Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 44 Zhou Changshi: I believe that I will be resurrected.

"Chou Changshi, please come this way."

The eldest master, Jia She, extended his hand to guide him. The person next to him smiled and nodded, and then walked side by side with the eldest master, Jia She.

The man wore a black gauze bun on his head and a green official robe with a coiled collar and wide sleeves. He looked about forty, and he was none other than Shi Zhou An, the chief minister of Prince Zhongshun. (Note [-])

Jia She walked around the study room outside his home, entered the corridor from the corner door, and then walked around Mengpo Zhai. He could see the small courtyard in the northeast from a distance.

Jia She was puzzled, and just now his disciples came to report that Shi Zhou'an, the head of Zhongshun Palace, had handed over the door sticker and would visit immediately.The Jia family had nothing to do with Prince Zhongshun in the past, so why did the Prince's chief minister come to visit him now?
Going back further, when the old man was still alive, the Jia family supported the deposed prince, and they were at odds with King Zhongshun.

If the old man is still alive, Jia She will naturally not care. The palace chief is just a fifth-rank official, while Jia She is a super-rank general.Today is different from the past. The Chief Historian of the Palace is not a big man, but he represents the face of King Zhongshun.Jia She didn't dare to neglect, and quickly sent his secret friends to invite him to the study. After serving him some fragrant tea, he started chatting with Zhou An.

The two chatted for a while, and Zhou An then said that he was actually here to visit Li Weijian, and said some apologetic words, which made Jia She even more surprised.

Li Weijian is just a relative who lives in Jia's family. In terms of fame, he is just a scholar. But I heard that this person is very good at digging camps. After entering the capital for more than ten days, he won the favor of Da Sikong and Shao Sikou. How can he be so good? Could he have climbed to the top of Prince Zhongshun's palace now?
While walking, Jia She thought about it for a long time and couldn't figure out the reason. When he asked Zhou An, the other person only laughed.He then made up his mind to stay with him later to hear why Zhou An came to see Li Weijian.

In a blink of an eye, the Northeastern Shang Xiaoyuan is right in front of you.

Jia She smiled and raised his hand: "Please see, Chief Shi, Li Weijian lives here."

Zhou Fushu looked at it and praised with a smile: "It's quite quiet."

Just as Jia She was about to send the boy to call the door, he heard Zhou An cupping his hands and saying with a smile: "Thank you, General Jia, for leading the way. I have been ordered by the prince to discuss some private matters with Li Xiucai. This... I cannot disclose the contents. Therefore, I ask General Jia to stay."

"Ah...oh." Jia She smacked his mouth, becoming more and more itchy.

Unexpectedly, after everyone said this, his eldest boss, Jia She, was so shameless that he insisted on following along.After thinking about it for a while, the worst case scenario was to bring up Li Weijian and ask him about it.So he smiled and cupped his hands and said: "In that case, Zhou Changshi, please do it yourself, I will excuse you from my side."

"I have really troubled you, General Jia. I will serve you a drink to apologize on the day I come down. General Jia, go slowly."

The eldest master, Jia She, left two young men nearby to guide Zhou An when he went out, and then he hesitated and walked away, looking back three times.

Zhou An, the chief minister, stopped in front of the door and briefly went over the past events in his mind.

King Zhongshun was only one step away from Dabao, but fell short at the last moment, allowing Jinshang to break into the Daming Palace and seize the throne!
Because the reputation of killing one's father and brother is really not good, and the current position is not right, so I can serve the emperor while being kind to my brothers.Even the deposed prince was just imprisoned and never investigated the past.

The important matter has been decided. King Zhongshun knew that he had no way to make a comeback, so he thought about his thoughts and simply became more and more indulgent.

This is an act of wisdom and self-preservation. The more greedy, lewd and perverse the prince is, the more bad his reputation will be, which will further underline the fact that he is the one who is expected to win the throne now.

In order to make money, the prince's pawn shops were opened all over the country, and the Jinling branch was naturally indispensable among them.

Unexpectedly, it was this Jinling semicolon that gave the prince an unexpected surprise.

The banker hired by the semicolon, named Wu Haiping, came to the capital more than ten days ago with the scholar who was borrowing money.A few days ago, a report suddenly came that Li Xiucai's hands and eyes were astute, and he was even more capable!
His uncle was Li Shouzhong, who had resigned from the Imperial Academy and returned home. His sister married into the Rongguo Mansion. He had a bright mind and profound academic attainments. He first won the favor of Lin Hai, the Salt Secretary in Yangzhou, and within ten days of entering Beijing, he won the title of Da Sikong and Da Sikong. Shao Sikou has blue eyes.

Such a person will rise to prominence in the future.Then Wu Haiping told Li Weijian what he wanted, and Zhou An, with the intention of making good friends, stepped forward to get the matter settled.

It was nothing more than coercion and inducement, and 200 taels of silver were exchanged for a meal. The Ding brothers agreed without any hesitation, and the next day they were out.

Later, Wu Haiping got the order and said he wanted to inquire about Che Qinghe, a wealthy businessman in the Shanxi Guild Hall.

It was Zhou An who received him. He felt a little disgusted, so he held his nose and asked for the news.

Then the day before yesterday, Wu Haiping met Zhou An for the third time. He was extremely bored at the time, thinking that he was just a scholar. If Zhou Changshi troubled him again, he would have to give Li Weijian a good look.

Unexpectedly, this time Wu Haiping actually told a piece of great news!

Li Weijian didn't know what kind of skill he used, but he actually dug a sweet water well!And according to what Wu Haiping said, this time it was not a matter of bad luck. If Li Xiu could hit one blow, he could hit countless blows.

Zhou An was a little distracted after hearing this... It is not easy to live in the capital, and the water is especially difficult.

There are thousands of wells in the capital. Except for a small number of sweet water wells, the slightly bitter water is extremely precious.If Li Weijian really has the ability to dig out sweet water wells, wouldn't he make a fortune?
Without anything else, just digging a few sweet water wells to sell is a good business with huge profits.Compared with the mere 3000 taels of silver, this method of digging a sweet water well is worth a fortune.

Zhou An did not dare to neglect, sent Wu Haiping away, and then reported the matter to King Zhongshun.The prince was overjoyed and immediately ordered Zhou An to deal with the matter, regardless of the cost, as long as he got the solution.

However, Li Weijian fell ill at this moment.Zhou An waited for a day, fearing that something would change if it was too late - there were not many fools in the capital, and he was afraid that the matter would spread and all the princes and nobles would swarm in.Not only will it cost a lot, but you may not be able to master the method of digging a well.

Ever since, he took the liberty of visiting me this time.

After sorting out the previous situation, Zhou An adjusted his clothes and walked to the door.

The door of the small courtyard was open. Perhaps after hearing the message, there was already a pretty maid waiting in front of the door.When Zhou An arrived in front of the door, the maid hurriedly said, "But is it in front of Zhou An?"

"It is this official."

The maid spoke eloquently and said, "My Fourth Master Jian has caught the wind and cold. He really can't get up right now. Please forgive me, Zhou Changshi."

"I've heard about it a long time ago, so it doesn't matter."

"Then please Zhou Changshi to come with me."

Zhou An nodded, followed Hong Yu with square steps, and entered the main room in a short while.

As soon as he entered, he could smell the smell of medicinal soup all over the room. He walked around the screen to the Denuang Pavilion and saw a person sitting on the bed with a slightly pale complexion. He smiled and cupped his hands towards the side of the room and said: "Zhou Zhangshi, I'm sorry, I'm caught in the cold and can't walk for a while."

"Li Xiucai, don't be polite. Speaking of which, we are also regular customers."

The maid moved the embroidered pier to the embroidered pier. After Zhou An sat down, she hurriedly offered tea and then retreated far away.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries about his condition, Zhou An changed the subject and got down to business.

"Li Xiucai——" "The student Biao Zi is resurrected. Chang Shi doesn't mind, just call me Biao Zi."

"Well, Resurrection, what happened to me this time? Resurrection has already been expected."

Li Weijian smiled and nodded, listening to what he said next.

Zhou An said: "I have already informed the prince about this matter. The prince heard that Resurrection has such a wonderful method, and he praised it in person. If Resurrection has this ability, his future will be limitless."

"Haha, the prince is so complimentary."

"Well, having said that, the prince is determined to win this method." Zhou An leaned forward and lowered his voice and said: "Fusheng's debt will be completely forgiven. Not only that, the prince is still willing to pay this amount."

As he spoke, Zhou An gestured with five fingers.

Li Weijian nodded when he saw this and said, "5 taels is not a low price."

Zhou An looked stunned and said quickly: "Don't make trouble when you are alive again, it's 5000 taels! 5 taels... Tsk, do you think your method is an elixir?"

"Only 5000 taels..." Although Li Weijian smiled, he was extremely dissatisfied with this small amount of money.

"Including the debt, it is only 8000 taels... In this way, if the resurrection is too little, I will make the decision and add another 2000 taels to you, making up 1 taels - which is quite a lot."

Li Weijian smiled and nodded: "It's not that bad. The prince is really heroic. It's just a pity that this method has already been formulated below and sent to the imperial court."

The smile on Zhou An's face faded, and suddenly he became gloomy: "Is Li Xiucai trying to fool himself? Don't forget that you asked me twice before. If this matter becomes public, what do you think you will end up with?"

Li Weijian's smile did not fade and he said: "Zhou Zhou is not in a hurry, if that's the case, how about I send you a message in exchange for debt relief and an additional 2000 taels of silver?"

Zhou Changshi was silent and looked at Li Weijian up and down, trying to see through the person in front of him.After looking at it for a long time, there was nothing else on Li Weijian's face except a smile without any emotion at all.

After thinking for a while, he said: "Well, you can tell me whether it is worth the price. I will have to decide with the prince."

Li Weijian lowered his voice and said: "I will guarantee that this matter will definitely be worth the money. Please also ask the chief minister to come over."

Zhou An moved the embroidery pier, leaned forward, and listened to Li Weijian whispering for a while.But seeing Zhou An's face look stern at first, then suspicious, then surprised, and finally suspicious again.

After Li Weijian finished speaking, he slowly straightened his body and thought for a long time before saying: "This matter... I can't make the decision."

Li Weijian said: "The chief minister must report to the prince as soon as possible. There are some things... a step too late is a step too late."

"I'll save it." Frowning tightly, Zhou An stood up and said, "In this case, I'll wait until I inform the prince first."

"Okay, Hongyu, send Zhou Changshi to me."

Hongyu from the outside responded, and hurriedly went to the door of Denuang Pavilion and gave a blessing: "Zhang Zhou, please invite me."

Zhou An followed Hongyu and stepped out of the Nuan Pavilion. He frowned and thought about what Li Weijian had just said. He glanced casually and saw a bored person sitting in the study.

Huh?Why is this person so kind?As he was thinking about it, he saw the man in the study raising his head and looking at him. The two people's eyes met. Zhou An secretly took a breath and thought: Why did Yan Xiyao's precious son come to Li Weijian's place?

After thinking about it again, the sweet water well was dug at Yan Xiyao's house. Could it be that Yan Xiyao, the old fox, was also interested in this matter?Yes, Wu Haiping said before that Li Weijian and Yan Fengzhen had a close relationship.Regardless of whether what Li Weijian said just now is true or false, as long as Yan Xiyao is taking care of him, the prince will not be able to touch Li Weijian.

In this case, it is better to make friends with Li Xiucai first so that we can deal with him later.

Zhou An hesitated slightly, then suddenly turned around and quickly returned to the bedside of Nuange.

Li Weijian had already lied down again, but when he saw his return, he hurriedly stood up again and asked in confusion, "Zhou Changshi?"

Zhou An squeezed out a smile on his face and said: "No matter what, since Resurrection is so capable, the debt will be settled sooner or later." As he spoke, he took out a deed from his sleeve and handed it over: "My prince He is also a generous person, and he is sincerely befriending Fusheng this time. It is better to return this deed to Fusheng, so that Fusheng will not think that my prince is taking advantage of his power to bully others."

Li Weijian didn't know what Zhou An was thinking, but he also knew that the loyal and obedient king had a very bad reputation in recent years.But there is a way to avoid hitting the smiling person. Since the other person has good intentions, it is not good to give him a cold face.There was surprise on his face: "This... I have on hand now——"

"Eh? I just told you that if you believe you can be resurrected. It will not be convenient to refuse after resurrecting."

"Haha, if that's the case, then I'll accept it first. Don't worry, Zhou Changshi, what I said below is false. I will repay the debt double."

"Okay, if you come back to life quickly and speak quickly, I will return first. The prince will make further calculations after he has been informed."

Li Weijian smiled and cupped his hands, watching Zhou Changshi leave quickly.

He was not allowed to think about it. As soon as Zhou An left, Yan Fengzhen walked in excitedly.

He didn't see anyone else, he just pulled the embroidered pillar and sat down, frowning and said: "I just heard it, why does Resurrection seem to owe Prince Zhongshun money? Doesn't it matter?"

Li Weijian smiled and picked up the IOU, dusted it off with a snap of his fingers, and said, "Is it important? The IOU is back, what else is important?"

Yan Fengzhen said suspiciously: "What benefits did you promise me just now? You can't just pay back the IOU without any reason, right?"

"The mountain man has his own clever plan," Li Weijian paused and said, "Brother Jing Wen went back to report to Ming Shao Sikou that there is a big deal with huge profits. Seeing that Shao Sikou is friendly with those wealthy businessmen, he might as well spread the news first."

Yan Fengzhen blinked and said disdainfully: "It's just a well, what's a huge profit? Even if the price is 1000 taels, the number of households that the capital can afford is only a hundred, and it's still a one-time deal..."

Li Weijian smiled and said: "Drilling a well is naturally a one-time deal, but if you dig a well and sell the water, isn't it a huge profit? If Brother Jing Wen has free time tomorrow, he can go with me to see King Zhongyong. Don’t ask for self-knowledge.”

How can Yan Fengzhen be trusted?Unexpectedly, Li Weijian's appetite was whetted again, and he kept asking what the business was.No matter how much Yan Fenzhen tried to provoke him, Li Weijian just smiled and said nothing, which made Yan Fenzhen completely angry.

Near noon, Yan Fengzhen left in a hurry.Li Weijian lay on the bed carelessly, with a smile on his lips.Planning for many days has finally come to fruition.

Note [-]: Zhou An, the second character, is not named in the original work.

(End of this chapter)