Impératrice douairière Xiaoxuan

Chapitre 37

"Silk... just the Lingyan silk alone has been overstated by at least tens of thousands of taels of silver, not to mention the others." Nangong Ruoxu casually flipped through the pages and couldn't help but shake his head, saying, "Lord Fan is truly insatiable; he's gone too far..."

Zhan Zhao's brows furrowed even more: "It seems that the Imperial Textile Bureau has amassed over a million taels of silver in Suzhou this year."

“It’s definitely more than that. This is just the number on the books. With all the layers of exploitation, it’s at least this much.” Nangong Ruoxu spread out five fingers. “Just the amount taken from us big households every year is hundreds of thousands.”

"Do you also send silver to the Imperial Textile Bureau every year?" Mo Yan asked.

"What can we do if we don't hand it over? If the government wants to make things difficult for you, there are plenty of excuses. Are we supposed to rebel?" Nangong Ruoxu smiled bitterly. "That would truly be a case of officials forcing the people to rebel. Unfortunately, how many people would believe that?"

Zhan Zhao stood up, put away the account book, rewrapped it, and said, "Thank you. Please don't mention today's events to anyone else, Brother Nangong. I thank you in advance!"

"Don't worry, Lord Zhan," Nangong Ruoxu said, standing up as well.

"Sister, let's go first," Mo Yan said to Ning Wangshu. "We still need to return the account book tonight."

Ning Wangshu reached out and tidied a stray strand of hair that had gotten out of place: "Be careful."

"Brother-in-law, take care!" She smiled mischievously at Nangong Ruoxu, "When there's a wedding banquet, remember me."

"Farewell!"

Zhan Zhao bowed slightly, then turned and left with Mo Yan.

"The study has already burned down. Even if the account books are to be returned, where will they be put?" Mo Yan asked as soon as they left the Nangong family residence. "Besides, these are old accounts from years ago. Even if the new textile commissioner is taking over, they shouldn't be checking these old accounts, right?"

Zhan Zhao remained silent, lost in thought. Just now at the Nangong family residence, he had heard Nangong Ruoxu casually expose the shady dealings in the account books, revealing that the Imperial Textile Bureau embezzled at least five million taels of silver annually—an outrageous sum indeed. And this was merely a small Imperial Textile Bureau…

Seeing that he didn't answer, Mo Yan kicked some pebbles on the road for a while before saying, "Don't think about it. I've said it before: most officials only think about how to plunder the people's wealth and don't care about the lives of ordinary people. You're not just finding out today, so why make yourself suffer?"

"Do you know what I'm thinking?" Zhan Zhao looked at her.

"Your brow is furrowed like a lump of iron; it's obvious at a glance." She bent down to look for pebbles, then suddenly pushed off with her foot, laughing, "Look for the hidden weapon!"

She kicked a small pebble, sending it hurtling towards Zhan Zhao's left shoulder.

He merely turned slightly to the side, and a pebble flew past his ear.

"The kid's kung fu is pretty good. In two years, he'll be another extraordinary figure in the martial arts world." Mo Yan stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder with a mature and prudent expression.

Zhan Zhao was both amused and exasperated: "I am unworthy of such praise."

The two looked at each other, and Mo Yan burst into laughter.

“My master used to praise us like that all the time,” she said nostalgically, “telling me to practice hard, two years after two years…”

"And then?" Zhan Zhao smiled.

"Later, my second brother scolded me for being stupid, saying that I was like a donkey being led by a carrot."

"..."

Zhan Zhao smiled faintly, a smile tinged with bitterness. Thinking of himself, wasn't he just like her, wholeheartedly wanting to protect a piece of land, yet finding it so difficult and unattainable?

Mo Yan skipped and hopped forward with her hands behind her back, her voice drifting over: "After that, I became much lazier... Actually, thinking about it now, I think having radishes is better than not having them."

Behind her, Zhan Zhao followed slowly, his gloom gradually dissipating: things can never go as planned, but let's strive to have a clear conscience.

The account books they have are fake; the real account books should still be in the Bai residence.

In the stillness of the night, Zhan Zhao stood quietly in the shadows of the artificial rock in the Bai residence, while Mo Yan leaned against the rock, staring listlessly at the moon overhead.

They were waiting for the lights in the small building to go out.

Last time, due to time constraints, they couldn't investigate thoroughly, so they had to come back late at night. Since it was Bai Yingyu who burned down the study, she must have hidden away so many of the half-truthful account books.

"It's going to be windy tomorrow," Mo Yan muttered to herself.

Zhan Zhao looked up; the moon was surrounded by a hazy halo. A halo around the moon foretells wind, and dampness on the foundation foretells rain—a wind was indeed brewing.

At that moment, the lights in the small building flickered and then went out.

The two waited for nearly an hour until the person inside the building was sound asleep.

“There are two downstairs and one upstairs accompanying Bai Yingyu.” Mo Yan had noticed the candlelight and shadows earlier. Two maids were staying in the side room downstairs, and another maid was sleeping upstairs with Bai Yingyu.

Zhan Zhao nodded: "I'll go downstairs." There were too many things in the young lady's house upstairs, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to rummage through her clothes.

Mo Yan used her small silver hairpin to open the window, and the two of them jumped inside. Zhan Zhao first pressed the pressure points on the two maids to put them to sleep, then gestured to Mo Yan, indicating that she should go upstairs and not hurt anyone.

She nodded impatiently and lightly ascended the stairs with cat-like steps.

Upstairs, incense was lit, but the scent was a bit too strong for Mo Yan's sensitive nose, making her feel itchy and wanting to sneeze.

Behind the embroidered curtain, one could see a maid sleeping on a couch beside the bed, her breathing slightly heavy, already fast asleep. The layers of silk curtains hung low, obscuring Bai Yingyu from view.

Following the same pattern, Mo Yan first pressed the sleeping acupoint of the maid, then lifted the bed curtain to prepare to press the sleeping acupoint of Bai Yingyu.

Unexpectedly, as the curtains were drawn, the moonlight shining through the window revealed Bai Yingyu's bright eyes staring at Mo Yan in utter astonishment.

Mo Yan was also startled; it was already late at night, and she hadn't expected that Mo Yan was still awake.

"Smack!"

A loud, crisp sound rang out clearly in the quiet night. Zhan Zhao was startled and rushed upstairs, where he saw Mo Yan angrily covering her face and glaring at the person on the bed.

Bai Yingyu was still lying in bed, her eyes wide open, unable to move, and unable to utter a word even when she tried to open her mouth. It seemed that Mo Yan had also struck Bai Yingyu's mute acupoint.

"What's wrong?" Zhan Zhao asked in a low voice.