Suddenly, he felt refreshed from head to toe.
After basking in his happiness for a good while, Chu Wenzong finally composed himself and coughed twice.
"Fu Kang, take them out first."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Most of the officials had handed over banknotes, topping them off with a few pieces of silver when they ran short. The whole pile was light enough for Chu Wenzong to carry alone.
Once everyone had left, he fetched the key from the inner chamber, opened the secret chamber, then unlocked the door to his little Private Treasury.
Only then did he remember that his dear daughter had given his prized ginseng and Velvet Antler to Sixth Jiang.
At that thought, he immediately hurried inside.
His Private Treasury held plenty of ginseng and Velvet Antler, but several of those treasures were priceless tributes from vassal states. Although he had hidden them well, he still needed to check them himself before he could rest easy.
After finding a corner for his precious money and setting the ledger of totals on a shelf, Chu Wenzong opened the huge box containing the crown jewel of his collection: a two-hundred-jin purple lingzhi.
A few seconds later, an anguished groundhog scream rang through the little Private Treasury.
"Aaaah!!"
"Unfilial daughter! Unfilial daughter!!!"
Chu Wenzong swiftly opened the box holding his century-old ginseng. The ginseng inside had been perfectly preserved, and with its rootlets included, it was longer than he was tall.
But now...
A tiny piece of rootlet lay inside the enormous box.
Chu Wenzong took two deep breaths, collapsed into a corner, and frantically pinched the spot beneath his nose.
With reddened eyes, he looked toward the last box, the one containing Velvet Antler.
Bracing himself against the shelf, he managed to shuffle over one step at a time.
Using