The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

"Chunlan, take her to take a bath and change her clothes."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Dao immediately became somewhat rebellious.

"I don't want to, I think it's fine this way."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately smiled.

It seems I need to make her realize who the king and queen are.

"Don't want to take a shower? Fine, just beat me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Dao glanced at Zhou Chu with a hint of disdain.

"With your small frame? Do you think you can handle it?"

"You'll know if you try it."

Zhou Chu smiled.

Two minutes later, Zhou Chu twisted Xiao Dao's arm behind his back.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, I give up, I give up."

Xiao Dao gave in.

Zhou Chu then released her shoulder.

Xiao Dao was truly impressed.

In those two minutes, she competed with Zhou Chu three times, and was defeated almost instantly each time.

This made her realize the difference in martial prowess between herself and Zhou Chu.

She originally thought Zhou Chu was just a rich kid, so she was unconvinced.

But I don't think that way anymore.

After Zhou Chu released her, Xiao Dao obediently followed Chunlan to take a bath.

Zhou Chu went to his house outside the city and began making glass.

Before Zhou Chu returned to his hometown, he drew up blueprints and had many molds custom-made.

Therefore, the glass-making process went very smoothly.

It's just very time-consuming.

Two days later, the old beggar arrived at Zhou Chu's house, looking very serious.

"Young Master Zhou, I advise you not to provoke that wealthy businessman."

The old beggar spoke with a very serious expression.

"Oh? Tell me."

Zhou Chu became even more interested upon hearing this.

"His name is Wang Cai. He's a wealthy merchant from Jiangnan. I've already written to my brothers in Jiangnan, and I expect to get a reply in a few days. But these past two days, besides gambling, he's been frequently visiting the Yang residence."

The old beggar said.

"The Yang residence? Which Yang residence?"

Zhou Chu's heart skipped a beat when he heard this.

Although I had my suspicions, if it were true, then Wang Cai was a big fish indeed.

A huge fish.

Upon hearing this, the old beggar glanced around the study to make sure no one was eavesdropping before approaching Zhou Chu.

"The residence of Yang Tinghe, the current Grand Secretary."

Zhou Chu perked up upon hearing this.

Just as I guessed.

Wealthy merchants from Jiangnan also frequently visited Yang Tinghe's business.

Zhou Chu wouldn't believe it if someone said that Wang Cai had no connection with those people in Jiangnan.

Since that's the case, I can make arrangements in advance and, when the time is right, use this Wang Cai to infiltrate those people's ranks.

In this way, he could easily control the outlets for these people's smuggling operations.

"How long has this person been in the capital?"

Zhou Chu pressed for an answer.

"It is said that he has been here for more than half a month. This person is strange. He does not do business. All he does is gamble and go to the Yang residence. Occasionally he also goes to the residences of other officials. It seems that he is plotting something big."

Jin Youcai lowered his voice.

event?

Could it be that thing?

If that's really what happened, then it's a truly momentous event.

If this happens, the entire Ming Dynasty will be thrown into turmoil.

However, even if Zhou Chu knew, he wouldn't stop it; in fact, he was happy to see it happen.

Otherwise, their plans would not be able to be implemented.

It seems that after the emperor consolidated military power, those people couldn't sit still any longer.

However, such a thing will probably require careful planning and cannot be accomplished overnight.

"Keep your men watching them, just keep them watching, don't make any moves."

As Zhou Chu spoke, he took out fifty taels of silver.

"You can distribute this money to your subordinates. They can work for me, but you can't mistreat your subordinates when they work."

Jin Youcai knew that Zhou Chu was very rich, so he accepted it without hesitation.

"I thank you on behalf of those little brats, young master."

Jin Youcai didn't ask any more questions about Wang Cai's matter.

He knew very well that the more he knew, the faster he would die.

Just do your job well and don't have any inappropriate curiosity.

Zhou Chu then asked about Hu Wei and the gambling dens that Hu Wei and Wang Cai frequented.