He Qingshou also glanced at Mu Changxi, not daring to hide anything. "About a month ago, someone came to our Qingyun Money House and deposited three large chests of items."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, then pointed to Xiao Ruizhi, who was standing behind Mu Changxi. "It was he who brought those three chests. At the time, I didn't know his identity as the personal attendant of Prince Chang, but he had official documents from the court. His name on them was 'Mu Rui'. I even joked then, saying this guest was fortunate to be of the same family as the current imperial family."
It seemed He Qingshou had a deep impression of Xiao Ruizhi.
He Qingshou then looked at Lord Han before continuing, "Because our money house offers storage services. He asked me that day how much it would cost to store these three chests here for about a month, and I answered truthfully. But I was afraid the chests might contain something strange, so I also asked him what was inside."
"What did he say?"
Lord Han raised an eyebrow at He Qingshou, giving him a look as if to tell him not to speak carelessly.
However, even though He Qingshou understood, he didn't dare to exchange more glances with Lord Han.
He still told the truth, "He told me that everything inside was silver. That's why he wanted to store it in my silver house. Although I didn't ask for the specific amount at the time, I was greatly surprised and resolved to preserve this guest's belongings well."
Up to this point, there seemed to be no major issues with the matter.
Even Lord Han coughed lightly, explaining for him, "Indeed, for items stored in a money house, your duty is to keep them safe. You don't need to concern yourself with who this guest is, where he came from, or where he's going. After all, his official documents were for ease of travel. If you don't know who he is, how could you lose his belongings?"
This matter caused He Qingshou to lower his head and remain silent for a long time.
Lord Han was not in a hurry and just waited.
Instead, Mu Changxi picked up his teacup and handed it to Xiao Ruizhi behind him. "The tea has gone cold."
He hadn't said much, but it made He Qingshou's body tremble slightly.
When He Qingshou raised his head again, his eyes held a hint of determination. "The incident happened about ten days after the items were placed in our money house. One day, someone came looking for me and asked if someone had placed three large chests in the Qingyun Money House. That person also told me that the person who placed these items was none other than Prince Chang's attendant."
He Qingshou sighed. "I know Prince Chang. His Highness came here for disaster relief. The first thing I thought was, if that person was indeed Prince Chang's attendant, then the items stored in our money house were likely a portion of the disaster relief funds. I told the person who came to find me my thoughts, and he agreed with my assessment. He said to let him open the vault, and we would know what was in the chests."
Upon hearing this, Lord Han also shook his head, his brow furrowed. "You actually took someone to look?"
He Qingshou lowered his head but nodded. "Yes. I took that person into the vault and then opened the chests. We discovered that all three chests were indeed filled with money! Each chest was filled with many gold bars. Even for someone like me who runs a money house, it was difficult to see so many gold bars at once!"
"Wait!"
However, He Qingshou was interrupted by Lord Han at this point. "You said... the chests contained gold bars? Are you sure you didn't misread? Gold bars, not something else?"
"Yes!"
This time, He Qingshou confidently raised his head and looked at Lord Han. "They contained gold bars. Although each chest was not completely full, I saw very clearly that they were all gold bars. At the time, I even roughly calculated with that person, and it was worth about a hundred thousand. I was stunned! What was the origin of a hundred thousand gold bars?"
Before Lord Han could speak, He Qingshou continued, "So when that person told me they wanted to take all of this hundred thousand taels, I was truly stunned! Although a hundred thousand taels of gold bars is something many people can't obtain in a lifetime, it was also disaster relief funds. It was a capital offense! I dared not, and refused that person at once. Who knew that person would relentlessly offer me a solution."
He Qingshou hunched his neck, as if still feeling lingering fear from that incident. "That person told me that if this wasn't disaster relief silver, then how could the dignified Prince Chang, having just returned from the southern kingdom, carry so much money with him? Surely this money was ill-gotten gains, and even if we took it directly, Prince Chang wouldn't dare to make a fuss. Otherwise, the Emperor would surely not spare Prince Chang."
Even Song Chaoyu felt that the person's words were enough to persuade others.
Who could remain clear-headed when faced with so much money?
A layer of sweat appeared on Lord Han's forehead. "Absurd! That hundred thousand taels were disaster relief funds, and you could just casually tamper with them?!"
He slapped the gavel, startling He Qingshou, who looked up in a bit of a panic.
Mu Changxi, standing beside him, also cast a glance at Lord Han. "Lord Han, what's the hurry? He hasn't finished speaking, let him continue!"
Lord Han glared at He Qingshou, but He Qingshou did not dodge the gaze.
He took a deep breath and continued, "That person told me that if we said it was disaster relief silver, it would be even easier. Prince Chang himself could not bear the crime of losing disaster relief funds. Moreover, he had people quietly place the disaster relief funds in my Qingyun Money House. As long as I denied it to death, and spread some news outside, people outside would naturally assume that Prince Chang himself had embezzled so much disaster relief silver. By then, the Emperor would be even more suspicious of him, and it would naturally have nothing to do with us."
Such a malicious method, it was unlikely to have been conceived by the people of Yuezhou City.
Song Chaoyu increasingly felt that this idea was more like Mu Hansu's doing!
"Absurd, too absurd!"
Lord Han was now being forced onto a tightrope, but he had to follow He Qingshou's words. "No matter what this silver was used for, or who placed it here, how could you carelessly covet this silver?! You are too absurd, too excessive!"
"Hmph!"
Hearing Lord Han say this, Mu Changxi let out a cold snort. "Yes, no matter when or what you do, how can you covet this wealth? What is not yours, even if held in hand, will ultimately bring no peace of mind, right? Before I placed this disaster relief silver in Yuezhou City, I had already informed the Emperor. Would I be so foolish as to hide it from my father?"