Chapter 37

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Soon, someone brought over the paper and ink. Qin Yongzhan printed his finger on it, got the tokens, and immediately started a new round of gambling.

Ms. Zhu was very attentive to Qin Yongzhan, serving him tea and water and giving him a word of encouragement from time to time.

He was stuck between winning and losing, seemingly endlessly.

When he won money, he would laugh loudly and gleefully, and when he lost, he would bawl like a madman.

The doorman standing at the door saw this and shook his head, knowing that some people in here would go crazy by the end of today.

At the same time, a plain-looking brothel was dead silent on the north street in the Imperial City.

The morning was always the quietest time in these places because the guests were all sound asleep after a crazy night. It was the right time for them to catch up on some sleep.

A man in casual clothes quietly sneaked into the brothel and lit charcoal on several corners of the west, and the rolling smoke came from all directions and drifted down the windows into every room.

In her sleep, Ms. Wu was extremely sensitive to the smell. She sniffed a few times before she immediately sat up. “What’s the smell?”

Before she could figure it out, she heard gongs banging outside. “No, no, no! It’s on fire! Someone, put out the fire!”

At once, the building was in a state of chaos. Some people did not even have time to put on clothes. They all ran down.

More people panicked in the smoke and tried frantically to get down, and Ms. Wu was among them.

In such a critical situation, these people only wanted to run for their lives. They didn’t have time to think about putting out the fire.

The drummer saw that the people were almost scattered, and asked a man with a tag on his waist, “Sir, the people are almost split up…”

The man nodded, then five or six people of the same uniform each carried a bucket of oil and poured them everywhere into the building.

Before long, they finished their work, and the man said, “Let’s go!”

Before leaving, he turned his head and threw a small torch on the ground. The fire rose high the second it touched the ground, and instantly the surrounding area became a sea of fire.

The people who had just escaped were still wondering why they didn’t see any fire, and before they figured it out, the building in front of them was engulfed in a blaze.

Screams were heard in all directions. Residents on the street all came out to see the tragic situation. A few people hurriedly prepared buckets of water to put out the fire but were all in vain.

Some smart people had long gone to notify the government, but the government’s men had not yet arrived. The building amid the rolling fire collapsed with a bang. People around had to step further away from it.

Underneath the building was a hole in the ground, looking dark and frightening. The place was immediately abuzz with more heated discussions.

The government officials arrived at this time. Dozens of people started evacuating the residents before they went into the ruins.

In a short time, the leader’s face darkened as his men carried boxes out of the building, one knocked over on the way, revealing shining silver inside.

The crowd was immediately shocked to see this. They didn’t realize that the hole was used to store silver.

They carried out more than a dozen boxes full of silver for the first round of operation. It would be shocking to imagine how many more were left in there.

Some people regretted that they didn’t go down there before the men of the government arrived, or they could at least get something.

In short, the news that the bottom of the building was a bank vault spread fast. In a short time, everyone in the entire Imperial City knew about it.

Li Wangde’s teacup dropped from his hand when he heard his servant talk about this. The top-quality spring tea was scattered all over the floor.

His beard trembled slightly. “Is this true?”

The man answered, “It’s true, sir. Now the entire Imperial City knows about it. Many people were there at the scene to see it, actually.”

Li Wangde calmed himself down and said, “Okay, you can go now.”

He stroked his forehead and was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He knew he couldn’t let this get into his head. There was no way he was going to believe in supernatural stuff.

But the old lady still had a measure of influence on him. He could only associate this with God.

Otherwise, he found it hard to explain how his daughter had been able to foretell the future.

He knew this was not something ordinary.

“But what if it is a coincidence?” he thought.

Thinking about the following two things she said, he was still a little uneasy inside.

He called someone in and said, “Keep an eye on the imperial censor’s residence today, and report back to me immediately if there’s any movement.”

…

It was now at the East Palace.

The man who had just set the fire in the brothel was kneeling in front of Zhao Yi. “Your Highness, the task has been completed, and the total silver from the cellar is about 3,130,000 taels.”

The figure was astronomical.

It was almost half of the treasury’s money, which was staggering.

It took half a day to count the money.

Zhao Yi said, “The Imperial City should have known about this by now. It’s now Censor Wang’s turn.”

The man said, “Then the others…”

Things and plans seemed to be going steadily. Zhao Yi put down his pen. “There is no hurry. Wait for them to bite the bait one by one. It is also time to clean up the scum of the country properly.”

When the person left, Mr. Huang said, “Your Highness, the Ministry of Rites has come over several times today, asking when you will finalize the list of the concubines. There’s no rush with the crown princess, but we need to decide the concubines and side concubines.”

Zhao Yi’s long fingers knocked on the desktop. “Wait until I return from Jiangnan.”

He recalled the chewing face of Li Baojia while eating cakes, froze for a second, and asked, “Where’s Li Baojia?”

He wondered why she didn’t come because she had looked energetic previously.

Mr. Huang said, “It is said that she has caught a cold and is resting at home.”

Zhao Yi wondered why she was so weak as to catch an illness constantly.

He said, “Then let’s go and look this afternoon.”

He wanted to see how the adorable rabbit of a Li Baojia was doing and if she was pretending to be sick.

Huang Gao happily replied and went down to prepare the tonic and medicine.

…

Just past noon, Zhao Yi and Huang Gao arrived at the entrance of the Li family’s residence in casual clothes.

The attendant at the door asked, “May I know your name, sir?”

Mr. Huang said, “Tell your master it’s an old acquaintance. Just tell him to meet me here.”

Li Wangde was in his study, waiting for news of the imperial censor’s residence with anxiety when a servant came down to inform him that someone wanted to see him.

He impatiently waved his hand. “Not today.”

The servant was a little hesitant. “The man said he’s an old acquaintance of master.”

Li Wangde pinched his brow. “Forget it. Tell the man to wait in the main hall.”

When he arrived at the main hall, Zhao Yi turned his back on him to look at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall. He was about to go up and ask questions when he turned around, which almost made Li Wangde fall over in fear.

“Your… Your Highness, why are you here? Please forgive me for being impertinent, but you should tell me in advance so I can make preparations.”

Zhao Yi shook his head and smiled slightly. “I came out for a walk today. It is not convenient to reveal my identity. I happened to pass by your residence and heard that your daughter is feeling unwell, so I thought I’d come and take a look.”

Li Wangde was both excited and frightened. “Well, Your Highness, that would be our blessing to have you here, but I’m afraid today is no good. She’s sick and might infect Your Highness. Why Don’t Your Highness wait till she’s better? By then, she’ll go to the East Palace to visit Your Highness in person.”