Chapter 71: Trouble Everywhere

Looking at the stack of silver notes that Zhu Ge Yu respectfully handed over, Jiang Jiang Mingyu was somewhat surprised; he counted carefully and found there were as many as eighty thousand taels, a sum so high it was beyond his expectations.

"Eighty thousand taels? This amount is far too high, isn't it?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not help but voice his question.

A flattering smile spread across Zhu Ge Yu's face as he complimented, "Master, you do not yet know. Besides the thirty thousand jin of coal reserved by my family, in these past few days I have contacted several friends who also wish to place large orders. Added together, this amounts to at least sixty or seventy thousand taels of silver. The remainder is simply a small token of my gratitude to you, Master. You cannot imagine how sore my throat has become from these days of effort, finally helping you sell the coal. Master, seeing how hard I have worked, you must teach me well; my future reputation in the Yisimo Regional Military Commissioner's city depends entirely on your guidance."

Wang Zhe, standing nearby, heard this, curled his lip into a "I told you so" smile, and looked at Jiang Jiang Mingyu with implied meaning.

Unable to refuse such a generous gift, Jiang Jiang Mingyu immediately clapped his hands and said, "Very well, bring me a brush."

Then, under the astonished gazes of Wang Zhe and Zhu Ge Yu, Jiang Jiang Mingyu swiftly wrote down ten poems he had "borrowed."

His brush tip danced, the ink flowing like clouds; only to see phrases such as "Clouds think of clothes, flowers think of beauty" and "Phoenixes roam on the Phoenix Terrace" appear on the paper. The two instantly widened their eyes, their mouths hanging open in speechless shock.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu very casually tossed the ten plagiarized poems all at once to Zhu Ge Yu, speaking in a light, offhand tone: "Take them and study them well."

Seeing his careless demeanor, Wang Zhe, who loved poetry and had considerable literary knowledge, was so surprised he could not speak.

Any one of these poems, if released alone, could cause a sensation for an era, yet Jiang Jiang Mingyu's attitude was as casual as throwing away trash.

As Wang Zhe's mind conjured the inevitable uproar these poems would cause once spread, he could not help but sigh, "My Lord Jiang, with such talent, you are truly worthy of being called the number one literary genius of our Great Feng!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, who was so poor his trousers were about to fall off, heard this and gave a bitter smile; what use was a title that meant he couldn't even eat?

He looked at Zhu Ge Yu, who held the papers as if they were a precious treasure, his eyes shining with light, as if he had already imagined the fame and honor he would gain in Yisimo thanks to these poems.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, "How could you possibly know the origin of these poems?"

Afterwards, Jiang Jiang Mingyu finally spoke: "What you do with these things is none of my concern, nor do I wish to concern myself with it. However, remember this: no matter who asks about the origin of these poems in the future, you must not say I wrote them. Do you understand?"

Not only did Zhu Ge Yu look blank, failing to grasp the meaning of Jiang Jiang Mingyu's words, but even Wang Zhe, standing nearby, was utterly confused and pressed, "My Lord Jiang, what does this mean? With your talent, should you not be proud to have created such outstanding works and spread them throughout the world?"

Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled indifferently and said calmly, without humility or arrogance: "People fear fame, and pigs fear growing fat; once one becomes famous, all sorts of troubles follow in quick succession. I have always disliked drawing attention to myself, nor do I wish to cause a disturbance outside because of these poems. Just pretend you never saw these things and take them away."

Zhu Ge Yu immediately understood, bowing deeply with five limbs touching the ground in reverence: "So Master, you are so open-minded, regarding fame and fortune as dung; truly, this is admirable. I understand; I will strictly keep the origin of these poems secret and will not reveal even a fraction to others."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded lightly, unconcerned, thinking to himself that once these "shattered jade and broken fat" poems spread, they would know what power these words possessed.

By then, do not blame me for not warning you in advance.

Seeing that the matters to be handled were nearly resolved, Jiang Jiang Mingyu bid farewell to Wang Zhe, preparing to ride back to Shangmu County at a gallop alongside Lord Murong Murong Yunhai and Tu Tu Kesiluo.

Zhu Ge Yu, looking reluctant, chased after Jiang Jiang Mingyu's carriage and said, "Master, another day I must visit you personally! As for the coal, rest assured; I will promote it with all my might. Please await good news!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded slightly, revealing a faint, light smile, then spurred his horse and rode away.

The group, moving in a grand procession, rushed out of the city gate. Lord Murong Murong Yunhai, looking at the pile of silver notes stacked in the carriage, said happily, "This trip to the provincial capital was truly not in vain; we earned eighty thousand taels in one go!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu, however, smiled helplessly; this journey had been a mix of five flavors. First, he had sparred with Prince Qi, then he had slapped the face of Huang Changshi in the court, and now he had acquired a sycophantic disciple; truly, it was a mix of joy and worry.

What worried him even more was that Huang Huang Chaoran, having suffered such a great loss, would surely hold a grudge, and his days would only become harder and harder.

The group hurried along the road and finally returned to Shangmu County after a day and a night. No sooner had they crossed the main gate of the county yamen than Wu Xiaoer came forward joyfully: "My Lord, you have finally returned!"

Stepping into the county yamen wrapped in cold wind, Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded and asked, "After I left, how did the matter you handled progress?"

Wu Xiaoer hurriedly nodded and reported, "My Lord, shortly after you departed, I led men to Little Eagle Mountain. More than ten people scrambled on the mountain for a full shichen, and finally found about two thousand taels of silver. These bandits were truly too shabby."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu plopped down into a chair and waved his hand: "Though a mosquito is small, it is still meat. That will do; thank you for your hard work."

"By the way, Xiaoer, help me conscript some laborers again; our big business at Green Dragon Stronghold has come again."

Wu Xiaoer agreed repeatedly, and it was clear he too was full of expectation for this business.

After dismissing him to handle the matter, Jiang Jiang Mingyu himself collapsed onto the bed.

This round trip had left him feeling drained of energy; he needed to rest well.

Thinking that the county yamen's treasury would soon hold tens of thousands more taels of silver, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not help but smile with satisfaction; this hard work had finally yielded some return.

North of Shangmu County, within Prince Qi's palace gardens.

Since returning from the Yisimo Regional Military Commissioner's city, Prince Qi's face had been as ugly as a bitter melon stepped on by several feet; not only had the merit he desperately sought gone up in smoke, but he had also been severely mocked and ridiculed by Jiang Jiang Mingyu. Truly, he had lost both his wife and his soldiers, and his anger reached the heavens.

After returning to Shangmu City, Prince Qi was in an extremely foul mood; first, he ordered men to beat Little Third, the one who had suggested the plan that ruined him, with heavy sticks, causing Little Third to wail incessantly.

Then Prince Qi himself drank heavily in gloomy seclusion until he was completely drunk, only falling into a drowsy sleep while being supported by palace maids.

But the splitting headache from the hangover the next day not only worsened his pain but also ignited an anger that could not be quelled.

It was noon when Prince Qi finally woke up; in his irritability, he finally decided to send troops to occupy Green Dragon Stronghold, completely seizing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's coal-transporting wealth route for himself, to vent this spite.

He swept his sleeves and left, arriving before the military camp. With a single order, the army was immediately assembled.

A cold sneer finally appeared on Prince Qi's gloomy face; he would make Jiang Jiang Mingyu pay the price for angering him.

Prince Qi shouted loudly, and his soldiers immediately assembled.

His head still throbbed faintly, but fury drove him to issue his command: "Brothers, listen to me! In recent days, foreign invaders attacked, yet Jiang Jiang Mingyu stole the merit; this is a great shame for us all! I have just received a report that there are traitors in Green Dragon Stronghold. We must immediately seize Green Dragon Stronghold, bring the traitors to justice, demonstrate the might of our Prince Qi Army, and let Jiang Jiang Mingyu know that guarding Shangmu is our sacred duty!"

The soldiers, knowing nothing of the truth, immediately donned their armor and prepared to depart upon hearing the order.

Seeing the great army was ready, a cold sneer finally appeared on Prince Qi's gloomy face; he would make Jiang Jiang Mingyu pay the price for offending him.

"March!" he immediately ordered, and the great army moved out in a grand procession toward Green Dragon Stronghold.

Yisimo Regional Military Commissioner's City, the Changshi's Residence.

A woman dressed in red, with a bewitching appearance but eyes full of hatred and grievance, was vigorously shaking Huang Huang Chaoran's fat shoulders, her long, black, lustrous hair flying up and down with her movements.

Clenching her crimson lips, with tears swirling in her eyes, she ground her teeth and said, "He is an Imperial Envoy, so he can do whatever he wants? I do not care how high his rank is; you are the Changshi, a person of high status in this Yisimo Regional Military Commissioner's City! My father and younger brother died so inexplicably; my He family has no heirs left. What meaning is there in my life?"

Having spoken, tears finally burst forth. The He woman, with eyes brimming with tears, suddenly lifted a wooden chair beside her and was about to wrap her pure white neck around the rough beam of the roof to end her life.

Huang Huang Chaoran, quick-eyed and quick-handed, grabbed the emotional He Hua before she could take extreme action: "Lady, calm down. I never said I would not avenge my father-in-law."

Standing on the chair in an undignified posture, He Hua heard this, suddenly flung away Huang Huang Chaoran's hand, and demanded, "Husband, what exactly do you mean?"

Huang Huang Chaoran frowned tightly and said in a deep voice, "Lady, you are right; we must avenge my father-in-law and my brother-in-law. Moreover, Jiang Jiang Mingyu made me lose face in court yesterday, and I hate him to the core."

"I will certainly find a way to deal with Jiang Jiang Mingyu. I will never let him escape unscathed; I will certainly take his head to offer it to my father-in-law's spirit in the heavens." Huang Huang Chaoran clenched his fists tightly, his eyes glowing with a cold light.

Hearing him say this, He Hua finally put her leg down and asked softly, "Then how do you plan to deal with Jiang Jiang Mingyu? Send someone directly to kill him?"

Huang Huang Chaoran shook his head and said, "No. The conflict between me and Jiang Jiang Mingyu is well known to the Inspector. If Jiang Jiang Mingyu were to disappear and die shortly after leaving, the Inspector would certainly suspect I did it."

"We must devise a foolproof method to destroy Jiang Jiang Mingyu. After all, he is an Imperial Envoy; everything must be planned carefully."

The bewitching He Hua wiped the tear tracks from the corners of her eyes again and asked, "Husband, do you have any good plan to deal with that dog official Jiang Jiang Mingyu?"

Huang Huang Chaoran paced back and forth, his fat body shuffling around the room like a clumsy and heavy pig.

After a long while, his thick, fleshy palms suddenly clapped together, and he laughed loudly, "Lady, I have an idea! We just need to do this... Jiang Jiang Mingyu will surely die."

He Hua hurriedly pressed, "Exactly what must be done? Speak quickly and let us hear it."

"Lady, listen to me, we just need to do this..."

By the end, Huang Huang Chaoran narrowed his small eyes and smiled sinisterly, "Thus, Jiang Jiang Mingyu will surely have no path to life left..."