Xi Tong left, taking with him his promise and responsibility. He was very much like Dan Ying—both belonged to that type who liked to put shackles around their own necks. One gave up his beloved bandit career for the responsibility his father left behind; the other, in order to have several more wives, willingly set aside his wandering knight’s airs to ask Yun Ye for help.

Fools—all fools. There were more and more of these fools around him, and this wasn’t a good sign. The servant contracts at Old Niu’s household were aligning with the Yun family’s. Old Cheng’s household was the same. It was said that Old Qin’s family also planned to change the servant release period to three years.

Wasn’t it better to exploit them for a lifetime with a clear conscience? The Yun family had no choice—the old grandmother was kindhearted, plus the family head was a spendthrift idiot who could turn farming into a joke. Nothing this household did was surprising. But why were the Niu, Cheng, and Qin families going crazy along with them? Each one had killed people like hemp, their entire bodies soaked through with blood—could they also have compassion?

“Twist off the head, then apply some force along the wound and tear downward—the skin comes right off. Boy, do you even know how to skin?” The three old men sat under the eaves, each with a teapot, looking leisurely. Old Cheng occasionally mocked Yun Ye and Cheng Chumo, who were skinning rabbits under the shade of a tree.

The three old generals had gone out hunting with bows and arrows early in the morning. After wandering for just over an hour, they brought back more than ten rabbits and pheasants. Since the elders had personally hunted them, Yun Ye had no choice but to personally clean them. Old Niu didn’t care about other things, but he took seniority very seriously. Fortunately, Cheng Chumo was also there, so the two working together made it much faster. When Niu Jianhu returned, only three or four pheasants remained on the ground.

Handing over the remaining work to Niu Jianhu, Yun Ye washed his hands and came before the three old masters, saying, “Uncles, this time I’ve invited the three of you to Yushan because there’s an important matter to tell the elders about. I’d also like to ask the uncles to help me make a decision. This matter is truly enormous, involving too many people and too much money.”

“Boy, what are you planning to do? Live a proper life. If you have nothing to do, go teach more at the academy. You established such a huge academy but spend every day dealing with copper coins—this isn’t a long-term plan.” Old Cheng now had a new understanding of Yun Ye’s capacity for causing trouble. Although every time brought great rewards, it was also accompanied by various heart-stopping scares.

“Uncles, please take a look first. Let’s have an intuitive understanding, then discuss whether this matter can be done. In a moment, the Crown Prince will also come. Let’s discuss it thoroughly together.”

Yun Ye’s group arrived beside the garden rockery. They saw Old Jiang, who was drinking wine in the small pavilion, pull the iron chain behind him, and a dark cave entrance appeared before everyone.

“This was originally where the Yun family formulated perfumes. Although it’s not worth much money, my grandmother guards it very tightly and won’t let it leak out. She says if the secret is revealed, future generations will have nothing to eat.”

Yun Ye wanted to crack a joke to lighten the atmosphere, but who knew the three old generals had no intention of laughing. Old Cheng pulled at Yun Ye: “Hurry up, boy. I have a very bad premonition. This time the trouble is big.” Old Qin and Old Niu also nodded in agreement.

The tunnel wasn’t dark either, brightly lit by lanterns. Female members of the Yun household occasionally appeared in the small rooms on the side. Yun Ye even saw Chengxin in a small room, intoxicated while smelling perfumes.

Old Cheng curiously wanted to see clearly, but an auntie turned and shut the door tightly. Touching his nose, he smiled and said, “This old man was just looking, just curious, just curious.”

Old Qin pushed Old Cheng irritably: “This is the secret important place of someone’s home. Being allowed to enter already means we’re treated as family. Don’t you even understand basic guest etiquette?”

The deeper they went, the richer the fragrance became. These were all storerooms. When Grandmother built these storerooms, she had put in tremendous effort. The surroundings were all solid granite stones with cement filling the joints—clearly an indestructible appearance.

Two old soldiers sat at a small table playing chess—wolf-eats-baby chess. Hearing footsteps, they looked up, saw it was Yun Ye, then lowered their heads to continue their game.

A huge lock hung on the iron door in the very center. An auntie took the key, handed it to Yun Ye, then returned to her own room. Opening the door, Yun Ye lit the oil lamps in the room. As the oil lamps were lit one by one, the three old generals’ eyes also changed from a sealed state to wide open.

“Good heavens, boy! Did you rob the Dragon King of the East Sea?” Old Cheng looked at the room full of crystal-clear, brilliant glass ornaments and completely went wild. Touching this and looking at that, he felt every piece was good—that eagle standing on a rock preparing to spread its wings, that steed with all four hooves in the air stepping on a flying swallow—hey, these two plump, adorable pigs were also good.

Old Qin was gasping for air. Old Niu squatted on the ground worriedly holding his head. They didn’t have Old Cheng’s mood to appreciate treasures. A completely full room where every single piece taken out would be a rare treasure in the world—how could this be?

Yun Ye picked up a fist-sized transparent glass sphere and asked Old Qin, “Uncle, how much do you think this item should sell for?”

Old Qin took it and carefully examined the flying apsara inside the glass sphere, then said, “This old man can’t set prices, but if someone told me he spent five thousand strings of cash to buy this, I would definitely believe it.”

The copper bell behind the door rang once. Yun Ye said to the three elders, “The Crown Prince arrived faster than expected. Since the uncles also can’t make up their minds, let the imperial family decide. This junior just wants to quickly clear out this garbage.”

“Garbage? Boy, your tone is too arrogant.” Old Cheng was studying a flying horse and wasn’t pleased to hear this.

“Uncle Cheng, nothing in this whole room is worth as much as the jade pendant hanging at your waist. To put it plainly, these things are all fired from sand. How much do you think the cost is? A thousand strings of cash is already me multiplying the cost by ten.”

Old Cheng seemed to hear his own heart shatter. Looking at the flying horse in his hand, then at the jade pendant at his waist—no matter how he looked, his jade pendant couldn’t even buy one horse leg. But Yun Ye wouldn’t lie to him. If he said it wasn’t worth as much as the jade pendant, then it definitely wasn’t worth as much as the jade pendant.

“Boy, you mean you can make as much of this stuff as you want?” Old Niu heard another layer of meaning in Yun Ye’s words.

“How much money have the barbarians cheated from our Great Tang with these things? Our ancestors made these things long ago—they just weren’t passed down. This boy has rediscovered the method of making glass. It turns out to be ridiculously simple. Now, it’s time for those damned barbarians to repay their debts.”

“Boy, I see you’re planning to take down all the wealthy people in Chang’an in one sweep. The steward told me your wood has already been transported to Chang’an and is currently being salvaged. There’s also purple rice, ambergris, and I heard there are relics and bear skins that change color. Add to that your family’s perfumes, precious swords, and carriages—are you planning to rob these nobles?”

“Rob? Who wants to rob? This dark place is just right for making a move.” Li Chengqian’s voice came from afar. Turning the corner, he paid respects to the three elders.

After finishing greetings, he asked Yun Ye, “Ye Zi, what’s this big trouble you mentioned? What matter can’t you solve now?”

“The trouble of having too much money.” Yun Ye said with a bitter face to Li Chengqian. Once glass was released, what kind of impact it would have on the Great Tang’s fragile economy, Yun Ye had no idea. He only knew that if handled poorly, it would provoke monstrous disaster. So finding Li Chengqian was to find someone who could shoulder this matter.

“If you have too much money, just say so! This solitary one is about to die of poverty. Soon I’m getting married, and the Eastern Palace is still broken down. Give me the money, and I’ll worry about it for you.” He thought Yun Ye was joking and jokingly took on the burden without reservation, completely failing to see the schadenfreude smiles on the three old fellows’ faces.

“Excellent! With those words, it’s settled. Now all this money is yours.” After speaking, Yun Ye stepped aside from blocking the doorway. Li Chengqian looked up blankly and saw a room full of rare treasures shining brilliantly under the lamplight, dazzling his eyes so he couldn’t take it all in.

“Ye Zi, you’re saying all these things are for me?” Li Chengqian turned his head with difficulty, looking toward Yun Ye.

“That’s right, they’re all yours. Now you’re a rich man.” Yun Ye affectionately put his arm around Li Chengqian’s shoulder and said to him warmly.

Li Chengqian made two gurgling sounds in his throat and nearly fainted. However, fortunately, the Great Tang’s future successor had seen the world after all and managed to hold on. Pushing Yun Ye aside, he rushed into the room looking here and there. Same old problem—when he saw something the right size, he liked to stuff it in his pockets.

Yun Ye pulled him out from the pile of glass and said to him, “I’ll be responsible for making things, you’ll be responsible for selling them. We’ll split the money seventy-thirty—you get seventy, I get thirty. Now you can go back and discuss with the Empress. I’m not going to the palace—every time I go, I’m unlucky. Can you put down that horse? Your pocket can’t fit it.”

Who knows if Li Chengqian heard. He was only seen fiddling with the glass. Yun Ye said again, “Tell the Empress clearly—if the state wants the formula, no problem. Send reliable officials to learn. This kind of money can only be earned for two or three years. After two or three years, I’ll sell this stuff cheaper than porcelain.”

Li Chengqian returned with a full load, his whole body bulging. As for whether he heard Yun Ye’s words, who knows? Ever since learning that the room full of treasures was just fired from sand, Old Cheng immediately lost interest in those shiny things—at most he found them pretty. All things in the world couldn’t withstand scrutiny. Once you get to the bottom of things, after the halo fades revealing the essence, it was like glass—ultimately just a deformed pile of sand.

When several people gathered around an iron pot eating rabbit, Old Qin said to Yun Ye, “Prepare to receive His Majesty. At the latest by tomorrow you’ll see either His Majesty or the Empress—one of these two. I’m afraid someone in the palace won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

“The uncles worry too much. This nephew guarantees His Majesty will sleep soundly and sweetly tonight. He might even wake up laughing from his dreams. He’s always wanted to weaken the power of the great clans. Now heaven has given him an excellent opportunity—how could he not act? It’s just that this time he’s acting through wealth. Killing without seeing blood is the highest method.”