Early the next morning, Zhu Ben took Li Changkong, Zhang Han and a strange young man to Yongle Fang, located in the west of Qiandu City.
The young man looks to be about the same age as Li Changkong and Zhu Ben. He is the son of Zhong Yu, the Minister of Punishment, Zhong Yunfeng!
First, he was a member of the Ministry of Justice, Wai Lang, and was promoted to the sixth rank.
Although the time spent handling cases in the Criminal Department is not as long as that of his father, he has been handling cases for three to five years, and he can be said to be very sharp and careful.
The reason why Zhong Yunfeng was called here was because Zhong Yu was the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment after all. He was busy with affairs on weekdays and it was difficult to spare a lot of time to investigate the case with Li Changkong and others.
But Zhong Yunfeng is different. He is just a foreigner. Zhong Yu can easily send him a foreign mission.
"Lao Zhu, where are you taking us?" Zhang Han frowned slightly and said.
He was not worried that Zhu Ben would not be able to find anyone. He had been hanging out in Qiandu City since he was a child and was familiar with all the different religions in the city, whether they were dog walkers or eagle fights. Naturally, he had a connection.
He was worried that this guy had found the wrong person.
After all, everyone has a different opinion on things like paintings.
The same painting may be shocking to some people, while others may sneer at it.
Unless it is really good to a certain level, it will be difficult to convince the public.
Paintings are all like this, and it is even more difficult to find someone who is recognized as the number one painter in Qiandu City and who is also a fake artist.
If you find several, don’t you have to check them one by one?
They don't have much time.
"Don't worry, come with me, you're right!" Zhu Ben assured him, patting his chest. At the same time, he looked at Li Changkong, leaned over, and whispered: "Old Li, Your Highness will not default on your debt, right? I don't think he looks like that. He is the one who is willing to give the five thousand taels of silver."
"What words? What do you call words? Do you know what Jun Wuxiyan is?"
"Even if the prince is just the crown prince, he is still a king! How can a king deceive his ministers?" Li Changkong pretended to be angry.
"But... it was not His Highness the Crown Prince who said you should give me five thousand taels of silver, it was you who said it!" Zhu Ben said.
Li Changkong's steps suddenly stopped, and he felt a little surprised in his heart. Why did this guy suddenly become smarter?
"Ahem, where is the place you mentioned? It's getting late. In my opinion, we'd better hurry up!" After that, he opened his legs and walked straight forward.
When Zhu Ben heard this, he raised his head and looked at the sky just now, with a look of resentment on his face.
He felt like he was being ripped off again.
"Oh, please be more careful next time, Prince and Lao Li, there is no good person between them!" Zhang Han walked past Zhu Ben and patted his shoulder.
Finally, Zhong Yunfeng also passed by Zhu Ben.
The keen insight gained from years of handling cases allowed him to detect an indescribable sadness in Zhu Ben.
He wanted to say something, but he thought he was not familiar with this person, so he patted his shoulder and squeezed out two words: "My condolences!"
When Zhu Ben heard this, his eyes suddenly widened, and he became angry and said: "Old Liu family, old Li family, old Zhang family, how can there be a good person?"
"I should bring Lao Jia here, no matter what, you can't let me fool you!"
After a while, the group of four finally arrived at their destination.
Yongle Square, Anshan Lane, Painting Market!
Zhu Ben walked in first, looking left and right, and occasionally one or two acquaintances came up, and he said hello to them, as if he had returned to his home.
When Li Changkong saw this, he couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead.
He knew that Zhu Ben could eat well outside, but he didn't expect him to eat so freely.
"We're here!" As he spoke, Zhu Ben stopped in front of an inconspicuous stall.
There were a few paintings scattered on the stall, the condition of which was not very good, and the placement was very random.
The stall owner is an old man in his late fifties. He is wearing a straw hat and lying on a lounge chair to take a nap. He is not afraid of passers-by taking away the painting from him.
"Lao Fan, I'm here to buy paintings." Zhu Ben said, kicking the old man's recliner.
The old man took off his straw hat, glanced at him, and said impatiently: "Which road is it on?"
"This gang."
"What kind of sail can resist it?"
"Golden Sail."
When he heard the word "Jin Fan", the old man's eyes lit up, he sat up and said, "You know the rules?"
"I don't know and I can't find it."
The old man nodded: "Ask."
"Who is the best fake painter in the capital city in the past ten years?"
The old man glanced at Zhu Ben and then glanced at Li Changkong and others. After pondering for a long time, he said: "Ganzhou Chen Shi."
"I came to Qiandu City to make a living three years ago. I disappeared mysteriously a year ago without a trace."
Zhu Ben frowned slightly when he heard this: "Even you don't know where this person is?"
The old man shook his head: "I'm not a god, how can I know everything."
"Do you still have to carry the sail?"
"Young man also wants to resist Yifan." Before Zhu Ben could speak, Li Changkong came forward and said.
"Say." The old man spoke concisely and to the point.
"Does this Chen Shi have any acquaintances?"
"Coming from Ganzhou, I have no friends in Qiandu City. But..."
"But what?"
"But I do have a sweetheart in Yingchun Tower."
Yingchun Tower, Li Changkong's heart skipped a beat.
Yonglefang has well-developed entertainment facilities, so there is no shortage of brothels and restaurants. Yingchun Tower is one of the highest-end brothels among them.
"How can he, a fake painter, afford to go to Yingchun Tower?"
The old man shook his head when he heard this: "Chen Shi has superb painting skills and earns a lot of money."
“It’s still affordable to go once a month.”
Li Changkong nodded when he heard this, and then asked: "What is the name of his lover? How is your relationship with him?"
"This is considered the third sail." The old man grinned, showing his copper-yellow teeth.
"Okay!" Li Changkong nodded.
When Zhu Ben saw this scene, his mouth suddenly twitched. He originally only planned to resist Yifan.
"My name is Rouge, as for feelings. What kind of feelings can a brothel girl have?"
"Since Chen Shi left, he is still making a living in the brothel, but the business seems to be much worse. I don't know if he can survive."
"Thank you, old man. Lao Zhu gave me the money." After asking, Li Changkong stood up, turned around and left.
Zhu Ben was immediately stunned: "I also paid for this?"
Li Changkong ignored him and instead quickened his pace.
"No one in Lao Li's family is really a good person!" Zhu Ben scolded as he took out three hundred taels of silver notes and handed them to the old man.
Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head and said: "I only recognize silver ingots."
In desperation, Zhu Ben had no choice but to take back the banknote, take out a thirty-tael gold ingot, and hand it over.
After the old man took it, he weighed it in his hand, put it in his mouth and took a bite. When he saw there were teeth marks, he felt relieved, nodded and said, "Guo Qi is worthy of being the master of Kang Jin Fan!" Cleared!"
When Zhu Ben heard this, he wanted to cry but had no tears.
One hundred taels a question, this is the price of Jinfan.
He hurriedly picked up three paintings on the stall, then turned around, caught up with Li Changkong, and asked: "Old Li, my three hundred taels are for investigating the case, do you have to give it to me?"
"Okay, I'll go back and find His Highness the Crown Prince to reimburse you."
"Prince?" Zhu Ben's facial features twisted together when he heard this.
The prince is picking something now. If he doesn’t pick it up while walking on the road, it will be considered lost. Can he be reimbursed?