6kv Chapter 17 The Treasury of Spoils
Chapter 17 The Treasury of Spoils
"I fucking told you to stop, are you deaf?!"
"you……"
He Jundu spat out a mouthful of blood, secretly shocked by the terrifying force. He couldn't understand where Gu Qingxuan got the confidence and courage to use such a heavy blow on him, a commander!
He felt half his body go numb from the slap, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Gu Qingxuan! How dare you treat me like this—Shen Xiaoxiao, he's your man, I will definitely report this to the Garrison Commander and punish him for his insubordination!"
Shen Xiaoxiao said expressionlessly, "You broke the law first. Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has the right to interrogate, the law strictly prohibits forced confessions and forcibly extracting confessions through torture. As a commander, you knowingly broke the law. If you want to report this, I will report your 'merits' as well, and see who gets punished in the end."
Her words could hardly be described as selfless.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard used torture to extract confessions, and they couldn't control it all. The problem is that times have changed, and they've taken action against people they shouldn't have.
Gu Qingxuan quickly walked to Yu Zhongqian's side and untied him from the wooden stake.
Yu Zhongqian was covered in wounds, but he was a man of considerable skill and profound inner strength. He had witnessed the scene just now. This man, who had never smiled for half his life, grinned and said weakly, "A scholar who has been away for three days... looks at him with new eyes... General, your spirit in heaven can rest in peace..."
Gu Qingxuan turned his head and said, "Commander Shen, please summon the physician!"
Shen Xiaoxiao immediately called the jailer to summon someone.
There were physicians and experts skilled in both medicine and martial arts waiting in the Zhenfu Division, but Yu Zhongqian only had superficial injuries. He looked miserable, but his life was not in danger, so there was no need to make a big fuss.
The jailer quickly returned with an old doctor to apply medicine to Yu Zhongqian.
After Gu Qingxuan waited until his injuries stabilized, he asked again if there was anything suspicious before the theft of the treasury.
Yu Zhongqian shook his head and said, "I've said everything I needed to say... The most suspicious thing is that on the night of June 30th, I heard a very faint noise inside... But I searched the entire warehouse afterwards and found no tunnel, and no one had touched the lock. It was really strange. The next day, the warehouse was robbed..."
Gu Qingxuan frowned, his mind racing.
This is very strange, and the idea of ghosts or gods is obviously nonsense.
But the thieves lurking in the shadows probably have some kind of trick to sneak into the warehouse undetected...
He instructed the physician to look after Yu Zhongqian, and before leaving, he said to He Jundu, who was lying on the ground, "Before you make any plans, I advise you to do your research first. If there's a next time, I'll cripple you!"
After saying that, he strode away.
When had He Jundu ever been threatened like this? His face flushed and then turned purple as he stared at Gu Qingxuan's retreating figure, his teeth itching with hatred: "Who does he think he is! I'll definitely pay for that slap!"
After settling Yu Zhongqian in, the old doctor came over to apply medicine to him and whispered, "Lord Commander, forgive my bluntness, but you probably can't touch that Commander Gu—he has the Zhaohua Golden Token of the Princess Zhenguo. Last night, even Commander Duan couldn't get away with it, and he even killed the only daughter of the Marquis of Dingyuan's family, yet he's still alive and kicking... You should think twice before you act."
"What did you say?!"
He Jundu was completely stunned.
Each of these events was unbelievable on its own, but when put together, he wondered if he had misheard. Only when he realized the power behind these events did a chill suddenly run down his spine.
the other side.
Gu Qingxuan and Shen Xiaoxiao had already hurried towards the West Garden's smuggling and punishment vault.
Although the West Garden was part of the inner palace, it was located on the edge of the palace. Shen Xiaoxiao had a warrant for handling cases, which allowed her to enter and exit the area around the treasury of stolen goods and punishments.
The two passed through the palace and arrived at the gate of the Treasury of Corruption.
The person guarding this place now is Han Shichong, a fifth-rank Left General of the Imperial Guard—Yu Zhongqian's superior, in charge of the palace guards. With such a big incident, he had no choice but to come in person to oversee the situation. No one is allowed to enter or leave except for the Embroidered Uniform Guard personnel handling the case. The storeroom door is still locked, and only he has the key.
The only thing we can do right now is to protect the crime scene as much as possible, hoping to find some clues.
When Han Shichong saw Shen Xiaoxiao bring people in, his gaze fell on Gu Qingxuan behind her, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face.
He knows this person.
Yu Zhongqian asked him several times to help mediate and facilitate a divorce between Gu Qingxuan and Xie Tinghe, but he refused. He thought that such a useless person was not worth the trouble.
This morning, however, Her Highness the First Princess personally entered the palace to request a special pardon from His Majesty, and the one pardoned was none other than Gu Qingxuan!
This is a huge amount.
He found out what had happened the night before after asking around.
Seeing Gu Qingxuan, dressed in a flying fish robe, stride towards them with graceful steps, they couldn't help but narrow their eyes.
Shen Xiaoxiao stepped forward and bowed: "Greetings, General Han. This is Gu Qingxuan, the newly appointed centurion of the Zhenfu Division. I came with him to inspect the scene of the smuggled goods warehouse. Please trouble you to open the door, General."
Han Shichong gave Gu Qingxuan a deep look, said nothing, and turned to open the door.
Shen Xiaoxiao and Gu Qingxuan followed forward. Whether it was the effect of the Dragon Elephant Pill or the influence of the Heavenly Heart Lotus Seed, Gu Qingxuan's five senses were unusually sharp, and he suddenly realized that someone was watching him.
He quickly turned around and saw only a squad of Imperial Guards standing neatly under the corridor, with nothing unusual about them.
"What's wrong?" Shen Xiaoxiao asked.
Gu Qingxuan was on guard, but his expression remained normal: "It's nothing."
Han Shichong opened the warehouse door, and a wave of stuffy air rushed out.
The warehouse was enormous, with shelves on all four sides, and the seized valuables that had not yet been filed were piled up on the tables in categories.
Jade brush washer, gilded and gem-inlaid Boshan incense burner, strings of round South Sea pearls, boxes piled high with Shu brocade and silk, etc., the files and labels were densely packed, the boxes were stacked, and the place was full of jewels.
Gu Qingxuan looked around, his gaze sweeping across the shelves before finally settling on a landscape painting directly in front of him.
In an instant, everything became clear.
He remained expressionless and casually asked, "Has the treasury always always held this much treasure?"
Shen Xiaoxiao said, "There have been more recently. A month ago, the Zhenfu Division raided the residence of Zhou Bing'en, the prefect of Bozhou. This man colluded with Qiu Baichuan, the notorious bandit 'Iron-Faced Tai Sui' of Tongyan Mountain. One of them was stationed in the government office, and the other occupied the mountain road. The collusion between officials and bandits has cut off almost all the trade routes from Henan to Dongdu. In Qiu Baichuan's stronghold alone, they found whole boxes of gold, pearls, and jade artifacts, as well as rare treasures looted over the years. It took two whole days and two nights to count them. All the stolen goods have been sent back to Dongdu and are temporarily stored here. They will be transferred to the transport warehouse after they are filed and cataloged."
The Chengyunku was the emperor's private treasury.
All confiscated stolen goods, in addition to being turned over to the national treasury, will, according to custom, be transferred to the transporter's warehouse.
It was considered a share of the emperor's profits.
Gu Qingxuan nodded and then asked, "The twenty-four stolen items should not be just gold and silver."
Shen Xiaoxiao nodded: "That thief had an extremely sharp eye, specifically targeting the most valuable items. Besides the two golden Buddha statues, three jade artifacts, and several pieces of calligraphy, three otherworldly treasures that Qiu Baichuan relied on to run rampant in Henan Province were also stolen!"
Hearing this, Gu Qingxuan basically understood.
Just as Han Shichong was about to close the door and let them investigate at their leisure, Gu Qingxuan suddenly said, "No need, just leave it open."
Han Shichong paused in his actions, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Gu Qingxuan.
Gu Qingxuan leaned close to Shen Xiaoxiao's ear and lowered his voice. Shen Xiaoxiao felt a heat on her earlobe and instinctively wanted to back away, but before she could move, the content of his words made her expression suddenly stiffen.
She nodded calmly, then transmitted her voice to Han Shichong.
Han Shichong remained calm, standing with his hands behind his back by the door as if nothing had happened.
The storehouse door remained wide open, but his gaze no longer fell upon the depths of the storehouse. Instead, he began to secretly observe the squad of Imperial Guards behind him in the corridor.
Gu Qingxuan and Shen Xiaoxiao began to investigate separately.
Gu Qingxuan walked slowly, looking around, and finally stopped in front of the painting.
Just then, he felt that gaze again; someone was watching him!
at the same time.
Han Shichong also noticed the subtle change in the group's expressions and glanced coldly at one of them.