The floorboards were pried open one by one, Song Ming's eyes still hazy with disbelief, as overwhelming joy spread across his face. He stammered, his mouth agape, "Heavens, oh heavens, it… it was real, we actually found it."
The entire floor was covered in tightly packed silver ingots, dulled by oxidation. Gu Yanchen, however, did not stop. After tearing up the floor, he drew his saber and thoroughly dismantled the walls.
On one wall, the ingots tumbled out in a cascade, their weight threatening to make the floor collapse.
Song Ming's jaw dropped. "Two hundred thousand taels, twenty thousand jin! How could such a heavy load be supported?"
Gu Yanchen exhaled, "I was negligent. With the load-bearing walls in place, it was fine for a short period. Send for people now. Bring more carts and take the silver directly to the Ministry of Works."
"Ah? Don't we need to hand it over to the Ministry of Revenue?"
"If it passes through too many hands, who knows if this silver will be used completely for weapons?"
Song Ming immediately and without principle switched his allegiance.
What were laws and regulations? The sky would fall, and their boss would bear it.
Just as Gu Yanchen had predicted, all four rooms on the second floor, and even the railings of the long corridor, were lined with silver ingots.
After weighing, the total was precisely two hundred thousand taels of silver.
Those who had been in charge of the search regretted their leniency; they hadn't dared to destroy the house. If they had demolished the load-bearing walls then, what silver wouldn't have been found? Fortunately, their leader was meticulous.
A long line of carriages, laden with silver, paraded through the streets. Gu Yanchen sent word to his father while instructing the Minister of Works to prepare for the handover.
The Minister of Works was so excited he nearly fainted.
With the silver for casting found, his charges would be reduced by more than half. He had expected the silver to reach the Ministry of Works through many channels, inevitably being skimmed and delaying the work.
He never imagined that Prince Rui would be so considerate of the army. It made sense; he had risen through the military ranks and understood the hardships of soldiers.
At Prince Ning's mansion, Situ Jue, upon receiving the news, smashed porcelain all over the Ning King Consort's room, unable to contain his rage.
The Ning King Consort's face turned ashen. For a long time, she didn't dare approach, only from a distance faintly offering, "Your Highness, please calm your anger."
"How can I calm down? What kind of job did your elder brother do? He's in the Dali Temple, unable to find the silver and save the man, and then he was beaten to it by Situ Yan, that bastard."
He had painstakingly schemed to get the two hundred thousand taels from the Ministry of Works, only for it to end up benefiting Situ Yan.
Jian Yuzi, the Ning King Consort, had been in the mansion for seven years without bearing children. Despite her influential family background, she held no authority. Furthermore, an early miscarriage had damaged her health, leaving her bedridden for more than half the year. If not for the loyalty of her personal maids, she would likely have turned to dust by now.
What could she possibly know of external affairs? She understood that Situ Jue was merely taking out his frustration from outside on her.
A profound sorrow welled up within her, and she simply retreated to a corner of the wall, no longer moving.
Ultimately, if her family had shown even a shred of pity, how could she be living such a life? Since Prince Ning returned to the capital, her younger sister Yu Yan had visited the mansion twice under the guise of checking on her health.
Even if she were foolish, she now understood that she had become a discarded pawn.
Situ Jue, however, paid no mind to this. In his eyes, Jian Yuzi was a member of the Jian family. Since Jian Shijie had failed his duty, she naturally deserved to bear his wrath.
Yet, seeing her timid and submissive demeanor, he found it uninteresting. With a flick of his sleeve, he left the room. He happened to see a graceful figure approaching, her every movement enchanting. As she curtsied, her low-cut neckline parted slightly, revealing a patch of snow-white skin, and her voice was so tender it seemed to drip with sweetness: "Brother-in-law, why are you so angry for no reason?"
Under normal circumstances, such a beauty would have long since been taken into his arms to extinguish his fire.
But today, he felt a surge of anger whenever he saw anyone from the Jian family.
He let out a cold snort, waved his sleeve, and walked away, not even sparing her a second glance. He was in a hurry to settle accounts with Jian Shijie.
A servant rushed forward: "Your Highness, Young Master Jian Er requests an audience."
Jian Shizhao?
He still dared to show up. It was his idea, the one he had guaranteed would be foolproof, and yet such a huge blunder occurred. He hadn't even sought him out to settle the score, and now he was coming to him.
Situ Jue's face darkened. "Go, to the study."
Jian Shizhao had come to plead for his elder brother, and at the same time, he did not forget to lament: "Brother-in-law, the Dali Temple is now entirely controlled by Prince Rui. How can anyone else easily interfere? Let this matter go, but I fear he will ruin more of your good deeds in the future."