Chapter 8: Bai Muge, You’re in Serious Trouble!

Previously, after Bai Muge had so openly accepted his banknotes, he never brought up the matter again, and Li Duolong pretended to be oblivious as well. He wanted to avoid Bai Muge suddenly making that heart gesture at him again—that would mean losing at least several hundred more taels. That gesture, after all, was simply a demand for banknotes! Li Duolong felt that he was beginning to unravel some of Bai Muge's coded language.

“In the future, if I maintain a good relationship with Bai Muge, the two of us… can count this as a shared secret!” Li Duolong mused inwardly.

On the way out of the palace, heading to confiscate property, Li Duolong struck up a casual conversation with Bai Muge to strengthen their rapport. Soon, accompanied by a retinue of guards, they arrived at the Southern Pacification Prince’s Mansion. This time, however, their task was not to suppress insurgents, but to carry out an imperial order to confiscate property. The process was to begin at the Prince’s own estate.

“Lord Bai,” Li Duolong said obsequiously, glancing at the opulent and extravagant arrangement of the mansion, “shall I have them begin the confiscation?”

“Yes, proceed,” Bai Muge replied with a nod as he sat at a stone table nearby, sipping tea. Hai Dafu and Cao Zhengchun stood flanking him, ever vigilant in their duty to protect. After all, these two were formidable masters Bai Muge had acquired through his sign-in rewards. Li Duolong, being tactful, knew better than to rashly command these two himself.

“Begin at once! Catalog everything in the residence, bring it all out to the courtyard!” Li Duolong ordered the guards, then seated himself beside Bai Muge to enjoy tea at leisure. Such menial labor was, naturally, for the guards to handle.

Half an hour passed.

The crates carried out from the Prince’s mansion piled up in the courtyard like mountains, leaving both Bai Muge and Li Duolong wide-eyed. The exhausted guards panted for breath, their faces full of disbelief.

“In just two years of controlling the court, the ringleader and traitor, the Southern Pacification Prince, has embezzled who knows how much!” Li Duolong exclaimed through gritted teeth. The sheer volume of crates they had seized today alone rivaled the wealth of the national treasury.

If Li Duolong hadn’t already known a bit about the empire’s finances, he would never have believed it himself.

Bai Muge nodded in deep agreement. After all, his own father, Bai Zhan, was the Minister of Revenue and concurrently the Director of the Treasury. Furthermore, Bai Muge was on excellent terms with Prince Li Chen, so he was naturally familiar with the empire’s financial situation.

Before long, the official in charge of inventory hurried over, presenting the record book to Bai Muge. “My lords, we have uncovered, within the Southern Pacification Prince’s mansion, a total of fifty million taels of silver, eight hundred thousand taels of gold, and one golden garment.”

Bai Muge was hardly surprised by the vast riches of the Prince’s household. What truly piqued his interest was the mention of that “golden garment.”

“What sort of golden garment?” Bai Muge inquired.

“Please wait a moment, my lord.” With a wave of the official’s hand, a guard promptly brought the garment over.

Bai Muge scrutinized it and instantly frowned. At that very moment, a cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind: “A golden-threaded jade vest has been found. When worn, the host becomes impervious to blades and bullets.”

A golden-threaded jade vest?

Bai Muge did not doubt the system’s message—such things never lied to him. That meant the vest was genuine!

He returned to his senses just as Li Duolong, having glimpsed the garment, dismissed it with a wave of his sleeve. “It’s only a golden garment, nothing of great value. Put it back in a crate and send it to the treasury.”

The guard hesitated, then nodded, about to return the vest to storage.

Bai Muge’s lips twitched. Did Li Duolong truly have no eye for treasures?

This was no ordinary garment!

“Wait!” Bai Muge called out. The guard paused and looked his way in confusion. Li Duolong, too, turned to Bai Muge, curiosity in his eyes. But almost immediately, Li Duolong seemed to understand.

“Lord Bai must want this item!” he thought. Not waiting for Bai Muge to speak, Li Duolong said, “Bring it over here.”

“Yes, my lord,” the guard replied, quickly presenting the vest to Bai Muge.

Bai Muge weighed the golden-threaded vest in his hand and then turned to ask, “Lord Duolong, how much do you think this vest is worth? I’ll buy it from you.”

As for whether the vest was truly as extraordinary as the system claimed, he could test it later in private.

Yet, with so many eyes present, it would hardly be appropriate to simply claim the confiscated item as his own. Once it entered the treasury, it would become Prince Li Chen’s property. To take it so brazenly would be excessive.

Li Duolong was momentarily taken aback, then broke into a smile. “Lord Bai, you jest. It’s only a tattered vest. If you wish to have it, please, take it.”

He was more than willing to grant such a favor. Bai Muge was now in high favor at Prince Li Chen’s side, and their close relationship could only benefit Li Duolong’s own career.

“I couldn’t possibly,” Bai Muge replied in feigned reluctance.

“What’s there to be concerned about?” Li Duolong, mistaking Bai Muge’s hesitation for fear of gossip among the onlookers, quickly leaned in and whispered, “Rest assured, my lord, leave this matter to me.”

Without waiting for a response, he took the register from Bai Muge, glanced at the official, and asked sternly, “Is this tattered vest written in the ledger?”

“Not yet, my lord,” the official answered honestly.

Everyone knew that confiscating property was a lucrative opportunity—discreetly trimming a few items would go unnoticed, provided one didn’t overstep.

Satisfied, Li Duolong nodded and addressed the guards, “Have any of you seen a golden, tattered vest?”

“No, my lord!” the guards replied, fully understanding his meaning.

With a pleased chuckle, Li Duolong turned to Bai Muge and said obsequiously, “You may rest easy, Lord Bai. None of us has ever seen such a garment, nor did we find it in the Prince’s mansion.”

Only then did Bai Muge accept the vest, saying, “Then I’ll reluctantly take it.”

Li Duolong instantly changed his tone. “Lord Bai, this is yours by right. There’s no need to speak of ‘accepting’ it.”

At that, Bai Muge and Li Duolong exchanged a knowing smile.

Truly, birds of a feather flock together.

“Take everything seized from the mansion back to the palace. We’ll continue with the next confiscation!” Bai Muge commanded, leaving the estate arm in arm with Li Duolong.

Unbeknownst to them, one of the guards looked on coldly and sneered, “Bai Muge, you’re in for trouble now!”