Chapter 0284: Hu Lai with His Little Secret, Xie Chengze – Dark on the Outside, Red on the Inside

After Shen Yuan and Xie Jinyu left, Xie Chengze hadn’t paid any attention to matters in Jingcheng.

It wasn’t until over half a month later, when Hu Lai rushed back to Zhuolu County and brought news from the capital along the way. “Your Highness, the Palace Examination results have been announced. Lord Jing achieved the top rank as Zhuangyuan, Ouyang Jiu placed third as Tanhualang, Bian Yangchun ranked sixth, Ji Songhua fourteenth…”

“Gu Ying is the military Zhuangyuan. I heard the Crown Prince intends to recruit him for the military, offering him a general position if he’s willing. But Gu Ying declined, so he was only granted a minor military officer title called Chengxinlang.”

“And guess what~” Hu Lai said mysteriously, “I heard that Ouyang Jiu is actually the grandson of the former Grand Guardian and the son of the current Mayor of the Capital! The Grand Guardian and Grand Tutor once accompanied Emperor Taizu on campaigns. The Grand Guardian admired Emperor Taizu’s courage in rebellion, so he used his expertise in military strategy to assist Emperor Taizu in suppressing rebel forces. After Emperor Taizu passed away, he retired and returned to his hometown.”

Xie Chengze looked somewhat surprised. “You said he’s the son of the Mayor of the Capital? Then why did he claim to be from Jinzhou when we went to Yi Province?”

Zhu Xiaobiao, who was pouring hot water nearby, couldn’t help turning around in astonishment upon hearing this.

Back at the Peach Blossom Banquet, when Brother Ouyang said he was from a powerful family, Zhu Xiaobiao thought he was just bluffing. He never expected it to be true!

But if he came from Jinzhou, wasn’t he just an ordinary scholar?!

“Oh, that’s because when Lord Ouyang was young, he was thin and sickly, often teased and bullied by the young masters of prominent families in the capital. The Mayor sent him to the Grand Guardian in Jinzhou, hoping the martial Grand Guardian could teach him some martial arts.”

Hu Lai stroked his beard and explained, “Surprising, isn’t it! Lord Ouyang actually knows martial arts! Now that he’s achieved the third rank as Tanhualang, he’ll probably follow in his father’s footsteps!”

Zhu Xiaobiao blinked.

So Brother Ouyang knows martial arts—no wonder he dared to take me wandering around temples alone back then.

Although he knew Brother Ouyang was talented, he never expected him to achieve the third rank in the exams. If Brother Ouyang eventually becomes Mayor of the Capital, he’d probably grow even closer with Jing Ze…

They’re both scholars, talented literati. With Jing Ze’s abilities, he’s bound to hold high positions in the court someday. By then, the gap between Zhu Xiaobiao and Jing Ze would be immense. Only someone as outstanding as Brother Ouyang would be qualified to stand by Jing Ze’s side.

Zhu Xiaobiao sighed softly in his heart, ignoring the subtle, complicated feeling stirring within him.

Working for His Highness was pretty good—good pay, light workload, no fear of losing his head, double rest days every seven days. His Highness even said he’d saved pension money for him, promising to buy him a house in Jingcheng for a comfortable retirement listening to music and sunbathing when he’s too old to work.

This was the dream life countless commoners yearned for.

He was quite content.

Moreover, by following His Highness, he could learn many unique things. Zhu Xiaobiao found the teaching materials His Highness wrote much more useful than those pretentious ancient books.

After discussing the scholars’ affairs in the capital, Hu Lai finally revealed the ultimate outcome of his “business trip.”

“Your Highness, during this trip, I managed to ‘acquire’ this much gold.” Hu Lai sneakily held up eight fingers.

“Eight thousand taels of gold?” Xie Chengze’s eyes lit up.

Hu Lai looked at Xie Chengze with disappointment. “Your Highness! Don’t be so stingy! It’s eighty thousand taels!”

Xie Chengze spat out a mouthful of hot water. “How much? Eighty thousand taels of gold? That’s seven hundred thousand taels of silver?”

Calculating according to Jian’an’s measurement system, he counted on his fingers and exclaimed in shock, “2.5 tons of gold? How did you manage that alone?”

Sheng Shihai’s hideouts weren’t confined to just one location. Hu Lai had only been gone for half a month—how could he have secured such a vast sum so quickly?

“Of course, it was through my… ahem, through my humble connections! My years of traveling north and south weren’t in vain. I know many bank owners, all trustworthy old friends. I moved the gold to their banks for safekeeping. Wherever I go in the future, I just need to notify them to withdraw funds.”

Although Jian’an lacked development in other systems, its paper currency exchange operated extremely smoothly. Even banknotes from other regions could be exchanged for local ones elsewhere. The embezzled silver Xie Chengze had seized earlier was converted into banknotes across various places and remained usable upon reaching Yi Province.

Narrowing his eyes, Xie Chengze regarded Hu Lai with deep suspicion.

Considering Jian’an’s highly developed paper currency circulation, Hu Lai’s twenty-eight concubines, his greed for wealth, and his monthly habit of depositing money, Xie Chengze felt certain there was a secret behind it all.

However, Xie Chengze had no intention of exposing him.

With keen perception, Hu Lai retrieved a stack of banknotes from his chest and said with a wink, “Your Highness, if you wish, you could use these to open a bank in Jingcheng. Should you ever be short on funds, you could withdraw money from the bank anytime.”

Hu Lai spoke earnestly, “Money is safest when held in your own hands! You may not resume your status, attend court, or receive a salary, but you must maintain financial independence! You must have savings!”

Xie Chengze: Ok, fine, you can shut up now.

Xie Chengze took a few banknotes as private funds and returned the rest to Hu Lai. “You may proceed with the task I assigned earlier. However, I’m currently unable to move freely, so just gather intelligence for now.”

He added cautiously, “Don’t write the intelligence as a storybook! Stick to the key points!”

Hu Lai nodded. Intelligence involving “aristocratic gossip” was intriguing enough without being turned into a storybook—doing so would be superfluous.

But… Hu Lai glanced at the Crown Prince’s guards watching from a distance. “Didn’t the Crown Prince and Lord Shen advise you not to worry about these matters?”

Xie Chengze glared at him slightly. “You are my retainer.”

Hu Lai: “Alright, alright.”

Xie Chengze patiently explained further, “I believe if the court forcibly relocates the people, the outcome will be poor.”

With such a large-scale migration, how many would be willing to abandon everything and leave their hometowns? The people would inevitably complain, thinking the court was making a fuss over nothing just to seize their land and homes, and then they’d resist leaving.

As officials, one cannot expect the people to be too clever, nor do they want them to be. After all, it’s the people’s ignorance that allows those in power to maintain the dynasty’s stability.

Thus, to persuade people in an ancient feudal society to migrate, employing some feudal superstitious methods would be more effective.

Of course, let it be clear that Xie Chengze himself absolutely does not advocate feudal superstitions or crooked practices! He is a believer in democracy and science! A true successor of socialism!

He’s merely taking a slight shortcut in this feudal era!

He himself was red to the point of turning black!

Righteous to the point of becoming sinister!

…

A few days after Hu Lai’s departure, he arrived at Pingcheng and successfully made contact with Zhu Xiaobiao’s concubines. He sorted through the information the concubines had gathered from various places during this period, then began using the banknotes in his possession to bribe the maids and servants of prominent households.