I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 493 Getting rich

Xiao Jingfan looked at her, "Did you see where the key was in your dream?"

The key is with the owner of the box, of course.

Chu Liuzheng shook his head, "There's no such thing in the dream, just cut it down."

"I'll do it." Lu Fei didn't use a knife, but instead took out a wire, squatted down, and poked the wire into the keyhole of the copper lock.

The lock wasn't open; the wire broke off inside.

Everyone: "..."

"Let me give it a try." Chu Liuzheng watched with eager anticipation, then pulled a hairpin from his hair and squatted down to fiddle with the copper lock.

Xiao Jingfan squatted down to watch her tinker.

The others looked at each other, and except for a few guards, they all squatted down. From a distance, it looked as if several mushrooms had suddenly sprouted from the ground.

With a click, Chu Liuzheng's face lit up with joy: "It's open!"

At the same time, a sharp arrow shot out from the forest, aiming for Chu Liuzheng's forehead.

Lu Fei raised his hand and used the back of his knife to block the arrow, causing it to deflect and strike a peach tree not far away.

"Whizzing!"

Two more arrows came flying.

One was blocked by Lü Fei, and the other was kicked away by Si Yue.

Xiao Jingfan shielded Chu Liuzheng and placed him within the guards' protective circle, coldly ordering, "Arrest him."

The guards took the order and left.

Their location was rather secluded, and there were no other tourists besides them, so it didn't cause any disturbance.

Fifteen minutes later, a short man was brought before Xiao Jingfan and Chu Liuzheng.

"A ground-drifting star!" Siyue stared at the man and exclaimed in surprise.

Everyone looked at her, and Lü Fei asked, "Who?"

Siyue pointed at the man: "He's a famous thief in the martial arts world. Because he's thin and short, and his lightness skills are superb, he's earned the nickname 'Earth Star.' It's said that there's nothing he can't steal, and he can even come and go freely in the Prince's mansion. I once saw his portrait in...

“Miss, you’ve probably mistaken him for someone else,” said the guard who caught the man. “This person runs very slowly; he doesn’t seem to know any martial arts.” Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to catch him so easily.

"Very slow?" Siyue stared at the man's face for a moment, then squatted down to take his pulse, frowning. "His internal energy has been crippled."

Upon hearing this, Lü Fei squatted down, pinched the man's face, and looked him over. Finding no trace of disguise, he asked, "Are you the thief Di Liuxing, whom the imperial court has been offering a reward for nearly ten years without success?"

"What do you mean, 'ground-slippery star'? Never heard of it." The man's shrewd little eyes darted around. "I am Grandpa Xiao, and I never change my name or surname."

"Who do you think you are, grandpa?" Lu Fei slapped the man across the face, knocking out two teeth and causing him to spit out blood. His face swollen, he stammered, "I..."

Lu Fei slapped the man again, and the other side of his face swelled up. He cried out, "My surname is Xiao, and I call you Grandpa."

He was completely innocent!

Everyone: "..."

What a terrible name!

Chu Liuzheng clicked his tongue.

This name is quite advantageous.

Lü Fei then asked, "Why are you shooting arrows at us from the shadows?"

"I buried that box!" the man protested, "You stole my things, so what if I shot you two arrows?"

"You're quite reasonable." Lü Fei handed him over to two guards to search him. Before long, they found a bunch of hidden weapons.

Chu Liuzheng tugged at Xiao Jingfan's arm and peered inside. [No wonder he's a retired thief; he has quite a few things for self-defense.]

"Huh?" Zhou Yuande, who squatted down to examine the box, asked doubtfully, "The lock isn't open."

【Of course I didn't open it. I didn't even have the lockpicking skill activated. I was just trying to lure people out.】

"It's probably locked again," Chu Liuzheng said. "The keyhole is blocked, so let's just break it open."

Upon hearing this, Lü Fei walked over, carrying a knife.

The imperial sword, bestowed by the emperor, can cut through iron like mud; it can easily open a copper lock.

Just in case there were traps inside the box, Lü Fei had a guard carry the box away and then unleashed a palm strike.

The lid of the box suddenly flew open, releasing a plume of white smoke.

Everyone raised their hands to cover their mouths and noses, and only lowered them when the mountain breeze passing through the peach blossom forest dispersed the white smoke.

The box was filled with a golden glow, even more dazzling than the sunlight streaming in.

Wow~ I'm rich!

Chu Liuzheng immediately pulled Xiao Jingfan over and squatted down to count the gold.

Xiao Jingfan tilted his head to look at the words engraved on the inside of the box lid.

The characters are even smaller than tiny regular script, making them quite difficult to read.

[Instead of looking at the gold, why bother with this haphazardly carved autobiography? It's mostly self-aggrandizement; this tyrant must have nothing better to do.]

Chu Liuzheng picked out all the gold and, sure enough, saw silver notes underneath, all of them with a face value of ten thousand each. There were twenty of them in total, which amounted to two hundred thousand taels.

Compared to these silver notes, the gold on them is nothing.

[Hehe, I'm rich! I'm rich!]

She picked up a silver note, folded it in half, then in half again, and stuffed it into her sleeve in front of the emperor. Then she pushed the box towards the emperor.

I'm not greedy; I'll take ten thousand as a reward, and the rest can be given to the tyrant to replenish the national treasury.

Compared to hundreds of thousands, ten thousand was indeed not greedy, and Xiao Jingfan was willing to give it. He generously handed over another silver note, and ordered Lü Fei to take the rest and exchange it for cash at the bank to be deposited into the national treasury.

As for Di Liuxing, he was sent to Shuntian Prefecture and handed over to Dong Yi for disposal.

The group arrived in high spirits and left with a full load of goods.

Inside the carriage, Chu Liuzheng, exhausted from playing, leaned on Xiao Jingfan's shoulder and yawned.

Xiao Jingfan put one arm around her and used the other hand to fan her with a round fan, saying in a low voice, "I have something I want to discuss with you."

Chu Liuzheng, who was about to fall asleep, opened his eyes with difficulty upon hearing this and asked, "What is it?"

"The Empress Dowager is getting old, and Yan'er is still young and mischievous, which may disturb her peace. I am thinking of bringing Yan'er out of Wanshou Palace. Who do you think is most suitable to take care of Yan'er in the entire harem?"

[Huh? I haven't even done anything yet, and the tyrant actually wants to take the eldest prince out of the Longevity Palace. Has the tragedy from the original timeline just been absolved like a butterfly effect?]

[As for who should take care of the eldest prince... his own mother would be the best, of course. However, the empress has made so many mistakes; it's only a matter of time before she's deposed. The tyrant will never let her take care of the eldest prince again. As for the other women in the harem... there are only a handful of them who are of high enough rank to care for the eldest prince.]

Chu Liuzheng analyzed it in his mind.

[Consort Shu should be the most suitable candidate to assume the role of Empress. However, she already has a princess; adding a prince would make her practically Empress. Furthermore, since the downfall of the Duke of Zhong's family, the Duke of Ying's family has become increasingly powerful. Even for the sake of balance, the tyrant would not entrust his only prince to Consort Shu's care.]

[Whether it's her family background or her methods, Consort Chun is more than capable. However, her family background is too good. Unless Consort Chun can give birth herself, the tyrant probably won't want to add more leverage to the Grand Tutor's mansion.]

[What's the difference between raising Xie Jieyu and raising her in the Wanshou Palace? We can't let the tragedy of the original timeline repeat itself.]

[This leaves only Consort Yu and Consort Shaoli. Both are foreign princesses, and logically, unless they give birth to their own children, it's impossible for them to raise another concubine's child, especially the eldest prince born to the Empress.]

(End of this chapter)