CHAPTER 391: CHAPTER 359: THE DEATH OF HAO YUN

Aunt Qiu, knowing he couldn’t speak, continued, "I spent many years finding a place full of invaluable antiques and paintings. If you burn it down, I’ll help you leave the Su Family and rise again. Then, you can deal with Lu Yanbin’s concubine however you like."

Hao Yun frowned deeply.

He didn’t know if he should trust Aunt Qiu, but right now, she seemed to be the only one he could trust.

He looked up at Aunt Qiu, and there was still a hint of doubt in Hao Yun’s eyes.

Aunt Qiu said, "At this point, you have no choice but to trust me."

Hao Yun couldn’t speak, so he dipped his hand in the tea on the table and wrote: I’m too injured to get out at all.

Aunt Qiu’s smile grew deeper, "As long as you agree, I will make sure you recover quickly."

Hao Yun still hesitated: What exactly is the place you’re talking about?

"Old Marquis Lu’s Treasure Pavilion."

Old Marquis Lu was obsessed with collecting, to the point of madness. Almost everyone in the Capital knew this.

Even someone like Hao Yun, who never paid attention to the Lu Family, had heard of it.

Many people coveted the items in Old Marquis Lu’s possession, but they generally fell into two categories: true collectors who appreciated such things, or those obsessed purely with Silver Coin.

Hao Yun had never encountered anyone who wasn’t interested in money or collecting, yet wanted to burn the place down. What kind of deep-seated hatred must there be?

He was puzzled: Do you have a grudge against Old Marquis Lu?

Aunt Qiu reminded him, "It’s best not to ask questions you shouldn’t."

This ambiguous answer only strengthened the suspicions in Hao Yun’s mind.

There must be a story between Aunt Qiu and Old Marquis Lu, otherwise she wouldn’t hate him so deeply.

Burning that place was equivalent to piercing Old Marquis Lu’s heart.

Hao Yun asked again: Since you have such hatred, why don’t you burn it yourself and instead want me, an outsider, to get involved?

Aunt Qiu smiled, "Right now, you have no choice but to do as I ask."

Hao Yun was speechless.

Indeed, he was at a dead end. At a time like this, he was willing to exchange anything with anyone who could offer him a glimmer of hope for survival.

Aunt Qiu looked at Hao Yun’s miserable appearance and thought of Old Marquis Lu’s Treasure Pavilion.

Over the years, the Empress Dowager had sent many Hidden Guards to search for it, yet they turned the Lu Family inside out without finding a single antique or painting.

The Empress Dowager then turned her attention to elsewhere, to places Old Marquis Lu had visited or might visit. The Hidden Guards left no stone unturned, but still found nothing.

Discovering the Treasure Pavilion was under the Yizhuang was merely an accident.

The Empress Dowager even said at the time that she never imagined Old Marquis Lu would put his treasures, viewed as his life, in a place meant for storing dead bodies.

The reason Aunt Qiu hadn’t acted was not out of fear of disrespecting the dead, but... fear.

The place appeared to be a Yizhuang, but the Treasure Pavilion was actually underground. However, it was rigged with anti-theft devices. One could go in to admire, but only admire. If anyone attempted to move the treasures, or even tried to burn them, the entire underground chamber would instantly explode, becoming a flat wasteland.

In other words, anyone daring to steal or with malicious intent had to be prepared to meet their end alongside the treasures.

...

Hao Yun was already a spent chess piece; he might as well serve his final purpose.

As long as that place was blown up, the Empress Dowager’s many years of worry could be significantly alleviated.

Completely unaware of Aunt Qiu’s inner thoughts, Hao Yun continued to write: Where is it?

Aunt Qiu replied, "South of the city, at the Qiao Family’s Charity House."

Hao Yun was taken aback, clearly not expecting that Old Marquis Lu would put his treasures in such a place.

As Jade returned from outside, Aunt Qiu concealed her earlier expression and said to Hao Yun, "You should focus on recovering from your injuries. We can discuss other matters another day."

After Jade entered, she pursed her lips and said, "Aunt, the master won’t allow the household doctor to be called."

Aunt Qiu looked at the girl, thinking to herself how naive she truly was. She had deliberately reminded Duke Su; how could they allow the household doctor to be called? They’d rather see Hao Yun suffer.

Though thinking this, she showed an anxious and flustered facade, "What can we do then?"

Jade sighed, "Now, we can only hope for the young master’s survival. If he can make it through the next couple of days until the wounds scab over, he might pull through."

First whipped to the point of having his skin and flesh torn, then disfigured by burns, and now his throat was poisoned mute—no matter how robust, he couldn’t last through the night.

Aunt Qiu said, "I just remembered that there are two boxes of golden sore medicine in Wutong Garden. In a while, you come with me to get them and apply them on the young master."

After speaking, she instructed Jade again, "This matter must be kept hidden from the master. Otherwise, if he finds out, none of you servants will meet a good end."

Jade quickly nodded, "I understand, I will keep it a secret."

Aunt Qiu responded satisfactorily with a hum, and took people back to Wutong Garden to fetch medicine.

Aunt Qiu’s real name is Qiu Shuyue, she is the most capable female secret guard under Empress Dowager Renyi. To enhance her skills, the Empress Dowager sent her to the Western Regions to learn about medicine, poison, and hypnosis.

The golden sore medicine she mentioned is actually her own concoction that can help Hao Yun heal quickly, faster than the medicine given by ordinary doctors.

After Jade took it back, she carefully cleaned the wound on Hao Yun’s back before sprinkling the medicinal powder.

During the entire process, Hao Yun didn’t make a sound.

At first, Jade thought that the young master was resilient and could endure such pain.

Gradually, she realized that the young master could not make a sound.

Jade, a pure-hearted young maid, upon learning that the young master had been punished by the master so harshly that he became mute and couldn’t speak anymore, she served Hao Yun and then told Su Yu about it when she returned to the main room.

She finally remarked, "Miss, the young master is so pitiful!"

Su Yu heard this and smirked coldly, "If he’s pitiful, then the world is full of pitiful people."

——

Half a month later, the wounds on Hao Yun were almost healed.

With Aunt Qiu’s help, he quietly left the Duke Mansion and headed to Qiao Family’s Charity House.

Following Aunt Qiu’s instructions, he successfully opened the Treasure Pavilion beneath the charity house.

Seeing the meticulously designed treasure cabinet and the array of treasures on it, Hao Yun was momentarily stunned.

Having lived over twenty years, he had never seen so many precious items. Even without expertise, he could judge their valuable nature through the intricate craftsmanship of the bronze jade articles and the exquisite uniqueness of the paintings.

Any one of these, casually sold, could ensure his well-being for the rest of his life.

Hao Yun glanced at the flint in his hand, suddenly feeling a pang of regret.

Such valuable objects, wouldn’t it be a pity to burn them with one fire? Wouldn’t it be better to steal a few pieces, hide them away, and then burn the rest which couldn’t be taken?

He couldn’t stay in the Su Family anymore; he had to pave a way for himself. Although Aunt Qiu kept saying she would help him, who knows how much of her words were true, considering how cruel-hearted she was?

With his mind set, Hao Yun put the flint in his pocket and started to scout around, wondering which item was the most valuable.

Finally, his gaze landed on three paintings on the east wall, bearing inscriptions by Mr. Liu.

No matter the lack of knowledge, they, as scholars, would recognize Master Liu of the Jin Dynasty.

Among Mr. Liu’s most famous four paintings: Shifang Cliff, Hundred Inches Heart, Thousand Feet Snow, Ten Thousand Miles Spring.

Currently, three of them are hung right before him.

One is Shifang Cliff, one is Hundred Inches Heart, and the last one is Ten Thousand Miles Spring.

There are rumors that Mr. Liu’s dying wish was for his descendants to desperately safeguard these four paintings, but as for the truth, later generations are divided in opinion with no conclusive evidence.

Regardless of whether the rumor about Liu Family descendants protecting the paintings is true, Mr. Liu’s paintings would definitely overshadow any other artwork here.

Once these three paintings surface, they will undoubtedly attract attention from various parties, wouldn’t he then be able to raise the price at will?

Hao Yun was overjoyed, dismissing everything else, he reached out to grab the three paintings hanging side by side.

He had just taken down the first one when he heard the sound of the stone door of the secret chamber closing heavily.

Within a few brief moments of silence inside, a sudden massive explosion force flung him against the wall.

Then he realized that not only could he not call out for help, but he couldn’t even hear the most basic sounds, his vision turned black repeatedly.

At the moment of being blasted into a bloody mess, belatedly realizing he had been deceived, the only thought in Hao Yun’s mind was: If there is another life, he would rather be a cowherd boy and definitely avoid the path of imperial examinations.

——

The blast at Qiao Family’s Charity House was significant, quickly startling the Patrol Camp.

When the patrol soldiers arrived, all they found were shattered limbs and broken pieces, along with numerous fragments of porcelain and bronze artifacts.

The Patrol Camp swiftly reported this discovery to Emperor Guangxi.

"Fragments of porcelain and bronze artifacts?" Emperor Guangxi wondered, who would be so idle to place those things in a charity house?

The commander of the Patrol Camp said, "I roughly inspected, there are at least a hundred pieces, but unfortunately all have been destroyed by the explosion, not a single intact one remains."

A hundred pieces of antiques.

Emperor Guangxi contemplated a possibility, he dismissed the commander of the Patrol Camp and quickly headed to Shou’an Palace, asking the Empress Dowager, "Was the charity house in the southern city destroyed by you, Mother?"

The Empress Dowager’s lips curled slightly, "No wonder I heard the commotion, it turns out it has already been destroyed."

"Mother." Emperor Guangxi looked at the dignified woman sitting on the Arhat Bed, "You should let go of your knot in the heart."

After so many years of relentless revenge, hasn’t she actually been hurting herself?