"He's really dead?"
the Richest Person asked.
"Really?"
Zheng Erniang immediately seized on Master Zheng's slip of the tongue.
Zheng Xiu smiled and explained, "I had dinner with him yesterday and noticed the space between his eyebrows was dark, he was coughing dryly, his steps were unsteady, his complexion was listless, his eyes were baggy and jaundiced, his lips were pale and his eyes were sunken, he had an irregular menstrual cycle and was suffering from impotence. I figured his yin must be deficient and his yang weak..."
Second Lady listened quietly, an expression on her face that said, 'I'll just sit here and watch Master's performance.'
Zheng Xiu didn't continue. He cleared his throat twice and straightened his expression. "So, what are the specifics?"
"You truly don't know, Master?" Second Lady asked doubtfully.
Zheng Xiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I'm trapped in this wretched prison, miserable and depressed. And I can't kill people from a distance. This... what does this have to do with me?"
'That makes sense,' Second Lady thought. 'Even if Master really did arrange something, or even paid someone to do it. It was still done by someone else's hand. It has nothing to do with Master.'
She recounted everything she knew, one detail at a time.
In the middle of the night, Shi Wentong let out a blood-curdling scream in front of his own home. His driver discovered him dead inside his carriage.
The Six Gates constables investigated the scene overnight. It's said that somehow, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel were all alerted in the end.
As for why so many departments were involved, Second Lady couldn't find out the inside story yet. But new rumors were already swirling through the city today, saying that Shi Wentong, sentimental about old times, had gone to the Prison Camp to visit a prisoner yesterday, and had died in the middle of the night.
The implication was clear: Boss Zheng was highly suspicious.
The rumors in the Imperial City had been getting ridiculous lately. With suspicion hanging in the air, the Storytellers in the major teahouses were all voicing their own opinions, even getting into heated arguments across the street. It was quite a spectacle.
"One can always find a pretext to condemn someone!" Zheng Xiu's voice was loud, betraying a hint of guilt. He quickly changed the subject and asked about the state of his family's businesses.
'This whole business with Shi Wentong is not something I can meddle with carelessly. The more I interfere, the more likely I am to make a mistake. I'm in prison—that's an ironclad alibi. No one can do anything to me. Pretending not to know is the safest course of action.'
Second Lady said that managers from the Ministry of Revenue had come to inspect the books over the past two days, but the Zheng Family's accounts were clean, so they hadn't found anything yet.
Heh. Zheng Xiu recalled what Shi Wentong had said in the carriage last night. The person backing him hadn't succeeded in winning over Ke Bingliang yet. He calmly asked, "What about the Ministry of Justice? Have they issued a formal document convicting me?"
Second Lady shook her head. "It hasn't been issued yet. However, the Ministry of Justice's official statement to us is that you, Master, are suspected of evading fifty million in taxes, and you are to be held in custody pending trial until the matter is clarified."
Zheng Xiu said, "'Held in custody pending trial' is just a temporary excuse. Otherwise, they wouldn't have thrown me straight into Death Row."
Second Lady fell silent.
Business people were very familiar with the laws of Daqian—how else could they find loopholes? Though Second Lady said nothing, she knew in her heart that someone must be pulling strings behind the scenes.
Zheng Xiu offered a few words of reassurance. After getting an understanding of the situation outside, he instructed Second Lady to make the necessary arrangements to stabilize their business first.
"Just say that to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Zheng's Bank, we're adding a 'Maturity Profit-Sharing' service. For fixed-term deposits over one million taels, not only will the safekeeping fee be waived, but we'll also give them an annual profit equivalent to five percent of their deposit."
"You'll hang a plaque that reads: 'Other banks just take your cash; Zheng's Bank makes your cash grow.'"
"Besides targeting the big fish, we also need to attract small depositors. For retail customers with less than one million, as long as they deposit their money into Zheng's Bank this month and keep it for a full year, the safekeeping fee is completely waived. If it's less than a year, but more than a day, the safekeeping fee will be cut by fifty percent."
"Also, order all the Wanderers of 'Zheng's Express' to distribute flyers, stamped with the Zheng Family Seal. As long as they present the flyer when spending at any Zheng Family business, they get three taels off for every fifty taels spent, six taels off for every one hundred, and so on, with no upper limit. If they dare to spend, the Zheng Family dares to give. We'll do it until we go bankrupt."
"Furthermore, for the Zheng-Zheng Punching Game, we're opening a 'punch first, pay later' service. No satisfaction, no charge. Remember, the Zheng-Zheng Punching Game has three 'no-punch' rules: we don't punch without reason, we don't punch the old, the weak, women, or children, and we don't punch powerful officials or nobles."
"Send out the message. Not just in the Imperial City—I want all Zheng Family restaurants across the land to start a massive group-buy discount. For every table that forms a group of ten, they get ten percent off the bill. Unlimited uses, no voucher needed, everyone can participate, and the offer is always valid."
Zheng Xiu's throat was dry from issuing one command after another.
Zheng Erniang opportunely poured a cup of clear water from her personal flask. Holding it with an elegant 'orchid finger' grip, she passed it through the bars to Master's lips.
After moistening his throat, Zheng Xiu was satisfied. "That should be enough for now."
Just then, Zheng Xiu's expression froze. His forehead felt itchy for a moment.
Seeing her master raise his hand to scratch his forehead, Second Lady thought he had an itch and reached out to help.
"No need. You should head back for now."
Master Zheng decided to scratch it himself and not rely on others.
"Master, are you... doing charity?"
Zheng Xiu's words, each one about "giving away" this or that, left Second Lady unable to discern his true intentions for a moment.
"You can't tell? It's good that you can't." Zheng Xiu sighed lightly. "The way of business is to win people over with virtue."
"But Zheng's Bank hasn't been open for ten years yet."
"If I, Zheng Xiu, say it's been ten years, then it's been ten years. Who's going to bother checking?"
"Understood."
Second Lady nodded in agreement.
"Oh, right," It was indeed not a place to linger. Before she left, Second Lady stuffed a small, exquisite Brocade Bag into Zheng Xiu's hand. "This is a Protective Talisman that Second Lady went to the Immortal Maiden Temple in the suburbs to pray for yesterday, Master. Please keep it close. I hope you can pass through this calamity safely, Master."
"That charlatan of an Immortal Lady?" Zheng Xiu looked at it, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Just tell me honestly, how much money did you spend?"
Second Lady pursed her lips. "Not much. To show my sincerity, I only donated three thousand taels."
"What a sucker," Zheng Xiu muttered under his breath.
"Hm?"
"They're ripping off suckers exactly like you." As he spoke, Zheng Xiu still tucked the Peace Talisman away safely against his skin. "You know perfectly well I don't believe in all this talk of gods, Buddhas, and demon fiends."
Second Lady covered her mouth and giggled. "But I clearly remember when you were little, you used to drag Second Lady up the mountain, saying you wanted to search for traces of immortals and seek the path of immortality. You also said that divine beings are watching from three feet above our heads, so we shouldn't speak carelessly, make rash vows, or randomly stick up..."
"Flags." Hearing her mention it, Zheng Xiu couldn't help but laugh as well. He remembered when he was a child, right after his Awakening and the memories of his past life returned. His own mother, depressed over his father's death in battle, had taken her own life, leaving a complete mess for Zheng Xiu. He had practically grown up relying solely on Second Lady.
Back then, Zheng Erniang, who was eight years older than Zheng Xiu, had voluntarily taken on Mother Zheng's responsibilities, taking care of Zheng Xiu's daily life.
"Alright, alright, I'll keep it safe, I'll keep it safe." Something occurred to Zheng Xiu. "Right, Second Lady, I need you to ask around about a place for me."
"Please tell me, Master."
Zheng Xiu lowered his voice. "Help me check if there's a place called 'Baili Village' near Yanzhou, or within the three surrounding prefectures. If you can't find it there, expand the search. The Zheng Family has many Wanderers who have traveled to the ends of the earth. They have good information networks. Grease their palms a bit more to get the news."
"Baili Village?" Second Lady thought hard but didn't recall ever hearing of such a village. But that wasn't surprising. The Daqian region was vast; no one was a know-it-all who knew everything under the sun.
"Second Lady understands. Master, don't you dare open this Peace Talisman. The people at the Immortal Maiden Temple said it'll lose its effectiveness if you open it." Zheng Erniang instructed him carefully. She got up and took a few steps, then seemed to hesitate before gracefully turning back and lowering her voice. "Zizi asked me to pass on a message to you, Master: 'The job is done.'"
Zheng Xiu nodded.
The moment Second Lady was gone, Zheng Xiu opened the Peace Talisman. Inside was a lock of hair.
"A real sucker indeed." Master Zheng sighed softly. He was about to throw it away, but after a moment's hesitation, he tucked it away safely against his skin again.
Once Second Lady was far away, Zheng Xiu scratched the bump on his forehead and hurriedly entered his Heart Prison. He unrolled the Paper Scroll, and his face immediately broke into a wide, joyful smile.
"I, Zheng, am truly a man of extraordinary Talent—so great and so tough!"
[No merchant is honest (some accomplishment)]: 1. As the saying goes, no merchant is honest, and you are the king of them all. When you roll for points, there is a certain probability of triggering "Cunning and Deceitful," doubling the points. 2. You have comprehended the Dao of Choice and Discard. As the saying goes, one must first discard to gain. When creating a new Incarnation, you can choose to halve the points of one roll in advance, and the next roll will be guaranteed to trigger "Cunning and Deceitful" and be doubled.
Upgraded!
Master Zheng's eyes lit up when he saw the words "new Incarnation".
He tried it, but it didn't work.
Perhaps the time wasn't right.
But this undoubtedly gave Master Zheng something new to think about and look forward to.
He took the opportunity to quickly farm the Imperial Guard Commander, Wang Cangyun, a few times. However, Zheng Xiu discovered that ever since his [Taunt] skill had been upgraded to the "Entry" level, no matter how he insulted or provoked Wang Cangyun, even arrogantly sticking his neck out and telling him to come get it, he could no longer gain any Experience Value from him.
'Looks like I've sheared this super sheep completely bald.'
The reason Zheng Xiu had asked Second Lady to investigate "Baili Village" was that he had noticed the style of clothing worn by Wang Cangyun and the others was very similar to the style of the Daqian Dynasty. He decided to keep it in mind and have it checked out.
Since Wang Cangyun had been sheared bald, Zheng Xiu entered Baili Village once more. He politely declined the village chief's invitation and wandered through the village on his own.
First, he'd scout the area.
Commonly known as: unlocking the map.
When Zheng Xiu entered the village, dusk had passed, and the veil of night was still thin.
The villagers were just about to head into their homes. Zheng Xiu took a stroll around and found that the living conditions of Baili Village's residents seemed average. Their clothes were old and worn, but most of the villagers were fair and plump, with delicate skin. They didn't look like peasants.
When the villagers saw Zheng Xiu, their pace quickened as if they were trying to avoid him. Zheng Xiu was taken aback for a moment, but then he remembered the bandits entrenched in the mountains outside and figured it was a natural reaction. He quickly went forward, caught a villager, and began a "friendly" inquiry. Under Master Zheng's persistent questioning, they timidly divulged quite a bit of information.
Zheng Xiu mainly asked about the village's situation. They said that east of Baili Village, there was a river teeming with a type of plump carp with white-tinged scales. As the villagers made their living by fishing, they naturally never went hungry.
The village's atmosphere gave Master Zheng a strange sense of dissonance. He couldn't pinpoint what was strange, but it felt like everything was strange.
'What's the catch?'
A furious roar thundered out.
"Hmph! To think you'd dare chase me a thousand miles. Are you underestimating me?"
Commander Wang, showing no martial virtue, charged from behind while Zheng Xiu was still stunned and lopped off his head with a single slash.
[DEATH.]
Master Zheng, who had been hacked back to reality by the single slash, was left dumbfounded.
'Are you fucking kidding me? It never ends with you, does it?'