"Hmm, go on," Mu Rufeng nodded slightly.
The monthly expenses of his mansion were not small—whether it was for the maintenance of the mansion, food, clothing, daily necessities, or the silver for these servants, it was a considerable sum.
It would cost about twenty thousand taels or so each month.
And the court allocated to him, as the Ninth Prince, a stipend of ten thousand taels of silver, some Spirit Rice, and various cultivation resources each month.
At first glance, it might seem entirely insufficient, but those Spirit Rice and cultivation resources were also valuable commodities.
At the same time, Mu Rufeng owned his own properties; so many shops Visit NovelHub for more amazing novels and chapters.
In the Da Li Dynasty, the purchasing power of silver was still very strong.
Some not-so-precious cultivation resources could be bought with silver.
Half an hour later, Xiao Cui, Qing Ya, and several maids came in with many servings of spiritual food.
Mu Rufeng eagerly began to eat.
With the spiritual food in his stomach, Mu Rufeng’s hunger was relieved, and the Qi Blood Power within his body also steadily increased.
As he ate, he saw Liu Ming stride up to the door.
"Is everything handled?" Mu Rufeng put down his chopsticks and looked at Liu Ming.
"Your Highness, all properties of Marquis Xuanping and those of the Qing Gang have been sold. Fortunately, on my way here, I also met Eunuch Wang, and the three hundred thousand taels of silver from the Eldest Prince have been received. All the silver is right here."
Liu Ming stepped into the room, then lifted his hands up and made several Storage Bags appear.
"Very good. And Xiao Guizi and the others?" Mu Rufeng asked.
"Your Highness, I’ve instructed Xiao Guizi and the rest to set up the execution ground," responded Liu Ming.
"Hmm, take out the silver," said Mu Rufeng.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Liu Ming complied, then directly took out the silver from the Storage Bags one by one.
Mu Rufeng, too, waved his hand and collected the silver into his Item Slot.
No matter what, it was most reassuring to have the silver in his own hands.
"Eight million taels, finally managed to gather it. Big Companion, you must be hungry too, haven’t eaten yet, eat something together," Mu Rufeng said.
"Your Highness, this servant is not hungry," said Liu Ming respectfully.
"Not hungry or not, have some. Never mind, go eat yourself. Remember to oversee the matter of comforting the families after. By noon tomorrow, I want to see all representatives present," Mu Rufeng instructed.
"Yes, Your Highness, this servant shall take leave!" Liu Ming immediately left upon excusing himself.
After lunch, Mu Rufeng went straight to the training room to begin cultivating the Heavenly Opening Technique.
Now the most important thing was to restore his Level 7 Refining Acupoints Realm.
Although he no longer faced any bottlenecks, cultivation would not emerge out of thin air—the Mysterious World also followed the law of conservation of energy.
If he wanted to rapidly advance his cultivation, he needed an immense amount of resources. Only with sufficient resources could he keep making continuous breakthroughs.
Pity that his reserves had been emptied. The first thing to do after dealing with the compensation would be to catch the scoundrel who had stolen seven hundred twenty thousand taels of silver.
Elsewhere, within the Imperial Palace, the Eastern Palace.
The Eldest Prince was reviewing some imperial memorials at this moment.
"Your Highness." Wang Kai walked in from the palace gate to the Eldest Prince’s side, quietly calling out.
"Ah, Big Companion, what’s the news?" asked the Eldest Prince, without looking up.
"Your Highness, Ninth Brother did not accept the one million taels of silver from Prefect Zhu," said Wang Kai.
"Hmm? He didn’t accept it? How is that possible? He was missing one million taels. Could it be that Prefect Zhu’s daughter failed to attract him as well? Or is it as rumors suggest, my ninth brother prefers the company of men? Or is he impotent?" asked the Eldest Prince, frowning.
"Indeed, he did not accept it, and Ninth Brother has already gathered the sum," added Wang Kai.
"Where did he get that one million from?" The Eldest Prince’s frown deepened.
"He made a trip to the residence of Sixth Brother."
"Sixth? Impossible, the sixth brother would lend money, but he would never lend a million; even ten thousand would make him agonize."
"Our undercover agents report that Ninth Brother forcibly entered the treasury and ’borrowed’ one million taels of engraved silver, even leaving an IOU, vowing to repay with twenty percent interest within a month," Wang Kai reported.
"What a forcible loan!" The Eldest Prince’s face darkened considerably.
A night passed without incident.
At nine in the morning, Mu Rufeng finished his cultivation and, after breakfast, led a group to the largest execution ground in the Imperial City.
The execution ground was as large as half a basketball court; today, it was surrounded by a crowd.
They had all heard that today an execution of a Marquis would take place here, and a significant announcement was to be made.
Surrounding residents and idle onlookers had come early to watch the spectacle.
Amongst these people, there was a group that seemed somewhat out of place in comparison to the Imperial City residents.
They were dressed simply, mostly elders, and from their demeanor, one could tell they were respected elders within their villages.
Altogether, this group numbered in the hundreds, separated from the onlooking crowd and standing a bit more towards the center.
The area behind was blocked by some officers and soldiers, not allowing the crowd to press forward.
Mu Rufeng and his companions arrived at the rear of the execution ground.
"Big Companion, are all present?" Mu Rufeng inquired.
"Your Highness, the village’s most esteemed elders of the fallen soldiers have all arrived; we may begin anytime," Liu Ming reported.
In ancient times, the words of a village elder were more effective than official decrees.
"What of Li Mohu?" Mu Rufeng asked in a grave voice.
"Bring him up," Liu Ming shouted towards the back.
Two guards soon brought Marquis Xuanping over.
At this moment, his mouth was gagged with a cloth. When he saw Mu Rufeng, he became agitated, making muffled attempts to speak.
His appearance indicated he wanted to beg Mu Rufeng for mercy.
Following them, many criminals escorted by the officers were kneeling on the ground—these were members of the Qing Gang, criminals who had taken money from the families of the fallen soldiers.
Mu Rufeng nodded slightly and slowly ascended to the platform.