EWRN - Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Return
The doors to the national treasury slowly opened. Huo Jinye raised a hand to stop Chief Steward Lu and the guards behind him. He stepped inside by himself.
The "da da da" of his footsteps created a subtle echo in the vast treasury. The long corridor, wide enough for four or five people, was lined with ever-burning lamps. The dim, flickering flames cast a somewhat sinister glow. He soon reached the end of the corridor. Huo Jinye's heart skipped a beat, and for some reason, he felt a sense of unease.
He shook his head, thinking, I am now the emperor of the Great Yuan Kingdom. What is there to be uneasy about?
However, in the next moment, he understood the reason for his apprehension.
Stepping out of the long corridor, a vast, empty inner chamber appeared before his eyes.
Utterly empty.
Aside from the luminous pearls and ever-burning lamps embedded in the four walls for illumination, the entire national treasury was bare.
After seeing the scene inside the treasury, a string in Huo Jinye's mind snapped with a "pa."
Huo Jinye's heart plummeted into an abyss, sinking to the very bottom. This… what in the world is going on?!
Where was his national treasury? Where were the mountains of silver he had imagined? Where were the rare treasures, the priceless collections passed down through centuries? Where the hell did they all go?
Did he even need to think about it? Beyond his shock, Huo Jinye remembered that the previous emperor was his "good Imperial Brother," Huo Jinyu. He refused to believe that a treasury built over a thousand years could be squandered in a single year. That meant it could only have been secretly moved by that dog of a former emperor!
At this thought, Huo Jinye was both shocked and furious. That Huo Jinyu had some serious nerve! How dare he secretly empty the national treasury!
"Huo Jinyu!!!" The pathetic Emperor Yuanye let out a pained and furious roar inside the treasury, so angry he was on the verge of spitting blood.
Huo Jinye's voice ricocheted around the vast, empty treasury, creating countless echoes that traveled down the long corridor. Hearing the emperor shouting inside, the guards and Chief Steward Lu outside assumed Huo Jinye had seen so much silver that he was overjoyed and couldn't control his emotions. They all felt a sense of contempt. An expression of disdain appeared on Chief Steward Lu's face. This new emperor was truly unsophisticated, getting so excited over such a small matter. He was nothing compared to the former emperor.
And so, Huo Jinyu was conveniently labeled the "former emperor."
Inside the treasury, Huo Jinye stomped his feet in fury. To go from having the wealth of a nation to being penniless in an instant—anyone would find it unbearable. Huo Jinye began searching along the shelves, tables, and cabinets inside the treasury, hoping to find some leftover jewels.
But after more than an hour, having turned the treasury upside down, he hadn't found a single remaining jewel. He did, however, find an envelope on a small table, clearly left by Huo Jinyu.
Because on it was written: "For my Imperial Brother, Jinye, to open personally."
Inside was a single sentence: Surprised?
Huo Jinye threw the letter down in a rage. As the light paper fluttered to the ground, his anger surged, and he raised his foot to stomp on it viciously several times.
Outside the treasury, Chief Steward Lu and the guards had waited for what felt like an eternity. Finally, they saw Huo Jinye emerge from the treasury with a dark expression. The emperor's thoughts were truly hard to fathom. Shouldn't he be happy after seeing so much gold, silver, and jewels? What was there to be angry about? But of course, no one dared to ask.
"Seal the treasury for Us! No one is to enter without Our decree!" Huo Jinye commanded in a hoarse voice as he came out. He had shouted himself hoarse in the treasury, a testament to his fury.
The guards and Chief Steward Lu didn't understand what the emperor was up to now, but the guards could only obey the order and seal the treasury. Huo Jinye stared at the treasury doors, his thoughts unreadable. Then he turned and left for the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon. Chief Steward Lu followed obediently behind him without saying a word.
Back at the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon, Huo Jinye dismissed Chief Steward Lu and went to the bedchamber alone. He poked and prodded around, finally finding a mechanism in the headboard. Just as he'd suspected, the Dragon Slumber Hall where the former emperor Huo Jinyu had lived must have a hidden secret!
Sure enough, the dragon bed lifted upwards, revealing a secret passage. Huo Jinye eagerly stepped inside.
A staircase extended downwards, leading to a door. Huo Jinye pushed it open. Again, the familiar ever-burning lamps. Again, an empty storeroom.
This time, Huo Jinye was so angry he started coughing. He staggered back two steps, leaning against the doorframe behind him. "Huo Jinyu!!! Aaaahhh!!"
He shot up violently and kicked over several cabinets. They crashed to the floor, raising a small cloud of dust.
That Huo Jinyu was truly too much! He hadn't left him a single thing! Huo Jinye then remembered the luminous pearls embedded in the treasury walls that couldn't be pried out, and his anger flared anew. He took a long time to calm down in the secret passage before his breathing steadied and he returned to the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon.
Huo Jinye skipped his midday meal. His head was throbbing. The matter of the empty treasury absolutely could not get out! Without money, without silver, how could he support the army? How could he pay the salaries of the civil and military officials? Many of the officials were already insubordinate, and several great families also held some power. Although he had temporarily suppressed them with the Northern Garrison Army, that army would eventually have to return to the northwest. If the Northern Garrison Army left and someone with ill intentions learned of the empty treasury, it was almost certain that great chaos would erupt! His throne might not even be secure!
He was now managing the entire Great Yuan Kingdom and was in desperate need of money. A sudden inspiration struck him—the Wang family, the city's wealthiest merchants, whose riches could rival a nation's!
Huo Jinye didn't have time to overthink it. He was secretly delighted. The Wang family was a great clan that had been in business for hundreds of years. Their fortune would be more than enough to support the operations of the Great Yuan Kingdom! A fine plan! Huo Jinye was quite pleased with himself, silently applauding his own cleverness.
Huo Jinye took Chief Steward Lu with him and had him lead the way to the Wang estate.
After walking for about half an hour, Huo Jinye finally arrived at the entrance of the Wang residence. The main gates were shut tight, flanked by two stone lions that gave it a solemn appearance. Chief Steward Lu stepped forward and knocked with the door knocker. After waiting a while, there was no response from within.
Across from the residence, a street vendor was looking at Huo Jinye and his servant with a strange expression.
Chief Steward Lu knocked again, but there was still no response. Huo Jinye frowned. Could the Wang family be so arrogant? They wouldn't even open their door?
Finally, the vendor across the street couldn't watch any longer and called out loudly, "Young Master, no need to keep knocking! The Wang family moved out with their entire household more than ten days ago. This residence is just an empty shell now, with nothing inside!" The vendor's voice was piercingly loud, and it stabbed deep into Huo Jinye's heart. On a bright, sunny afternoon, Huo Jinye stood under the sun and felt so cold that the blood in his veins seemed to be turning to ice, freezing him inch by inch.
At that moment, Huo Jinye suddenly felt like crying. What kind of mess was this! He, the dignified ruler of a nation, couldn't even borrow money!
Dejected, Huo Jinye returned to the imperial palace. As he passed the Hall of Imperial Governance, he saw the Treasure Pavilion on its eastern side. Huo Jinye paused, then turned and headed toward the mysterious pavilion. He had no energy left to wonder about this abruptly appearing Treasure Pavilion.
Chief Steward Lu had been with Huo Jinye in the northwest for so long that he naturally didn't know about the Treasure Pavilion's existence either. Thus, his curiosity was piqued, and he followed Huo Jinye to investigate.
They say curiosity killed the cat. Huo Jinye impulsively removed the door bolt and pushed the door open. Before he could even step inside, a black shadow shot up from the ground and bit him viciously on the thigh.
Huo Jinye cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Chief Steward Lu was startled, but he was experienced and knew to strike a snake at its vital point. He instantly grabbed the snake seven inches from its head and pulled it off. A closer look revealed it was a viper! Chief Steward Lu slammed the snake to the ground, killing it. Worried that more snakes might crawl out of that damned "Treasure Pavilion," he quickly shut the door and bolted it. Then, shouting for the imperial physicians, he hoisted Huo Jinye onto his back and ran toward the Imperial Academy of Medicine.
After a great deal of commotion, Huo Jinye's life was finally saved. The physicians at the Imperial Academy of Medicine all breathed a sigh of relief.
Huo Jinye's face was so dark it looked like water could drip from it. But after such a scare, a brilliant idea popped into his head.
Since none of these methods worked, he would have to get the wool from the sheep's back. He could start with the common people of the Great Yuan Kingdom! Increase taxes! Collect more taxes! This would alleviate the pain of an empty treasury!
Once the wound was healed, Huo Jinye forgot the pain and became smug again. And that damned Huo Jinyu—sooner or later, he would find him. If Huo Jinyu fell into his hands, he would torture him thoroughly! He would make sure he died a horrible death!
And the poor commoners of the Great Yuan Kingdom had no idea that miserable days were about to begin.
In the Northern Kingdom, after more than half a month of iron-fisted methods, Yan Xi had finally secured her throne. The only things left to do were to continue searching for her younger imperial brother and to return Huo Jinyu's fifty thousand Brocade Guard Army soldiers. She also wanted to find Huo Jinyu herself and ask him to his face why he had let her go. Was he truly not moved by her at all?
She had so, so much she wanted to say to Huo Jinyu, so many questions she wanted to ask him. Every day in the Northern Kingdom's imperial palace, Yan Xi was restless. Her mind was in turmoil; she couldn't find peace. She missed Huo Jinyu.
They had only been apart for a little over half a month, yet she already missed him terribly. She missed every night that had been made precious by Huo Jinyu's presence. She desperately missed that heart-stirring kiss. She missed his warm embrace on the galloping horse. She missed him so much. She missed the person named Huo Jinyu. She missed that blockhead who remained as unresponsive as a saint even with a beauty in his arms. She missed the Jinyu who made her heart flutter no matter how she thought of him.
Yan Xi suddenly felt she was going mad with loneliness. She wanted to find Huo Jinyu. Regardless of whether he had a hidden ailment, whether he had ever truly loved her, or what unspeakable secrets he held, she wanted to be with him. To live together, drink together, enjoy romantic moments together, and even, share a pillow and sleep together!
She, Yan Xi, didn't care for this damned throne of the Northern Kingdom. As soon as she found her imperial brother, she would hand the throne over to him. From then on, she would live a carefree life with Huo Jinyu, bound by no person and no duty.
Therefore, she was determined to find Huo Jinyu. Previously, in the Great Yuan Kingdom, her spies had reported multiple times that Huo Jinyu had gone to the Baili Mountains outside the imperial city. Moreover, the Star-Plucking Tower had been built on Qianzu Mountain, which was in front of Baili Mountain. Thus, Huo Jinyu's base was very likely on either Baili Mountain or Qianzu Mountain!
Yan Xi summoned General Yan Liang. After a careful inquiry, she saw his silent expression and knew she had guessed correctly!
How could Yan Liang have known that His Majesty Huo Jinyu's consort was so clever that she had even figured out his base of operations? Huo Jinyu had originally instructed him to return on his own after completing his task. He never expected that Yan Xi, now the female emperor of the Northern Kingdom, would insist on accompanying them, saying she wanted to return the army personally. No amount of persuasion worked, so he could only tacitly agree to her joining them.
Yan Xi arranged all the affairs of the palace. The very next day, she impatiently urged Yan Liang to lead the Brocade Guard Army and set off.
Huo Jinyu, I, Yan Xi, am coming to find you!
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