Chapter 112: A Sudden Turn of Events

“So that person was you after all.”
Yuan En felt deep regret. If he had known that officer was Li Qing’an, why had he spent these two years traveling around?
He stepped forward, bowed deeply to Li Qing’an, and pleaded, “General Li, that Eye of Light is merely a valuable gem to you, but it holds great significance for our Stone Country. I implore you to return it to us. I’m willing to offer a generous reward.”
With that, he knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face as he clasped his hands in supplication, “Please have mercy on me! I’ve been traveling for two years. Please show me compassion, General Li!”
The other seven also knelt down and begged, “We implore you, General Li, to let us return to our hometowns!”
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before asking, “Who is Princess Julan to you?”
“Reporting to you, General, Princess Julan is my sister by the same mother.”
Li Qing’an sighed softly. “It’s been nearly a year since we parted in Anxi. I wonder how she is. But with such a long distance between us, who knows when we’ll be able to see her again? Well, Prince, that gem was already not with me after Chang’an was robbed last time. You needn’t stay in Tang any longer—return to your hometown first!”
Yuan En was stunned. What did Li Qing’an mean by that? He quickly said, “As long as General Li is willing to give me the gem, I’ll accept any price you set.”
Li Qing’an smiled faintly. “What do I need your money for? I’ve already said the gem isn’t with me. You don’t need to search hard in Tang—return to your hometown first!”
Yuan En wanted to say more, but Huo Yanbai, who was behind him, quickly nudged him and laughed, “Very well! Then let’s return home. We look forward to meeting General Li in Anxi again next time, with the princess by our side.”
With no choice, Yuan En stood up and bowed to Li Qing’an once more. “Thank you, General Li, for being honest with us. We’ll head back to Stone Country now.”
“Go ahead. Give my regards to Princess Julan and tell her I’ve been missing her.”
Yuan En bowed to Li Qing’an and left. Li Qing’an watched him go, sighing softly. He thought again of that beautiful princess from Stone Country. It had been over a year since they parted. Did she still remember him?
“General Li!” Someone called out from afar. Li Qing’an turned—it was Governor Lu Huan riding fast toward him.
“Governor Lu, have you found any clues?”
“General Li, may I speak with you alone?”
Li Qing’an nodded and pointed to a tavern nearby. “Let’s talk there.”

“Very well! General Li, please come in.”
……
The two sat down in the tavern. Lu Huan sighed and said, “To be honest with General Li, I know where that loot is, but I can’t go and claim it myself. I thought I could discuss with you what to do.”
Li Qing’an glanced at him, smiling without answering. Lu Huan continued, “The key to resolving the crisis in Yangzhou today lies with that salt smuggler, Du Bosheng. I know he’s in General Li’s hands now. I wonder if General Li would be willing to help the Crown Prince?”
Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before saying, “Since Lord Lu has spoken so plainly, I won’t hide anything from you. That salt smuggler, Du Bosheng, is indeed in my hands. But even if I give him to Lord Lu, does that mean Lord Lu can bring down Prince Qing? If so, Lord Lu is being too naive. Prince Qing has seized tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. But has the Emperor said anything? With all due respect, Lord Lu, as long as Prince Qing isn’t involved in treason, no matter how serious the charges, they won’t bring him down—it will only bring trouble upon himself.”
At this, Li Qing’an leaned slightly forward and lowered his voice, “I suggest Lord Lu focus his attention on Liu Changyun instead.”
Seeing that he had spoken openly, Lu Huan quickly said, “The Crown Prince shares this view too. But I don’t know how to start. Please teach me, General Li.”
“It’s not difficult to impeach Liu Changyun. Du Bosheng has been smuggling salt for a long time—how could he do it without Liu Changyun’s approval? I already have the evidence. The key is that Lord Lu must not mention Prince Qing in his report. Bringing down Liu Changyun should be no problem.”
With that, Li Qing’an took out a stack of documents from his bag and handed them to Lu Huan. “These are the permits for water transportation seized from Du Bosheng, with Liu Changyun’s signature on them. This is solid evidence. With these, along with Du Bosheng’s confession and the smuggling records, we can bring down Liu Changyun.”
Lu Huan was overjoyed. With this, Liu Changyun couldn’t escape punishment. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, “It’s a great fortune for the Crown Prince that General Li is willing to help him. I’m willing to act as a bridge to introduce him.”
Li Qing’an smiled slightly. Hadn’t he taken such a long route to Yangzhou just for this?
He also stood up and said earnestly, “It’s my dream to serve the Crown Prince. Thank you, Lord Lu, for your introduction.”
Lu Huan finally convinced Li Qing’an. Overjoyed, he quickly added, “What about that stolen loot? I’m worried that going to claim it will anger Prince Qing, which I certainly don’t want, but I also can’t explain it to the court.”

Li Qing’an smiled and said, “This money was originally the salt profits left by Prince Qing at the Du family’s place. It’s only natural for Li Qiu to take them. I advise Governor Lu not to pursue further, to avoid damaging relations. The emperor will surely understand. As for reporting to the court, when I was in Qu’a County, I discovered that the Du family had hidden another batch of money—about 200,000 guan—hidden in the Mei family’s farm there. Governor Lu can use this money to account to the court.”
……
Fifteen minutes later, Li Qing’an gave up on the search and led his troops back to the camp. Lu Huan also ordered that everything return to normal, with no further investigation into the lost money and goods. As dawn broke, he led over a hundred officials to Qu’a County, while Li Qing’an personally led two hundred cavalry to assist in capturing the salt smuggler Du Bosheng.
Inside Prince Qing’s private courtyard, before daybreak, Li Qiu paced restlessly in his room. News of the massive search in Jiangdu City had reached his residence, and he could even hear the rapid sound of horses on the streets and people shouting loudly. Although his residence hadn’t been searched yet, he remained uneasy. Those nearly a hundred chests were in the basement of his house and could be easily found. He knew Lu Huan wouldn’t casually search his residence, but if Lu Huan decided to go all out, things would get complicated.
Li Qiu realized he had made a hasty decision. If he couldn’t retrieve his father’s 100,000 taels of gold, he wouldn’t know what to say upon returning. Although he hadn’t gotten the gold he wanted from that wealth, he had at least seized over 100,000 guan, which would suffice to explain to his father.
Suddenly, footsteps rushed outside the door, and Li Qiu’s heart tightened. Had they come to search?
“Young prince, an urgent message from the capital!”
Relieved, Li Qiu saw a warrior rushing in with three red pigeon messages—urgent letters from his father. He slowly unrolled the first thin silk scroll, which contained a short line of text: “Leave Yangzhou affairs to Yan Kai. Return quickly with the money.”
Frowning, Li Qiu thought about the unresolved issues in Yangzhou. Why did his father want him to return so soon? He unrolled the second scroll, which had only five words: “No need for Li Qing’an.”
This was his father’s final answer. Before leaving, his father had expressed his disapproval of Li Qing’an and his intention not to use him. Later, Yan Kai sent another message confirming this, and his father finally gave a clear reply: no need for Li Qing’an. Li Qiu sighed. With that, Lu Huan would take control of Yangzhou. But he knew his father’s temper—he wouldn’t repeat himself. If he asked again, his father would get angry.

Li Qiu had no choice but to open the third letter. He was stunned upon seeing it read: “A compromise has been reached with Prime Minister Li regarding Du Boseng’s matter; it won’t affect your father, so you can rest assured.”
“So that’s how it is!” Li Qiu finally understood. His father had already reached a compromise with Prime Minister Li, who was willing to cover up the matter for him. If that was the case, there really was no need to worry about Yangzhou. With that thought, he immediately ordered, “Summon Mr. Yan at once!”
A moment later, Yan Kai hurried in and said as soon as he entered, “Young Master, the searches in the city have stopped. Li Qingan has withdrawn his troops back to the camp.”
“What about Lu Huan?”
“He’s still investigating, but his momentum is clearly weakening. He’ll likely give up soon.”
Li Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Mr. Yan, I plan to return to Chang’an the day after tomorrow. My father has ordered me to bring all the funds and supplies from Yangzhou back to Chang’an as soon as possible. Please arrange that!”
Yan Kai was taken aback. “What about Du Boseng’s matter? Are we just giving up on it?”
“Du Boseng!”
Li Qiu snorted disdainfully. “Let me be honest with you. My father has already reached a compromise with Prime Minister Li. This matter will definitely not affect him. Moreover, Li Qingan is one of Gao Lishi’s men, and Gao Lishi favors the crown prince. Do you think Li Qingan will hand Du Boseng over to us?”
“But Li Qingan could still try to…”
Before Yan Kai could finish, Li Qiu waved his hand. “No need. My father has made it clear that he doesn’t like Li Qingan and will never use him. Mr. Yan, you don’t need to worry about it.”
Perhaps realizing his tone was too harsh, Li Qiu softened it slightly. “Mr. Yan, I think my father is worried that accepting Li Qingan might offend the prime minister, which is why he says he won’t use him. We should understand his situation and consider the bigger picture.”
Yan Kai nodded. He understood and asked, “So what should we do now?”
After pondering for a moment, Li Qiu said, “My affairs in Yangzhou are done, but there are still two tasks I need you to complete. First, Li Qingan has a gemstone that my father is very interested in. Second, Du Boseng’s hundred thousand taels of gold is missing. Please make sure to find it.”
Yan Kai was stunned. Hundred thousand taels of gold? How did this matter come up again? He had never heard of it before.
“Young Master, could you explain in detail what exactly is going on with those hundred thousand taels of gold?”

“100,000 taels of gold was my father’s earnings from salt trade over the years. The Du family was willing to help him exchange it for gold, so the money was kept with them. Unexpectedly, when trouble struck the Du family, the gold disappeared. Mr. Yan, do you understand now?”
Yan Kai was in a mess. Li Qiu cut through the confusion, saving himself but passing on all these troubles to him. 100,000 taels of gold—with no clues at all—how could he investigate?