Chapter 87: An Audacious Haul of Nine Hundred Thousand Taels

“Is that all you want, General Chu?”
Shen Zhao thought Du Qi’an was asking if she only wanted that much silver.
The Du clan truly possessed immense wealth; the young master didn’t even bat an eye at forty thousand taels.
Since that was the case…
She would simply ask for a bit more.
“In addition, there’s a compensation fee of fifty thousand taels, making a total of ninety thousand taels.”
Du Qi’an was stunned. What compensation fee warranted fifty thousand taels? Was she trying to bleed the Du clan dry?
He raised his voice sharply. “What? Ninety thousand taels? Why don’t you just rob me, General Chu?”
Shen Zhao’s gaze turned cold and impassive. What now? Wasn’t it he who just asked if that was all she wanted? She had only added a little, yet suddenly he was unwilling.
Was he toying with her?
“It seems Master Du has no sincerity at all. In that case, please go to the mass grave and look for your uncle. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find him someday!”
Du Qi’an sprang to his feet, gripping the edge of the table tightly.
His enchanting eyes now burned with a flicker of fire.
A threat—Chu was blatantly threatening him.
When had he ever suffered such indignity?
This wretched task—whether he wanted to do it or not, he had no choice.
Grinding his teeth so fiercely he nearly bit through them, he spat, “Fine! Ninety thousand taels it is! I hope General Chu will keep her word and release the people of the Du clan.”
Ninety thousand taels was no small sum; though it wouldn’t shake the foundation of the Du clan, it was a fierce blow nonetheless.
She really dared take advantage of the situation, demanding so much silver without fear of being crushed by it.
“Master Du, don’t be hasty. Please, take a seat.” Having extorted ninety thousand taels, Shen Zhao’s attitude toward Du Qi’an softened somewhat.
Du Qi’an endured, vowing silently to make Chu pay one day, and sat back down, ready to sign his name and affix his seal.
Seeing this, Shen Zhao immediately spoke up to stop him. “Master Du, what are you doing?”
Du Qi’an shot Shen Zhao a look full of annoyance. Was she blind?
Could she not see he was about to sign and seal the document as she requested?
And yet she asked! Was she deliberately humiliating him?
Despicable, shameless villain!
With a forced smile and a sarcastic tone, he replied, “Naturally, I’m sealing it as the general requested.”
But just as Du Qi’an’s pen was about to fall, Shen Zhao called out again, “Wait!”

Now Du Qi’an was on the verge of losing his composure. Why was someone so infuriating?
Why stop him again?
Had she not extorted enough from the Du clan with ninety thousand taels? What more did she want?
“Is General Chu playing games with me?”
“Master Du, do not judge a gentleman by your own petty standards. How have I played games with you?
I haven’t finished speaking yet, and you’re in such a rush to seal the document. How will we continue with the remaining clauses? Come, let’s proceed.”
Du Qi’an’s eyes widened instantly.
It wasn’t finished! There was more!
Wasn’t she being too excessive?
This document—he would sign it!
Du Kang, all the indignities I suffer today are thanks to you. Do not let me down.
“Please continue, General Chu!” He restrained his anger, fearless in the face of adversity.
“Thirdly, the Du clan has many officials in the Lingnan region. I ask the Du family head to send a letter instructing your kin to take special care of General Shen and his son, who have been exiled there.”
What weighed most on Shen Zhao’s heart were her father and brother.
They bore the burden of false charges, driven out of the capital by the Crown Prince and his faction.
Officials were adept at reading the winds, so it was easy to imagine the hardships her father and brother faced in exile.
Though the letters they sent assured her of their well-being, she didn’t believe them; they only said so to keep her from worrying. Lingnan was a harsh land, and her father, aged and plagued by ailments from years on the battlefield, could hardly bear it.
Du Qi’an cast an odd look at Shen Zhao.
General Chu was actually concerned about his wife’s family.
He’d heard something about the Shen family’s troubles; rumors said General Chu was at odds with his wife and indifferent to her family.
From the time the Shen family fell to the exile of General Shen and his son, Chu had never shown her face, not even to plead for mercy.
Perhaps the rumors were false. If she truly cared nothing for her wife’s family, she wouldn’t now ask the Du clan’s kin in Lingnan to help look after them.
Du Qi’an considered; the Du clan wielded considerable influence in Lingnan.
Though the Shen father and son had offended the Crown Prince, the mountains were far and the emperor farther—his reach could not extend to Lingnan.
Besides, the Shen family was no less powerful than Chu’s, with their own clan backing them.
Given the charges, General Shen should have been executed, but exile was all he received—clearly the imperial family had relented for the Shen clan’s sake.
If the Du clan truly offered some care, the imperial family would not object.
“Very well. General Chu is indeed loyal and honorable,” Du Qi’an said, writing down the clause.

“Fourth, and most important, Du Kang must remain at the Chu residence until he has paid for his crimes.”
Du Qi’an dropped his pen at once.
So all the previous terms had been for nothing.
He had agreed to the earlier conditions only to take Du Kang back to the ancestral home.
“Is General Chu joking? This is hardly amusing. I’ve accepted all your terms, only for you to insist Du Kang stays at the Chu residence. Are you toying with me?”
Du Qi’an no longer suppressed his anger, rising to his feet with a dangerous glare fixed on Shen Zhao.
“I never joke. Do you know why I want Du Kang to stay? Do you know what crimes he has committed?” Shen Zhao’s tone turned icy, the very air around her changing.
Du Qi’an’s heart tightened. Had Du Kang committed murder or arson at the Chu residence?
But he’d never heard of the Chu household’s master being harmed.
“Please speak plainly, General Chu. What unforgivable crime has Du Kang committed?” He braced himself for the answer.
Shen Zhao replied coldly, “Twenty-four years ago, Du Kang conspired to murder my birth mother, tampered with the Chu family’s bloodline, and gave me a potion to prevent me from having heirs. Any one of these crimes would be enough to cost him his miserable life!”
Shen Zhao did not hide the truth, but spoke it plainly.
Du Qi’an was speechless. If General Chu spoke truly, Du Kang indeed deserved death a thousand times over.
A mother’s murder was a crime unforgivable, tainting the bloodline was a hatred as deep as stealing a wife, and preventing heirs was intolerable.
“Is what you say true, General Chu?” Du Qi’an’s heart was troubled. If this was all true, everything would become much more complicated, and such a man was unworthy of carrying his branch’s legacy.
If only Du Kang had a child or two, things would be easier.
Then he wouldn’t need to insist on bringing Du Kang home to the ancestral land.
Du Qi’an paid no mind to the matter of tampering with the Chu family’s bloodline; since it had been discovered, the bastard would surely not be allowed to live.
Even if it had been born, it would have been drowned early.
“If you do not believe me, Master Du, come with me and see for yourself.” Shen Zhao did not fear exposing family scandals, nor worried about Du Qi’an spreading the news.
Which ancient clan did not have its share of shame? This was not just a Chu family disgrace, but a Du family one as well.
“Very well, I shall intrude upon the general,” he replied.
Shen Zhao strode toward the courtyard, Du Qi’an following closely.
As the two entered the old matriarch’s quarters, a heartrending scream split the air.