Chapter 23

Suo Etu, Lin Yi, and Wei Xiaobao carefully selected and divided the treasures in Ao Bai's hidden treasure room.

Suo Etu ordered his subordinates to come in and check the preliminary inventory of Ao Bai's wealth. Even he couldn't help but change his expression in amazement, exclaiming, "Ao Bai is really good at extorting! His wealth is much more than I expected!"

He waved his hand to dismiss his subordinates and said to Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao, "Brothers, as the saying goes, officials travel a thousand miles just for wealth. This time, the Emperor's grace is great, and he assigned us this task, originally to let us make a fortune. This inventory, I will have to modify it later. Two million taels of silver, how much do you think we should report?"

When Lin Yi heard two million taels, his eyelids twitched. This wasn't two million RMB, but two million taels of silver!

Wei Xiaobao was completely stunned. What was the concept of two million taels? He stammered, "I, I don't understand. I'll leave it to the two of you to decide."

Suo Etu looked at Lin Yi again.

Lin Yi smiled and said, "Since it's two million taels of silver, I think we should do this: let's erase the 'two' at the beginning. Two million taels of silver, each of us gets six hundred thousand taels, and the remaining two hundred thousand taels can be given to the officials below as a sealing fee."

Upon hearing this, Wei Xiaobao was shocked and looked at Lin Yi in disbelief, saying, "Big, Big Brother, you, you said..."

He never expected that his big brother would be so bold!

Directly embezzling two million taels of silver! He could get six hundred thousand taels of silver! What was the concept of that!?

When he was in the Yangzhou brothel, having just one or two taels of silver felt like a windfall. In the palace, when he gambled with others, the stakes were only a few dozen to a hundred or two hundred taels of silver.

Suddenly hearing that he would get six hundred thousand taels, he almost couldn't believe his ears.

Suo Etu also looked at Lin Yi in surprise. He was originally unsure how much to embezzle, but he never expected his sworn brother to have such a big appetite!

This is someone who can achieve great things!

Suo Etu instantly made his judgment and smiled, "Good! Let's do it this way!"

Wei Xiaobao said with some concern, "Isn't it... isn't it... too... too much?"

Lin Yi smiled and said, "Since we're embezzling, what's the difference between a little and a lot?"

He had no psychological pressure about embezzling from the young Emperor Kangxi, but he didn't know how to spend so much silver.

Suo Etu looked at Lin Yi approvingly and smiled, "Good! Brother Lin is right! Since we're embezzling, what's the difference between a little and a lot?"

Then, Suo Etu ordered the wealth of Ao Bai to be converted into silver bills.

Each of the three received six hundred thousand taels of silver bills, and they took out two hundred thousand taels to give to the officials below as a sealing fee, quickly disposing of the two million taels of silver.

Suo Etu smiled and said, "Brothers, keep these silver bills safe. Whenever you need silver, you can exchange them for gold or silver at the money shop. It's convenient and secure."

He paused and then smiled again, "Unless someone checks your pockets, no one will know that the two of you, at such a young age, are actually two of the richest men in Beijing, ha ha, ha ha!"

Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao also laughed and each put a stack of silver bills in their chests.

Then, the three returned to the palace to report their mission. By the time everything was done, it was already noon.

Lin Yi was thinking about taking a rare break in the afternoon, considering whether to take a day off or continue streaming. However, the young Emperor Kangxi gave him and Wei Xiaobao another task.

After dismissing Suo Etu, Kangxi looked at Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao and said, "Ao Bai is a rebellious and treasonous man. Although I spared his life, he has many followers, and I fear he might rise again, which would be very dangerous."

Ao Bai had great merit for the Qing Dynasty. Although his family was executed and his property confiscated, Kangxi could not kill him.

This was the rule of the Qing Dynasty, and Lin Yi didn't fully understand the intricacies. In his view, Ao Bai's crimes were enough to warrant execution ten thousand times.

Seeing the young Emperor Kangxi's actions, Lin Yi understood his meaning: he couldn't kill Ao Bai openly, but he had to do it secretly.

The young Emperor continued, "I knew Ao Bai was stubborn, so I didn't send him to the Ministry of Punishment's prison, to avoid him spouting nonsense. He has been kept in the Kang Prince's mansion. Just now, the Kang Prince reported that the man was shouting and speaking insolently in the mansion."

He lowered his voice and said, "He said I stabbed him in the back with a small knife."

Lin Yi smiled and said, "That didn't happen. I was the one who stabbed him."

Wei Xiaobao also nodded, "That's right."

Kangxi sighed, "But no one knows that. Ao Bai is shouting that I betrayed him. If this spreads, it will damage my dignity as an emperor."

He paused, his eyes darting, and then said, "Go to the Kang Prince's mansion and see when he will die."

Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao immediately understood; they were to secretly kill Ao Bai.

Lin Yi smiled and said, "I stabbed him deeply. I think he won't last the day."

Wei Xiaobao also nodded, "I think so too."

The three looked at each other and laughed.

Kangxi summoned four guards and ordered them to escort Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao to the Kang Prince's mansion.

Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao left the palace again, each riding a tall horse, with four guards escorting them. Many people watched them on the way.

In just one night, their capture of Ao Bai had become widely known, making them two major celebrities!

Ao Bai was notorious for his cruelty and corruption, and the people hated him deeply. Once he was captured and punished, there was jubilation throughout Beijing.

The story of Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao capturing Ao Bai was embellished and spread in the teahouses, with everyone talking animatedly about it.

Stories of Ao Bai kicking the emperor, the two young eunuchs' martial arts skills, and how they used the "Withered Vine Root" technique to knock down Ao Bai, and how Ao Bai did a "Carp Leap" and the eunuchs used "Black Tiger Steals Heart" were told as if everyone had seen it with their own eyes.

In just one night, Lin Yi and Wei Xiaobao became major stars in the Qing Dynasty.

When they arrived at the Kang Prince's mansion, the Kang Prince had already opened the main gate to welcome them and set up an altar to receive the imperial edict.

---

(Note: The last part of the text is a placeholder for a mobile website link and some page navigation elements, which are not translated.)