Chapter 44: Rich as a Nation

"How did your Excellency know?!"

Mrs. Li was stunned for a moment, and the woman's terrifyingly accurate intuition came into play at this time.

After thinking about it for a moment, I understood.

There's a high probability that he had some romantic affair outside and someone exposed it and sued him!

She turned her head and glared at Li Qiong angrily.

It's not enough that he has a coquettish vixen at home, he also has affairs with other women outside.

Li Qiong didn't bother to look at his wife, and hurriedly explained to Censor Zheng:

"Brother Zheng, there's a misunderstanding. Someone must be making a fuss about my birthmark."

Li Qiong wanted to continue to argue when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.

Governor Gu came rushing in with his officials, looking very aggressive, holding a few books in his hands.

"Li Qiong! You are unworthy of being an official. Not only are you corrupt and abuse your power, bullying the people, but you even dare to smuggle salt!"

Governor Gu threw the booklet on the coffee table.

When Censor Zheng heard the last few words, his expression became solemn and he quickly picked up the booklet and flipped through it.

It was discovered that these were account books of Li Qiong's embezzlement and bribery, and one of them clearly recorded the amount and profit of private salt transactions.

Smuggled salt? Li Qiong dared to smuggle salt!

The moment Li Qiong saw the account book, his eyes went dark and he was so shocked that he was speechless for a moment.

How is it possible? He clearly hid the account book in a dark room... and the private salt account book has always been kept in Biehe Villa, how could it appear here?

Governor Gu sneered, "Do you think no one will notice you hiding in the dark room of the study?"

It happened to be a coincidence that Governor Gu wandered into Li Qiong's study in the mansion. He wanted to go in and see if there was the heirloom jade inkstone that the old man mentioned.

The officers were searching everywhere inside.

Someone touched a certain mechanism, but the wall behind the bookshelf suddenly moved away, revealing a secret door.

As soon as everyone entered, they saw all the evidence neatly placed on the table.

Li Qiong felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, and all her blood had gone.

"Zheng, Brother Zheng..."

Censor Zheng spat at him: "Who is your Brother Zheng? I don't have a brother like you!"

Gu and Zheng led their men with the account books and took Li Qiong to Biehe Villa.

Li Qiong still had a last glimmer of hope in her heart:

He had previously ordered his men who were operating the illegal salt business to withdraw from the villa first.

As long as Censor Zheng and his men cannot find the contraband salt and silver hidden in the villa, everything can still be salvaged.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they got off the carriage, a man with a face swollen like a pig's head rushed over:

"Master Li! I failed to live up to your trust. Half of the salt I sent out this time was stolen by bandits!"

Li Qiong:……!!!

After hearing the voice, Li Qiong realized that the man in front of him, who had been completely disfigured, was his subordinate Yang Zhen who had disappeared a few days ago.

Yang Zhen seemed not to notice that Li Qiong was being escorted by the officers, and was still struggling to express his loyalty:

"Sir, fortunately I brought half of the goods back to the villa and put them inside..."

Before he finished speaking, Censor Zheng had already strode into the villa with his men.

Li Qiong stood there, then fell down dizzy...

This was not the first or second time that Censor Zheng investigated corrupt officials, but this time was definitely the most efficient one.

They caught the criminal red-handed on the first day in Xunzhou.

Li Qiong was imprisoned. Censor Zheng interrogated Li Qiong and his subordinates one by one according to the charges in the anonymous letter he received, and he convicted them every time.

Li Qiong even suspected that Censor Zheng had already placed spies in Xunzhou.

Censor Zheng wrote a memorial overnight and sent it back to Chang'an, awaiting the emperor's decision.

However, there is one thing that remains unresolved, that is, the gold and silver that Li Qiong obtained from selling illegal salt has disappeared.

Li Qiong confessed that the money was hidden in the underground wine cellar of Biehe Villa, and the amount was as high as hundreds of thousands of taels of gold.

However, Censor Zheng and Inspector Gu sent people to search the villa from top to bottom but couldn't find it.

When Li Qiong learned in prison that the vault was missing, he thought that the higher-ups had sent someone to transfer the money away.

The stolen money was not his alone. He was under the command of high-ranking officials in Chang'an, and most of it had to be sent to the capital. He only got a small part of it.

Li Qiong didn't dare to say it.

If he tells it out, he will probably die faster.

…

Li Qiong's imprisonment caused an uproar in Xunzhou.

Everyone was talking about this after dinner.

As the saying goes, if you walk too much at night, you will always encounter ghosts.

Li Qiong deserves it.

But some people also speculated that the Li family had been having bad luck recently, and wondered if they had gotten into trouble with something dirty.

When people were discussing the matter, the students of Mingde Academy also knew about it.

Li Zhangsheng broke his hand and is recuperating at home.

Li Shaoer came to the academy with swollen eyes.

She cried all night with her aunt at home. Her aunt packed up all the valuables in the room and planned to run away with Li Shaoer.

But Li Shaoer didn't dare to believe all this.

Her father is so powerful, how could the Li family be finished so quickly?

Li Shaoer walked into Taoli Hall and instructed his classmates as usual:

"Go clean my table and get me a glass of water."

The students in Taoli Hall all turned to look at her, but no one moved to wipe the table for her.

Li Shaoer walked up to a slightly plump classmate and reached out to twist her ear:

"Liu Xiangxiang, are you deaf? Can't you hear what I say?"

Liu Xiangxiang waved her hand, and a red palm print fell on Li Shaoer's arm:

"Li Shaoer, don't you have hands?"

Li Shaoer covered her arm and looked at Liu Xiangxiang in disbelief as she fought back:

"Liu Xiangxiang, you dare to fight back? Believe it or not, I'll tell you—"

"Tell who? Tell my father or your father? Everyone in Xunzhou knows that your father is in prison!"

Liu Xiangxiang looked at Li Shaoer impatiently. She had long been fed up with Li Shaoer's domineering attitude, but she didn't dare to resist because she had a powerful father.

Now everyone knows that Li Changshi was locked up by the officials from the capital, so why is she still afraid of Li Shaoer?

Liu Xiangxiang ignored Li Shaoer and turned to find Su Zhizhi.

"Su Zhizhi, after class, can I follow you and Gu Qingning to find the bird's nest?"

Liu Xiangxiang likes to play with Su Zhizhi now.

Su Zhizhi knows a lot of interesting things, and she won't hit anyone casually, won't order anyone around, and won't use her father to bully others.

Su Zhizhi nodded: "Okay, but you have to promise to be quiet when you go."

"Okay, I promise!" Liu Xiangxiang's eyes lit up.

Gu Qingning, Su Zhizhi, Liu Xiangxiang and others all laughed together.

Li Shaoer was hurt by Liu Xiangxiang's words, and when she saw Su Zhizhi and Gu Qingning laughing so happily, she felt that they were clearly laughing at her.

She walked up to Su Zhizhi with her head held high, and said unyieldingly:

"Su Zhizhi, Gu Qingning, don't get too proud! My dad is very capable and will be released from prison soon. You'll be in big trouble then."

Su Zhizhi looked up:

"Your father has done a lot of bad things, much worse than you. He will never be an official again."

Liu Xiangxiang: "Then what are you doing here? Are you going to get beheaded like in the play?"

The mischievous male classmate shouted, "Beheading is so scary! Last year, I went to the vegetable market with my grandfather to see a beheading. The executioner chopped off the neck with one stroke, but only cut halfway through, leaving the head hanging on top."

Gu Qingning was timid and was so scared that she covered her ears.

"Shut up, all of you!" Li Shaoer was angry and scared, so he covered his ears and ran away.

After class, Su Zhizhi took Gu Qingning and several classmates to see the bird's nest on the tree in the school.

The cicadas chirping among the leaves became louder and louder.

The mottled light and shadows falling on the ground look like algae in the water.

The summer is getting hotter.

Su Zhizhi wiped her sweat, wondering if her parents were eating watermelon at home at this time.

Black Bandit Mountain.

A hidden cave entrance in the back mountain.

Hao Ren, Wu Yingniang, Bai Xun, Old Man Qin and Hua Erniang were standing at the entrance of the cave.

The entrance to the cave was not big, only wide enough for two people to walk in side by side, but the space inside the cave was not small, as big as two or three houses.

Hundreds of boxes were piled up in the cave.

Every box opened was filled with gold, silver and white.

The money that disappeared from Biehe Villa was transferred out in advance by the villagers of Heifei Mountain.

Part of it was given to the people who were oppressed by Li Qiong, and the rest was hidden in the treasury of Heifei Mountain.

Black Bandit Mountain had already saved quite a bit of money in the past few years, and now with this addition, their treasury was even more enriched.

Even if the entire village used this money in their lifetime, they would not be able to spend it all.

Old Man Qin set up a mechanism in the Qianku Cave according to the design of the tomb. Bai Xun and Wu Yingniang marked the cave to avoid accidentally triggering the mechanism.

"Hua Erniang, thank you for your work."

Hao Ren looked at Hua Erniang and signaled her to apply poison on the designated area in the cave.

The villagers only know that Heifeishan is not short of money, but not everyone knows how much money he has or where it is hidden.

It was Hua Erniang's first time to visit the treasury, and she was indeed shocked to see the hundreds of boxes of gold and silver stacked inside.

She knew that Village Chief Hao loved saving money, but she had no idea he had saved so much! It would take the whole village a lifetime to spend all the money.

The problem is that Village Chief Hao never squanders money. He still wears a piece of clothing even though it has been washed white and patched.

No one knows why he stored so much gold and silver.

Wu Yingniang, Bai Xun, and Old Man Qin didn't ask.

Hao Ren has his reasons for doing things.

And even if you ask some questions, you won't get answers from him.

Hua Erniang didn't ask, she just joked:

"If Village Chief Hao keeps saving money like this, who knows, one day our village might be as wealthy as a country."

She exaggerated and made herself laugh.

How dare a village discuss with the prime minister?

Wu Yingniang smiled, Bai Xun smiled, and Old Man Qin also smiled.

Hao Ren's face was half hidden in the shadow of the cave, and he didn't smile.