“Lord Zhao, tidying up Zhu Ping’an is something that Dong Lou has repeatedly instructed. When the time comes, Lord Zhao must not make excuses again.”
Although Luo Longwen was unwilling, if Zhao Wenhua did not make a move, he had no way to deal with Zhu Ping’an. The previous impeachment memorial had sunk like a stone into the sea with no response, so he could only grit his teeth and swallow the hatred.
“This is natural.” Zhao Wenhua nodded.
Zhu Ping’an, just you wait for me!
After receiving Zhao Wenhua’s affirmative reply, Luo Longwen left Zhao Wenhua’s mansion reluctantly.
Seeing Luo Longwen displeased, the accompanying officials thoughtfully arranged for him a one-stop service at Xichun Tower, Cai Mi Pavilion, and Yi Chun Courtyard, and also arranged for several opportunistic wealthy merchants to accompany him. The plump and slender beauties, along with the piles of white silver, quickly quelled Luo Longwen’s anger, and he lingered endlessly in those pleasure houses.
In no more than two days, the rumour spread throughout the wealthy merchant circles in Jiaxing City. Opportunistic and speculative wealthy merchants flocked endlessly to those pleasure houses to visit Luo Longwen, seeking to connect with the vast Yan Party forces and borrow some power.
Luo Longwen’s hand cramped from receiving silver, and he happily counted it several times a day. “How much time has passed? I have already collected tens of thousands of taels of silver. Although the bulk has to go to Dong Lou, what remains in my hands is over ten thousand.”
Handing over so much silver to Dong Lou, Dong Lou must be extremely satisfied.
It was just that the task assigned by Dong Lou to deal with Zhu Ping’an had not yet been completed. Otherwise, upon returning to the capital, he would surely bask in endless glory.
At the thought of Zhu Ping’an, Luo Longwen ground his teeth in rage. “Damn Zhu Ping’an. He is the Governor of Zhejiang and has been in Jiangnan for so long. Who knows how many times more silver he has collected than me? Damn it, collecting so much silver and not even offering a single tael as tribute!”
“My lord, why are you unhappy? Let this slave girl serve you well.” An arm wrapped around him from behind.
“Get out. This official has no time to deal with you right now.” Luo Longwen snorted. “When you go out, call this official’s personal page boy in.”
“As this slave girl obeys.” A woman with heavy makeup smiled obsequiously, curtsied, and withdrew. As soon as she was out the door, her expression changed, and she disdainfully spat silently. “If it were not for the silver, who would bother serving an ugly thing like you? No time to deal with me. From the time you come until you finish, it only takes a few breaths…”
“Hey, madam, where is his personal page boy?” The woman did not see Zhao Wenhua’s page boy guarding outside the door and thus asked the old procuress.
The old procuress spat. “Bah, he could not hold back and went to Fei Die’s room long ago, as eager as a boar in heat. As soon as that man in your room entered, he could not hold back and went to Fei Die’s room. Yuanyang, what do you want with him?”
“He is being called from inside. I will go find him.” The woman flicked her handkerchief and headed to Die’s room. Die was called Fei Die by the old procuress because she could not control her figure and kept getting fatter, turning from Die into Fei Die.
In no time, Zhao Wenhua’s page boy arrived before Luo Longwen in dishevelled clothes, with several red marks on his face.
“You bastard, this lord told you to stand guard, and this is how you stand guard?!” Luo Longwen berated him fiercely from the start.
“Forgive me, master. It is all that girl’s fault for seducing me…” The page boy defended himself weakly.
“Get lost, you. Does this lord not know you?!” Luo Longwen cursed even more vehemently and even struck him several times on the back of the head.
“It is not because master is so vigorous? That Yuanyang was handled by you until she cried out uncontrollably. I was guarding outside and heard it, getting all hot and bothered, which is why…”
The page boy changed his angle to flatter.
Luo Longwen was pleased this time and stroked his beard smugly. “Ahem, of course. With this lord’s skills, if you learned even three tenths of them, it would be enough for you to dominate the flower fields.”
“Yes, yes.” The page boy kept his head low and agreed repeatedly, inwardly slandering him. As if. You barely last ten counts at most. If I learned three tenths of you, would that not mean two or three thrusts and done!
“Alright, this lord will teach you more later. Tell me, has Wu San and the others sent any reply today?”
Luo Longwen warily glanced at the tightly shut doors and windows, beckoned with his hand to draw the page boy close, and asked in a low voice.
“In response to master, in the upper morning, Wu San sent Liu Da over with a message. Wu San and the others met Xu Hai three days ago. Xu Hai is very fierce. Wu San and his group brought those ten carts of generous gifts, but before they could even see Xu Hai, they were bound by his Japanese pirate underlings. Wu San said it was all thanks to the token master gave them, or else they would have been thrown into the boiling oil pot by Xu Hai.”
The page boy replied softly.
Wu San and the others were Luo Longwen’s trusted men sent to contact Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, carrying Luo Longwen’s token and generous gifts.
The generous gifts were not just ten carts of silk fabrics and armour, but also current intelligence on the defences of various armies in Jiangnan.
“This lord’s connection with Xu Hai runs deep. What did Xu Hai say?” Luo Longwen continued to ask.
“Liu Da said Xu Hai agrees to master’s proposal. Xu Hai said Zhu Ping’an is also his enemy and he raises both hands in approval to eliminate Zhu Ping’an. He wants us to keep an eye on Zhu Ping’an and every move of the Zhejiang army, so that we can coordinate from inside and out to eliminate Zhu Ping’an in one fell swoop. Oh, almost forgot, master. This is Xu Hai’s handwritten letter.”
As the page boy spoke, he took a letter from his bosom and handed it to Luo Longwen.
“For something so important, why did you not hand it over to me earlier!” Luo Longwen glared at him forcefully.
“Heh heh, I wanted to give it to master right away, but master was in the midst of displaying your prowess. This little one feared disturbing master’s enjoyment.”
The page boy smiled apologetically.
“No next time.” Luo Longwen then let him off.
“I guarantee there will be no next time.” The page boy nodded and bowed, repeatedly assuring that there would absolutely be no next time.
Luo Longwen opened Xu Hai’s handwritten letter and held it up to the window for careful scrutiny. As he read, a smug smile appeared on his face.
“Hahahaha, Xu Hai even addresses me as elder brother. Mm, good, good. He expresses complete cooperation and asks me to take good care of him…” Luo Longwen smugly folded Xu Hai’s handwritten letter, tucked it close to his body, and said to the page boy.
“Master truly has a great reputation. Xu Hai, who can stop children from crying at night outside, actually calls master elder brother.”
The page boy was perceptive and cooperated by flattering Luo Longwen.
Luo Longwen laughed so hard he could not close his mouth. Then he asked again, “Has there been a letter from Wang Zhi’s side?”
The page boy shook his head and carefully reported, “The gifts on Wang Zhi’s side have all been accepted, but there has been no indication yet, neither agreement nor refusal. Zhang Da and the others are still working on it there.”
“Biding his time for the highest bidder, heh heh. This shows there is potential!” Luo Longwen smiled knowingly upon hearing this.
“Master, is it not said that Wang Zhi is already preparing to surrender to Zhu Ping’an? Can he still switch to our side?” the page boy asked.
“Heh heh, Wang Zhi is surrendering to the court. What is Zhu Ping’an? If someone with more weight than Zhu Ping’an steps forward, who do you think Wang Zhi would choose? They are all Japanese pirates now. You cannot possibly believe he values integrity, can you?! No fear of him biding his time. We can afford the price, guaranteed to be higher than what Zhu Ping’an offers.”
Luo Longwen chuckled.
