Luring the Snake out of Its Hole

Yang Qing picked up the teacup from the tea table and leisurely took a few small sips.

"Your Lordship loves the people as his own children. That is truly a blessing for the people of Yan Prefecture. But this humble commoner would venture a word of advice: rooting out Scarface's remaining followers still calls for careful, long-term planning."

Li Yi stood below him, his expression deferential.

"You make a fair point, Patriarch Li."

Yang Qing paused, then raised the teacup before his eyes and examined it closely. "Patriarch Li, this tea has a delicate fragrance and a lingering aftertaste. A fine tea indeed..."

Patriarch Li froze for a moment, but quickly recovered. "So Your Lordship is a connoisseur of tea as well. What a discerning eye. This tea is rare indeed. It comes from Northern Solitary Mountain, which produces only a few dozen jin each year. It took this humble commoner considerable trouble to obtain a jin or two. Since Your Lordship enjoys it, I shall have the servants prepare some for you at once."

Northern Solitary Mountain... It really was a blessed spot that produced fine tea.

Yang Qing held his teacup without saying a word.

Watching Yang Qing sit there so quietly, Li Yi could not quite fathom what this Lord Yang had in mind. He could only wait beside him.

After a long while, Yang Qing finally set his teacup gently back on the small table beside him, rose, and took his leave.

Li Yi, patriarch of the Li Household, escorted him outside the main gate. Even after watching Yang Qing's sedan chair disappear, he remained standing there for a long time.

Several days later, Mantou Ridge, outside Yan Prefecture City.

Since receiving Yang Qing's guidance, Dai Sheng had thrown all his energy into leading the Prefectural Soldiers in a search for clues connected to the bandits.

After several days and nights of searching, he had finally found a lead on the whereabouts of the stolen valuables.

And that lead lay in the Sorghum Field before them.

The Prefectural Soldiers stared dumbfounded at the boundless expanse of the Sorghum Field. Surely Lord Dai had not brought them here to burrow through the field?

Looking at the Sorghum Field, Dai Sheng's heart was beating like a drum as well. Were the things he sought really here?

His hand slowly slipped inside his robe again, where a slip of paper lay tucked against his chest.

There were only a few words on the paper: "Sorghum field outside the city. Buried treasure."

The mysterious note had appeared on his desk early that morning. It had neither signature nor explanation, leaving no clue to its origin.

Dai Sheng stole a glance at Yang Qing, who had come along with them.

But Yang Qing was gazing calmly at the sorghum, seemingly oblivious to his scrutiny.

Dai Sheng gave a light cough and approached with a bow. "My lord..."

Without even lifting his head, Yang Qing said, "Dig!"

Dai Sheng waved his hand, and the Prefectural Soldiers all charged into the Sorghum Field.

The sun gradually climbed higher, its rays falling directly on Yang Qing and making him narrow his eyes.

Dai Sheng, meanwhile, paced restlessly nearby.

He wanted to dig something out of the Sorghum Field so he would have something to report to his superiors.

Yet he very much did not want to dig anything out either.

Once those valuables had entered the bandits' pockets, they had become the bandits' property. Now he was leading men to seize their possessions. When the time came, the consequences...

The more Dai Sheng thought about it, the more he felt cold sweat begin to bead on his forehead.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, a sudden commotion rose from the sorghum field.

"My lord! My lord! We found some chests!"

Several Prefectural Soldiers stumbled out of the Sorghum Field carrying two chests.

"Chests?" At this, Yang Qing sprang up from the ground. Dai Sheng hurried over as well.

Thump! Thump! The Prefectural Soldiers carefully set the two rosewood chests before Yang Qing.

They were finely crafted rosewood chests. Apart from a little loose dirt clinging to their surfaces, they were still quite clean. Clearly, they had not been buried for long.

"Open them!"

At Yang Qing's command, the Prefectural Soldiers immediately stepped forward. Blades rose and fell, and with a crack, the ornate locks on the rosewood chests were broken.

As the chests opened, glittering golden light filled everyone's eyes.

Two large chests, filled to the brim with gold.

"My lord..." Someone swallowed hard.

"Search this Sorghum Field thoroughly again. Do not leave a single corner unchecked!" Yang Qing ordered in a deep voice.

"Yes, my lord!"

The Prefectural Soldiers split into three groups and searched the Sorghum Field carefully.

They unearthed more and more valuables, until a small mountain had piled up before Yang Qing.

"Who would have thought this Sorghum Field was a treasure basin!"

Yang Qing swept his gaze over the field once more. It had now been dug up beyond recognition. "Lord Dai, what do you think?"

They really had dug up the treasure.

Dai Sheng's feelings grew even more tangled.

He bent down and casually picked a small gold ingot out of a rosewood chest. One glance sent a chill seeping all the way into his back teeth.

Please let me have seen that wrong...

Dai Sheng's heart pounded fiercely. To get a clearer look, he bent down again and examined the inner corners of the rosewood chests. A few small characters were inscribed there.

They were the marks of several major Lineages in Yan Prefecture City, including the Li Household and the Zhou Household. These were the very households whose caravans had recently been ambushed and robbed by Scarface's remaining followers on their way back to the city.

All the valuables stolen on that rainy night were here.

But was he really going to openly tear through that paper-thin veil between himself and those ruthless bandits?

Dai Sheng hesitated again.

Watching him slowly close the chest's lid, Yang Qing finally spoke again. "Well, Lord Dai?"

At Yang Qing's question, Dai Sheng seemed to wake from a dream. He swept his hand outward. "Men, seal these valuables of unknown origin and place them in storage! If any victims come forward to lodge a complaint, I shall spare no effort in investigating and securing justice for the people!"

Then Dai Sheng turned back to Yang Qing. "Lord Yang, this subordinate will do his utmost to investigate this matter. As soon as there are results, I shall report them to you!"

Yang Qing neither agreed nor disagreed. He pushed aside the sorghum leaves and headed out. "Lord Dai, let us return."

That night, the Yang Residence, Little Willow Lane.

Yang Qing sat upright beside the table. Bu Er sat nearby, muttering under his breath.

"I thought this Dai Sheng could actually get something done. Who knew he'd turn spineless again so quickly! All that effort, wasted!"

Yang Qing glanced at him. "Dai Sheng has been in Yan Prefecture for ten years. How could his nature change overnight?"

"It was no small feat for him to stand firm even once and cause this much of a stir. There is no need to judge him too harshly."

"You certainly take it calmly, Young Master. Now that things have turned out like this, how is the rest of this play supposed to go on?"

Yang Qing smiled faintly. "Even if Lord Dai dares not perform the next act, someone else will take his place and see the play through to its end."