The rain and snow became heavier and heavier, turning into large snowflakes which fell onto the surface of the water before disappearing. The sky was dark and gloomy. At this point, one of the boatmen said, "We've arrived at Shigu Island."
Pei Zi Yun exited the boat and stepped onto the deck. All he could see was a vast expanse of white. He then ordered the boat to stop.
When the boat stopped, Pei Zi Yun looked up and ordered, "Circle the island once."
"Yes!"
The island was conical in shape, and the wind and snow were very strong. One could only vaguely see that it was full of rocks, and in the crevices of the rocks were shrubs and small trees, which were now all covered by snow. The sailor carefully avoided the nearby rocks, which was not an easy thing to do in such darkness.
Pei Zi Yun's gaze swept across the place, combining his memories with what he had seen.
'Places that can sink metal must be places that are easy to navigate. I shall retrieve them in the future. If that's the case, there won't be many places that can sink metal. '
"Head southwest for five hundred meters and approach the island." Pei Zi Yun then ordered, "Fetch some ropes."
Following the order, the boat gradually neared the shore. Two sailors turned around and retrieved some ropes. Pei Zi Yun looked at the dozens of sailors in front of him and said, "There's a sunken ship underwater, and it's nearby. That's our target."
When the sailors heard this, they started shivering. One of them then said, "Young Master, it's extremely cold now. If we enter the water now, we'll freeze. Even alcohol won't be able to withstand it."
Pei Zi Yun stretched out his hands as snowflakes landed on them. He then laughed, "Not you guys."
He then looked at He Qing Qing, "I'll go down. If these people make any strange movements, kill them all."
"Yes, Young Master." He Qing Qing replied and waved her hands. The villagers all drew their blades and glared at Pei Zi Yun. She thought for some time before saying, "Why don't we go down?"
"You guys can't either. You'll freeze if you enter the water. I'll go down myself."
He then pointed to the water tank which had ropes attached to it. It could be lifted and lowered by a winch. With a shake, the water tank sank into the sea.
"Young Master, it's not deep. It's about ten meters deep."
Pei Zi Yun nodded his head, "Watch me. When I shake it, pull it up."
"Qing Qing, pull it up and place it in the cabin."
As soon as he finished speaking, he did not hesitate any longer. Pei Zi Yun dove into the sea, splashing up a few waves. At this point, snowflakes were falling from the sky, and the seawater was cold. Pei Zi Yun gritted his teeth and circulated his Qi around his body, isolating himself from the cold.
There was an undercurrent in the water, and Pei Zi Yun could feel it rushing against his body. In the cold water, he could see many colourful fishes.
Just a few meters below, a boat appeared. Pei Zi Yun couldn't help but be overjoyed. This was the treasure of the previous dynasty. At that time, they had thought that they could make a comeback, and had hidden it so that it would be easier to find.
The water was suffocating. Pei Zi Yun circulated his inner Qi and managed to buy himself some time. Without hesitation, he pounced forward, only to see some human skeletons.
"It's a dead Sunken Gold Man!"
After making two rounds, Pei Zi Yun realized that the ship wasn't damaged at all. It was completely submerged, and the cabin doors were sealed shut. He then raised his sword and pierced through.
After all, it had been many years. With a single stab, he entered the room and saw layers upon layers of wooden boxes.
The wooden boxes were made of good wood, and were rather sturdy. Priing one open, he saw rows of gold bricks. The gold bricks were engraved with official seals. These were the gold bricks of the previous dynasty that cost a hundred taels of silver each.
Pei Zi Yun didn't hesitate any longer, as he dragged one of the boxes to the water tank.
Gold was very heavy, and a box of gold bricks was actually very small. The water tank was very big, and it wasn't enough to hold one. He had to drag ten of them before it was full. He couldn't hold it in any longer, and started pulling the ropes from above.
Ten meters was a short distance, and he managed to pull it up in an instant. After being dehydrated, it was extremely heavy.
"That's right, a box of twenty bricks. Ten boxes would be two hundred bricks. That would be twenty thousand taels of silver!" After a few breaths, Pei Zi Yun was out of the water. He could still hold on for a while in the water, but once out of the water, he was frozen solid.
"Hurry and transport them to the cabin, then sink them down!" Pei Zi Yun floated on the surface of the water and gave the order.
He Qing Qing immediately ordered her men to carry the ten boxes out, before sinking them down again. The boxes were continuously transported to the cabin, and the sailors on the deck looked at each other in dismay.
Only the mountain people looked normal. However, there were only six water tanks, and the rest of the water tanks were much lighter. They were all antiques and treasures.
Even so, after being in the water for two hours, Pei Zi Yun's face was pale, and his skin was turning green from the cold.
At this point, the cabin was filled with hot water and soup. Pei Zi Yun didn't have the time to look at them, and ate his meal before falling asleep.
The next day, the sun rose, and the sun shone down on the boat, bringing warmth to the boat. At this point, the boat had already sailed back to the cabin. Pei Zi Yun then went to the cabin and opened the door. He was shocked.
On the wooden shelves that had been prepared beforehand, there were pieces of gold bricks.
"I've already counted them. There's a total of one thousand three hundred bricks, worth one hundred and thirty thousand taels of gold."
"Apart from this, there's also an imperial seal, a golden book, an antique, and a few other things that I don't recognize." He Qing Qing hadn't slept the entire night. Although she was exhausted, she couldn't help but blush in excitement, "Many years ago, even after the Master killed so many bandits, he didn't have this much gold."
"Hm, this is the accumulation of an entire dynasty's wealth." Although Pei Zi Yun had expected this, when he heard the figure of 130,000 taels of silver, he was somewhat disappointed. He laughed at himself for being greedy.
The income from the land was 30 million taels of silver, the salt tax was 700 taels, and the deed tax was 2 million taels of silver. The country's annual income was 40 million taels of silver, and 13 million taels of grain. Now this gold was worth 1.3 million taels of silver, or even 1.5 million taels of silver!
And he thought it was too little?
"The main thing is that there are rumors of 300,000 taels of gold, or even 500,000 taels of gold. But when I think about it, the rumors are exaggerated. Besides, the last time I saw it, the Prime Minister's family was only worth a few hundred thousand taels of silver. The Crown Prince only earns 20,000 taels of silver and 20,000 grain a year. This 1.5 million taels of silver is enough to kill me a hundred times over!"
Thinking up to this point, Pei Zi Yun stopped smiling, "When we reach the pier, don't stop there. Sail the boat straight back to Golden Island, and keep in touch with me."
"Yes!" He Qing Qing acknowledged.
However, although Pei Zi Yun was happy, he didn't really need so much wealth. He was already very rich. It was obvious that this huge sum of money would remain hidden on Golden Island for a long time.
His target was the jade seal, the golden book, and the antiques.
With just one look, Pei Zi Yun shook his head. This golden book was used to bestow titles. The Emperor would bestow titles to his vassals, vassals, clans, concubines, and officials. He would then hold a ceremony to bestow the book and the seal.
If it was in the previous dynasty, it would have been dazzling. But now, it had lost its luster, and had lost its effectiveness. Only the jade seal still contained a faint trace of Imperial Qi.
"But it's just red Imperial Qi." Although it looked amazing, it wasn't even as valuable as the county magistrate's seal. Pei Zi Yun tossed it aside.
"This kind of seal of the previous dynasty is only valuable as a collector's item. Not only is it useless, it might even attract trouble."
"It would be a pity to destroy it. I'll just seal it in a stone room."
After searching for a few times, he finally found a pearl. He then heaved a sigh of relief, "I've searched everywhere, and finally found something. I don't know who left it behind."
"I'm tired now, I'll absorb it later."
After half a day of sailing, they finally arrived at the pier of the capital city. The moment the boat docked, they jumped off the boat and left.
Pei Zi Yun was extremely tired as well. With the pearl in his arms, he told the ox-cart his address and left. Leaning against the cart, he fell asleep.
When he reached his residence, it was only noon when it started snowing again. He could hear the sounds of people singing and playing instruments. Pei Zi Yun listened to the music and saw Ren Wei coming out to welcome him. His face was pale.
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable living here, or are you having trouble with your business?"
He then looked around, "The yard has been cleaned up, why is there a horse here? Oh right, it's business, it's alright to suffer some losses. "
Ren Wei took a deep breath and said, "Young Master, the Crown Prince has sent someone here, and it's urgent!"
Pei Zi Yun retracted his smile and walked in. He then saw a government official, whom he recognized. His face was pale and he asked, "What's wrong? Why are you like this? Did something happen?"
The official's tone was heavy, "Dao Master, something has happened to the Crown Prince. I was ordered by the Imperial Concubine to rush here. You weren't around, and I didn't have to wait for long."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he frowned, "Don't panic, tell me everything."
"Yes!"
The official regained his composure and said, "It's been said that a servant from the Crown Prince's Mansion went to the White Wind Monastery to pray. She knelt down in front of the statue and said that the Crown Prince had an affair with a concubine. Coincidentally, a Daoist overheard this and reported it to the Emperor."
"The Emperor was enraged, and ordered the Crown Prince to enter the palace to explain."
"The Crown Prince had no choice but to enter the palace. The Imperial Concubine then sent me to inform the Emperor."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he was taken aback. He then thought of the aphrodisiac incident in his previous life. It was said that the servant was praying and was overheard by a Daoist. The Emperor then ordered the Crown Prince to enter the palace to explain. The funniest thing was that the Crown Prince had been carrying a drug with him. When the Emperor found out that it was poison, he thought it was aphrodisiac.
At that point, the Emperor was enraged and deposed the Crown Prince.
This sounded like a joke. Firstly, the Crown Prince had an affair with a concubine. Such a secret, how could a servant from the Crown Prince's Mansion know about it?
Why would this servant run to the White Wind Monastery to pray for this matter to be leaked?
Although the White Wind Monastery was known as the biggest palace in the capital, and had connections with the Imperial Court, a Daoist was still a Daoist. How could he report this to the Emperor?
The Emperor ordered the Crown Prince to enter the palace to explain, and the Crown Prince had been carrying an aphrodisiac with him. The Crown Prince was so stupid, why would he bring an aphrodisiac with him to explain to the Emperor?
Furthermore, because of a mere woman, the Emperor deposed the Crown Prince?
To put it bluntly, unless it was the Empress or the Emperor's own mother, such a small matter in the Imperial Harem wouldn't affect the foundation of the country. Why would a mere concubine depose the Crown Prince?
In the previous life, the Crown Prince had no sons, and the Emperor took the opportunity to depose him.
'What about now?'
'He won't be deposed, but it will be a huge blow to the Crown Prince. The advantage that the Crown Prince had gained over the past few days will be gone.'
'There's an expert in King Lu's Mansion!' As he thought of this, Pei Zi Yun stood up, "Where is the Crown Prince now?"
"The Crown Prince has his own rules when he travels. When I came out, there should be about an hour left. He should be at Sky Road by now." The official thought before speaking.
Pei Zi Yun paused as he calculated the time, "There's still time!"
As he said this, he turned around and looked for the official's horse. He whipped it and galloped out of the door.
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