Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 61: One thing at a time, no rush
A maid wanted to open the door, but was stopped by the old family member. She remembered Guangxing's instructions, walked to the door and asked, "Who is it?"
Someone outside shouted to open the door, saying that he was on an errand. The maid was a little scared, but the old man was quite knowledgeable and said loudly, "My master has ordered that the door will not be opened to anyone unless he comes back today. You wait outside."
The officers outside cursed angrily but did not dare to bang on the door. After all, this was the family of a fifth-rank official, and they did not dare to come to such an extent.
The old servant walked to the door and looked out through the crack. As expected, he saw several officials outside. He shouted secretly in his heart, but he was not very scared. The officials knocked on the door but it didn't open, so they discussed for a while, and then one of them ran away in a hurry.
The old servant came to the study, lifted a corner of the door curtain and saw the "beggar" sleeping soundly inside. He couldn't help but walked in and said, "There are a few officials outside, and they are coming aggressively. Are they coming for you?"
Wu Chengjian raised his eyelids and said nothing.
The old man said, "Now if I don't open the door, they won't dare to come in, but I see they are probably going to get help . If their help arrives and the master hasn't come back yet, you'll be on your own."
This time Wu Chengjian didn't even raise his eyelids.
"It's like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water." The old family member complained and went out.
Outside, the servants would knock on the door and shout every few seconds. The two servants, a man and a woman, were very frightened. Even the concubine in the east wing and the eldest lady in the main room were startled and came out to ask what was going on. The old servant told them that it was Guangxing's order and the eldest lady was in charge, so Mo should not open the door.
A servant brought a ladder and clamped it against the wall to see what was happening outside.
About half an hour later, the noise outside started again. It was already dark, and there was a faint sound of horse hooves. The servant climbed up the wall and looked around. He saw several riders dismounting at the entrance of the alley. He was so frightened that he shouted towards the yard, "It's a disaster! The soldiers are coming!"
The Gao family was shocked again. The eldest grandmother asked anxiously, "What's going on? What's going on?"
The gate was slammed again, this time with a greater bang. The concubine hid in the house. The grandmother winked at the old family member, who then stepped forward and asked, "Who is it?"
The people outside shouted, "Catch the wanted criminal! Open the door quickly!"
The women in the yard were all panicked when they heard the word "imperial prisoner". The old family member shouted, "This is the residence of Master Guangxing of the Imperial Censorate. There is no such thing as an imperial prisoner. Stop talking nonsense!"
The person outside the door shouted angrily, "Everyone knows that this is Guangxing's house! Someone saw the criminal come in with their own eyes! Open the door quickly! You must know what crime it is to harbor a criminal! Open the door quickly!"
The old family member hurriedly said: "Even if you want to come in, you have to wait for my master to come back."
The person outside the door shouted angrily: "No! Open the door!"
The old family member said, "Let me ask my wife. She is a royal lady, and you cannot offend her."
The conversation outside the door had just stopped for a while, so Guangxing's wife heard everything without the old servant reporting it to her. She asked, "What happened?"
The old family member pointed to the study and said, "It's probably that beggar who caused this trouble."
"What should we do?" a maid said, "Isn't he really a criminal?"
The old family member said: "Who knows."
Guangxing's wife said, "Go in and see him."
The old man went into the study and came out angrily after a while. Guangxing's wife asked, "What happened? Did he run away?"
"Run? He just lay there without moving." The old family member said angrily, "I went in and told him what happened, but he said, 'What does it have to do with me?' He also asked if he had any midnight snacks, because he was hungry again."
When everyone heard this, they were both angry and amused. At this time, the officers and soldiers outside the door started shouting again, and someone said, "Why don't we hand over such a person of unknown origin, and don't let him get us into trouble."
Finally, Guangxing's wife had some opinions: "No! Since the master has said not to open the door, then no one is allowed to open the door. Everyone go back to the house. Don't come out no matter what happens." She also said to the old servants: "Leave two people in the yard. If the outsiders force their way in, guard the main room and don't let anyone in. Just lead them to the study. If they don't force their way in, don't open the door until the master comes back."
"yes."
Fortunately, although the people outside the door were knocking on the door and shouting loudly, they didn't dare to use force.
After a while, the sound of horse hooves was heard again. The male servant on the wall looked out through the lantern at the entrance of the alley and shouted to the courtyard in fear, "Oh no! Here comes a man in a yellow jacket!"
The old family member was shocked and wondered who the person in the study was!
I heard the sound of banging on the door and shouting outside. I guess the soldiers were reporting something. Then I heard a faint voice saying, "Knock on the door!"
The officer who arrived first said, "Sir, this is the Gao family of the Imperial Secretary. We..."
"Knock on the door!"
The male servant on the wall was so frightened that he fell down and hid in the back room.
The old servant knew that he could not hold out anymore, so he lifted the study door curtain and said, "Hey, someone is going to bang on the door, you better be careful." The study was dark and there was no light, but Wu Chengjian could be vaguely seen still lying there.
Wu Chengjian stretched lazily and said, "Your master is really slow." He moved his waist and patted his cervical vertebrae, but he didn't look panicked at all.
The old servant shook his head again and again. The sound of horse hooves could be heard again. At the same time, the street door was slammed open. Several soldiers and runners entered again. They separated into two sides, and a man in a yellow jacket walked out from the middle. The old servant hurriedly trotted to the main house door and shouted, "The imperial concubine lives in the main house . You are not allowed to mess around!" He pointed to the study room and said, "There is a person of unknown origin in there. Maybe he is the person you want."
The man in the yellow jacket said, "Search for me!"
Suddenly someone outside the street door shouted: "Who is so bold?"
Then a bannerman in a blue robe came in, and he brought with him a dozen bannermen from the Cavalry Battalion in vests.
The man in the yellow jacket was surprised to see the newcomer. He bowed quickly and called out, "Sixth Master, why are you here?"
The blue-robed bannerman sneered, "Why am I here? I heard that there are servants in the banner who don't have eyes and are being used as pawns. How can I not come? Don't you see where you are? The residence of the court's secretary, the door of the former university scholar, you dare to barge in openly! Did you receive an imperial decree or a supreme decree?"
The man in the yellow jacket took a step back and didn't dare to say anything.
The man in blue robe shouted angrily: "Get out of here!"
The man in the yellow jacket said, "But, Sixth Master, this is..." He pointed his mouth angrily in the direction of Shichahai: "That person's intention."
The blue-robed man sneered, "You haven't had the kumis of the grassland for too long, your brain is muddled! Don't you see what time it is now? You're doing things for others at this time. Do you think you're too stable?"
The man in the yellow jacket hesitated.
"What are you waiting for? Come with me!"
The man in blue robe left after saying this, and the man in yellow jacket hesitated for a moment, and finally followed him.
As soon as he left, the officers and soldiers followed him. Seeing that things were not going well, the police officers also retreated out of the door.
Guangxing's old family breathed a sigh of relief, called out two servants, a man and a woman, closed the door that had been knocked open, and got a stick to replace the broken bolt.
The family members calmed down a little. The old man thought for a moment and went back to the study. He saw that the light was on inside. The beggar had taken a book from the bookshelf and was reading it under the light. He saw that such a big thing had happened, but this man had never panicked from beginning to end. Instead, he was in awe and asked in a low voice, "Sir... could you use a cup of tea?"
Wu Chengjian said, "No need for tea, your tea is too bad. Just light a few more candles, it's too dark to read and it hurts my eyes."
When Guangxing came back, he saw the study was brightly lit and was stunned for a moment - all the candles in the house had been found and lit in the study. Since he moved into this house, the study had never been so bright at night.
Wu Chengjian saw him, smiled and said, "Your house is quite lively."
Guangxing snorted coldly: "It's a good thing that I heard the news and asked someone to come quickly to protect you, otherwise you would have been arrested by now!"
Wu Chengjian smiled lightly: "It's a good thing that the person you asked for help came in time. If he was a step later, the two million would have been wasted."
Guangxing pulled the remaining chair over and said, "I'm going to plead for you, but your head is wanted by that person in Shichahai. If you want to keep it, two million taels..." He raised two fingers and shook them.
"It turns out that my head is quite valuable." Wu Chengjian chuckled and said, "I wonder how much the prince and the prince think my head is worth?"
When Guangxing heard the words "Prince and Prince", his face changed slightly: "What did you say! What do you know!"
Wu Chengjian said nonchalantly: "I know a lot, otherwise I wouldn't have come to your door, Master Guangxing - am I stupid enough to think that you can save me from He Zhongtang just by relying on your Excellency?"
Guangxing's face suddenly turned dark.
Wu Chengjian patted his shoulder and said, "Don't be so nervous. Although I have never met any of those people behind you, I have actually dealt with them on the accounts. I know what I should know, but I have kept all the things I shouldn't say in my heart. So if there is anything, Lord Guangxing, just tell me. Let's put aside the gossip for now, Lord Guangxing , tell me directly, what do those people want?"
Guangxing pondered and stretched out four fingers.
Wu Chengjian asked: "Four million?"
Guangxing nodded and waited for Wu Chengjian to bargain. Wu Chengjian said, "Okay." Guangxing's eyes widened and he immediately wondered if his price was too low. But that was four million taels. The annual treasury revenue of the Qing Dynasty was only about 40 million taels! This would take out one tenth of the entire treasury?
Then Wu Chengjian said, "But I also have a few conditions."
Guangxing sneered: "You are about to die, and you still dare to make conditions?"
"Business, business! This is a business!" Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "Since it is a business, we have to discuss it, right? Besides, this is a big deal of four million taels of silver!"
For the sake of four million taels of silver, Guangxing waved his hand and said, "Go ahead!"
Wu Chengjian said: "I want to ask for a few things. Things should be done one by one. I will pay you for each thing you complete."
Without waiting for Guangxing to get angry, Wu Chengjian picked up the pen first. There was ink on the inkstone that he had ground. With Guangxing on his back, he wrote on two sheets of paper, blew them dry, folded them, and took out the envelope he had just taken out of the study, handed it to Guangxing, and said, "I can pay the deposit first, 800,000 taels."
Guangxing was about to open it, but Wu Chengjian stopped him and said, "Do you really want to see it?" Guangxing thought about it and stopped.
Wu Chengjian said, "Lend me the seal mud for a while."
Guangxing took the seal and sealed it. Wu Chengjian then pressed his fingerprints on the seal, baked it to harden, and handed it to Guangxing, saying, "There's an address inside. Eight hundred thousand taels of silver are hidden there."
Then he handed the second piece of paper to Guangxing: " This is the first hard work fee for Master Guangxing, 80,000 taels of silver. Go and get it quietly."
Guangxing opened the folded paper and saw an address on it. If there were really 80,000 taels of silver here, he suddenly felt that the paper was a little hot. He was a new noble who had not yet taken power. 80,000 taels of silver was a huge sum of money for him!
Then he remembered what Wu Chengjian had just said? This was... "the first payment"? ?
Wu Chengjian gave the person behind him "800,000 taels", and gave himself "80,000 taels" as hard work fee, which is exactly one tenth. If the transaction of negotiating the silver for the crime is really completed, can he get "400,000 taels"? !
Although he was a little upset, he had seen the emperor after all, so he was still very shrewd. He snorted and said calmly, "What are your conditions?"
"The first thing..." Wu Chengjian patted his tattered clothes and said, "I want to go back to the Guangdong Guild Hall and ask those servants who were driven away to come back and serve me. It's too uncomfortable to live in the dilapidated temple. This is just a small thing. I think, 800,000 taels - is it worth it?"
Guangxing thought about it and felt that since the group of masters behind the scenes had already come forward to push Heshen back tonight, then letting Wu Chengjian return to the Guangdong Guild Hall should not be a big deal - if the address in the envelope really contained 800,000 taels.
"What about the second condition?" Guangxing asked.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "As for the money, I will give it to you without hesitation. As for the things, we can deal with them one by one... No hurry, no hurry."
