After hearing what Hou Er said, Jing Zhe had an idea.
It is said that if you doubt someone, you shouldn't use them; if you use someone, you shouldn't doubt them.
So Jing Zhe briefly explained the next steps of the plan and entrusted the arduous task of gathering information to Xiong San and Hou Er.
Are you confident you can complete the mission?
Jing Zhe patted the two of them on the shoulders and asked with a smile.
The two nodded vigorously, then Monkey Two asked cautiously, "Boss Jing, gambling is strictly prohibited in the city. If we go like this... won't we get arrested?"
Jing Zhe glared at him: "Why aren't you afraid usually?"
Monkey Two was greatly embarrassed and chuckled awkwardly, "It's a friend of mine..."
"Tell your friends not to go there from now on, or if I catch them, I'll send them straight to jail, you hear me?"
Monkey Two nodded vigorously: "Okay, okay, I'll definitely tell him..."
Jing Zhe nodded, then took out twenty taels of silver from his clothes and gave it to the two of them. “Take this. Although you will also gamble, your main task is to keep an eye on his every move. I will talk to Prefect Li. This is undercover work, not gambling.”
Xiong San and Hou Er nodded repeatedly, very excited.
I never imagined that one day I would be able to gamble so openly and honestly!
Well, it's not called gambling, it's called infiltration...
After assigning tasks, Jing Zhe was truly starving.
After leaving the newspaper office, I thought for a moment and headed straight for the Prime Minister's residence, which was the nearest one.
"Big brother!"
When the chubby boy Zhu Tangwen saw Jing Zhe, he immediately ran over.
Jing Zhe agreed, then pointed at Hanhan: "Have the kitchen prepare some food for him, then he can continue to carry you!"
The chubby boy's eyes lit up, and he grabbed Hanhan and ran off.
Jing Zhe then went to Zhu Xinning's small courtyard in the backyard. Through the low courtyard wall, he could see Zhu Xinning sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, writing something.
"Second Sister!"
Upon hearing Jing Zhe's voice, Zhu Xinning put down her pen, her expression softening as she smiled and asked, "Did Zhe'er just finish eating at the palace?"
In her opinion, Emperor An kept Jing Zhe behind, and it was already noon, so why hadn't he provided a meal?
Upon hearing this, Jing Zhe became angry.
He shook his head: "Sigh, she's too stingy. She won't even provide a meal, so I came to my second sister to mooch off her."
"Rubbing?"
"Let me mooch a meal!"
Jing Zhe smiled and said, "I thought Second Sister would be eating in the outer hall after court, so I figured I could just tag along outside. I didn't think about coming in, but then I heard from Zhu Tangwen that you came back after you finished eating. Sigh, it seems tagging along outside won't work, I'll have to come in!"
"..."
Zhu Xinning felt that something was off about what he said, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She told Xiangru to fetch some food, and Jing Zhe immediately began to wolf it down.
Eat slowly.
Zhu Xinning poured him a bowl of water and reminded him.
Jing Zhe ate heartily, drank some water afterward, and then let out a satisfied burp, saying contentedly, "Looks like when I come to see Second Sister in the future, I can't just think about freeloading; I have to come in!"
"..."
Next, Jing Zhe explained his plan to Zhu Xinning and asked for her opinion.
Zhu Xinning thought it was a good idea after hearing it, so she told him to wait outside and then went inside. She came out a short while later and handed him a silver note.
Jing Zhe was taken aback: "Why is Second Sister giving me money?"
"You'll definitely need it when you go to the winery later. Besides, your sister saved money for you."
"All right!"
Jing Zhe thought about it and did not refuse.
Firstly, although he had received a considerable amount of money from Zhang Xuexian, he had already paid a thousand taels yesterday, and the remaining money was not enough for this trip. The money given by Zhu Xinning was just enough.
Furthermore, given Zhu Xinning's temperament, she would be even more heartbroken if he refused to accept it.
As expected, Zhu Xinning smiled broadly upon seeing Jing Zhe accept the gift.
After talking with Zhu Xinning for a while, Jing Zhe led Hanhan out of the Prime Minister's residence, about half an hour after they left the newspaper office.
He went to the prefect first.
Upon seeing it was him, the constables in the yamen quickly smiled and let him in, then hurried off to inform Li Haoyun.
Most of the constables were very familiar with Jing Zhe.
The last time he came to the yamen, he was arrested by Wu De, the son of the former prefect. As a result, he just loafed around in the yamen, which gave even the former prefect Wu Yong a terrible headache.
As the only tough guy who was caught and treated well, he later brought down Wu Yong. I heard that he now has an official position and is incredibly popular. All the constables admire him so much that they wouldn't dare to stop him.
A short while later, Li Haoyun came out to greet them.
"President Jing, we just met in the imperial court. What brings you here all of a sudden? You don't happen to be here to interview me, do you?"
He laughed as he spoke.
"Prefect Li is right. I came here today for two reasons: first, to deliver results to Prefect Li, and second, to get Prefect Li featured in the first issue of the newspaper!"
Seeing that Jing Zhe didn't seem to be joking, Li Haoyun also said seriously, "Oh? President Jing, please elaborate."
So Jing Zhe explained what he was going to do, and then asked, "Prefect Li, is it difficult?"
"This is simply my duty, how could it be difficult?"
Li Haoyun said somewhat embarrassedly, "I only found out about this place because of President Jing's reminder. I'm really ashamed! If President Jing has any similar news in the future, please let me know!"
"Of course, of course!"
"President Jing, shall we set off now?"
Jing Zhe shook his head: "No rush. Prefect Li, just have your people prepare. I'll have someone come and inform you later, then you can set off!"
"Alright, then let's wait for President Jing's good news."
...
When Jing Zhe returned to the newspaper office, Xiong San and Hou Er had already returned. Upon seeing Jing Zhe, the two men came up to him and each gave him twenty taels of silver.
"..."
Seeing Jing Zhe's slight surprise, the two said embarrassedly, "President Jing, with the money you gave us, we've won a little more."
"sharp."
Jing Zhe expressed his admiration, then asked, "How was it?"
"President Jing, he is indeed inside, and he's playing Da Zhong!"
After listening to Xiong San's explanation, Jing Zhe nodded, thinking to himself that he had only paid a thousand taels of silver, while Zhang Xuehou had the capital to support him in playing Da Zhong.
"Did you win or lose?"
"Of course we lost!"
Monkey Two said with some disdain, "That guy is supposed to be a veteran who has been playing for decades, but his skills are terrible. He panicked after losing once."
Xiong San chimed in, "Yes, it was obvious that the Du brothers set a trap for him at the beginning! Zhang Xuehou won a few small rounds in a row and thought he was on a winning streak, so he boldly played big rounds. As a result, he lost from beginning to end, losing eleven rounds in a row. In the end, he lost every penny and even tried to borrow money from the Du brothers, but he was kicked out."
Hearing this, Jing Zhe narrowed his eyes: It seems that heaven is truly helping me!
————
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