Chapter 148 Ye Mingsheng’s speculation!

So here comes the problem!
Who is Shen Jianzhong?

He is one of the four fourth-rank pacification envoys of the Supervisory Department and the chief spy of the Great Zhou Dynasty court!
He colluded with the Dalongchang Trading Company and used bribery to drag himself, a military attaché, into the trap. What was he trying to do?

Thinking of this, four words instantly emerged in Ye Mingsheng’s mind - collusion between officials and businessmen!
Generally speaking, the purpose of collusion between officials and businessmen is to make money!

Combining his understanding of Shen Jianzhong's greed and lust, Ye Mingsheng boldly guessed that Shen Jianzhong was looking for him to do some kind of business, and this business was most likely not a legitimate business. The most important point was that this business must be very profitable!
In Liaoyang, there are not many businesses that meet the above conditions. Although Ye Mingsheng is still unclear about what kind of business it is, he can guess it roughly.

After realizing this, Ye Mingsheng had a clear mind. He, Ye, was not an honest and loyal minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In such a chaotic world where many towns were divided and the country could fall apart at any time, he had no psychological burden at all to do something illegal!

As the saying goes, "A horse cannot grow fat without night grass, and a man cannot become rich without unexpected wealth!" Ye Mingsheng never intended to make a fortune with his pitiful salary. If Shen Jianzhong really had some way to make a fortune, he wouldn't mind participating in it and getting a piece of the pie!

What's more, when he was in the palace, Shen Jianzhong revealed the news of the Zhenwu Army to him and encouraged him to join the Zhenwu Army. Ye Mingsheng didn't think much about it at the time, but now he thinks that he must have made plans early and had a far-reaching layout.

Therefore, if I reject him now, I will naturally offend him. In a place like Liaoyang where all kinds of people gather, offending the head of the Liaoyang Supervisory Office, the biggest spy chief in the Liaoyang area, will definitely not end well.

Moreover, after sending such a large sum of silver to Li Guangbin, he is now short of silver. This one thousand taels of silver is not a small amount and can help him accomplish many things.

Therefore, after carefully weighing the pros and cons, Ye Mingsheng decided to accept the one thousand taels of silver.

Although he received the silver, Ye Mingsheng still felt a little emotional...

Since he decided to return to Liaoyang, Ye Mingsheng had a premonition that he would continue to be involved with Shen Jianzhong, the chief spy of the Supervisory Department. However, he did not expect that the matter would come to this point. Before he returned to Liaoyang, Shen Jianzhong had already come to his door!
As for the "master" mentioned by Liu Chunfu, Ye Mingsheng did not ask any more questions. After all, if Liu Chunfu was willing to talk about it, he would have said it long ago, so there was no need for him to say anything. And since Liu Chunfu didn't say anything, even if he asked, he would not be able to get anything out of him.

Although he didn't know who the other party was, Ye Mingsheng felt that the other party was most likely a partner of Shen Jianzhong's business and a powerful person. As for his specific identity, he would have to go to Mingyan Tower to meet him seven days later to find out.

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Just as Ye Mingsheng was secretly speculating in his study, Liu Chunfu left his yard and looked carefully behind him. Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had not sent anyone to follow him, he turned around and came to a very hidden alley, where there was a carriage without any markings waiting for him.

"Let's go!" Liu Chunfu entered the carriage and ordered the driver who had been waiting for a long time:
The coachman who received the order raised the whip in his hand and hit the horse's buttocks, then drove the carriage out of the alley. About an incense stick later, the carriage carrying Liu Chunfu entered the An Mansion in Tai'anfang, East City District of Luo'an.

After getting off the carriage, Liu Chunfu came to the inner courtyard of the An Mansion with familiarity. A moment later he appeared in a study.

At this time, in the study, a tall, elegant middle-aged scholar, wearing a brocade silk dress and a piece of warm white jade hanging on his waist, was leaning on the armchair, staring intently and reading the "Book of Changes" in his hand with relish.

Liu Chunfu lowered his head respectfully and stood quietly at the side of the study. He did not dare to breathe, for fear of disturbing the middle-aged scholar's interest in reading.

After standing for a full cup of tea, the middle-aged scholar felt a little unsatisfied. He put the "Book of Changes" in his hand on the desk, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of the freshly brewed Mingqian Longjing tea in the cup, and said slowly:
"Have you seen that Ye Mingsheng?"

Facing the middle-aged scholar's question, Liu Chunfu did not dare to be careless and said respectfully: "Reporting to the Third Master, he has seen Ye Mingsheng, and he has also accepted the one thousand taels of silver."

"Then Manager Liu, what do you think of Ye Mingsheng?" Putting down the teacup, the middle-aged scholar said calmly:
"Since Lord Shen recommended him, this person is most likely not an ordinary person..." Liu Chunfu replied in a deep voice:
"What do you mean?" Hearing what Liu Chunfu said, the middle-aged scholar also became interested.

"This person is very careful and cautious, and his emotions are not revealed on his face. Although he tried his best to conceal it, I could see that after he received the 1,000 taels of silver note, he looked a little hesitant and conflicted, as if he didn't want the silver!
"I have given silver to many warriors, but these burly and rough guys are the ones who want to take the silver as soon as they see it. It's the first time I've met someone like Ye Mingsheng who can remain calm when faced with such a large sum of silver!"

Recalling the situation at that time, Liu Chunfu spoke in detail, his words full of praise for Ye Mingsheng.

The middle-aged scholar nodded thoughtfully, then said:
“Since you, Manager Liu, and Shen Jianzhong are so optimistic about this man, then I will go and meet him. This Ye Mingsheng was born in a poor family, but he has made such great achievements at a young age and has become a fifth-rank general. He is quite extraordinary. Maybe he will be a useful person in the future…”

"Third Master is right!" Liu Chunfu echoed in a deep voice:
When the two were talking in the study, no one noticed that outside the study, a young and beautiful woman was standing quietly outside the room, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Listening to the conversation between the two, which was all insignificant things, the young woman turned her eyes, quietly retreated, returned to her room, and wrote down everything she heard on a piece of paper.

After writing the note, the young woman hurried to the back garden of the mansion. Seeing that there was no one around, she threw the note into a very hidden hole in the rockery, and then returned to her room along the same route.

(End of this chapter)