Chapter 71 Eavesdropping
In the dead of night, the backyard of the Liu residence was deathly silent.
Although he had just endured a cruel ordeal in the front hall, ostensibly a "welcome feast" but actually a form of "feeding," Liu Deshui was, after all, a seasoned veteran of the officialdom. After being helped back by a maid to rinse his mouth and change his clothes, he immediately reverted to his cunning demeanor.
At that moment, he dismissed his attendants and, alone, carried a lantern and sneaked towards the study.
On a rooftop not far from him, two dark figures, like two large bats, silently crouched on the tiles.
"Your Highness," Jiang Mianmian lowered her voice and whispered in Shen Jin's ear, "Aren't we...doing things like this a bit like thieves?"
Shen Jin, dressed in black, glanced at her and corrected her, "This is called investigating a case. Besides... you insisted on dragging me here."
[Tch, so hypocritical.]
[You clearly wanted to catch them in the act, but you insisted on pretending that 'I'm just playing along.']
[However... this fat Liu is up so late at night, he must be moving stolen goods or destroying evidence! This is a cliché that's been shown to death on TV!]
Jiang Mianmian lay on the roof, her posture unseemly, but her eyes were unusually sharp.
As a superhuman who awakened in the apocalypse, her physical abilities were comprehensively enhanced. Not only was she incredibly strong and had a keen sense of smell, but her hearing and vision were also far superior to ordinary people. In the darkness of the night, Liu Deshui's every move was as clear to her as if he were wearing night vision goggles.
"He went into the study."
Jiang Mianmian pointed down, "Let's go eavesdrop!"
Shen Jin shook his head helplessly, put his arm around her waist, and with a sway, the two of them silently drifted down to the back window of the study like falling leaves.
Jiang Mianmian skillfully stretched out her finger and poked a hole in the window paper.
Through the small hole, one could see Liu Deshui pacing around the study, his brow beaded with sweat.
"It's over...it's really over this time..."
As Liu Deshui wiped his sweat, he muttered to himself, "That regent is a ruthless character, and that queen is an even madwoman! If they find out about the accounts... I'll lose my head!"
"No! The ledgers can't stay here! They have to be moved! They have to be burned!"
As he spoke, he lunged toward a display cabinet behind the bookshelf.
Jiang Mianmian's eyes lit up.
[Here it comes! The classic part! The secret lies in the treasure vault!]
Liu Deshui reached out and turned an inconspicuous vase.
"Clang clang—"
A series of mechanical clicks rang out. The display cabinet slowly slid aside, revealing... a wall behind it?
Jiang Mianmian was stunned.
[A wall? No hidden compartment? Is this fat guy playing a trick on us?]
Liu Deshui seemed to be stunned for a moment, then as if he remembered something, he lay down on the ground and scratched at the base of the wall.
A floor tile was lifted up.
A dark hole was revealed.
"It's really well hidden," Shen Jin whispered in Jiang Mianmian's ear. "It's even underground."
Liu Deshui pulled an iron box from the cave, clutching it tightly to his chest, a ferocious and greedy smile spreading across his face:
"As long as the ledger is there, the people above have to protect me! As long as I don't speak up, no one can find out where those 50,000 taels of silver went!"
"Hmph, so what if he's the Regent? Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake! Just wait until I send this thing out..."
He was having a wonderful dream when suddenly, a disdainful sneer came from outside the window.
"Send them out? Send them where? To the underworld?"
Liu Deshui froze, then whirled around: "Who?!"
"Bang--!"
The window was violently kicked open, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere.
Two dark figures leaped in like the Black and White Impermanence.
Jiang Mianmian dusted off her hands, looked at Liu Deshui who was slumped on the ground in fright, and smiled brightly:
"Lord Liu, why are you digging a tunnel here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Are you searching for your conscience? Oh no, you have no conscience."
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Liu Deshui was terrified when he saw Shen Jin's icy face. He instinctively hid the iron box behind his back, stammering, "N-nothing! I was just... just sorting through old things!"
"Old things?"
Shen Jin stepped forward, his eyes sharp as knives. "Is what Lord Liu is holding in his arms the imperial pardon bestowed by the late emperor? If so, then I shall pay my respects to it properly."
"No...no..." Liu Deshui was sweating profusely.
"Since it's not, then bring it here."
Jiang Mianmian stretched out her hand and beckoned with her finger, "Don't force me to take it by force. You know I have a strong hand, and if I accidentally crush your arm, I'd feel really bad."
Liu Deshui shuddered as he recalled the plate of fish that had been shoved onto his face at the banquet, and the bear paw that had nearly choked him to death.
But he still refused to let go.
This is his lifeline!
"Your Highness! These are my personal belongings! Inside are... are the poems I wrote for my deceased wife! Even though Your Highness is the Regent, you cannot arbitrarily seize the personal belongings of your subjects, can you?"
Liu Deshui, with his neck stiff, attempted to use moral blackmail.
"A poem of mourning?"
Jiang Mianmian was delighted.
[Keep making things up! If your deceased wife knew you were using her as a shield, she'd be turning in her grave!]
Without wasting words, she closed her eyes and activated her special ability—"sound localization".
Rapid breathing, heart rate 180.
The box makes a rustling sound when it shakes; it's very thick, and there's more than one book inside.
[And... there seems to be something else in the hidden compartment of this box? It sounds like... gold bars?]
Jiang Mianmian opened her eyes, her gaze locking precisely onto the iron box.
"Lord Liu, your poem of mourning is quite thick, isn't it? And rather heavy too?"
She stepped forward and, without giving Liu Deshui a chance to react, reached out and grabbed him.
"Give it to me!"
Liu Deshui clung to it desperately, crying, "No! This is my life!"
The two began a tug-of-war.
Shen Jin watched from the side, his brows slightly furrowed.
What kind of behavior is it to get involved with someone like that?
"let go."
Shen Jin drew his soft sword from his waist, the tip pointing directly at Liu Deshui's wrist. "I'll count to three. One..."
"two……"
Before he could even count to three, Liu Deshui screamed and released his grip as if he had been electrocuted.
Jiang Mianmian hugged the box, took a step back, and opened it triumphantly.
really.
Inside, several account books were neatly stacked, each recording the whereabouts of every disaster relief fund since the floods in Jiangnan, as well as... his correspondence with certain important figures in the capital.
Beneath the ledger, there was a layer of glittering yellow croakers.
"Ha! Good heavens!"
Jiang Mianmian picked up a gold bar and took a bite. "Real gold! Lord Liu, is your elegy gilded? How much does this cost?"
[We've struck it rich! Would you call this an unexpected windfall?]
[Confiscated! It must be confiscated! But... could you leave me one as a small token of my appreciation?]
Shen Jin saw through her thoughts and gave her a helpless look.
"These gold bars will be used for disaster relief."
Jiang Mianmian pouted: [You're such a cheapskate.]
Shen Jin picked up an account book, casually flipped through a couple of pages, and his face grew increasingly dark.
"What a Liu Deshui!"
"What a fine example of officialdom in Jiangnan."
He closed the ledger, his voice as cold as if it came from the deepest hell, "Embezzling 100,000 taels of disaster relief funds, reselling 3,000 shi of grain, colluding with unscrupulous merchants to inflate rice prices... Each of these offenses is enough to chop off your head ten times over!"
Liu Deshui collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.
It's over.
The evidence is irrefutable.
"Your Highness...Your Highness, spare my life! I was forced into this! It was someone above...someone above ordered me to do this!"
Liu Deshui began frantically kowtowing, trying to shift the blame.
"Instructed?"
Shen Jin sneered, "Keep these words to the Dali Temple."
"Shadow One!"
"exist!"
Shadow One jumped in through the window.
"Take Liu Deshui away and keep him under strict guard. Seize everything in this mansion, every single tree and blade of grass. And these account books..."
Shen Jin handed the account book to Jiang Mianmian, saying, "Princess, please keep it safe. I trust you the most."
Jiang Mianmian took the ledger, feeling quite pleased with herself.
"Don't worry? Of course! It's safer with me than with the national treasury! Because I have personal storage space!"
Who would have thought that crucial evidence would lie with a princess who seemed only interested in eating?
"Alright, that's a wrap!"
Jiang Mianmian clapped her hands and yawned. "Let's go, Your Highness, let's go back to sleep. Tomorrow... we still have to open the granaries and distribute the grain."
Now that we have the ledgers and the corrupt officials have been caught, the next step is to ensure that the starving people have a full meal.
Shen Jin looked at her, who was tired but full of energy, and a hint of tenderness flashed in his eyes.
"Okay. Go back to sleep."
He took her hand and led her out of the study, which reeked of sin and money.
Under the moonlight, their shadows nestled together.
Although the waters of Jiangnan are still murky, and the road ahead remains treacherous.
But once they grasp this thread, they will eventually untangle this mess.
As for the 50,000 taels of silver from the "sunken ship"...
Jiang Mianmian touched the space in her sleeve and revealed a sly smile.
Tomorrow, it's time to "recover" them and give the people of Jiangnan a big surprise!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com