Chapter 114

After all, he was his biological father in this life, and Zhang Weihao was now capable of protecting himself, so he was naturally not afraid of his richest father finding out. He directly and frankly said: “In order to improve the fortune, the cultivation of Confucianism and Taoism requires the fortune of the dynasty. The best way is to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination. This is an enormous fortune.”

Zhang Erhe was well aware of the difficulty and dread of achieving the highest rank in the imperial examinations, a feat considered auspicious and destined for historical renown in any dynasty. The idea of ​​using this to acquire good fortune was indeed quite apt.

“So, Dingding, are you planning to take the imperial examination next year, in the same year as Bai Gui?” Zhang Erhe was well aware of his nephew’s literary talent. The most important thing was the family resources, especially the political resources. Even if he was not as good as his son, his nephew would receive more support. It would be very difficult for him to achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination.

“Let’s forget about next year. You know what happened between me and that person before. We can’t rush things before we have enough strength. Let’s wait. The next one shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s fine. You are indeed a bit too young now. It would be more appropriate for you to take the exam after you turn 20. Li Xun (Li Xunhuan’s real name, a fictional character) failed the exam not only because of his outstanding appearance, but also because he was too young and didn’t convince the public. There have never been any top scholars under 20 in this dynasty. That’s why Bai Gui only took the palace exam next year.”

Since the imperial examination system was first established, no top scholar in any dynasty has been under 20 years old. The youngest was Lin Daqin, who appeared in the Jiajing era after the Zhengde era. He was already 20 years old when he passed the exam.

Therefore, it is highly unlikely that 17-year-old Li Xunhuan and Zhang Weihao, who will also be 17 next year, will become the top scorers.

These are the bottom lines set by those veteran officials: genius is acceptable, but excessive genius is not allowed; this is the rule of Confucianism.

This is why Zhang Weihao calls this place Confucianism, not Confucianism and Taoism. Most people here don’t practice Confucianism and Taoism; they just talk a good game, apply double standards, and seek fame and fortune.

Zhang Erhe asked a few more questions, but seeing that his son was mature and composed, he stopped asking. However, he still brought up the matter of the Dragon Guard Manor, as the Iron-Blooded Marquis wanted to meet him now.

“So urgent? Well, he was just here. Time waits for no one, so let’s meet him.”

Unlike Zhu Wushi, who leisurely rode a carriage into the city to return home, he took a fast horse and used his light-footed skills to return at least an hour or two earlier, naturally having made relevant arrangements in advance.

Zhang Erhe was naturally very concerned about this major case. The entire capital was in a state of panic because of the Embroidery Thief, and it was hard to say that the Zhang family would not be targeted. Zhang Erhe was very aware of the commotion his precious son had caused, and he had talked about it with his elder brother before.

Zhang Erhe is easy to talk to in other aspects, but he won’t tell anyone about this matter.

In feudal dynasties, unusual phenomena were never a good thing, especially when they appeared in top aristocratic families, let alone in the Ming Dynasty.

One might just find some excuse to make your whole family play Candy Crush.

Zhang Erhe had a complete set of information, including files from the Six Doors and evidence records. In terms of progress and investigation methods, he was very professional, even exceeding Zhang’s initial expectations. He was not as incompetent as Zhang had imagined.

There are indeed channels for investigating the sale of stolen goods, but they are very difficult to trace.

There’s no other reason than that the forces in the capital and the martial arts world of the Ming Dynasty are too numerous and complex, with countless mysterious organizations. Once you touch someone else’s forbidden zone, your investigators might just disappear without a trace. Without evidence to launch a full-scale crackdown, even the Eastern Depot and the Dragon Guard Manor are reluctant to offend those mysterious forces.

For example, Ghost Manor, Flower Palace, Red Shoes, Sun Moon Cult, Azure Dragon Society, and Money Gang are all not to be trifled with. Take my sister-in-law, Dongfang Bubai, for instance; she’s come over and is now staying at my residence. Naturally, I’m worried about being caught in the crossfire.

Although the Embroidery Thief had nothing to do with them, they themselves were not clean, and none of them could truly withstand investigation.

The Zhang family naturally cooperated with many Jianghu forces such as the Sun Moon Sect, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, and the Happy Forest. Without the Zhang family’s support, how could Sun Yubo have become one of the top real estate tycoons in the Jianghu?

How was a den of iniquity like Happy Forest established?

It was after reading these documents and files that Zhang Weihao had to admit that Jin Jiuling was indeed very cunning. No wonder he had Lu Xiaofeng completely outmaneuvered, and in the end, even his confidante was raped and murdered by this guy.

Although it had already affected his own business, Zhang Weihao did not intend to give away any spoilers directly. There was no reason or need for it, so he decided to go and see the Iron-Blooded Marquis, who was currently in a state of great distress because of the theft of 800,000 taels of gold.

Now, let’s go back two hours to the location of the Dragon Guard Manor.

“Haitang, how is the case of the Embroidered Bandit progressing?” As soon as he returned to the Dragon Guard Manor, Zhu Wushi asked about the Embroidered Bandit case. After all, he had a great use for those 800,000 taels of gold, and even if he had 13,000, it would be impossible to raise such a large sum of gold in a short time.

Most importantly, once this matter was exposed, many people became suspicious of him.

It’s unlikely that just the Dragon Guard Manor and the Number One Manor in the World would use so much gold. This is almost equivalent to half a year’s tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty (gold and silver are worthless in Gu Long’s martial arts world, so the amounts are exaggerated, often tens or hundreds of thousands, and that’s gold, not silver. So it boosts the consumption and overall national strength here, otherwise it would be too different from the original work).

“Reporting to Godfather, this case is difficult to investigate, but for now we can confirm that it is not related to the Plum Blossom Thief. I have taken Jiang Jinjiu under protection; he was almost silenced before. It seems that the other party is fully aware of our actions.” Investigating cases is definitely Shangguan Haitang’s responsibility, so she is also having a headache. This case is really difficult to investigate; the other party is too professional.