Qian Gui's heart was filled with such intense hatred that he felt like vomiting blood. He wished he could rush to the inn right now and chop his 'dear nephew' into pieces!
[The money Eunuch Qian had sent home over the years was all used by the Qian family for themselves or to support their clan members, which essentially meant aiding the main branch of the Tong family—the descendants of Prince Xi, the legitimate heir of the former dynasty, and the line of Prince Yue, son of the deposed Crown Prince.
These direct descendants of the former imperial family, who were once just a step away from the throne, had never given up their dream of restoration.
The wealth and loyal servants they brought with them during their escape were all dedicated to this cause. Huang Xiaoshan, the fellow villager Eunuch Qian had taken special care of in the palace, was actually a descendant of the Tong family's loyal servants.
He entered the palace partly to gather information about the Dayan imperial family, and partly to keep an eye on Eunuch Qian, fearing that one day he might recall how different his parents and siblings seemed compared to before he was five, and start suspecting their true identities.]
Eunuch Qian: When he was little, especially during the difficult times of fleeing, he really had wondered why his parents and older siblings didn't look quite the same as before.
But an animal-like instinct told him he couldn't ask; asking would lead to something bad.
As he grew older, these doubts gradually faded from memory. He never imagined these people would be so cautious. Even after all these years, using his entire life's savings hadn't bought him a shred of their trust.
Even Qian Tao, who was too young to remember anything at three, had been sold far away by them.
Emperor Mingxi also began to understand why his subordinates had failed to detect these people's existence for so many years—they were simply too cautious.
A part of the Dayan court had always been secretly searching for the 'remnants' of the former dynasty. It was only in recent years, as nearly a century had passed since the former dynasty's fall, that the search efforts had gradually relaxed.
Who would have thought that after all this time, their dream of restoration still hadn't been abandoned!
Was the allure of power too great, or had the Tong family turned restoration into an obsession, the very reason they lived?
"Even if Eunuch Qian has a considerable amount of private savings, it might be enough to support that large family, but to raise an army for a rebellion—a venture that risks losing one's head—how many could they possibly afford with that? It wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket, would it?"
[Indeed, but they also rely on that money to fund their searches across the land. Consider it seed capital?]
"Search? Searching for what? People, objects, or money?"
[Hehehe, Master, you guessed right again. They are looking for money, searching for the treasury that the Tong family ancestors left for their descendants to use for resurgence.]
Hearing this, Emperor Mingxi and the Dayan court officials' eyes instantly lit up. They were not unaware of the legends about a treasure left behind by the Tong family ancestors.
Over the years, both the court and private individuals had secretly searched for it, but no one had ever found even a trace of a clue.
Could the answer be revealed today?
The eyes of the Minister of Revenue, Dong Qianli, shone with an astonishing light—the gleam of gold.
The location of the former dynasty's treasure was still unknown, yet in his mind, he had already planned how to split the money between the imperial privy purse and the state treasury, and how to spend his share!
A colleague standing beside him, seeing his almost greedily glowing green eyes, couldn't help but shiver and hugged himself tightly!
Was Minister Dong having another one of his episodes?
Why were the symptoms different this time? The way he was looking at him was as if he wanted to devour him, but... but he wasn't interested in men!
If Minister Dong tried to force himself on him, should he comply or resist? Waiting in the court, quite urgently!
"Why do mortals, once they have a bit of money, always like to hide it away? Wealthy families do it, and the imperial family does it too! If silver and gold aren't spent, don't circulate, then won't the market always suffer from a shortage of currency?
Even I, who doesn't understand economics, know that hoarding large amounts of gold and silver for decades or even a century—this kind of 'currency hoarding' or 'savings accumulation'—in a society where the monetary system is based on precious metals, would definitely affect the court's economy.
In severe cases, it could even lead to a 'currency shortage'! Prices and people's livelihoods would be affected, destabilizing society.
What's the point of hiding money here? It can't hatch offspring, and it's not like putting it in a bank where it grows with interest!"
Emperor Mingxi and Dong Qianli both had a flash of understanding in their eyes. So, hoarding gold and silver could have such a significant impact? It could cause a currency shortage? With less and less gold and silver in circulation, some commoners had even resorted to barter. Could that also be due to this influence?
And what did that 'bank' mean? Why would money grow if left there?
They wished Yue Fuguang would say more if she knew how.
Yue Fuguang: Don't understand, can't do, won't explain!
[Master, isn't your focus a bit off? Aren't you curious about whether the Tong family ancestors left behind a sufficient treasure for their resurgence?
Did they find the treasure?]
Yue Fuguang snorted proudly, thinking of her own fifty million sitting in the bank collecting interest.
[You said 'did they find the treasure,' doesn't that already confirm the treasure's existence?]
[Hehehe, Master, don't you want to know where the treasure is?]
“Not really. Even if I had it, it would be useless to me. Mortal gold and silver are nothing more than slightly prettier grains of sand or gravel to beings like us. They can't even buy a single Body Strengthening Pill. What use do I have for them?”
The Dayan emperor and his ministers were practically drooling, sweating with anxiety. If they could speak, they would have shouted, "Immortal Lord might not want to know, but we do! The Immortal Lord is noble, viewing wealth as dirt, but we are mortals, common people, we love that stuff!"
[Master, say you want to know! Little Pearl not only knows where the former dynasty's treasure is hidden but also knows about this dynasty's! Am I amazing or not?]
Emperor Mingxi: Divine Artifact, what do you mean? Explain clearly. What do you mean by 'this dynasty's treasure'? Has this dynasty hidden a treasure too?
He, Xie Fei, is the emperor of Dayan, the head of the Xie family. How could he not know about a treasure belonging to this dynasty?
Could the Divine Artifact be referring to another family, not a dynastic treasure, but a private 'collection'?
The thoughts of the Dayan court officials were similar to their emperor's. According to records, their founding ancestor was not wealthy when he raised his army. With years of continuous war, they were always short of funds.
After the new dynasty was established, everything needed rebuilding, and money was needed everywhere. It's unlikely Emperor Gaozu had the spare capacity to create another treasure trove.
They didn't suspect later emperors because the court officials could roughly estimate how much was in their private treasuries. Even accounting for discrepancies, a difference of a million or so taels would be considerable, but saving that much hardly qualifies as a 'treasure trove.'
"This dynasty has one too? Then I want to know even less. This dynasty's treasure has an owner, right? This Immortal Lord isn't short of money. Why would I covet other people's things? That's beneath me!"
[Master, this dynasty's treasure belongs to the emperor's family! Not to mention the silver their founding ancestor hid for his descendants, even the later emperors and Emperor Mingxi's father hid several million taels.]
"Another emperor leading the way in hoarding money, no wonder there's less and less gold and silver. You say the Xie family has hidden so much money, so why is Emperor Mingxi still so poor? Could it be that he doesn't want to spend the money on the people and is just pretending to be poor on purpose?"
Emperor Mingxi: Who am I? Where am I? Why has another big black pot fallen on my head with a thud? Can't carry it, just can't carry it!
Emperor Mingxi cried inwardly. Was no one going to speak up for him?
