Ch65 - Treasure Trove

When Hao Dadao left, the two couldn’t help but look at each other. 

“Do you think Ge Ruoyi succeeded?” Mu Hanzhang let go of Jing Shao’s hand, but Jing Shao quickly chased and grabbed it again, playing with his fingers and kneading his palm.

“I think so.” Jing Shao pulled the beautiful hand to his lips. “Whether or not that is the case, the southeast army in chaos is a good opportunity.”

Mu Hanzhang nodded. “If the Southeast King really is dead, will his sons be able to handle things?” If one or two of his descendants knew war strategy and immediately took over the Southeast King’s position, the southeast army could be reorganized after two days of chaos at most.

Jing Shao shook his head and chuckled. “The Southeast King isn’t past thirty right now; his eldest son wouldn’t be very old yet. In the struggle for the position of heir back then, he caused the death of his elder and only brother. There is currently no one who can take the throne as king.” 

The southeast was located by the sea. In recent years, due to the tariffs on maritime business and luxury products, the southeast royal family became corrupt and indulged in their wealth. When a capable descendant did appear, such as the current Southeast King, all other potential heroes were suppressed. Now that the Southeast King was dead, there was no one who could immediately ascend the throne.

Mu Hanzhang sighed. It was the will of heaven that a human being received proper retribution; the Southeast King’s family only had themselves to blame for falling to this point.

Jing Shao sent people to the southeast military camp to spy and gather intelligence. In the morning, the messengers came back with their reports: The generals of the southeast army had been up all night discussing something. They seemed very anxious. The army soldiers were still confused and didn’t know what was going on.

Jing Shao immediately ordered Hao Dadao to lead a vanguard out first before he himself followed with the rest of the army.

Hao Dadao led the army to the southeast army camp. Seeing that they were already trying to retreat, Hao Dadao cried out loudly, “The Southeast King is dead. Your hands are tied and there is nothing you can do. All of you are still people of Dachen; if you continue to resist, it will be regarded as treason!”

Upon hearing this, the southeast army suddenly broke out in a panicked frenzy. The generals had received some kind of news yesterday, and it had been announced this morning that they had to pack up camp and return to the main city; all of it was too strange, and the soldiers were all anxious.

“Hao Dadao, don’t babble nonsense.” Surprised and angry, the Godly Archer General shot at Hao Dadao.

The general on the other side responding in such a way was confirmation of the Southeast King’s demise. 

“Kill!” Without even waiting for that arrow to leave the string, Hao Dadao waved his hand and charged forward. Thousands of troops immediately blocked the Godly Archer General’s line of sight; the general lost his target and didn’t know where to start.

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The news of the death of the Southeast King spread through the army like a plague. Army morale dropped and the generals also didn’t have the heart to put up a desperate struggle. Hao Dadao fought all the way to the capital city – Floating City. 

Who knew which stupid heir was eager to fight for the throne, but the whole house was covered in white cloth and the main hall was arranged as a funeral hall. Keeping up appearances, they could have kept silent and quickly sent people to protect the frontline. However, the other heir decided to show filial piety, and ordered the frontline troops to return and guard the city. The news spread all of a sudden, and army morale fluctuated wildly. Now, they were powerless to reverse the desperate situation.

When the army broke into the city, the people were terrified and scattered. Jing Shao told everyone not to disturb the people, and like before, only brought his personal soldiers into the city.

The people in the southeast palace weren’t prepared to flee as quickly as the southwest people had. The whole family was still in a panic when the army surrounded them.

The family members of the Southeast King were gathered together in a small courtyard. Mu Hanzhang checked them one by one, but couldn’t find any trace of Ge Ruoyi. He felt uneasy. Before she left, she had promised that if there was an opportunity, she wouldn’t do anything foolish and would wait for their arrival, but now, he was afraid things hadn’t gone well. 

“My Lord! My Lord! This daughter was snatched from her family and brought into the palace by the Southeast King. I am innocent! My Lord, please take me out of here; even if I have to work hard like a horse, I am still willing…” A woman dressed in plain clothes suddenly rushed out and cried as she threw herself at Mu Hanzhang’s feet. Her hair was discreetly gathered up to deliberately reveal a delicate profile.

Mu Hanzhang quickly looked down, but it wasn’t the person he was looking for. He couldn’t help frowning.

“Scram!” Jing Shao who was following behind him immediately got angry and kicked away the woman who was dragging on Jun Qing’s clothes.

The woman screamed and rolled to one side. She saw that the two had extraordinary bearing. If they weren’t princes or royal grandsons, they were probably high-ranking officials or nobles. If she could obtain their favor, she might still be able to live a luxurious and high-ranking life. After observing for a long time, she felt that Mu Hanzhang had a gentler temperament and might be easier to deal with; she never expected the person behind him to react like that. 

“Let’s go. If Ruoyi is still here, she will naturally come out to see you.” Jing Shao reached out his hand and pulled his Wang Fei out of the courtyard. The women in the yard were bewitching and alluring. They didn’t look like good people; it would be bad if another one pounced on Jun Qing and wrapped themselves around him.

“Does your dream contain any hints that can tell us if Ruoyi is safe?” Mu Hanzhang looked up at Jing Shao being all angry, which made him laugh. This person was also a man. How could he face that courtyard of beautiful, crying women and not feel the slightest bit of pity for them, but become angry instead?

Jing Shao stopped and a scene from his previous life emerged before him. The room was draped in white silk and sorrowful crying shook the air. Only one woman laughed to her heart’s content among them. The son of the Southeast King rushed to kill her, but Jing Shao blocked him.

She said, “Wang Ye, would you be willing to hear a story from this daughter?” She explained her past and her story. Finally, when she finished, she drew out the sword at Jing Shao’s waist and killed herself. 

Mu Hanzhang heard this, and his beautiful eyes couldn’t help but turn dim.

“That was just a dream. It’s hard to say what will happen now.” Jing Shao sighed and hugged his Wang Fei in his arms. “The Southwest King came to seek shelter, but was actually killed by the Southeast King. The treasures of both fiefdoms are now in this palace. Let’s go and have a look.”

Everything in the mansion was still in good condition. Even the servants hadn’t had time to escape. Except for some ornaments in conspicuous places, everything valuable still remained.

The place where the Southeast King hid his treasures wasn’t as hidden as the Southwest King’s. Instead, a storehouse had been built in the bamboo grove in the main courtyard. 

As they passed through the lush bamboo grove, a huge stone building came into view. The stone door was very thick and heavy, and the large number of soldiers guarding it had already been replaced by Jing Shao’s personal guards. Jiang Lang stood in front of the stone building, and when he saw the two of them, he came over to give his greetings.

“Reporting to Wang Ye, there is a big lock on the stone building. Someone has to open it from the inside.” Jiang Lang was very distressed. The Wang Ye had ordered him to guard and inspect the treasure house first. After studying it for a long time, Jiang Lang discovered its secret.

“There must be a secret path leading into the stone building from another place.” Mu Hanzhang looked forward for a moment before he turned to speak to Jing Shao.

Jing Shao nodded. The other end of the secret tunnel should be in the Southeast King’s bedroom. He was about to send someone there, but unexpectedly, the door of the stone building opened on its own! 

Jiang Lang quickly retreated and stood in front of the Wang Ye and Wang Fei to protect them. The sun shone into the stone building, highlighting the dust in the air. Someone slowly came out of the dark and knelt to greet them. A pink muslin dress was wrapped around an enchantingly beautiful figure; she wasn’t wearing any accessories or makeup and her hair was loose and wild, but that did nothing to mar her beauty.

“Servant Ge Ruoyi greets Wang Ye, Wang Fei!” The originally clear voice was a little hoarse, presumably due to the lack of water and food in the stone building.

“Ruoyi!” Mu Hanzhang came forward to help her up. Although she was a little haggard, she really was Ge Ruoyi.

Seeing the Wang Fei’s smile, Ge Ruoyi couldn’t help the tears that welled up in her eyes and clung to her eyelashes. She shouldn’t have lived after killing the Southeast King. However, she remembered the Wang Fei earnestly urging her to take care of herself before she left. If there was anything left which bound her to this world, it could only be the kindness of the Wang Ye and Wang Fei, which she had yet to repay! 

Seeing that his Wang Fei was happy, Jing Shao was naturally also happy. He had Jiang Lang take Ge Ruoyi to rest before he happily drew Jun Qing into his arms and entered the stone building.

The candles were lit one by one, and the things inside were completely revealed to them.

In addition to entire chests of gold bricks and silver bars, green jade and agate, and jugs of pearls from the Southern Sea, there were also countless antique calligraphy scrolls as well as paintings, and renowned swords and weapons, all of which dazzled the eye.

“Xiao Shao…” Mu Hanzhang said slowly, “we… we’ve struck gold…” 

Although these things were supposed to be handed over to the state treasury, they didn’t have an owner, so whoever found them would naturally get a share!

Jing Shao grabbed a big chest, and in high spirits, helped his Wang Fei pick good things to stuff into it.

Mu Hanzhang still had some reason left. He stopped Jing Shao, who was randomly grabbing things, and only picked up a small box around three chi long. “That box is too obvious. Even if this kind of thing is an unwritten rule, you have performed an exceedingly meritorious service this time, and it’ll be hard to avoid being criticized by those who will always try to do so; it would still be best for you to be careful.”

Although Mu Hanzhang didn’t have his mother’s innate sense for recognizing treasures, he was more than capable of discerning the value and grade of these treasures. 

Not only were the treasures abundant, they were also of high quality. Jing Shao grew up in the imperial court; what good things had he not seen? Naturally, he understood how much these marvels were worth.

Take for example that Pixiu carved from deep green jade, which was only the size of a walnut; it was more valuable than the half-chi long white jade Buddha’s hand. And that smooth blue jade moon and flowing cloud hairpin was much more valuable than the elaborate golden dangling ornaments for women.

Jing Shao picked up the hairpin. It was a simple and unadorned jade pin which wasn’t decorated with too many carvings. It was simply a hairpin that had been bent slightly into the shape of flowing clouds. The jade was warm and lustrous. What was more, it was a man’s hairpin. It couldn’t suit his Wang Fei any more. 

Jing Shao walked over and gently inserted the hairpin into Mu Hanzhang’s hair. Today, he was wearing a jade crown, and two blue tassels hung down over the long raven-colored hair; the addition of the blue jade moon and flowing cloud pin was extremely fitting.

Mu Hanzhang looked back at him. His beautiful eyes shone with excitement, just like the crystal cup in his hand. It sparkled and was translucent, and was very beautiful. Jing Shao couldn’t help but go up and kiss his eyelids. “What do you want to do with this cup?”

“This cup should be from across the sea.” Tickled, Mu Hanzhang laughed and ducked away. Few people in Dachen knew how to make a cup from crystal. The crystal cup in his hand was not only special because of what it was made from, it was also quite strange in shape. “If we bring this kind of thing to the capital, it’ll sell for a good price.”

Jing Shao couldn’t help laughing. In any time and any place, his Wang Fei never forgot to find ways to do business and earn money. “Overseas traders often come to the southeast to sell their wares; we can have some people come back to buy some later. They aren’t worth too much. If you like, you can take all the cups that are like this from the southeast palace and sell them when we go to Jiangnan in a few days.” 

“We’re going through Jiangnan?” Mu Hanzhang looked up; this was the first time he was hearing it.

Jing Shao nodded. Returning to the capital from here would just happen to take them through Jiangnan. In any case, they wouldn’t be able to return in time for the new year, so he might as well accompany his Wang Fei in Jiangnan for a stay and go see that person in passing.