Chapter 857

Hu Xiaotian said: "This is how I got this silver." He recounted how he obtained the silver; although the account was correct, he concealed a lot in the specific amounts. The wealth he painstakingly extorted couldn't just be given cheaply to Qiqi. The Dakang state treasury is empty, the whole country is in extreme shortage of money. Who knows if this little girl won't see money and go for it; if she tries to blackmail blackmail, wouldn't I be drawing water with a bamboo basket—all for nothing.

Qiqi felt no interest in this silver, coldly said: "Dakang's current situation is inseparable from these officials who harm the public and enrich themselves; based solely on their salaries, where could they have so much family wealth?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "What Your Highness means is..."

Qiqi said: "Do you want me to kill them all to help you vent your anger?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I never thought of that."

Qiqi said: "Being unable to tolerate small things will ruin great plans; matters have priorities; under the current situation, maintaining stability is key; I will settle these accounts with them later."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Princess truly is far-sighted and strategic." Yet he secretly rejoiced, not wanting Qiqi to kill these people now with a click; from this incident he could see that these officials had large sums of profit to be squeezed; raiding and exterminating them might not reveal how much wealth they hid; only a little extortion could reap the greatest benefit.

Qiqi said: "You don't need to feed me bewildering soup; in fact, you don't want me to kill them now, otherwise you'd cut off your own source of wealth." She understood Hu Xiaotian's nature quite clearly.

Hu Xiaotian wryly smiled: "Princess, you wronged me; if I valued wealth, I would have kept these fifty thousand taels of silver for myself, why offer them to the Princess?"

Qiqi said: "Who knows if you tampered with it?"

Hu Xiaotian's heart pounded: "Your Highness, I am loyally devoted to you with all my heart; saying this, I feel utterly wronged."

Qiqi said: "What are you nervous about? I'm not planning to investigate you."

"Um..."

Qiqi said: "I didn't summon you to discuss this matter; I want to entrust this place to you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "God Strategy Manor?"

Qiqi nodded.

Hu Xiaotian wryly smiled: "Your Highness, you know as well as I do that abolishing God Strategy Manor was proposed by Hong Beimo and approved by the Emperor. The matter just passed not long ago, and now you want to rebuild it— isn't that opposing the Emperor? Putting me in charge would be openly opposing Hong Beimo."

Qiqi smiled: "You don't dare?"

"Dare! For Your Highness, what wouldn't I dare do?" Hu Xiaotian declared resolutely.

Qiqi said: "It's not like I'm asking you to die; why put on this heroic self-sacrifice act?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I'm not afraid of death, let alone doing things for the Princess!"

Qiqi said: "Although there is this plan, it's not to be carried out publicly. Externally, this place is said to be a venue for recruiting talent."

Hu Xiaotian thought: "You're just deceiving yourself; with Hong Beimo's wit, how could you be fooled so easily? Moreover, your actions are blatantly 'no silver here three hundred taels'—do you think not mentioning God Strategy Manor means no one will know? You're just an inexperienced little girl."

Qiqi muttered to herself for a while, noticing Hu Xiaotian had no reaction, and angrily said: "Why aren't you speaking?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "When the Princess speaks, I certainly wouldn't dare to interrupt."

"Well. I've said all this; now it's your turn to give your opinion."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Since Your Highness wants to recruit talent but doesn't want to draw Hong Beimo's attention too early, there's no need to be so ostentatious. Moreover, there's no need to choose the former site of God Strategy Manor. Kangdu is so big; finding a suitable spot to attract talent isn't that easy."

Qiqi blinked: "That makes some sense."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Actually, the key to recruiting talent isn't the place, but funds. As the saying goes, generous rewards attract brave men; if you're willing to spend money, you'll surely attract plenty of talent."

Qiqi said: "I knew you wanted to extort me."

Hu Xiaotian wryly smiled: "Your Highness, you wronged my good intentions; if I had that thought, would I have voluntarily sent you the banknotes?"

Qiqi said: "Your scheming runs deep; who knows if you aren't trying to cast a brick to attract jade, using those fifty thousand taels of silver as bait?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I haven't asked you for silver; there's something I want to tell you: the Third Prince previously oversaw the confiscation of officials' property for the court, and the accounts I mentioned were those officials' actions under his direction."

Qiqi frowned slightly: "You mean he led this?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded: "Ordinary officials wouldn't have such courage; the Third Prince was already establishing God Strategy Manor in his lifetime, maintaining such a large institution would require considerable funds. According to my preliminary estimate, the Third Prince likely concealed a huge amount of wealth during the confiscations—perhaps as much as five hundred thousand taels of gold."

Qiqi's eyes lit up at the number; if she could obtain this wealth, building God Strategy Manor would be no problem. She whispered: "I just don't know where he hid these riches."

Hu Xiaotian said: "That's not easy either; hiding such a amount of gold and silver couldn't be done by the Third Prince alone—he must have had subordinates help. The most likely places are the Prince's mansion or this God Strategy Manor; questioning those who once served him would surely yield clues."

Qiqi, hearing this, was delighted: "Hu Xiaotian, I'll entrust this to you; I can ask the Emperor for the Prince's residence to live in."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely see this through smoothly."

Qiqi also said: "The Emperor is deeply grieved over my aunt's matter; seeing her ashes, he wept to the point of fainting several times. He has decided that after my aunt's burial, he will personally go to Heavenly Dragon Temple to chant sutras for a month, to liberate her soul and also that of other recently deceased relatives."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Having such a benevolent and magnanimous Emperor is truly a blessing for the people."

Qiqi said: "He proposed that you take charge of guarding and protecting him at Heavenly Dragon Temple."

Hu Xiaotian, hearing this, couldn't help but be startled: "What?" Although Li Yuncong had previously said he would let him find an opportunity to accompany the old Emperor to Heavenly Dragon Temple, he hadn't expected Long Xuan'en to volunteer proactively; this seemed suspicious, since the old Emperor wasn't familiar with him—perhaps someone had advised him in the Emperor's presence to let him come along?

Qiqi noticed his expression change and softly said: "How come? You don't want to?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "As Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, protecting the Emperor is originally my duty and responsibility; the Emperor thinking of me shows his trust and esteem; how could I not be willing? I just feel overwhelmed by the favor, so I'm startled, unable to believe such good fortune would fall on me."

Qiqi chuckled: "You're all talk and no action; you really don't want to go."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If I had to say I don't want to, there's some truth to that; accompanying the Emperor to stay in the temple for a whole month, eating vegetarian and chanting Buddha, not seeing a single opposite-sex friend—just thinking about it is dull and tedious."

Qiqi said: "I also don't know why the Emperor picked your name, but since he proposed it, I have no objection; moreover, I feel the Emperor's trip to Heavenly Dragon Temple isn't just for chanting and liberation."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The Emperor trusts you so much; what else could he be hiding from you?"

Qiqi said: "Originally this matter wouldn't concern you, but Mu Rongzhan was injured while besieging Ji Feihua and still hasn't recovered from his internal injuries; the duty to protect the Emperor naturally falls on your shoulders, though it's not immediate—my aunt's burial date hasn't been set, so you can continue to enjoy your leisurely days for now."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Being by the Princess's side is truly following the right person; she treats me with care and consideration; I constantly feel like a breeze in spring; as the saying goes, a fine bird chooses its tree..."

Qiqi coldly looked at him: "Don't give me that act, you're a bird and I'm wood? You think I can't hear you cursing me?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I, your subordinate, dare to speak, but having too many ulterior motives is not good."

Qiqi said: "If I don't keep my guard up when dealing with someone like you, there's always a chance you'll betray me at any moment."

Hu Xiaotian said: "If the princess thinks that way, I have nothing more to say."

Qiqi said: "Heavenly Dragon Temple has always had close ties with the imperial family; this time you follow them, you must absolutely protect His Majesty's safety, and be sure to watch who he comes into contact with."

Hu Xiaotian understood that Qiqi simply wanted him to keep a close watch on the Laohuangdi, to see what tricks he was up to at Heavenly Dragon Temple; he guessed this little girl didn't trust the Laohuangdi, and he whispered: "I fully understand the princess's meaning, Princess, rest assured, your subordinate will definitely handle this matter solidly and reliably."

Qiqi nodded satisfactorily: "Just do what you just said your way; in any case, I'll give you full support in recruiting talent, and I'll also entrust you with overseeing the Divine Strategy Manor."

"Yes!"

Qiqi turned around and suddenly said: "It's going to rain!"

Hu Xiaotian lifted his head and saw the sun shining brightly in the sky; he was about to say how could that be, but then he suddenly remembered he had given the jade pixiu to Qiqi, she must have therefore predicted the weather, and he smiled and said, "Princess, you should head back early too; whatever you do, don't get soaked by the rain."

Qiqi said, "You hurry up and go too!"

The two parted ways at the gate; Hu Xiaotian had not gone far when a torrential downpour suddenly fell from the sky. This guy hadn't taken a carriage today, coming alone on horseback to keep the appointment, and he and Little Gray were soaked to the skin. Now it seems the jade pixiu is still very useful, while the five-colored coiled dragon gold medal, although it looks imposing, is merely symbolic and has no practical value at all.

Returning to the Hu Mansion, Hu Xiaotian handed Little Gray over to Hu Fo to take care of; like a drowned chicken, he ran back to the courtyard where he lived. Seeing Huo Shengnan and Liang Da Zhuang also just returned, both of them were also soaked through. Liang Da Zhuang, not thinking of himself, hurried up to Hu Xiaotian to fawn over him: "Young master, how are you completely soaked? I'll have someone prepare hot water for your bath; whatever you do, don't catch a chill." (To be continued~^~)