Chapter 49 What a Coincidence

As early summer approached, the grass and trees on the mountains began to flourish, their dense canopies swaying in the morning breeze.

The lingering echoes of the bell and chime rolled from Cloud River City toward the empty mountains, like a tangible hand pushing the meadows to ripple forward in undulating layers.

Ruibao stood beneath a massive ancient tree, looking sorrowfully across the stream at the opposite waterfall.

At that moment, a leaf drifted gently down and landed in his hair.

Without even lifting his head, Ruibao knew someone had arrived. He clicked his tongue and said, "Senior Brother, your lightness kung fu has improved again, and it isn't even noon yet."

The previously empty ancient tree now held a figure.

The man wore a silver mask and black robes, half-kneeling among the sturdy branches.

His left arm was wrapped in a silver chain with a silver hook dangling at his side, while his right hand held a bulging parcel.

The newcomer was none other than Qi Shaolin.

"Where is Master?" Qi Shaolin asked.

Ruibao said mournfully, "Disciplining my disciple."

Qi Shaolin let out an "oh." "Since that brat is there, I won't go over."

"I just don't understand, Senior Brother," Ruibao said in puzzlement. "Why must my disciple also be handed over to Master for guidance?"

"If he were handed over to you, what could you possibly teach him?" Qi Shaolin scoffed utterly. "Teach him how to eat or how to play? A good sapling would be ruined in your hands."

"Am I really that useless..." Ruibao pouted in deep grievance.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that Senior Brother was talking a lot today, actually willing to pay attention to him. Usually, didn't he treat him like air?

"You seem to be in a very good mood?" Ruibao asked suspiciously.

Having accomplished a major milestone in life, Qi Shaolin was naturally in high spirits.

In the past, he would have preferred to spend the entire day on this mountain, torturing himself to hone his body and study martial arts, counting the days in his heart while awaiting the arrival of revenge.

Yet now, Qi Shaolin was absent-minded, wishing only to finish his task quickly and return to his wife.

The usually careless Ruibao finally noticed. "Senior Brother, you've grown much lazier lately. Why haven't you been coming to the back mountain?"

"So much nonsense," Qi Shaolin tossed the parcel in his hand to Ruibao. "A gift for you."

Ruibao froze at those words.

In truth, ever since childhood, his feelings toward Senior Brother had been complex—a mixture of worship and dread, and during the onset of gender awareness, he had even foolishly harbored a secret crush on him for a few years.

As for Qi Shaolin, he certainly didn't view him like a younger brother; to be precise, he regarded him as less than a stone, completely cringing at the thought of paying attention to him.

Aside from back in their early years when Qi Shaolin briefly treated him well for a few days—buying him candies and toys—just to coerce Qiu Jietu into taking him as a disciple, he had treated Ruibao as a total stranger the moment the apprenticeship succeeded.

Therefore, hearing that Senior Brother wanted to give him a gift sent a jolt of alarm through Ruibao's heart. His intuition screamed that nothing good could come of it, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

Immediately afterward, Qi Shaolin accurately hurled the bundle into Ruibao's arms. "For you. I'm leaving."

Displaying his lightness kung fu, Qi Shaolin hurried back home impatiently.

Clutching the heavy, round, and hard bundle, Ruibao found the texture rather strange.

The parcel was still warm when a single drop of fresh blood trickled down his fingertip onto the grass.

Only then did Ruibao realize what kind of object Qi Shaolin had given him. Terrified, he let out a shriek of "Wah!" and hurled the bundle onto the ground.

The package rolled a few times on the ground, its corner peeling open to reveal a tuft of black hair.

Since Qi Shaolin had already gone far away, Ruibao cursed bitterly without any restraint, "Qi Shaolin, you just go ahead and torment me now! When I return to the palace someday, just watch how I..."

"Master."

The voice of Zuo Lang sounded eerily behind Ruibao.

Ruibao stiffened all over, turning pale with fright.

He turned back and glared at Zuo Lang. "You... when did you get here?"

Carrying the exhaustion of physical training, Zuo Lang stepped forward, picked the leaf from Ruibao's hair, and said calmly, "Right when you caught the head."

That meant Zuo Lang had heard everything just now.

With a hesitant look, Ruibao stammered, "I... I..."

"Master, I came from the Prince's Manor," Zuo Lang said abruptly. "Though I couldn't be considered Dou Kou's inner circle confidant, I did follow him into the imperial palace a few times, and I can confirm I've never seen you there."

Ruibao was stunned into silence.

"His Majesty the current Emperor has no sons, all the imperial princes passed away young, and there are not even any princesses," Zuo Lang continued. "Yet only those within the royal family know that the Emperor actually has a child drifting among the commoners. Whether that child is dead or alive remains unknown, but because this offspring was born to the late Empress Xiaogan, who was incriminated in treason, no one dares to speak of it."

Ruibao: "..."

"Therefore..." Zuo Lang paused. "Master, is that child you?"

After pondering for a moment, Ruibao finally gave a bitter smile. "Fine, you guessed correctly."

Receiving a positive confirmation, Zuo Lang swept back the hem of his robe and knelt before Ruibao. "Your Highness..."

"No, get up first!" Ruibao quickly pulled Zuo Lang to his feet, crying and laughing at once. "What kind of ruler am I right now? My mother's grievances have not been cleared; I am merely a descendant of a slaughtered clan, a wanted criminal pursued by the imperial court."

"But His Majesty has never produced another heir. Bringing you back to the palace is probably only a matter of time," Zuo Lang said.

"It's not that simple," Ruibao shook his head. "The Emperor's intentions, the court politics, and thoroughly investigating the wrongful 'treason' charges against my maternal clan... I foresee that my future..."

"Your Highness, set your mind at ease. With me here, it will surely be accomplished." Qiu Jietu didn't know when he had arrived.

Stepping out from behind a tree, he patted the shoulders of the two youths. "We have spent these past few years meticulously plotting in Shangjing; it is finally time to reap the results."

Qiu Jietu's appearance carried a magical, comforting power that allowed Ruibao to let out a breath. "Master, of course I trust you."

Qiu Jietu smiled. "Let's first take a look at what 'gift' your Senior Brother has brought back for you this time..."

...
...

Jiang Luan went out after lunch.

Since neither Qi Shaolin nor Zuo Lang was around, he found himself a commander without an army, feeling somewhat unaccustomed to walking the streets alone.

Still, the daytime streets of Cloud River City bustled with lively crowds, so it posed no real problem.

Strolling idly after his departure, Jiang Luan narrowed his eyes as he assessed the places where women gathered in front of residential doorways.

Unlike rural villages, the vast majority of women in Cloud River City did not need to labor in the fields.

At most, they grew a few gourds or raised a couple of chickens in their small household courtyards, while those with family businesses to tend to stayed at the market. The remaining women sat idly by the roadside basking in the sun, chatting while mending shoe soles or sewing clothes.

These were precisely the women Jiang Luan sought.

They weren't difficult to find, as several neighboring houses invariably clustered together.

If an ordinary stranger tried to strike up a conversation, these shrewd women would inevitably raise their guard.

However, when approached by a delicate and handsome youth like Jiang Luan, everyone was quite fond of listening to him speak a few words.

Yet upon hearing Jiang Luan's purpose, most of the women wore expressions of astonishment.

Indeed, after visiting the garrison troops at Green Water Isle and the group of ruffians at the Star-Plucking Pavilion in Cloud River City, Jiang Luan had now sought out these idle women who performed only handicraft work.

In truth, it was all for a single objective that required their concerted cooperation.

Jiang Luan left the pre-prepared blueprints with the women willing to cooperate with him.

Although these women did not understand what Jiang Luan intended to do, they were quite happy to earn some money since they had time to spare anyway.

Having walked through a small fraction of the city and estimating the quantity to be sufficient, Jiang Luan halted his steps and turned toward the Money Comes firm.

Lately, Money Comes had earned quite a small reputation in Cloud River City. Although Proprietor Zhen wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, managing a business step-by-step was well within his capabilities.

The lottery concept Jiang Luan had previously suggested to him had been single-handedly brought to life by Zhen Youqian.

Currently, Money Comes relied on three main sources of revenue:

First was the "drawing of lots," the very trick Jiang Luan had played at Old Master Qi's birthday banquet.

Customers could pay a certain amount of money to purchase custom bamboo slips made specially by Money Comes, revealing the results on the spot with varying cash prizes.

Jiang Luan had used "shills" at the previous banquet, and he replicated the method here with quite satisfactory results.

Second was the "numerical lottery."

Modeled after modern lottery systems, two copper coins bought a single digit out of seven numbers. Customers could pay a very small sum to purchase their favorite numbers in any arrangement. Draws took place once every three days, and if no one won in the current period, the prize pool automatically rolled over.

Not long ago, a lucky fellow had won the cumulative five-period numerical lottery amounting to fifty taels of silver, serving as a walking advertisement.

Most people harbored a gambler's mentality, always believing they would be the next lucky person, making the numerical lottery even more popular than the draw of lots.

With the reputation of Money Comes successfully established, the third crucial source of revenue emerged—deposits.

In truth, Jiang Luan only learned after managing the money shop that ancient banks differed greatly from modern ones.

In ancient times, depositing money not only yielded no interest; depositors actually had to pay a certain transaction fee to the money shop.

Most depositors were large merchants traveling from place to place, for whom carrying cash was inconvenient and perilous, making storage in a money shop necessary for easy withdrawal.

This was also the key reason why Money Comes had struggled to take off initially.

Money Comes had only a single branch, whereas established banks like Baolong Silver House maintained branches everywhere.

If they only ran the "lottery," such meager earnings were mere child's play to Jiang Luan, especially since most people currently viewed it merely as a novelty, making long-term sustainability difficult.

Thus, Jiang Luan did the exact opposite, emulating the modern banking model by paying depositors a certain percentage of interest based on scale and duration.

His proposal had met with vehement opposition from Zhen Youqian: How could they be running a business where money hadn't even been earned yet, only to give it away?

Yet Jiang Luan persisted.

The gimmick of "earning money on deposited funds" launched by Money Comes, already famous for its "lottery," successfully attracted numerous commoners.

The substantial revenue flowing into Money Comes provided the exact cash flow Jiang Luan needed most.

With these funds in hand, he had now invested in the construction of a restaurant, believing it would turn a profit before long.

With both business ventures progressing smoothly, Jiang Luan happily intended to check on his small gold shop. As fate would have it, the moment he arrived, he ran into troublemakers at Money Comes.

Proprietor Zhen was already at his wit's end, and seeing Jiang Luan appear felt like spotting a savior. "Young Master Jiang, thank goodness you've come..."

Blocking the entrance were two burly ruffians exuding an aura of ferocity, their faces marred by knife scars.

"You're the owner of this money shop?"

One of the men turned his head, staring at Jiang Luan with bulging, bovine eyes.

Jiang Luan narrowed his eyes. "May I ask what business the two of you have?"

"Good, you came just in time!" The man lunged forward, attempting to grab Jiang Luan's collar. "Swindler, give us back our hard-earned money right now!"