Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

After saying that, Yan Qing turned and walked out of the inn.

No sooner had he left than Bianxiang couldn't help but say, "Brother, that's a hundred taels of gold! Are you just going to use it to cover up the government's shortfall?"

“If you don’t want the government to use Xu Zhuangyuan’s case to extort money, we can come up with other ways. Why should we use our own money to make up for it?” Shi Xiu also said.

The others were also somewhat unhappy, not because they were distressed about the hundred taels of gold,

Instead, they felt that cleaning up Liang Zhongshu's mess was a truly pathetic thing to do.

"You guys..."

Zhao Yuan looked at his brothers with amusement.

"You haven't forgotten what we're going to do tonight, have you?"

"The money comes from the sheep's back. Once we're in the prefect's office tonight, we can get back ten or even a hundred times the amount of gold we just gave to Brother Yanqing!"

"If my brother hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about it!"

Bianxiang patted his forehead, and the expressions on everyone else's faces also brightened.

Zhao Yuan then remembered something and looked at Shi Qian, asking, "By the way, Brother Yan Qing just said that Liang Zhongshu extorted Lu Yuanwai. What's going on?"

"Brother, this matter is actually also related to our Liangshan,"

Shi Qian explained, "At the beginning of the year, after we left Daming Prefecture, Liang Zhongshu instructed Wang Tongpan to demand 30,000 strings of cash from Lu Yuanwai."

"If they don't give it to you, I will accuse Master Lu of colluding with Liangshan and abusing government officials and yamen runners."

"Master Lu had no choice but to give the money to Magistrate Wang in full. Magistrate Wang then gave 25,000 strings of cash to Liang Zhongshu and kept 5,000 strings for himself."

"After this incident, it seems that Master Lu is already considering his way out. Just two months ago, he sent someone to the south, supposedly to purchase some property and land there."

"So that's how it is..." Zhao Yuan nodded.

Qiong Ying, who was standing nearby, said angrily, "Brother, since Master Lu was extorted by Liang Zhongshu because of us, then tonight, let's take back his share as well!"

"this......"

Zhao Yuan looked at Shi Qian.

The flea on the drum immediately understood his meaning.

"Brother, don't worry. I've already found out about Liang Zhongshu's secret vault where he keeps his gold and silver. Tonight, we'll not only take back Master Lu's share, but we'll also empty it completely."

Chapter 220 Nighttime Theft of the Birthday Gifts

Late at night, just past midnight,

Zhao Yuan and his group pushed the cart that Shi Qian had prepared beforehand and left the inn.

The entire inn was silent.

All the guests were fast asleep.

No one came out to check on Zhao Yuan and his group, allowing them to do as they pleased.

"This new sleeping potion concocted by Doctor An is indeed potent,"

Shi Qian sighed, "The effects of the sleeping potions used to be so strong that anyone with a little experience could detect them."

"The new medicine prescribed by Doctor An has a slow onset of action. People who take the medicine only feel tired and sleepy, unlike the previous medicine which would directly make them unconscious. Even after waking up, they think they just had a good sleep and have no other physical discomfort."

This newly made sleeping potion was developed by Zhao Yuan after he exchanged some modern Chinese medicine anesthetic and sedative prescriptions from the system and gave them to the An Shenyi couple.

Rather than being called a "knockout drug," it was more similar to a sleeping pill in later times, and its side effects on the body were not as severe as those of a "knockout drug."

However, Zhao Yuan clearly felt a sense of empathy when he heard Shi Qian say these words.

Thinking back, the flea on the drum had been sleeping soundly inside the house all afternoon, and hadn't woken up no matter how much noise was going on outside.

Zhao Yuan asked in surprise, "Brother, you didn't try it yourself, did you?"

"To be honest, brother, I ate in the lobby this morning, and then I drank a packet of this medicine in my room,"

Shi Qian explained, "I'll feel uneasy if I don't experience it myself, for fear of jeopardizing my brother's plans."

Zhao Yuan patted Shi Qian on the shoulder, moved.

"Brother Shi Qian is indeed meticulous in his work."

“Brother didn’t mind that I came from a thief background, and let me join Liangshan and even make me a leader, so naturally I will do my best,” Shi Qian replied with a chuckle.

......

Shi Qian had already been scouting Daming Prefecture for over half a month.

They knew exactly when the night patrols would take place.

With him leading the way,

Zhao Yuan and the others pushed the cart and arrived at the back gate of the prefectural government office without any major incidents.

"Meow......"

Shi Qian imitated two cat meows, and then a dog barked from behind the door.

Not long after, the back door opened.

An old man in his fifties or sixties peeked out and looked around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shi Qian.

"You've finally arrived. Everyone in the backyard is fast asleep."

"Brother, let me go in and scout ahead first,"

After Shi Qian finished speaking, he walked into the courtyard before Zhao Yuan could nod.

Seeing that the maids and servants in the backyard were all fast asleep, and even the two big yellow dogs they kept were sound asleep,

Shi Qian then returned to the back door and had Zhao Yuan and the others push the cart inside.

"You all know what's going on with me, yet you still doubt me!"

The old man seemed displeased, so Shi Qian quickly smiled and said a couple of apologetic words.

The old man's surname was Liu; he was a spy that Shi Qian had developed within the prefectural government.

This old man and his entire family were servants of Liang Zhongshu.

His daughter used to be Liang Zhongshu's maid, but because she was once sexually harassed by Liang Zhongshu, she incurred the resentment of Madam Cai.

Not long after, he suddenly fell ill and died quickly.

Old Liu originally thought there was nothing wrong with his daughter's death.

One day, Xie, the steward of the manor and also the wet nurse of Madam Cai, revealed the secret after getting drunk.

Old Liu's daughter was actually poisoned to death by someone sent by Madam Cai using a slow-acting poison.

The person who personally administered the medicine was none other than Steward Xie.

When Old Man Liu learned of this, he was naturally filled with resentment.

But what good would it do to know? Let alone Madam Cai, even Steward Xie…

He didn't dare to seek revenge; he could only curse them a few times each night in his room.

However, Shi Qian, who was scouting the prefectural government office, overheard everything.

Afterwards, Shi Qian recruited this old man Liu as a spy for Liangshan, to pass on messages from the prefectural government office to Liangshan.

Tonight, he was the one who put the newly made sleeping potion by An Daoquan and his wife into the food and drinks of everyone in the backyard.

Old Liu led Zhao Yuan and the others to a storeroom in the backyard.

Shi Qian stepped forward, fiddled with it for a moment, and then opened the brass lock on the warehouse.

When everyone went inside, they found the room filled with neatly packed carrying poles and boxes, all sealed with tape.

"You all need to be careful. If the adults find out, we servants in the backyard might not survive."

At this point, Old Man Liu also became somewhat frightened and warned in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry, sir, we know what we're doing."

Shi Qian offered him a word of comfort, then carefully stepped forward and unsealed a cargo box.

········Requesting flowers·· 0

After opening the lock on the cargo box, it was found to be full of melted gold bars and ingots.

The group then inspected the other carrying poles and boxes.

Some boxes contained gold leaves and gold beans, others contained pearls, jade, and various gemstones, and a small box contained antiques and calligraphy...

Wow, so many good things!

Shi Qian and the others all stared wide-eyed.

"Don't delay! Quickly replace these with the counterfeit goods we brought!" Zhao Yuan urged.

Jiao Ting and his men quickly unloaded the cargo box from the car, opened it, and found it was full of valuables such as gold bars, pearls, and gemstones.

These are all counterfeit goods specially made by Liangshan for use in switching out other goods.

Gold bars are copper blocks coated with gold paint, pearls are wooden beads with a little pearl powder on them, and gemstones are ordinary stones with some color added...

Zhao Yuan and the others first took out the birthday gifts from the storeroom.

They then reassembled the counterfeit goods as before, and then placed a layer of genuine goods on top.

Afterwards, seal the warehouse, restore it to its original state, and then lock it with a brass lock.

After taking inventory, Jiao Ting reported, "Brother, there are still two small carts empty, and quite a few copper blocks with gold paint left."

Zhao Yuan called out, "Brother Shi Qian, let's go to the place where Liang Zhongshu has hidden gold!"

"Brothers, follow me!"

Shi Qian led the way, and they soon arrived at the study in the backyard.

There weren't many investment opportunities in ancient times.

Many wealthy people like to bury their gold and silver in their homes for a rainy day.

The same was true of Liang Zhongshu; the place where he hoarded gold was right below his study.

Once inside, Shi Qian found a hollowed-out bluestone floor, moved it aside, and revealed a cellar underneath.

After the air had circulated for a while, everyone climbed down the ladder into the cellar.

This cellar is rectangular, about four or five zhang long, and about three zhang wide.

Tung oil lamps were embedded in the surrounding walls.

After it was lit, Zhao Yuan and the others were all stunned.

Because in front of them,

The spacious cellar was filled with valuables everywhere.

Gold bars, pearls, gemstones, and the like were everywhere...

Chapter 221 What are you looking at?

"Just how much did this corrupt official embezzle?"

Bianxiang said, dumbfounded.

"The wealth here is at least three or four hundred thousand strings of cash," Shi Qian estimated.

"I heard that Liang Zhongshu has only been the prefect of Daming Prefecture for two or three years, yet he has already amassed such a fortune?" Shi Xiu asked in surprise.

"That's normal. Daming Prefecture is the secondary capital of the Song Dynasty and an important town in the north, bearing the heavy responsibility of resisting the Liao Dynasty."

Zhao Yuan explained, "Although the Song and Liao dynasties have not fought for more than a hundred years since the Treaty of Chanyuan, the northern border defenses cannot be abandoned."

"I heard that Daming Prefecture spends over a million strings of cash on military expenses alone each year. Add to that the trade with the Liao Kingdom, and Liang Zhongshu handles at least three or four million strings of cash annually. If he skims off a little bit, he can easily amass this fortune."

　"One, three, three!" Shi Xiu and the others suddenly realized, and Zhao Yuan did not delay any longer.

He immediately ordered everyone to pick up the valuables and move them out.

Afterwards, the remaining gold-lacquered copper pieces were moved into the cellar.

They placed real gold nuggets on top to conceal the stolen valuables.

After restoring the study to its original state