Chapter 66: Getting Rich from Confiscations, Frequent Kidnappings in the Shu Region
Chapter 66: Chapter 66: Getting Rich from Confiscations, Frequent Kidnappings in the Shu Region
"The more money I spend, the more I seem to make."
Pei Shaoqing remarked with sincere feeling as he looked at the gold, silver, calligraphy, paintings, and antiques confiscated from Zhou Xiangyang’s home.
’I’ll never be able to spend it all. It’s just too much.’
I’d just given a huge sum of money to Eunuch Liu, and I’d already made it all back from Zhou Xiangyang’s home.
And it was obvious Zhou Xiangyang had planned to establish himself in Tongzhou for the long haul. He’d moved his entire family fortune here.
Now it had all fallen right into the lap of Pei Qingtian.
"Divide this among the men who handled the job." Pei Shaoqing grabbed a handful of loose silver notes and handed them to Chen Zhongyi.
Chen Zhongyi received them with both hands. "Thank you, my Lord."
"Arrange for someone to send this stolen money and my personal letter to the Prefecture City for Lu Households Commander." Pei Shaoqing nudged a box overflowing with silver with the tip of his boot.
’The men below need their cut.’
’And my superior above needs his share too.’
Chen Zhongyi replied respectfully, "Yes, my Lord."
"Someone!" Pei Shaoqing called out.
A servant trotted in. "Master."
"Have these things taken to the storeroom and sealed away." Pei Shaoqing gestured at the filthy lucre.
The servant hastily replied, "Yes, Master."
Chen Zhongyi took his leave.
He assigned the task of delivering the letter to the Prefecture City to Sun Youliang, since he was already a familiar face at the Thousand Households.
...............
「Three days later, on his day off.」
In the morning, Pei Shaoqing was in the rear courtyard practicing his martial arts, focusing on the Profound Martial Arts he had obtained from the Shaking Light Saintess.
’When you’re navigating the Jianghu, it never hurts to have an extra skill up your sleeve, after all.’
He was drenched in sweat by the time he stopped.
Zhao Zilan, who was waiting nearby, immediately came forward with a towel. "Young Master, your bath is ready."
"Mm. You will attend to me." Pei Shaoqing said, taking the towel and wiping the sweat from his face.
"Ah!" Zhao Zilan looked up, stunned. She answered awkwardly, "Yes... this servant obeys."
Soon, servants carried hot water into the room, poured it into the tub, and tempered it with cold water to the perfect temperature.
On one side of an exquisitely crafted screen, Xie Qingwu sat reading a book. On the other, Pei Shaoqing stood with his arms outstretched, allowing Zhao Zilan to peel away his clothes layer by layer.
Watching their two shadows on the screen, Xie Qingwu found that she couldn’t focus on her book at all today.
Once undressed, Pei Shaoqing slipped into the tub first.
Zhao Zilan first pinned her long hair up high. Then, her hands trembling with shyness and apprehension, she began to undo her clothes.
Soon, she was down to just her bodice and underbreeches.
The emerald-green embroidered bodice stood in stark contrast against her creamy, white skin. It clung tightly to her full bust, the curve of which was faintly visible from the side.
"Take it all off," Pei Shaoqing said indifferently.
"Young Master~" Zhao Zilan whined, overcome with shyness. But seeing the impatience on his face, she had no choice but to resign herself, slowly removing her bodice and underbreeches before quickly slipping into the water.
Pei Shaoqing leaned back into Zhao Zilan’s embrace, feeling the softness of her supple body. He enjoyed her meticulous washing, closing his eyes in comfort as if dozing off.
As she washed his front, Pei Shaoqing looked at the blushing Zhao Zilan and asked, "How are you in the water?"
"I’m decent," Zhao Zilan answered softly.
Pei Shaoqing pinched her chin, a smirk playing on his lips. "Then how about you dive under and show me."
Experienced as she was, Zhao Zilan instantly understood his meaning. "My Lady is still here," she whispered.
"Just pretend I’m not here," Xie Qingwu’s cool voice drifted from behind the screen, reaching their ears.
Pei Shaoqing gently patted Zhao Zilan’s cheek.
Blushing, Zhao Zilan lowered her head into the water.
Every so often, a few bubbles would gurgle to the surface.
Pei Shaoqing hissed in a sharp breath. ’I’ve really made it,’ he thought. ’Driving a submarine even in ancient times.’
SPLASH! Zhao Zilan suddenly broke the surface, gasping for air. Her soaked hair clung to her face, and large drops of water trickled down her chin and neck. "Young Master~" she called out, full of shy apprehension.
"Very good," Pei Shaoqing praised in a low voice.
’This tub is still too crowded for two people.’
’I’ll have to pick a room and have a proper bath pool built one of these days.’
The next second, he once again placed his hilt in her grasp.
Watching the shadows, Xie Qingwu silently cursed, ’Degenerate.’
Meanwhile, Sun Youliang had arrived at the Thousand Households in Jin Guan City and was meeting with Lu Dingchuan. "Your humble subordinate, Sun Youliang, pays his respects, my Lord! I wish you endless fortune and good health."
"Squad Leader Sun, please, rise. You’ve been visiting quite frequently these past two months!" Lu Dingchuan laughed, setting down his official documents. "What good news have you brought today?"
Sun Youliang rose, smiling along with him. "This time, your servant has come to congratulate you, my Lord, on avoiding a disaster."
"Oh?" Lu Dingchuan looked puzzled.
Sun Youliang chose his words carefully. "Hundred Households Commander Zhou has been using your name to extort massive bribes from the merchants in Tongzhou. Business has been suffering so terribly that a large number of merchants, at their wits’ end, surrounded Lord Pei’s residence, begging him to intervene."
"Lord Pei feared that this man would ruin your reputation and bring disgrace upon our Jing’an Guard. Thus, to pacify the public’s anger, he has had him arrested and imprisoned. He sent me specifically to report this to you and to request that you, Households Commander, pass judgment on Hundred Households Commander Zhou."
The smile had vanished from Lu Dingchuan’s face.
"Is this true?" he asked, his face grim.
Sun Youliang quickly pulled a letter from his robes. "This is a personal letter from Lord Pei for you."
"Bring it here," Lu Dingchuan said at once.
Sun Youliang stepped forward quickly and presented it with both hands.
As Lu Dingchuan broke the seal and read, his expression shifted like an overturned paint palette. A moment later, he slammed the letter onto the desk. "That son of a bitch Zhou Xiangyang! How dare he be so audacious! This is outrageous!"
’Through their recent correspondence, he’d gotten to know Pei Shaoqing a little. He didn’t think Pei would go so far as to completely annihilate Zhou Xiangyang, not when the man had already been stripped of all his power.’
’Of course, it was even less likely that Pei was actually seeking justice for the common folk.’
’Which meant there was only one possible truth: Zhou Xiangyang’s money-grubbing had cut into Pei Shaoqing’s own profits.’
’And this was his punishment.’
’Pei Shaoqing might be a bit overbearing, but so what? He was the Young Master of the Marquis’s Mansion and had a string of great accomplishments to his name. It was Zhou Xiangyang who had a death wish.’
What’s more, Pei Shaoqing had sent him the stolen funds confiscated from Zhou Xiangyang’s home. With such ironclad evidence, he naturally had to act impartially. "Zhou Xiangyang knew the law and broke it, which makes his crime even more severe," Lu Dingchuan declared. "I will immediately submit a memorial to have him stripped of his post and investigated. Have Standard-Bearer Pei send the man to the Prefecture City."
Lu Households Commander was, after all, a sentimental man.
’Once Zhou Xiangyang arrives in the Prefecture City, I’ll be the one deciding his punishment. He can forget about being a Jing’an Guard. He can just be my personal flute boy from now on.’
"Your insight is brilliant, my Lord!" Sun Youliang flattered, then bowed his head. "I will report to the Standard-Bearer as soon as I return."
"One more thing." Lu Dingchuan’s expression turned serious. "I have recently received reports from several Hundred Households about a string of kidnappings perpetrated by Martial Artists. All the targets are unmarried young women. When you return, tell Standard-Bearer Pei to look into this. Don’t let anyone get away with it."
Sun Youliang was instantly reminded of the three young women who had gone missing a few days prior. "My Lord, the same thing happened in Tongzhou. However, we successfully rescued the victims, and the culprits were killed on the spot."
"Oh?" Lu Dingchuan was surprised. He offered a word of praise, "Standard-Bearer Pei is truly a brilliant investigator. Cases all over Shu State have turned up not a single trace of the culprits."
"And yet he has already killed several of the fiends and rescued the victims. He truly is a tiger cub from a noble house. Do you know any more details about the case?"
"To answer, my Lord, the culprits all fought to the death. They didn’t leave a single word behind," Sun Youliang said, shaking his head and spouting utter nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
Lu Dingchuan was somewhat disappointed. He could only re-emphasize the point. "To date, reports of over thirty missing women have landed on my desk. It’s clear the perpetrators are part of a well-organized group. Tell Standard-Bearer Pei to give this matter his full attention and uproot this cancer as soon as possible."
"Yes, my Lord!" Sun Youliang replied with the utmost respect.
Lu Dingchuan added, "And give Standard-Bearer Pei one more message. We’re short on manpower at the moment, so we won’t be assigning a probationary Hundred Households Commander to the Tongzhou Hundred Households for the foreseeable future. He’ll have to shoulder that responsibility."
’Another easy favor to grant Pei Shaoqing.’