Confiscating homes was this lucrative? Bibi Dong was hooked!

"Was there really that much money?!"

Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes narrowed, and her voice was skeptical. She could hardly believe it.

How could a mere clerk at the City Guard Office have so much wealth?!

"Yes! A rough count of the Gold Soul Coins piled up there came to at least several hundred thousand. There were also many exquisitely carved jade pieces and jewels. All together, their value would be no less than a million."

The maid answered respectfully once more, giving a rough estimate of the family's wealth.

At this, Bibi Dong's eyes suddenly flashed with excitement.

A million in wealth!

What did that amount to?

It was fully half the Spirit Hall's annual income!

And such an enormous sum was merely the wealth found in the home of a clerk from the City Guard Office.

Amid her delight, a trace of anger arose in her heart.

She finally understood.

Why Li Mubai had spoken so gravely about graft and corruption back then.

At the time, she hadn't paid much attention.

Now it seemed she had underestimated just how formidable these parasites were!

With people like that around, the Spirit Hall would sooner or later reach a point where its accumulated problems were beyond remedy.

"How dare you, Xiao Li! The evidence is conclusive. What do you have to say for yourself now?"

Bibi Dong lowered her eyelids and stared at Xiao Li, her voice chilling and her gaze icy.

I'm done for!

Hearing Bibi Dong's words and feeling the bone-piercing chill in them, Xiao Li turned deathly pale.

He had still held on to a sliver of hope.

He had thought that the basement where he had hidden all his money was buried so deep that it was unlikely to be found.

But now.

That sliver of hope had been shattered by the maid's merciless words.

When he heard the maid speak of the basement vault, he knew she had found it.

The hope in his heart was extinguished, and gloom spread across his face.

Xiao Li knew.

Having embezzled such an enormous sum, he was unlikely to be allowed to live.

According to the laws issued by the Spirit Hall.

Those guilty of serious embezzlement and bribery were to be executed without exception!

On top of that, from Bibi Dong's tone just now, he had understood how much importance the Pope placed on this matter.

Now.

Only one question remained in his mind: how had the maid discovered the basement?

After all, to keep it from being discovered, he had deliberately built it deep underground. There was no way anyone could tell from the surface.

"There's nothing to say. What the maid saw is the truth."

"I did embezzle the money, and those things really are in my home."

Xiao Li's voice was full of indifference, and the tension vanished completely from his face.

Knowing what the outcome would be, he was no longer as afraid as before.

No matter what, every road led to death.

Why put up a futile struggle or beg in a lowly voice?

He had no parents and no children to begin with. If he died, he died; he had nothing to worry about.

His only regret was that he hadn't properly enjoyed life and spent that money.

"But there's one thing I'm curious about... How exactly did you find that basement? I hid it so well. How did you find it on your first visit?"

Xiao Li knelt on the ground and looked up at the maid standing straight beside Bibi Dong, a trace of puzzlement on his face.

The maid looked at Bibi Dong.

Only after the latter gave her permission with a glance did she look at Xiao Li on the ground and say coldly:

"Everything in your home seemed normal at first. There were no items of extraordinary value. I found nothing there."

"But you were too clever for your own good."

"Precisely because everything in your home was too normal, I couldn't find even a single Gold Soul Coin there. That's why I suspected you had hidden those things away."

"Sure enough, I eventually found an oil lamp in your bedroom that was out of place. That was how I discovered your treasure room."

Having said that,

the maid continued to stand sternly to one side.

Hearing this, Xiao Li couldn't help bursting into laughter:

"So that's how it was. Hahaha... I never thought I'd be undone by my own cleverness in the end, hahaha..."

Xiao Li hadn't expected that his own caution would ultimately be his undoing.

Because he had worried that those things would come to light and be discovered,

he, who loved money as much as his life, had put all his valuables in the basement, leaving not even a single Gold Soul Coin in the rooms.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected it.

In the end, that was precisely what had aroused her suspicions and led to his exposure.

"Well? Isn't this method faster than collecting taxes?"

Looking at Bibi Dong, who seemed rather excited all over, Li Mubai couldn't help asking with a smile.

"This method... is indeed quite good!"

Bibi Dong nodded in reply, excitement filling the depths of her eyes.

In her view, although Li Mubai's method had some flaws, they were of no great consequence.

After all, those corrupt people were parasites to begin with. It was just as well to get rid of them.

While the group was caught up in the excitement,

the other onlookers in the prison also came to understand what had happened.

Everyone gleefully gloated over Xiao Li, whose home had been confiscated.

"You dog, so this day has finally come for you too? Her Holiness did a fine job confiscating his home, a wonderful job! Someone like him deserves to be stripped bare! It'd be best if she didn't even leave him his underpants!"

"Fuck, you bastard, you've finally got your retribution! Remember how you destroyed our homes and families back then? Now that same retribution has finally landed on your head. Heaven truly has eyes!"

"Her Holiness is mighty! A black sheep like him should be cut down with one stroke, to put an end to future trouble! You dog, just wait and see what I do to you when you come in here!"

"That City Guard Office is a cancer. Everyone in it should have their homes confiscated! Not one of them can be spared. None of them are innocent; every last one eats steamed buns soaked in human blood!"

"Right. Your Holiness, please go through all their homes. The haul will definitely be substantial!"

The crowd chimed in.

But Director Li, standing off to the side, was deathly pale.

As the crowd joined in, the fat all over his body began to tremble.

"Director Li, why are you shaking?"

Li Mubai suddenly called out to Director Li with a smile.

"Huh? N-no, I'm not shaking."

Director Li jolted violently, then forced down the fear in his heart and put on a strained smile.

"I suppose so. Director Li, your sleeves are clear of dust and you're full of righteous Qi. A person who stands straight need not fear a crooked shadow, so you really have nothing to tremble about."

Li Mubai couldn't help teasing him.

At that moment.

Looking at Director Li's strained smile, he wanted to laugh.

His impression of Director Li was ordinary, neither good nor bad.

And now.

Bibi Dong's gaze shifted and fell on Director Li as well.

Then she spoke:

"Director Li, since you are so righteous, I imagine your household must be terribly poor?"

The reason she said this.

Was entirely because she wanted to confiscate Director Li's home.

A mere clerk had so much money at home, so wouldn't the director have even more?

That was right...

Bibi Dong felt that she was beginning to like confiscating homes.

It couldn't be helped; the money came in fast!