"Young Master, Young Master Hua has arrived."
Zhou Ming looked over and, sure enough, saw a figure in white approaching.
"Oh, Old Hua. Long time no see."
Hua Manlou's eyes were clouded, yet his steps were not the least bit slow or mistaken. Every movement carried the bearing of a gentleman. He cupped his hands and said, "Brother Zhou, it has indeed been a long time. Why did you specifically invite me here this time?"
"Regrettably, it is because of a calamity."
Zhou Ming immediately explained the matter.
Hua Manlou's face instantly showed shock.
The Hua family's Datong Money House was the foremost money house in the Ming State, with seventy-two branches across the country.
Yet within the Ming State, there were other money houses of equal or even greater strength. For instance, as mentioned before, Wan Sanqian, the richest man in the Ming State, owned money houses as well—more than one hundred and seventy of them, over twice as many as Datong Money House!
Still, the title of foremost money house belonged to Datong Money House.
That was because, besides the Hua family, Datong Money House had another owner behind it.
The imperial court!
Thus, Datong Money House could be considered a semi-official money house, and the banknotes it issued naturally carried an official character as well.
With that advantage, if it claimed second place, what money house in the entire country would dare call itself first?
In recent years, the Hua family's wealth had surged. They had gone from wealthy magnates of Jiangnan to renowned magnates throughout the realm, in truth because they had ridden this favorable tide.
However, dealing with a tiger also made one vulnerable to its bite.
Just like this Counterfeit Banknote Case: if it was mishandled and caused unrest throughout the realm, the imperial court certainly would not be the one left holding the blame.
"Thank you for the warning, Brother Zhou."
"You need not only thank me. You should also thank Boss Zhu. Without him, I could not have determined whether these banknotes were genuine or counterfeit."
Hua Manlou turned his head. Naturally, he did not see anyone, but his ears were sharper than eyes. He had long heard that someone else was present.
It was not one of the people who usually followed Zhou Ming.
He knew the breathing and footsteps of those few people well.
This was the voice of a stranger.
"So it is Master Craftsman Zhu Ting himself."
"Young Master Hua..." Zhu Ting gave a bitter smile. "I had long wished to befriend Young Master Hua. I simply never expected we would meet under such circumstances."
No matter what money house it was, the uniqueness of the banknotes it issued had to be guaranteed.
Especially for Datong Money House, which had the imperial court behind it. To ensure that no one could imitate its notes, it had specifically invited Master Craftsman Zhu Ting to create the master plates for the banknotes.
When Zhu Ting made them, he used the most exquisite techniques of his life. At the same time, he added the Luban Divine Axe Sect's distinctive marks and unique methods.
If anyone in this world could forge Datong Money House's banknotes, they would need to fulfill two conditions.
First, they would need skills and techniques comparable to Zhu Ting's.
Second, they would need to be proficient in the Luban Divine Axe Sect's coded marks, techniques, and unique methods.
Perhaps someone in this world could meet the first condition, but absolutely no one could meet the second.
Because Zhu Ting was the only surviving member of the Luban Divine Axe Sect!
Therefore, when these counterfeit Datong Money House banknotes appeared, Zhu Ting was undoubtedly the most suspicious person.
Naturally, Zhu Ting was in no mood at the moment.
"Old Hua, what do you think we should do about this?" Zhou Ming asked.
Hua Manlou thought for a moment and said, "Naturally, we should report it to the imperial court and ask it to investigate."
The moment Zhu Ting heard that, he anxiously said, "No!"
Zhou Ming said, "Boss Zhu, why stop us? Could it be that you really did this?"
"Young Master Zhou, do not speak nonsense. This has nothing to do with me! It is only that... if the imperial court intervenes, it would be fine if they can uncover the truth. But if they cannot... I fear they will make me take the blame!"
"If that is the case, then we must investigate it even more thoroughly."
Zhou Ming said, "You, me, and Old Hua may have special identities, but we are still merely commoners. We have no right to conceal such a major case without reporting it."
"This..." Zhu Ting was helpless.
Zhou Ming then sent someone to report the matter to Six Doors.
Six Doors attached great importance to it and directly dispatched two Gold-Clad Constables to handle the case.
The constables of Six Doors were divided into three ranks: blue-clad, silver-clad, and gold-clad. However, wearing official uniforms while handling cases could sometimes be inconvenient, so they also had waist tokens to prove their identities: bronze tokens, silver tokens, and gold tokens.
Thus, Gold-Clad Constables were also known as Gold Medal Constables.
At this rank, they were already part of Six Doors' upper echelon.
Many believed that above Gold Medal Constables stood a Chief Constable and the Four Great Constables.
But in truth, those were merely titles. In terms of official standing, they were actually of the same rank.
Within Six Doors, the only position above a Gold Medal Constable was the Constable God.
Above that, one was no longer a constable but an official—and not an official of Six Doors either, but of the Ministry of Justice.
Thus, dispatching Gold Medal Constables—and two of them at that—was enough to show how seriously Six Doors took the matter.
The two Gold Medal Constables were Jiang Long and Luo Ma. Both were highly skilled and had handled countless cases. In the martial world, they bore the epithets "Flying Dragon" and "Iron Horse," and were a fairly famous duo.
"Young Master Zhou, Young Master Hua, we have already understood the general circumstances."
Jiang Long said, "This matter is of great importance. We will certainly pursue it with all our strength and solve the case as soon as possible. In addition, could Boss Zhu beside you accompany us?"
"As long as Boss Zhu is willing," Zhou Ming said.
Zhu Ting cupped his hands toward Zhou Ming in thanks.
Though Zhou Ming had said only a single sentence, that sentence alone was enough to protect him.
At the very least, before the situation became irreparable, it would ensure that he was not treated too badly within Six Doors.
Zhu Ting then left with the two constables.
Zhou Ming watched the backs of the three men, his gaze settling on the somewhat quiet Luo Ma beside Jiang Long.
"In the original story, Jiang Long and Luo Ma were the ones who took this case. I did not expect the two of them to handle it here as well..."
This was no coincidence, but an inevitability.
Because there were two people manipulating this Counterfeit Banknote Case from behind the scenes.
One was Boss Qian, the chief manager of Datong Money House.
The other was Iron Horse of the Flying Dragon and Iron Horse duo!
And he was the mastermind.
When Six Doors received this case, Luo Ma had likely volunteered to take it on. As his partner, Jiang Long naturally would not refuse.
What Luo Ma had not expected was that his partner had taken the case not to uncover the truth, but to conceal it!
"I always feel like you are plotting something."
Hua Manlou's gentle voice sounded beside him.
Zhou Ming turned back with a smile. "Oh? Then what do you think I am plotting?"
Hua Manlou said, "Ever since your novel was published, whenever people in the capital mention a case, someone inevitably brings up Lu Xiaofeng. Without question, the person you are plotting against is Lu Xiaofeng."
"Correct!"
Zhou Ming nodded and admitted it outright. "I intend to use this opportunity to compete with him and wager on who is better! Old Hua, are you interested in serving as the witness for this wager?"
Hua Manlou shook his head. "I will not involve myself in this sort of thing."
Zhou Ming smiled. "Do not refuse so quickly. Would you like to hear the wager I have prepared?"
As he spoke, he told Hua Manlou about the wager he had planned.
The moment Hua Manlou heard it, he smiled. "This is not very good, is it? We are friends, after all... But I am friends with Brother Lu, and I am friends with Brother Zhou as well. So I will serve as the witness!"
Before you continue