Chapter 68: Such a Huge Hole

Baiyin County, Mingde Money Exchange.

The charcoal in the brazier crackled with popping sounds, and a clerk sat behind the counter, dozing with his eyes closed.

"Excuse me, is the manager in?"

The clerk jolted awake to find a young couple standing before the counter, wearing veiled hats.

"May I ask what business you two have with the manager?" the clerk asked with a smile. "If it is something like exchanging money, I can handle it for you."

Gu Ci spoke in a low, heavy voice, "The rising sun beats the spring drum."

Tang Zhao:?

The clerk paused, but maintained his smile. "The amount of silver the distinguished guests wish to borrow is too large for me to decide. Please proceed upstairs, and I shall fetch the manager."

With that, he led them to a private room at the far end of the second floor, served them snacks and tea, and then slowly withdrew.

Before Tang Zhao could finish her cup of tea, there was a knock at the door.

Gu Ci opened the door himself. A refined-looking middle-aged scholar bowed with clasped hands. "Yang Shan, manager of Mingde Money Exchange, greets our distinguished guests."

"I heard that the guests wish to borrow silver using a precious object as collateral, so I have come specifically to handle this matter."

Gu Ci stepped aside to let Yang Shan in, then closed the door.

"May I ask what precious object the guests have for collateral?" As Yang Shan asked, he walked toward the treasure cabinet, took a short flute from his waist, inserted it into an enamel filigree incense burner, and gave it a gentle twist. The treasure cabinet moved silently three inches, revealing a hidden door behind it.

Tang Zhao couldn't help but think of the secret door in the Song Clan Ancestral Hall.

*Is this a Northwest custom? Why does every house have a secret door?*

Yang Shan reached out his hand.

Gu Ci silently stepped half a pace away.

Yang Shan:?

*Fifth Young Master?*

Gu Ci glanced at Tang Zhao. Understanding his intent, she pulled the Prince Xuan jade pendant from her small pouch.

Yang Shan:?

Though utterly bewildered, Yang Shan dutifully took the jade pendant and placed it into a groove on the door. The secret door opened.

Yang Shan entered first with a torch. Gu Ci grabbed Tang Zhao’s arm through her sleeve to lead her in, and the secret door slammed shut behind them.

After descending long stairs and navigating a labyrinthine path of twists and turns, Tang Zhao felt her legs going numb before she finally saw another secret door at the end of the path.

Tang Zhao watched helplessly as Yang Shan pulled a massive ring of keys from his robe, fumbling through them for a long time before finding the correct one.

Tang Zhao shot him a look: *Are you sure Prince Xuan has no money?*

With this kind of setup, it would be a crime if there weren't millions of taels hidden here.

Gu Ci turned his head away, refusing to look at her.

Pouting, Tang Zhao shook off the man's hand and entered the secret room, only to find it filled with empty boxes.

*Empty boxes?* Tang Zhao turned her head.

Although Yang Shan had been leading the way, he had been paying close attention to the movements of the two behind him. He noted that the Fifth Young Master, who usually kept a respectful distance from women, had uncharacteristically taken the initiative to grab a woman's arm—even through her sleeve, it was a first in recorded history.

He instantly confirmed the woman's identity.

"Do not be anxious, Your Highness," Yang Shan said, setting his lamp down. "May I ask, how much silver does the Prince intend to lend you?"

Tang Zhao produced the agreement. "One hundred thousand taels."

"One hundred thousand taels!" Yang Shan was so shocked he accidentally plucked a few of his own beard hairs, gasping in pain. He hurriedly took the agreement and held it under the light. A moment later, he looked up with a face of utter despair.

*It's over. Mingde Money Exchange is going bankrupt.*

Tang Zhao took back the agreement and said warily, "Prince Xuan has already signed and stamped this. If he defaults, he must pay triple the penalty."

Yang Shan waved his hand to indicate he understood. He moved one layer of empty boxes, then another, until he reached the innermost layer.

Tang Zhao stood on her tiptoes to peer in. As Yang Shan lifted his hand, rows of neatly arranged silver ingots were revealed inside the boxes.

Tang Zhao's eyes lit up.

With a sweep of his right hand, Yang Shan said, "One box contains five hundred taels. There are twenty boxes in total. Bring men to move them."

Tang Zhao:?

*Wait, where are the men?* She looked at Gu Ci in horror. *He isn't talking about me, is he?*

Gu Ci nodded and turned to leave. A moment later, the twenty imperial guards waiting outside marched into the secret room in perfect unison. The two of them worked together to carry the boxes away.

Tang Zhao:?

*Where did they even come from?*

Gu Ci pulled Tang Zhao through another small path, where she saw the guards nearby tying the boxes with thick hemp ropes. The guards waiting outside were hoisting the boxes up through a hole in the ceiling.

After two trips, the guards had finished transporting all the boxes. Gu Ci waited until the last guard was hoisted up before reaching out to pull Tang Zhao up, using the hemp rope to leap upward.

It was the familiar wild forest again.

Tang Zhao:...

Tang Zhao asked, "What was that winding secret passage we just walked through?"

"A diversion," Yang Shan replied from below, before leading the group back the way they came.

Years ago, the Magistrate of Baiyin County had spent years digging a labyrinthine underground chamber to hide embezzled military funds from the Northwest. After the Magistrate was killed, Prince Xuan simply claimed the chamber as his own.

It wasn't until Gu Ci, at age fifteen, wandered into the chamber and punched a hole through the ceiling that Prince Xuan realized the "secret" chamber wasn't actually that secret.

Prince Xuan had intended to dig a real secret chamber, but the Crown Prince's faction was watching the Northwest so closely that he hadn't found an opportunity for years.

Left with no choice, he had to make do, disguising the hole as another exit.

Tang Zhao:...

*Isn't that a bit too casual?*

Gu Ci explained, "There are specialists guarding this forest," and then personally patched the hole to restore it to its original state.

Tang Zhao inspected it closely; it was indeed seamless.

Gu Ci asked, "How shall we settle this silver?"

Tang Zhao gave a blunt answer: "Hire horse carriages to haul it away!"

Gu Ci remained expressionless for a moment. He left his guards to watch the silver boxes and took Tang Zhao back to Baiyin County.

In front of the side entrance of a carriage and horse shop, a servant boy was picking through some firewood.

"This wood isn't dry enough. The fifteen wen per bundle we agreed on is off the table. If you're willing, I'll take it for ten wen a bundle."

"Ten wen?" a man with half an arm missing shouted. "A bundle this big could sell for twenty wen even in a small town, let alone the county seat!"

The servant boy gave him a disdainful look. "Then go sell it in town yourself."

"You!" The man was about to retort when a one-eyed man pulled him back.

"Young master, please look closely. This wood is dry. We specifically aired it out after cutting it at home, otherwise we wouldn't dare bring it to the manor," the one-eyed man said.

Seeing the leader's humble attitude, the servant boy became even more arrogant. "I said it's not dry, so it's not dry. What, you got a problem?"

"No, no, it's just that ten wen is too low. How about this, we sell it to the manor for thirteen wen a bundle?"

"I said ten, so it's ten. Since when do you get to haggle?" The servant boy sneered. "Sell it or get lost!"

A sharp light flashed in the one-eyed man's eyes.

"You'd better think carefully about the status of my Shen Family Carriage Shop in Baiyin County. If you dare oppose the Shen family, I'll make sure you can't sell a single stick of wood!"

A dozen men gritted their teeth in anger. The man with half an arm was nearly unable to suppress his rage when a cold, indifferent voice drifted from behind them.

"What status does your Shen family hold in Baiyin County?"

Gu Ci: *I'm actually getting angry.*