Wu Yong was stunned for a moment, then realized he must have misheard.
Does he expect me to give him money?
Seeing that he didn't react, Jing Zhe urged again, "What is Prefect Wu thinking? Hurry up and give me the money!"
"ha?"
Wu Yong laughed and said, "Is Young Master Kun asking me for money?"
"Nonsense, why would you ask a ghost for it?"
"..."
Wu Yong was speechless for a moment, then asked the soul-searching question: "Why are you asking me for money?"
"It seems that Prefect Wu still doesn't quite understand. Let me explain the relationship between them to you again!"
Wu Yong didn't say anything, but quickly leaned closer, wanting to hear carefully how he had "owed" him two thousand taels of silver.
"Is there nothing wrong with the Zhang family?"
Wu Yong nodded.
"So, was today's crackdown a complete waste of time?"
He continued nodding.
"Did the Zhang family produce a hundred fewer jars of strong liquor because you banned them for a day?"
Wu Yong nodded slowly, his brows furrowed, because he seemed to have grasped Jing Zhe's strategy.
"If we make one hundred fewer jars of strong liquor, and each jar of strong liquor costs twenty taels, that's equivalent to earning two thousand taels less in silver, isn't that right?"
This time, Wu Yong was very cautious and did not nod, for fear that he might accidentally hand over two thousand taels of silver.
"Because of Prefect Wu's misjudgment, the Zhang family earned two thousand taels of silver less. It's not unreasonable for Prefect Wu to take this silver, is it?"
No sooner had Jing Zhe finished speaking than Wu De, who had been scolded by Wu Yong and was hiding to the side, could no longer contain his excitement and jumped out.
"That's too much! That's absolutely outrageous!"
They are the ones who usually extort money from ordinary people. When have they ever been extorted so openly?
Besides... they wouldn't dare extort two thousand taels at once!
"You can continue tomorrow, what's one more day? You're asking us for two thousand taels right off the bat, dream on! This isn't asking, it's robbery!"
Jing Zhe squinted, thinking to himself, "I didn't tell you that I used to be a bandit, so robbing you is normal!"
He looked at Wu Yong and asked, "Does Prefect Wu mean the same thing as him?"
This time, Wu Yong didn't scold Wu De, which clearly indicated his approval.
“Young Master Kun… Wu De’s words are not without reason. It’s the same if you make more strong liquor tomorrow. Asking me for money is really going too far, isn’t it?”
But he didn't want to offend Jing Zhe too much, so he asked tentatively.
"Fine, since you think it's too much, then I don't want it!"
Before Wu Yong could even feel happy, he saw Jing Zhe return to the bedside and lie down, muttering to himself.
"This bed is comfortable, I'm not getting off!"
"..."
Judging from how he was eating and sleeping all day, Wu Yong really believed he was capable of doing such a thing. If he didn't leave, he would become the target of everyone's criticism when the poetry gathering started tomorrow!
King Xiang made it very clear today that this matter has nothing to do with him, meaning that he would bear the consequences alone, whether good or bad.
Therefore, Wu Yong would rather die than let Jing Zhe stay.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally hardened his heart.
"Alright, two thousand taels it is!"
As the saying goes, "A clean prefect for three years can amass a fortune of 100,000 taels of silver." Moreover, Wu Yong was not a clean prefect at all; he was quite wealthy. Although it was a bit painful to take out two thousand taels of silver for no reason, it was not enough to cripple him.
"Father, you can't give it to him!"
Wu De shouted like a madman.
Besides not wanting to see Jing Zhe's despicable face succeed, the more important thing is that the reduction of two thousand taels of silver means that the inheritance he will receive in the future will be significantly reduced!
"Since Young Master Wu is reluctant to part with it, then I don't want it."
Jing Zhe waved his hand, then lay back down on the bed, pulling the blanket up over himself, as if preparing for a long battle.
No, please don't!
Wu Yong couldn't stand seeing Jing Zhe lying on the bed any longer, so he quickly pulled him up, saying, "Here, I'll give it to you!"
He then ordered his servants to fetch the money.
"Prefect Wu, please don't force yourself. I don't necessarily need these two thousand taels of silver!"
"..."
I don't believe you for a second!
Wu Yong cursed inwardly, while Wu De was already furious, his eyes darting around, seemingly lost in thought.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and without saying goodbye to Wu Yong, he secretly ran out.
A short while later, a servant came in with two silver notes.
Wu Yong took it and handed it to Jing Zhe.
Jing Zhe reached out to take it, but Wu Yong suddenly withdrew his hand, staring intently at him and saying, "Young Master Kun, you can take these two thousand taels of silver, but let's make this clear beforehand! As long as you take these silver, we'll pretend today's events never happened. Don't mention it again after you leave, okay?"
Jing Zhe thought for a moment and then laughed, "Is Prefect Wu planning to pay to keep quiet?"
Wu Yong remained calm, neither confirming nor denying.
"All right!"
Jing Zhe shrugged, but then added, "I can certainly agree to these conditions, but Prefect Wu must also agree to one condition of mine!"
"Oh? What are the conditions?"
"From this moment on, stop making things difficult for the Zhang family or me. If you don't comply, don't blame me for not complying either!"
After thinking about it, Wu Yong realized that after what had happened today, he would be crazy to provoke someone who held the An Di Gold Medal. So he agreed.
"It's a deal!"
"What's done is done!"
After saying this, Jing Zhe took the silver note and swaggered out of the yamen, making Wu Yong's teeth itch with rage, but he was helpless...
...
This way of making money is too fast; I wish I could be locked up by him for another day.
Jing Zhe thought to himself with a chuckle.
Unfortunately, the big fish behind this was not caught, but there's still a long way to go, and Su Xinping won't get away with it!
The only regret is that I didn't have time to have dinner at the yamen, otherwise it would have been perfect!
Jing Zhe walked in the night, because tomorrow was the fifteenth of August, and the moon was already round and big, illuminating the streets exceptionally brightly, making it much easier to walk.
Right behind him, a group of men dressed in black and carrying sticks were following closely, whispering among themselves.
"Young Master, are we really going to hit him?"
"This person is not easy to deal with!"
"What should we do if the master finds out?"
It turned out that these men in black were constables from the yamen. Wu De had summoned them, changed their clothes, and prepared to beat up Jing Zhe.
At this moment, Wu De was also dressed in black, and he even carefully covered his face with a black cloth, obviously not wanting Jing Zhe to see him.
"What are you afraid of? We're all dressed like this, in the dark, how could he possibly recognize us?"
"Besides, he's all alone, and there are so many of us. If we rush out, he won't even have time to react before we beat him up. Who will he turn to then?"
"Don't be afraid, just hit him! If he really recognizes you, my dad will scold me, not you!"
"..."
With someone endorsing them, the black-clad constables exchanged glances, nodded, and then rushed out.
————
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