Chapter 235 General, so much silver!!!
Feeling uncomfortable under their gazes, Li Rong coughed lightly and asked, "Have you found it or not?"
“We found them. You’ve arranged this once in so many years, how could I not do it well?” Chi Heng gave him a strange look, then pointed to the side: “Look, aren’t these the two boxes you wanted?”
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, stood up, and tried to lift the two boxes together. After one attempt, he couldn't lift them, so he glared at Lu Zhong beside him and said, "Can you help me out?"
Lu Zhong belatedly got up and helped him lift the box onto the table.
Chi Heng let out a heavy sigh, clapped his hands, and frowned as he asked, "What on earth is in here? Hidden so deep! You wouldn't believe it, I secretly dug a hole in your general's mansion's back garden in the middle of the night, I almost died from exhaustion! I nearly got caught on the way back. Luckily, I'm smart enough to cover it up. This damn box is so heavy! It almost killed me!"
As he spoke, he noticed a hint of resentment on Li Rong's face.
Li Rong pretended not to hear, reached into his pocket, found a key, and quickly unlocked the box.
Chi Heng and Lu Zhong also looked curiously into the box.
"Wow!"
"General!"
As the box was gradually opened, the two men's mouths gaped open wide enough to fit eggs.
Chi Heng rubbed her eyes and said, "Good heavens, so that's why you didn't want my gold chain. You've been hiding so much gold and silver jewelry."
Lu Zhong couldn't resist picking up a gold bar, putting it to his lips and taking a bite: "My God, this is real gold! Someone pinch me, am I dreaming?"
Chi Heng was also examining a jade hairpin closely. After hearing Lu Zhong's request, she reached out and twisted it under his armpit.
Lu Zhong suddenly let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered: "Ah! You're really pinching me!"
Chi Heng smiled and nodded: "You're welcome."
Lu Zhong rubbed his armpit, looking aggrieved. "Ouch. That really hurts. I'm not dreaming, General. Where's all this silver? Why didn't you take it out sooner?"
Chi Heng rolled her eyes: "What do you mean 'ours'? It has nothing to do with you. It all belongs to A Rong. A Rong, don't worry, leave the money with me, and I'll definitely help you make money from money."
"Hey, Duke, I'm not trying to be mean, but you, making money from money? Don't be ridiculous! You should be burning incense if you don't lose it all!"
As Lu Zhong spoke, he noticed Li Rong beside him and said, "General, you should keep it for me. I'm the most reliable person to do it."
"Get out of my way, you big brute! Do you even know what these things are?" Chi Heng waved a hairpin in front of him. "This white jade hairpin is so smooth and lustrous, and the carving style isn't recent either. And this material—I haven't seen anything this good in years. And this butterfly hairpin—it looks like it was a popular style from years ago. The craftsmanship is truly exquisite. I bet it's from the previous dynasty. Giving it to you would be a waste of such precious things."
Lu Zhong was so angry that he glared at the jewelry for a long time, but he couldn't say a word.
Li Rong immediately noticed an antique sandalwood hairpin and picked it up: "I never expected that these two boxes wouldn't have been found during the search. I only sent you to look for them to try your luck. I never thought we would actually find them."
"That's right, it's all thanks to me." Chi Heng glanced at the hairpin in Li Rong's hand and then said, "This one is also good. The sandalwood is calming and nourishing, and the carving on it is exquisite. The little jade drop inlaid in it is also beautiful, rare, and inconspicuous. If someone doesn't know its value, they would probably think it's just an ordinary trinket."
Li Rong naturally knew that sandalwood was good for health, and he took a liking to it at first glance, picked it up and put it in his pocket.
She then picked out some jewelry, bracelets, earrings, and the like that didn't look quite right. She wrapped them in a handkerchief, closed the box, and pushed it forward.
"Here's a box for each of you, take it with you."
"No, you...you...what do you mean?" Chi Heng asked in horror, "Arong, did you hurt your brain this time?"
After saying that, he looked at Lu Zhong beside him and said, "Did you see that? He actually gave me some silver."
Lu Zhong was also stunned: "General, you..."
Li Rong: "You're the ones who say you want it, and you're the ones who say you don't. I think you two are out of your minds."
As he spoke, he said, “Lu Zhong, there are still quite a few places in the capital that need to be taken care of. I could tell when you came last time that you didn’t have any money on you, did you? Here, take this.”
"General, this..."
“This is not for you. Use this money to settle the brothers who have followed me through thick and thin over the years, and their families.” Li Rong said in a deep voice, “I know this is just a drop in the bucket, but it’s better than nothing.”
With red eyes, Lu Zhong knelt down with a thud: "This humble general obeys the order."
The incident at the General's Mansion back then involved tens of thousands of people. As the general said, this amount of money was just a drop in the ocean. However, with this money, many of their brothers who are still slaves no longer have to suffer in that harsh and cold place.
"Hahaha, that Zhao guy only asked me to work for him for a thousand taels of silver. I wonder what he would think if he knew we had a chest of gold."
"Zhao Xiuyuan still found you? Is there any difficulty?" Li Rong looked over.
Lu Zhong curled his lip: "It's all about coercion and bribery. Back then, it was really tough because we didn't have any money. But then the Duke came back, so naturally he couldn't get any advantage for a while."
"If he comes again, you may feign surrender."
"General!" Lu Zhong's eyes widened, his face filled with reluctance: "That Zhao fellow wasn't even worthy to serve you tea and water in the army back then, and now you want me to surrender to him?"
“Zhao Xiuyuan is now quite close to the Regent’s Palace. If you stay close, you might be able to find out some information.” Li Rong said, patting Lu Zhong on the shoulder: “It will be hard work, but it won’t be long.”
Lu Zhong's eyes immediately reddened again, and he rubbed them like a child: "General, really, what's so hard about it? Your words are military orders, and Lu Zhong will obey." Waaah, the general told him he had worked hard! There was finally hope for the future.
As Li Rong spoke, he turned his gaze to Chi Heng again: "Has there been any progress in your investigation?"
Chi Heng tossed the ring back into the box and sighed, "The trail has gone cold again. I was just about to tell you about this today. There's a place I'm afraid you absolutely have to go there."
Li Rong raised his eyebrows slightly and turned his head to look over.
Chi Heng's face grew solemn as he said in a deep voice, "Over the years, I have been secretly investigating the case of embezzling military funds. Lord Lin, who was escorting the funds, and everyone in the entourage at the time were all executed. After so many years of investigation, I have actually found some clues. Before the Lin family was executed, he met with this friend overnight. I don't believe that Lord Lin would leave nothing behind before he died."
(End of this chapter)
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