I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 484 The fish is dead and the net is broken

Chapter 484 A Desperate Struggle

The next morning, Park Seong-woo was very upset. Wang Wenzhou's dog—no, Wang Wenzhou's dog—had been found. Only one was missing. Park Seong-woo stared blankly at the two adorable puppies, unsure how to explain it to Wang Wenzhou. He was truly afraid that Wang Wenzhou would kill his family.

Park Seong-woo's aide, Shen Maowei, said, "Sir, don't panic. While it's still early, let's find an identical puppy. Lord Wang probably won't recognize it."

Park Seong-woo thought about it and had no choice but to do so, since dogs are not human and cannot speak human language.

Around noon, the constables brought out a bunch of puppies for Park Seong-woo to choose from.

Park Seong-woo had never seen the lost puppy either, so he followed Shen Maowei's advice and asked Kim Gil-chung to come and help.

Park Seong-woo cupped his hands and said, "My dear son-in-law, you have to give your father-in-law a hand."

Kim Gil-chung was somewhat embarrassed, after all, he was not yet a son-in-law, and there was a big difference in their social status. He was just a poor scholar, while Park Seong-woo was the prefect of Gongju.

Kim Gil-chung said respectfully, "Lord Park, please give your orders. I will do my best to assist you if I can."

“My dear son-in-law!” Park Seong-woo patted Kim Gil-chung on the shoulder and said bitterly, “We’re family, so I’ll be frank. I’ve offended Wang Wen-zhou. As you can see, that man is vengeful. One of his dogs is gone.”

Park Seong-woo said with a wry smile, "Could you help me choose one that looks similar to that one to impersonate it? Lord Wang keeps saying that if we lose even one dog, he'll kill an entire member of my family. I'm really worried!"

Kim Gil-chung quickly said, "Lord Park, you don't need to worry. Although Lord Wang is unruly, he is an educated man and not the kind of person who is unreasonable."

Park Seong-woo knew that Kim Gil-chung and Wang Wen-zhou had a good relationship, so he didn't dare to criticize Wang Wen-zhou in front of Kim Gil-chung. Was Wang Wen-zhou a reasonable person? You don't know, in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, he was known as a mad dog and a butcher!

"My dear son-in-law, please don't call me Lord Park, it's too formal. If you'd like, you can call me father-in-law." Park Seong-woo pleaded, "My dear son-in-law, please do me this favor!"

Jin Jizhong nodded and said, "The reason why Lord Wang cares about these three puppies is because their mother once risked her life to help them. Lord Park... Father-in-law, please rest assured, I will definitely put in a good word for you with Lord Wang."

Kim Gil-chung wasn't stupid. Since Park Seong-woo had accepted him as his son-in-law, he would accept him as his father-in-law as well. As the saying goes, having connections in court makes it easier to get an official position. Although Wang Wen-zhou had said he would make him the runner-up in the imperial examinations, Kim Gil-chung always felt that Wang Wen-zhou was unreliable.

With Park Seong-woo's help, even if Wang Wenzhou doesn't assist him, Park Seong-woo's patronage will ensure his smooth and successful career advancement.

At this moment, Shen He paced anxiously outside Wang Wenzhou's door.

Shen He couldn't sleep last night, how could he possibly fall asleep! That madman Wang Wenzhou is utterly lawless and insane. Wang Wenzhou's wives and concubines are on their way. If we don't escape now, and they recognize us when they arrive, we'll lose our heads!

Shen He looked up at the sky; it was almost noon, but the little liar still hadn't gotten up. Shen He couldn't hold back any longer, so he took a few steps forward and knocked on the door.

Wang Wenzhou asked irritably, "Who is it? It's so early in the morning, can't a person get some sleep?"

Shen He quickly said, "Lord Wang, it's me, Shen He!"

"What? Do you know how annoying it is to disturb someone's sleep? I was dreaming about getting married, and you woke me up. My wife is gone! How are you going to compensate me?" Wang Wenzhou asked irritably.

"Bang!" Shen He couldn't hold back any longer and kicked the door open.

Wang Wenzhou and Li Mei hadn't gotten out of bed yet, and Li Mei quickly burrowed under the covers.

Shen He pointed at Wang Wenzhou and said coldly, "You little liar, do you really think you're Wang Wenzhou? You don't want to live anymore?"

"Huh?" Li Mei poked her head out from under the covers, looking at Shen He with a puzzled expression. What was going on?

Wang Wenzhou laughed and said, "Old Shen, don't be afraid! My acting skills are so good, I won't give myself away! Besides, I'm Wang Wenzhou now, getting money is a piece of cake, right? We can't put on this show for nothing, at least we have to get some performance fees before we leave."

Shen He nodded and pleaded, "Lord Wang, I'm begging you, could you please stop acting so convincingly? If your identity is exposed, we'll both lose our heads. And your lover in bed won't be alive either!"

Li Mei asked softly, "My dear, what are you up to now?"

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "It's nothing, I'm just in a bad mood. I need someone to keep me company for a while."

Li Mei shook her head with a wry smile. This old man really knows how to play tricks. Judging from his tone, he was actually impersonating her to swindle people.

"Old Shen, you can rest assured, I know what I'm doing. Get out of here, my baby and I aren't dressed yet!" Wang Wenzhou said irritably.

"Alright!" Shen He said earnestly, "If you want to swindle money, hurry up and do it. Don't delay. Once Wang Wenzhou's wives and concubines arrive, things will get complicated!"

"Okay, you can go now!" Wang Wenzhou waved his hand.

Shen He shook his head with a wry smile and walked out of the room. He was now in a dilemma. If Wang Wenzhou didn't leave, he couldn't get away. He originally wanted to sneak away, but he was stopped by the yamen runners.

Wang Wenzhou hugged Li Mei and kissed her, then said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, let's get up. Today we're playing in Shenhe. Little Yan Yan died saving me, and I'm really heartbroken. If I don't find something to cheer myself up, I'll get depressed."

"Sigh..." Li Mei sighed softly. She knew that even if she tried to persuade her husband, he wouldn't listen, and she could only let him do whatever he wanted.

After having breakfast, Wang Wenzhou returned to the government office and held court to hear the case.

The head constable clasped his hands in greeting and asked, "Sir, what case are you presiding over today?"

Wang Wenzhou pointed at Shen He and said, "This is the criminal. Take him away and give him 30 lashes."

"Wang Wenzhou, you..." Shen He started to say, but then swallowed his words. That little liar was courting death; he didn't want to.

Shen He weighed the pros and cons. He knew that if he woke up the little liar in the morning and the liar held a grudge, he might as well vent his anger. It was just 30 lashes, which was better than him exposing the two men's identities and losing his life in a fight to the death.

In no time, Shen He, whose buttocks were beaten bloody and mangled, was dragged back to the main hall by two yamen runners.

"Bang!" Wang Wenzhou slammed the gavel and asked coldly, "Shen He, do you know your crime?"

"Lord Wang, I was wrong! Please forgive me!" Shen He pleaded desperately. This little swindler was truly insane. How could he have been so blind as to cooperate with him?

Wang Wenzhou nodded and said in a serious tone, "Since you have admitted your mistake, I will not punish you! Men, take Shen He away and castrate him first."

Upon hearing this, Shen He flew into a rage. "You little liar, are you serious? Fine! I'll fight you to the death! I'm willing to risk my life to bring down the emperor! I'll fight you to the death!"

Shen He lay on the ground, pointed at Wang Wenzhou, and shouted, "Everyone, this person is not Wang Wenzhou, he is a fraudster impersonating Wang Wenzhou!"