Chapter 93 Because I Got Back
He didn't know how to describe the feeling.
Xiao Yu used to be really scary. He was the typical tyrant, without any humanity at all. He was cold and icy. He was always scared every time he saw Xiao Yu.
If you're not careful, you'll be dragged out and beheaded.
But now that feeling is gone.
Although Xiao Yu is still very cold and has a bad temper, he seems to have his own thoughts and will not kill people at every turn. Even if someone offends him, he will deal with it as appropriate.
Not as cold-blooded as before.
Liu Zhiyuan seemed to be lost in thought.
"When did you begin to notice the changes in him?"
"About two months ago." Zhou Kang said.
Almost two months ago, that was when she first came in.
"Is there a possibility that Xiao Yu was just following the plot before? After all, he is a character in a novel. His personality and experiences were all arranged by the original author. He can only act according to the development of the original work."
"Yes! That's the feeling!" Zhou Kang slapped his thigh.
In the past, Xiao Yu seemed to have no thoughts of his own and just followed the plot of the original novel step by step, so he was particularly scared.
Because he knew what the villain boss in the original novel was like, he was always trembling with fear every time he saw Xiao Yu, for fear of angering him.
"Because something happened that was inconsistent with the original work, Xiao Yu could no longer follow the direction of the original work, so he had his own thoughts." Liu Zhiyuan speculated.
Xiao Yu is like a machine with a program set by someone. He has been following the established program step by step. However, suddenly the program is interfered with and conflicts with the route he originally set. The program is canceled, and he begins to "come alive", with his own thoughts, becoming a living person, no longer a character described by the author in the book.
The more Liu Zhiyuan thought about it, the more likely this was. The first time she saw Xiao Yu when she came through, he looked as cold as a background board.
But now Xiao Yu is more flesh and blood, and he has a strong breath of life.
Especially every time when I was so angry at her that I jumped up and down, that kind of anger and helplessness was so real.
Zhou Kang also agreed with Liu Zhiyuan's statement, but he was very confused.
"Then what happened to Xiao Yu that doesn't match the original novel?"
Liu Zhiyuan coughed, probably because of her.
According to the original story line, she should have been beaten to death, but she reloaded the game and did not die.
Moreover, Xiao Yu discovered something unusual about her, which made him wary of her and also interested in her.
This disrupted Xiao Yu's originally planned route, and he "awakened".
Now this Xiao Yu is the real Xiao Yu, not the Xiao Yu arranged by others.
Therefore, even the settings in the book can be changed.
The key in her father's hand may not be the only one.
"Maybe it's because I didn't die that the plot went astray." Liu Zhiyuan said vaguely.
"Now is not the time to talk about that. Let's get back to my father's case. It shows that the settings in the book are not static."
"But you also said that Xiao Yu's setting was changed because something happened that didn't match the original novel. However, the case of Lord Liu embezzling disaster funds developed in the same way as the original novel. Moreover, there really is only one key. The master of the mechanism died more than ten years ago. It's impossible that he hid a key more than ten years ago, gave it to someone else, and then used it more than ten years later."
What he said makes sense.
Liu Zhiyuan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Two million taels of silver would fill a whole room. How could my father transport it away without anyone noticing?"
"So he was implicated in a case of forming a clique for personal gain. He collaborated with other officials to steal disaster relief funds."
Liu Zhiyuan, "..."
This is getting more and more ridiculous.
"Has my father ever left the key? Could it have been stolen that night and returned after the door was opened?"
"I asked Lord Liu about this, and he said he never leaves it and always carries it close to him."
"Why did my father suddenly count the silver?"
"Lord Liu said that Minister Li asked him to count the numbers again, fearing there might be errors. But I asked Minister Li, and he said he hadn't given any instructions and was unaware of them."
Liu Zhiyuan frowned, "Someone is lying."
"That's for sure." The two people's statements were inconsistent, so one of them must be lying.
"My father wouldn't lie, it must be Minister Li who lied."
Liu Zhiyuan thought of Minister Li and his son Li Yingjun whom he saw outside the palace this morning. They were obviously not good people.
Zhou Kang nodded. He also felt that Minister Li was lying, but it was useless and he needed evidence.
The only key is in Liu Zhongyuan's hands, and he is the most suspicious.
"Don't try to guess," Zhou Kang said directly. "I know what happened. The two million taels of silver were taken by Minister Li. He's Prime Minister Chen's man. The silver eventually ended up with Prime Minister Chen, who then sent it to the Northwest Army, or to his eldest son, to raise his own private army."
Although the original novel did not explain the whereabouts of the two million taels of silver, the Northwest General suddenly received a large sum of military pay, which must have been the two million taels of silver.
But in the end, the military pay fell into the hands of the male protagonist and became his first pot of gold for recruiting soldiers.
Zhou Kang didn't dare to say this because he was afraid of being beaten to death by Liu Zhiyuan if he were to be reincarnated as the male protagonist.
Liu Zhiyuan, "..."
"You know why don't you check it out?"
"I know, but how can we investigate without evidence? The key is in the hands of Lord Liu. How did Minister Li and Prime Minister Chen open the door and take the silver away? We need evidence."
This is not a modern society where you can check surveillance!
Liu Zhiyuan's face was cold, and a question suddenly occurred to him, "What time did my father finish counting the money?"
"Four in the morning."
There was so much silver and money that it filled the entire treasury. It was very troublesome to count it and would take at least several hours.
So it was already four in the morning when the inventory was completed.
"Then what time will Wang Zheng come to take over?"
"Around seven in the morning."
"How long does it take to get from the Ministry of Revenue's Treasury to the Liu Mansion?"
"More than half an hour."
Liu Zhiyuan, "..."
She looked at Zhou Kang speechlessly, "Don't you think this is ridiculous? There are only three hours between four and seven, and then it takes more than half an hour to get back to Liu Mansion."
In other words, if someone stole the key from her father to open the door and then put it back, it would take at most two hours to move the silver.
Such a large warehouse can be moved and transported away in two hours?
It can’t be shipped that fast if we fly it here, there won’t be enough time to load it!
The means of transportation in ancient times was horse-drawn carriages, and it took many horse-drawn carriages to pull something.
How could no one notice such a big commotion?
Zhou Kang shrugged. "I've noticed this suspicion, but as I said, without evidence, I can't unravel the whole story."
Therefore, the only explanation is that Liu Zhongyuan embezzled the goods and colluded with other officials to transfer the items during the inventory that night.
"Those two million taels of silver may have long been gone from the treasury." Liu Zhiyuan said, this was the only explanation.
"Impossible. It was your father who counted the silver. How could he not know whether it was there or not? The whole vault was burned down, and there was no silver inside."
This is the biggest doubt and also the point that will ultimately kill Liu Zhongyuan.
The melting point of silver is 961.93 degrees Celsius, and it cannot be melted by ordinary fire.
To take a step back, if the arsonist used a special high-temperature fire, the silver would remain in the silver vault after being melted.
It's impossible to disappear completely.
Then it could only be Liu Zhongyuan who took it away.
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