The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

Meanwhile, in Qingshui County.

Zuixianglou, the most luxurious warm room.

Zhao An and Hu Wan had booked the entire floor today. The room was filled with the aroma of exotic agarwood, a tribute from a foreign land, so strong it made one's bones feel weak.

The floor was covered with a velvet carpet from the Western Regions, and the fruit plate on the table was piled with grapes, candied fruit, and freshly picked lychees. The wine jar next to it was open, and the amber wine spilled out, leaving a small stain on the table, but no one paid any attention.

The two each occupied a soft couch, half leaning and half lying down.

Zhao An had two people in his arms. One was straddling his lap, feeding him wine from his cup; the other was kneeling by the couch, peeling a lychee and bringing the plump, white flesh to his mouth.

Zhao An opened his mouth and took it, while his other hand wandered around under the thin veil, making the beauty giggle and softly slump into his arms.

Hu Wan was even more outrageous. He didn't even fasten his coat, leaving it open, and pulled a beautiful woman in a light red gauze dress close to his waist, biting her hard. The woman gasped and punched him in the chest, but he just laughed, his breath reeking of alcohol.

"Hit! Hit hard! When you're tired, Grandpa will reward you with gold!"

The room was filled with the sounds of women, their perfumes and fragrances mingling with laughter, music, and the clinking of wine glasses.

The two heads of the household, each with a woman on either side, were flushed and their eyes were practically slits from drunkenness.

After taking a bite of the delicious, juicy treat, Zhao An, panting, boasted to Hu Wan at the top of his lungs:

"Brother Hu! To be honest, now that old man Li is dead, I've already arranged for people to take care of his ten shops and two houses in the west of the city. I believe they'll be transferred to our names before tonight!"

Hu Wan stretched out his hand, pointed at Zhao An beside him, and shook his head with a smile, saying, "You're quick, kid. But aren't you afraid that the fake Sixth Prince will make a move on you next?"

Zhao An waved his hand dismissively and said, "Brother Hu, you yourself said he's an imposter, so what am I afraid of!"

"If the imperial court finds out, I'll actually have done something meritorious!"

The two exchanged a glance, and the next second they both threw their heads back and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that the beauty in their arms swayed.

They really have forgotten everything.

While the two were having a good time,

Suddenly, a young man who looked like a servant appeared outside the door, bending over and pressed against the doorframe, and whispered:

"Master... Master, I have something urgent to report to you."

Zhao An was being fed grapes by the beauty in his arms when he heard this, and his brows furrowed:

"Whose business is it?"

"It's... it's the matter that Master instructed me to investigate today." The servant lowered his head and spoke in a very low voice.

Zhao An's expression instantly turned serious.

He forgot all about the grape in his mouth, pushed away the beauty in his arms, sat up straight, and shouted:

"Alright, alright, all of you, get out of here!"

Which of these women in the house is naive and doesn't know any manners?

They all put on their coats, smiled, and swarmed out, hurriedly gathering up the fruit peels and overturned wine bowls scattered on the ground as they left.

In the blink of an eye, only Zhao An and Hu Wan remained in the room.

"Come in quickly."

The servant entered quickly with his head down and bowed respectfully.

He looked down and glanced around out of the corner of his eye. The room looked like it had just been tidied up in a hurry. The quilt was folded haphazardly, and the cups and plates on the table were all gathered in the corners.

But that smell, how can it be eliminated?

The scent of cosmetics and alcohol, mixed with an indescribable, alluring, and slightly fishy odor, wafted over, causing the servant to unconsciously sniff.

He lowered his eyelids and thought to himself.

It's nice to have money!

Seeing this, Hu Wan knew that Zhao An had something private to discuss, so he stood up and straightened his clothes.

"Brother Zhao, if you two have something to discuss, then I'll take my leave now."

Unexpectedly, Zhao An reached out and grabbed him, laughing:

"Brother Hu, what are you doing? We're like-minded people, why be so formal? Sit down, sit down."

He moved closer to Hu Wan and lowered his voice:

"Besides, Brother Hu, can you honestly say you didn't assign someone else to keep an eye on what I sent this kid to investigate?"

Hu Wan raised an eyebrow, as if he had suddenly realized something:

You mean…

"That's right." Zhao An nodded. "But where did the food for the tens of thousands of tables of food for His Highness the Sixth Prince's banquet come from?"

He leaned back in his chair and said slowly and deliberately:

"Brother Hu, we're both quite well-known in Qingshui County, and I'm not bragging. We can tell the difference between a male and a female sparrow flying by. But this time, something strange has happened. The Sixth Prince only entered the city yesterday, and today he's throwing a huge banquet. The food on the table is more lavish than what we'd have together."

"Where did all this food come from?"

"Brother Hu, aren't you curious?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Wan nodded emphatically:

"Brother Zhao's words resonate with me perfectly."

"I am indeed curious. Just that grain alone would require hundreds of truckloads to transport."

"Let alone carts, I haven't even seen a single porter among my men transporting grain."

"But the food on the table, the aroma, the portion sizes—you couldn't fake it. My heart was pounding like a cat's claws."

Zhao An clapped his hands: "Isn't that settled? Perfect timing, the people I sent out have given us a reply today."

"Brother Hu, why don't you stay and listen? If anything unexpected happens, we can discuss a solution as soon as possible."

Hu Wan stroked his chin and thought for a moment, finding the words reasonable. He then sat back down, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, and said:

"Since Brother Zhao puts it that way, then I, as your elder brother, shall respectfully comply."

Zhao An then turned his gaze to the servant kneeling on the ground:

"Speak, what did you find out? Report back truthfully, in detail."

The servant kowtowed and then stammered:

"Reporting to you, sir. I first sent two clever brothers to infiltrate the area around the banquet tent. But the area around the tent was guarded like an iron barrel by the men brought by Magistrate Wang and Master Huang; not even a fly could get in, and my men couldn't even get close."

"I had no other choice, so I thought of another way—I'd spend some money to bribe a waiter in the shed, hoping to get some information out of him."

"Who knew that kid had such a huge appetite? He immediately asked for fifty taels of silver. He even boasted that the information he provided was absolutely worth that price."

"At first, I was reluctant, but I couldn't resist my curiosity, so I gritted my teeth and gave it to him."

At this point, the servant swallowed hard.

"...However, sir, you are wise to know that these fifty taels were indeed well spent."

Zhao An and Hu Wan exchanged a glance, their curiosity piqued like a cat's scratch. Zhao An waved his hand impatiently:

"Stop rambling and get to the point!"

The servant immediately kowtowed: "Yes. The yamen runner carrying the trays said... His Highness the Sixth Prince didn't request any grain from outside."

"No grain allocated?" Hu Wan frowned. "Then where did these tens of thousands of banquet tables come from?"

"He said—" the servant lowered his voice, "that His Highness the Sixth Prince carries a precious mirror with him."

"What kind of magic mirror?" Zhao An pressed.

"I didn't even see the actual item. The constable said he only caught a glimpse of it from afar when he was carrying the trays."

The servant tried hard to recall the constable's exact words: "According to him, the mirror was some kind of rare object. You just put something to eat or drink in front of it—and hey, it magically produces an exact replica, a second, a third. You can make as many as you want, and the replicas are indistinguishable from the real thing."

"These tens of thousands of tables of food for banquets today weren't brought in truckload by truck; they were created one by one, right there in that tent, under the light of the lamps."

"The constable also said that he didn't believe it at first, but then he saw with his own eyes that a plate of braised pork knuckle went into the mirror, and ten identical plates came out when he turned around, all shiny and fragrant—that's when he believed it."

The servant glanced at the two masters' faces as he spoke, then quickly lowered his head again:

"...That's all I know. The constable only glanced at it a few times from afar when he was carrying the dishes. How would a lowly servant like him know anything about the mirror, what it could reflect besides food?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao An stared with his mouth agape, while Hu Wan stared wide-eyed; neither of them could utter a word for a long while.

A mirror, with food placed on it, can conjure up countless dishes? This... this is a divine treasure!

But this shock lasted only a few breaths. Immediately afterwards, the astonishment in their eyes gradually changed—transforming into an uncontrollable, burning greed.

Zhao An's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his voice becoming dry:

"Wait... You just said that this mirror can reflect the exact same thing as anything you place in front of it?"

"Reporting to your Excellency, this is what the constable said."

"Then..." Zhao An leaned forward, his eyes lighting up, "Did he say whether this mirror is only for reflecting food? What if... a gold ingot is placed in front of it?"

"Can you see gold? What about silver?"

The servant shook his head blankly:

"This... I didn't dare ask. As for the constable himself, all I saw was him conjure up the food."

Gold. Silver.

Upon hearing those two words, both Zhao An and Hu Wan's breathing became slightly heavier.

If this mirror could reflect even gold and silver—why bother controlling shops, lending money at exorbitant interest rates, or seizing other people's land? Just place a gold ingot in front of the mirror, and it instantly becomes ten thousand, a hundred thousand ingots! Wouldn't all the wealth in the world belong to them?!

The two became increasingly agitated as they thought about it, their chests heaving violently. They looked at each other and saw the burning fire of greed in each other's eyes.

Such a treasure...

Why did it fall into the hands of a passing Sixth Prince?

This is Qingshui County. Every blade of grass and every tree on this land, from ancient times to the present, should belong to them.

Zhao Anyi waved his hand:

"Alright, get out of here. Go to the steward and get fifty taels later, consider it reimbursement."

The servants immediately kowtowed to express their gratitude:

"This humble servant thanks you for your kindness, sir!"

He hunched over and retreated, his mind racing with unspoken doubts:

...Look, look, is this what you call a reward, sir? It cost fifty taels to do this, and you only get fifty taels to reimburse me? You can't even spare a penny for my hard work.

However—the servant secretly grinned.

Luckily, he was quick-witted. The constable had only charged him thirty taels, but when reporting the expenses, he had blurted out fifty taels. The twenty taels in between had neatly slipped into his pocket.

Thinking of this, his steps became lighter, and he happily went to the butler to collect his money.

Only Zhao An and Hu Wan remained in the room. They exchanged a glance and decided to cut to the chase.

Zhao An lowered his voice:

"Brother Hu, what do you think of that precious mirror?"

Hu Wan took a deep breath, his eyes blazing with fury:

"Brother Zhao, if we can get our hands on this treasure, not only Qingshui County, but the entire world will be in our hands."

"But that Sixth Prince still has troops under his command, and he exudes a sinister aura." Zhao An frowned, tapping his fingers on the armrest. "Openly robbing him by force is probably not going to work."

After these words were spoken, the two fell silent for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, that bit of caution was completely burned away by the ever-growing fire of greed in his heart.

What are you afraid of?!

These two were now so overwhelmed by the imagined mountains of gold and silver that they were dizzy and their eyes were bloodshot.

They no longer cared about the Sixth Prince or the Prince of the Ming Dynasty.

To put it bluntly, even if this Sixth Prince is an imposter, they wouldn't dare to touch him.

Even if he were a genuine prince, they would still dare to touch him!

Hu Wan gritted his teeth:

"If things really get out of hand, we'll just grab the mirror without anyone noticing, pack our bags, and run!"

"They're going north to join the Northern Yuan, and south to flee to the Japanese pirates! This world is vast; can it really be all the Zhu family's territory?"

"Once we get there, we can live off this treasure, making mountains of gold and silver, eating and drinking the best of everything. Wouldn't that be better than being a nouveau riche in this small county town for the rest of our lives?!"

Zhao An squinted, finding the argument increasingly reasonable, and slapped his thigh hard:

"Brother Hu, what you said really resonated with me!"

The two immediately made up their minds.

Zhao An counted on his fingers and whispered the assignments:

"There's no time to lose, let's do it tonight. I'll give you thirty henchmen, all of whom have followed me into battle and seen bloodshed; you give me thirty as well, making a total of sixty men."

"Tonight at midnight, while the Sixth Prince and everyone else are fast asleep, sneak into his quarters and steal that precious mirror."

His eyes hardened:

"If... we can't steal it and we get caught, then don't waste any more words. Sixty men swarm in, kill anyone who gets in our way—grab it by force!"

Hu Wan nodded repeatedly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Alright! It's settled then! I'll go back and pick the right people, specifically those who are ruthless and tight-lipped!"

That night.

As midnight approached, outside Qingshui County, in a dilapidated, abandoned temple.

Zhao An and Hu Wan, along with their respective servants, secretly met behind the temple. About sixty men, their faces covered, with knives and clubs at their waists, squatted down in a dark mass, not daring to breathe.

Apart from Zhao and Hu, the servants below were all completely bewildered—the master had dragged them all out of bed in the middle of the night, mysteriously gathered so many people, and even prepared knives. Whose house were they going to raid? Or were they going to kill someone's enemy?

As the crowd was whispering among themselves, Zhao An stepped forward, pressed his hand down, and the room fell silent.

Without further ado, he explained his task for the evening: sneak into the courtyard where the Sixth Prince was staying and steal the precious mirror.

There will be a generous reward after the task is accomplished.

The servants below looked at each other, completely dumbfounded.

They gathered sixty brothers, all armed and menacing, and crept over in the middle of the night, fully geared up and exuding a murderous aura.

Just... just to steal a mirror?

But these people were all loyal followers of the Zhao and Hu families, trained for many years. Even if they had a hundred questions in their minds, they would never question their masters' orders. They suppressed their doubts and nodded silently.

But someone couldn't help but ask in a low voice:

"Master, what does that...that precious mirror look like? We don't even know if it's round or square. What if we steal the wrong one in the dark?"

Upon hearing this, everyone agreed that it made sense and turned to look at the two gentlemen.

Fortunately, Hu Wan had already thought of this, and snorted:

"What's so difficult about that? It doesn't matter which side it is—once we're in the courtyard, bring back every mirror that reflects your image, whether it's a dressing mirror, a bronze mirror, or the large mirror on the washstand!"

"With so many mirrors, how can you not find the genuine article?"

He glanced around, his voice suddenly turning serious:

"Let me make this clear from the start—if you're caught or discovered when you're making a move, no one is allowed to hold back or hesitate. If the knife's already drawn, then don't steal, just rob!"

"After it's done—"

Hu Wan drawled out each word, saying it slowly and deliberately:

"Everyone present will be rewarded with one thousand taels of gold!"

The previously bewildered assassins' eyes lit up the moment they heard "a thousand taels of gold." They gripped their knives and clubs tightly, their blood boiling.