Even so, the Emperor still only cared about his imperial tomb!

With Li Qitian’s intelligence, no one believed he truly couldn’t see the general situation. It was just that having risen from humble beginnings to become the supreme ruler, he had spent eight years constantly surrounded by adulation. After recovering Great Yan and quelling the Tatar rebellion, he had heard so much praise and glorification that Li Qitian inevitably became complacent, causing his eyes to be blinded.

Perhaps it wasn’t that he couldn’t see the situation in the south—as an emperor, how could he truly fail to perceive the circumstances?

Li Qitian was simply harboring wishful thinking. Perhaps he was still thinking: at worst, there are plenty of granaries throughout the realm, and many benevolent wealthy people. If some commoners starve to death, so be it—could the Great Zhou Dynasty really be overthrown because of this?

Both Qin Yining and Pang Xiao were people who valued the lives of the common folk highly, and they couldn’t understand Li Qitian’s willful actions.

Pang Xiao said: “Count Zhongyi’s stone procurement has already received silver support from both the Ministry of Revenue and the inner treasury. The finest granite is being transported to Huichuan County in continuous shipments. Additionally, the Emperor has issued an edict to dismantle warships from the previous dynasty and select their timber for use. There are also craftsmen at Jingang dismantling ships at the docks.”

Pang Xiao’s thin lips curved upward, his phoenix eyes sparkling: “New stone materials will continue arriving. The stone yard has limited space, so Count Zhongyi has already found buyers for the ‘defective products,’ providing a perfect opportunity to transport things outward. Gentlemen, the time we’ve been waiting for has come.”

Both Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi felt their hearts stir, immediately filled with soaring ambition.

“Having rested in Danfu County for these past days, I won’t hide it—this old man has grown so idle that even his bones feel loose,” Xie Yue laughed.

Xu Weizhi covered his mouth and coughed twice, teasing: “Indeed, this old fellow has been complaining to me behind closed doors every day, grumbling that Count Zhongyi is too slow-tempered and too gradual in his methods. He’s nagged my ears nearly to the point of growing calluses. Since Count Zhongyi finally has some action, Your Highness might as well assign Old Xie more tasks to keep him from being too idle.”

Qin Yining and Pang Xiao couldn’t help but smile.

Xie Yue laughed and shook his head: “Just because you grabbed some of my good tea last time, you’re taking such revenge on me.”

“Are you saying that having me give you more work, letting your old arms and legs loosen up their muscles and bones, makes you feel wronged?” Xu Weizhi couldn’t help but laugh as well.

With their banter, the atmosphere lightened considerably. They had been planning for so long, and now they could finally take action. Truthfully, it wasn’t just Xie Yue who was anxious—Pang Xiao had also grown impatient waiting.

It wasn’t that he himself was eager for the silver. His thoughts were almost identical to Qin Yining’s—the situation in the south was unpredictable, and a famine would likely break out in the end. If this silver went to Li Qitian, it would definitely be poured into the imperial tomb. If it went to Lu Heng, it would only strengthen their opponent. If he obtained this silver, disaster relief would be inevitable.

Pang Xiao said: “Count Zhongyi acts quite cautiously. Until the very last moment, no one can determine which route the treasure will actually take. This prince has already ordered close observation.”

Qin Yining lowered her eyes thoughtfully, then said softly: “If I were Count Zhongyi, I definitely wouldn’t transport the treasure all together. This matter has too many variables. As the saying goes, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. I would certainly divide the treasure into several portions and place them in different locations. First, this would disperse attention, and second, it would ensure that if something went wrong in one place, not everything would be lost.”

Pang Xiao smiled and nodded, his eyes full of admiration as he looked at Qin Yining.

“The Princess speaks truly,” Xu Weizhi smiled. “Your Highness should have people investigate where those buyers of defective products are located. We can then analyze based on the terrain, giving us several more points of advantage when the time comes.”

Pang Xiao said: “Sir speaks truly. This prince has already assigned this task. The results should be available within two days.”

Indeed, within two days, Pang Xiao had listed the ten locations purchasing stone materials on a piece of paper and invited Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi to study it. They finally reached a general conclusion.

“Your Highness, these four locations are most likely.” Xu Weizhi pointed to four spots on the map: Linnan Township, Wanzhou Town, Wuning Dam, and Qinghang Slope.

Xie Yue stroked his beard and nodded in agreement: “This old man agrees with Brother Xu’s view. These four places are in the four most distant directions. If someone pursues them, escape would be easiest. Moreover, if this old man remembers correctly, according to our intelligence reports, these four places very coincidentally all lack any Lu family branches or associates. Your Highness, please look.”

Xie Yue pointed to the other six locations on the map. The common characteristic of those six locations was that they all had Lu family branches or associates there.

“Count Zhongyi is resourceful and must consider everything comprehensively. Once trouble breaks out, places without the Lu family would actually be the least suspicious. Even if someone discovers this and wants to investigate, they would definitely focus their attention on directions where the Lu family has assistance.”

“Both gentlemen speak reasonably.” Pang Xiao had already had suspicions when he received the news and had discussed it privately with Qin Yining, reaching the same conclusion.

“This prince’s people will continue observing to finally determine which direction the treasure will actually be transported. This prince plans to prepare some carts and stone materials according to the treasure transport carts, getting to the necessary routes for transporting treasure one step ahead. When the opportunity arises, we’ll have our agents switch the carts. If we can avoid taking action, we should try not to take action. What do both gentlemen think?”

Xie Yue smiled: “Your Highness’s considerations are thorough.”

“Your Highness’s idea is excellent. Taking direct action to rob would be the last resort of desperation. Once we take action, it would inevitably draw attention and be too easy to expose. Being able to quietly replace them would naturally be best.”

“Who would have thought Your Highness had already arranged agents so deeply,” Xie Yue sighed.

Pang Xiao smiled: “This is thanks to Sister Yi. When we learned the treasure was at the stone yard, Sister Yi arranged for Azure Sky Alliance brothers to quietly infiltrate. My subordinates are all of military background and too conspicuous in crowds, not as good as those Azure Sky Alliance brothers at reconnaissance. When they want to, they can easily hide among the common people. Since the stone yard needs to transport materials and the imperial tomb needs to begin construction, civilian workers would naturally come and go. They also need to recruit some local people as guards, so Sister Yi arranged for several reliable people to get in.”

“The Princess is truly a female Zhuge Liang, a woman who doesn’t yield to men!”

Both Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi were deeply moved. Even though Qin Yining hadn’t participated in their discussion today, though she wasn’t present in person, she had already arranged everything clearly.

“Your Highness is truly fortunate to have the Princess by your side,” Xu Weizhi sighed. “A wise wife brings few disasters to her husband. The Princess not only has deep affection for Your Highness like the sea, but also equals an excellent strategist. Now look at Count Zhongyi’s household. Tsk tsk.”

By the end, Xu Weizhi couldn’t help but click his tongue.

During this period, quite a bit of news had come from Huichuan County—useful and useless, as long as it concerned Count Zhongyi, it would all reach their hands. So they knew clearly what strange things that shrew in Count Zhongyi’s household had done again.

To summarize in one sentence: Madam Bian was simply spoiled. After marrying Count Zhongyi, she demanded too much and became increasingly obsessive. Now Count Zhongyi refused to return home and stayed at the government office for peace and quiet. Yet Madam Bian would actually bring people to make a big scene at the government office entrance, completely disregarding others’ opinions and simply making Count Zhongyi lose face.

Thinking of Lu Heng’s ulterior motives toward Qin Yining, Pang Xiao felt a wave of disgust. If he hadn’t harbored improper thoughts about Qin Yining from the beginning and repeatedly embarrassed Madam Bian in public on their wedding day, Madam Bian wouldn’t have had all those excessive behaviors afterward, gradually escalating.

As a man, since he agreed to marry, he should be responsible for his family. If he didn’t want to marry, he should have refused—was someone holding a knife to his throat? Once he agreed, he should live a good life. After marrying a wife, he didn’t treat her well. It wasn’t that Madam Bian wouldn’t allow Lu Heng to take concubines, but Lu Heng only thought about other men’s wives. His character was truly questionable and contemptible!

Pang Xiao snorted coldly in his heart, becoming even more unhesitant about the treasure matter. With Lu Heng’s character, he felt no psychological burden whatsoever about swindling him.

Over the next several days, news continued coming from Huichuan County. Through the agents’ observations and Pang Xiao’s analysis, they could roughly determine which directions the treasure would be transported.

Now they were just waiting for the exact day of transport.

Because the “defective products” were to be transported to different locations and considering issues like loading carts, the departure dates from the transport points would naturally be different.

Soon, two batches of stone materials were shipped out.

Lu Heng had been working tirelessly these past days, with faint dark shadows under his eyes. Ever since taking on the imperial tomb supervision duties, the burden on his shoulders had suddenly grown heavier. Previously, he could watch this matter with the mindset of a spectator, but now he had to take responsibility himself. Any mistake might invite the Emperor’s blame.

Dealing with the Emperor’s assigned tasks was already complex, and he still had to handle the treasure matter privately.

Fortunately, after this period of careful arrangements, everything was proceeding according to his plan.

“My lord, there are no abnormalities outside.” Lu Wenru reported in a low voice by Lu Heng’s ear.

Lu Heng smiled slightly, feeling more at ease.

“Then let’s transport a batch tomorrow.” Lu Heng turned and walked to the desk, taking out a folded map from a pile of books behind him.

After unfolding the map on the desk, Lu Heng brought the lamp closer to examine it. After a moment, he pointed to the northwest direction: “Let’s go here first.”

Lu Wenru looked in the direction Lu Heng was pointing, where his fingertip was positioned exactly at the three characters “Wuning Dam.”

The next morning, as the sky was just showing the pale light of dawn, the stone yard was already bustling with activity.

Workers had been laboring through the night, moving heavy granite blocks onto carts. The cart drivers and accompanying assistants were all ready, and muscular, sturdy oxen were being led over.

With Lu Heng’s status, he naturally didn’t need to personally appear for such a minor matter as selling stone materials. Even his personal attendant Lu Wenru wouldn’t be present.

But the stone yard still had many of Lu Heng’s informants.

Watching the ten ox carts steadily depart, the stone yard workers all dispersed—those who would catch up on sleep went to sleep, those who would eat breakfast went to eat.

The team transporting this batch of stone materials was temporarily assembled from one merchant group and two escort agencies. Knowing they were transporting defective products unused for imperial tomb construction, even though these stone materials wouldn’t be used for the imperial tomb, anything connected with the character “imperial” made matters much more serious.

Therefore, the entire group was exceptionally careful, as if the carts weren’t carrying granite blocks but gold bars.