The number one rebel of the Great Wu

The wealthy businessman asked a question, but Chen Changgeng ignored him.

Instead, he raised an eyebrow and glared angrily at the little eunuch guarding the gate.

"You dog of a servant, how dare you! You dare bring just any Tom, Dick, or Harry into the manor!"

"If you bring in an assassin who harms the Crown Prince, even ten heads wouldn't be enough to cover your losses!"

The gatekeeper, Xiao Duozi, was scolded without warning, leaving him completely bewildered.

He looked up and examined the other person closely. Seeing that the other person was dressed in the ordinary clothes of a minor eunuch in the mansion, his expression immediately turned ugly.

"Who do you think you are! Daring to point fingers at me!"

"My godfather is Steward Wang of the miscellaneous affairs office, and even Chief Steward Lin of this prefecture is my godfather's sworn brother!"

"Judging by your appearance, you must have just entered the manor? Trying to act tough and scare me? No way!"

"Tell me! Which department do you work for?"

Chen Changgeng narrowed his eyes, his expression unchanged, and uttered four words indifferently.

"The Crown Prince's Study!"

"As for what I am, that depends on what the Crown Prince says."

"Since you have such a great deal of influence, how about I go and invite the Crown Prince over to explain this to you personally?"

Chen Changgeng's tactic worked because of an information gap; who knows, the news might get out tomorrow and the tactic wouldn't work anymore.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Duozi was indeed terrified!

Recently, the Crown Prince, having received guidance from some unknown master, has greatly pleased the Emperor and become famous throughout the court.

If you see unfamiliar faces at the Crown Prince's residence at this time, they are most likely sent by the palace to supervise the Crown Prince's studies!

He couldn't afford to offend such an important person!

"This...this gentleman, there's no need for that."

"Yes, it was my fault for not recognizing your greatness and disturbing you."

Xiao Duozi looked up tremblingly and immediately met Chen Changgeng's cold gaze.

He immediately knelt down with a thud, raised his hands, and began slapping himself in the face with both hands.

"Slap! Little Duozi deserves to die, thank you for the reminder, Father-in-law!"

"Slap! Little Duozi, don't take it to heart, Father-in-law!"

After a few slaps, Xiao Duozi's face was covered in blood!

Chen Changgeng snorted lightly, not daring to make a fuss, and turned his head to look at the wealthy businessman.

The wealthy merchant was also good at handling things; he quickly approached, cheerfully pulled a silver note from his sleeve, and stuffed it into Chen Changgeng's hand.

"We are by no means bad people. We hope that Your Honor will investigate and show leniency!"

Chen Changgeng glanced down without making a sound, and was secretly startled.

Wow! A whole hundred taels!

Wow, that's incredibly generous! Looks like he's been sucked up!

"Of course I know you're not assassins. I was just teaching the servant a lesson, to make him more careful."

"Speak, what do you want with our Crown Prince?"

Chen Changgeng coughed lightly, quietly put away the silver notes, and turned his gaze to the two boxes.

The wealthy merchant's expression changed slightly. He quietly waved his hand behind his back, and his assistant immediately moved the box aside.

"I am Zhang Youqian, a small merchant from Bozhou."

"I am here on the orders of the Crown Prince. I wonder if I could trouble you, sir, to make the introductions?"

The wealthy merchant quickly put on a smiling face and tentatively asked.

In a place like the Crown Prince's residence, every gate is a barrier. As long as one can eventually see the Crown Prince himself, no amount of money spent on bribes is in vain!

Zhang Youqian!?

Upon hearing this name, Chen Changgeng was startled once again.

Zhang Youqian was one of the wealthiest merchants in Bozhou, with countless branches of money shops and pawnshops under his control.

His ways of making money are nothing more than lending, borrowing, and pawning; wealth is synonymous with cunning!

Chen Changgeng's hometown is Qingyang County, Bozhou. Back then, the Chen family borrowed money to make ends meet in order to prepare for the imperial examinations. They still owe Zhang's money shop tens of taels of high-interest loans!

"Since it is the Crown Prince who has summoned me, then I will not stop him."

"Little Duozi, take him with you."

Chen Changgeng knew perfectly well that Zhang Youqian had a past relationship with the Crown Prince and was very likely the Crown Prince's moneybag.

If I try to get money out of him now, it could easily cause trouble.

Since the trap has already been set, we might as well retreat to advance!

Seeing that Chen Changgeng didn't say a word and instead stepped aside, Zhang Youqian became anxious.

He quickly grabbed Chen Changgeng and asked in a low voice.

"Please wait a moment, sir. To be honest, I, Zhang, have come here today for the sake of His Majesty's birthday banquet."

"The Crown Prince's filial piety moved Heaven and Earth. With His Majesty's birthday approaching, he has ordered me to prepare some fine items as a congratulatory gift."

"I am completely ignorant of the situation in the capital, and I hope you can enlighten me!"

After saying this, Zhang Youqian gritted his teeth, took out three more hundred-tael silver notes, and stuffed them over.

Chen Changgeng coughed lightly, glancing at Xiao Duozi out of the corner of his eye, and pondered in his heart.

The Emperor of the Great Wu Dynasty is celebrating his fiftieth birthday this year, which seems to be just a few days away.

The crown prince has just gained favor, so this matter naturally needs to be handled properly.

"His Majesty's birthday is a big event, but our Crown Prince has a special status, so the gift must be expensive but not vulgar."

"Just pick one or two of the most practical items from your several large boxes of stuff."

"But we're still missing one crucial thing!"

"Without this, it won't reach His Majesty's heart."

Zhang Youqian was secretly startled upon hearing this and quickly opened his mouth.

"Please enlighten me, sir!"

"One more congratulatory message is needed!"

Chen Changgeng paced around twice, already feeling confident.

"Since ancient times, when emperors celebrated their birthdays, there have always been people who stood up to criticize the extravagance and waste, and who were spreading alarmist rumors."

"This congratulatory message should not only flatter His Majesty, but also demonstrate the Crown Prince's loyalty and willingness to refrain from vying for power; only then can great things be accomplished!"

Zhang Youqian's face immediately showed a troubled expression.

"Father-in-law, this is putting me in a difficult position. Let alone how difficult it is to silence public opinion."

"Just trying to establish a stance for the Crown Prince... I don't even have the guts!"

"As a favorite of the Crown Prince, you must know what's going on. Otherwise, you'll have to put in a lot of trouble."

"Show Zhang another way out?"

"Such a great kindness and virtue, I, Zhang, will forever remember!"

Zhang Youqian cupped his hands in greeting, his eyes pleading.

Chen Changgeng frowned. "I'm about to run away, why should I do you this favor?"

Human favors are no match for banknotes!

Seeing Chen Changgeng rub his fingers together, Zhang Youqian felt a huge weight lifted from his heart.

Money? No problem!

What Zhang Youqian has in abundance is money!

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhang Youqian reached into his chest and pulled out two silver notes the size of flatbreads, stuffing them into Chen Changgeng's hand!

In that instant, Xiao Duozi, who was still kneeling beside him, glared at him, his mouth practically watering with jealousy!

You should know that guarding the side gate of the Crown Prince's residence was already a lucrative job.

He had only received ten taels of silver when he let Zhang Youqian in.

Of these ten taels, Steward Lin and his godfather Steward Wang each took four taels, leaving him with only two taels!

Chen Changgeng collected a full four hundred taels of silver with just a few words!

The two notes that Zhang Youqian just took out were official notes worth a full thousand taels each!

Two thousand four hundred taels of silver—that's more money he could never earn in his entire life!

The difference between people is just so huge!

Little Duozi was practically drooling with envy!

Holding the silver note, Chen Changgeng was overjoyed!

The larger the face value of the banknote, the larger the paper size. Just from those two he just picked up, he knew they were valuable without even looking at them.

With this windfall, he'd have the confidence to run away tomorrow!

With the money in hand, Chen Changgeng naturally stopped keeping everyone in suspense.

He beckoned Zhang Youqian to come closer and whispered in his ear.

"I'm only saying this once, so remember it!"

"..."