Chapter 8: Cooperation
"Your name is Song Qianzhao, the adopted grandson of Song Jian, the censor of the Ming Dynasty."
The young man explained her origins in just one sentence.
Song Qianzhao frowned slightly and looked at him strangely.
The young man glanced at her and said calmly, "Don't look at me like that. As soon as you entered the mansion, someone figured out your identity. Within half a day, your identity was known to everyone in the noble circle. Even your portrait was distributed to each mansion."
After he finished speaking, the young man looked at him with interest and asked, "What I'm curious about is that your father was framed. Logically speaking, your father and son's life in the Song Mansion is not easy. How can you have the mood to come to this brothel?"
Song Qianzhao sighed to himself.
It seems that the water in the capital is even more muddy than she imagined.
Song Qianzhao turned his gaze towards the young man and said with a smile, "I said I came to find you, do you believe me?"
"Believe it! Why not!"
The young man lazily leaned back in his chair and said casually, "If I hadn't guessed you were looking for me, I would have had you thrown out just for breaking into Ming'er's bedroom."
Song Qianzhao was stunned.
She vaguely understood the intentions behind the boy and Shen Ming'er's strange behavior.
When the young man entered the room and saw her for the first time, he immediately recognized her identity and understood her intentions, which was why she behaved so inexplicably.
Although Song Qianzhao didn't understand the purpose of his action, he knew there must be a deeper meaning behind it.
Most people believe that the young men in the capital are all fools, rich and extravagant prodigals.
But judging from the behavior of this young man, those playboys are probably not stupid.
After a little thought, she understood the trick.
A group of guys who were tyrannical and domineering under the emperor's feet, not only did they not die, but they lived a more comfortable life than anyone else. If they were fools, then those who regarded them as fools were the real fools.
A true fool would have no chance of surviving in the center of the power vortex of Kyoto.
Song Fu is an example.
These sons of noble families in the capital pretend to be dandies, but most of them have hidden political calculations.
Song Qianzhao said to the young man seriously, "I came to you now because I want to cooperate with you."
"cooperate?"
The young man paused and sneered, "But from what I know, you and your son are not doing well in the Song Mansion. The old man in the Song Mansion is planning to send you back to Ruzhou. Without the status of being the heir of the Song Mansion, what can you use to discuss cooperation with me?"
Song Qianzhao smiled and said, "According to the family tree, I have been adopted into my grandfather's lineage. I am still my grandfather's adopted grandson."
The young man was stunned for a moment, and muttered unconsciously: "Have they changed the family tree?"
The young man's gaze fell on Song Qianzhao again, and he said with a smile: "Then you are qualified to discuss cooperation with me."
"Shall we begin now?"
The young man waved his hand and said with a wry smile, "Don't worry, before we start working together, I need to tell you clearly that although I have a background, it has nothing to do with me.
My father favors my two older brothers, and I am the least favored among the three of us.
Among this group of playboys in the capital, my two brothers can be considered top figures. They frequent top brothels and make friends with the sons of nobles.
As for me, I can only hang around in this Red Apricot Building, relying on bullying the weak to make a living."
What the young man meant was that he couldn't help Song Qianzhao much.
Song Qianzhao smiled and said, "What I want to do is not difficult, but if I come forward alone, it will not be enough, so I need to rely on your name, and the people and things in your hands."
The boy nodded thoughtfully, "How much benefit can I get then?"
"No less than one hundred thousand taels."
"hiss……"
The boy's breath caught. "That's not a small amount of money. Where did you get so much money?"
One hundred thousand taels is not a small amount of money.
It is enough for ordinary families to eat for a whole year.
The young man's monthly allowance was only two hundred taels, and these one hundred thousand taels were equivalent to his allowance for more than forty years.
No wonder he was so shocked.
Even Shen Ming'er, who was standing by, couldn't help but tremble at her fingertips when she heard the number of one hundred thousand taels.
Song Qianzhao smiled and said, "When I first came here, I inquired about it. The Wang family's wealth is far more than 100,000 taels."
The young man cried out in shock, "You want to avenge your father and deal with the Wang family?"
Song Qianzhao nodded calmly without denying it, "If they can frame my father, why can't I frame the Wang family?"
The young man stared at him without blinking, "Have you figured out everything about the Wang family?"
"I know a thing or two, but not as much as you and I."
The young man restrained his expression and said seriously, "Wang Ju is just a mere figure and poses no threat, but his elder brother, Wang Yang, is a Jinshi who was awarded the title of Yongshou for the fifth year of his studies, and his mentor is Zhang Yan.
Although Zhang Yan retired to the Eastern Palace, his reputation in the court was no less than that of your grandfather.
In the early years, when Zhang Yan had not yet lost his power, he relied on Zhang Yan's support to rise in the officialdom and eventually sat in the prestigious position of Censor.
When Zhang Yan lost power, he attached himself to Li Shufeng.
Your father's story was his token of allegiance to the Li Party.
With Li Shufeng protecting him, it would be difficult for us to plot against him."
After listening to this, Song Qianzhao paused.
When she was gathering information from the streets, she found out that Wang Yang and Wang Ju were brothers, and the auspicious clouds and auspicious spirits were all property of the Wang family.
He also found out that Wang Yang was Zhang Yan's disciple.
Little did he know that Wang Yang had betrayed Zhang Yan and had hooked up with Li Shufeng.
With Li Shufeng as his backer, Wang Yang is indeed not someone he can afford to offend.
but……
Song Qianzhao laughed playfully, "Are you so afraid of Li Shufeng? Are you so scared of him that you lose all hope at the mere mention of him?"
The young man curled his lips, "Of course, he's extremely powerful. He can crush us to pieces with just a flick of his finger. Most importantly, he doesn't care about our identities or backgrounds."
Song Qianzhao chuckled, "But have you ever thought that he just hooked up with Li Shufeng, but didn't really join Li Shufeng.
His plan to plot against my father has not yet been successful, so he is not considered Li Shufeng's man.
More importantly, because he wanted to curry favor with Li Shufeng, he offended Wang Yan.
If anything happens to him, Wang Yan will not protect him.
Isn't this the best time to deal with him?"
After listening to Song Qianzhao's analysis of the pros and cons, the young man's eyes suddenly flashed with a gleam.
"Really?"
The boy licked his lips unconsciously and stared at Song Qianzhao with shining eyes.
Seeing this, Song Qianzhao smiled slightly and nodded.
The young man raised his lips slightly, "I agree to cooperate with you, how do you want me to help you?"
"I need some hands who know the situation well and can handle it. I also need two pieces of Chengxintang paper."
It would not be difficult for the young man to find some people who knew him well and could control him. There were many such people at home.
Chengxintang paper was a precious paper used by the imperial court. While unaffordable for ordinary households, it was common among the wealthy and powerful in ancient times. This paper has a fine, white texture and excellent ink absorption, making it a premium material for scholars and writers.
Song Jian had a lot of imperially bestowed Chengxintang paper on hand, so the young man's home must also have a lot of imperially bestowed Chengxintang paper.
After hearing the two conditions he proposed, the young man was obviously stunned for a moment, staring at Song Qianzhao with wide eyes and asked, "Is it that simple?"
"Of course it's not that simple. If it were that simple, why would I look for you?"
Song Qianzhao took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued, "I'd like to borrow your painting of 'Brocade Calligraphy, Clouds and Geese'."
The young man was stunned for a moment after hearing this. After a moment, he said hurriedly: "No, no, my father will beat me to death!"
Song Qianzhao had expected this reaction from the boy.
Song Qianzhao smiled and said, "You don't have to be so nervous. I don't need to occupy that map. I just need you to take out this map and let me take a look."
The boy asked worriedly, "Are you really just taking a look?"
He suddenly felt his heart loosen, realizing something was wrong, and quickly added, "How about other paintings? I have quite a few famous calligraphy works in my house!"
Song Qianzhao picked up the cup of cold tea, took a sip, and said with a faint smile: "It has to be this."
After hearing this, Fan Zhiyu clenched his teeth, lowered his head and remained silent.
He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons over and over again in his mind.
Song Qianzhao didn't rush him, but just sipped his tea slowly and waited patiently for his reply.
After a while, Fan Zhiyu raised his head, looked straight at Song Qianzhao, and asked seriously, "Are you really just taking a look?"
Song Qianzhao smiled and said, "Just take a look. If you have any concerns, I can go to your house to see the paintings."
Fan Zhiyu shook his head solemnly and said softly, "That's not necessary. There's a restaurant across the street. It's owned by the Fan family and the only shop my father gave me. The people there are all my confidants. We can go there to look at the paintings."
Song Qianzhao couldn't help but smile.
From Fan Zhiyu's words, she could tell that Fan Zhiyu agreed to her request.
When the benefits far outweigh the risks, he will naturally choose to give it a try.
When Song Qianzhao approached Fan Zhiyu to ask for cooperation, he knew he would agree.
"There's no time to lose, let's get going now..."
Without saying a word, Fan Zhiyu grabbed Song Qianzhao's hand and rushed out.
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