Chapter 132: then translation of title

Here, here.

Yu Bohai took out another deed that he had been keeping on his person.

This guy actually had the deed on him, even though he was being so stubborn earlier.

Chen Wujie reached out and took it, saying, "You say you're lowly, don't you?"

"Yes, yes, yes—I'm lowly! I'm lowly!" Yu Bohai bowed and nodded repeatedly.

Chen Wujie gave Chen Buzhi a look, and the two grabbed the items and walked away.

"By the way, you won't seek revenge on us later, will you?"

As they reached the door, Chen Wujie suddenly turned and asked.

Yu Bohai kept shaking his head, "I don't dare, I don't dare—I wouldn't dare even if I had ten guts."

He really doesn't have that intention.

These two are clearly desperadoes.

People like that can drop everything and kill at a moment's notice.

But he still has property, a wife and children—how could he dare to stir up trouble?

He'd rather offend the Zhang family and move elsewhere than provoke such people.

After leaving the Yu residence, Chen Wujie and Chen Buzhi found an old beggar in the city, paid him a few coins to go to the Zhang household and deliver Yu Bohai's letter.

"We only got Yu Bohai, but the mastermind behind him, the Zhang family, hasn't been touched at all—I'm not happy about that!" Chen Wujie muttered regretfully.

Chen Buzhi popped a recently bought dried fruit into his mouth, "What else do you want to do? Unless we sneak into the Zhang household at night and kill Zhang Mingyuan, we have no power to oppose the Zhang family; we have no forces we can use to confront them head‑on, so your regret is pointless."

Chen Wujie certainly understands this.

They are a prominent clan, indeed a pure stream of the court.

Even if they held a handful of evidence against the Zhang family, they would still have no recourse.

"Let's take it step by step; if the Zhang family goes too far and insists on killing us, the only option seems to be a night raid by mountain bandits on their manor." Chen Buzhi said, shaking his head, "If we do that, we'll truly become bandits."

"I thought you'd have some better ideas." Chen Wujie said.

He still held a bit of hope regarding the Chen family's hidden secrets and foundations.

But Chen Buzhi didn't give Chen Wujie that hope; he curled his lip in mild mockery and said, "What kind of idea do I have? I'm just a scholar who knows how to use a knife."

"The clan is so mysterious—haven't you met a few big shots?" Chen Wujie asked persistently; the Chen family always gave him the feeling of a reclusive master with countless hidden techniques, and who knows what unknown trump cards they might have.

Chen Buzhi glanced at Chen Wujie, gave a light chuckle, "Do I look like that? In broad daylight, don't dream, and certainly don't have such absurd dreams."

Chen Wujie felt quite regretful about this, "Help me make an introduction; I want to meet Magistrate Zhu."

"What do you want him for? This person may be at odds with the Zhang family, but he's not exactly a good person." Chen Buzhi asked, "Don't you know someone else? Can't you borrow his influence?"

Chen Wujie shook his head, "For now there won't be any result."

Qin Zan Hong agreed, but the specific progress has never been clearly stated.

The Imperial City Secretariat reaches straight to the heavenly ears; their work involves too many secrets, so Chen Wujie also doesn't dare to ask too much, lest he carelessly bring trouble upon himself.

However, since Qin Zan Hong agreed, he should help.

But before Qin Zan Hong gives him a result, Chen Wujie also doesn't want to just sit and wait for death, letting the Zhang family knead his head like tangled hair.

After thinking it over, he focused his attention on Magistrate Zhu.

He planned to give the magistrate a few small ideas to make him more confident in dealing with the Zhang family.

Chen Wujie said, "I want to meet Magistrate Zhu and present him with a merit."

"Aren't you afraid he'll just take advantage of you?" Chen Buzhi asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid—how could I not be?" Chen Wujie gave a light mocking laugh, "But I'm more afraid of implicating the clan."

This matter arose because of him, yet the clan members have protected him without any complaint.

If he were alone, Chen Wujie would certainly choose a simpler, more brutal approach.

But since it involves so many clan members and families, he dares not make any decision lightly.

Chen Buzhi gave Chen Wujie a deep look, "Actually our Chen clan has always been united; we've only been forced by worldly affairs to become somewhat distant—don't overthink it. If you've made up your mind, I can find someone to introduce you to the magistrate."

Okay.

Before leaving the city, Chen Wujie spent a large sum to buy twenty catties of sugar.

Because of the plague's arrival, prices of almost everything in the city have skyrocketed.

But the price of sugar remains unmoved, as steady as a rock.

It's not that the sugar sellers are particularly conscientious; it's that this stuff is just too expensive!

Even without the plague, sugar wasn't something ordinary people could afford; if it rose further in price, it would likely become only a high‑shelf display, something to look at but not taste.

For these twenty catties of sugar, Chen Wujie spent a full fourteen taels of silver, making him wince in pain.

One catty costs a full seven hundred wen.

Many ordinary people's annual income barely affords two or three catties of sugar.

But despite its outrageous price, in Yunnan City it's not only available for sale, but business is actually good.

The people living in Yunnan City appear to have fairly deep pockets.

"What are you buying this for?" Chen Buzhi looked at what Chen Wujie held, also feeling the pain—fourteen taels of silver could buy many jars of wine, yet he bought this thing.

Chen Wujie gave a light laugh, "This is the merit I'm presenting to the magistrate."

Just this?

Yes, just this.

Chen Buzhi didn't understand, "Taking these things as a gift could be considered a generous present, but if we call it a merit, what merit could it be?"

Just watch and see.

"Mysterious, can you still turn this thing into a flower?"

「Really can。」

Sugar flowers are also flowers.

What Chen Wuji wants to make is exactly white sugar.

Actually, when it comes to nutritional value and taste, brown sugar is superior.

But white sugar looks so nice, something Da Yu still doesn't have.

A sugar that is good-looking and yet unavailable; later, adding some flowery, profound explanations, if it could be presented to the court via the magistrate's hands, at least he and Magistrate Zhu could get an award, right?

If Magistrate Zhu has the guts, he could also take the opportunity to submit a folded document requesting retirement in his own defense.

He should be able to turn the tide under Zhang Mingyuan's frantic suppression.

By this point, his conflict with the Zhang family will no longer be merely a struggle to deceive the emperor's ears within Yunan territory; at least it can rise to another level.

Even if His Majesty the Emperor, after looking at the folded document, issues not a single imperial edict.

But Zhang Mingyuan will certainly also be wary.

This hard-won bit of time, for Chen Wuji, already counts as realizing the value of brown sugar.

And the benefits he could obtain are not limited to this.

Zhu Wei doesn't know that he still has dealings with the Imperial City Department.

If the chicken-raising magistrate dares to stab him in the back, Qin Zhanhong would not agree first.

And with Qin Zhanhong around, this also counts as showing his face before the emperor.

As for what he could gain, it depends on how the emperor views white sugar.

But at least, he can be considered to have barely held onto a card that can protect him for a short time.