[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-950":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338155,4570,"Chapter 950","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-950",950,"\u003Cp>The government office runners forcibly sealed the door with official strips and drove out the shopkeeper and all the clerks, threatening: “Breaking the seal means prison—someone will be watching this place constantly, unlike outside the city walls; if you’ve got the guts, tear it off!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could the shopkeeper dare tear it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, the government office runners had sealed the shop right in the street, making a huge scene— even if they secretly peeled off the strip, they wouldn’t dare open the door to do business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silk shop is different from a dye house; in a dye house, once someone slips inside and shuts the door, work can proceed—whether the seal is peeled or not makes no difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a silk shop is a place that operates with its doors open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper stamped his foot; as soon as the government office runners left, he asked the clerks: “Have you informed the proprietor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The proprietor is inspecting the estates; the young master is currently in charge at the mansion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper: “Where’s the young master?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clerk: “The mansion says the young master was at Wanchun Tower last night and hasn’t returned, still drunk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper and Pan Yun both looked up at the sun’s position; one fell silent, the other clicked his tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun quickened her eating pace and said to Miao Zhen and Miao He: “We won’t get to see the spectacle—let’s go shopping after this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen: “Buy what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Food, daily necessities,” Pan Yun said. “Tomorrow Wang Cong and I are going to see Pu Min; we can’t go empty-handed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen was surprised: “You’re going to give them gifts?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t like the little uncle or the big brother at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the three were about to leave, a group of men rushed over carrying a sedan chair, slamming it down in front of them with a sharp crack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the chair even steadied, a young man with dark circles under his eyes and weak, trembling legs burst out—likely dazed by the jostling, he swayed left and right, then tripped over his own feet and collapsed face-first right before Pan Yun and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun bit back a laugh, wanting to help but not daring to reach out, so she kept waving her hands: “No need to bow, no need to bow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper and clerks who hadn’t left immediately rushed forward to lift him up: “Young master, are you alright?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Dongrong shoved the shopkeeper aside, gripped his waist, and looked up at his silk shop—seeing the official seal on the door, he flew into a rage: “Wu Cunwen is pushing too far! Just for a few copper coins, he dares to seal my silk shop? Tear it off! Tear it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper’s face twisted in distress: “Young master, this morning the Prefect himself summoned us about this matter, even specifically named our shop—this seal doesn’t just represent County Magistrate Wu, but also Magistrate Lu; we can’t tear it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Dongrong kicked the sedan chair beside him in fury and cursed the shopkeeper: “What good are you? You can’t even handle this small matter! They won’t tear it? It’s just because the money’s not enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper choked, paused a long moment, then stepped closer and urged him to lower his voice: “Young master, instead of spending money on them, why not settle the workers’ wages? It’s not much in total…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No! I’d rather throw the money into the water just to hear the splash—I won’t pay them!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper couldn’t help stamping his foot: “Young master, why are you doing this? You’re alienating your people and offending both the Prefect and the County Magistrate!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Dongrong sneered: “What do you know? A bunch of lowlife peasants—they think they’ve found an escape route and dare to ride over my head? Have they even wiped the mud off their feet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before, they clung to my family for meals, knelt outside our gate begging like dogs just to work in our dye house—back then we delayed their wages for a whole year, and who dared say a word?” Chen Dongrong grew angrier: “Now they dare say Zhang’s wages are higher, demand raises, and after only five months of delay, they go to the government office to sue me! If I don’t teach them a lesson now, what will they do next year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper: “Times have changed—Quanzhou is short on labor now, wages really are rising…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Dongrong narrowed his eyes and questioned: “So, Zhou Shancai, are you also demanding a raise?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper froze, opened his mouth, then spoke haltingly: “Young master, I didn’t mean that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’d better not!” Chen Dongrong’s face darkened. “Don’t forget, everything you have today comes from my grandfather. If my grandfather hadn’t pitied you back then and taken you on as a clerk, where would you be now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the shopkeeper could reply, Chen Dongrong spat at the seal: “A bunch of lowlifes—you think suing me means I have to pay you? I’d rather throw the money at the County Magistrate and the Prefect—I won’t give you a single copper!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper, exhausted, said quietly: “Young master, it’s just over four hundred taels—why get so angry over this? It’s less than what you spend on two days at Wanchun Tower. But if this silk shop stays sealed, you lose daily income, and your reputation suffers—once damaged, it’ll be hard to recover.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s no one in the world who doesn’t love money. If you throw money at County Magistrate Wu and Magistrate Lu, they won’t relent—just because you haven’t offered enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper looked at him helplessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Dongrong returned his gaze with contempt: “Don’t be stingy with money. Once they take our money, the connection is made—future problems won’t be just this one. It’s all spending; better to spend it on opening paths, on the path to heaven, than waste it on these disobedient lowlifes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Dongrong felt triumphant, convinced his idea was brilliant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rest of their conversation was spoken in low tones, but the three people sitting nearby weren’t ordinary folk—they had sharp ears and keen eyes; pretending not to hear was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun raised an eyebrow and looked at the two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper helped Chen Dongrong into the sedan chair, then stood with clasped hands, watching him leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he stood sideways, Pan Yun still caught the quick flash of disgust and irritation in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun grew interested. As the shopkeeper turned to leave, she called out to him, waving: “You’ve been busy all day—you must be hungry. Come have a bowl of wonton.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper paused, studied her carefully, realized he didn’t know her—but seeing her smiling face, he hesitated, then walked over with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was instinct: as a merchant, one must be kind to others—no matter what had just happened, the next moment you faced a stranger, you had to smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun’s smile widened. As soon as the shopkeeper sat, she told the stall owner to bring another bowl of wonton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While waiting for the wonton, Pan Yun asked: “May I ask your name, sir?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper replied: “I am Zhou Shancai, shopkeeper of Chen’s Silk Shop.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun praised: “What a fine name!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Shancai smiled—he’d been kept on as a runner by the old proprietor of Chen’s precisely because of this name, and it had changed his life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And may I ask your honorable name, guest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun smiled lightly: “I am a Daoist of the Pan surname.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Shancai’s eyes flickered—female Daoist of the Pan surname?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Ming had a supremely powerful Daoist Pan, the State Preceptor;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Fujian, there was another famed Daoist Pan, revered as a hero by old men of eighty and children of five alike—Pan Sanzhu, who was the State Preceptor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumor said the State Preceptor was young, only in his teens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before Zhou Shancai could finish thinking, Pan Yun had already scanned him from head to toe, shaking her head and sighing: “Master Zhou, I have a karmic connection with you. Just now, I dared to cast a divination for you—you lost your father and mother in childhood, grew up eating from a Company Commander, and at twelve, met the old proprietor of Chen’s, who took you on as a laborer. After years of hard work, you finally ate your fill and wore decent clothes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Shancai nodded: “True. The old proprietor showed me great kindness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You and he—one is Metal, one is Water; Metal generates Water, so you flourish Chen’s, and Chen’s nourishes you in return—mutually supportive, mutually fulfilling. But,” Pan Yun studied his features and sighed again: “But…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Shancai’s heart tightened; he hurriedly asked: “But what?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1456,"2026-06-20T22:04:01.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","00fb525e5f1712478dfa4eb15f8f260a23510fd070c94f19a2f46f28c57e45cf","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-951","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-949",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]