As Chen Ping'an emerged from the well with a basket full of soil on his back, he was dumbstruck to find a bunch of well-dressed scholars standing outside the well.

The group of scholars was led by none other than the elderly minister from the ministry of rites, who had earlier been denouncing Wu Yuan while standing on a ladder propped up against the archway. Standing beside him was the former kiln supervision official, the man rumored to be Song Jixin's father. 

His complexion was a little fairer than during his days spent in the town, and the rest of the group was composed of around five to six men who appeared to be in their thirties or forties, all of whom appeared to be even more noble and authoritative than Master Song.

Not only was Chen Ping'an dumbfounded by the sight of the group of officials, these officials were just as astonished to see Chen Ping'an. With three pouches of gold essence copper coins under his belt, he was the wealthiest individual in the entire town, and all of the officials were stunned to see that he was nothing more than an impoverished young boy performing manual labor at Ruan Qiong's blacksmith shop. 

How was it possible that this boy possessed wealth equivalent to half of the Great Li Empire's imperial vault? Was he really the same person as the one who had purchased five of the mountains being sold by the Great Li Empire?

Ruan Qiong didn't appear on the scene. Instead, it was Ruan Xiu who was accompanying Wu Yuan, and the latter wore an indifferent expression with his gaze directed slightly downward, making it appear as if he were very displeased with...