The rise of the poor

Chapter 2298 A bunch of nobodies from the capital

Three more days passed, and Luo Longwen remained gloomy and depressed, his body injured and his heart filled with sorrow, unsure how to complete the task assigned by Yan Shifan. Suddenly, on the evening of the third day, the pimp at the brothel brought Luo Longwen a tremendous surprise: Wang San was going to host a banquet for him at the brothel and asked him to bring his sincere regards to pay his respects the next morning.

"Excellent, excellent, absolutely excellent! A generous reward, a very generous reward!" Upon hearing the good news brought by the pimp, Luo Longwen was overjoyed and rewarded the pimp with a full fifty taels of silver.

Fifty taels of silver! The two lackeys were drooling with envy.

Early the next morning, Luo Longwen changed into a brocade robe and, accompanied by two lackeys carrying gifts he had bought the day before—two packets of precious medicinal herbs, two packets of fine tea, a jade pendant, and a set of gilded jewelry—headed towards the brothel.

Luo Longwen and his party entered the brothel. The pimp who had received a reward from Luo Longwen the day before led Luo Longwen to a private room.

Wang San sat in the private room, where the red-haired barbarian woman that Luo Longwen had won the auction for that day was serving him.

Two Japanese pirates stood behind Wang San, like two iron towers, guarding him on the left and right.

"Greetings, Third Master Wang." Luo Longwen bowed and greeted him as soon as he entered the door.

Wang San ignored Luo Longwen for a full ten seconds before nodding to him as if he had just noticed him, saying, "Alright, get up."

Luo Longwen served Yan Song and Yan Shifan, so this was considered a minor matter. He showed no resentment and said, "Thank you, Third Master Wang."

"Outsider, what's your name?" Wang San asked Luo Longwen while groping the red-haired barbarian woman.

Luo Longwen concealed his real name and replied with a fist and palm salute, "Replying to Third Master Wang, my surname is Luo, and my given name is Xia."

After introducing himself, Luo Longwen gestured to his two lackeys to present a gift to Wang San, saying, "This is a small token of my appreciation for our first formal meeting. I hope you will accept it, Master Wang."

Wang San glanced at the gift in front of Luo Longwen, tilted his head, and the Japanese pirates behind him stepped forward to collect the gift.

"It seems that there was indeed a misunderstanding that day," Wang San said slowly, picking up his teacup, taking a sip.

"Third Master Wang is very perceptive. It's all a misunderstanding. That day was all a misunderstanding. We did all that to get to know Third Master Wang." Luo Longwen nodded vigorously, as if pounding garlic. Only by first defining that day's events as a misunderstanding could they continue the discussion.

"Now that you mention it, I feel a little bad about beating you up like this." Wang San narrowed his eyes slightly, saying he felt bad, but there was no trace of remorse on his face.

Upon hearing this, Luo Longwen waved his hands repeatedly and said to Wang San with a fawning expression, "No, no, no, please don't take it to heart, Third Master Wang. To be honest, we really deserved to be beaten back then. We didn't think things through and made a mess of things. Anyone in Third Master Wang's position at the time would have felt the same way. These past few days, I've often put myself in your shoes. If I were Third Master Wang, what if we had been beaten even harder? Third Master Wang has already shown compassion by stopping."

"Hehe, it's true that you didn't think things through and made a mess of things, otherwise, how could things have come to this?"

Wang San smiled and nodded.

Luo Longwen quickly stood up and apologized, "Yes, yes, yes, it was all our oversight that spoiled Master Wang's mood. We are very sorry and thank Master Wang for not holding a grudge."

The two lackeys also bowed and scraped.

The scene was somewhat comical: three people with bandages wrapped around their necks, three people who had been beaten up, apologizing to their abusers.

"Ah, what can I do? I'm a magnanimous prime minister. Forgive others when you can, that's the teaching of our ancestors. Of course, your apology has also moved me, Third Master," Wang San said with a chuckle.

"Thank you very much, Third Master Wang." Luo Longwen thanked him again.

Wang San waved his hand and looked at Luo Longwen, asking, "Alright, you've put in a lot of effort at the brothel these past few days, and I've appreciated your sincerity. What brings you to see me? If it's to apologize, then there's no need; I've already forgiven you. If it's something else, feel free to tell me first. I'm always happy to help, but even though I'm incredibly powerful, I still need to see what it is."

Luo Longwen clasped his hands in greeting to Wang San, saying, "I dare not hide anything from you, Master Wang. I wish to pay my respects to Prince Hui and would like to ask you to introduce me."

"Hehe, Prince Hui isn't someone just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can see," Wang San chuckled.

Luo Longwen didn't care about being called a nobody. He clasped his hands in a fist salute towards the capital and said, "I am not an ordinary nobody. I am a nobody from the capital, representing my master to discuss a big deal with Prince Hui."

"You're from the capital. Who's your master?" Wang San's expression didn't change when he heard that Luo Longwen was from the capital and had a master. So what if he's from the capital? He's seen people from the capital before.

"Third Master Wang, I'm sorry, but it's really not convenient to reveal the master behind me. In short, he is very important in the capital, no, in the entire Ming Dynasty. If my master sneezes in the capital, our Ligang will be shaken."

Luo Longwen looked proud.

“If you don’t tell me who your master is, how can I introduce you to Prince Hui? You won’t tell me, will you? Please leave. I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Wang San snorted and waved his hand, signaling for the guest to leave.

Seeing this, Luo Longwen took out five silver notes from his pocket, each with a face value of one hundred taels, placed them on the table, and pushed them in front of Wang San with both hands. "Third Master Wang, it is indeed inconvenient to reveal the master behind me. However, when I meet Prince Hui, I will tell you all about my background and the master behind me. Please forgive me, Third Master Wang."

Wang San's eyes lit up when he saw the five hundred taels of silver, but he still shook his head unsatisfied and pushed the five hundred taels of silver toward Luo Longwen. "I don't know how your master will introduce you to Prince Hui. If Prince Hui asks me about your background and I know nothing, do you think it will work?!"

“I believe Master Wang will definitely have a way.” Luo Longwen said, then took out five more silver notes from his pocket, each worth one hundred taels, and placed them on the table again. Together with the five notes from before, he made a total of ten notes and pushed them toward Master Wang.

When Wang San saw the silver note with a thousand taels of silver on the table, his eyes widened. This guy was really generous.

One thousand taels.

However, Wang San shook his head and insisted, "I have to be responsible to Prince Hui. I can't recommend someone whose background I don't know. What if you're going to harm Prince Hui?! No, no, absolutely not."

Luo Longwen once again pulled out five silver notes from his pocket and took out his money bag, turning it inside out to show that it was empty. "This is all my sincerity. I can swear to God that I am here on behalf of my master to discuss a big deal with Prince Hui. I will not do anything to harm Prince Hui. Otherwise, may I be struck by lightning when I go out."

Seeing that Luo Longwen's money pouch was empty, Wang San gave up the idea of ​​squeezing him out of it again. He reached out and took the 1,500 taels of silver into his hand, tapping it in his palm. "Well then, if you won't reveal your master's name, then tell me, what is your master's background? Is he an official, a merchant, or a landlord?"

“My master is an official,” Luo Longwen replied.

After listening, Wang San nodded. "Well, there are at least a hundred, if not ten thousand, officials doing business with my master, mostly from Jiangnan. There aren't many from the capital. Since you're so sincere, I'll reluctantly introduce you. Luo Xia, right? Go back to the inn and wait for my good news." (End of Chapter)