The imperial palace was silent late that night.
Jiajing was still deep in meditation, but he suddenly felt the atmosphere was unusual and couldn't help but steal glances at Lu Fang.
Lu Fang was comparing Zhu Qi's secret report with Zheng Bichang's memorial, reading it over and over again, his face filled with a smile he was struggling to suppress.
"Lu Fang, is it that funny? It's just a report."
Lu Fang deliberately played coy and replied, "Your Majesty, it's truly not a big deal..."
"If it's not a big deal, why are you laughing? You're laughing like a street performer..."
Heh heh,
Lu Fang chuckled and said, "Your slave merely finds this matter quite amusing, and I was just about to share it with His Majesty to relieve your boredom..."
"What is it? What new trick has that brat Zhu Mo pulled in Jiangnan?"
Hearing Jiajing's slight impatience, Lu Fang still kept him in suspense and said:
"Your Majesty, this slave has heard the storybooks about the Water Margin. There's a story called 'The Real and Fake Li Kui'... This time, our Zhu Mo boy has also staged such a scene. It's so funny just thinking about it. The common folk in the capital have been talking and laughing about it during their tea breaks these past few days..."
"Oh?..."
Jiajing pretended to be uninterested.
Lu Fang understood his cue and said:
"Your Majesty, Zhu Mo truly has some talent. He found people to impersonate the Yan family's household staff and robbed Yan Maoqing of the one million taels of salt inspection silver! Right now, the 'Yan family staff robbing Yan Maoqing' incident has become a laughingstock for everyone in the world! They say it's like the real and fake Li Kui, and no one can tell the difference! Ha... Some say the Yan family staff were fake, and some directly say Yan Maoqing was an imposter... It's caused quite a stir..."
Saying this, Lu Fang, with a playful grin, handed the two reports to Jiajing.
Jiajing glared at Lu Fang, took them, and read them carefully. He almost burst out laughing!
But as soon as his lips curved into a smile, he saw Lu Fang's impertinent expression. His smile immediately froze, and he gave Lu Fang a sidelong glance before turning away to read them a few more times.
The more Jiajing read, the more delighted he became! Several times he was about to laugh out loud, but it turned into a few dry coughs.
Lu Fang thought to himself—
Still pretending?
Go ahead and laugh if you want to.
Your son is here to vent your frustrations, isn't he?
Seeing Jiajing's shaking back from suppressed laughter, Lu Fang chimed in:
"Your Majesty, my informants report that Yan Shifan is furious and has smashed everything breakable in his house... Yan Song also had a private meeting with them in the study for nearly two hours. Zhu Mo really cannot be underestimated. How could he come up with such a sharp move at his age?"
Jiajing inwardly scoffed—
What do you know?
He is my son.
Can my son be a weakling?
But outwardly, he said sternly, "Hmph, such a small matter, a mere trifle, a trivial skill, and it makes you laugh like this? Look at you! By offending Yan Song like this, do you think Yan Song will let him go? Besides, Yan Maoqing is indeed like a mute eating bitter herbs, daring not to acknowledge this money, but where is the money? Has it not gone to another textile mill?"
Lu Fang inwardly chuckled—
Still acting tough?
Are you more concerned about the money or your son?
He knew this Emperor was never lenient when it came to money.
And now? His son just offended someone, but he's talking about money?
But the Emperor is still the Emperor, and whatever he does is right.
Lu Fang could only reply, "As for the money, I heard it's being transported to the capital, and it's probably on the Grand Canal right now. It should arrive in the capital in a few days..."
"Oh? Wasn't it registered as disaster relief funds? Why is it being transported to the capital again...?"
Before he finished speaking, he abruptly stopped himself.
Lu Fang was taken aback and thought, Oh no—
This Emperor has always valued money the most!
Isn't he suspecting Zhu Mo of embezzlement?
He could only reply truthfully, "Your slave, your slave has indeed heard some rumors, saying that Zhu Mo is transporting the silver back to the capital to buy houses and concubines..."
As he said this,
Jiajing's expression had already become serious, and he asked, "Are these rumors spreading?"
"Yes, they are spreading... First, it was the officials in Jiangnan who were spreading it, then the capital officials, and then the common people... Now, in every tea house and street corner in the capital, people are saying that Zhu Mo robbed Yan Maoqing of a million taels in Jiangnan and is bringing it back to spend in the capital..."
It was obvious that these rumors must have been spread by Yan Shifan.
Jiajing immediately became displeased—
This money should have been handed over long ago. Don't I need money? Even if he wanted to take it, he should have done it discreetly! Now that it's caused such a stir, do I have to clean up his mess?
Lu Fang also thought of this and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, then... then perhaps? Should we issue an order for him to hand it over...?"
Jiajing chuckled and cursed,
"Order him to hand it over? Look at you, your eyes are glued to the money... Do you think this money can be taken just like that? If you force him to hand it over, what will the court become? What will people think of the court? Will they say the court sent him to rob? Won't Yan Shifan say anything...? This money is ownerless silver obtained in Jiangnan, and he is the special envoy for disaster relief. The money has also been registered as disaster relief silver. How it is spent is ultimately up to him..."
Lu Fang pondered for a moment and said, "That's true. Even if he transports this money into the capital, as long as he says it's related to important matters in Jiangnan, that he needs to buy this and that, how it's spent will indeed be up to him. Even if he hands it over, how much he hands over will still be decided by him... However, if he pockets some of it to buy houses and such... what should be done then?"
Jiajing smiled and said, "What can be done? If he buys a few houses, it's only natural for a person... Who doesn't have emotions and desires? His old courtyard is also long overdue for a change!"
"Your slave muses that this matter cannot... Zhu Mo is not that kind of person..."
Jiajing's life experiences were in a completely darkened world, so how could he have faith in human nature? As long as it was money handled by someone, who wouldn't take a few hairs? As long as the overall integrity was reliable, it was enough...
But even with such thoughts, he still held a deep hope in his heart—
Perhaps he would be different?
However,
Mo'er is so unfortunate,
If I had money, I would have rewarded him with millions of taels long ago...
Alas,
Why am I agonizing over this?
In the end, it's poverty that limits ambition...
If the court had money, how could I be so harsh on unfortunate Mo'er?
After thinking for a while, he felt relieved—
It's a good thing that his son can earn money for him! In the future, when he becomes Emperor of the Great Ming and a stingy emperor, the court will not lack money.
With this thought, he couldn't help but smile and said,
"Lu Fang, be foolish when you should be... Let him handle it himself... If the common people talk, let them talk. They'll stop after a few months..."
"Your Majesty, your slave always feels that Zhu Mo is not that kind of person... Your slave dares to bet!"
"Heh heh, what do you want to bet then?"
"If your slave wins, I'll ask Your Majesty to agree to let me see the Yongle Encyclopedia in the Imperial Treasury..."
"Little one! If you want to see it, just say so... You want to bet? Although the Yongle Encyclopedia in the Inner Treasury is precious, it's not impossible to see..."
"Your Majesty just wait and see..."
Jiajing smiled knowingly and said, "Are you that confident? You know you'll win? Hmph, I don't think so..."
The monarch and his minister looked at each other and smiled, the bet thus settled.
But Jiajing's heart felt a bit complicated—
After wandering the martial world for more than ten years, could Mo'er truly remain untainted by the worldly vices and bad habits? Could he acquire vast fertile lands and fine residences, and take many wives and concubines and servants...?
At this point,
The two most corrupted, yet hopeful old men in the world, both harbored a silent expectation in their hearts for this young Zhu Mo—
This Zhu Mo,
He should truly be different from others!
After a long silence,
Jiajing reread the memorial several times, then tossed it aside and asked, "Have you calculated? When will he arrive in the capital?"
"It should be around noon in three days..."
"Hmm, let's go and sit there then..."
...
Three days later.
Zhu Mo, Xiao Xiaosheng, and Zhu Qi disembarked at the Yongding River ferry crossing.
By noon, they had already entered the city.
Zhu Qi, being an old hand from the Eastern Depot, noticed someone tailing them within a few street corners. He hurried forward a few steps and whispered to Zhu Mo, "Young Master, it might be the Yan family following us..."
Zhu Mo smiled and said, "Let them follow... We'll do what we need to do! I need to go to Jinling Ji first to discuss the salt business... You two can disperse! After the matters in the capital are mostly settled, we might need to go to Jiangnan again."
He naturally guessed that the Yan family's people weren't there to spy on them, but to keep an eye on the money.
However, the money had already been taken over by Liang Menglong, a trusted subordinate of Zhang Juzheng. This person was a supervisor in the Ministry of War, and with troops guarding it under the guise of disaster relief funds, it was foolproof!
Xiao Xiaosheng laughed and said, "Thank you, Young Master. I haven't written anything for a while... I'll return to Chaotian Temple and write down your ideas in my books..."
"Yes, be quick and expose Yan Shifan's bad deeds more..."
Zhu Mo was eager to know the sales performance of the sea salt and continued, "Disperse, disperse. Old Qi, tell Third Master Li when you see him that I have a gift for him. Oh, and that old Daoist priest!" Kuaishuge