Tianliangyuan

Chapter 181 might be a jinx.

With the traces on the outside cleaned up, Xu Zhaozhao showed no interest in the valuables before her, but simply ordered someone to bring over the small huanghuali box.

This must be the secret that Cheng Yuan most wants to hide, right?

No, it should be said that what's inside is her greatest source of confidence, which makes her believe she's qualified to negotiate with the Loyal King.

The small box was opened, revealing a bronze token inside, which, judging from its appearance, should be half of a token.

There were several pieces of paper underneath the token.

After Xu Zhaozhao looked through them one by one, her eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't show much surprise.

It's just some money and valuables; it's hardly a means of saving one's life.

"Father, I want to take this box with me."

Xu Han waved his hand dismissively: "Do as you please!"

If it weren't for their darling daughter's sharp eyes, how could they have made such a huge windfall?

“Father, I must remind you that anything bearing the imperial seal must be handled with extreme care.”

"Don't worry, I have a way."

Xu Zhaozhao smiled. Her father seemed reckless, but he was actually meticulous and thorough in his work, leaving no room for criticism.

A few days later, Xu Junfeng was ordered to accompany Prince Qi's heir, Li Xian, to the camp outside the city for an inspection. This inspection was actually the emperor's way of seeing how the sons of the nobles behaved after entering the camp, and whether they had disgraced their ancestors.

But then, an unexpected surprise came.

Li Xian and Xu Junfeng gave their first respectful greetings.

"Your Majesty, Commandant Cheng was ordered to lead his men to defend the mountain, while Commandant Su was the attacker. During the battle, an accident occurred. Commandant Cheng slid down the slope and destroyed the branches of several low trees at the original cave entrance, which led to the discovery of this cave and some boxes inside."

After discussing with Xu Junfeng, I ordered a halt to the battle and then had the chests carried out. In total, we found eight chests of copper coins, one chest of gold, two chests of silver, and more than ten chests of jade, calligraphy, paintings, and antiques.

Your humble servant dared to step forward and examine them, and discovered that some of these items originated from the palace; some bore the mark of the Imperial Household Department, while others bore the insignia of the Duke of Ningguo's residence.

Li Xian was still somewhat apprehensive when he said this: "Your Majesty, among those eight boxes of copper coins, two boxes bear the mark of the Duke of Ningguo's mansion. I have already transported these valuables back. I humbly request Your Majesty's decision."

Xu Junfeng, kneeling behind him, didn't speak, but his lips seemed to twitch.

Among these, the least valuable items are probably antiques and calligraphy.

They weren't real antiques, but some of them had palace seals on them, so no one could openly exchange them for money, so they were all handed over.

And more than ten boxes of treasures?

Haha, some large vases, plus some anti-collision measures, and only one in a box, do seem like a lot.

His Majesty was somewhat bewildered upon hearing that there were so many valuables.

But upon further reflection, it became clear that this was very likely the batch that the Cheng family had hidden away back then.

Thinking back to when the Ningguo Duke's mansion was raided, they said that the contents of the property didn't seem to match up, and that a batch of items that had been bestowed upon them by the palace were missing.

Now that the emperor has seen the results compiled by the eunuchs, what else is there that he doesn't understand?

Is the Cheng family so confident that they can make a comeback in the future that they have hidden away a batch of valuables beforehand?

Leaving aside those treasures, just this box of gold and two boxes of silver—how much land could that buy, and how many houses?

In the Daxing Dynasty, gold and silver were not something ordinary people could use at will, nor were they currencies that could circulate in the market. The only currency that truly circulated was copper coins.

These gold and silver items were usually carried by wealthy young men, and they could be directly exchanged for copper coins at the money exchange.

"Li Xian did a good job this time, he made a contribution."

When the eunuch saw His Majesty move slightly, he immediately stepped forward to help him up, but His Majesty flicked his sleeve and strode forward.

Seeing the bright sunshine today, Emperor Yong'an was in a very good mood.

"Oh, right, Xu Junfeng who came along today is also quite good. I'll make a note of him and we can admire him together later."

"Your Majesty is holy."

Xu Han was overjoyed to have handed over the most difficult batch of valuables to His Majesty, who was currently in dire need of money.

Everything was natural and logical, without any visible trace.

Xu Han was very careful in his work. He even ordered someone to bring some fine sand and a fine sieve, and then carefully and evenly sprinkled it on the boxes. However, he made sure to leave handprints on two of the boxes.

If it is later discovered that someone has circulated some of the Cheng family's belongings or imperial gifts, then everything will make sense.

Anyway, all of this has nothing to do with Xu Han.

As for the handprint, although it was there, it was deliberately blurred and covered with a thin layer of fine ash that was almost invisible, making it all seem more real.

Emperor Yong'an later questioned Li Xian privately and confirmed that before they moved the items back, handprints had been found on two boxes, but it seemed that some time had passed and they were no longer clearly visible.

Then, a bunch of roughnecks started moving it, and the handprint naturally disappeared.

“Uncle, although I can’t remember the palm print clearly, I can tell that it was a woman’s hand.”

"Woman? Are you sure?" Emperor Yong'an's eyes turned slightly cold, and he immediately thought of Cheng Yuan, who had returned to the capital.

"Your Majesty, I am not mistaken. That hand is smaller than mine, but the fingers are noticeably thicker. It must belong to a woman who has done manual labor. Or it could be a short man. Otherwise, a normal man would not have such small hands."

Emperor Yong'an understood this as well.

The man's hands are undeniably large, and the handprint is noticeably short, which significantly narrows down the possible locations.

"Understood, you go down first."

At the same time, the loyal king's informant in the palace also delivered the message.

They even found out that when Crown Prince Lee Heon discovered the items, there were handprints on two of the boxes.

The loyal king instinctively shuddered.

This is probably going to be bad!

What he wanted was to obtain the Cheng family's wealth. He intended to seize power, which inevitably required a large sum of money.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have set his sights on Cheng Yuan.

But now it seems that Cheng Yuan is not only not a lucky charm, but may actually be a jinx.

He had grown close to her, though he had kept it a secret, but Madam Jiang had invited Cheng Yuan out as an old acquaintance; what if…

The Prince of Zhong could hardly bear to think about it.

Fortunately, he had his advisors by his side.

“Your Highness need not worry. Among the people Cheng Yuan is closest to in the capital, it should be Qi Yunze, not Your Highness. Therefore, even if His Majesty becomes suspicious of this matter, the first suspect should be the Marquis of Dingnan’s residence.”