Flying Dragon, Iron Horse, Scheming Against Lu Xiaofeng

"Young Master, Young Master Hua has arrived."

Zhou Ming looked up and indeed saw someone in white walking towards him.

"Oh, Old Hua, long time no see."

Hua Manlou's eyes were dim, but his steps were not the least bit sluggish or incorrect. Every movement exuded a gentlemanly demeanor. He cupped his fists and said, "Brother Zhou, it truly has been a long time. What business brings you to specially invite me here this time?"

"Unfortunately, it's a matter of misfortune."

Zhou Ming then explained the situation.

Hua Manlou's face immediately showed surprise.

The Hua family's Datong Money House was the foremost money house in Ming State, with seventy-two branches nationwide.

However, within Ming State, there were indeed money houses of equal or even greater strength. For example, as mentioned before, Wan Sanqian, the richest man in Ming State, had his own money houses, and there were over a hundred and seventy of them, more than double that of Datong Money House!

Yet, the title of the foremost money house still belonged to Datong Money House.

This was because, besides the Hua family as the owner, Datong Money House had another owner behind it.

The Imperial Court!

Therefore, Datong Money House could be considered a semi-official money house, and the banknotes it issued naturally carried official status.

With this one point, which other money house in the country could dare to claim the title of second?

The Hua family's wealth had surged in recent years, transforming them from wealthy merchants in Jiangnan to renowned magnates across the land. In reality, they had also benefited from this powerful backing.

However, dealing with a tiger also meant the risk of being bitten by the tiger.

Take the current issue of counterfeit banknotes, for instance. If not handled properly and it caused widespread unrest, the Imperial Court would certainly not be the one to bear the blame.

"Thank you for the warning, Brother Zhou."

"You should thank not only me but also Boss Zhu. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to confirm the authenticity of these banknotes."

Hua Manlou turned his head. He naturally couldn't see anyone, but his hearing was sharper than his eyes, and he had long detected the presence of others nearby.

It wasn't any of the usual people who accompanied Zhou Ming.

He was familiar with the breathing and footsteps of those individuals.

This was the sound of a stranger.

"So it's the Master Craftsman Zhu Ting in person."

"Young Master Hua..." Zhu Ting said with a wry smile, "I've long wished to befriend you, Young Master Hua, but I never expected to meet under such circumstances."

For any money house, the uniqueness of its issued banknotes had to be guaranteed.

Moreover, for Datong Money House, with its imperial backing, to ensure that no one could forge them, they had specifically invited the Master Craftsman Zhu Ting to create the master plate for the banknotes.

When creating them, Zhu Ting employed his most exquisite lifelong techniques and also incorporated the unique marks and methods of the Luban Divine Axe Sect.

If anyone in this world could forge Datong Money House banknotes, they would have to satisfy two conditions.

First, they must possess skills and methods comparable to Zhu Ting's.

Second, they must be proficient in the secret codes and unique methods of the Luban Divine Axe Sect.

There might be someone in the world who could meet the first condition, but absolutely no one could meet the second.

This was because Zhu Ting was the only surviving member of the Luban Divine Axe Sect still alive in the world!

Therefore, when these counterfeit Datong Money House banknotes appeared, the most suspected person was undoubtedly Zhu Ting!

At this moment, Zhu Ting was naturally in no good mood.

"Old Hua, what do you think we should do about this matter?" Zhou Ming asked.

Hua Manlou thought for a moment and replied, "Naturally, we should report it to the Imperial Court and ask them to investigate this matter."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ting immediately exclaimed, "Don't!"

Zhou Ming asked, "Boss Zhu, why are you stopping us? Could it be that you are the one who did this?"

"Please don't speak carelessly, Young Master Zhou. This matter has nothing to do with me! It's just... if the Imperial Court intervenes and can uncover the truth, that would be fine. But if they cannot... I fear I might be made a scapegoat!"

"If that's the case, then we must investigate it even more thoroughly."

Zhou Ming said, "You, me, and Old Hua, although our identities are special, we are still just 'commoners.' We do not have the right to conceal such a major case."

"This..." Zhu Ting was very helpless.

Zhou Ming then sent someone to report the matter to the Six Doors.

The Six Doors took the matter very seriously and directly dispatched two Gold-Clad Constables to handle the case.

The constables of the Six Doors were divided into three levels: Green-Clad, Silver-Clad, and Gold-Clad. However, wearing official uniforms while investigating could sometimes be inconvenient, so they also had identification tokens: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

Therefore, Gold-Clad Constables were also known as Gold Medal Constables.

At this level, they were already considered high-ranking officials within the Six Doors.

Many people believed that above the Gold Medal Constables should be the Chief Constable and the Four Great Constables.

But in reality, these were merely titles. In terms of actual status, they were of the same rank.

Within Six Doors, only the Bushi ranked higher than a Gold Medal Constable.

Anyone above that wasn't a constable, but an official, and didn't belong to Six Doors; they belonged to the Ministry of Justice.

Therefore, dispatching Gold Medal Constables, and two of them at that, was enough to prove how seriously Six Doors took this matter.

These two Gold Medal Constables were Jiang Long and Luo Ma. Both possessed outstanding strength and had solved countless cases. They were known in the martial arts world by the monikers 'Flying Dragon' and 'Iron Horse,' a rather famous duo.

"Young Master Zhou, Young Master Hua, we have a general understanding of the situation."

Jiang Long said, "This matter is of great importance, and we will certainly investigate it thoroughly and solve the case as quickly as possible. Additionally, may we ask the boss by your side, Boss Zhu, to accompany us?"

"As long as Boss Zhu is willing," Zhou Ming replied.

Zhu Ting bowed to Zhou Ming in thanks.

Even though Zhou Ming had only said a few words, it was enough to protect him.

At the very least, it could guarantee that his treatment within Six Doors wouldn't be too bad until the situation became irreversible.

Immediately after, Zhu Ting left with the two constables.

Zhou Ming watched the backs of the three men, his gaze falling on Luo Ma, who was somewhat silent beside him.

"In the original storyline, it was Jiang Long and Luo Ma who took on this case. I didn't expect them to be the ones handling it here as well..."

This wasn't a coincidence, but a certainty.

This was because there were two individuals controlling this counterfeit silver note case from behind the scenes.

One was the head cashier of Datong Money House, Boss Qian.

The other was Iron Horse from the Flying Dragon and Iron Horse duo!

Furthermore, he was the mastermind.

When Six Doors received this case, it was likely Luo Ma who proactively requested to take it on, and his partner Jiang Long naturally wouldn't refuse.

However, what he didn't realize was that his partner taking on this case wasn't to uncover the truth, but to conceal it!

"I always feel like you're plotting something."

Hua Manlou's gentle voice sounded beside him.

Zhou Ming turned around and smiled, "Oh? And what do you think I'm plotting?"

Hua Manlou said, "Ever since your novel was published, whenever cases are mentioned in the capital, people will inevitably bring up Lu Xiaofeng. Without a doubt, the person you're plotting against is naturally Lu Xiaofeng."

"That's right!"

Zhou Ming nodded and admitted directly, "I plan to use this opportunity to have a competition with him, to bet on who's better! Old Hua, are you interested in being the notary for this bet?"

Hua Manlou shook his head, "I won't participate in this kind of thing."

Zhou Ming laughed, "Don't refuse so quickly, want to hear the stakes I've prepared?"

As he spoke, he informed Hua Manlou of the stakes he had prepared.

Upon hearing this, Hua Manlou immediately laughed, "This isn't quite right, we're friends after all... However, I'm friends with Brother Lu, and I'm also friends with Brother Zhou. So, I'll be the notary!"