Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 483 Setting Up Eyes and Ears
"Since you know Li Shi, that's even better. In the coming days, follow him and observe his movements, his interactions with others, and all sorts of people. After you have thoroughly investigated and inquired about them, report back every few days. If you find anything suspicious about any person or event, report it to me immediately!"

Since Ji Wen still had some old grudges with Li Linfu, Zhang Dai felt more at ease entrusting the matter to him. He knew that this guy didn't have any serious business to attend to; he was just a street urchin who spent his days visiting powerful families and hanging around doing odd jobs. He had plenty of time to follow and investigate Li Linfu.

"Sixth Brother, what do you want? If you want to investigate and suppress this Li Shi, I can also have some lowlifes in the capital do some dirty work in secret. Even if it goes through the authorities, it will never implicate Sixth Brother!"

Upon hearing this, Jiwen's eyes immediately flickered. He could be considered to have turned misfortune into blessing. Although he was kicked out of the brothel where he was staying and was beaten up, he had at least managed to get in touch with a powerful person.

Although he had previously met Zhang Dai through Zhang Yang's introduction, it was merely an acquaintance, and they had no real contact. Now that Zhang Dai was willing to employ him, he could be considered Zhang Dai's retainer, and he was naturally quite excited.

Although Ji Wen had a prime minister uncle, his uncle's reputation was not good, and he was the prime minister of Wu Zhou, so he did not leave much legacy for his descendants.

His maternal family was a foreign tribe from Baekje, so they could hardly provide him with any resources or support in the officialdom. He himself was uneducated and failed the imperial examinations, so he could only wander aimlessly among the powerful families in the two capitals, hoping to gain their appreciation and recommendation.

Now that he has finally managed to get on the good side of such a prominent figure as Zhang Dai, he naturally wants to make a name for himself as soon as possible so that Zhang Dai will appreciate and value him even more.

"No need. Just keep an eye on him, and don't act on your own! If he is honest and selfless, I can't harm him. But if he acts suspiciously and does illegal things, I won't let him go!"

Upon hearing Ji Wen's self-righteous words, Zhang Dai immediately glared at him and reprimanded him.

As an imperial censor, it was nothing unusual for him to recruit spies to secretly monitor the homes of high-ranking officials; it was an open secret within the Censorate. Otherwise, how could he keep an eye on so many officials with just one pair of eyes?
However, if he secretly instructs his henchmen to engage in underhanded tactics or fabricate charges against others, then that is nothing short of the behavior of a cruel official. And cruel officials, regardless of the era, will always be despised by the people.

Moreover, Zhang Dai knew very well what kind of person Ji Wen was. Even if he wanted to use underhanded tricks, he couldn't use this guy, at least not now, lest he leave his weaknesses in this guy's hands.

"I will remember your instructions, Sixth Brother, and I would never dare to do anything underhanded!"

Ji Wen nodded in agreement, but in his heart he thought that Zhang Dai, this noble young master, was really a bit pedantic. He clearly wanted to mess with others, but he insisted on waiting for others to make mistakes. He was really hypocritical!
But he quickly changed his mind and asked again, "If I am discovered by them, how should I respond?"

"It's up to you, feel free to speak your mind!"

Zhang Dai wasn't really concerned about whether Li Linfu would notice that he had sent someone to follow him, since he already knew Li Linfu's biggest secret, or even his biggest trump card.

Arrange for Ji Wen to follow Li Linfu. It would be best if Li Linfu were oblivious and Ji Wen obtained some evidence of his crimes. Even if Ji Wen discovered it, Li Linfu would feel a lot of pressure and would carefully cover it up.

Little did he know that Zhang Dai already knew his secret. He feared that alerting Zhang Dai might expose more loopholes, and watching Li Linfu cautiously cover up his secret was a source of amusement for Zhang Dai.

Having finished explaining everything, Zhang Dai stood up and gestured for Ding Qing to give Ji Wen some money: "There should be a doctor in Quli. Go and treat him and get him ready. If you need to report anything in the future, just come here."

Since such a person frequently visits his home, he is bound to encounter some people and things that he shouldn't know. Zhang Dai doesn't intend to bring him into his home, so he uses Lü He's house as a meeting and contact point.

He wasn't worried that this guy would freeload at Lü He's house or cause trouble. This fellow frequently visited the residences of high-ranking officials like Gao Lishi, so he should know the relationship between Lü He and Gao Lishi's family. Even if he had a few more lives, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly here.

"Thank you so much, Liu Lang! Thank you so much for your consideration!"

Ji Wen accepted the money from Ding Qing with both hands, thanked him profusely, and then stood up and limped towards the door. As he went out, he saw Lü He, who had been waiting impatiently and had come looking for Zhang Dai. He quickly bowed and said, "Greetings, Master Lü. I apologize for the intrusion!"

The various families of Sanqu would often gather to discuss current affairs. Lü He had also heard of Ji Wen's notorious reputation for soliciting prostitutes. Naturally, she sided with the brothel owners, who were also women of the night. She merely snorted coldly at Ji Wen's greeting, and after he left, she spat on his back before stepping back into the room. With a puzzled look, she said to Zhang Dai, "Young master, you are a man of good character and reputation. Why would you get involved with such disgusting things?"

“Some things always need to be done by someone. This Jiwen is not a good person, but he is also a master at causing trouble. The Duke of Bohai even occasionally entertains him at home.”

Zhang Dai stood up to greet Lü He, and said with a smile.

"Hmph, that place is no better! A eunuch insists on marrying and having children like a normal person. My poor sister is always depressed and grows thinner every time she visits him. In public, she is a pampered noblewoman, but in private, she is probably not as happy as this despised prostitute!"

Although Lü He had settled here thanks to Gao Lishi's influence, she didn't have a good impression of her brother-in-law, who was so wasteful. Speaking of it, she couldn't help but spit out, "Like drinking water, only the person drinking knows whether it's hot or cold. There's no one in this world who enjoys all the benefits without any worries!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh. The image of the beautiful Lady Lü flashed through his mind, and in a daze, it overlapped with the image of Lü He in front of him. His heart warmed, and he hooked his arm around the slender waist of this Aunt Lü, whose features resembled hers, and pulled her into his embrace.

"How could there not be? Tonight, Liu Lang cherishes me deeply. I am the most blissful person in the world, having enjoyed all pleasures and asking for nothing more..."

Lü He wrapped her arm around Zhang Dai's neck, her eyes filled with seductive allure, her breath ragged, and she pounced on him passionately, murmuring, "My dear husband, you've been keeping me waiting so anxiously!"

When Zhang Dai woke up the next day, it was already late. He asked about Song Hun, who had come with him the day before, and found him still sleeping soundly with his beautiful maid. So Zhang Dai didn't bother him any further, and simply told him to put all of Song Hun's expenses on his own tab.

This guy at least gave himself a heads-up, and since he was an official in the same Court of State Ceremonial as Li Linfu, he knew that if he could get benefits from him, he would definitely observe Li Linfu more closely.

With the addition of Ji Wen, whom he had secretly arranged, a significant portion of Li Linfu's words and actions would be directly exposed to him. Even if Li Linfu secretly wanted to do something bad, he could be prepared and deal with it calmly.

As for Song Hun's claim that Li Linfu also wanted to collude with Yuwen Rong's son to seize his property in Bianzhou, this also needs to be taken into account.

Yuwen Rong's eldest son, Yuwen Kuan, was also an extreme case of a son abusing his father's power and being insatiably greedy. Yuwen Rong himself liked to act in a high-profile manner and gather guests, but Yuwen Kuan was even more so than his father.

If someone were to create a ranking of the Four Young Masters of the Capital, Yuwen Kuan would definitely be included, and might even be directly promoted to the top.

As Pei Guangting's wife, Lady Wu, said, Yuwen Kuan held lavish banquets at home every day, accepting bribes and making money without restraint.

Although Yuwen Rong still wielded considerable influence in the Censorate, and senior censors such as Ban Jingqian were mentored by him, impeachments against his son have been coming one after another since Yuwen Rong became prime minister.

However, the affairs of the state are currently entirely in the hands of Yuwen Rong, and these impeachments have no powerful figures behind them, so they are of no concern to Yuwen Kuan and he doesn't take them to heart at all.

If Li Linfu really encouraged Yuwen Kuan to take action against his businesses in Bianzhou, Zhang Dai couldn't guarantee that Yuwen Kuan wouldn't be tempted.

While the most profitable Bianzhou flying money is not a major concern, the most important thing is the distribution channels. As long as Gao Lishi continues to support him, not only Yuwen Kuan, but even Yuwen Rong cannot take it away.

However, Zhang Dai's operations in Bianzhou were quite extensive, especially those involving the fleet and the families of the boatmen. If Yuwen Kuan, the son of the prime minister, were to interfere, it would inevitably cause great damage to the lives of these people.

Even if he could defeat Yuwen Kuan in the capital, the damage he caused to the boatmen in Bianzhou would take a long time to repair.

Therefore, after leaving Lü He's house, Zhang Dai went straight home and wrote a long letter instructing the people in charge of affairs in Bianzhou to be on guard and to investigate Yuwen Kuan's various personnel operations in Bianzhou.

Because of the huge dividends from Bianzhou Feiqian, he could exert great influence over the wealthy and powerful families in Bianzhou.

Zhang Dai planned to investigate the merchants in Bianzhou who had business dealings with Yuwen Kuan. If Yuwen Kuan showed any intention to target his industry, he would cut off all of Yuwen Kuan's channels for transferring benefits in Bianzhou. Otherwise, he would refuse to provide the relevant personnel with any money-making services, so that this guy would know what pain was coming.

After writing the letter, Zhang Dai also took care of a few other miscellaneous matters, such as paying Song Hun the thousand strings of cash for the house purchase, and dealing with the debt bill from the brothel in Zhongqu that Ji Wen owed him, which amounted to more than two thousand three hundred strings of cash. This was only because the other party gave him a huge discount out of respect for Zhang Dai.

This guy was so poor he had nothing left, but his spending was quite high. To entertain the rich and powerful in the capital, he would hold banquets for several days, employing more than a dozen entertainers and musicians every night.

Even with the advanced information available in later generations, there are still plenty of charlatans who manage to swindle people. This guy, being a genuine son of a prime minister, is even more deceptive, which explains why the brothel was fooled for so long.

While inwardly sighing, Zhang Dai asked his family to fetch money to temporarily help him pay off the debt. If Ji Wen's future contributions couldn't match this value, Zhang Dai would squeeze every last drop out of the guy before he was satisfied.

The Ji family was a prominent clan in Luoyang, and they were never short of land and property. Just because Ji Wen couldn't raise money from his own family to support his extravagant lifestyle in Chang'an didn't mean Zhang Dai couldn't.

(End of this chapter)