Chapter 45: Stolen Silver Zhao Huaixu's breath burned her neck: "Just...
Fang Yilan opened her mouth, words on the tip of her tongue, but what finally came out was: "If anyone gets killed here, I won't sit idly by and watch."
Zhao Huaixu chuckled. Yes, the lives of all people in the world are more important than hers. She is just one of them.
"Let's go. The water level is still rising. It's too dangerous to stay on the shore." Fang Yilan said no more and reached out to pull him up.
Zhao Huaixu stood up with the strength, but his steps were still unsteady. Perhaps it was instinct, or perhaps it was habit, his hand reached out unconsciously and grabbed the corner of Fang Yilan's clothes, just like when they were together before, with a sense of helplessness and dependence.
Looking at his sickly and weak appearance, Fang Yilan swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and said nothing more.
Jiaoyue was already struggling to carry Fang Yilan across the river, and it was obvious she couldn't carry two more. Fang Yilan had no choice but to pull on the reins and lead Zhao Huaixu to higher ground, hoping to see if there was another way to cross the river.
The terrain here is steep and low, surrounded only by naturally formed hillsides of rock. The land is barren and unsuitable for farming, resulting in a sparse population. As far as the eye can see, there's not a single farmhouse, only barren fields and tangled weeds. Two men and a horse climbed up the mountain path. A clear stream gurgled down the side of the mountain, and a floating white light rushed towards them.
Zhao Huaixu took it down and saw that it was a white slip of paper with words faintly written on it: "National treasury disburses silver for disaster relief, fifty...
Fang Yilan looked at the half-yellowed seal with surprise in his eyes: "This looks like the seal paper that Emperor Jingwen used to send disaster relief money. How could it appear in this desolate wilderness?"
When Zhao Huaixu heard the name of Emperor Jingwen, his expression was full of sarcasm. He smiled and repeated the question: "Yes, why are you here?"
The two of them continued walking along the direction of the stream. When they were almost at the top of the mountain, they found a cave tightly covered by branches and vines. It was obvious that the cave was intentionally covered up by someone.
Fang Yilan used his sword to split a small hole that was only big enough for one person to pass through. He patted Jiaoyue's neck, asked it to wait here for a while, and then looked at Zhao Huaixu and walked in.
The cave was deep and dark, a damp air blowing inward. The walls were covered in moss, making them slippery to the touch. All he could hear was the stream flowing to his left and the sound of water dripping in the distance. Zhao Huaixu took out his flint and found two or three drier branches in the cave. He lit them and dried them, finally gaining a clearer view of the winding road ahead.
The further they went, the more the mountain walls on both sides seemed to be slowly approaching, and Zhao Huaixu had to hunch over slightly to pass through.
Fang Yilan stepped on something that made a creaking sound. When the firelight shone on it, he saw several broken wooden boards.
She subconsciously reached out and groped for the mountain wall. The rough stone wall scratched her palm, and she felt a bumpy dent. "What is this?"
She turned her head and looked at Zhao Huaixu.
Zhao Huaixu came closer, holding a fire stick, and examined the dent carefully: "There must be a mechanism here."
As he spoke, he pushed the dent hard. With a "creak", the mountain wall opened to one side, revealing the secret room behind it. A stale smell of moldy wood hit his face.
In the dim light of the fire, I could see dozens of wooden boxes placed in the center of the chamber. Most of the yellowed seals had been broken and scattered haphazardly. The top few boxes were empty, their lids wide open. Some of the boxes below seemed to have only been stripped of several layers of silver and money, not completely looted. Some silver ingots still remained at the bottom of the boxes.
Fang Yilan picked up the seal on the ground. It said: The national treasury disburses silver for disaster relief, 400,000 silver ingots of 50 taels each, sealed on May 3rd, the sixth year of Chengye.
He Mingzhi, the Minister of Revenue, the official in charge of enfeoffment
Yuan Jianian, Junior Secretary of the Ministry of War
Fang Yilan squatted down and looked carefully. There were some footprints scattered on the ground, of different sizes and shapes. It seemed that a group of people had passed by here.
Zhao Huaixu pulled the fire stick closer.
Fang Yilan touched the mud print on the ground again, which was still half wet. "The footprints are still very clear. Someone must have been here not long ago, otherwise the seal wouldn't have been washed out and found by us."
She stood up again and began to count the boxes. Judging from the number of boxes, there were at least five million taels stored here.
Zhao Huaixu saw through it clearly: "So, the money for disaster relief was not used and was stored here. The grain and grass sent to the northwest back then was most likely transported here. This also matches what Lu Qi said."
Fang Yilan touched his chin with the back of his hand and expressed his doubts: "But the amount of money doesn't match."
Why is there only five million taels of silver here? Even if we include the batch of official silver found in the Jinyu Restaurant in Shangjing, the number is still far from enough.
Fang Yilan pondered for a moment and added, "Could the remaining money have been transferred elsewhere? Or perhaps it was embezzled by officials in the capital?"
Zhao Huaixu smiled, but his smile was filled with endless coldness: "It is also possible that from the beginning, the silver money was not as much as 20 million taels."
Fang Yilan had not expected that he had such strong hostility towards Emperor Jingwen. It could not be explained by the ordinary disagreements between father and son. Instead, it was more like an enemy.
Thinking about it carefully, Zhao Huaixu was sent out of the palace at a young age and suffered abuse in Xiling, so it was understandable that he was dissatisfied with Emperor Jingwen. However, they had not seen each other for many years, and Zhao Huaixu knew Emperor Jingwen's style of behavior and personality very well.
According to her previous speculation, the mastermind behind this was most likely the big man behind He Huaijiu, who had reached some kind of deal with Liang Qian back then.
After all, Wenbin City was facing a severe food shortage at the time. Five million taels of silver seemed like a huge sum, but it was not enough to repair the dikes and city walls while also purchasing food to fill the gap in people's livelihoods. If Liang Qian had refused to go along with the corrupt, even the five million taels would have been difficult for him to obtain.
Fang Yilan took off a complete seal, put it away, and left the secret room with Zhao Huaixu.
The two men followed the messy footprints. Obviously, there was more road ahead in the cave. They looked at each other and walked deeper into the cave.
The air around them grew increasingly cold and damp, and condensation on the walls kept rolling down, the dripping sound still clear amidst the clatter of the water. Unsettling rocks and slippery mud pits were everywhere, and the slightest carelessness could easily lead to bumping into them.
Not long after walking, a burst of voices came through the humid air, as if someone was arguing, the voices sometimes high and sometimes low.
Fang Yilan and the other person immediately stopped, extinguished the fire, and approached carefully.
In the dim light, they spotted several figures swaying ahead. They stood on the banks of an underground river. Compared to the surging torrent outside, the surface of the river here was only slightly rippled. Through the thin layer of mist, they could faintly see a glimmer of light coming from the other side of the river, clearly indicating another exit.
"These things must be moved away quickly. Fang Yilan is already nearby. Once she finds this place, Lord Liang will be finished!" One of them lowered his voice, his tone full of worry.
Another voice, filled with disdain, snorted coldly, "So what if we're discovered! If Lord Liang hadn't agreed to accept the stolen money, why would those crooked officials have agreed to give us the food and fodder back then?"
"Keep your voice down!" The man from before hurriedly interrupted the big man, his voice filled with anxiety and anger. "When have those corrupt officials from the capital ever cared about our lives? Every time they send one or two high-ranking officials, they pretend to be concerned about our well-being. It's like the cat crying over the rat. It's simply disgusting!"
A weak voice sounded: "But... General Fang has been helping us personally..."
"Oh, so naive! If she knew that the grain from the northwest was delivered to Wenbin, and that we were all accomplices in the death of his brother, she would want to massacre the entire city of Wenbin!"
"Alright, stop chatting. Now that you've rested enough, let's get moving the boxes." A slightly tired voice interrupted the quarrel. "Move more quickly. Don't fall down like you did just now!"
Everyone stopped talking. After that, a few of them carried a few boxes, lifted them above their heads, and slowly moved towards the light.
Zhao Huaixu tilted her head, the dim light and shadows intertwining on her face, making her expression somewhat unclear. Her eyes contained sadness and confusion, but not hatred.
"Don't you hate it?" Zhao Huaixu couldn't help but ask softly.
Fang Yilan turned her head, her eyes clear and bright, like a pure spring untainted by impurities. "Hate them? How could they have a choice? This kind of thing is never a choice. It's just a way for the royal family to manipulate the people's hearts and minds."
"You shouldn't hate them even if you want to," she added softly.
Zhao Huaixu's eyes became clearer, and he stared at Fang Yilan blankly.
"Okay, I'll go down to the river and take a look at the situation. It looks like we can take Jiaoyue out of here." Fang Yilan saw that several people had left the bright place, so she pretended to walk towards the river.
"I'll go," Zhao Huaixu said with concern, "It's too dim here, and you're injured."
Fang Yilan didn't care what he said. She always had her own ideas. She had already taken the lead and slowly walked into the water.
After confirming that the river was safe and would not pose a threat to Jiaoyue, she quickly returned to the cave entrance. Jiaoyue was paddling her hooves anxiously. Fang Yilan gently stroked Jiaoyue's neck to calm her emotions, and then carefully led Jiaoyue, and the two walked towards the exit opposite the dark river.
After exiting the cave, the view suddenly opened up. They had indeed bypassed the flood path. Without stopping for long, the two men and their horse headed straight for the resettlement site.
"General!" Xunyun had excellent eyesight and was the first to discover Fang Yilan and Zhao Huaixu.
Fang Yilan smiled and responded to her, then said, "Go call Mr. Zhou, I have something important to discuss with him."
Xunyun accepted the order, nodded neatly, mounted his horse and left.
After giving Xunyun his instructions, Fang Yilan turned around and was about to speak to Zhao Huai: "Your Highness, we are safe now. How about..."
She had only said half of her words when the slender figure beside her fell towards her without warning.
Come again?
But apart from her, no one dared to take it, but...she couldn't just watch the noble prince fall to the ground like that.
Fang Yilan had no choice but to stretch out her hands to take it. Her fingertips could clearly feel his bony bones through his clothes, but she found that he had lost so much weight in just a few months.
Zhao Huaixu leaned on her shoulder, his breath burning her neck: "Can't you just have some pity on me?"
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The author has something to say: Yu Youa, Lanbao is such a tough guy, isn’t it enough that he is soft-hearted towards you!
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