Charles Bennett and Quentin Bennett looked at him as if he were crazy. Quentin Bennett held a half-eaten moon-shaped flatbread in his hand and said, “Understand what?”

James Carter said animatedly, “I understand now why you didn’t just extort money from that Zhao woman, but instead made her sign a contract of servitude. That Miss Zhao is a real beauty, graceful and elegant. Judging by her appearance, she probably knows a bit about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I’ve heard that in Qinhuai, a woman like her would fetch at least four or five hundred taels of silver if sold. Compared to just extorting a bit of silver from her, wouldn’t Brother Bennett make much more this way? Brilliant! I never thought of it before.”

Quentin Bennett was stunned.

Charles Bennett cast a deep, inscrutable glance at James Carter and said calmly, “What do you know? Do you think my boy Qian only cares about the silver from selling her? Let me tell you the truth: after making Miss Zhao sign the contract, there’s no need to rush to sell her. We can first bring her into the Xu family. Doesn’t she have a father? Then we can use her to slowly squeeze money out of her father. Once we’ve bled him dry, we can find a wealthy family to sell her to. In that case, it’s not just four or five hundred taels of silver.”

Quentin Bennett was stunned again.

He always thought of himself as having a dark mind, but compared to these two who forced good women into prostitution, he was almost excessively pure.

James Carter was thoroughly humiliated by Charles Bennett, but instead of being angry, he revered Charles Bennett as a god, admiring him to the utmost. He stood up and bowed, saying, “Uncle Bennett, you are truly extraordinary. I am completely convinced. If I could often listen to your teachings in the future and hear your sage words, I would die without regret.”

“Not at all, not at all.” Charles Bennett, feeling he had found a kindred spirit, finally warmed up a little toward James Carter.

“By the way, Brother Carter, I’ll need you to go out and spread some news in a bit. Are you any good at starting rumors?” Quentin Bennett, unable to stand James Carter’s flattery, changed the subject.

James Carter said awkwardly, “Rumors? I’m such an honest person, I don’t think…”

Quentin Bennett sneered, “I don’t care. In a moment, you’ll go out to the streets. I want the whole of Qiantang to know a piece of news. This concerns Eunuch King’s big affair. If you delay it, you’ll be in serious trouble.”

When James Carter heard the name Eunuch King, he immediately straightened up and said respectfully, “Brother Bennett, what are you saying? To serve Eunuch King, not to mention spreading rumors, I’d even be willing to sleep with imperial concubines if needed. Just tell me, what rumor do you want me to spread?”

Quentin Bennett smiled mysteriously and said, “You’ll know soon enough.”

……

Qiantang County wasn’t big, but there were plenty of idle people.

Since the founding emperor, the dynasty had lasted for a hundred and twenty years. With so many years of peace and increasing land annexation, two types of people had become overly abundant. One kind was those who couldn’t get enough to eat and had nothing to do—these were called vagrants, wandering wherever they were driven.

The other kind had plenty to eat and nothing to do. They had some ambitions and weren’t satisfied with just eating and sleeping all day. For them, spreading and making up rumors inevitably became a main purpose in life. Any little stir in Qiantang County, and they were always the first to know.

In just one day, a shocking rumor suddenly broke out in Qiantang County: it was said that there was a piece of calligraphy at the residence of the chief eunuch, and it actually involved a treasure. It was said that Eunuch King had saved up a lot of private money over the years, and since he couldn’t take it back to the palace, he secretly hid it all. The piece of calligraphy that Eunuch King treasured was supposedly the key to the treasure. Whoever got their hands on it would become fabulously wealthy.

The news caused an uproar.

Words like treasure, eunuch, and treasure map are always hot topics in any era. In just a few hours, everyone knew about the piece of calligraphy at Eunuch King’s house.

Some people even started investigating in secret and actually found some clues. For example, it was true that Eunuch King treasured a piece of calligraphy, but the calligraphy itself was mediocre at best, nowhere near the level of a famous master. When all this information was put together, it seemed to confirm the rumor’s authenticity.

Think about it: how could someone like Eunuch King treasure such an unremarkable piece of calligraphy? Maybe the rumor wasn’t just baseless after all—it actually seemed quite believable.

That’s how street gossip works: the more far-fetched it is, the more vivid and detailed it becomes. The rumor-mongers are determined to embellish these baseless stories until everyone believes them.

As for this rumor, Eunuch King naturally scoffed at it. The next morning, as usual, he got up and went to the flower hall to sit and drink tea. As the chief eunuch, he only had to supervise some iron mines and crack down on salt smugglers—nothing major. But when he entered the back hall, Eunuch King suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His pampered, fair face instantly twisted with rage.

His deep-set eyes looked like powder kegs ready to explode, brimming with murderous intent.

He sat in the hall, silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Someone, come here.”

At Eunuch King’s call, several servants stumbled in from outside, bowing in panic. “What are your orders, Eunuch…”

Eunuch King glanced back at the servants, his cold gaze making them extremely uneasy. They didn’t dare make a sound, kneeling motionless.

Eunuch King said slowly, “Go, summon the stewards and honored guests of the inner residence here.”