Pei Zi Yun kept the keys and documents and went to the blacksmith shop to buy a new lock, a hoe and a hammer.
In his previous life, there was a rumor that the gold was hidden under a tree. High Scholar Zeng went to dig up the tree and found the gold. This was not kept a secret and was leaked out. The owner of the house found out and filed a lawsuit. In the end, most of the gold was taken away by the yamen.
"If the ruler does not keep a secret, he will lose his subject, and if the subject does not keep a secret, he will lose himself." Pei Zi Yun laughed and returned to his house. The first thing he did was to change the lock, "Whether or not the thunder was real doesn't matter. After all, the rumor was that the gold was hidden under the tree."
After changing the lock, Pei Zi Yun heaved a sigh of relief. This house belonged to him now. What if he was digging for gold, and someone came in?
When everything was done, the sky turned dark. Pei Zi Yun was filled with worries as he walked along the cobblestone path. Actually, there was only one tree in the yard, and it looked even darker under the tree.
Pei Zi Yun picked up the hoe and started digging. He dug around the tree, but found nothing. He frowned. Could it be that he bought the wrong house?
He broke out in cold sweat.
"That's not right. If the rumors in my previous life are correct, High Scholar Zeng, the first wife, the big tree in the yard, all of these should match up.
Pei Zi Yun frowned. There were other trees? He looked around, but there were none in the yard.
Suddenly, he realized that the rumor was that the tree was struck by lightning. Only then did he discover the gold. He then continued digging.
After digging for a while, he heard the sound of metal clashing. When the soil was turned over, he found a chest buried in the ground. The roots of the tree were around it.
Looking at the chest, Pei Zi Yun understood. That day, the head of the house was buried under the tree to prevent him from forgetting its location. After the family was killed, no one knew about it. The tree continued to grow until it became so big that even a person would not be able to hug it.
He dug the chest out. Pei Zi Yun saw that it was locked. Although it was rusty, the lock was still there. He thought for a while and used a hammer to knock on it.
"Pa!" Not only was the lock broken, but even the chest was broken. Pei Zi Yun paused before realizing that the chest had been rotten for a long time.
He looked at it and realized that the chest was very simple. It was filled with gold bars, one by one. He took one out and said, "Ten taels of gold!"
He nodded. "Three hundred? That would be 3,000 taels of gold, which was equivalent to 30,000 taels of silver? It's about the same as the hidden wealth of an assistant minister. "
Pei Zi Yun took out one of the gold bars and moved the chest under his bed. When he got back, he would fill the chest with mud. It would be troublesome to retrieve the gold in broad daylight. If Zhang Cheng came back to retrieve the gold, it would be troublesome. If Zhang Cheng didn't come back today, Pei Zi Yun would find someone to clear out all his belongings tomorrow.
Just as he was thinking, he heard someone shouting at the door, "Open the door! Open the door! Who entered my house and even locked my door? Be careful, or I'll report you to the yamen. "
Zhang Cheng was drunk. He hammered on the door and screamed crazily.
Pei Zi Yun broke out in cold sweat, "In my previous life, this was how High Scholar Zeng was discovered by the landlord, and he ended up in a lawsuit right?"
He then filled the chest with mud and went to open the door. Zhang Cheng was already drunk. When he saw Pei Zi Yun, he was enraged, "Who are you? Why are you in my house? Be careful, or I'll report you to the yamen."
Pei Zi Yun saw that this man was drunk and wanted to barge into the yard. He looked at the crowd and grunted. He then stepped forward and gave the man a tight slap across his face. Only then did he realize that he had already sold the house. Pei Zi Yun then shouted coldly, "Scram!"
He was a High Scholar, and could not be bothered with human rights. At this point, he had to have a good time.
Although Zhang Cheng was afraid, he didn't know why he refused to scram. Instead, he puffed up his chest and shouted, "Let me tell you, my things are still here, and I have to retrieve them. Let me sleep for a few nights, and I'll leave. It doesn't matter who you report me to. What's wrong with me staying here for a few nights?"
He wanted to act shamelessly and sleep in the house. As for the rest of his life, Zhang Cheng had his own plans. He went to the brothel and saw that Xiao Hua had already been ransomed. He then came back, and did not want to sell the house.
Seeing this shameless man, Pei Zi Yun cleared his throat, "This house has already been registered, and you still want to enter my house? According to the laws of the Xu dynasty, anyone who enters a house without the owner's permission will be punished with ten strokes of the rod. Trespassing into an official's house will be punished with three times the punishment. "
Pei Zi Yun glared at the man as he spoke coldly.
Zhang Cheng was somewhat afraid, but he forced himself to remain calm, "Why should I? This is my house, and my things are still inside. I'll retrieve them and sleep for a few days before leaving. This house is so big, why are you so stingy? Since you won't be able to finish staying here, why not let me stay here for a few days?"
"Scram, if you dare to enter, I'll report you to the officials. I'm a High Scholar, and I'm more than enough to feed you. Thirty strokes of the rod will make you suffer. You might even die!" Pei Zi Yun said coldly as he closed the door. At this point, the gold was still in the yard, and would not allow this man to enter. If he really barged in, Pei Zi Yun would definitely kill him.
When Zhang Cheng heard Pei Zi Yun's words, he was shocked. Thirty strokes of the rod were indeed enough to kill someone. He then turned around and left.
The onlookers all laughed out loud. The Zhang family had been living a comfortable life ever since they had taken over Assistant Minister Xiao's house. They did not expect this family to be a scoundrel who indulged in debauchery and gambling.
In this generation, they had even sold their house for a prostitute. Everyone around looked down on them. Seeing this man trying to stay in the house and failing, they all laughed out loud.
Zhang Cheng walked far away before he spat out angrily. He then found a rock and sat down, his eyes darting around as he thought of something.
It was late at night, and Pei Zi Yun bought ten wooden boxes. He then retrieved the gold bars from under his bed and stored them separately.
Each box contained thirty gold bars and three hundred taels of silver. The gold bars shone brightly under the light of the lantern. Pei Zi Yun looked at the gold bars and was somewhat moved. This was a huge sum of money. Since he had been reborn, he had only obtained some gold from the legends. It was too easy to become rich overnight. After looking at the gold bars, he closed the box.
Princess Mansion
The streets were bustling with activity. There were two huge stone lions squatting at the entrance. The main door was not open, and there were people coming and going from the side door. Pei Zi Yun walked up to the door and was greeted by the gatekeeper.
Pei Zi Yun handed over the list of gifts. Usually, there would be many strangers coming to the Princess Mansion to pay their respects. This was not a rare sight. However, it was rare to see someone come so early in the morning. When he received the list, he was shocked.
Pei Zi Yun smiled, "This is a small gift. I have something to ask of you, and I hope you can report it to me."
As he said this, he handed over a silver ingot. The gatekeeper looked at it and realized that it was ten taels of silver. He was shocked. Even for the Princess Mansion, this was considered a huge gift. He then understood that this person must have a huge request, and knew that it would be difficult to agree to it. The gatekeeper was expressionless.
"Young Master, please return first. I will report the list of gifts to the Grand Princess. Whether it's successful or not, it depends on her mood."
Pei Zi Yun then said, "Whether it's successful or not, please reply."
The gatekeeper replied, "Of course."
This rule was very strict. At this point, only the list of gifts had been reported. If the Princess had agreed, she would have accepted the gift. The gatekeeper then received the list of gifts and went to report it to the butler.
After taking a few steps, the gatekeeper noticed someone walking out from the moon cave. It was the butler. He didn't say anything and bowed respectfully. When the butler walked over, he said, "Please take a look at this list of gifts."
The butler looked at it and was stumped. His expression changed as he asked, "What's going on?"
The gatekeeper then explained everything in detail to the butler. Only then did the butler's expression soften. He then said, "Go and check up on this Pei Zi Yun. There's no time for anything else. Take the Princess's card and ask the central office. The new Top Scorer of Ying Prefecture should have information on this person."
The central office was actually the country's intelligence agency. It was a highly confidential matter. Just by taking the Princess's card, they could investigate it. This showed the influence and power of the Grand Princess.
It was said that the Grand Princess was too lazy to sleep. She only woke up after ten o 'clock. The serving maids kept coming in and out of the room, carrying clothes, milk and rose petals. They helped the Grand Princess tidy up the room. Once she was done, it took two hours before she finished her breakfast. However, it was already lunch time.
Soon after, all sorts of dishes were served. Even in the winter, the dishes were still steaming hot. The dishes that were served weren't very nutritious, but were prepared by the Imperial Physician according to the Grand Princess's physique.
The last dish that was served was a bowl of black-bone chicken soup. There were several black wolfberries, some beef shank and black-bone chicken. According to the Imperial Physician, this soup could strengthen one's marrow and nourish one's skin.
The Grand Princess took a sip of the soup. The butler then walked up to her and whispered, "Your Highness, someone delivered a gift this morning. The list of gifts isn't light at all."
The butler then handed the list of gifts over to the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess placed her spoon down and received the list. When she saw it, her smile froze. It was written that there were a thousand taels of gold. This wasn't a small sum.
In an agricultural society, although the population of the dynasty was huge, the amount of wealth that could be accumulated was very limited.
The Grand Princess was an important representative of the Imperial Clan, and naturally knew that one shouldn't listen to the nonsense of the people below. A Prime Minister or a Duke would have a wealth of over a hundred thousand taels of silver. Furthermore, this was accumulated over tens of years. The Grand Prince of the dynasty was the grandson of the Emperor. His annual salary was five thousand taels of silver and five thousand stones of rice.
The Grand Princess was bestowed with a piece of land. She could earn one thousand five hundred stones of rice and two thousand strings of silver.
She was the Grand Princess, and thus was given a double salary. She had two pieces of land, and could earn three thousand stones of rice and four thousand taels of silver.
Ten thousand taels of silver. This was the amount of money that a Prime Minister could earn. A few days ago, her nephew, Marquis Ying had wanted to bestow upon his father, who was a distant cousin of the Emperor, the title of Prince of the Prefecture. (Note that it was a posthumous title, not a dead man) He had only spent ten thousand taels of silver.
According to Pei Zi Yun's words, ten thousand taels of silver was a sum that only the members of the Imperial Clan could afford. This thirty thousand taels of silver was something that the Minister's family had accumulated for tens of years, or even one or two generations.
The Grand Princess paused for some time before smiling. She then placed the list of gifts on the table, "Someone who is unaccountably solicitous must be hiding evil intentions. With such a heavy gift, I'm afraid it won't be easy to fulfill the request."
The Grand Princess was suspicious. Who could be so heavy-handed? Could it be Ji Bei Hou from the South? Or could it be the Northern General of Han Wu? Or could it be the Duan Du Duo who was causing an uproar?
The Grand Princess hesitated before asking, "Who is it?"
The butler then handed the name card over. The Grand Princess took it and looked at it before laughing, "So it's a High Scholar. Could it be that he wishes to ask about the examination? I can't do that."
The Grand Princess then muttered to herself, "Besides, ten thousand taels of silver can be donated to a prefectural magistrate. Why ask about it? Have you heard of this Pei Zi Yun? "
The butler was prepared for this and replied, "Your Highness, if I'm not mistaken, this person should be the Top Scorer Pei from Ying Prefecture. He is from the same prefecture as Ji Bei Hou. Although I haven't heard of him seeking refuge with Ji Bei Hou, we have to be careful."
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