Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

That evening, Xue Wei and Yuan Min arrived at the old house, which had already been cleaned up. Yuan Min's mother, Yang, would be moving in the next day.

Xue Wei opened the secret room, which was still filled with layers of boxes. Yuan Min took out the box, which was full of treasures, including several bags of pearls and mutton fat white jade pebbles produced in Yutian Town.

But this box plunged Xue Wei's heart into despair. It was exactly the same as the white bronze box he had found today, with the words "Seventy-eight batches of Chenzhou silver" written on it in ink.

Xue Wei then counted the other boxes, totaling ninety boxes, each with a completely different shape.

There was no need to open the boxes; there was a list on them that said 40,000 taels of gold and 50,000 taels of silver, with each box containing 1,000 taels, which matched the 90 boxes.

This was not the 20,000 catties of crude silver, but the box marked "78th batch of Chenzhou silver" was conclusive evidence that Yuanmin's father was related to the missing 20,000 catties of crude silver.

Yuan Min suddenly threw herself into Xue Wei's arms and burst into tears, "Old Xue, my father... is my father a thief?"

Xue Wei patted her back gently to comfort her, saying, "Your father is just a businessman. He probably only bought that batch of coarse silver. This box is a souvenir. He deliberately didn't throw it away. If he had stolen it, he would have thrown it away long ago and wouldn't have left any evidence."

Although he comforted Yuan Min in this way, Xue Wei felt in his heart that the box was not a souvenir, but a mark of war trophies that had been deliberately collected, and that Yuan Min's father was inextricably linked to that batch of coarse silver.

Yuan Min felt a little better. She pointed to the box and asked, "What should we do with this box?"

"I'll burn it!"

Before long, Xue Wei took the box to the yard, smashed it, and burned it completely.

Gazing at the raging flames, Xue Wei had an increasingly clear intuition that the official silver case was not over, and that the emperor would not accept that 20,000 catties of coarse silver had simply disappeared without explanation.

But if the investigation continues, Yuan Min's father will be implicated in the case.

Xue Wei originally wanted to completely forget Yuan Min's father's mysterious background, but the wind wouldn't stop even when things were calm. In the darkness, a force continued to pull it forward, pushing it in front of Xue Wei until he finally had to face it.

...........

Two days later, Xue Wei was suddenly summoned by the emperor to the Qilin Pavilion.

Today, Wu Zetian is not like the old gypsy woman of the past. Instead, she sits solemnly at her desk, though the curtains remain closed and the light is still dim.

"Xue Wei, I have closed Wan Guojun's case concerning official silver, but I have not stopped your case, nor have I revoked your authority as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. You should know why!"

Xue Wei, of course, knew perfectly well what was going on. He sighed and said, "Your Majesty doesn't want to let go of 20,000 catties of coarse silver?"

"Of course I don't want to let this opportunity pass. They exchanged 20,000 catties of my silver for white copper. Is there such a cheap deal in the world?"

"Does Your Majesty instruct me to continue the investigation?"

"Exactly. No matter what the outcome, I want to know. Even if Wu Chengsi is the one who stole the silver, I still want to know the result."

"Your Majesty, this case is too old. If I really cannot find a solution, please do not blame me."

"Investigate as much as you can! If you really can't find anything, I won't blame you."

Wu Zetian then took out another box and handed it to Xue Wei, saying, "Your mother presented me with the Twelve Flower Goddess Soaps, which were made by Yuan Min. I like them very much. I will reward her with a white jade plaque, which will be my personal jade plaque to prevent corrupt officials from coveting her wealth."

Xue Wei knew that this was actually the emperor's way of reassuring her. She knew Wan Guojun and Wu Sansi's purpose; if she was to work for him, at the very least, she had to ensure the safety of her family.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Go! Your hidden guard gold token has enough authority to make good use of it. If I am here in person, use the gold token as little as possible."

"Your Majesty, I have remembered!"

Xue Wei withdrew, and Wu Zetian waited until he was far away before slowly opening the drawer and taking out a yellowed document, which turned out to be Wu Chengsi's confession six years ago admitting to counterfeiting official silver.

"Xue Wei, can you really uncover the secret of the 20,000 catties of coarse silver for me?"

Wu Zetian muttered to herself, her deep phoenix eyes concealing an imperceptible, boundless sorrow and regret.

…………

Xue Wei arrived at the Left Guard. He wanted to go back to his officer's quarters to retrieve some things, but he immediately saw his brother Xue Chongjian coming out of the Left Guard's gate.

"Chongjian, what are you doing here?" Xue Wei strode forward.

"Brother, I've been looking for you. I haven't seen you all this time!"

Xue Wei was taken aback. So many things had happened during this time, could it be that his brother knew nothing about it?

"You didn't know about my contest of wits with Imperial Censor Wan Guojun?"

Xue Chongjian shook his head blankly, "I don't know."

"Have you been neglecting court affairs lately?"

"How could I not care about court affairs? We know all the big and small things that happen in the court. I also know that my brother was appointed as the Commandant of the Imperial Carriage and on his first day, he rewarded the tea boy with five taels of silver, which caused a sensation in the court."

Xue Chongjian suddenly realized that everything he had done seemed to be covered by an invisible shield, separating him from the imperial court.

He went to Chang'an to solve a case, and then solved a six-year-old case at the Imperial Household Department. However, the court did not stir up any controversy. The officials were completely unaware of the matter and were still spreading the joke about him tipping a tea boy five taels of silver.

Is this the meaning of the hidden guards?

"Did you need something from me?"

Xue Chongjian took out an invitation and handed it to him, "This is an invitation to the Prince Xiang's birthday banquet. Families are allowed."

"Isn't the Prime Minister going on a military campaign?"

Xue Chongjian said with a wry smile, "The prince will not actually go to war; he will only be in command remotely."

He lowered his voice again, "I heard that this Prince Xiang's birthday banquet was ordered by the Emperor. It didn't happen in previous years, but it suddenly happened this year. It's being held in a very grand manner. I guess there's something going on."

Are you going too?

Xue Chongjian nodded. "Distinguished figures from all walks of life in Luoyang will be going; there will probably be several thousand people."

"Where?"

"At Shen Du Yuan, this is a special permission granted by the Emperor. Entry and exit are by invitation only. The specific instructions are written on the back; please read them carefully."

"I see!"

Xue Chongjian was still on duty and dared not linger outside, so he left in a hurry.

Xue Wei returned to his temporary office at the Dali Temple. Yuan Mao had not yet returned; only Gao Yuanli and Yuan Renjing were there. Yuan Renjing had returned to the Dali Temple and was promoted to the fifth-rank position of Dali Temple Director.

"Why hasn't Yuan Sizheng taken up his post?"

Yuan Renjing smiled slightly and said, "I went there this morning, but Commandant Xue's case is still unresolved. Minister Du asked me to come and take a look."

Xue Wei nodded. "This case is indeed not closed. The Emperor has ordered us to continue investigating the whereabouts of the 20,000 catties of coarse silver."

Gao Yuanli and Yuan Renjing's eyes lit up at the same time. Gao Yuanli was thinking about the daily subsidy of 500 wen, while Yuan Renjing was thinking about the resentment of losing 20,000 jin of coarse silver.

"Where does Commander Xue intend to begin?"

Xue Wei shook his head. "I can't think of anything for now, but let's gather everyone together, give each person a reward, and then go to Qingfeng Restaurant for a good drink to celebrate the resolution of the official silver case."

..........

The guys from the Dali Temple were all heavy drinkers, and they used all sorts of tricks to urge him to drink. Rao Xuewei had a good tolerance for alcohol, but he also drank a bit too much. He stumbled back to Mingyue Tower, went to his room on the third floor to use the toilet, and felt the effects of the alcohol rising. He felt a dryness in his mouth and tongue, and after searching around, he couldn't find any water.

"Song'er! Xiao Guang!"

No one answered. Thirsty and desperate, Xue stumbled up the inner staircase to the fourth floor. He found Yuan Min's vase, which had just been watered that morning. He pulled out the flowers and gulped down the water in the vase in one go, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

After setting down the vase, Xue Wei looked around the room. There was a sofa around the room. Xue Wei had drawn up the blueprints himself and had a carpenter make it. He then laid out thick, soft seats and backrests, making it exactly like a sofa from later generations. Xue Wei named it Xue's Couch. Yuan Min liked this novel thing very much, and Princess Taiping also liked it very much, so she asked Xue Wei to make a set for her as well.

The room was quiet, sunlight streamed in through the window, and countless dust particles darted about in the beams of light. The soft sofa and the afternoon tranquility gave Xue Wei a sudden, intense sense of unreality; for a moment, he felt as if he had returned to the future.

The effects of the alcohol began to kick in, and waves of intense drowsiness washed over him. He turned to go downstairs, and in his hazy state, he seemed to hear the sound of water coming from the bathroom.

The first thought that popped into his mind was that the toilet wasn't closed properly and was leaking. Under the influence of drunkenness, his consciousness blurred, and he completely forgot that he was in the Tang Dynasty, as if he were still in his 130-square-meter home in the future.

He reached the bathroom door; it was ajar, and the sound of running water had increased significantly. Without a second thought, he pushed the door open and went inside…

"Boom!" It was as if a thunderbolt exploded above his head. Xue Wei felt his blood rushing instantly. He saw a standing statue of a beautiful woman made of white jade. No, it was a person. It was Yuan Min. She... she was taking a bath.

Yuan Min stood naked in a large wooden tub, her figure plump and her curves graceful. She held her hair in her hands, and behind her was a ladder. Xiao Luo'er stood on the ladder, holding a bucket of water and slowly pouring it over her head. The water flowed down from above, and Yuan Min had to close her eyes.

Song'er and Xiao Guang stood beside the ladder, each carrying a bucket of hot water.

Xue Wei didn't even notice whether the three young women were dressed or not. His gaze was fixed on their alabaster-white bodies. He couldn't describe the breathtaking beauty they possessed. A burning heat surged rapidly in his lower abdomen, mixed with primal desires, almost making him explode.

The three young women screamed. Yuan Min, both ashamed and angry, cried out, "Old Xue, what...what are you doing? Get out of here!"

Xue Wei finally came to his senses, and a strong sense of shame gripped him. He turned around and stumbled out, but after only a few steps, drowsiness completely overwhelmed him. His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.