Getting Rich by Confiscating Family Property: A Fast Track to Wealth

East of the city, the residence of Shen Jian, Director of the Bureau of Equipment.

As a crucial fifth-rank official of the Ministry of War, the luxury of the Shen Manor was in no way inferior to that of a Marquis's estate. The vermilion main doors were studded with gilded copper nails, and two white marble guardian lions flanked the entrance, bearing their fangs and claws in the light of the torches.

Inside the main hall of the manor, the underfloor heating burned fiercely, making it as warm as spring. Shen Jian's son, Shen Hao, half-reclined in an armchair draped with purple sable fur. He held his newly taken eighth concubine in his arms and a luminous jade cup presented as tribute from the Western Regions in his hand, which was filled with crimson wine.

"Master, your servant heard that the streets have been restless these past few days. The Brocade Guards and the depot spies are running around outside every day. Will something happen?" The beautiful concubine coquettishly peeled a lychee delivered by express horses from Lingnan and fed it into Shen Hao's mouth.

Shen Jian chewed the sweet fruit flesh and let out a disdainful sneer. "What is there to fear? The Emperor is nothing but a clay idol forced onto the dragon throne by the Grand Secretariat. He was forced to end the last court assembly in a hurry, which has already become a laughingstock. Now, the Brocade Guards no longer have the arrogance they had during the reign of Emperor Zhangwu, and the Eastern Depot was long ruined during the late Emperor's reign. My father's backer is the current Second Grand Secretary! Even if you lent those imperial hounds ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare knock on the doors of my Shen Manor..."

Bang—Boom!!!

Before Shen Jian's voice could fade, an earth-shattering boom erupted at the manor gates like a thunderbolt!

The vermilion gates, clad in three inches of iron plating, were forcibly smashed into two halves by two Brocade Guard strongmen with vitality like bulls, using a refined steel battering ram! Splintered wood mixed with shattered door bolts flew in all directions like hidden weapons, smashing the gatekeepers until their heads were broken and bleeding.

"The Shen family has committed a crime! Everyone, hold your heads and squat down! Anyone who dares to move rashly will be killed on the spot!"

Accompanied by an angry shout, hundreds of Brocade Guards wearing flying fish suits and embroidered spring swords at their waists surged into the luxurious courtyard in an instant, like a bursting black tide. Hundreds of torches were lit simultaneously, illuminating the Shen Manor as brightly as day, and reflecting the chilling murderous intent in the depths of the Brocade Guards' eyes.

"Ah—! What are you doing? This is the residence of an imperial official!"

The manor's butler rushed out with over a dozen courtyard guards. The concubines who were previously making merry shrieked in terror, fleeing in all directions like headless flies, dropping precious porcelain and fruits all over the floor.

"Insolence!" The butler was used to throwing his weight around relying on Shen Jian's power. Although his legs were trembling at this moment, he still pointed fiercely but inwardly cowardly at the Brocade Guard Thousand Commander leading the team and roared, "Are your dog eyes blind?! My master is the Director of the Bureau of Equipment in the Ministry of War! You dare to trespass into a private residence! Tomorrow, my master will definitely memorialize the Grand Secretariat and have your nine generations exterminated..."

Clang!

A crisp sound of metal scraping metal interrupted the butler's clamor. The leading Thousand Commander, Lu Zheng, had eyes as cold as if he were looking at a corpse. The embroidered spring sword in his hand transformed into a bleak, chilling gleam, drawing a perfect half-moon arc in midair.

Pfft!

Blood shot up into the sky from the butler's neck like a fountain. That head, still bearing an arrogant expression, tumbled a dozen times in the air before crashing heavily onto the priceless Taihu stone rockery in the courtyard. The scalding blood dyed the white stone red to its core.

The entire scene fell dead silent.

The concubines covered their mouths, their screams caught in their throats. The guards were so terrified they simply dropped their weapons and dropped to their knees with a series of thuds.

Lu Zheng flicked the blood beads off his blade, sheathed his sword, and strode toward the main hall. He kicked open the carved wooden doors, his gaze locking dead onto Shen Jian, who had slumped into the armchair.

"Young Master Shen, what fine elegance," Lu Zheng sneered.

Shen Hao was trembling all over. His past majesty had vanished into thin air before the embroidered spring swords of the Brocade Guards, but he still forced himself to stand, gritting his teeth. "Lu Zheng! Are you crazy?! My father holds a crucial position. Who gave you the courage? Forcing your way into a private residence!"

"The Emperor gave it." Lu Zheng pulled out a gold medallion from his chest and thrust it toward Shen Jian's fat face. "Shen Jian has perverted the law for bribes, colluded with the Tartars to smuggle military supplies, and his crimes are unforgivable! Anyone in the manor who hides wealth or attempts to resist is to be killed directly without asking for instructions!"

"Slander, naked slander! You are planting evidence to frame my father!"

Slap!

Lu Zheng viciously slapped Shen Hao to the ground and roared sternly, "Search!! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find the silver and the evidence of his crimes!"

The fierce, wolf-like Brocade Guards immediately scattered and rushed into every room.

In a corner of the courtyard, several Western Depot spies with feminine features dressed in white quietly appeared. With their hands tucked into their sleeves, they coldly observed every move of the Brocade Guards. These supervising army sent by the Emperor were like sharp swords hanging over the heads of all the Brocade Guards, ensuring that no one dared to harbor the slightest greed to pocket anything when faced with mountains of gold and silver.

Shen Hao, his mouth full of blood, slumped on the ground, watching the Brocade Guards ransack the place. His heart was bleeding, but deep in his eyes hid a trace of luck: Search! Search all you want! My father hid the real fortune in an absolutely secret place. As long as they don't find those deadly items, the lords of the Grand Secretariat will definitely be able to save my Shen family's lives!

However, Shen Jian's luck lasted for less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Bang!

Two Brocade Guards directly smashed the canopy bed of Shen Jian's favorite concubine. One of the Platoon Commanders knocked on the blue bricks under the bedboards with his sword hilt. Upon hearing a hollow echo, his eyes lit up, and he immediately swung his sword to pry the bricks open.

"My Lord!" the Platoon Commander shouted excitedly. "There's a cellar under the bedboards! We found three hidden compartments made of refined steel! They are full of large gold bars! A full two thousand taels!"

The corner of Shen Jian's eye twitched violently, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

But this was merely the beginning.

"My Lord! There's a problem with the Taihu stone rockery in the back garden!" Another Centurion ran over hurriedly, his face full of shock. "That rockery is hollow! The brothers smashed it open and saw that there was a full eighty thousand taels of official silver wrapped in damp-proof oilcloth inside! And... and twelve chests of Western Region Fire Spirit Stones!"

"Fire Spirit Stones?!" Lu Zheng's eyes turned cold. He grabbed Shen Hao by the collar and lifted him up. "The Ministry of War only reported thirty chests of Fire Spirit Stones allocated to the northern border army to fend off the cold and forge weapons this year, yet your family actually hid twelve chests?! The frontline soldiers are freezing and dying in battle, and you use military supplies to pad a rockery in your home?!"

Shen Hao's face turned ashen, his lips trembling, unable to utter half a word. He knew that if this charge was confirmed, his family's nine generations would be exterminated.

At this time, a Western Depot Director who had been standing silently to the side slowly walked into the study. His eyes swept around the room and finally settled on a painting titled Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain hanging on the wall. He stepped forward, did not tear the painting, but reached out and pressed hard on the tiger's eye.

With a soft click, the entire wall slowly slid open to the sides, revealing a massive iron safe embedded in the wall.

The Western Depot Director sneered and drew his waist sword. Sword qi surged, and it actually sliced the lock core of the iron cabinet to pieces. The iron door opened. There was no gold or silver inside, only a thick stack of papers.

The captain casually picked up a few sheets of paper and glanced at them. Even his perpetually pale face could not help but show shock. "Commander Lu, come take a look at the handiwork of our Lord Shen. Top-grade irrigated land and fertile fields in the capital suburbs, totaling thirty thousand mu! And that is not even counting the deeds to his three pawnshops and two brothels in Tongzhou."

As the raid progressed, chest after chest of wealth was continuously carried out and piled up in the center of the courtyard. Two thousand taels of gold, eighty thousand taels of silver, precious calligraphy and paintings, trunks of jewelry, rare cultivation pills... Under the light of the torches, the dazzling gleam of gold and silver was so blinding that everyone had to squint.

He was a mere upper-fifth-rank Director of the Bureau of Equipment, yet his household's liquid assets alone amounted to hundreds of thousands of silver taels!

Watching the wealth he had spent half his life extorting being dug out piece by piece, Shen Jian finally broke down. He suddenly lunged forward, throwing his arms around Lu Zheng's legs, tears and snot streaming down his face. "Lord Lu! Ancestor Lu! Please, leave me a way out! This money... I will make the decision for my father and give you half! No, I will give it all to you! As long as you let me go, I will even give you the deeds to those thirty thousand mu of land! I beg you..."

Lu Zheng looked down at the stray dog wagging its tail and begging for mercy at his feet. There was not a shred of pity in his eyes, only endless disgust. He raised his foot and kicked Shen Jian viciously in the chest, sending him flying backward to crash into a pile of gold bars.

"Leave you a way out? The brothers on the front lines who had their fingers frozen off and their heads chopped off by the Tartars because they lacked Fire Spirit Stones—who gave them a way out?" Lu Zheng drew his Embroidered Spring Blade and pressed the tip against Shen Jian's throat, coldly spitting out his orders. "Take him away! Throw him into the Imperial Prison and interrogate him with the utmost severity!"