Chapter 1409: Side Story: Fan Zijin (25)
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Qi Xiuyuan was the assistant commander of the West Camp on Lizhou Circuit. The fact that he could guard Xingcheng Pass alone showed his ability.
Although he did not have the boldness to help the people at the border like General Yuan, he could be considered to have strict military discipline. He never allowed his soldiers to harass the local people, nor did he allow bandits to appear under his rule.
Therefore, other than fighting some small battles with the Jin soldiers here to plunder from time to time, and the fact that the people in Xingzhou Prefecture had to pay more military taxes to support the army every year, the people were still living a relatively peaceful life.
The bandits in the Lone Mountain area were not under Qi Xiuyuanâs jurisdiction.
Although he was only 17 years old and young, he knew the rules of the bureaucracy. He would never interfere in matters that he should not interfere in. Therefore, he had never interfered in the territory of the Central Camp even though he found those bandits an eyesore.
But now that his brother was being hunted down by those bandits, Qi Xiuyuan would be considered a coward if he could still tolerate this.
Thus, he sent scouts to investigate the situation of the bandits while sending people to contact the assistant commander of the Central Camp. He wanted to eliminate the bandits for them.
However, before the people who went to the Central Camp returned, Qi Xiuyuan received an incredible piece of news from the scouts.
"What did you say? The bandits claimed that Haoran and Zijin are bandits and even stole 20,000 taels of silver from their chief?"
The scout nodded solemnly. "But I think this was just the bandits slandering them. Letâs not talk about whether they have so many banknotes. Even if they do, itâs impossible for Young Master Haoran and Young Master Zijin to come into contact with the money, let alone steal them. They probably released this news to attract more people to go after the two of them."
"However." The scout carefully glanced at the general and said, "When I investigated further, I realized that Young Master Haoran and Young Master Zijin had done a lot of good deeds along the way. They bought grain along the way to help the refugees. Although I donât have the exact number, I estimate that itâs at least 20 to 30 thousand taels, or even more. Now, the story of the two young masters is circulating on the official road from the north to the south..."
Qi Xiuyuan was stunned for a moment before his expression darkened. "What else?"
"Those martial artists have already left the bandit camp in Lone Mountain. Itâs said that they even had a conflict before they left. It seems like itâs because of the uneven distribution of the loot?"
Qi Xiuyuan sneered. "They hired those bandits to kill my brother. What loot was there to split?"
Qi Xiuyuanâs expression twisted at the thought of his brothers being robbed. He waved his hand and said, "Continue to investigate. Investigate the terrain of Lone Mountain and the number of bandits. If thereâs anything, look for the Military Advisor."
Qi Xiuyuan turned around and strode to settle scores with his younger brothers. These two brats must have hidden the most important thing from him.
Even he could not fork out 20 to 30 thousand taels. Where did these two brats get so much money?
The scoutâs heart ached. 30 thousand taels of silver was so much money! If the two young masters felt that they had too much money, they could give it to their general. Recently, the general had been worried sick about the Imperial Court delaying the military salary.
At this moment, Fan Zijin was happily chatting with Qi Haoran on the couch.
It was rare for them to be so at ease after running for his life for the past few days.
Fei Bai brought in two money bags and said with a smile, "Fourth Young Master, Young Master Zijin, I just took the money from the accountant. The general said that he would give you pocket money. How much do you want to keep outside? Where should I put the rest?"
Qi Haoran immediately sat up and said happily, "Let me take a look."
Fei Bai handed the money bag to him. There were five silver ingots in each bag, all of which were ten taels each.
Having lived a penniless life not so long ago, at this moment, the duo stared at the 50 taels as if they were looking at a treasure.
Qi Haoran touched the money with mixed feelings and said, "If only we didnât lose our 10,000 taels."
Fan Zijinâs heart skipped a beat. He chased the puzzled Fei Bai out and grabbed Qi Haoranâs ear anxiously. "We mustnât talk about this anymore. Donât forgetâwe hid the matter of stealing the silver..."
"What are the two of you muttering about?" Qi Xiuyuan stood at the door and narrowed his eyes at them. "Whatâs so secretive that you must speak in hushed voices?"
Fan Zijin was so startled by him that he lay on the brick bed and said sheepishly, "No, nothing. There are lice on Haoranâs head. Iâm catching them for him."
Qi Haoran nodded repeatedly and even combed his hair with his hand. He chuckled and said, "Yes, yes. I havenât showered or washed my hair for the past few days. My head is dirty and I didnât clean it properly just now. There are still lice."
Qi Xiuyuan snorted coldly and dragged a chair over to sit opposite them. He said, "Just now, the scouts reported that there were two good youths going around helping the poor and the weak. I heard that they distributed tens of thousands of taels of silver without blinking. However, Iâm very curious. Since theyâre youths, where did they get so much money?"
Qi Xiuyuan stared at Fan Zijin and asked, "Zijin, where do you think their money came from?"
Qi Haoran looked at his big brother and then at his friend. In the end, he raised his hand weakly and said, "Maybe it was given by his family. His parents are rich and dote on their children..."
"What a coincidence." Qi Xiuyuan continued to stare at Fan Zijin and said, "Those two people are not loved by their biological fathers. They donât get to touch their familyâs wealth."
"Then perhapsâ"
"Shut up." Qi Xiuyuan turned around and glared at his brother. Then, he turned back to look at Fan Zijin. "Zijin, tell me."
Zijin replied honestly, "Itâs stolen."
Frowning, Qi Xiuyuan asked, "Who did you steal it from?"
Fan Zijin felt even more guilty and whispered, "Itâs stolen from the Qi Residence."
Qi Xiuyuan raised his eyebrows in surprise and turned to look at his brother. Heâd thought that Zijin had taken away the familyâs money. Why did he steal from the Qi family instead of the Fan family?
"Haoran stole it?"
The two youths nodded guiltily and slowly climbed down the brick bed to stand with their heads lowered.
Qi Xiuyuan was half relieved, but he was no longer angry. He asked curiously, "You actually managed to get your hands on the Qi familyâs money? Come and tell me how you stole it."
Qi Haoran carefully looked at his big brotherâs expression. Seeing that he did not look angry, he immediately climbed onto the brick bed and sat cross-legged. He said, "I discovered it by accident. Didnât Madam Wu force me to get married on your behalf? Zijin said that there must be a conspiracy since they were in such a hurry, so he asked me to keep a close eye on them. I donât have any spies in the Qi Residence, so I could only keep an eye on them myself. Only then did I realize that Madam Wu stores away a sum of money every month. That money is hidden in the wardrobe."
Qi Haoran said angrily, "Sheâs clearly just a concubine, but Father lets her manage all the money in the family. Meanwhile, I can only take five taels of silver from the family treasury every month. When I go out to buy things, I have to buy things on credit and get the shopkeeper to settle the bill at the Qi Residence. Anyway, since we intended to run away from home, I might as well take all the money and treat it as Father splitting up the assets in advance."
A cold glint flashed across Qi Xiuyuanâs eyes as he asked, "How much is it?"
"More than 50,000 taels." Qi Haoran carefully glanced at his big brother and said, "But we spent more than 40,000 taels on the way. The remaining 10,000 taels were snatched away by bandits..."
Qi Xiuyuan said with a sneer, "This money might not be Fatherâs. Otherwise, he would have sent a letter to reprimand me long ago and ordered me to return it. Since I havenât received any news from him, and he didnât even send anyone to look for you, itâs obvious that he doesnât know about the silver."
The quick-thinking Fan Zijin immediately said, "Then this money must be Madam Wuâs private savings."
He continued, "This money must have come from an improper source. Otherwise, Madam Wu wouldnât have swallowed her anger. Itâs most likely embezzled from the Qi family." Fan Zijin chuckled. "I was wondering why she left so much cash in the house instead of using it to buy a shop or a farmstead. So Madam Wu embezzled that money."
"Then the person sent to kill you should have guessed it, too." A cold glint flashed across Qi Xiuyuanâs eyes as he said coldly, "Leave it first. Weâll settle this score with her later."
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