Volume 1, Chapter 41: Many thanks to Third Brother for your generous financial assistance.

West of the city, the Yuelai Inn.

Situated in a remote location and frequented only by merchants traveling far and wide, it appeared thoroughly inconspicuous.

Dewei’s personal guard traveled at full speed, finally reaching the inn before the midnight hour. Familiar with the routine, he found the proprietor and handed over the wax pellet.

The proprietor accepted the pellet, nodded without uttering a word, and turned into the back parlor.

The guard breathed a sigh of relief, turned to leave, and almost collided with someone the moment he stepped out.

"Whoa!"

Stumbling backward from the impact, he looked up to see a burly man built like a black bear, grinning broadly down at him.

"My apologies, brother," the man said in a deep, booming voice, patting his shoulder with a hand as large as a cattail-leaf fan.

The guard instantly felt a numb sensation radiate through his shoulder, paralyzing half of his body. Seized with terror, he tried to cry out for help, but an iron-cold hand clamped onto the back of his neck.

"Keep quiet and come with me," a ruthless voice whispered in his ear.

The guard’s body stiffened instantly. He recognized that voice—it belonged to Jing Yun, the fiend who shadowed the Crown Prince every waking moment!

...

Meanwhile, in the back parlor of the inn.

The proprietor lit a candle, melted the wax pellet over the flame, and extracted the slip of paper inside. After scanning it hastily, his expression turned grave. Daring not to delay, he tied the note to the leg of a carrier pigeon, opened the window, and released the bird into the night.

The pigeon beat its wings and soared high, merging into the heavy shadows of the night.

However, it had barely flown a hundred meters when a faint, imperceptible sound rippled through the nocturnal air.

A dark figure descended from above, capturing the pigeon with pinpoint precision.

In the gloom, Li Xuan took the pigeon, removed the slip of paper, unfolded it, and let a cold smile touch the corners of his mouth.

"Just as anticipated. He is turning to the Third Prince for help, and at the same time, probing the Third Prince’s bottom line."

Jing Yun dragged over the personal guard, who was now so frightened his wits had abandoned him. "Your Highness, the man has been captured."

Without even glancing at the guard, Li Xuan said indifferently, "Give him two choices. First, die right now. Second, go back and tell Dewei that the items have been delivered and the proprietor bids him rest easy. Let him decide which one to take."

Hearing this, the guard was frightened out of his wits, wet himself, and kowtowed repeatedly. "This humble servant chooses the second! This humble servant chooses the second! I beg Your Highness to spare my life!"

"Scram," Li Xuan waved a hand.

As if granted a grand amnesty, the guard scrambled away in a panic, vanishing into the nocturnal shadows.

"Your Highness, are we simply letting him go?" Tie Niu asked, perplexed.

"A good play must always have both an audience and actors." Li Xuan burned the slip of paper to ashes over the candlelight. "Dewei is the actor, and the Third Prince is the audience. As for us, we are the directors."

He turned his gaze to Jing Yun. "Have you investigated thoroughly? From where will the Third Prince draw the silver to plug this hole?"

Jing Yun nodded. "It has been investigated. The Third Prince has a private treasury in the southern part of the city, hidden beneath the Hengtong Money House. It stores the ill-gotten wealth he has amassed over the years. Your subordinate estimates he will draw the silver from there."

"Very well." A fierce glint flashed in Li Xuan’s eyes. "Transmit my command: gather all available men. Tonight, we are going to deliver a grand gift to the Third Prince!"

At the third watch of midnight, Hengtong Money House in the southern district.

Under the cover of darkness, a dozen dark figures drifted like phantoms, silently infiltrating the back courtyard of the money house. At their head was none other than Li Xuan.

Jing Yun and Tie Niu flanked him closely on either side.

"Your Highness, the entrance is directly beneath that well," Jing Yun said, pointing to a dry well in the corner of the courtyard.

Li Xuan nodded.

Tie Niu stepped forward and effortlessly lifted the heavy stone well cover, revealing a pitch-black opening.

"I will go down first." Without another word, Jing Yun’s figure flickered and vanished into the well shaft.

A moment later, the signal for safety came up from below.

Li Xuan and the others descended one by one, moving downward along the secret tunnel. After walking for the span of an incense stick, the space suddenly opened up before them.

A colossal underground stone chamber materialized before their eyes.

Inside the chamber, rows upon rows of crates were stacked neatly. Tie Niu stepped forward and pried open one of them, revealing a dazzling golden light—every single piece inside was a gold bar! He opened another, and it was filled with neatly arranged silver ingots! Yet another was overflowing with rare and exotic jewels and jade artifacts.

Seasoned as Li Xuan was across two lifetimes, he could not help but draw a sharp breath at the sight of this room full of wealth.

"What a magnificent Third Prince, truly wealthier than a nation!" he sneered. "This money is enough for him to raise an army of thirty thousand."

"Your Highness, what should we do now? Shall we move all of it away?" Tie Niu’s eyes were locked on the gold and silver, fixed and unblinking.

"Move it?" Li Xuan shook his head, a devilish smile curving his lips. "Moving it away is letting him off too easily. This Prince shall make him suffer losses on all fronts!"

He leaned close to Jing Yun’s ear and murmured a few instructions in a low voice.

When Jing Yun finished listening, a trace of surprise flickered in his eyes, but he immediately nodded. "Your subordinate understands!"

...

On the third day, Left Camp of the Golden Guard.

Dewei had not slept all night, his eyes bloodshot. The personal guard he had dispatched had returned, reporting that the items were delivered and the proprietor had told him to rest easy. Yet, try as he might, he could not set his mind at ease.

It felt like having a blade suspended above one's head, with no way of knowing when it might fall.

At the hour of Si, Li Xuan appeared punctually at the martial arts drill grounds.

Still seated in the primary commanding chair, he looked expressionlessly at Dewei and asked indifferently, "Commander Du, the three days have expired. Where is this Prince’s silver?"

Dewei felt a jolt in his chest and forced himself forward, bracing to speak.

Right at that moment, a commotion erupted outside the camp gates.

"Report—!"

A soldier came stumbling in, half crawling, his face a complex mixture of ecstasy and shock.

"Report... Report to Your Highness! Report to the Commander! The... The silver has been found!"

What?!

Shock rippled through the entire assembly! Dewei raised his head abruptly, disbelief written all over his face.

"Where was it found?" he blurted out.

"Right... Right behind our camp kitchen, in that abandoned firewood shed! Over a dozen large crates, not a single one missing!"

Dewei’s mind buzzed with a loud hum, plunging into a blank void.

Found? How was that possible? Could it be that his master... his master moved so fast?

Subconsciously, he looked toward Li Xuan, only to find the "appropriate" look of astonishment displayed on Li Xuan’s face as well.

Li Xuan stood up and strode toward the kitchen area, the crowd hurrying to follow behind.

Sure enough, in the corner of the clutter-filled firewood shed, over a dozen large crates were stacked neatly—they were precisely the ones stolen two days prior!

Li Xuan ordered his men to pry open a crate, and the blinding gleam of white silver within dazzled everyone’s eyes.

"Who did this?!" Li Xuan flew into a feigned, towering rage. "Who hid the silver here?!"

At that exact moment, two soldiers dragged in a half-beaten cook and tossed him onto the ground.

"Your Highness! It was this fellow! He is usually lazy, greedy, and addicted to gambling! Someone saw him sneaking around the vicinity of the firewood shed the night before last!"

The cook was at his last gasp, mumbling incoherently, "N... Not me... I have been wronged..."

Li Xuan looked down at him coldly, then glanced at Dewei with a profound gaze. "Commander Du, with both human and physical evidence present, what is your view?"

Daring not hesitate any longer, Dewei dropped immediately to one knee and shouted loudly, "Such scoundrels within the army, committing theft while on guard duty, are guilty of heinous crimes! I beg Your Highness to issue an order for his immediate execution on the spot, as a warning to others!"

"Very well!" Li Xuan waved his hand. "Drag him down and behead him!"

"Understood!"

Thus, a thrilling case of missing military pay drew to a close in such a dramatic fashion.

With the soldiers' provisions recovered, their gratitude toward the Crown Prince deepened immensely. Dewei, having "directed the operations skillfully" to "crack a major case" within three days, also managed to preserve his dignity and position.

It appeared to be a happily-ever-after ending.

Only Dewei, after everyone had dispersed, stood alone before the firewood shed, the cold sweat on his back having already soaked through his garments.

He was no fool.

He understood perfectly well that all of this was the handiwork of the Crown Prince. From the loss of the money to its recovery, down to this scapegoat, every single link was interlocked seamlessly, leaving not a single flaw.

The Crown Prince was using this method to tell him: Whatever your master can do, I can do as well. If your master can smuggle money in unnoticed, so can I. Everything about you is within my control.

This was no longer a warning; it was a blatant, naked demonstration of power!

Just as he was feeling utterly unsettled, Wang Fugui walked over with a beaming smile and slipped a piece of paper into his hand.

"Commander Du, His Highness asked me to hand this to you."

With trembling hands, Dewei unfolded the slip of paper. Only a single line was written upon it:

"The five thousand taels of silver your son lost at the Sihai Gambling House have already been paid by this Prince on his behalf. Serve well, and your son shall have a brilliant future."

Dewei’s body shook violently, and the paper slipped from his hand, fluttering down to the ground.

He had lost, thoroughly and utterly defeated.

The Crown Prince not only controlled his actions, but even held his softest vulnerability in a death grip.

Slowly, he turned around, faced the direction where Li Xuan had departed, and sank deep onto both knees, kowtowing heavily with a loud thud.

This kowtow was not for the Crown Prince, but for himself—a blood-stained pledge of allegiance to secure his own life and the lives of his entire family.

Meanwhile, at the Third Prince’s mansion.

Listening to his confidant’s report, Li毅 flew into such a rage that he shattered his favorite teacup against the floor.

"What did you say?! The underground private treasury of the Hengtong Money House has been... has been emptied?!"

"Y... Yes, Your Highness..." The confidant knelt on the ground, trembling violently. "Not... not a single tael of silver remains! Only... only a line of characters was left on the wall..."

"What characters?!" Li毅’s eyes split with fury.

"It says... Many thanks to the Third Brother for your generous assistance in helping me reward the three armies. Signed... Crown Prince, Li Xuan."