Making a Fortune, Anomalous Banknotes

On the first day of the first lunar month, the Grand Court Assembly was held.

As the officials celebrated, the Minister of War, Yang Yuxuan, once again submitted a memorial, requesting the return of political power to the Emperor.

The Grand Secretary, Pei Ju, immediately expressed his agreement.

The Iron Gallant Divine Marquis, Zhu Wushi, also agreed, but suggested that since the Emperor was still young, he could begin to engage with court affairs first.

However, the Director of the Eastern Depot, Cao Zhengchun, sternly rejected Yang Yuxuan's memorial in a low voice.

After the Grand Court Assembly concluded, the news spread to the public, immediately drawing countless curses, and Cao Zhengchun's reputation hit a new low.

Many people also connected Cao Zhengchun with a novel published on the same day, 'Famous Detective Lu Xiaofeng,' believing that the person who murdered Old Scholar Li fourteen years ago was none other than Cao Zhengchun, who now held immense power and was unwilling to return it to the Emperor.

This connection further fueled the popularity of the already hot and widely acclaimed novel.

Zhou Ming was naturally pleased to see this situation; the greater the popularity, the more books sold, and the more money Zhou Ming earned.

He even considered asking Boss Wen to hype up this news, but Boss Wen didn't have the guts.

Fortunately, Zhou Ming soon discovered another major hot topic.

Lin Xian'er!

Since the Plum Blossom Thief incident concluded, and with more people coming forward to claim they had slept with Lin Xian'er, the former Number One Beauty of the Martial World had become infamous.

In reality, the martial world was still teeming with Lin Xian'er's admirers and sycophants, who, under the current wave of public opinion, dared not show themselves.

At the end of his novel, Zhou Ming described Lin Xian'er kindly warning Li Xunhuan to be wary of the men in black before her death.

This seemed to have stimulated those admirers and sycophants, who began using this detail to prove that despite her jealousy, her impersonation of the Plum Blossom Thief, her deception of the entire martial world, and her plundering of vast wealth, Lin Xian'er was still a good girl.

The result, naturally, was widespread mockery.

However, those admirers did not back down; instead, they directly confronted their critics.

This, in turn, created another huge topic of discussion.

This time, Zhou Ming didn't need to say anything; Boss Wen proactively seized this hot topic and began to promote it aggressively.

This further incited both sides.

Especially those admirers, who rushed to the bookstore, often buying ten or eight copies, not just for themselves but also to give to friends and family.

It's important to remember that books were not cheap in this era.

Once, a bookseller produced a hardcover edition of 'Investiture of the Gods,' and even though the book had been published for many years, it still sold for two taels of silver per copy.

Zhou Ming's book was new, and it was selling for five taels of silver per copy!

Boss Wen was making a fortune.

Of course, Zhou Ming was also making a fortune.

His share was a substantial one-fifth, meaning he earned one tael for every book sold.

This commission was already very high.

For anyone else, forget about a commission; getting someone to pay for your book would be considered good.

If you refused, you could print and distribute it yourself.

Go ahead and try. The very next day, you'd learn who the main force of pirated books was in this era!

It was only because of Zhou Ming's special status and the considerable strength of Wenzong Bookstore that they could suppress the numerous major booksellers.

Otherwise, no matter how popular the book became, Zhou Ming wouldn't earn much.

However, they could only suppress the major booksellers. Small workshops, those who had nothing to lose, were truly uncontrollable.

Not only did they pirate the books, but they also liked to add their own content, using very generous materials.

On the eleventh day of the first lunar month.

Boss Wen arrived again, presenting a wooden box: "Young Master Zhou, this is the sales commission from the first ten days in the capital and its surrounding areas. For places further away, it will take some more time. Please don't mind."

Zhou Ming smiled, "Boss Wen, it's already ahead of schedule for you to deliver this commission. How could I possibly mind?"

Boss Wen had come solely to deliver the money and left without lingering.

Zhou Ming opened the wooden box, which was filled with banknotes. Counting them, he found there were thirty thousand taels!

This meant that in just ten days, in the capital and its surrounding areas, Zhou Ming's novel had sold over thirty thousand copies!

A terrifying number!

After all, the entire population of the capital was only a little over four hundred thousand.

"There's so much!"

Chun Hua leaned in, smiling sweetly, "And this is just the commission from the capital for these ten days... Young Master, it seems you're going to make a huge profit this time."

"Hahaha, it's also thanks to you all helping me by the lamp to grind ink. Here, this is for you!"

He then took out several banknotes and distributed them to the four women.

"I'm also giving you all a day off. Go and enjoy yourselves!"

The four women accepted the gifts and, upon hearing about the day off, their smiles became even brighter, their mouths as sweet as honey.

"Thank you, Young Master! Wishing you great wealth!"

"Young Master is so kind, may your wealth flow abundantly from now on!"

"Young Master is generous, wishing you great fortune!"

"Young Master, you... you're a good person!"

The four women left, their hearts full of joy with the banknotes.

Unexpectedly, in less than half an hour, the four women returned, their spirits dampened.

"What's wrong? I rewarded you with winnings and gave you time off, aren't you happy?"

Chun Hua said dejectedly, "It's not like that. It's just bad luck. When we went to the money house to exchange the silver notes for actual silver, the money house surprisingly didn't have enough. We couldn't make the exchange."

The silver notes Zhou Ming had given them were each for a hundred taels.

How could they be spent in the market without first being exchanged at a money house?

"Oh? I suppose it's because of the Lunar New Year, with so much silver being used, that the money houses are short on funds..."

Zhou Ming said casually, then his eyes flickered as he remembered something. He asked, "Which money house did you go to?"

Chun Hua replied, "It was Datong Money House!"

"The Datong Money House owned by Hua Manlou's family?"

"Yes."

Zhou Ming nodded. "Go to my bedroom and bring me the wooden box that held the silver notes just now."

"Yes."

The wooden box was brought. Zhou Ming opened it and rummaged through. The silver notes inside were both new and old, with quite a few looking very new.

"Go and invite Master Craftsman Zhu Ting here."

Zhu Ting was a very fat man, but his hands were exceptionally delicate and beautiful, looking nothing like the hands of a fat man, or even a man's hands.

He and Zhou Ming were old acquaintances. Zhou Ming had commissioned him to build several contraptions.

The mechanical carriage he had ridden in when he went to Baoding was his handiwork.

"Young Master Zhou, what is it this time that requires my assistance?"

"Look at this."

Zhou Ming handed the wooden box over. Zhu Ting was startled. "Young Master Zhou, what do you want me to do? This is quite a large sum!"

"Where is your mind going? This money isn't for you, I'm showing it to you!"

"Showing it to me?"

Zhu Ting reached out and took a few silver notes. After feeling them for a moment, he immediately sensed something was wrong. He specifically took out one of the new notes and examined it from top to bottom. His expression turned extremely grim.

"Young Master Zhou... it can't be..."

"What can't be? Tell me first, what did you notice?"

Zhu Ting composed himself and said, "This silver note... it's fake!"

"Heh..."

Zhou Ming couldn't help but laugh. As expected, a familiar plot was about to unfold.

Lu Xiaofeng had friends all over the world, and he often helped people solve problems, though they were usually minor ones.

In this integrated martial arts world, it was the Plum Blossom Thief case that made him famous.

However, in the original storyline, it was another major case that truly propelled Lu Xiaofeng to widespread fame.

The Counterfeit Banknote Case!