Master Wang returned home with a heavy heart. From Madam Wang, he learned that Old Lady Zhang had come up with a plan. She mentioned that she had a grandson named Gousheng, who was not only born in the same year, month, and day as Wang Fugui but also had a similar build and even bore a slight resemblance to him.

She was willing to offer this grandson to replace Wang Fugui!

While Master Wang was out pleading for the victim’s family’s forgiveness, they had already brought Zhang Gousheng to the Wang residence and found a corrupt jailer who agreed to swap Zhang Gousheng with Wang Fugui in prison, allowing Zhang Gousheng to take the fall.

Before Master Wang could even process this, Old Lady Zhang hurriedly called in Zhang Gousheng, who was now dressed in Wang Fugui’s clothes and made to look like him. She excitedly exclaimed, “Master, doesn’t he look like Young Master Fugui? He bears a resemblance, doesn’t he? About thirty percent!”

Old Lady Zhang’s eyes were bloodshot as she tightly gripped Zhang Gousheng’s hand. “Master, a place like the prison is no place for Young Master Fugui. Let’s hurry and swap him back. Once this matter is settled, we can change Young Master Fugui’s name, and he’ll still be the young master of the Wang family!”

Master Wang was stunned.

What shocked him even more was that he recognised the boy before him, Zhang Gousheng, he was the same young man he had met two years ago and had taken a liking to.

Trembling, he asked, “You… you’re willing to die in Fugui’s place?”

Of course, Zhang Gousheng was not willing.

Earlier, the Zhang family had pressured him with filial piety, and since he had been brought to the Wang residence, he had no choice but to comply. His original plan was to pretend to go along with it and then find an opportunity to cry out his innocence to the magistrate. But now, seeing that Master Wang was the kind-hearted man he had met before, his desire to survive surged.

“I don’t want to!” he shouted.

Chaos ensued.

Before Master Wang and Madam Wang could speak, Old Lady Zhang, driven to desperation by Wang Fugui’s imprisonment, began to beat and scold Zhang Gousheng. She ranted about how the Zhang family had raised him and how he owed it to them to die in Fugui’s place. Her extreme thoughts and frenzied behavior shocked the already distressed and bewildered Master Wang and Madam Wang.

It wasn’t until Master Wang lost his temper that Old Lady Zhang finally calmed down.

Afterward, Master Wang sighed and said to Madam Wang, “Let’s not complicate things further.”

“Not to mention that Magistrate Bao of Ping’an County is a wise and incorruptible official who would never be fooled by such a swap. Even if we ignore that, this boy named Gousheng is the same age as our Fugui. He’s unmarried and still just a child. His family is willing to push him to his death for money—should we do the same?”

“Let it go. Consider it as accumulating some good karma for Fugui.”

Master Wang said bitterly, “The monks at the temple say that killing someone condemns you to the eighteenth level of hell, where you suffer unspeakable torments. Fugui has killed one person and will have to endure so much suffering. If we cause another death, he might be reborn as an animal in his next life.”

“…Let it go. Let’s accumulate some virtue for our child.”

At these words, Madam Wang burst into tears.

“Fugui, my Fugui…”

Master Wang’s eyes also welled up with tears. After a moment, he suddenly said, “By the way, how much silver were you planning to give the Zhang family? Prepare another portion for that boy named Gousheng. He’s had a fright today, and after what happened, he probably won’t be able to stay with the Zhang family anymore.”

Madam Wang wiped her tears. “Master, I’ll do as you say.”

“But I never said I would give the Zhang family any silver,” she added after a moment, puzzled. “With Fugui in such trouble, I was too distraught to think of anything. It was Old Lady Zhang who came up with the idea, and she didn’t mention any silver.”

After a pause, she suddenly whispered, “Actually, when I saw that boy earlier, I felt a pang of regret. He looks like you when you were young, and I couldn’t bear to…”

“…What did you say?”

Master Wang suddenly became alert.

Unlike Madam Wang, who rarely left the house, Master Wang had traveled far and wide and was shrewd. Old Lady Zhang’s earlier behavior, combined with Madam Wang’s words, struck him as deeply suspicious. Something felt very wrong, very out of place.

He pressed further, “You said the idea came from Old Lady Zhang, and the Zhang family didn’t ask for money?”

Madam Wang replied, confused, “Yes.”

“Not long after you went to the Liu family to apologize, Old Lady Zhang brought her grandson here and suggested the swap. She said her family was willing to do it, so…”

Something was wrong!

Master Wang sat up straight.

The Zhang family hadn’t asked for money, had taken the initiative to propose the plan, and had acted more urgently than the Wang family…

Add to that Old Lady Zhang’s earlier comment that the two boys were born in the same year, month, and day, bore a slight resemblance, and Madam Wang’s remark that Zhang Gousheng looked like Master Wang in his youth…

Master Wang’s heart began to race.

A terrifying thought began to form in his mind!

…

While Fu Wenyu was busy writing, Shopkeeper Zhang had already approached the owner of Kaiyuan Bookstore, Master Tang, and discussed Fu Wenyu’s ideas of “serialization” and “advertisements.”

Master Tang, being a businessman, quickly grasped the concepts. However, he felt that advertisements were more important than serialized stories, as they could bring in more profit.

“This is a great idea!” he praised. “This way, everyone who reads the Liuzhou Tabloid will know which shops have good products at fair prices. If even one out of ten readers visits those shops, the merchants will make a fortune.”

Master Tang was a man of action. He thought the idea was excellent and immediately made arrangements.

“In that case, let’s not delay. Start printing tomorrow. Hmm, let’s feature our Tang family’s shops first. If it attracts customers, we can negotiate with other shops later. As for the stories, just pick two of the best-selling ones. By the way, did you bring Fu Wenyu’s story?”

“Print it as well,” Master Tang said with a smile. “After all, it was his idea.”

Shopkeeper Zhang bowed. “Thank you, Master.”

Master Tang thought for a moment and added, “The paper and ink for the Tabloid won’t cost much. I remember we used to print a thousand copies at a time, once every five days. Now that we want more people to see it, let’s make the first issue free. Print five thousand copies and give them out to everyone, especially in places like teahouses.”

“I’ll cover the cost for this time…”

And so, a few days later, Fu Wenyu’s first story in this ancient era, “Jiu Occupying the Magpie’s Nest: The True and False Young Masters”, officially entered the eyes of ancient readers.

…

Kaiyuan Bookstore.

Having stayed up late helping his uncle the previous night, Zhang Er was somewhat listless this morning. However, his expression brightened instantly when he saw a certain figure enter the store, replaced by a wide smile.

“Young Master Liu, please come in!”

The visitor was Liu Changmiao, a major customer of the bookstore who spent over ten taels of silver every month. Recognizing him, Zhang Er immediately greeted him warmly.

“It’s been a while since we last saw you, Young Master Liu. Shall I pack up the new stories from the past two months for you as usual? By the way, there’s a new work by Mr. Sanliu this month.”

“The Woodcutter!”

“Mr. Sanliu has a new story?”

Liu Changmiao, a young man of about fifteen or sixteen, didn’t hesitate upon hearing the name “Mr. Sanliu.” He said to Zhang Er, “Bring it here!”

Zhang Er didn’t dare delay and quickly fetched the book.

Liu Changmiao took it and immediately began flipping through the pages, engrossed. His expressions were vivid, sometimes frowning, sometimes slapping the table in excitement.

“It’s well written, as expected of Mr. Sanliu!”

“The illustrations are as beautiful as ever. Mr. Sanliu mentioned that his son drew them, right? They’re truly stunning. I wonder when I’ll get to meet him.”

However, no one in Liuzhou City had ever seen Mr. Sanliu, so after a moment of regret, Liu Changmiao gave up and immersed himself in the captivating world of the story.

By the time Zhang Er finished busily gathering the new stories from the past two months and wrapping them in oiled paper, Liu Changmiao, who was a fast reader, had already finished ‘The Woodcutter’.

His face lit up as if he had just enjoyed a delicious meal.

“It’s so well written, but it’s too short!”