On the first day of the first lunar month, the Grand Court Assembly was held.
Amid the celebrations of the civil and military officials, Minister of War Yang Yuxuan once again submitted a memorial, requesting that power be returned to the Emperor.
Grand Secretary Pei Ju voiced his agreement on the spot.
Iron Gallant Divine Marquis Zhu Wushi also expressed his approval, though he believed the Emperor was still young and could first begin familiarizing himself with state affairs.
Director of the Eastern Depot Cao Zhengchun, however, barked a low reprimand and rejected Yang Yuxuan's memorial.
After the Grand Court Assembly ended, the news spread among the common people and immediately drew the curses of countless people. Cao Zhengchun's reputation sank to a new low once again.
Many people also linked Cao Zhengchun to a novel released that same day, Famous Detective Lu Xiaofeng. They believed that the person who had murdered Old Scholar Li fourteen years ago in the book was none other than Cao Zhengchun, who now wielded immense power at court and refused to return power to the Emperor.
That connection added even more heat to the novel, which was already wildly popular and sought after by countless readers.
Zhou Ming was naturally delighted to see this. The greater the buzz, the more books sold, and the more money he earned.
He had even considered having Boss Wen hype up news related to this matter, but Boss Wen simply did not have the nerve.
Fortunately, Zhou Ming soon discovered another major talking point.
Lin Xian'er!
Ever since the Plum Blossom Thief affair had ended, people had continuously come forward claiming they had slept with Lin Xian'er. The former Number One Beauty of the Martial World had already become thoroughly infamous.
Yet in truth, no one knew how many of Lin Xian'er's admirers and sycophants were still hiding in the martial world. They simply did not dare show themselves amid the current tide of public opinion.
At the end of the novel, Zhou Ming described how Lin Xian'er had kindly warned Li Xunhuan, just before her death, to beware of those men in black.
It was as though this had provoked those admirers and sycophants. One after another, they seized upon that point to prove that although Lin Xian'er had been jealous of others, impersonated the Plum Blossom Thief, toyed with the entire martial world, and plundered countless riches, she was still a good girl.
The result was naturally a wave of mockery.
Those admirers did not back down. Instead, they confronted their opponents head-on.
Thus, another enormous controversy was born.
This time, Zhou Ming did not even need to say anything. Boss Wen took the initiative to seize upon the controversy and promote it madly.
That only further inflamed both sides.
Especially those admirers. They all rushed into bookstores and casually bought ten or eight copies at a time. Reading them themselves was not enough; they even gave copies to friends and relatives.
One had to know that books were not cheap in this era.
Once, a bookseller had published a hardcover edition of Investiture of the Gods. Even though the book had already been out for many years at the time, it still sold for two taels of silver per copy.
Zhou Ming's was a new book, and it sold directly for five taels of silver per copy!
Boss Wen was making a fortune.
Of course, Zhou Ming was making a fortune too.
His share was extremely high, a full fifth of the proceeds. In other words, he directly earned one tael for every copy sold.
That was already an exceptionally high share.
For anyone else, forget about receiving a share. It would already be good enough if someone were willing to pay to buy your work.
If you were unwilling, you could print and distribute it yourself.
Go ahead and publish it. The next day, you would learn who the true backbone of pirated books was in this era!
It was only because Zhou Ming had a special status and Wenzong Bookstore was powerful enough to suppress the many major booksellers.
Otherwise, no matter how popular the book became, Zhou Ming would not have made much money.
Still, they could only suppress those major booksellers. Those small workshops with nothing to lose were truly impossible to control.
Not only did they pirate books, they also loved adding their own material inside. They really went all out.
On the eleventh day of the first lunar month.
Boss Wen came again, delivering a wooden box. "Young Master Zhou, this is your share from sales in the capital and nearby areas over the past ten days. As for more distant places, I fear it will take some more time. Please do not take offense."
Zhou Ming smiled. "It is already ahead of schedule for Boss Wen to deliver this share to me. Why would I take offense?"
Boss Wen had come to deliver money. Once he had done so, he left without lingering.
Zhou Ming opened the wooden box. It was filled with banknotes. When he took them out and counted them, there were actually more than thirty thousand taels!
That meant that within ten days, more than thirty thousand copies of Zhou Ming's novel had been sold in the capital and its surrounding areas!
A terrifying figure!
After all, the capital's entire population was only a little over four hundred thousand.
"There are actually so many!"
Chun Hua leaned closer with a charming smile. "And this is only your share from the capital over these ten days... Young Master, it seems you're going to make a huge fortune this time."
"Hahaha, it is also thanks to all of you helping me stay up by candlelight and grind ink. Come, these are your rewards!"
He immediately pulled out several banknotes and rewarded the four women.
"I'll also give you a day off. Go spend it!"
The four women accepted their rewards. Upon hearing they had been given leave, their faces lit up with delight, their sweet little mouths sounding as though they had been dipped in honey.
"Thank you, Young Master! May you make more and more money!"
"Young Master is so kind! May wealth pour in for you from all directions!"
"Young Master is generous! May good fortune follow you always!"
"Young Master, you... you're a good man!"
The four women left happily with their banknotes.
Unexpectedly, they returned in disappointment after only half an hour.
"What is it? I rewarded you with money and gave you a day off, yet you're still unhappy?"
Chun Hua said dejectedly, "It isn't that. Our luck was bad. When we went to the money house to exchange the notes for silver, the money house actually did not have enough silver, so we could not exchange them."
The banknotes Zhou Ming had rewarded them with were all worth one hundred taels of silver.
How could they possibly spend those at the market?
Naturally, they first had to exchange them at a money house.
"Oh? It is probably because so much silver is needed during the New Year festivities that the money house does not have enough on hand..."
Zhou Ming trailed off, then his eyes flickered as he remembered something. "Which money house did you go to?"
Chun Hua said, "Datong Money House!"
"The Datong Money House operated by Hua Manlou's Hua family?"
"Yes."
Zhou Ming nodded. "Go to my bedroom and bring me the wooden box that held those banknotes just now."
"Yes."
When the wooden box was brought over, Zhou Ming opened it and searched through it. The banknotes inside ranged from old to new, and quite a few of them looked extremely new.
"Go invite Master Craftsman Zhu Ting."
Zhu Ting was a huge fat man, yet his hands alone were delicate and beautiful. They did not look like a fat man's hands at all, nor did they even look like a man's hands.
He was also an old acquaintance of Zhou Ming's. Zhou Ming had commissioned him to make many mechanisms.
When Zhou Ming had gone to Baoding previously, the mechanical carriage compartment he rode in had been Zhu Ting's work.
"Young Master Zhou, what is it this time that requires my services?"
"Take a look."
Zhou Ming handed over the wooden box. Zhu Ting was startled. "Young Master Zhou, what are you asking me to do? That is quite a generous payment!"
"What are you thinking? This money isn't for you. I'm showing it to you!"
"Showing it to me?"
Zhu Ting reached in and took out several banknotes. After feeling them over a few times, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. He singled out one of the new banknotes and inspected it from top to bottom, his expression turning incomparably grim.
"Young Master Zhou... it can't be..."
"Never mind whether it can or cannot. Tell me first, what did you find?"
Zhu Ting composed himself and said, "This banknote... is counterfeit!"
"Heh..."
Zhou Ming could not help but laugh. Sure enough, another plotline he knew well was about to unfold.
Lu Xiaofeng had friends everywhere and helped people solve troubles wherever he went, but they were generally only minor matters.
In this world of mixed martial arts, the case that made him famous throughout the land was the Plum Blossom Thief case.
But in the original story, the case that truly made Lu Xiaofeng famous throughout the land was another major case.
The Counterfeit Banknote Case!
Before you continue