"This man has certainly relieved our most pressing crisis."
"Indeed! We can't let this opportunity slip away. We've finally found a lead. This time, we must get on good terms with him. He's the local snake; we can use him to make a breakthrough and uncover the evidence!"
The more the two spoke, the happier they became.
Next door.
The man who had been drunk as mud when he was carried into the room suddenly sat straight up once the door had closed and the footsteps had faded. Where was the slightest trace of drunkenness now?
His eyes were perfectly clear as he listened through the copper pipe. At this point, he suddenly spat.
Jielu Prefecture.
After disembarking, Zhang Dai took a mule cart. It was supposed to be draped in silk and fitted with a flag to display his status, but he refused, bringing only his servant Zhang Kan.
The mule cart moved slowly, and layers of sunset clouds gradually spread across the sky. Zhang Kan said, "Another ten li north and we'll reach the city gate. Please bear with it a little longer, Master."
"I'm in no hurry."
Zhang Dai fell silent and looked around. Silt and reeds lay everywhere, with only a few poor peasants tilling the land. The crops were poor as well, yet a little farther away, an entirely different scene unfolded.
The great river flowed without cease. The wharves along its banks bustled with people, merchant vessels passed frequently, and wealthy merchants clad in fine silks rode ox carts along the road to the prefectural city.
Zhang Dai could not help sighing. "The sons of the wealthy dwell amid splendor and silken finery, while the common people have nowhere even to plant their feet. What a pity. This land could actually be reclaimed..."
At