Chapter 1144 - 945: Escape from Danger (Part 2)

Gong Yuanhao said in a deep voice, "I want to know where that Young Master Nan is right now."

Xiang Jingrong hastily said, "Yes, I'll look into it right away. With so many businesses under his name, there's no way he can just walk away. He can't hide."

Gong Yuanhao's anger did not subside from his face; the only thing that comforted him was that those three people were all dead. If that Demon Cultivator who cultivated the Demon Eye had been captured alive and the matter of the Nanshan Royal Court secretly keeping Demon Cultivators was exposed, that would have been real trouble.

But trouble never comes alone. Xiang Jingrong fished out a Jade Scroll and handed it over. "The accounts on the mortgages have already been partially uncovered."

The reason he brought out the partially verified portion first was also to divert attention from the current matter.

After Gong Yuanhao received it and cast a spell to check, his expression changed drastically. Without wasting any words, he flicked his sleeve and left directly…

At the door of the Right Minister's study, once his father returned, Gong Yuanhao followed him inside and handed over the Jade Scroll. "Father, this is the part of the mortgage situation that has been verified. Some bastards have gone too far. Goods worth one billion dared to be valued at five billion as collateral—that's already considered mild. Some beasts are even bolder beyond belief; the so-called collateral doesn't exist at all, it's fabricated out of thin air and only exists on the books, with nothing to be found in reality. We even have people on our side using Royal Court properties as collateral at the bank, drawing out money and then lending it to others. This is utterly outrageous."

Right Minister Gong put the Jade Scroll down slowly and said, "Without insiders cooperating, that money couldn't have been drained out."

Gong Yuanhao cursed angrily, "Exactly. This pack of dogs have been colluding inside and out to hollow out the Royal Court's assets on a massive scale, with all kinds of tricks—truly shocking! Even our own people that we let out, like Sun Yao, who once served as your personal guard—he used to be so by-the-book—has actually gotten involved in this. And this is only the part we've verified. What the full picture looks like…I don't even dare to imagine."

Right Minister Gong asked indifferently, "How many people might be implicated?"

These words cooled Gong Yuanhao down quite a bit. Suppressing his anger, he said, "From a single spot, you can see the whole leopard. I fear every problematic mortgage will involve our people. As you said, Father—without thieves inside the house, this money could never have gone out."

Right Minister Gong remained very calm. "If this is just Shi Chun trying to raise money to plug holes, that's still easy to talk about. Borrowed money still has to be paid back, that's inescapable. What I fear is that some other schemer is using this to stir up trouble. And that Young Master Nan, get him here as soon as possible and clarify the situation."

Speaking of that, Gong Yuanhao lowered his head slightly and replied like admitting fault, "Father, we slipped up. We startled the snake."

"Hm?" Right Minister Gong's nasal tone suddenly rose.

Gong Yuanhao had no choice but to recount the sudden developments they had recently uncovered.

Right Minister Gong frowned and, after a long silence, said slowly, "First, conduct a comprehensive investigation into all the mortgage arrangements, see how big a hole they've blown, so we can draft countermeasures. For now, don't make any big moves. Also, if you can't get hold of that Young Master Nan, lower your posture and see if you can invite Shi Chun to talk, or you can go to him yourself. Sound him out. If necessary, you may promise him certain benefits. As for those who borrowed the money, get in touch with them as well. Try to get a clear picture of the situation as soon as possible."

"Understood." After Gong Yuanhao agreed, he tentatively asked, "Should we communicate with the corresponding banks? See if we can freeze the money that's already gone out in time."

Right Minister Gong gave him a sidelong look. "This much money is involved, and so many banks across various houses. Once you freeze it, the news won't be containable. First, find out how big the hole is. I don't care what method they used to get the money out—if they borrowed it, they must repay it. If they don't, we'll seize equivalent assets to make up for it. Playing deadbeat won't work with me."

Gong Yuanhao nodded. "All right."

Young Master Nan, lying on the couch, slowly came to. The first thing he saw was Wu Jinliang's grinning face as he sat sideways at the edge of the couch. He couldn't help but sit up with a start, looking around. The place was not unfamiliar to him: Wu Jinliang had specially set aside an entire courtyard for his exclusive use in the guest wing of his Commander Mansion, and this wasn't his first time staying there.

Shi Chun was also standing at the side of the couch, smiling.

Once he confirmed he was safe, Young Master Nan let out a breath, put his feet on the floor, sat at the edge of the couch and stretched lazily, then complained, "What's the meaning of knocking me out?"

Shi Chun said, "We were afraid that if you saw something you shouldn't, you might sell us out."

Wu Jinliang chuckled nonstop.

"..." Young Master Nan was left speechless, for no other reason than that he had indeed not planned on being a tough bone. He had genuinely considered selling this side out to protect himself. So he asked no further and could only give a bitter smile and let it go.

He didn't ask, but Shi Chun had questions of his own. "Brother Nan, you're sure it's the Gong family going after you?"

At that, Young Master Nan sighed. "Aside from them, there should be no one else. Mo Yao and Ye Shang came to me saying that the mortgages were suddenly suspended, and that mortgages in different parts of the Royal Court's territory were all halted at the same time. I immediately knew the Gong family had made a move. I knew the matter of borrowing money had been exposed. We clearly kept things very well hidden, and everyone involved was taking a cut and helping falsify and cover things up. I have no idea how it was exposed ahead of time.

I also know the Gong family is not easy to deal with. But thinking that Brother Chun had the means to square the accounts, had the means to make the Gong family let it go, and considering that the Gong family would probably give the Dongsheng Right Minister some face, I wasn't too scared. I even thought that once I helped Brother Chun get this done, I'd find a place to hide for a while and only show myself again after Brother Chun had settled things with the Gong family.

Once the matter was suddenly exposed, I realized we were in trouble. For the Gong family to figure everything out, they might very well use me as their entry point. I immediately became more cautious and then discovered I really was being tailed, so I started dodging…"

He recounted the process of his evasions with many sighs.

After he finished, he asked curiously, "Brother Chun, how did you find me?"

"Nothing special, just a dumb method. We found Mei Huan of Wuyu Trading House and had him contact, one by one, every place in the Tiandu Domain where you might be hiding. Wherever something happened, we went to investigate. When we heard there was a disturbance at Ten Thousand Laws Cave Heaven, we suspected it was you, so we tracked it, and then we found you." After Shi Chun briefly glossed over the whole tracking process, he moved on to the key point. "How much have you managed to borrow from the Gong family so far?"

Young Master Nan said regretfully, "Not even eleven thousand. If the Gong family had discovered it ten days or half a month later, it should have been enough."

Wu Jinliang first frowned. "Not enough. There's still a shortfall. We need at least another two thousand."

Young Master Nan groaned, "We'll talk about the shortfall later. The urgent thing now is that the Gong family has already found out. You have to bring out your plan for squaring the books quickly, or we'll all be in deep trouble."

Shi Chun said, "I'll handle that. Let's talk about the money first. You still haven't borrowed from Liang Mian, the Beiju Mutual Market Young Supervisor, or from Thunder Sound Sect. Will your partners still dare to go borrow?"

Young Master Nan faltered, then let out a wry laugh. "As long as you're willing to borrow their money, and as long as the IOUs are clear and proper, what would they not dare to borrow? When Mo Yao and Ye Shang came to me, they were actually upset that the Gong family had cut off their money route and wanted to keep finding others to borrow from. I was the one who held them back."

Shi Chun said, "Then let them go on borrowing from Liang Mian and Thunder Sound Sect. We must make sure we gather enough to fill the hole."

"..." Young Master Nan faltered again. He originally felt this was inappropriate, but thinking of the ability they'd shown in rescuing him from the Gong family's hands, he ended up saying nothing. He nodded. "All right, I'll contact them."

Shi Chun didn't say much more. He turned, took out the Mother-child Talisman, and contacted Feng Chi, saying he wanted to see Old Chai and asking them to send someone to recall Chai Wenwu.