Chapter 96: Extorting a Million, the Plum Blossom Inner Guard

With the settlement of accounts now imminent, before I arrived, the Crown Prince suddenly turned on the Sixth and Seventh Princes, opening his mouth like a lion and demanding an outrageous sum of one million taels of silver.

The Sixth Prince’s intention was to apportion this money to the settlement in Qiongzhou. The Crown Prince’s power is overwhelming, so the prefectural office will certainly refuse to pay.

As for the Heavenly Ghost Gang and the Salt Transport Office, they are controlled by the Third and Fourth Princes in the shadows, and have never been on good terms with the Sixth and Seventh Princes. Moreover, it is said that they too were shaken down by the Crown Prince for a huge sum, so they can hardly be counted on.

For this reason, I hope that you, Sir Qi, Chairman Gu, and Manager Jin, can find a way and help raise some of the funds on our behalf.

At this, both the official surnamed Qi and the bearded man wore pained expressions. One million taels— even if the two of them were sold off, they still could not scrape together so much silver.

Han Chong’s mouth twitched slightly, and for a moment he was at a loss for words. Yet inwardly, he was delighted. He had thought it some great dilemma, when in fact it was merely a shortage of silver.

Coincidentally, he still had a large sum of silver obtained from more than a thousand wealthy merchants, and nearly half of it had come from his own miraculous act of turning stone into gold.

Seeing his troubled expression, the official surnamed Qi and the bearded man exchanged a glance, both inwardly tense.

“Reporting to Lord Zuo, this humble one is willing to sell off my property and belongings to honor the Sixth and Seventh Princes, but within a short time I can only gather one hundred thousand taels!”

“Lord Zuo, I too am willing to give all I have. It is just that the merchant guild has been short of funds lately. At the fastest, I can only gather one hundred and fifty thousand taels, and I ask to be allowed to repay the Sixth and Seventh Princes with profits in the future.” The bearded man hastily followed, speaking earnestly.

“Mm. The two of you truly are worthy of the Sixth and Seventh Princes’ trust. Your futures are boundless. This envoy, upon returning to the capital, will certainly recommend you both more strongly.”

The man with hanging hair looked at them, clearly satisfied, then turned to Han Chong with a teasing smile.

“What is this, could it be that Manager Jin is having difficulties? The remaining seven hundred and fifty thousand taels should be but a trivial matter for you, yes?”

The latter wore a bitter smile. After a fierce internal struggle, he gritted his teeth and said solemnly with clasped hands:

“Lord Zuo jests. Jin has indeed made about five hundred thousand taels in trade recently, but the remaining two hundred and fifty thousand taels are truly difficult for me. I am afraid I cannot raise them in such a short time.”

“Oh?” The man with hanging hair showed an amused expression.

“Then it seems Manager Jin is unwilling to share the burden for the Sixth and Seventh Princes. So be it. I will not force you. It is just that I find it hard to feel your sincerity, Manager Jin.

Just now, Brother Evil Sir even mentioned to me that I should give you more support. That makes things somewhat difficult.”

“Cough, I say, Old Jin, there is no need to hide it any longer. Do you think I do not know your little fortune?

Money is a mere external thing. Since I now serve under the Sixth Prince, your share of the profits will be indispensable in the future.

Right now the court is in turmoil, and the Sixth and Seventh Princes are in a difficult position. If you can give your full support, not only will Brother Zuo speak well of you later, I will also strongly recommend you to the Sixth and Seventh Princes. You must look farther ahead.”

Little Gray gave a light cough and impatiently waved a paw to urge him on.

“Ha! In this life, I have simply always valued money too highly.

Since Lord Zuo and Sir Evil think so highly of me, Jin will throw caution to the winds. Even if I must ruin my own household, I will gather the full seven hundred and fifty thousand taels to repay Lord Zuo for setting aside time to value me!”

“Haha, good, very good!

Manager Jin truly is the foremost wealthy merchant in Qiongzhou. From now on, you shall be one of our mainstays. If you encounter anything difficult, you may report directly to me.

Manager Jin, please sit. Everyone, sit.”

The gazes of the official surnamed Qi, the bearded man, and the others toward Han Chong all changed, filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

They had toiled for decades before finally becoming underlings in the forces of the Prince of Jue. Yet this newly risen Manager Jin had gained the trust of Sir Evil and Lord Zuo in less than a month.

“All right, those present are all our own people. Next, let us discuss the settlement of accounts three days from now.

Recently, many censors in the court have grown suspicious of the repeated major cases in Qiongzhou and have repeatedly submitted memorials requesting the emperor to order a thorough investigation.

Though the emperor is already advanced in years, his sagacity still shines everywhere. Yet remarkably, he has said nothing at all about this matter.

According to the analysis of the Sixth and Seventh Princes, the court is now in the midst of the contest over the Seven Nations’ law. Since the Demon-Slaying Prefectural Office was destroyed by our three families, the court has no officials it can send, so the emperor is merely enduring and waiting.

But imperial might is hard to fathom. We must still be extremely careful, after all. The Internal Guard Office is not to be trifled with.

For these three days, none of you may move about at will. When the time comes, I myself will come to your residences and take you there.”

“The Internal Guard Office?” Han Chong’s heart stirred. He remained calm and, with the others, bowed in acknowledgment.

After returning to the All-Eating Tower, Han Chong first ordered Mi Ling to load the seven hundred and fifty thousand taels onto carts and send them to the Qi residence. At the same time, he had Leng Yue gather the demon-slaying captains scattered everywhere and secretly search for the imperial envoy of the Internal Guard Office.

The Internal Guard Office was a more mysterious institution than even the Demon-Slaying Office. Han Chong had only learned of it after arriving in Yanzhou, during a chance conversation with the commander stationed in the northern city.

This office was not part of the Three Departments and Six Ministries; indeed, no one even knew where it was based.

It was said only that it was a secret organization belonging solely to the emperor, established for investigating dissidents or particularly important major cases.

No official records about the Internal Guard could be found in the archives. The only thing known was that each of them had a cyan plum blossom tattooed on the palm of one hand.

Every one of them was highly skilled in martial arts, even stronger than the captains of the Demon-Slaying Office, and they were a weapon the Great Feng emperor used to consolidate imperial authority.

If what the man with hanging hair had said was true, then it was not impossible that the emperor was merely putting on a false front while secretly sending the Internal Guard to Qiongzhou to investigate the case.

If he could find the Internal Guard envoy and join forces with them to seize the evidence of the three families’ crimes in settling accounts, then report it to the emperor, the powers in Qiongzhou would collapse at once, no matter which prince stood behind them.

However, letting all the demon-slaying captains search covertly had yielded little. He still had to think of a plan quickly and speed up the search.

Han Chong pondered deeply. If he were the Internal Guard envoy, what would he do?

After much thought, the only possibility was to lie low by day and move by night, keeping watch on the movements of the high officials from the Prefectural Office, the Weaving Bureau, and the Salt Transport Office.

With that in mind, that very night Han Chong sat cross-legged in his chamber and condensed three doppelgängers, each of whom used invisibility arts to head separately to the back courtyards of the three yamen and lie in wait, hoping to catch the prey that would come to them.

At the third watch, a figure suddenly flashed past on the outer eaves of the Qi residence. Faster and quieter than a sparrow, the man’s lightness skill was truly remarkable—at the very least, he was a master of the Heavenly Human Realm!

As expected, he had come. Han Chong felt a surge of delight. Yet he saw the black-clad figure flicker a few times and slip into the rear courtyard, intending to probe deeper.

Han Chong inwardly cried trouble. This man was simply too bold and reckless. That man with hanging hair was no easy target, and extremely shrewd besides.

Though this intruder’s martial arts were high, once he entered the inner courtyard, escaping that man’s notice would be almost impossible!

Sure enough, after a brief moment, a series of booming clashes of fists and palms rang out. Above the rear courtyard, two figures fought and darted through the air. With every impact, black and gold innate qi collided with explosive bursts.

However, the black-clad man was clearly no match for the man with hanging hair. After only a dozen exchanges, he fell into disadvantage and fled back at great speed.

Just as he reached the edge of the rear courtyard’s eaves, the man with hanging hair struck, clawing through his right shoulder and sending him staggering down in retreat.