Chapter 140: You

After some probing, the Wanli Emperor remained tight-lipped about this, so Zhang Yunxiu found it difficult to ask more and only respectfully withdrew.

Returning home, he sat alone in his study, weighing the pros and cons in his heart.

This world was, after all, the Zhu family's; he was pouring his heart and soul into it, exhausted to the point of death, yet they might still blame him for meddling in affairs that were none of his business.

It would be better to go along with him, turn a blind eye, and become an idle young master himself.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yunxiu's hands and feet turned cold, and a deep sense of powerlessness rose in his heart.

He was the Emperor; he could fail countless times, but if a subject failed even once, it would be an irredeemable disaster.

"If a ruler is not discreet, he loses his subjects; if a subject is not discreet, he loses his life. If a ruler loses a subject, there are other subjects to replace them; if a subject loses his life, who can replace him?"

Zhang Yunxiu shook his head, not knowing how to handle this matter.

Suddenly, a woman came to his mind.

Zheng Guifei.

Only this woman could influence the Emperor.

"I must try it, at any rate; if it really doesn't work, I'll think of other ways."

Having figured this out, Zhang Yunxiu hitched up his robes and headed straight for Zheng Guotai's home.

On the other side, Han San, dressed in plain clothes, arrived at Yangwei Alley in the East City; inside a small lane, four or five ruffians in green clothes were standing.

These people were all street-smart scoundrels who scraped by in the capital.

In the past, they had often offered tributes to Han San.

Naturally, Han San had also taken good care of them.

To put it in modern terms, these people were Han San's gloves.

When the two sides met, the men opposite hurriedly called out "Master San," while Han San waved his hand and impatiently asked the thin, short man in the center: "Liu Jinfu, has anyone approached you recently?"

"No," Liu Jinfu shook his head and asked cautiously, "Master San, what big trouble has happened again? Is it that family from last time making trouble again?"

"No, it's much more troublesome than that."

Han San let out a long sigh, took two Silver Dollars from his bosom, and said, "Someone in the capital is privately minting Silver Dollars, and I've been ordered from above to investigate this. You tell me, could an ordinary family dare to do this kind of business?"

"I'm sitting on hot coals right now; sitting is bad, and not sitting is just as bad."

It's all the fault of that wretch Wang He; originally, if you had just turned a blind eye, it would have passed.

Now it's great—you poked a hole in this, and you, damn you, ran off easily, while I'm left suffering and getting no thanks for it.

"Master San, regarding what you said, I have some leads," replied a ruffian wearing a round-collared robe after Han San finished complaining.

"Speak quickly," Han San urged anxiously.

"This month, one of my underlings said he wanted to introduce me to a big deal."

"I was interested at the time and asked him: 'What big deal?' That kid gave a sly laugh, took two Silver Dollars from his bosom, and said: 'Boss, it's this thing; minting one piece yields ten times the profit.'"

"I was furious at the time; isn't this pushing me into a fire pit? I've already earned quite a bit in the West City following Master San. I don't want to do this head-lopping work."

"I've been law-abiding lately and haven't dared to touch any crooked paths."

After speaking, the ruffian blinked his ox-eyes and looked cautiously at Han San.

After listening, Han San rubbed his chin for a while and suddenly revealed a sinister smile: "It's that kid's bad luck then. Do this: each of you bring three brothers, take that kid along, and hand him over to me together."

"Master San..." The group looked at each other, hesitating in their hearts.

"Don't worry, I'll only deal with the primary culprit; as for the accomplices, if they confess honestly, at most they'll just sit in jail, and you can just pay some money," Han San grinned and patted his chest in assurance.

Having received the promise, the men finally let go and agreed.

Before leaving, Han San instructed: "To put on a show, you have to make it look real; I want the person and the stolen goods caught together to make the case airtight."

"As long as we catch one, the rest will know to restrain themselves, and I'll have an easier time reporting back, and it will look better for those above."

"Understood," they all cupped their hands and agreed.

After leaving the alley, the man in the round-collared robe who had spoken earlier walked quickly toward his own residence.

Once he returned to the small hall and sat down, he beckoned for the steward to bring over the kid who had spoken earlier.

The steward acknowledged and left, and before long, he brought in a short, stocky man of about thirty-seven or thirty-eight, who exuded a thievish air.

Seeing the man in the robe, the person's knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground, calling out: "Brother Wang." Brother Wang smiled, stood up to help him up, and asked with a smile: "Old Ma?"

A flash of panic crossed Ma Laoliu's eyes, but he immediately feigned composure: "Brother Wang, you are wronging me; without your nod, how would I dare to touch that stuff?"

"You really didn't touch it?" Brother Wang asked with his neck tilted.

"I really didn't."

Brother Wang nodded, pulled Ma Laoliu to a chair to sit, and whispered into his ear: "I've thought about it; it's not that this can't be done, but the matter must be handled more discreetly."

"I received word from above, telling me to do it on the sly."

"Oh, I knew Brother Wang was capable; before, I was only drinking soup, but now I can finally eat some meat with Brother Wang," Ma Laoliu slapped his thigh, his face full of excitement.

Brother Wang signaled for him to be quiet and asked again: "Do you have the mold?"

"No."

"Do you really not have it?"

"No."

Ma Laoliu scratched his head and gave a sly laugh, a thievish light flickering in his small eyes.

Brother Wang patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "Alright then, I'll give you the mold, and I've already prepared the place for you—it's the Wang Family Shop thirty miles outside the city."

"Just go ahead with peace of mind; once you get there, someone will naturally meet you."

"Brother Wang is always so straightforward."

"We're brothers, who's who?"

After the two chatted and laughed for a while, Brother Wang waved his hand to let Ma Laoliu go.

After seeing Ma Laoliu off, he finally let out a long sigh.

Today, hearing Han San say that there would be a strict investigation into the private minting of Silver Dollars among the populace, he was so frightened that his soul nearly flew out of his body.

When Ma Laoliu had come to incite him previously, he had already been tempted, but he did not dare to trust that fellow.

He knew well that this Ma Laoliu was the type of person who would rush headlong into anything, so he had only gathered seven or eight trusted followers to dabble in it on a small scale in the suburbs.

Because the one-ounce ones were too conspicuous, he made one-mace and five-mace Silver Dollars instead.

He never expected that in less than a month, the matter would be exposed.

He also knew that he was definitely not the only one doing this.

Perhaps even that fellow Han San was secretly doing it behind the scenes, but when the imperial court made arrests, they would certainly target small fry like them.

The moment Han San mentioned this matter today, he had already found a scapegoat in his heart.

"Ma Laoliu, oh Ma Laoliu, don't blame me for being ruthless; if you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too greedy." After muttering this in a low voice, Wang shook his head and stepped out of the living room.

On the evening of the following day, Ma Laoliu hurried to the front of the Wang Family Shop.

This place was located in Wang Village, where most of the villagers were surnamed Wang and were related to Wang.

Wang's original name was Wang Jie; his parents died when he was thirteen, so he packed his bags and went to Beijing to make a living.

Because he was ruthless and sharp-witted, as he grew older, he soon gathered dozens of idle ruffians in Beijing.

Relying on them, he struggled and climbed for over ten years, and now he could hear others call him "Master" in Beijing.

Peering inside, Ma Laoliu saw sparks flying within, and seven or eight shirtless strong men, sweating like rain, swinging iron hammers and striking iron blocks with a clang-clang-clang sound.

"Who are you looking for?" a man asked vigilantly upon seeing Ma Laoliu's shifty eyes.

"I'm looking for Wang Dachui; I was sent by Wang," Ma Laoliu replied.

"I am Wang Dachui. Wang Jie told me about you; come in with me." Wang Dachui patted his chest, beckoned to Ma Laoliu, and walked into the blacksmith shop on his own.

Ma Laoliu hurriedly followed, and the two passed through two walls to arrive at a secluded small courtyard.

Opening the courtyard gate, Wang Dachui pointed inside and said, "Go in. Don't wander around if there's nothing to do. The helpers you wanted will come in a few days; just wait patiently."

"Right, please thank Wang for me," Ma Laoliu replied with a grin.

"I'll keep that in mind."

(End of this chapter)