"Amitabha! It's true. The Hyderabad ore has been bought by someone else."
Putting his hands together, Monk Hui Ming reaffirmed the fact with the two Sindhi monks before conveying the words to the two elders.
The two of them stared at one another. For a moment, they were unable to find a word to say.
The Hyderabad ore was definitely not a product that was easy to sell. These two Sindhi monks had been in the capital for several months, but until now, they had been unable to sell any of it.
While a reason for so was because of their sales method, the way the two used to promote the Hyderabad ores wasn't effective, another reason was because the Hyderabad ore had just emerged in the market and there were very few people in the capital who could understand the value of it. Furthermore, these two foreign monks had kept a low profile and they could only speak Sanskrit.
If one didn't know Sanskrit, it would have been impossible to communicate with them. Thus, the Zhang Clan wasn't too worried about anyone beating them to it.
In fact, the two had even considered of using this factor to push down the price. They would have never expected that the Hyderabad ore had already been sold to someone else.
"Where did you sell the Hyderabad ores to?"
The leading blue-clothed middle-aged man asked.
"Ask him whether he had sold it to a distinguished family of the capital."
The other middle-aged man asked.
Their first reaction to the matter was that the two Sindhi monks were lying. They thought that they were using this method to push up the price. Otherwise, it was likely that it was a blacksmith clan that had bought it.
If it was the former, it would be for the best. All they had to do was to offer a higher price. However, if it was the latter, the situation would become troublesome. No matter what, they had to know which competitor had beat them to it.
Monk Hui Ming nodded his head and conveyed the message in Sanskrit to the two Sindhi monks.
"It's not a clan, it was bought by a fourteen to fifteen-year-old child."
After a moment, Monk Hui Ming turned around to look at them once more and shook his head.
"A child!"
The duo was astounded. They could not believe their ears. A child? How could it be a child? This answer left them in greater shock than when they first heard that the Hyderabad ore had been sold out to someone else.
"Master, is it possible that you had interpreted and translated his words wrongly?"
The second middle-aged man asked. Even though the question was slightly offending, he couldn't be concerned with it at this moment.
The sales of the Hyderabad ore wasn't a small matter. No matter what, it was unbelievable that such a valuable commodity had been bought by a small child.
How could a small child have such financial ability?
Their first response was that Monk Hui Ming might not have been well-versed in Sanskrit and an error had occurred in the midst of his translation, causing him to translate the name of some distinguished clan into a child.
In that instant, Monk Hui Ming's complexion turned incomparably awful. However, he suppressed the displeasure he was feeling and asked the two Sindhi monks again.
"There's no mistake, it was bought by a child! They said that the name of the child is Wang Chong."
After a moment, Monk Hui Ming replied seriously.
"Wang Chong?"
The two of them felt frustrated. Such an occurrence wasn't within their expectation. They had no impression of the name 'Wang Chong' at all.
There were so many fourteen to fifteen-year-old children in the capital, how would they know whose child it was?
"Can you ask them to go into details? How does the child look like?"
The leading blue-clothed man asked. He still couldn't believe that the Hyderabad ore had been bought out by a small child. The turn of events was too sudden for him to accept.
"They said that the child wore a blue robe and he was around that tall…"
Monk Hui Ming conveyed the descriptions of the two Sindhi monks to the two elders in detail. However, this only made them even more frustrated and stressed. There were too many children in the capital that fit that description.
"Right, they also said that the child is the grandson of Great Tang's Duke Jiu."
Monk Hui Ming finally said something useful.
"Duke Jiu?"
The two shuddered and an astounded expression appeared on their faces! How can this be! How can Duke Jiu be involved in the matter? In Great Tang, everyone knew that Duke Jiu was incorruptible and never received business deals. So, how could Duke Jiu be involved in this matter?
"Are you certain that you have not heard wrongly?"
The two widened their eyes in shock.
"There's no mistake!"
Monk Hui Ming was even more astonished than the two. The reason why he promised to help the Zhang Clan was because they only needed to serve as an intermediary for them to communicate with the Sindhi monks. He didn't expect that Duke Jiu would be involved in this matter.
In Great Tang, Duke Jiu was of prominent standing and nearly no one was ignorant of his name.
"Ask him what had happened. Duke Jiu is a very noble person and I have never heard that he is interested in forging weapons. Why would he be involved in this matter?"
The two said. This matter was too bizarre, they had to understand what was going on.
Thus, Monk Hui Ming started conversing with the two monks again.
"They said that it wasn't Duke Jiu, but his grandson who came to look for him. Besides, he didn't sell the Hyderabad ores to him. Rather, they signed an agreement. If Duke Jiu's grandson was able to gather 90000 gold taels within a month and hand it over to them, the agreement would become effective and he would have the full right to distributing the Hyderabad ores in the Central Plains."
Monk Hui Ming revealed an unusual news.
"90000 taels?"
The two men's eyes were about to pop out from their sockets from shock. They were truly at a loss for words. 90000 taels was a massive sum. Even the Zhang Clan was unable to take out such money in an instant.
Yet, the grandson of Duke Jiu dared to make such a promise.
In the opinion of the two, this was nearly an impossible mission. However, they received an important message from Monk Hui Ming's words:
"That's to say, the deal hasn't been confirmed and they hadn't sold the Hyderabad ore out yet?"
The two Zhang Clan elders asked.
The two Sindhi monks nodded their heads.
Huuu!
The two of them heaved a long sigh of relief. As long as the deal wasn't established yet, that meant that nothing had been confirmed yet. That was to say, they still had a chance.
After asking for the Wang Clan's address from the two Sindhi monks, the two hurriedly left the White Agate Jewelry Shop and hopped onto their carriage.
"That Wang gongzi sure is amazing!"
"Indeed. It is as though he had expected all of this."
At the doorstep, the two Sindhi monks shook their head, impressed. Back then, when Wang Chong requested for the right to distribution and got the two to sign the contract with him at the Court of Judicial Review, they didn't pay it much heed. But now, they did not think of it the way they did before anymore.
It was precisely because of Wang Chong's attention these details that he eliminated all of his potential competitors.
"Now, we've to see whether he is able to raise that 90000 gold taels."
The two monks said.
90000 gold taels was by no means a small sum. However, the two of them didn't have much choice. This wasn't just a test on Wang Chong's background and abilities, it was also because Sindhu couldn't afford to wait for too long.
The both of them had received news that there were already people dying from starvation at Hyderabad.
"Let's hope that he would be able to succeed. Otherwise, we can only look for another buyer."
The two of them thought.
…
At this moment, the Wang Clan's gates were swarming with people.
Right in front of the gates, Madam Wang had put out a mahogany chair and was sitting on it. By her side, all of the old nannies, maids, and servants were lined up in a row.
Everyone looked at the approaching carriage with worry in their eyes.
Young master had disobeyed Madam's orders and sneaked out in the morning, causing her to burst in anger. Thus, early in the morning, she had moved this chair out here and started waiting for him.
After waiting for such a long time, her rage was already on the verge of erupting. Just by looking at the steeled face and her unnerving silence, even the old nannies who had followed her for decades were terrified.
"Today, none of you are allowed to speak up for him. I will beat up anyone who dares to do so!"
The words Madam Wang squeezed out through gritted teeth sounded in the air and all of the guards, old nannies, servants, and maids shivered. They did not dare to say a word, quieting staring quietly at Wang Chong's carriage with pity in their eyes.
This unfilial son had gone way too far. The matter yesterday had yet to die down, and he still dared to play outside today, coming home only at such a timing. If she didn't discipline him now, it was hard to tell what kind of calamities he would bring to the family in the future.
Madam Wang had steeled her will this time not to allow Wang Chong to do as he pleased. Her wooden rod was already prepared.
"Fetch the rod!"
On the chair, Madam Wang stretched out her right arm. An old nanny passed the rod with spikes on it over to her.
Those who were trained in martial arts tend to have exceptionally resilient bodies. This rod was specially designed to deal with sons of general clans and it was exceptionally excruciating when struck on one's body.
Madam Wang held the rod in her hands without saying a word. The atmosphere before the gates of the Wang Clan was so tense that it was frightening.
In the distance, Wang Chong saw the sight from the carriage from afar and his goosebumps came out. He was shocked by the formation his mother Zhao Shu Hua set up before the entrance of the residence.
Clearly, he had truly infuriated his mother by disobeying her orders and sneaking out.
"Gongzi, what do we do now?"
Shen Hai and Meng Long had also noticed the formation in front and they felt unsettled. Madam was truly frightening when she was angry!
The two of them had been on the battlefield and regardless of the situation, be it a mountain of corpses or a river of blood, never did they show a frown. However, before this Madam, they subconsciously felt fear and a pang of conscience.
"Don't worry. I'll settle it later on."
Wang Chong said confidently as he slapped their shoulders. But deep down, Wang Chong was anxious as well. After enjoying his fair share of glory outside, trouble had finally come knocking.
"Mother!"
Wang Chong stepped down from the carriage and his goosebumps stood up again. The frosty steeled face of his mother looked extremely fearsome.
"Shen Hai and Meng Long, aren't you going to come here?"
With a frigid face, Madam Wang neglected Wang Chong's presence.
"Madam!"
Albeit uneasy, Shen Hai and Meng Long walked over and kneeled before Madam Wang. Madam had ordered them to guard Young Master Chong and prevent him from getting out. Yet, not only did they disobey her orders, they even went out along with Young Master Chong.
It was clear just by thinking about the matter how furious Madam would be.
"Do you two have any words to say?"
Madam Wang said coldly. She had absolute trust in the two, that's why she was even more furious when she heard that they had allowed Wang Chong out of the residence.
"We have failed in our responsibilities for this matter. Please punish us!"
The two kneeled on the floor with their heads lowered. They did not try to explain this matter. It was a fact that they had let Madam down.
"Fine! You have been with Third Young Master for barely a few days and you are already sided with him. Wonderful! Deal with them according to the family rules!"
Madam Wang commanded coldly.
She was extremely enraged. They had just been sent to guard Wang Chong for a single day but yet, their attitudes had changed completely from before, siding with Wang Chong instead.
"Wait a minute!"
Hearing that she was about to punish Shen Hai and Meng Long, Wang Chong's expression darkened:
"Mother, I am the cause of this matter. If you must punish, punish me. This has nothing to do with Shen Hai and Meng Long."
Wang Chong kneeled down respectfully on the ground. He was responsible for the matter, so he should be the one taking the blame. He didn't wish to implicate Shen Hai and Meng Long into the matter.
"Fine! You sure learned how to protect others quickly! Even though I haven't said anything yet, did you think that you would be spared from the punishment?"
Madam Wang spouted icily.
It is a necessity for rules to be upheld so that no trouble would come. Madam Wang was also shocked by the matter yesterday. The matter about him raping a lady hadn't passed yet but Wang Chong had already raised a storm at the Vast Crane Pavilion, the matter reaching even the emperor.
Yet, Wang Chong didn't learn his lesson. Early in the morning, he secretly brought two loyal guards from the residence out and furthermore, no one knew where he went or what he was up to.
Madam Wang was also frightened.
With such prior records, if she didn't discipline him, it was hard to tell what kind of troubles he would bring to the Wang Clan in the future.