The Eighth Year of Shenchu
Ten Thousand Taels of Silver (Part One)
Should she betray her in the future, the prerequisite for Zhen Wenjun’s death by a thousand arrows is Wei Tingxu’s heart today. At this moment, Zhen Wenjun does not know if Wei Tingxu’s treatment of her is genuine or merely another round of closer scrutiny. Moreover, no one knows where the real Zhen Wenjun is.
This solemn oath, though loudly proclaimed, conceals many thoughts known only to her.
Wei Tingxu helped her up by the arm:
“Sister, you overstate things. There is no need to speak of life and death. Being able to reunite with you is the best thing.”
After Zhen Wenjun knelt back down at the table, Xiaohua came up and poured two cups of wine, and the two drank heartily facing each other.
Now she has gained Wei Tingxu’s trust; at least on the surface, Wei Tingxu has restrained her overt insincerity and is willing to expose more of her weaknesses in front of her. Once she has earned at least a basic level of trust, it will be easier to move forward or retreat.
There are three strategies.
The worst strategy is to kill Wei Tingxu and exchange her with Xie Taihang for her mother. But she does not trust the Xie family’s virtue; even if she succeeds in assassinating Wei Tingxu, there is no guarantee that Qingliu will spare her mother. The most likely outcome is that after painstakingly killing Wei Tingxu, both she and her mother, having lost their usefulness, would be swiftly silenced by Qingliu, burying their secrets forever.
The middle strategy is to stall Qingliu while seeking an opportunity to assassinate Wei Tingxu, capturing multiple forces to use for herself, ideally cultivating loyal scouts to infiltrate the Xie family and discover where her mother is imprisoned, and then rescue her. After rescuing her mother, she would then fully retreat and live in seclusion with her mother in the mountains and forests.
Naturally, there is also the best strategy. No matter how small a pawn she is, she is already part of this game, and it is not easy to fully withdraw. Now she can finally stabilize herself by Wei Tingxu’s side, maneuvering between the Wei family and Qingliu. If she can manipulate Wei Tingxu to eliminate Qingliu, that would be the best outcome. Of course, she has also considered revealing her identity as an assassin, saying she was forced by someone to approach her, but Wei Tingxu has already said she despises spies the most. Whether actively or passively, she has already disguised herself with the intention to deceive. The consequence of telling the truth may very well be that Wei Tingxu uses her to uproot the Xie family, leading to her and her mother having no place for burial. Wei Tingxu’s thoughts are too deep for her to see through. Even now, as the two drink heartily together, Xiaohua still stands behind them, her triangular eyes never leaving them for a moment. Life is precious, and she must do what she is most confident in.
Staying by Wei Tingxu’s side to assist her, using the Wei family’s sharp blade to slay Qingliu and rescue her mother, she would also become Wei Tingxu’s trusted aide, finding reliance in the chaotic world. This would be the best outcome.
The next morning, when Zhen Wenjun woke up, Wei Tingxu had already left again. However, unlike before, there was a bamboo slip on Zhen Wenjun’s desk.
On the bamboo slip, two lines of small calligraphy were written, pure and beautiful with well-proportioned strokes, and within the brushstrokes, one could vaguely feel a strength surpassing that of ordinary women. Zhen Wenjun liked Wei Tingxu’s handwriting, savoring the intricacies for a long time before looking at the meaning of these horizontal and vertical strokes combined.
On the bamboo slip, it was written: “Twenty days, ten thousand taels of silver.”
Ten thousand taels of silver? Could this be Wei Tingxu’s first task for her? Indeed, the wind whispered by Lingbi was not in vain. Although she was indifferent at the time, she still remembered it. Zhen Wenjun held the bamboo slip, feeling a mix of emotions. Earning ten thousand taels in twenty days was no easy task, especially during a year of disaster. Not to mention that each household was impoverished, even the national treasury was empty and difficult to replenish. To earn ten thousand taels in just twenty days was indeed a great challenge.
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Faced with this difficult task, Zhen Wenjun was in high spirits, ignoring the injury on her shoulder. She immediately held the bamboo slip and ran out of the house. In the courtyard, she found Lingbi carefully pruning a potted plant in the shape of a flying bird and asked:
“How much capital did Sister Tingxu leave for me?”
Lingbi’s back ached as she slowly raised her head, confused, and asked, “What capital?”
“Sister asked me to earn ten thousand taels in twenty days, and she didn’t leave any capital?”
“Ten thousand taels?” It seemed that Lingbi had no idea about this matter, and Zhen Wenjun was dumbfounded. It was easy to turn over two hundred taels with empty hands, but how to make ten thousand taels? Was there any business in the world without capital?
Wei Tingxu, right from the start, posed such a difficult question, making Zhen Wenjun both excited and distressed.
She spent the entire afternoon thinking, sometimes running wildly in the corridor, sometimes standing still without even blinking. Several maidservants ran to Lingbi and said, “Miss Zhen might have gone mad.” Knowing the task left by the lady, Lingbi was also curious how this clever girl could earn ten thousand taels of silver in twenty days with nothing to her name.
As the sun was about to set, Lingbi was in the scented cloth room preparing incense. Suddenly, she heard a rush of footsteps charging into the room. She instinctively drew her knife to strike at the intruder, but Zhen Wenjun immediately grabbed her arm, her face full of excitement:
“Sister, don’t move, it’s me! I’ve thought of a way to make money! Please have Ahui and Ali pull a large curtain for me, one that can let light through but not too clearly. Also, bring two oil lamps and a few chairs to the market with me! Hurry!” Without waiting for Lingbi to respond, she rushed back to the courtyard, pulled out the bamboo poles used for drying clothes, tied four of them together, and carried them with one hand. Before leaving, she turned back and instructed, “Make sure to find me in the West Market before dark!”
Lingbi saw her grimacing in pain but ignoring it completely, disappearing in a flash, utterly baffling. She glanced at the table where freshly dried clothes were stacked. How was she supposed to hang the incense now?
When Zhen Wenjun arrived at the West Market, she found a strategic location where three streets intersected and dug four holes in the ground, fixing the bamboo poles firmly. After the Wei family’s servants and Lingbi brought the items she needed, she directed Ahui and Ali to hang the curtain on the poles, creating a small room. Two chairs were placed together to form a high platform, the oil lamps were placed above, and other chairs were arranged around like a theater. Lighting the oil lamps, Zhen Wenjun took out a round object from her bosom, pressed the red circle on top, and after it expanded, placed it inside the oil lamp. The small room was instantly filled with a kaleidoscopic and magical light. The night sky and sea displayed on the “All-Encompassing” were dreamlike, leaving the servants in awe.
“Sister, I need your help,” Zhen Wenjun said, pulling Lingbi.
“What kind of help?”
Zhen Wenjun whispered in her ear, and Lingbi showed a disdainful expression: “You want me to do this kind of thing?”
“Please, good sister! Once this is done, I will return the silver taels I owe you with both hands!”
Lingbi really had no choice but to do as she was told.
At the busy intersection of the West Market, where pedestrians came and went in great numbers, when night fell and there was not enough light, seeing a strange glow in the distance inevitably drew their attention, sparking much discussion.
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Lingbi approached and asked Zhen Wenjun, who was sitting at the entrance, what was glowing inside the house.
Zhen Wenjun said, “Inside is an ancient divine artifact, a treasure left behind by the Dragon King of the East Sea, imbued with the essence of heaven and earth, reflecting the wonders of the universe. There is no need to look up at the stars or travel far to the sea; just step into my little house, and everything will be there.”
Lingbi sneered, “How is that possible? I don’t believe it.”
“You don’t believe? Do you dare to make a bet with me?”
“What kind of bet?”
“You step into my house and take a look. If I am talking nonsense, I will compensate you with one hundred taels of silver. If you are satisfied after seeing it, you leave one tael of silver behind. How about that?”
Hearing this young lady mention one hundred taels right off the bat, and given the huge disparity in the bet, the crowd couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise, and even more people gathered to watch the excitement.
A passerby asked Zhen Wenjun, “You say she will be satisfied and give you one hundred taels, but isn’t it up to her to decide whether she is satisfied or not? You are sure to lose that hundred taels.”
Zhen Wenjun smiled cunningly, full of confidence, and said, “That may not be the case. This divine object is rare in the world, and even the most skeptical person would be compelled to praise it after seeing it.” She then turned to Lingbi and asked again, “Have you made up your mind, young lady? Do you dare to bet?”
Lingbi covered her mouth and laughed, “If there is such easy money to be made in the world, why not make it? Everyone, don’t leave; please bear witness for me. I will go in and see what is so special inside, and when I come out, I will have her hand over one hundred taels of silver to me.”
With the prospect of a good show, everyone eagerly waited at the door for the drama to unfold. Lingbi entered with calm composure and came out truly dumbfounded.
Her reaction greatly surprised the onlookers, and seeing her willingly hand over one tael of silver to Zhen Wenjun left them even more puzzled.
“Today, young lady, your divine object has indeed opened my eyes. I admit defeat with this one tael of silver.”
Lingbi’s words only deepened the curiosity of the onlookers, who whispered among themselves, unable to understand.
“What did you see inside?” someone couldn’t help but ask.
Lingbi shook her head, still in awe, “It’s hard to say, it’s hard to say. One must see it with their own eyes to truly appreciate the mystery of the divine object.” With that, she walked away in a daze, as if still in a dream.
As a result, everyone rushed to enter the little house to catch a glimpse of the Dragon King’s divine artifact. Zhen Wenjun stood at the door, collecting money, charging twenty wen for each viewing.
By the time the two oil lamps had burned out and the stall was closed, counting the money, they had collected enough to exchange for thirty taels.
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In the following five days, almost the entire population of Taojun City came with their families after hearing the news. Every night, Zhen Wenjun carried her “All-Encompassing” and ten oil lamps to the bustling market. She even started selling drinks and snacks for people to enjoy while watching. Only when the oil lamps burned out did she pack up and return to the mansion, easily earning three hundred taels of silver.
“In just a few days, you’ve earned three hundred taels. It seems your mind is indeed very cunning,” Lingbi teased from the side. However, Zhen Wenjun replied:
“Once people have seen the ‘All-Encompassing,’ their curiosity is satisfied, and there are very few return customers. The population of Taojun City is small; soon, there will be no more profit to make. This is not a long-term plan, just a way to accumulate some initial capital.”
“Oh? You have other ways to make money?”
“Of course. In these times of war, the most precious things are two: food and medicine. In years of famine, food is hard to harvest, but medicinal herbs growing in the mountains can be harvested with skill. With the ongoing wars in the north and the shortage of medicinal herbs, I plan to invest all my capital in purchasing herbs and sell them at high prices to the military.”
“You are actually targeting the government; you are bold.”
Zhen Wenjun was fearless: “I neither steal nor rob, I conduct business honestly, what is there to fear? However, the medicinal herbs growing in the wild might also be affected by the famine, making procurement difficult. With only fifteen days left to gather ten thousand taels, I may need to think of another good plan.”
