Chapter 120: Are these wealthy local tyrants all this rich?

Snow left, like a spirit of the dark night. If not for the five thousand taels of silver bills left on the bed, the intoxicating fragrance lingering in the air, and the warm quilt… it would have been as if she had never come at all.

Li Yuanjing was not polite either; he stripped off his clothes and comfortably lay down in the warm, cozy quilt that Snow had prepared in advance. He instinctively reached for a cigarette but immediately shook his head and laughed to himself. Damn it, this was already ancient history.

However, Li Yuanjing soon calmed down. Tonight, apart from arranging for Zhang Zhiji to leave Feng City, Snow had not revealed any other useful information, but Li Yuanjing could guess about seventy to eighty percent of the situation.

Under the relentless pursuit of Zhang Yuzhu, that mad dog, Snow and her group were under tremendous pressure and likely to make a mistake. They had to find a way to get Zhang Zhiji out first!

But what puzzled Li Yuanjing was this: Snow and her group had been operating in Feng County for a long time. Was there truly no secret passage to help them leave the city?

Or was there something so vital in Feng County that they could not leave, forcing them to endure such risks?

...

"I can't believe it..."

When Li Yuanjing woke up the next morning, he was momentarily speechless, feeling as if he had embarrassed all men. Fortunately, he quickly snapped out of it and tidied up the scene.

Even after washing up, the image of the indescribably graceful silhouette Snow left behind as she departed last night kept flashing before his eyes.

What puzzled Li Yuanjing even more was that Snow had jumped out of the window directly when she left last night, wearing only that red corset, without any other clothing.

Was she not afraid of the cold? Or was it true that in this world, the legendary internal martial arts really existed?

...

The snow had stopped this morning, but the wind had grown even stronger, howling fiercely as if it wanted to overturn the entire world.

Before Li Yuanjing had finished his breakfast, Liu Yun hurried over and respectfully saluted him.

"Mr. Li, Xue Mang arrived at my residence before dawn today, bringing gifts worth no less than a thousand taels..."

Li Yuanjing leisurely ate a meat bun and said, "If it's for you, then take it. Have him come find me this afternoon."

"Huh?"

Liu Yun, quick-witted, immediately rejoiced and bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you, sir!"

...

While Liu Yun went to settle scores with the benevolent Xue Mang, Li Yuanjing arrived at the county government to discuss departure plans with Zhang Zhiji.

After all,

...

By this point, Zhang Zhiji had largely agreed with Li Yuanjing’s plan.

They would be bound together yet remain independent.

This way, Li Yuanjing became Zhang Zhiji’s 'trump card.'

Meanwhile, Li Yuanjing enjoyed considerable autonomy and initiative.

A win-win arrangement.

They discussed everything until noon, nearly finalizing all matters, except for what excuse Zhang Zhiji would use to leave Feng City—one last spark was needed.

Just as Zhang Zhiji grew a little impatient, asking Zhang Wuwei to prepare lunch, a royal guard suddenly reported outside:

"Young master, there’s trouble in Boshan. Last night, Deputy Commander Zhang Ruhut from Boshan was ambushed and killed at Baligou while celebrating his concubine’s mother’s birthday..."

"Sir, heaven helps me, heaven helps me! Ha ha, ha ha ha!"

After the guards left, Zhang Zhiji couldn’t contain his joy and hugged Li Yuanjing excitedly.

Li Yuanjing felt a bit disgusted—he was not fond of men—and quickly distanced himself, saying, "Young master, this is indeed your reason to leave Feng City, but I worry about your safety in Boshan."

Zhang Zhiji understood Li Yuanjing’s meaning: he feared Zhang would encounter desperate bandits from the Boshan gang.

After some thought, Zhang Zhiji said, "Sir, you’ve already taught me a lesson in Feng City. I won’t act rashly this time when going to Boshan."

Seeing Zhang Zhiji’s sincere face, though some things remained unsaid, Li Yuanjing hesitated but still said, "Young master, I suggest you focus on consolidating power and temporarily hold off on wiping out the bandits. When you truly control the situation in Qizhou, then it won’t be too late to deal with the bandits."

Surprised that Li Yuanjing spoke so frankly, Zhang Zhiji was deeply moved and bowed deeply.

"Sir, rest assured. I am no longer a reckless youth. I will be cautious with this matter."

...

After having lunch with Zhang Zhiji, Li Yuanjing returned to the inn and saw Xue Mang, the benevolent man, kneeling at the door, pretending to beg for forgiveness.

Seeing Li Yuanjing approach, he quickly prostrated himself, "Yuanjing, Yuanjing, you must help your old brother! Otherwise, I fear I won’t survive."

"Brother Xue, how can you say that? Please get up, please get up."

Though inwardly pleased, Li Yuanjing feigned surprise and helped Xue Mang up.

Xue Mang, seeing this, realized Li Yuanjing was not yet ready to sever ties and relaxed, half-reluctantly following him inside.

Soon after, once Xue Mang explained the whole situation regarding the Qiu family, Li Yuanjing hesitated and said, "Brother Xue, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but the young master has already made a decision. I can’t change that."

"Oh?"

"Yuanjing, please, what decision has the young master made? If you spare the Qiu family, you will be a great benefactor to both the Qiu and Xue families."

Xue Mang bowed deeply again.

Li Yuanjing sighed, "Brother Xue, to be honest, the young master intends to make an example of the Qiu family this time. You know he must report to his superiors."

"That..."

Xue Mang’s face changed drastically.

If before he had suspected Li Yuanjing was playing him, the phrase "report to superiors" was like a bucket of ice water poured over him.

After all, with his sources, he knew exactly who backed Zhang Zhiji.

That was none other than the reigning sovereign, Emperor Longtai…

If they couldn’t quickly smooth things over, both the Qiu and Xue families would be doomed.

"Thud!"

At that moment, Xue Mang no longer dared bargain with Li Yuanjing.

He knelt before him, tears and snot flowing, begging desperately:

"Yuanjing, you must save the Qiu family and me! If you don’t, I’ll kneel here and die before you today..."

"This..."

"Ah!"

Li Yuanjing sighed deeply, "Brother Xue, we are fellow villagers. If we don’t unite, how can we survive? I will try to see the young master, but I can’t promise success."

"Yuanjing, please go quickly! Whether you succeed or not, I will remember your kindness forever!"

Seeing Li Yuanjing hurry off, Xue Mang collapsed on the ground, utterly drained.

He thought to himself, "After this, I must cut ties with the Qiu family quickly, or this won’t be over."

...

More than two hours later, as dusk approached, Li Yuanjing returned, his face stern.

He quietly told Xue Mang, "Brother, I truly did my best. The young master does intend to show mercy to the Qiu family, but his demands are rather high."

Just as Xue Mang was about to speak, Li Yuanjing lowered his voice and interrupted, "Brother, to be honest, with the trouble in Boshan, the young master might leave Feng City as early as tonight or tomorrow morning."

"Ah..."

"Yuanjing, my dear brother, what conditions did the young master set? Tell me quickly! I’ll sell everything I have to gather the money immediately!"

Xue Mang was frantic and barely able to listen as Li Yuanjing revealed the secret.

Seeing the moment was right, Li Yuanjing sighed deeply, "Brother, I tried my best. You understand my position—I have little real influence with the young master. His price is sixty thousand taels."

"Sixty thousand taels?"

"Sixty thousand taels, right?"

"Yuanjing, wait a moment—no more than half an hour—I’ll gather the money and send it to you!"

Seeing Xue Mang rush off like his backside was on fire, Li Yuanjing narrowed his eyes sharply.

Were these wealthy landowners really all this rich?