Chapter 129 - 114: An Accident
In Xiahe County Town, inside the Wei Family Mansion.
Wei He suppressed his fury, his gaze locked onto the subordinate before him.
"The man last appeared in the old alley by the Jade River, and then vanished without a trace?"
"So, the gambling den’s silver is gone too?"
Cold sweat beaded on Wang Quan’s forehead. The task was botched, the gambling den’s silver was missing, and the man who killed Shopkeeper Qi and impersonated him had also escaped.
In the end, not only was it all for nothing, but they also ended up with neither the man nor the money.
The silver from the gambling den was no small sum.
A loss like that would sting anyone.
And Wei He certainly felt it, but he knew this wasn’t the time for accusations. It was time to figure out how to quickly recover the lost silver taels.
"Hmph. Keep sending men to search. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you will find this man for me."
"As you command, Young Master!"
Wang Quan immediately bowed, then rose to take his leave.
"Wang Quan, early this month, you said your son was ill. How is he now?" Wei He asked suddenly.
"Er, Young Master, I only have a daughter." Wang Quan looked up, a subtle hint of surprise on his face, though he seemed not to know why Wei He would ask. Nevertheless, he answered honestly.
"Hm, I must have misremembered. Get to it. You’re dismissed."
"Yes, Young Master."
A moment later, Wang Quan left the Wei Mansion. Only after turning into a deserted alley did he let out a long sigh of relief.
"It seems this young master of the Wei Family has become much more alert after being tricked once, but he’s still too green."
But Wang Quan’s voice had changed. If any of the old-timers from the gambling den had been there, they would have certainly recognized it as the voice of the pedantic Scholar.
Who would have thought that after the Wei Family put out a warrant for his arrest, the pedantic Scholar would not flee, but instead disguise himself as Wang Quan and brazenly infiltrate the Wei Mansion.
And he even dared to face Wei He directly!
"A pity that silver is gone. Otherwise, with this whole affair blown open, there’d be no need to stay undercover."
The pedantic Scholar lamented for a moment before turning and leaving.
By infiltrating the Wei Mansion, he could use the Wei Family’s resources to search for those silver taels.
~~~~~~
Shanyang Prefecture City.
In a tent at the Prefecture Guard Army encampment.
"Brother Fang Hu, you’re being foolish! Wouldn’t it be better to trade your military merits for some silver taels and Secret Medicines, then go home and live as a rich man?
For people like us, with no one backing us from above, who’s going to promote us? Besides, if you had listened to me and sent some silver taels to that Lord Wei earlier, this whole thing might still have a chance."
He had thick brows, large eyes, and a full, bushy beard. His frame was tall and sturdy, even more so than Fang Hu’s.
If Fang Hu resembled Li Kui, then this man was Zhang Fei.
However, the words coming from his mouth were filled with cunning calculations.
"Brother Zhang, say no more. Even if I fail, I cannot resort to such things."
Fang Hu shook his head, rejecting Zhang Youde’s proposal.
If he were truly the type to flatter and fawn, he wouldn’t have failed the Martial Examination in his early years. He might have become an official long ago.
His desire to be a Military Officer was more about proving himself than seeking power and status.
Therefore, he wanted to rely on his own strength and his own abilities to obtain everything.
"Ai, you... what can I even say to you? Forget it. You’ll understand when you’ve beaten your head against a wall enough times."
Zhang Youde let out a long sigh and then took his leave.
Before long, Zhang Youde arrived at another tent.
"How did it go? Did that Fang Hu use any tricks behind the scenes?" Gao Shide asked urgently as soon as he saw Zhang Youde.
On the surface, he looked down on Fang Hu, but he was afraid Fang Hu might also pull some strings.
After all, Fang Hu’s military record was more impressive than his. If someone were to speak up for him, things would get difficult.
As the art of war says, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles.
Therefore, even if he was confident, he still had to understand his opponent’s intentions and moves.
Only then could he do everything possible to ensure there were no mistakes.
He looked down on Fang Hu, but he wouldn’t let his guard down.
He had long ago contacted Zhang Youde, Fang Hu’s good friend in the army. Who in this world doesn’t like money, after all?
With just a small sum of silver taels, the man Fang Hu considered a friend had become his informant, periodically passing along news about him.
"Good. After this is done, we’ll meet at the Deyun Building. We won’t go home until we’re drunk," Gao Shide said with a hearty laugh.
"In that case, I wish Captain Zhang a swift and resounding success," Zhang Youde said, clasping his fist in congratulations.
This selection and appointment of officials was for an external posting to a local area, to serve as a Captain in the County Guard Army.
The position was responsible for the army’s daily drills. Because it was Captain of a local County Guard Army, although it was called Captain, the official rank was Junior Seventh Grade, one level lower than a County Magistrate.
However, once one became a Captain of the Guard Army, there was a very high probability of being promoted to the position of a county’s chief official, the County Magistrate.
So, which of the Noble Young Masters in the Prefecture City wouldn’t be tempted by such a prospect?
Each employed their own schemes, each showed off their own Divine Power.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, at this very moment, inside the Central Army Tent of the Prefecture Guard Army...
"Well, Young Master Bai, this last-minute change... you’re making things very difficult for me," said Mr. Wang, the official in charge of selecting the local Captains, looking at Bai Xingqiu with a troubled expression.
The Bai Family was a truly powerful and influential family in the Prefecture City.
Even though he and Bai Xingqiu’s father were both sixth-grade officials, he didn’t dare to offend Bai Xingqiu.
He was an official from outside the region and had to rely on these local powers in Shanyang Prefecture.
Besides, the Bai Family of Shanyang Prefecture had connections to the Bai Family of Yujing.
One had to give face not to the monk, but to the Buddha. And the Bai Family of Yujing was one of the most powerful families in the entire Great Wei dynasty.
Even if they were just a branch family—a gatekeeper at the Prime Minister’s manor is a third-rank official, after all. As long as there was a connection, how could he dare to cause offense!
"Hehe, of course I wouldn’t want to make things difficult for Lord Wang. Take this silver for the brothers to have some tea. Oh, right, on the third of next month, the Yueshan Tea House is opening. I hope Lord Wang will grace us with his presence."
Chubby chuckled and took out a stack of silver banknotes, each with a face value of two hundred taels. There were around fifteen of them.
Over three thousand taels of silver. It wasn’t a huge amount, but coming from someone of Chubby’s status, it was quite a lot.
"Of course, of course."
Mr. Wang smiled as he saw Chubby out.
He then returned to his tent and looked at the list in his hand.
After a moment of contemplation, he struck out a name that had already been selected and added another, previously rejected name in its place.
After all, this person’s military merits were sufficient. The only things he lacked were a backer and a bribe.
Now that he had a backer, everything was naturally no longer a problem.
And so, an unlucky fellow with insufficient military merits was naturally pushed off the list.
~~~~~~~
Da Liushu Village, the Fang Family Mansion.
After finishing his training, Fang Yue began to open the latest letter that had arrived.
It was from the steward of the tea plantation.
After the disaster ended, the tea leaves were growing at a delightful pace, even faster than in previous years.
In a short time, they had already become ready for picking.
It seemed to be related to the recovery of the water source this time.
"This season’s new tea is already being picked. It can be shipped by next month at the latest."
Fang Yue thought for a moment, then began to write a reply.
He instructed the Tea Garden to proceed according to plan, and to grade the new tea according to the previously established system, dividing it into three corresponding qualities—high, medium, and low—during processing.
For example, the highest-grade tea had to be picked by young maidens, and the processing and roasting must also be done by them. This tea would be called Biyou Spring Tea.
The other grades of tea would have adjustments in their processing and differences in packaging. At the same time, the quantity of each of the three categories would also be controlled.
This would create distinction—a form of differentiated marketing meant to indirectly raise the value of the finished tea.