Chapter 481 : Raiding The Xu Family

When the first glimmer of light appeared in the sky, the Xu Residence was quiet. Many people were still asleep. Even some old women servants and maids who had gotten up were walking around quietly doing their business.

Suddenly, a shrill voice shouted, “Robbers are coming, robbers are coming. Everyone, run for your lives……”

Outside the door, Yun Qing had brought eight hundred elite soldiers. Once inside the city, they immediately surrounded the Xu Residence. However, they blocked all the Xu family’s gateways instead of breaking into the houses.

Not long after, Prefect Tan arrived with a group of bailiffs and yamen(1) attendants. When he saw Yun Qing, Prefect Tan exclaimed surprisedly, “General Yun, I didn’t expect you to come in person.” One had to put on a whole show. Otherwise, it would be easy for people to see the clues.

Yun Qing usually kept a straight face outside, making it difficult for people to read his expression. This meeting was no exception. After listening to Prefect Tan’s words, he said, “The Xu family has committed treason by collaborating with the enemy. How could I not come here in person?” Although Prefect Tan was from the Duke of the State Residence and could be considered one of his own, Yun Qing did not trust him. It was safer to hold the silver money in his own hands.

The bailiffs and yamen(1) attendants who accompanied the Prefect muttered to themselves, wondering what the Xu family had done. But when they heard that the Xu family had committed treason, none dared to speak. Collaborating with the enemy was treachery, a serious crime punishable by exterminating nine generations of family members. Whoever was involved with it would be out of luck.

When Yun Qing saw that Magistrate Tan was about to order the bailiffs and yamen(1) attendants to raid the residence, he coldly said, “I have brought over eight hundred elite soldiers. This much human resource is already enough.”

After saying that, without waiting for Prefect Tan to speak, he ordered fifty people to stay behind and guard all the entrances, not allowing anyone to come out, while the others went inside to raid. These elite soldiers had all been carefully selected, so of course, Yun Qing would not worry about them stuffing their own pockets. Besides, he had already told them that the money looted from the Xu family would be used to buy winter supplies, so these people could not embezzle it!

Before these people entered the Xu Residence, Yun Qing reminded everyone: “Remember what I said before, put away all the unnecessary things, and do not destroy them carelessly.” Since Yuxi had experienced the ruthless methods of the soldiers who looted the Duan family before, this time, she had instructed Yun Qing not to let his subordinates raid like bandits, taking gold, silver, jewellery, and other items, and then destroying everything else.

Since there was an insider, finding incriminating evidence was very easy. Yun Qing quickly found the secret cabinet in the study of the Xu family’s head, where he searched for proof of the Xu family’s crimes of treason by collaborating with the enemy. With this evidence, the Xu family would suffer the nine generations of family members’ extermination.

Yun Qing asked Prefect Tan: “Prefect Daren, I would like to use this gold and silver jewellery to buy military winter supplies. I wonder if that’s possible?” He asked this question in front of all the bailiffs and yamen(1) attendants.

Prefect Tan was a little surprised, but despite Yun Qing’s bizarre attitude, Yun Qing showed no unusual expression. He said, “This money has to go into the government treasury, so I don’t have the final say. However, I will send a memorial to the capital, hoping that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Grand Chancellor Yu will agree to allow this money to be used to purchase military supplies.”

Yun Qing agreed and added, “Tan Daren, in addition to valuable things such as gold, silver, and jewellery, I would like to take the fabrics, books, and the four treasures of the study back to Yu City. I don’t know if Daren would agree.” Seeing Prefect Tan’s puzzled face, Yun Qing explained, “The children at the Charity Home don’t have any winter clothes, so these fabrics are just right for them. Besides, I think the children of Qingming Hall can use those books and the four treasures.”

Upon hearing this request, Prefect Tan said with deep sorrow, “You can take everything from the Xu family residence.” His face showed sadness, but his heart wondered what Yun Qing was talking about! This action from Yun Qing completely differed from what Madam Yun had said before.

Although Yun Qing said it so bluntly, he had ordered fifty of his elite soldiers to escort more than twenty boxes of gold, silver, jewellery and other valuables back to the prefect’s yamen(1), and they didn’t leave once they arrived there.

The group leader was Yu Cong, who told Prefect Tan, “My General said that this money is for military supplies, so we can’t afford to lose not even a tiny bit of it. I’ll be held responsible if that happens.”

The corners of Prefect Tan’s mouth twitched. He had said to himself that Yun Qing had acted too strangely. As it turned out, this was the reason. Prefect Tan did not argue with Yu Cong and said, “Since you want to guard it, then guard it well.” He actually did not feel at ease with the bailiffs and the yamen(1) attendants.

Since he didn’t have to worry about gold, silver, jewellery and other things, Prefect Tan had time to take care of the people from the Xu family. All the members of the Xu family, including the maids and old women servants, were sent to prison, causing the place to become overcrowded. However, the head of the Xu family and a few other important figures were all locked up in the heavily guarded prison.

Until it was dark, Tan Tuo’s steward whispered to his master, ”Daren, Yun Qing and those elite soldiers are still taking things from the Xu Residence! I’ve heard they’ve even packed the mosquito nets on the beds and plan to send them back to Yu City. This looting is too clean.” He had followed his master for so many years, and this was the first time he had seen such a meticulous raid.

After hearing this report, Tan Tuo replied, “The soldiers in the border city live an unfortunate life.” Although he knew Yun Qing must have other plans, such behaviour still made people feel miserable. In fact, all these mosquito nets would end up in the Charity Home. Of course, this was a story for another day. But Tan Tuo’s butler was right about one thing: these more than 700-plus elite soldiers had thoroughly looted the Xu family. Valuables, books, the Four Treasures of the Study, and bulky furniture had all been loaded onto the carts. This time, the soldiers had ransacked the residence just like locusts crossing the border. After they had swept through, there would be nothing left.

It was getting dark, and they had not yet cleared some of the things. Yun Qing looked at the small man beside Mr Xia and asked, “Can you tell me now where the Xu family’s secret room is?” This small man was the deepest secret agent Marshal Qin had planted in the Xu family. Of course, in the eyes of the Xu family, this man was dead.

The small man led the crowd to a deserted courtyard. Yun Qing entered the house, looked at the cobwebs and dust that filled the place, frowned, and asked, “Is the secret room of the Xu family hidden here?”

The small man nodded. “I don’t know where the entrance is, but I’m sure it’s in this house.”

Yun Qing was not an unreasonable person either. The treasure’s location was so secret that outsiders couldn’t know. It was already pretty good, even if they could only find out that the treasure was buried somewhere in this house.

After searching for a while and still not finding it, Yun Qing said, “I have to dig three feet into the ground to find it.” This location was where the Xu family hid their treasure. If he could find it, everyone would have a prosperous life not only this year but next year as well.

Digging three feet into the ground, he unearthed the secret room. Holding a torch and looking at the boxes of gold and silver, Yun Qing did not have a smile on his face. On the contrary, his hands were clenched tightly. Each one of these money was stained with the blood of the soldiers.

Mr Xia instructed: “Mix the gold and silver into the furniture! This way, others won’t notice it.” These pieces of furniture were very bulky and could be used as covers.

Yun Qing naturally had no objections.

There was a lot of stuff, so they had to be loaded onto more than a hundred carts. Of course, that was because the furniture took up most of the space. Other smaller things were fine.

Finding carts to haul and load the things took more than a day. After everything was loaded, Yun Qing led everyone to escort the stuff out of Xinping City, ignoring the fact that the day had grown dark. Any delay could lead to an unexpected turn of events. The sooner he delivered all these things to Yu City, the faster he would feel at ease.

After daybreak, when Yun Qing saw that no one was pursuing them outside, he handed over the task of leading the escort to Feng Dajun. With more than six hundred soldiers in the convoy, Yun Qing was not afraid even if robbers and bandits were around. Therefore, he went back to Yu City first, feeling not quite at ease about leaving that place for so many days.

Feng Dajun’s personal guard, Ah San, wondered, “Daren, these fabrics and books can still be used, but what’s the point of bringing these bulky pieces of furniture? Bringing them will only delay our journey.” The way the people of Xinping City stared at them as they left the city made him feel a little ashamed.

Feng Dajun responded: “Since the General said he wanted to bring these things back to Yu City, he must have his own intentions.” The soldiers in the military camp were not afraid of death, but they were worried that their children would be left without anyone to take care of them after they died. Now that there was a Charity Home, even if it was not perfect, at least their children still had a place where they could be fed, clothed, and kept warm, which made the soldiers feel at ease.

Ah San muttered, “What good are they? They’re not even good for firewood.” They were so thick that cutting them with an axe was extremely hard.

Feng Dajun slapped Ah San on the back of the head and said, “Don’t talk too much if you don’t understand. Walk properly on the road.” He had also raided houses in Yu City before. At that time, he only took valuable items such as gold, silver and gems, leaving everything else behind. Now, he discovered that those neglected books, papers and other things were useful. Therefore, the General must have his own reasons for going to great lengths to bring these valuable pieces of furniture to Yu City.

The fact that the Xu family had been so cleanly raided had become the talk of Xinping City. Zhao Huan told his father, the Eldest Old Master Zhao, “Father, I think Yun Qing has planted a secret agent in the Xu family; otherwise, he can’t get his hands on something so confidential.” The account book used by the Xu family when doing business beyond the Pass. It was so important that ordinary people had never even heard of it, let alone touched it.

Eldest Old Master Zhao said, “It is certain that there has been cooperation between the inner people and the outer people. The issue now is, for this secret agent to be in contact with such an important matter, he must be the most trusted confidant of the Xu family. Yun Qing has only been in Yu City for thirteen years. If he was the one who planted secret agents in the Xu residence, it is unlikely that those people would have access to the account books.” Without sufficient background investigation, how could one obtain such confidential things?

Zhao Huan thought momentarily and asked, “If it’s not Yun Qing, who else could it be?”

The Eldest Old Master Zhao replied, “It could only be one person.” Only when he saw Zhao Huan looking back at him did Eldest Old Master Zhao slowly reveal, “Marshal Qin.” Other than Marshal Qin, there was no one else he could think of.

Zhao Huan was a bit shocked, but when he seriously thought about it, what his father said also made sense: “Indeed, apart from Marshal Qin, who else has this kind of ability? I just don’t know how long Marshal Qin has been targeting the Xu family.”

The Eldest Old Master Zhao Family reminded him, “There is no point in pursuing this. It’s also because the Xu family’s ambitions have grown over the years, and they’ve acted too arrogantly; otherwise, they wouldn’t have ended up in this situation today.” In fact, the Eldest Old Master Zhao had another concern. Since Marshal Qin had planted a secret agent in the Xu family, he must also have planted one in their Zhao family. The Eldest Old Master hao just didn’t know who that spy was. His heart would not be at peace if he didn’t find out who the spy was. For fear that Zhao Huan would be worried and leak the news, the Eldest Old Master Zhao didn’t tell him about it.