A Thousand Pieces of Gold Read Online Free PDF Page B

his own father, “What is the rate of return if one invests in farming?”
    “The return can be as high as ten times your investment.”
    “How about the buying and selling of jewelry and pearls?”
    “Much more profitable. A hundred times your capital.”
    “How about helping to place a king on the throne?”
    “Oh!” his father exclaimed. “That can lead to the sort of wealth that is incalculable.”
    Merchant Lu laughed. “In that case, Prince Zi Chu should be regarded as qi huo ke ju, ‘a precious treasure worth cherishing’! If we invest in him, we might reap enormous riches one day. Father, you have made up my mind for me. I am going to contact him.”
     
    After this conversation, Merchant Lu set about making a business plan. First he paid a visit to Prince Zi Chu and was shocked at his modest surroundings and poverty-stricken appearance. Moved to pity, he said to the prince, “I know how to open the gate of your house wider for you.”
    Prince Zi Chu laughed and said, “Why don’t you open your own gate wider before worrying about mine?”
    Lu replied, “You don’t understand. The width of my opening depends on the width of yours.”
    Xin zhi suo wei, “grasping the essence of what he was alluding to,” the prince led the merchant to a mat in an inner room. They sat opposite each other and were soon deep in conversation.
    Lu said, “Your grandfather, King Zao, is getting on in years. Although your father is now crown prince and is next in line to the throne, he has not yet designated his own successor. Your chances of being your father’s heir are not great because not only are you a middle son, you also have more than twenty brothers. What do you say if the two of us put our heads together and come up with a plan to seat you on the throne one day?”
    Prince Zi Chu could hardly believe his ears. “My mother and I have never been favored by my father. Besides, I have been a hostage and away from home for a long time. At present, I have no chance of competing with my brothers who are there in person waiting upon my father day and night. If you can accomplish this miracle, I will make you my guardian and share everything with you. In addition, I’ll remain grateful to you for the rest of my life. But the real question is, how do we achieve this?”
    “I have made some inquiries and thought it out very carefully,” the wily merchant replied. “You are poor and living in a foreign state. You have no money to buy gifts for members of your family or to cultivate people here in Handan. I too am poor, but I’m willing to take out a thousand pieces ofgold and use them on your behalf. As everyone knows, your father is very much in love with his favorite wife, Princess Hua Yang, who happens to be barren and has no son of her own. I think that is the reason your father has not yet named his successor. Princess Hua Yang’s influence on your father is enormous, and it will help greatly if she should adopt you as her son.
    “I hear that Princess Hua Yang is fond of jewelry. Tomorrow let us go and purchase for her the rarest gems and brightest jade. I shall travel to Xianyang, the capital of Qin, next month and give them to her as a special gift from you. Hopefully, she will be persuaded to put in a good word to your father on your behalf.”
    “But you don’t even know Princess Hua Yang. How will you make her acquaintance?”
    Lu laughed, “That is no problem at all! I have contacts who know Princess Hua Yang’s older sister and brother. I hear that the princess and her siblings are very close and see each other regularly. In any case, leave all that to me and don’t worry. First let me present you with five hundred pieces of gold for living expenses and for entertaining the noble lords here at Handan. Make some good contacts. I’ll be back soon, and everything will be arranged for you.”
    Prince Zi Chu knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Lu. Then he said, “Should you succeed in making me King of