Do you know: I should be fat and you should be thin!

Zhou Mansion!

study!

Zhou Ning looked at Gu Tingye, hesitant to speak, unsure how to subtly offer a hint!

He knew he wasn't some chosen protagonist; he had neither martial prowess nor the ability to conjure an army...

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, even the eldest sons of noble families cannot bear the consequences of their loose tongues, let alone himself.

"Speak your mind, whatever you have to say. But after you're done, you'll have to have a drink with me. I'm really feeling down!" Gu Tingye urged.

Zhou Ning asked, "Second Brother Gu, we've only known each other for less than a year, haven't we?"

Gu Tingye chuckled and asked with a smile, "Did you drink fake alcohol last night? We met at the Sheng family academy, it's only been about six months!"

Zhou Ning nodded and said, "That's right, you're very clear-headed. In the past six months, you gave me a thousand taels of silver for the game of pitch-pot, relieving my worries and allowing me to pass the imperial examination with flying colors. That's one favor. You brought me into the polo club, allowing me to meet many noble ladies and dignitaries of Bianjing. That's another favor. Today, I'll give you two paths: one is to follow the right path, and the other is to lie down and walk. The choice is yours!"

Gu Tingye immediately became interested and asked, "Which two?"

Zhou Ning said earnestly, "Second Brother Gu, could you swear a solemn oath first? If you reveal what I said, may you die a horrible death. My good days are just around the corner, and I'm quite reluctant to give them up. Although I trust you, I also want more protection."

Even if I have a photographic memory, these six years of hard work are still real efforts!

Six years of hard study!

Gu Tingye did not hesitate and swore on the spot that he would never reveal what he had learned today, otherwise...

Oaths are deadly!

He had been spoiled rotten by Madam Qin since childhood, so he was naturally incredibly audacious. Since he was certain he wouldn't betray his friends, he would act with the utmost ruthlessness!

Zhou Ning nodded and said, "The first path is to abandon literature and take up military service. The current emperor will die within five years. I can find you a way to become a favored minister of the new emperor! If you trust me, you can go to Yuzhou and burn Zhao Zongquan's cold stove, and protect him well. He will be the future emperor! This is a convenient path, but you will have to brave mountains of knives and seas of fire."

"The second path is to continue your studies. When the new emperor ascends the throne, he will surely grant a general amnesty and hold a special imperial examination. With your talent, you will definitely be among the successful candidates. With Changbai and I leading the way, and us brothers supporting each other, how can we not produce a high-ranking official? This is a trial run; as long as you have enough patience, how could Changbai and I stand idly by?"

Gu Tingye now understood why Zhou Ning had made him swear an oath: to discuss the emperor's death date, to presume to establish an heir, to plot against the new emperor, to form factions...

Their entire family trembled in fear!

Zhou Ning took a sip of tea, then changed the subject: "Believe it or not! I haven't said anything today, and I won't admit to anything. Also, from today onwards, I will not drink a drop of alcohol!"

Now that I'm an official, I absolutely cannot let my poor drinking capacity lead to trouble!

Gu Tingye couldn't help but ask, "Pengqi, what makes you so confident in making that prediction within five years?"

Everyone knows that the current emperor is already fifty years old, no longer young, but still in good health. It's impossible for him to pass away within three to five years...

Zhou Ning shook his head and did not answer.

"Pengqi, this matter... is too big, I need to consider it!" Gu Tingye said hesitantly.

Zhou Ning nodded, walked to the desk to grind ink, and said, "If I want to repay your kindness, I must make you believe me. This letter will contain details of what will happen to you in the future, but you absolutely cannot read it now. You can read it when... you need to summon the imperial physician!"

A whole sheet of paper, folded after writing on it.

"Second Brother Gu, can you resist? If you see it beforehand, everything will change. It's better not to take it!" Zhou Ning reminded him.

Gu Tingye took the letter, forcing himself not to read it, and tucked it into his robes, saying, "Then don't read it. By the way, I see your three-courtyard old house isn't small, but you have far too few maids and servants. Even daily cleaning is a struggle. Why don't I go and buy you some?"

His reminder reminded Zhou Ning of the six-courtyard mansion with a garden that he had his eye on.

At that time, it will probably take at least 20 maids and servants to barely keep the mansion clean and running.

I only kept enough for a year's household expenses, and I stopped running the shop because I was preparing for exams.

Now, half a year has passed, and we've spent a lot on gifts to thank our teacher recently, leaving the family with only a little over two hundred taels of silver.

We're so poor!

Thinking of this, Zhou Ning bowed and said, "Second Brother Gu, I have a favor to ask."

Gu Tingye returned the greeting, puzzled, and asked, "What is it? Tell me, and I will help if I can."

"I'm short of money. Could you please take a look at my old house and see how much it's worth? I would be extremely grateful if you could help me buy it," Zhou Ning said apologetically.

Gu Tingye, unaware of these matters, asked directly, "Fifty thousand taels—is that enough to buy your three-courtyard old house?"

Currently, one tael of silver is equivalent to two strings of copper coins!

Ten thousand strings of cash!

Zhou Ning swallowed hard. "Your generosity makes my cheap father-in-law (Sheng Hong) look pathetic."

Putting aside his wild thoughts, Zhou Ning shook his head and said, "Too much! My residence doesn't need that much. To tell you the truth, I recently saw a large six-courtyard house with a garden near the Sheng family's residence in Jiying Lane, about the same size as the Sheng family's. Their official was demoted to Hangzhou, and even that nice house cost me 65,000 strings of cash!"

Gentlemen love fortune, in a proper way.

Gu Tingye knew he had given too much, but he hadn't expected it to be this much. He laughed and said, "If what you said today is true, then we brothers are now inseparable! This extra 50,000 taels is my congratulations as your elder brother for passing the imperial examination! Even if it's not true, if you feel guilty taking it, you can return it to me!"

Zhou Ning wasn't one to be coy, and besides, he had absolute confidence. He nodded and said, "It seems I don't need to pay it back. Well, I'll take advantage of this!"

"I couldn't ask for more!" Gu Tingye laughed.

The two reached an agreement.

Gu Tingye went back to raise funds, and the next day he sent over a stack of silver notes, totaling 50,000 taels, and took away the land deeds for the old house and four shops.

The four shops were given to Zhou Ning at his insistence, since they were out of stock and couldn't be operated anymore anyway.

That very day, Zhou Ning bought a six-courtyard mansion and commissioned someone to recreate an even larger plaque for the Zhou family mansion.

When Li Tou and her childhood sweetheart entered the house, they were both stunned and complained repeatedly, begging Zhou Ning to hire someone.

Zhou Ning readily agreed and went directly to the employment market to select workers!

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the price of hired maids varied greatly, depending primarily on their background, appearance, and skills, with no fixed price.

Furthermore, the employment of servants is limited to ten years!

After ten years of employment, an employee must be released and regain their freedom. Only if the employee voluntarily chooses to stay and continue their employment can the contract be extended.

Female servants who could only perform menial tasks such as washing and cleaning were priced between 3 and 50 copper coins.

Zhou Ning hired twenty young people!

As for the more attractive personal maids, Zhou Ning already had his childhood sweetheart, Si Ya Tou, so that was enough for the time being.

Finally, some women who were beautiful and talented, suitable to be raised as concubines, or from families of disgraced officials, were priced as high as 100-300 strings of copper coins.

"I want to hire ten!"

......