Chapter Eighteen: Jiang Bo Presents the Treasure

  Who was the person who colluded with Ma San Gunzi? Who was behind him and giving orders? Was it someone from the government, or was it that night's outsider? What kind of people were they? Were they officials, Manchu people from outside the pass, great thieves, enemies of our Zhou family, or... These questions kept swirling in Zhou Shiming's mind, thinking about them repeatedly like a movie.

  He called the steward Liang Xingchu and instructed him: "You pass it down, from now on, without my consent, no one is allowed to enter the main hall. Also, you immediately dispatch a few capable men to closely monitor every move in the yamen, once there's any wind or movement, report back to me immediately! In addition, has anyone come to retrieve something from under that tree by the fake mountain during this time?

  "I followed the old master's orders and sent people to keep watch day and night, but no one came. Did they know that Ma Sanbangzi had gotten into trouble?" Liang Xingchu was also pondering...

  "Don't rule out this possibility!" Old Master Zhou paced back and forth, "Continue to closely monitor the place from now on. If someone is found taking things, catch them immediately. You go first!"

  "Alright." Liang Xingchu responded, turning around and leaving...

  An inexpressible ominous sign has always surrounded Zhou Shiming, he felt that he had encountered the greatest crisis of his life.

  On this day, Wang Xiancheng was practicing martial arts in the government office when a yamen runner came to report that Leng Jiangbo, the master of Jiangyueshan Manor, had come to see him. Wang Xiancheng ordered his servant: "Have him brought in." Leng Jiangbo entered the courtyard and saw Wang Xiancheng practicing his martial skills, so he stopped in his tracks and watched carefully...

  When Wang Xian finished practicing a set of sword techniques, Leng Jiangbo clapped his hands and walked forward, praising: "Your sword technique is truly exquisite, it's rare to see such skill today, I really admire you!"

  "Haha... Great praise from the master, please come in..." Wang Xiancheng laughed loudly, putting away his sword and making a polite gesture to Leng Jiangbo.

  This Wang County Magistrate was named Wang Zili, he was the county magistrate of Mingwu County, which is the second-in-command under the county governor, and was the assistant to the county governor. He was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a medium build, thick beard, square face, and his face was covered in freckles. He had been serving as an official in Mingwu County for five or six years already.

  The two men entered the house and sat down, and County Magistrate Wang ordered tea to be served. After the tea was served, the attendants withdrew. County Magistrate Wang said: "Today, the master of the house has come to visit, what instructions do you have?"

  Leng Jiangbo hastily waved his hand, "I'm just a commoner and an unrefined person, how can I possibly instruct County Magistrate Wang?" He then pulled out a package from his body and presented it to Wang Zili, "This is top-grade tobacco, not worth much, but I hope County Magistrate will accept it with a smile!"

  County Magistrate Wang glanced at him with his eyes, but didn't say a word. Leng Jiangbo continued to speak: "That day, thanks to County Magistrate's timely sending of information and rescue in the middle, we were able to escape danger. I really don't know how to express my gratitude. Today, I brought a gift for County Magistrate, which is also my favorite thing. Please accept it." He shouted outside: "Someone come, bring up that box of mine."

  His attendant quickly came in from outside, carefully placed a beautifully wrapped box on the table. Leng Jiangbo took over the box and opened it with equal care, taking out an object and placing it on the table. Leng Jiangbo took a look, it was a Qinghua jade vase, he couldn't help but lean forward to admire it. The vase had smooth curves, fine porcelain, solid body, exquisite shape, seven layers of decoration, appropriate complexity, prominent theme, bright colors, beautiful painting, vivid, and a light blue glaze. The bottle's waist was like a drop of water about to fall, the shoulder was very majestic, as if the iron wire was bent down by the trend, the natural curve was smooth and beautiful... He couldn't help but hold it in his hand, carefully examining it, constantly praising it.

  Leng Jiangbo looked at Wang Xiancheng and said, "Sir is a connoisseur, not like me, I don't understand anything, it's useless to keep it, if you're not disgusted, I'll give it to you!"

  "That's great, thank you!" said Wang Xiancheng from the bottom of his heart. He continued to introduce, "The most prominent feature of Yuan Qinghua is its grand momentum, full and majestic, with a strong masculine beauty from its shape to decoration. Its decorative features are extremely distinct, whether it's simple fish, insects, flowers, or flying dragons, phoenixes, knife-wielding horses, and figures, especially the kind of painting techniques that painters use with ease, natural fluency, and divine inspiration, which seems simple but is actually the result of repeated refinement, with a balance of complexity and simplicity, and a free-spirited style. Its calm, pleasant, refreshing, and powerful expression is unique to the Yuan dynasty porcelain craftsmen, it's a unique style of the era, it's divine!"

  "The adults' words are indeed insightful, it seems that a good horse is matched with a good saddle, and a precious treasure is given to someone who appreciates its value." Leng Jiangbo patted the horse and said, but he changed the subject, "In fact, there are many rare treasures in the world, and since you understand and love treasures so much, haven't you thought of ways to obtain other treasures?"

  Upon hearing Leng Jiangbo say this, Wang Xianzhang stopped his appreciation and asked with great interest: "Do you have a way, brother?"

  Leng Jiangbo leaned forward and whispered: "To be honest with you, I really have a way, I don't know if the adults are interested?"

  "Oh, come on, stop teasing me and just say it quickly. You know I'm a impatient person." County Magistrate Wang was getting a bit anxious.

  "My master was a tomb raider, and the old man used his lifelong experience of tomb raiding to write a book called 'Ancient Tomb Secrets'. The contents of the book included methods for identifying ancient tombs, ways to crack them open, and so on. It also collected diagrams of the main royal and noble graves throughout history. But even until his death, the old man never went to excavate these precious tombs. After a long time of observation, I found where my master hid the book, and I took it out from behind his back. However, when I got it, I discovered that it was a blank book. I knew that there must be secrets hidden in the book, but my master had made the contents invisible. For many years, I tried many methods to decipher the secrets of the book, and only recently did I manage to reveal its contents. But what I found out was that it was a fake book. Ah, I got excited for nothing. Many people have been trying to get their hands on it all these years, but no one knew where it was. Only recently did I find out that it's actually in the possession of my senior fellow apprentice, Zhou Shiming..." Cold Jiangbo sighed as he recounted his past experiences.

  "Is this really true?" Wang Xiancheng asked curiously.

  "That's for sure!" Leng Jiangbo said affirmatively, "If we get the treasure map, then afterwards the treasures will be endless and inexhaustible! If we can get the treasure book, how about dividing the treasures equally among us?"

  "Do you have a good way?" Wang Xiancheng asked.

  "Why don't we take this opportunity to search Zhou's residence and find out the secrets within?" Leng Jiangbo seemed to have made up his mind.

  "How can I search? The Zhou family has a county magistrate protecting them, it's probably difficult to handle." County Magistrate Wang pushed back and said.

  "Why don't we...?" Leng Jiangbo leaned in close and whispered into Wang Xiancheng's ear, who nodded repeatedly.