The Shen family and Lan Yu are now grasshoppers on the same rope; they urgently need a patron."

"Moreover, the Shen family originally made their fortune through maritime trade in their early years."

Having said this, Huang Zicheng's voice suddenly stopped.

And Qi Tai had already understood Huang Zicheng's meaning.

The Shen family originally rose from trading grain by sea; now, Su Qiao has spoken those words of maritime prohibition in court.

If the Shen family and Su Qiao have any "unclear" dealings at present,

in an instant, one could charge Su Qiao with the crime of "corruption and private gain"!

In Old Zhu's eyes,

for officials, there are nothing but two bottom lines.

The first is rebellion.

The second is embezzlement!

Zhu Yuanzhang even issued an iron edict: for any Great Ming official who embezzles more than sixty taels, flay the skin and stuff it with straw!

Since the two major cases of the Empty Seal and Guo Huan erupted,

Zhu Yuanzhang's tolerance for embezzlement has already dropped to the freezing point!

Yet Qi Tai looked at Huang Zicheng with some confusion and asked,

"But Lord Huang, the Shen family are not fools; they..."

Huang Zicheng seemed to see through Qi Tai's concern.

He spoke in a low voice,

"What is there to fear? It is nothing more than finding a member of the same clan to take the blame and die."

"If they cling to Lan Yu's broken boat, what awaits the Shen family is nothing but exile for the entire clan; one life exchanged for the family's wealth and honor—the Shen family will certainly know how to calculate such a trade-off!"

Qi Tai fell silent.

And Lady Lu glanced at Zhu Yunwen and said,

"Yunwen, why do you not quickly thank Mr. Huang!"

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly bowed and performed the ritual salute.

Seeing this, Huang Zicheng hurriedly returned the salute with fear and trembling, saying,

"Your Highness the Crown Prince need not be so polite; removing traitors for the sake of the state is naturally within Zicheng's duty!"

Although he said this with his mouth,

it was clear that Huang Zicheng was very gratified.

After bidding farewell to Zhu Yunwen and his mother,

Huang Zicheng immediately left the palace to make preparations.

Outside the Imperial City.

Su Qiao finally welcomed a rare moment of ease.

When court dispersed today, Ru Taisu and Zhan Hui both acted as if they had met a plague god when they saw him.

They feared appearing in the same frame as Su Qiao.

However, at this moment, Su Qiao himself could not help but feel troubled.

Previously, Su Qiao had not expected to stay in Great Ming for long.

Thus, after the Palace Examination, he had been living in an inn.

Later, after being locked in the Imperial Prison, those few boxes of old books at the inn were probably already sold by the inn as scrap for cash.

Now, Su Qiao had ironically become a true drifter of the capital.

The vast city of Jin Ling,

yet there was not even a sliver of a place for Su Qiao to rest.

Just as Su Qiao was strolling along the streets of Jin Ling,

two men dressed as retainers suddenly rushed over toward Su Qiao from a distance.

"May we ask if you are Lord Su Qiao?"

Hearing this, Su Qiao was stunned.

"Indeed I am; what of it?"

Upon hearing this, the two retainers immediately beamed with joy, stood by Su Qiao's side, and, lifting Su Qiao up, ran toward the distance.

"My Lord Su, why are you wandering about here? Our Master has been waiting at your home for quite some time."

Su Qiao looked at the two men before him with a shocked expression and asked,

"My home?!"

"I don't even know where my home is. How does your Master know where my home is?"

That Retainer looked at Su Qiao with a beaming smile and said,

"First time is strange, second time is familiar. Once you arrive, you'll know where home is, won't you?"

"Is that how that phrase is used?!"

Before Su Qiao could even react.

Su Qiao was directly stuffed into the carriage by someone.

The moment he was stuffed into the carriage.

Su Qiao thought of many things.

He feared he had run into human traffickers from the Great Ming.

Death, Su Qiao was not afraid of.

After all, what Su Qiao had been doing these past few days was seeking death.

But if he was killed by human traffickers, could he return to the future?

That damn Time Administration Bureau said he would be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

He couldn't possibly try it out, could he?

What if he couldn't return? There would be no chance to take it back then!

However, Su Qiao soon realized something was wrong.

It was true that there were human traffickers in the Great Ming Dynasty.

But why would these traffickers kidnap him?

Kidnapping a woman, they could still sell her into the mountains to be a wife for a bachelor.

Kidnapping a child, they could sell them to continue the family line or as a child bride.

But this is the Great Ming; what can you do by kidnapping an adult man?

The medical technology of the Great Ming surely hasn't developed an industry chain for kidney harvesting yet, right?

Just as Su Qiao was still thinking.

The carriage slowly stopped inside a courtyard.

And that Retainer from before was looking at Su Qiao with a beaming smile and said,

"My Lord Su, we have arrived home. Please get off the carriage."