Chapter 498 : Whereabouts

Two soldiers with pale faces came out of the house clutching their arms. When they saw Kang Donglin, they cried out, “General, that madwoman has dislocated our arms! Please, General, give us justice!” Even in the face of a raid, their audacity was astonishing.

It was also Zijin’s violence that made others honestly search for things in the room, and even when they saw those sparkling and precious jewellery, they dared not touch them.

Yuxi warned, “If you dare to touch anything again, I won’t just dislocate your arm; I’ll take your life. If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try.” She wouldn’t have dared to speak so boldly if Han Jianye hadn’t brought soldiers with him.

Kang Donglin wanted to arrest Zijin, but he didn’t have the strength or ability to do so. Han Jianye had brought 10,000 soldiers, many times his number. Even if Han Jianye had brought new soldiers and he himself brought veterans, he still wouldn’t dare to make a move.

Nothing inappropriate was found in the main courtyard. Du Wenwen and Kang Donglin were unsurprised by this result, as they knew the gold and silver were hidden in the vegetable garden. Searching the entire Yun Residence was just a precaution.

After a while, a soldier ran over and reported to Du Wenshu and Kang Donglin: “General, Du Daren1, a secret passage has been found in the vegetable garden.”

Kang Donglin’s face lit up when he heard the news.

Du Wenshu reflexively glanced up at Yuxi, but seeing no sign of panic on her face, he felt a sense of unease.

Han Jianye was also startled. He looked at Yuxi and asked, “Si Mei2, is there really a secret passage in the vegetable garden?” If the gold and silver were indeed hidden there, he thought there might still be time to escape with Yuxi.

Before Yuxi could speak, Zijin scoffed, “There is no secret passage in the vegetable garden. It’s just a cellar for storing vegetables and grain. I wonder who told the Imperial Commissioner that we’re hiding a large amount of gold and silver there?”

Han Jianye breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Yuxi, let’s go and have a look.” It didn’t matter what was stored there as long as it was not gold and silver.

Yuxi replied, “It’s fine to go there, but don’t enter the cellar.” It smelled awful, so let’s not bother themselves with that.

Han Jianye smiled and said, “Alright.”

The large stone covering the entrance to the cellar was pried open, and Cao De led his men inside. Surprisingly, the cellar didn’t smell bad. It had a well-made ventilation system. However, after rummaging through everything and finding not a single piece of silver, Cao De’s face became quite displeased.

When Cao De and his group emerged from the cellar, they saw Yuxi and Han Jianye’s group guarding the entrance, with Du Wenshu and Kang Donglin standing nearby.

Yuxi sneered, “Didn’t you say you had both witnesses and evidence? Where are the witnesses? Where is the evidence? Show me!”

Cao De looked at Du Wenshu. He had complete faith in Du Wenshu’s sources. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought his men to raid the Yun Residence.

Du Wenshu felt a bitter taste filled his mouth.

Just then, a loud voice rang out, “This matter won’t be resolved unless I get an explanation today. Otherwise, people will think that the Yun family is easy to bully!” As soon as the words were spoken, the speaker walked in.

Seeing Huo Changqing, Yuxi rushed over and asked, “Uncle Huo, why are you here?” He hadn’t fully recovered yet, and she was worried that he might bump into something and get hurt.

Huo Changqing replied, “I’m fine.” Then he turned around and stared at Cao De and Du Wenshu as he continued, “Cao De, Du Wenshu, if you can’t give me a satisfactory answer today, neither of you should think of setting foot outside the Yun Residence. I, Huo Changqing, always keep my word. Don’t believe me? Try me!” The Yun Residence was not a place where anyone could act recklessly.

Seeing the situation, Kang Donglin knew they were defeated. However, he stubbornly insisted, “Cao Daren1, we haven’t finished searching yet. They might be hidden somewhere else!” After all, the Yun Residence couldn’t have just one cellar.

Du Wenshu now realised that his information was wrong. Even if this batch of gold and silver had really been embezzled by Yun Qing, it definitely wouldn’t have been stored in the Yun Residence. Otherwise, Han Shi wouldn’t be so calm.

The entire Yun Mansion was thoroughly searched, but the rumoured gold and silver were nowhere to be found. At this point, Cao De didn’t waste any more time and asked Huo Changqing directly, “What kind of explanation do you want?” Cao De didn’t feel guilty because he had enough evidence to prove that Yun Qing had indeed embezzled that money. Unfortunately, Yun Qing had outsmarted them, making it impossible for them to find the money.

Huo Changqing looked at Yuxi and asked: “What do you think would be the best thing to do?

Yuxi said blankly, “First, you must compensate us for the loss of our Yun residence. I’m not asking for much, just fifty thousand taels of silver.”

Cao De’s heart skipped a beat. 50,000 taels of silver? Not much? That was practically a lion with its mouth wide open3! Du Wenshu interjected, “Madam Yun, we don’t have that much money.”

Cao De asked, “What else?”

Yuxi continued: “Secondly, you must publicly guarantee to allocate the 1.8 million taels of military expenses that are currently overdue upon your return.”

Cao De gasped. She wanted him to write such a guarantee? Regardless of whether the treasury had money or not, he couldn’t agree to that. So, he flatly refused: “Madam Yun, you’re asking for the impossible.”

Yuxi sneered, “Asking for the impossible? Cao De, in the border city, you can deploy troops as you wish, search the military headquarters if you want, and even ransack the Yun Residence if you desire. With your ability, you must have a way to ensure that the Imperial Court allocates the outstanding military funds for this year, right?” She deliberately paused for a moment before continuing, “Or is it that the Imperial Court simply doesn’t want to and intends to brush it aside? But without that money, there’s no way to pay the soldiers’ salaries, and the soldiers in Yu City won’t be able to survive the winter. We can’t let them endure the cold and hunger while defending our nation, can we?”

Cao De stared at Yuxi and asked, “Madam Yun, what exactly do you want to do?”

Yu Xi coldly glanced at Cao De, then swept her gaze across everyone present and said, “You’re asking me what I want to do? I’d rather ask all of you what do you want to do? Never mind that the border city is at war nowadays, a time when unity is essential to resist the enemy. Let’s talk about your eagerness to falsely accuse our General of embezzling a huge sum of money. Who do you want him to make way for?” Without giving Cao De a chance to speak, she continued, “You dare to mobilise troops without a military tally; you dare to raid the residence of a second-rank great general without an Imperial Decree. I’m curious, Cao De, who gave you the audacity?”

Cao De’s face grew slightly disheartened. If they found irrefutable evidence of the gold and silver during the search, he would not only escape punishment but also gain great merit. On the other hand, if they failed to find such evidence, his actions would be considered a serious offence.

Du Wenshu said: “Madam Yun, it’s not that His Highness doesn’t want to allocate the money. It’s just that the treasury is empty, so we want to recover this sum of money.”

Zijin interjected, “So you’re saying that if you can’t recover this money, the Imperial Court won’t release any funds? I heard that Song Guifei4’s birthday banquet a few months ago cost more than 600,000 taels of silver. So there’s money for a birthday celebration but no money to pay for the military to buy supplies for the winter?” She deliberately doubled the actual amount spent on Song Guifei4’s birthday.

Relying on his status as an Imperial Commissioner, Cao De knew that Yun Qing and Yuxi would not dare to lay a hand on him. However, upon hearing Zijin’s words, he broke out in a cold sweat. Hundreds of soldiers were present, and if they believed her words, the consequences would be dire. Cao De asked sternly, “Madam Yun, are you just going to let your maid spread rumours around here?”

Yuxi said, “Whether it’s rumours or the truth, you know better than I do. All right, there’s no need to say any more nonsense. Will you agree to the two conditions I mentioned?”

Cao De sighed. “Madam Yun, I simply cannot agree to these conditions. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to fulfil them.”

Yuxi didn’t want to waste time talking to these people, so she said, “Fine, write the loan note then. If you can’t be the Crown Prince’s master, you can at least be your master, right? Write the loan note in your own name. When the time comes, deliver the money to my Dage5. As it happens, I borrowed a hundred thousand silver from him to buy land, and this money can pay back half of it.”

Cao De asked, “What if I refuse to write it?”

Zijin said, “If you refuse to write it, then be prepared to leave me with one of your arms. Do you think the Yun Residence is a marketplace where you can come and go as you please?” Arguing with such a person was useless.

Jiang Bin looked at the fierce and menacing Zijin and whispered, “Cao Daren1, just write it!” Once the loan note was written, they could simply deny it when they returned to the capital. Han Shi might be dominant in Yu City because Yun Qing was the chief general of the border city, but once they returned to the capital, it would be their territory. If she wanted the money and asked them for it, they could just put her in jail.

Cao De looked at Du Wenshu and asked, “Du Daren1, what do you think?” If it weren’t for Du Wenshu’s convincing words that the gold and silver were hidden in the vegetable garden, he wouldn’t have come. However, this incident made him realise one thing: Yun Qing was straightforward and easy to deal with, but Han Shi was an extremely dangerous person who absolutely could not be left alive. Keeping her around would only bring trouble.

Du Wenshu said, “Just write it!” This time, they had seriously offended both Yun Qing and Han Shi. While Cao De could simply leave and be done with it, he still had to stay behind. One could imagine how challenging the next few days would be for him. In truth, Du Wenshu wasn’t worried about Yun Qing because he was upright and wouldn’t resort to underhanded tactics. However, Han Shi was different; this woman was ruthless and cunning. After offending her this time, he had no idea how she would deal with him.

Cao De felt that, as an Imperial Commissioner, he was genuinely humiliated to the core. But to save his own arm, all he could do was write a loan note, sign it with his full name and seal it with his seal. And that was the end of it.

Cao De and Du Wenshu left the Yun Mansion safely, but Kang Donglin was left behind. Kang Donglin, who was being strangled by Zijin, asked with a hideous expression, “Han Shi, what do you want to do?”

Yuxi paid no attention to Kang Donglin and instead turned to Han Jianye, saying, “Er Ge, you go hand this person over to He Rui!”

Han Jianye left 500 elite soldiers behind and went to the military headquarters with Kang Donglin🗒️. As for Kang Donglin’s subordinates, when Han Jianye said, “Lay down your weapons, and the past will be forgiven”, they did not resist and obediently disarmed. Knowing there was a dead end ahead, why would they still step forward? They weren’t stupid!

With everyone gone, only the people of the residence remained. Only then did Zijin open her mouth. “Madam, why do I feel like I’m watching a grand opera? But this opera isn’t satisfying enough.” Only a few words were exchanged, and there was no fight. It ended before anyone even saw any blood.

Yuxi chuckled and said, “How do you want us to get over this? It’s also because the General doesn’t want to escalate the situation; otherwise, they wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.” Although she said that Yun Qing was pathetic, in fact, Yun Qing was actually a powerful figure with an army of 50,000 under his command, so he was not a pathetic guy! It was just a matter of considerations and his own plans that led him to allow Cao De to enter the residence for a search.

Zijin exclaimed, “Didn’t you say the General was very pathetic?”

Yuxi chuckled and asked, “If I didn’t say that, what should I have said? Should I say that Yun Qing is brilliant and powerful?”

Zijin pursed her lips and said nothing more.