Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

Wang Daniu was absolutely right, they've really struck it rich this time!

The Imperial Guards carried out more than a dozen large boxes from the underground vault, all filled with silver ingots, each weighing fifty taels.

Each box contained 3000 taels, which adds up to nearly 40,000 taels of silver!

Besides cash, the basement also yielded various kinds of fine silks, brocades, sable and fox furs, as well as many rare antiques and paintings by famous artists.

This only includes the inventory in the basement; the furnishings, decorations, and valuables in the various rooms are not included.

In short, they made a fortune from this raid!

Liu Feng clicked his tongue. The Eight Great Hutongs truly lived up to their reputation as dens of extravagance... Sigh, could these rare antiques and famous paintings be used by the Tartars to bribe officials in the court?

That's quite possible!

"grown ups......"

Li Shoutian hurried over and said, "I confess. This is just a liaison point for the Tartars. It's used to gather intelligence and make money on the side. People from other hideouts come here every five days to collect intelligence and get paid."

Liu Feng secretly regretted not being able to follow the trail and take down the bigger fish. But then he thought again, this achievement was enough to get him promoted to commander of a thousand.

Li Shoutian glanced around, then leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Sir, this matter is probably a bit tricky..."

Liu Feng turned to look at him, waiting for what he would say next.

Li Shoutian: "Let's not even talk about waiting until dawn. Once those officials' families from Xishan arrive in Beijing and expose the matter, the mastermind behind it will definitely find out in advance and take the opportunity to erase traces and clean up the mess..."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Even if those people don't come to the capital, the news will still reach the city."

Liu Feng nodded, realizing that trying to use the old eunuch as a clue to trace the matter further was no longer feasible.

"And then there's the Tartar side. Anyone else could be detained first, or even the entire Eight Great Hutongs could be sealed off to keep the news from leaking out. But it's involved with the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion... that's the current emperor's brother, notoriously difficult and not to be trifled with. If we really detain the people from the Prince's Mansion..."

Li Shoutian shook his head.

Liu Feng silently gave the heavens the middle finger in his mind. What happened to the protagonist's halo? All the methods he racked his brains to come up with turned out to be one-off deals!

Just then, a flag bearer rushed in to report: "Sir, the two brothers have committed suicide."

Liu Feng was taken aback at first, then let out a long sigh. In this world, human life is truly as worthless as grass.

Suddenly, a quarrel broke out in the front yard. Liu Feng listened intently for a moment, then turned and walked towards the front yard.

They had only taken a few steps when they bumped into the Imperial Guards who had come to report.

"My lord, they are from the Prince Zhongshun's residence. They say they have come to take Qi Guan back to the residence."

Liu Feng frowned. Why come to pick someone up in the middle of the night? Could it be that Prince Zhongshun is unable to eat or sleep without Qi Guan?

Thinking of this, Liu Feng immediately perked up, his gossip-loving heart burning brightly. Judging from this situation, the relationship between Prince Zhongshun and this Qi Guan is quite unusual!

"How dare you! I am acting on the Prince's orders..."

"How dare you! The Northern Garrison is arresting people and investigating cases. If you dare to take another step forward, I'll chop you up!"

Liu Feng's lips twitched. That idiot Wang Daniu dares to say anything, no matter how harsh!

"You... I won't argue with you. Go and bring your deputy commander here. I'll only talk to him."

Liu Feng smiled upon hearing this, realizing that the weak were indeed afraid of the strong, and the strong were afraid of the ruthless.

At the entrance of the theater, Wang Daniu stood with his hand on the hilt of his knife, his head held high, his eyes fixed on the man with the mustache opposite him.

He was so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring, but he was completely helpless.

Just as Liu Feng was about to leave the hall, Li Shoutian, who had been blinking his small eyes and pondering for a while, quickly leaned in and whispered a few words in his ear.

Liu Feng glanced back at him, then strode out.

Li Shoutian chuckled and hurriedly followed him out.

The man with the mustache didn't recognize Liu Feng, but he recognized his official robes. He said loudly, "Deputy Commander Liu, I have come on the orders of the Prince to ask for your help. For the sake of the Prince, I humbly request that you grant my request. Not only will the Prince remember this favor, but I will also be eternally grateful!"

After saying that, he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng abruptly stopped. His words were polite and his posture deliberately humble, but they concealed a dagger. Using the guise of a royal decree, yet expecting a mere deputy commander like himself to agree? Did he, a deputy commander, have more power than the prince?!

With a cold snort in his heart, Liu Feng stepped forward and clasped his hands together, saying, "Since you have come on the king's orders, what are your instructions? Please tell me, so that I may carry them out."

Seeing Liu Feng's businesslike demeanor, the man with the mustache raised his hand and said, "There's no need to handle it anymore. Just one word from Deputy Commander Liu, and the matter is settled."

"Please explain, sir," Liu Feng said.

The man with the mustache pointed at Qi Guan: "This man is named Qi Guan. He is a young female actor in our Prince's mansion. He usually serves the Prince. He is quick-witted, sensible, cautious, and honest. He is very much to the Prince's liking. The Prince cannot do without him... Therefore, I implore Vice Commander Liu to be lenient and return Qi Guan to his residence. I would be extremely grateful."

"Are you going to take them away now?"

"Exactly."

"Not tomorrow?"

"No!"

Liu Feng stared at him: "Do you know the rules of the Northern Garrison?"

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible," the man with the mustache said with a forced smile.

Liu Feng: "If word gets out, can you take the responsibility?"

The man with the mustache frowned: "Are you trying to go against the Prince?"

Liu Feng: "I wouldn't dare. The Northern Garrison Command is the Emperor's personal army, handling royal duties. Why must you, sir, go against the Emperor?"

The man with the mustache's expression changed. He gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, and said, "Let's go!" He then turned to leave.

"Stop them!" Liu Feng shouted.

With a series of swift sounds of swords being drawn, the Imperial Guards outside the door all drew their swords and surrounded the man with the mustache and several of the Prince's guards.

Several guards from the Prince's Palace immediately drew their swords and shielded the man with the mustache in the middle.

The man with the mustache, his face ashen, shouted angrily, "How dare you! Are you trying to rebel?"

Liu Feng was so angry he laughed.

Li Shoutian, who was standing to the side, explained: "According to the rules of the Northern Garrison Command, in order to prevent the news from leaking out, please wait a moment, sir. We apologize for the inconvenience."

The man with the mustache said, "What if I don't?"

Li Shoutian said no more, and waved his hand: "Disarm them all!"

"Let's see who dares to lay a hand on us!"

The man with the eight-character mustache suddenly pulled a command token from his robes, raised it high, and shouted sternly, "Holding this command token is equivalent to the Prince's personal presence! How dare you, your inferiors, defy your superiors? Are you plotting a rebellion?"

All the Imperial Guards looked at Liu Feng. They could ignore an ordinary prince, but not Prince Zhongshun. He was not only the emperor's brother but also in charge of the Infantry Commandery. They had to give him face.

Seeing that no one dared to step forward, the man with the eight-character mustache let out a cold laugh and was about to leave when he suddenly caught sight of Qi Guan standing to the side.

"Get out of here!"

Using the imposing presence of the command arrow, the man with the eight-character mustache forced back the Imperial Guards blocking his path, grabbed Qi Guan, and prepared to leave.

"Let go!"

Suddenly, a knife was held to the neck of the man with the mustache; it was Wang Daniu.

Liu Feng's lips twitched. Why was this simpleton suddenly being stubborn at this moment? He quickly gave Li Shoutian a wink.

Li Shoutian immediately stepped forward and snatched the knife from Wang Daniu's hand.

With a cold snort from his mustache and nostrils, he dragged Qi Guan out.

"grown ups......"

Wang Daniu wanted to chase after him, but Li Shoutian quickly stopped him and whispered a few words in his ear.

Wang Daniu asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Li Shoutian rolled his eyes: "These eight hutongs are home to many princes, ministers, and high-ranking officials. It's impossible to keep them sealed off forever. With this incident, we can conveniently lift martial law. We won't have to take responsibility, and we won't offend those powerful figures."

Wang Daniu nodded, spat on the ground again, and muttered, "A dog relying on its master's power."

Liu Feng spoke up: "It's past midnight. Hurry up and clean up, lift the curfew as soon as possible, and don't miss tomorrow's morning court session."

A burst of laughter erupted.

The morning court session was held at 5:00 AM, and officials had to arrive at the Meridian Gate by 4:00 AM to wait.

Liu Feng turned to look at Liu Xianglian, whose wounds had been bandaged, and after thinking for a moment, said to Zhang Laifu, "Arrange for a few people to take Young Master Liu back."

Liu Xianglian couldn't lift his arm, so he could only nod slightly: "Thank you, Lord Liu."

Liu Feng nodded slightly, sighing inwardly. Another sleepless night ahead!

He had to pack his things overnight and get to the palace before dawn...