Chapter Ninety-Nine: The More She Thought, the Angrier She Became

He found Su Linhuai and said anxiously, “My lord, something terrible has happened... At noon, the Prince of Jin came to Yunhai Pavilion, demanded the restaurant by force, and threatened me in every way. With no choice left, I agreed to hand it over to him!”

“What? The restaurant!”

A look of realization dawned on Su Linhuai.

“Do you not know how important Yunhai Pavilion is? How could you agree to give it up?”

“I didn’t want to either!” Su Zhi was on the verge of tears.

Who would willingly give away their own restaurant? I was forced.

“The wealth accumulated in Yunhai Pavilion is the fruit of our many years of effort. The restaurant itself is worth little, but what’s buried in the cellar…” Su Linhuai’s expression grew grave.

“My lord, rest assured… I’ve brought all the important letters with me, none of them will fall into that brat’s hands!” Su Zhi said.

“Where are the letters?”

“Outside the main gate!”

“You fool, why would you leave them there? Don’t you know spies are everywhere in Hongnong now? If someone steals them, the consequences would be unimaginable!” Su Linhuai was terrified and immediately sent people to retrieve the letters.

At the same time.

In the backyard, Li Zhi gave Luo Tong a look.

Luo Tong understood at once.

With light-footed agility, he set off to seize the letters.

“The letters are easy—burn them and that’s that. But how will I move the money from the cellar?” Su Linhuai muttered to himself.

“Should I go back to the restaurant now and move everything out tonight?”

“No!” Su Huailin interjected. “The Prince of Jin has just acquired Yunhai Pavilion—do you think he won’t have it watched? I fear he already knows you’ve come to me…”

At that, Su Huailin drew a sharp breath. “You must go back at once—don’t come out again! As for what’s in the restaurant’s cellar, leave it for now. Wait for a better opportunity to move it later.”

“What if His Highness discovers it?”

“The cellar is well-hidden; it’s difficult to find. Don’t linger—go now, quickly…” Su Huailin was growing increasingly flustered, desperate to shove Su Zhi away.

“Master Su! Where are you planning to send Boss Su?” Li Zhi’s voice called out.

The door beside them swung open.

A group of officials, led by Li Zhi, entered the room.

And there was Princess Li Lizhi, ever eager for drama.

All eyes turned to him.

Li Zhi declared, “Everyone heard it just now—Yunhai Pavilion is hiding secrets, and secret letters have been left outside the gate. We’ll seize them at once and see for ourselves!”

“Brilliant, Your Highness!”

The officials were full of admiration.

Su Linhuai, however, was dumbstruck. “You… you… all of you…”

“Master Su, your head must be spinning, no? Let me be clear—I’ve already sent people outside. Those letters are in my hands. Today, before all the officials of Hongnong, I’ll open them one by one and see what’s inside!”

...

Luo Tong returned swiftly.

He threw the seized letters before the crowd. “Your Highness, these are the letters Su Zhi brought from Yunhai Pavilion. Please, take a look!”

“It’s over…” Su Zhi slumped to the ground.

“Your Highness, may I speak with you in private? I have something important to report!” Su Huailin cautiously approached Li Zhi.

“Impudence!”

“Take one more step and my sword won’t discriminate!” Luo Tong drew his blade, shouting angrily.

“What do you want to say? Once I open these letters for all to see, you can speak as much as you like!” Li Zhi was uncertain what the letters contained, but his curiosity was piqued.

“If you open the letters, it’ll be too late!”

“Why?”

Su Linhuai dared not say.

The contents of those letters implicated far too much.

If revealed, everyone involved would be doomed.

“There’s a large fortune buried in Yunhai Pavilion’s cellar. Does Your Highness not want it? If you promise to burn the letters, I’ll see that all the money is yours!” Su Huailin pleaded.

“Ahem, ahem!!”

Li Zhi cursed Su Huailin inwardly. How could such a matter be brought up in front of everyone? If word reached Emperor Taizong, I’d never be able to defend myself.

“You dog of an official, trying to bribe us!” Li Lizhi grabbed a teacup and hurled it at Su Huailin.

The cup struck him squarely on the head, leaving a bloody mark.

“Sister, calm yourself! Let me handle this!” Li Zhi restrained her.

“Very well, I’ll leave it to you! Corrupt officials like him are sickening! They should all be sent back to the capital for Father to deal with!” Li Lizhi sat aside in anger.

“I understand…”

Li Zhi weighed his options.

Had Su Linhuai told him privately about the money in Yunhai Pavilion’s cellar and offered it to him, perhaps he could have turned a blind eye—he needed the funds, after all. But now, with so many witnesses, all aware of the restaurant’s secret, he could not ignore the law or shield a corrupt official.

This fool…

How could he blurt it out like that?

Li Zhi paced back and forth, glancing at the officials behind him, then rounded on Su Linhuai, shouting, “You brought this on yourself! Blame no one else!”

“Luo Tong, open the letters and let everyone see!”

“At once!”

Under the watchful gaze of the officials, Luo Tong tore open a letter. Upon reading its contents, his face turned pale with shock. “This… these are the records of the Su family’s embezzlement of military funds over the years!”

“What?”

The officials’ eyes went wide.

They scrambled to pick up the letters, opening them and reading.

Duke Xing, Su Dingfang, commanded fifty thousand border troops, and had achieved victory after victory in foreign campaigns. Yet, when reporting casualties, he concealed more than half the numbers; thus, though the compensation for the fallen was less, he could syphon off funds year after year!

Yunhai Pavilion was the repository for all their dirty money!

“Outrageous!”

“Unforgivable, utterly unforgivable…”

“For a man of Duke Xing’s stature to stoop to this, deceiving the Emperor—it’s a crime deserving death!” The officials were incensed, eager to rush to the capital and report to Emperor Taizong.

“You all see now, don’t you? With Su Dingfang betraying the Emperor’s trust like this, can we shield him?” Li Zhi demanded.

“We cannot!”

“In that case, I ask you all to accompany me to Yunhai Pavilion, seize the illicit fortune, and present it to the Emperor!” At Li Zhi’s command, everyone followed him out.

Su Zhi and Su Linhuai were taken into custody.

From this moment, entry to and exit from the prefectural office was forbidden.

Since the hiding place of the fortune was unknown and neither Su Zhi nor Su Huailin would reveal it, Li Zhi ordered a thorough search. At dawn, in a secret chamber of the backyard, they found the entrance to the cellar.

Upon counting...

They discovered five thousand taels of gold, forty thousand taels of silver, and six million copper coins of the Kaiyuan Tongbao!

In the early Tang Dynasty, copper cash (Kaiyuan Tongbao) was the main currency in circulation; gold and silver were rare, used mostly for construction, decoration, and art. Yet their value was beyond question.

That the Su family had gathered several thousand taels of gold and forty thousand taels of silver spoke volumes for their cunning.

“What a pity!”

“Such a loss…” Li Zhi handed the matter of Yunhai Pavilion to the local officials and dispatched a squad of the Imperial Guard to oversee and escort the funds.

Returning to the county yamen, he was nearly beside himself with anger.

So much money, handed over just like that?

“That scoundrel Su Linhuai—if he’d told me earlier about the money in Yunhai Pavilion’s cellar, would I have needed to make such a fuss?” Li Zhi pounded his chest, growing more frustrated the more he thought about it.