Chapter 184: Zhang Munian’s Secret! (1/2)
“Zhang Munian pays respect to gongzi. Gongzi, thank you for saving my life.”
Upon seeing Wang Chong, Zhang Munian immediately bowed respectfully.
“It’s you!”
A look of delight flashed across Wang Chong’s face. Meng Long had only informed him that there was an acquaintance of his who had been waiting outside for a very long time.
“Mister, come in and take a seat.”
Even if Zhang Munian didn’t come to pay him a visit, Wang Chong would have gone to look for him. It wasn’t to demand repayment for his favor but for another matter.
Zhang Munian’s visit had saved Wang Chong a lot of trouble.
Wang Chong led Zhang Munian to the lounge and instructed the maids to serve a cup of tea before taking a seat.
“Gongzi, I apologize for not being able to congratulate you on your release yesterday. I intended to pay you a visit yesterday, but upon seeing the nobles who came knocking, I dared not be impudent. Thus, I chose to pay you a visit today instead.”
Zhang Munian said.
“Haha, so mister was here yesterday. If you had reported your arrival, I would have surely welcomed you in personally.”
Wang Chong’s eyes lit up upon hearing Zhang Munian’s words.
“May I know where mister is staying at the moment?”
“This… In a tunnel near the maple tree in the city’s west.”
Zhang Munian did not expect Wang Chong to ask such a question. Thus, he hesitated for a moment before answering softly.
“What?”
Wang Chong was taken aback. Didn’t this mean that Zhang Munian had been roaming around aimlessly in the past three months? “Didn’t Gao gonggong give you some silver?”
“He didn’t Rather, it was an Imperial Army member under him that gave me some loose change.”
Zhang Munian said.
Wang Chong was taken aback. On top of possessing great power, the emperor’s trust and favor, Gao gonggong was also extremely affluent. Wang Chong thought that the other party would at least give Zhang Munian some silver taels upon his release for his livelihood.
“A busy person like him probably has many things to tend to. Given that person’s standing, it isn’t surprising for him to overlook such an insignificant matter. He probably thought that Zhang Munian is an old acquaintance of mine and that I have already made arrangements for him. ——I was negligent.”
It didn’t take long for Wang Chong to make sense of the matter.
Given that person’s identity, standing, and influence, he wouldn’t fuss over a few hundred gold taels. It was more likely that he had overlooked or misunderstood the matter.
“Then, what future plans does mister has?”
Wang Chong asked.
Zhang Munian fell silent. He found Wang Chong’s question extremely hard to answer. After all, what kind of future could a prisoner who was just freed from the imperial prison possibly have?
Initially, Zhang Munian intended to return to his hometown. However, putting aside the long distance and his lack of money, even if he did return, given his current reputation, would the villagers accept him?
Besides, what was he going to do for a living?
“I haven’t thought that far yet. I’ll count my steps as I take them.”
Zhang Munian sighed. Even in the prison, he had never felt so frightened before. He had no idea where he could go, what he could do, and what to look forward to.
“Mister, if you’ve nowhere to go, why don’t you follow me?”
Wang Chong suddenly asked.
“Is gongzi jesting with me?”
Zhang Munian was taken aback. He chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, “I am just an old man now, what kind of value can I possess?”
Wang Chong chuckled. He realized that his offer was too abrupt for Zhang Munian to take seriously, but even so, he had no intention of giving up.
He lifted the cup of tea on the table beside him and sipped on it.
“I heard that mister once worked in the agriculture department, and you were imprisoned for embezzling twenty thousand gold taels!”
Putting down the cup of tea, Wang Chong spoke casually.
Weng!
Upon hearing those words, Zhang Munian’s face immediately changed and his head began to spin. This was the deepest secret he hid in the depths of his mind.
Back then, even when he was viciously beaten up, he didn’t reveal a single word of this matter. He didn’t expect Wang Chong to know of it.
“You… you… How did you know?”
Zhang Munian stared at Wang Chong with eyes widened in fear as sweat rained down his forehead. He was unnerved.
“Don’t worry, I have no intentions of coercing you to do anything.”
Wang Chong said calmly.
Despite being a small agriculture official, he dared to embezzle twenty thousand gold taels. This was a huge sum even for the Wang Clan before Wang Chong struck it rich.
For those who didn’t understand the insides of the matter, they would think that Zhang Munian had no regard for the law. However, to Wang Chong, the meaning behind his action was totally different.
“If I’m not mistaken, the twenty thousand gold taels… is used to compensate farmers, right?”
Even though Wang Chong had spoken with a casual tone, his words struck Zhang Munian like a bolt of lightning.
“How did you know?”
Those words subconsciously escaped from Zhang Munian’s mouth. At this moment, he felt utmost fear, as if someone had dug up the deepest secret hidden within his heart.
If Wang Chong exposing the fact that he was imprisoned due to embezzling twenty thousand gold taels had caused him to feel embarrassed, the current situation had left him in disbelief.
Even the Bureau of Punishments was unable to trace down the location of the money.
Yet, the young man before him was able to point it out accurately!!
If it was at night, Zhang Munian might have thought that something sinister and supernatural was at work.
“That’s indeed the case!”
Wang Chong ignored the stunned Zhang Munian and sighed deeply instead. It was impossible for Zhang Munian to spend so much money himself.
In truth, Wang Chong had already deduced the entire proceedings as soon as he looked at the scroll detailing his crimes. It was impossible for one to embezzle so much money without leaving behind any traces.
And if any traces were left behind, the experts in the Bureau of Punishments would lock onto them in an instant.
Thus, the only possibility was that… this person didn’t embezzle any money at all!
To spark a revolution in any industry, a huge amount of resources had to be devoted for research and development!
The route to revolution was winding, and intermittent failures in the midst of searching the correct path was unavoidable. As such, huge investments were required.
In this world, with the exception of Wang Chong, no one, not even Zhang Munian himself, knew the significance behind the Zhang Munian’s several decades of private experiments!