I'm done for!
Only one thought remained in Zhao Panggua's mind.
"Y-Your... Highness."
He fell to his knees, trembling, the fat on his cheeks quivering uncontrollably, betraying his terror and panic.
"You truly have opened my eyes, Lord Zhao!"
Mo Xuanchen's tone was inscrutable, revealing neither pleasure nor anger.
Yet it nearly frightened Zhao Panggua into wetting his trousers.
"Under the laws of the Mo Kingdom, the magistrate of Qingzhou receives eight taels of silver and three shi of grain each month. Including all rewards and allowances, his annual income amounts to no more than three hundred taels."
"Perhaps you would explain to me, Lord Zhao, where these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver came from?"
That did not even include the residences, farmland, restaurants, and other sources of revenue under his name.
"Your Highness, I... I don't know either, but it certainly isn't mine. I am an honest official. I have never embezzled funds or accepted bribes. Please judge wisely, Your Highness!"
Despite the physical evidence before him, Zhao Panggua stubbornly denied everything.
Though he knew in his heart that no one believed him, he still clung to a sliver of hope, or perhaps he was merely struggling before death.
"Then how do you explain this silver, Lord Zhao?"
Shen Yuxi remained perfectly composed. "Surely someone didn't secretly move it into your hidden chamber while you weren't looking, then hide the keys beneath the dog kennel and the study chair?"
Zhao Panggua jerked his head up, his eyes filled with disbelief.
How could she know where he hid the keys? Apart from him, no one in the household knew, not even his wife, the person closest to him.
At death's door, and he still dares talk back.
He must be terribly confused about how I knew where he hid the keys.
"You..."
Mo Xuanchen cut him off coldly. "Take him away and hold him for now. He will be dealt with once this matter is resolved."
As the magistrate of Qingzhou, Zhao Panggua would naturally be dealt with by Emperor Xuanzhao.
For embezzling such an enormous fortune, the lawful punishment was execution.
Zhao Panggua's eyes bulged like bronze bells. Before he could speak, a rag was stuffed into his mouth.
He could not utter a word.
But his eyes remained fixed on Shen Yuxi, brimming with hatred.
"Fourth Prince, what... should we do with all this gold and silver?" Shen Yuxi asked.
"What comes from the people should be used for the people. An epidemic is ravaging Qingzhou, and many have too little to eat. I will write to Father and inform him of the situation. Since Zhao Panggua squeezed this silver out of the people, it should naturally be spent on them."
Shen Yuxi nodded in agreement.
Had Qingzhou not suffered an epidemic, all of Zhao Panggua's assets would have been confiscated according to the rules.
But Qingzhou was in turmoil, and under these circumstances, there was no need to turn it over to the state treasury.
After all, if the money ran short, the emperor would have to allocate more from the treasury anyway.
What a shame. I wanted to sneak away a few gold bars.
Shen Yuxi gazed longingly at the gleaming gold ingots.
Ooh! My hands are itching.
The system was speechless. Host, the Shen family has never mistreated you since childhood. They may not have thrown money around like dirt, but they could more than cover your expenses. Why do you still love money so much?
Ordinary young ladies from official families cared little for gold and silver, believing that placing too much importance on money lowered their standing.
Only its host was different.
You don't understand.
Shen Yuxi looked entirely unashamed. Money can make ghosts turn the mill; without it, even a step is hard.
Me? I was so poor in my last life that it left me scared. Now that I have the chance in this life, the more money, the better, of course.
You can't spend it all anyway.
Who says you have to spend all your money?
She said, Can't I save it for a rainy day?
Just watching the money in my private stash grow every day makes me happy, even if I don't spend it.
The system indicated that it did not understand.
Shen Yuxi indicated that she could tell at a glance that the system had never experienced life as a corporate slave.
The philosophy of saving money was carved into a worker's DNA.
Shen Yuxi could not help remembering the three-million deal she had closed before transmigrating. With her bonus and commission, she would have received two hundred thousand.
She had even planned to put a hundred and fifty thousand into a fixed-term deposit once she received it, then spend the remaining fifty thousand on gold bars.
Ah, what a shame.
But on second thought, Heaven really had favored her. Seeing how hard her life was, it had freed her from the bitter days of wage slavery in one stroke.
Transmigration and rebirth were not opportunities ordinary people received.
Mo Xuanchen quietly listened to Shen Yuxi's thoughts, the corners of his lips curving almost imperceptibly.
Laughter welled in his eyes.
What a little money-grubber.
The epidemic in Qingzhou was even worse than Shen Yuxi had anticipated.
The once-bustling streets and alleys were now deserted, with only the footsteps of patrolling soldiers and the occasional mournful cry making this mortal world seem like the end of days.
Shen Yuxi followed the physician to the makeshift shelters.
Everyone infected with the epidemic had been gathered here and grouped by the severity of their illness. The worse their condition, the closer they were to the center.
Those on the outskirts were less seriously ill.
A faint smell of medicine and mildew drifted through the air, along with a barely perceptible trace of decay, weighing on people until they could scarcely breathe.
"Don't touch my grandma! All of you, go away!"
A hoarse, shrill voice reached Shen Yuxi's ears. She instinctively stopped and looked ahead.
A little boy of about six or seven stood there, filthy all over, his eyes, which should have been bright, now bloodshot.
His tiny figure stood in front of an elderly woman, facing two tall soldiers.
There was not a trace of fear or retreat in his eyes, only the firm resolve to protect her.
"Boy, your grandma is seriously ill. Even the physician said there's no saving her. According to the rules, she has to be dragged away to make room for others, rather than waste food and medicine."
The soldiers' merciless words made the boy's eyes redden.
But he persisted, shouting, "That's not true! My grandma isn't that sick! You're doing this on purpose. You see that we have no power or influence, so you're deliberately bullying us!"
One soldier gave a "Hey!" and made a show of rolling up his sleeves to frighten him.
"You little brat, stop spouting nonsense."
"Hey, don't. It wouldn't look good if someone saw," the other soldier said, stopping him.
"Douzi..."
"Grandma!"
Hearing his grandmother's voice, the boy finally smiled.
He held her hand tightly.
"Douzi, the officer is right. I'm not going to make it. Staying here will only burden other people. Cough, cough..."
The old woman's face was gaunt, her lips so dry they were peeling. Every sentence left her coughing for a long time.
Each bout of coughing nearly exhausted her strength.
She looked at her grandson, her eyes full of aching tenderness. "Be good. I won't be able to stay by your side anymore. Douzi, you must take care of yourself."
"I won't listen! I won't listen! Grandma, I won't let you say that!"
Tears streamed down the boy's face. "You have to stay with me forever!"
The child's desolate, anguished sobs stirred sympathy, and those around them could not bear it either.
Watching the scene, Shen Yuxi felt an ache in her heart.
Following the impulse, she slowly approached the grandmother and grandson.
Cui Mingjian reached out a hand like Erkang. "Lord Little Shen." Shen Yuxi acted as though she had not heard.
"Ah."
Resigned, Cui Mingjian followed her.
"Lord Cui."
The two soldiers recognized Cui Mingjian and hurriedly saluted.
Cui Mingjian gave a solemn grunt of acknowledgment.
He offered a brief introduction. "This is Lord Little Shen, a female official personally appointed by His Majesty."
Shen Yuxi frowned and asked, "What's going on? Can't you talk things over civilly?"
The two soldiers obediently explained the whole sequence of events.
Suddenly, the boy who had just been immersed in grief and pain shoved the soldiers aside.
He dropped to both knees before Shen Yuxi, his small, grimy black hands seeming about to reach for the hem of her robe.
But seeing her expensive, pale-white clothing, he feared dirtying it and being met with disgust.
He only stared up with tear-filled eyes. "My lord, please, save my grandma. Don't let them take her away, please?"