Chapter 6: Cheating and Deception are the Keys to Getting Rich

  Without waiting for Xu Chang to ask, Xu Qian recounted his experience. Xu Chang's face turned solemn, his eyes slightly closed, slowly digesting the information.

  Xu Qian sighed and said, "Unexpectedly, you benefited from the disaster, this is also your luck. You said that Wang Gong let you investigate that character? Do you have any leads now?"

  Xu Qian said: "What can I possibly know about this? This is not my specialty, so I've come back specifically to ask for your guidance, elder."

  Xu Chang was delighted, and with a flying eyebrow, he said: "Not to mention anything else, just talking about tracing the clues, your father is also from a public official background, and it's his specialty. You're lucky to have a father like me, otherwise, how would you explain this to Lord Wang?"

  Xu Qian thought to himself, "If my father were surnamed Zhu, would he still need to report to a dead eunuch?" However, he didn't dare show his thoughts and instead smiled and said, "Yes, yes, Father is right. Without Father, where would I be? One must not forget the person who dug the well after drinking water, and think of the source when drinking water. The kindness of nurturing me, a son remembers it deeply. Alright, having said so much nonsense, does Father have any plans now?"

  Xu Chang's self-esteem was greatly satisfied, but he also felt that it wasn't right. Xu Qian had said so much about the kindness of raising him, but it turned out to be nonsense? He glared at Xu Qian and said: "This matter is easy to investigate, we just need to narrow down the scope, one by one, and then lock in a few suspects. With severe interrogation, the truth will come out."

  Xu Qian was deeply inspired and suddenly realized: "I understand, it's to investigate first, but where to start the investigation? It must be that in order to switch packages, one must have the right to enter and exit the flower hall at will. Moreover, switching packages takes a lot of time, this person must have some status in Wang Gonggong's mansion."

  Xu Changjin nodded first, with a look of deep understanding, and added: "That fake must have been framed in advance and then sent to Wang Gonggong's mansion. Ordinary servants can't go out at will, and since the person who switched it was being manipulated, they must have had the privilege of going out frequently. Only by going out frequently could they contact their accomplices outside at any time."

  Xu Qian nodded in agreement and couldn't help but say: "In that case, there are only a few people who are suspicious at most."

  Xu Chang sighed: "The hardest thing now is how to find the murderer among these few people."

  The key to the problem lies here, all the suspects are people from the Wang Gong Gong Fu, can't all the suspects be arrested and tortured? Before confirming that this person is guilty, they cannot use torture, Xu Chang and his son both understand this principle, otherwise, it would be a counterattack, and at worst, it would be a dog in the eunuch's family, which cannot be provoked.

  Xu Qian was in a difficult situation, what to do? Time couldn't be delayed any longer, if it was delayed further, the other party would take the painting out of the mansion, and then where could he go to retrieve the painting?

  He thought for a long time and suddenly had an idea, saying: "I've got it! Dad, I have a way!"

  ………

  On the second day, early in the morning, Xu Qian woke up and heard someone arguing outside.

  "Master Xü hasn't gotten up yet, young lady. It's no use looking for him. I am Deng Jian, a first-class guard under the command of Grandmaster Wang. He holds me in high esteem. Don't underestimate me. The reason I'm here guarding Master Xü is that Grandmaster Wang thinks I'm a top-notch gatekeeper... Hey! I've already told you Master Xü is asleep. Are you going to force your way in? Hmph! You're not giving face to Deng, the Northern Blade King. Who are you? State your name!"

  Xu Qian suddenly sat up in bed, put on his shoes and went to open the door. In the courtyard, he saw a sedan chair parked there. Deng Jian drew out half of the knife from his waist, with the blade half-hidden and half-exposed, emitting a cold glow. The person being blocked was a young lady with red lips and white teeth. She had a slender figure, fair skin, and wore a light green long dress that accentuated her tiny waist. Her beauty was breathtaking.

  The girl is beautiful, but her expression is very cold, staring at Deng Jian, unwilling to back down and confronting him.

  It is often at this moment of crisis that a small hero emerges.

  Xu Qian shouted loudly without hesitation: "Deng brothers, spare his life!"

  His call was like a potato brother of the great war against evil, wearing seven-colored clouds and descending from the sky, with a stern air.

  The girls of the Ming Dynasty all belonged to the turtle, shrinking in the boudoir, not giving you a chance to see them from head to toe. Now such a beauty came to visit, Xu Qian as a normal man, maintaining a high and mighty image is only natural.

  He stepped forward step by step and politely asked the young lady, "I don't know if you came looking for me, miss?"

  The young lady's attitude was still very cold, as cold as an iceberg that couldn't be melted. She had a temperament that seemed to reject people from afar. In a light tone, she said: "Are you Xú Qiān?"

  Xu Qian was taken aback, originally thinking he had encountered a romantic opportunity, but the beauty who came to his door looked like someone he owed money to. His attitude suddenly changed, and he said warily: "What if it is? What if it isn't?"

  This is to leave some leeway for himself. If the other party says that it was him all along, Xu Qian immediately turns his face and disowns it, saying "Who is Xu Qian? Miss must have found the wrong door."

  "Miss took a deep breath and said: 'Does Mr. Xu still remember my father?'"

  Xu Qian said: "Who's your dad? Don't know."

  The young lady looked at Xu Qian with a sarcastic gaze and said, "Xu official is really forgetful. The trouble you caused yourself, your father, the head of the Xu family in Qiantang County, actually took my father to take the blame, saying that my father mixed poisonous medicine into the medicinal materials. Is a man not daring to admit what he has done?"

  Xu Qian suddenly realized that he still had this debt to pay, no wonder Wang Gonggong told him last night that his father framed him and he was locked up at home, it turned out that his father caught a merchant selling medicinal materials to make up for the numbers, and as a result, the other party came to the door.

  This young lady is actually the daughter of that wrongly accused merchant. She heard that her father was involved in some medicine poisoning case and was caught by the government, so she inquired everywhere and found out that it had something to do with Wang Gonggong. The person who caught him was Xu Qian's father, and it was said that Xu Qian went to Wang Gonggong's mansion last night. She mistakenly thought that her own father had offended Wang Gonggong, and since the Xu family had a deep relationship with Wang Gonggong, this father-son duo framed her father for Wang Gonggong.

  Towards Xujian, the young lady had a deep contempt and coldly said: "What do you people want? If it's money, my Zhao family can still take out some. You name an amount, and my Zhao family will naturally provide it."

  Facing Miss's cold and frosty questioning, Xu Qian began to ponder.

  Actually, Wang Gonggong had already determined that Xu Qian was the one who did it, so there was no value in letting the merchant off scot-free. Whether to release him or not was of no importance. The matter originated from Xu Qian, and according to reason, this young lady only needed to come to the door, and Xu Qian would immediately go discuss with the old master, then think of a way to let the person go.

  But Xu Qian couldn't stand the young lady's condescending attitude. Who was begging who, anyway? Would the esteemed Xu family care about such a small amount of money? This was an insult to my integrity as Xu Qian.

  Xu Qian coldly said: "The crimes your father committed, you think a few dirty coins can make up for it?"

  Miss Zhao was taken aback and immediately became angry: "Then what do you want?"

  Xu Qian playfully looked at her, "You're not high and mighty, are you? You're not rich, are you? You have money, but I, Xu Da Guan, have integrity. Even saints say that integrity is worth a fortune. So, it seems that I am also a wealthy man. How do you compare?"

  As for who this saint was, Xu Qian couldn't remember clearly, and it might have been a virtuous person with the surname Xu.

  Miss Zhao also felt that she had just spoken too aggressively, which was unavoidable. What experience could an unmarried young lady have? She didn't even know how to ask for help, and all her expressions were written on her face, so naturally people would give her the cold shoulder.

  Her attitude softened, and she bit her lip: "As long as I can rescue my father, I can agree to any condition, only asking Master Xu to show mercy and speak a word to Duke Wang on our behalf. The Zhao family will be eternally grateful."

  Xu Qian couldn't help but say: "Really agreed to everything?"

  Xu Qian's gaze was not good-natured, making Miss Zhao somewhat embarrassed, but with a heart eager to save her father, she nodded without thinking: "Of course."

  Xu Qian clasped his hands behind his back, raised his head and gazed at the sky, saying: "Let me think for a moment."

  Deng Jian suddenly became excited, gently tugging at Xu Qian's sleeve, saying: "Extort three hundred taels of silver from her, three hundred taels..."

  "Get out!" Xu Qian shook off Deng Jian's dirty hand and scolded him with disdain: "What do you take me for? Am I someone who is blinded by money?"

  Deng Jian got nothing out of it.

  Xu Qian went to see Miss Zhao again, and although she was softening, the beautiful eyes still showed a deep-seated disdain. This feeling made Xu Qian very uncomfortable, and he smiled: "Actually, it's not difficult to save your father, but I'm afraid you won't agree."

  Miss Zhao looked at Xu Qian with vigilance, gritting her teeth and saying: "There's nothing that can't be promised. Tiying can still save his father, I may not be as good as Tiying, but I'm willing to do anything."

  "Alright." Xū Qiān smiled and said: "If I rescue your father, you'll become my maid, the kind that signs a lifelong contract. Are you willing?"

  Xu Qian is not a good person, or rather, the dictionary in Xu's family doesn't have the words "good person" to begin with. Originally, given Xu Qian's personality, swindling a small amount of money would be about it, but seeing how Miss Zhao looked down on him made him change his mind.

  Miss Zhao fell silent for a moment, then bit her thin lips and said: "Alright, as long as I can rescue my father, I'll be your slave, I won't go back on my word."

  He didn't mince words, and Xū Qiān smiled very quietly: "Whether or not you keep your promises has nothing to do with me. I'm a person who only cares about black ink on white paper; let's sign the contract first."

  Deng Jian couldn't help but think to himself, this Xu guy is really ruthless, yesterday I taught him the truth, now he's learned everything and is going to starve his master to death by becoming a better teacher than him.

  Miss Zhao didn't hesitate, and instead showed a relaxed expression. She followed Xu Qian to get the pen and ink, and wrote a document stating that if her father could be released from prison within three days, she would willingly become a slave.

  Xu Qian asked Deng Jian to act as a guarantor, and Deng Jian was taken aback. He hastily said, "I'm best at this kind of thing. Since you two are willing, why should I mind being the guarantor?" After signing his name and affixing his seal, he prepared to put down his brush, but Xu Qian stopped him, saying, "Wait a minute, brother Deng! Didn't you still owe me ten taels of silver? I was going to ask you to write an IOU last night, but I forgot. Look at my memory..." Xu Qian rubbed his forehead, looking very regretful, and then said, "Now's the perfect opportunity - let's get your IOU written together with this. What do you mean by giving me such a frightening stare? We're brothers..."

  Deng Jian put down his sword and surrendered, hastily crying with a sad face: "Okay, okay, I'll write it, I'll write it. It's all because of my bad luck, mistakenly befriending bandits... Ah no, that's not what I meant. What I mean is that being able to meet Big Brother Xu is truly an honor for me."

  He wrote the IOU with a mix of sadness and anger, and this IOU along with Miss Zhao's contract were all taken away by Xu Qian. Xu Qian felt extremely pleased in his heart, it seems that selling medicine is really not a decent way to make money, if one wants to get rich, they still can't escape the four words "cheat and deceive". Fortunately, fortunately, Xu Qian was good at this.

  After sending Miss Zhao away, Xu Qian's face was already thick-skinned and didn't care about her disdainful gaze. Deng Jian hid behind Xu Qian, gritting his teeth and wondering if he had become a petty person, as even drinking cold water made him choke, which wasn't a good omen.