As the sun sets in the west and the officials on duty in Xiyuan go off work one after another, the food stalls outside the Xiyuan Palace gate become more and more popular, with people coming and going and every seat being filled.
As officials visited the food stalls, the whole story of the Taicang silver vault theft became more and more detailed, and the details about Zhu Ping'an's inspection of the silver vault also became more and more abundant. Many commentators described it vividly as if they had witnessed it with their own eyes.
Of course, in the process of word of mouth, there are more and more versions about Zhu Ping'an, adding a lot of subjective colors.
While Liu Mu and Liu Dadao were eating buns, they were stunned by the conversation of people at the tables around them.
"Mr. Zhu is a good official, he is clean and conscientious. There are too few officials like him now. Although I am the coachman of Mr. Liu's family, from now on, the official I admire most is Mr. Zhu who inspects the treasury with his bare bottom."
A coachman named Ma at the next table took a big gulp of wine, chewed mutton, and spoke with saliva flying everywhere.
Well, well said. Liu Dadao listened with great joy, as if that person was talking about him, and the bun in his mouth tasted even better.
"You all say that Lord Zhu is an honest official who is responsible, but I think Lord Zhu is quite stupid. Hey, don't look at me like that, listen to me. Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about the Taicang Silver Vault. Where is the Taicang Silver Vault? I guess even if I don't say it, everyone knows that this is the national treasury of our Ming Dynasty. There is an old saying that goes, "If you rely on the mountain, you can eat the mountain. If you rely on the water, you can eat the water." If you rely on the silver vault, of course you can eat... ... You all know it. You said that the Taicang is empty, who doesn't know it? Look, there were five officials who followed Lord Zhu to investigate the silver vault. The leader was a third-rank official, and each of them was higher than Lord Zhu. As a result, in two days, all of them found excuses to quit, leaving only Lord Zhu. You said that Lord Zhu didn't learn from others to quit, but Lord Zhu just stuck to it and investigated it to the end. Do you think Lord Zhu is stupid?!"
"You say that being an official in the court, internal fighting, supervision, and so on are just like our jokes, commonplace, and everyone is just joking around. They are just trying to make a living. If they really fight to the death, everyone will think twice. But Lord Zhu is different. He is like a greenhorn, and he is serious about it. Later, when they were checking the treasury, they didn't let him in, saying that if he wanted to enter the silver vault, he had to wear a crotchless trousers like the treasury soldiers. As a result, Lord Zhu took off his crotchless trousers without saying a word. Not to mention the crotchless trousers, he was completely naked. He walked into the silver vault naked in public."
"The officials present at the time were all shocked. How could someone play like this? Isn't it said that one's body and hair are given by one's parents, and a scholar can be killed but not humiliated? How come Lord Zhu seems to have no sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame? However, Lord Zhu dared to play like this. Lord Zhu walked into the treasury with his bare buttocks, as if to tell everyone that he was innocent."
"Nothing is exposed, so there are no flaws. Just like that, Lord Zhu, relying on his impeccable condition, thoroughly checked the bank's account books, counted the gold and silver in the bank, and caught all the big rats in the bank in one fell swoop."
"You say Mr. Zhu is stupid or not. But you know what, we ordinary people still need such stupid officials, and we, Old Li, also obey such stupid officials."
A man who sat at the same table with the driver surnamed Ma had his chest uncovered, revealing a tuft of lush chest hair. He looked like a warrior, and there was a thick-backed machete beside him. The man stretched out his hairy big hand, patted the table, and spoke loudly.
In fact, when the man started to say that Zhu Ping'an was stupid, Liu Dadao had already put down the bun in his mouth. If Liu Mu had not held him back, Liu Dadao would have gone up to the man to ask for an explanation. Even though he was held back by Liu Mu, Liu Dadao still glared at the man fiercely, so the man said at that time, "Don't look at me like that."
When the man said the following words, Liu Dadao finally smoothed over like a donkey with a smooth hair. When he finished speaking, Liu Dadao listened with great interest again. When the man finished speaking, Liu Dadao could not help but cheering loudly.
There are many similar discussions at food stalls.
However, as time went on, these versions of the discussion became increasingly off track and more outrageous.
For example, the following discussion is completely off the mark.
"Do you know why all the officials watching were stunned when Lord Zhu took off all his clothes and entered the treasury to check the silver?" someone blurted out with a very interesting tone.
"Why?" someone asked curiously.
"That's because Lord Zhu is so big and strong. When he took off his clothes, his thing was so long that the officials who were watching were shocked on the spot. Otherwise, why was Lord Zhu so enthusiastic in taking off his clothes? It's because of his confidence." The man said confidently, stretching out his hand to measure the length, as if he had witnessed it himself.
"You are joking. How can it be that long? Isn't that a donkey?" The person next to him retorted in disbelief.
Pfft...
Upon hearing this, Liu Dadao spat out the bun he had just taken in his mouth.
Under normal circumstances, with Liu Mu's skills and his understanding of Liu Da Dao, he would definitely be able to dodge. But the problem was that Liu Mu was choked by what the man said, and he hadn't recovered yet. As a result, Liu Da Dao sprayed Liu Mu in the face.
"Ahem, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Liu Dadao clumsily reached out his hand to help Liu Mu wipe it, and he looked like he wanted to spread it evenly.
"Forget it, I'll do it myself." Liu Mu shook his head in disgust and dodged away.
At this time, the topic at the food stall had shifted to Zhu Ping'an's vitals... ... Several people were arguing over its length and thickness, and their faces were red.
Later on, the topic became so off-topic that it couldn't be more off-topic. Chaku's version was so outrageous that it seemed like a fairy tale, but some people still told it as if it were true.
"Do you know why Lord Zhu had to take off all his clothes to check the treasury? Do you know why Lord Zhu can calculate accounts faster than the top accountant in Taicang? That accountant you are talking about? It's the famous Ghost Hand Zhang in our capital."
"No matter how powerful Ghost Hand Zhang is, he only has a pair of hands. But Lord Zhu, Lord Zhu is not just a pair of hands... Haha, don't forget, Lord Zhu took off all his clothes. Lord Zhu's hands... are not only long, but also can use an abacus... Ghost Hand Zhang only has a pair of hands, how can he compare to Lord Zhu? Before the reckoning even started, Ghost Hand Zhang had already lost."
Pfft...
Liu Dadao vomited again.
"The young master is coming out."
At this time, Liu Mu was sharp-eyed and saw Zhu Ping'an walking out of the palace gate. He pulled Liu Dadao, who was about to argue with others, put the meal money on the table, and pulled Liu Dadao to greet him.
"Have you had dinner?" Zhu Ping'an asked, "If not, eat at this restaurant before coming back. I just had dinner in the palace."
"We just ate at the Young Master's. Well, curfew is almost here, let's go back quickly." Liu Mu and Liu Dadao handed the reins of the Shamatte Black Horse to Zhu Ping'an and urged him, fearing that Zhu Ping'an would enter the restaurant and hear those irrelevant words.
"Oh, all right then."
Zhu Ping'an didn't think too much about it. When he heard the two of them say that they had already eaten, and because it was indeed time to light the lamps and curfew was about to begin, he nodded, and the three of them rode towards Linhuai Marquis' Mansion.