A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 226: Guo's Million-Treasure Redeems His Beloved Grandson

The second day of the Chinese New Year,
Visit relatives and friends to wish them a happy new year.

Generally, one would pay respects to his uncle first and then accompany his wife back to her parents' home.

Li Yi now knows that he has five uncles, but unfortunately none of them are in Chang'an. Even his cousin Zhang Daoyuan is in Youzhou, Hebei.

When Guo woke up from her coma,
Li Yi had already greeted Sun Fujia and Qian Jiulong, so he could go visit his brother-in-law Du Jingai.

As a wanted criminal of the imperial court, Du Jingai had been transferred from Yongzhou Prison to Dali Temple Prison.

The security there is stricter and it is impossible to escape from prison. It is called the Sky Prison.

Guo was also allowed to visit the prison.

"I was imprisoned on the first day of the new year. My dear brother, I guess you haven't even had a full meal. Please have someone prepare some wine and food, as well as a woolen felt mat, a leather mattress, a cotton quilt, and some warm clothes.

The conditions in the prison are terrible. It's winter, and you don't have enough to eat or wear warm clothes. My dear brother is weak and sickly. I hope he doesn't freeze or starve to death before I can find a way to rescue him."

Such unlucky words almost made Mrs. Guo faint from anger again.

But at this time, I still have to rely on this farmer for help, so I can only swallow my anger.

Du Sanlang was busy running around, and quickly ordered people to prepare everything.

"Prepare some gold beans and silver ingots, etc., because you'll have to bribe everyone in prison. They say it's easier to deal with the King of Hell than with the little devils. In prison, you have to bribe the jailers even more than the higher-ups, otherwise you'll suffer endlessly."

Guo asked Du San to prepare.

Then he said to Shi Niang, Du Ruhui and others, "I have a few words to say to Wu Yi alone."

After everyone leaves,
Guo looked at Li Yi,
Li Yi met her gaze without fear.

"well,"

Guo sighed deeply.
Boil water and make tea yourself,

After the tea was brewed, he found the glass that Li Yi had given him, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to him.

"Thank you, madam."

"Wu Yi, I know you have complaints against me,"

Li Yi tasted it slowly without saying anything.

"It is I who am prejudiced against you. I must admit now that you are very capable, and you were born into a distinguished family. Although you were an illegitimate child, you are now a member of the Imperial Clan and a member of the royal family. At the age of sixteen, you are already the founding marquis of Qianshui County, a fourth-rank cavalry general, and a fifth-rank Fengyi Palace Supervisor. All of this was achieved through your family connections.

You are very capable.”

"Old lady, there's no point in saying this now, is there?"

"Yes, I just want to tell you that as long as you help rescue your beloved, I hope to write off the past."

"Written off?"

"I will write to Silang in Luoyang and ask him to accept you as his son-in-law."

Li Yi thought she was too whimsical.
At this point, it is impossible for him and Du Yan to remain in harmony.

"You have inherited tens of millions of assets from our mother and me. Isn't that enough?" asked Mrs. Guo.

Li Yi just smiled slightly.

"That wasn't given to me by you. It was a gift from His Majesty. It has nothing to do with you."

Guo rolled her eyes in anger.

"Okay, okay, then I'm willing to give you a large sum of money."

"Do you still have money?"

"Which aristocratic family doesn't have some secret storage?" Guo told Li Yi that she had some gold and silver items hidden away. "This batch of gold and silver items weighs three hundred taels of gold, three thousand seven hundred taels of silver, ten jade belts, and some silver ingots and silver cakes.

"These things are worth more than 1,200 taels of gold."

Li Yi was an expert at mental arithmetic and he immediately figured out that this could be converted into tens of thousands of copper coins.

Li Yuan confiscated the apparent properties of Guo and the brothers Du Yan and Du Rui, including all their fields, houses, villas, manors, shops, workshops, slaves, livestock, and other property, which together amounted to only tens of thousands of taels of gold.

Now the Guo family actually has a hoard of gold and silver worth a fortune.

They are indeed a famous and prestigious family.

I guess this is not all her treasures, and there must be some hidden assets.

"The old lady is really rich,"

Mrs. Guo just sighed, "Money is just something outside of one's body. The thing that aristocratic families have the most is money. Who doesn't have a lot of copper coins, gold ingots, and silver cakes buried underground?

Every household has granaries full of millet and wheat, and warehouses full of silk and cloth.

But what truly maintains the family lineage is not these vulgar things, never has been."

"I want to exchange this treasure of millions for your respect and love."

"Madam, Du Jingai is now a wanted criminal of the imperial court, imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison. I was able to arrange a meeting with him, but that was only because I had many connections. I don't have the ability to get Du Jingai out."

"No, I know you can do it. I underestimated you before. With the Emperor's appreciation for you, and the Crown Prince and the King of Qin trying to win you over, it shouldn't be difficult for you to simply ask the Emperor for a pardon for Jing Ai."

"The old lady overestimates me."

"More than 200 pieces of gold and silver wares, worth tens of millions. Aren't you satisfied with this deal?" Guo asked anxiously.

"It sounds tempting, but I'm not really short of money. Didn't the old lady just say that money isn't the most important thing for the nobles?"

Guo didn't expect Li Yi not to be moved.

"Are you afraid I'll lie to you? I swear to heaven, if you can rescue Jing'ai, I'll give you all of this."

Li Yi poured himself another cup of tea.

"Why don't you just present these gold and silver items to the emperor and ask for a pardon for Du Jingai?"

Guo said frankly that the emperor had previously sent people to confiscate all the property of her and her son. According to the law, she should voluntarily hand over the hidden gold and silver wares, but she hid them.

If she takes it out now, she will be walking into a trap. Not only will she fail to save her grandson, but she will also lose herself in trouble.

"Giving you these gold and silver items is like throwing away your own flesh and blood. They won't benefit anyone else," said Mrs. Guo.

Li Yi didn't believe she was so kind.
Some even doubted that she really possessed these treasures. "Grandpa, since there are no outsiders here, I'll just tell you the truth. I'm willing to help, but I have to be frank. I may not be able to do it."

"As long as you are willing to work hard, I will fulfill my promise and give you these gold and silver items."

Li Yi just shook his head.

"A-Zu, it's not that I, Li Yi, don't trust you, but I have my own rules. If you ask me to do something, you have to follow my rules.

Pay first, then do the work.

I saw the hidden treasure you mentioned and only helped you after I got it.

I will try my best to do it.
But whether it will succeed or not depends on fate. Man proposes, God disposes.

If the task fails, I will not return the reward."

"I never force anyone to buy or sell anything. Everything is fair and voluntary. If the old lady is willing, I will give it a try. If not, I will pretend I didn't hear what you just said."

Guo poured Li Yi another cup of tea.

"I can give you fifty pieces of gold and silver as a deposit."

Li Yi shook his head.

"One hundred pieces,"

Li Yi just smiled and shook his head, "Grandpa, I'm not a peddler pushing a cart and hawking my wares. You don't need to bargain. It's pointless. You've been the old lady in charge of Fengxiang Marquisate for over sixty years. How can you treat her like a woman buying vegetables at the market? It's too detrimental to your status and too cheap."

Guo's lips trembled with anger at Li Yi.
Yet I cannot refute it,

Yes, now she was begging Li Yi, but Li Yi was indifferent to the millions of gold and silver items, and had no fanatical greed at all.

Money cannot sway his heart.

Then how can we fight?

"Old Madam, let's go to the Heavenly Prison first to see my beloved brother and give him some prison pills and some clothes. Eating prison pills in the Heavenly Prison must be a different experience.

Go quickly, as visits might be banned at any time. Perhaps this is the last time the old lady can see her beloved brother."

Guo felt as if thousands of needles were piercing her heart.
Li Yi stood up and walked out, and Guo had no choice but to stand up as well.

"What did my A-Zu talk to you about?"

"Your grandfather apologized to me, saying that he shouldn't have looked down on me and shouldn't have opposed us being together."

"Ah, really?"

"Well, the old lady has figured it out."

"That's good. I've been worried about it." Shi Niang said.

Several people took Guo out and got on a carriage, which was pulling several large carts of things. Du San said that they were all prepared for his nephew Du Jingai, including food, clothing, bedding and other daily necessities, a complete set.

Li Yi smiled and ignored it.

Go straight to the Dali Temple Prison,

Arriving at the Dali Temple, he sent someone to inform his senior brother Sun Fujia,
Soon, Sun Fujia, the Shaoqing of Dali, and Qian Jiulong, the General of the Imperial Guard, arrived.

"Let's go."

In the gloomy prison,

Guo, who came here for the first time, frowned all the way. She was used to a life of luxury and had never seen such harsh conditions in the prison.

From time to time, the prisoners' miserable cries could be heard.

There are even people who often go crazy in the prison.

Those who can be sent to the prison are basically serious criminals.

Many of them are death row prisoners who are waiting for review and execution in the autumn.

This is their last time together. Some feel regretful, some are unwilling to give up, some just lie down and wait to die, letting themselves rot, while others shout and scream, raging and furious.

at last,

Guo saw Du Jingai,

This young man is no longer as clean as he was when Li Yi saw him in Yongzhou Prison yesterday.
The whole person is in a depressed mood,
In this dark and cold prison, his cough became more severe, and no one paid any attention to him. He was almost coughing his lungs out.

"My eldest grandson,"

Seeing this tragic scene, Guo cried loudly.
Du Shiniang almost didn't recognize her brother, and she also came forward crying.

The three generations of grandparents and grandchildren hugged each other and cried bitterly.

Li Yi and Du Ruhui stood aside and watched coldly.

One of them is Du Jingai's cousin, and the other is Du Jingai's brother-in-law. But this bastard wanted to assassinate them and set fire to their house.

The two of them were very civilized as they didn't go up to slap the man in the face or kick him a few times.

Guo fainted from crying several times.

Du Shiniang also sobbed uncontrollably.
When the meeting time came, several people were taken out of the prison.

Guo looked like she had lost her soul.
He got on the carriage like a zombie,
"Wu Yi, come here." Guo sat in the carriage, finally came to her senses, and called Li Yi.

"I agree to your terms and will tell you the hidden treasure right now. You can take it out. I only ask that you help rescue my beloved immediately."

"Okay, I'll take action once I get the stuff."

"Can you arrange a doctor to treat Jingai first? He is very ill." Guo asked.

"Madam, you know my rules."

Guo was extremely helpless. "Then you should quickly dig out the treasure from the kiln, and then quickly find a doctor for Jingai."

Li Yi got off the carriage with a smile. Shi Niang looked at her husband, feeling ashamed. Although she saw her brother's miserable condition, she was too embarrassed to ask her husband for mercy on his behalf.

It's so uncomfortable to be stuck in the middle.

(End of this chapter)