"Empty and insincere"

  "It turned out that they were a family of swordsmiths from Yueguo, and there was such a connection. I suppose Zhen brothers had taken a liking to Zhangshi and wanted to take her back home."

  Zhen Ming Xiu smiled somewhat bashfully.

  "Haha, if I can really get the secret formula for forging swords from the Yueguo family, it's not just Zhangshi, even if you want my woman, I won't bat an eye and give her to you!" Pei Xiantong burst out laughing, he could see that Zhenming was genuinely infatuated with that silly girl.

  The two men chatted happily, and as the conversation deepened, Zhen Mingsu somewhat smugly revealed the method of configuring the original materials when refining the alloy, which he had deliberately concealed. He also vividly described how Liu Wuzhou was furious after successfully refining the alloy and smashing the furnace with a hammer. Pei Qiantong listened to this and burst out laughing repeatedly. Based on the information he had gathered over the past few days, everything Zhen Mingsu said matched up, making him even more convinced of Zhen's sincerity.

  This meal lasted for a whole hour, and Zhen Ming had already drunk more than a catty of white wine. He was so drunk that his tongue was tied, and his speech began to slur: "...The most hateful is Wei Zhengde. At the beginning, he clearly promised me five taels of silver as wages, but in the end, I only did the work of a shopkeeper. If I wasn't in urgent need of money and suffering from illness, I wouldn't have swallowed this bitter humiliation and stayed there. He treated me like this, so it's no wonder that I sold his mine's secrets to others. I hate people who don't keep their promises and are completely shameless..."

  Just as Zhen was lamenting her bitter fate, a knock at the door broke the silence.

  Pei Qiantong stood up, went out of the door, and didn't come back until after a while. He smiled and patted Zhen Mingsu's shoulder, saying: "Brother Zhen, according to the scout's report, it is confirmed that what you said is true. Tonight, I will send someone to raid their granary. After I retrieve the official silver, I'll come back and we can drink and celebrate together!"

  Zhen Ming was so drunk that he slapped the table and stood up, but ended up falling to the ground with a thud, bumping into several chairs in the process. With bleary eyes, he pointed at Pei Qian Tong and shouted loudly: "Hold on! Pei Bangzhu, you've gotten the information you wanted from me, and you've also verified its authenticity. But I still haven't seen my woman's face, how do I know you won't go back on your word like Yu Zhi De?"

  Zhen's harsh words did not anger Pei Qian Tong, who instead smiled: "Ah, I had almost forgotten. Bring Zhen to meet his heart's desire!"

  He made a signal with his eyes to the two men standing outside the door, and they helped up Zhen Mingshu, who was still muttering curses under his breath, and took him out of the house.

  Zhen Mingku was far away from Pei Qiantong and his two subordinates, one of whom walked up to Pei Qiantong's side and asked in a low voice: "Boss, wasn't that woman supposed to be sent to Lord Feng? Why?"

  Pei Qiantong's mouth corners slightly rose: "The person will definitely be given to Lord Feng, the question is when to give it. Now he still has use for me, first let him taste some sweetness, no need to worry that he won't give me the alloy secret formula. Today's matter cannot be spread out, find someone to keep a good eye on him. This little brat, if not a smooth-talking swindler, is a fool blinded by beauty. Keep an eye on him for me, before he tells me the secret formula, he can't die."

  "I understand."

  "Gather two hundred brothers immediately and launch a night raid on the Miner's Guild granary! This time I want to catch Liu Wuzhou and his men off guard!"

  ……

  Wei Chi's Ironwork Shop

  Liu Wuzhou and Wei Zhengde sat in the main hall, listening to the scout who had been sent a few days ago to follow Zhen Mingshu report on his movements over the past few days.

  "Did you see him enter the Pei Manor with your own eyes?"

  "Yes."

  Liu Wuzhou's eyebrows were tightly knotted, he turned his head to look at Wei Zheng beside him: "Wei, with your understanding of him, what is he doing going to the Pei manor?"

  Wei Chi Jing De thought for a moment and said, "The only thing I can be sure of is that he went there for that Tofu Xishi... Zhu, you've been following him closely these past few days, what do you think he's doing at the Pei manor?"

  Zhu Zi couldn't help but reminisce about the days he spent with Zhen Mingsu after returning from Hong Xing's courtyard that day. When he heard the news of Zhen Mingsu betraying the Mining Guild, he felt both angry and helpless, wishing he could leave with him. He complained, "How was I supposed to know what he wanted to do? All I knew was that he was a man who valued relationships and would repay kindness even if it meant sacrificing himself. He's clever and resourceful, a straightforward and generous person who knows how to distinguish between gratitude and resentment. And yet, he's so infatuated with that tofu temptress... If I were him, I'd also stop at nothing to rescue her from Pei Qiantong's clutches."

  Except for Liu Wuzhou and a few others who didn't quite understand the relationship between Zhu Zhi and Zhen Mingsu, everyone else was shocked and looked at each other in dismay. They all knew that Zhu Zhi had always liked to make things difficult for Zhen Mingsu, and they couldn't figure out why he suddenly spoke so highly of him today.

  The burly man beside Liu Ermei's face was somewhat unsightly, and his hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

  Liu Ermei gave him a glance, her tone sarcastic: "Looks like someone heard that other men were willing to risk their lives to save her and now they're itching for a fight, wanting to compete with him?"

  "Second sister, you're here again, sigh..."

  Just as a group of people were guessing the meaning behind Zhen's move, a loud knocking sound came from the gate of the courtyard.

  Zhu Zi stood up and walked out of the courtyard. However, there was no one at the gate, only a horse carriage quickly disappearing around the street corner.

  There was a white letter on the ground.

  Zhu Zi picked up the letter in a daze, glanced at it carelessly, and suddenly his face changed drastically. His sleepiness was gone, and he turned around and ran towards the backyard of the blacksmith's shop, almost falling down from the stone steps. As he ran, he shouted frantically: "Yu Wei Ge, something's wrong!"

  ……

  Holding the letter in his hand, Liu Wuzhou's eyebrows furrowed deeply.

  Liu Ermei and Wei Ruijide and others sat in a row at the lower end, looking at Liu Wuzhou with tense faces.

  "Brother, what does the letter say?"

  Liu Wuzhou's face was gloomy: "It was Zhen Ming who let people send it, saying that the mine helpers were not righteous again and again, and they took action first. It's no wonder he's not benevolent. He said something about tonight, wanting us to pay the price."

  Liu Ermei said disdainfully: "How arrogant! What can he do to us with just one person?"

  Liu Wuzhou and Wei Zhengdu exchanged a glance, both of them having an ominous premonition at the same time, "Could it be...?"

  Two men suddenly changed color and stood up, "Granary!"

  ……

  Pei Qiantong's subordinate carried Zhen Mingshu, who was drunk and unconscious, to the gate of a mansion west of the Pei residence.

  There was a guard at the gate who was dozing off, but when he heard the noise, he suddenly woke up with a start.

  "Lord Pei has an order, open the gate!"

  The guard hastily opened the door and two of Pei Zhen's men carried Shen Miao in on a stretcher, placing him in a chair in the main hall inside the house before turning to leave.

  The door slammed shut with a bang.

  "These two people are in my care, Lord Pae ordered that he can only stay inside the house and cannot go out. So no matter what the other person says to you, you must not open the door for him. Wait until tomorrow when we can distinguish friend from foe, then let him out."

  "It's clear."

  The footsteps gradually faded away, and Zhen Ming suddenly opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

  He glanced around the room, although it was a guest house, the furniture in the room was expensive red wood furniture, and various jade stone ornaments and porcelain were placed on the collection rack.

  On the wall hung a few mountain and water colored powder paintings, all of which were works with numerous appreciation seals from famous artists. Without a doubt, any one of these paintings could be sold for several hundred taels of silver if taken out to sell.

  One side of the hall is partitioned off by a screen to form a separate room.

  Through the gap between the screen and the window, a carved wooden bed can be vaguely seen behind the screen, on which a woman is lying, although she is covered with silk quilts, her slender figure is still visible.

  The woman lay there motionless, seemingly asleep.

  He got up with a stagger, fell several times, and finally stood firm.

  After drinking more than a catty of white wine, no matter how good his alcohol tolerance was, he found it hard to maintain his balance. He didn't usually drink, and this time he really got drunk.