Chapter 120 - 119: Sending You on Your Way
Xia Wuyang thought of the manor’s master, Li Decai. He had once been just a down-and-out scholar, so poor he couldn’t even support his family.
Seeing his talent and pitying his plight, Xia Wuyang had personally promoted him to Manor Master of the Royal Manor. He never imagined the man would become so audacious.
’What a character, this Li Decai. Does he really think I’m on death’s door?’ Xia Wuyang sneered inwardly.
He already had some understanding of the situation. He knew that for years, Li Decai had been tyrannizing the Royal Manor, not only embezzling rent but also secretly selling off manor property to line his own pockets.
Now the man’s audacity was growing. Xia Wuyang had originally planned to deal with this servant after taking care of the other Princes and Princesses, but since Li Decai had decided to make a scene, he couldn’t be blamed for being ruthless.
The moon was dark and the wind was high—a perfect night for murder.
After leaving the women’s quarters, Xia Wuyang returned to his Practice Room. He locked the door from the inside, put on a Disguise, and slipped out of the Imperial Palace, speeding toward the Outskirts of Beijing.
At his speed, it took him less than an hour to reach the Royal Manor on the outskirts of Beijing.
The manor, which should have been prosperous, now looked somewhat dilapidated. Most of the tenants’ homes were in disrepair, yet the Manor Master’s mansion was a golden, glittering palace that could almost rival the Eastern Palace itself.
’This Li Decai isn’t even trying to hide it. He certainly knows how to live well,’ Xia Wuyang thought, a cold glint in his eyes.
He could move through the Imperial Palace with ease; the Li Family Mansion would be no different.
He expanded his Mental Force Field and quickly located Li Decai doing his accounts in the study.
In the study, Li Decai was beaming at his ledgers.
The middle-aged man, now in his forties, was no longer the thin, withered figure he had once been. His face was ruddy and he had grown plump. His thick fingers flew across the abacus beads.
"Another thirty thousand silver taels in income this year. Add to that the sale of manor property and what I squeezed from the tenants... that’s a full fifty thousand silver taels."
Li Decai muttered smugly to himself, "That bastard is about to die anyway. It’d be a waste not to take this money. I’ll try to sell off everything I can from this Royal Manor before he kicks the bucket."
Xia Wuyang stood nearby, watching with cold eyes as murderous intent flooded his gaze.
"Such brilliant planning, Manor Master Li!" Xia Wuyang suddenly appeared, his voice as cold as a blade. He then removed his Disguise.
Li Decai spun around in shock. When he saw who it was, he stumbled and nearly fell over. "C-Crown Prince! Y-You... how are you here? A-Aren’t you..."
"Supposed to be on my deathbed? Lying helpless in the Eastern Palace?" Xia Wuyang finished the sentence for him. Terrified, Li Decai dropped to his knees. "I didn’t know Your Highness had recovered! Congratulations on your return to health, Your Highness!"
"Tell me," Xia Wuyang stared at him coldly, "how much of my silver have you embezzled over the years?"
Li Decai’s expression changed. He hesitated, then forced a laugh. "Your Highness jests. The Royal Manor has had poor harvests for years, and we’ve been targeted by the other Princes. We can’t even make ends meet, let alone turn a profit. We’re actually running at a loss this year."
Seeing that he was still refusing to confess, unwilling to give up the money he had stolen, Xia Wuyang sneered. He activated his Soul Capturing Technique and effortlessly entranced Li Decai.
Li Decai’s eyes immediately went vacant. He answered mechanically, "Your Highness, over the years I have embezzled a total of eight hundred sixty thousand silver taels. I have spent two hundred ten thousand of that, with six hundred fifty thousand remaining..."
As Li Decai continued to speak, the full extent of his crimes came to light.
To underreport rent income, he would fake disaster reports while secretly selling off the bountiful harvests for himself.
To seize the tenants’ land, he colluded with the Government Office to frame them for fabricated debts, driving many families to ruin.
To line his own pockets, he inflated repair costs and pocketed the difference.
...
What was even more appalling was that he withheld wages, leading to the tragic deaths of many tenants who couldn’t afford medical care when they fell ill.
"Last winter, Old Li and his family refused to give up their last two acres of land. I had my men break his legs in the middle of the night. To pay for his treatment, his daughter was forced to sell herself to a brothel. I even paid her a few visits myself..."
Xia Wuyang’s face turned icy as he listened. If he recalled correctly, Old Li was a distant relative of his. That would make him an elder to Old Li’s daughter.
’To think he wouldn’t even spare his own relatives. He’s worse than a beast.’
Once the confession was complete, Xia Wuyang released the Soul Capturing Technique, allowing Li Decai to regain his senses.
As he came to, he quickly realized what he had said. He stared at Xia Wuyang in disbelief. "Wh... What was that? What kind of Demon Technique is that? How are you so powerful?"
After saying this, a dreadful realization dawned on him. Remembering everything he had confessed while under the spell, his face went deathly pale. He dropped to his knees with a thud. "Your Highness, spare me! I know I was wrong! I’ll hand over all the silver, I’ll give it all back! Please, just spare my life!"
"Spare you?" Xia Wuyang sneered. "Did you ever spare the tenants you drove to their graves?"
While speaking, Xia Wuyang dragged him into a secret chamber. He cast the Soul Capturing Technique again, this time making Li Decai experience the suffering of all the people he had harmed.
"AAGH! I was wrong! I beg you, spare me!"
"I’ll never do it again! Your Highness, save me!"
"I repaid your kindness with cruelty! I’m worse than an animal, I’m an ungrateful monster! Your Highness, spare me!"
...
Li Decai let out a bloodcurdling scream, as if he were suffering the torments of Purgatory.
In his mind, all the suffering his tenants had ever endured was now being inflicted upon him, magnified a hundredfold.
"Please... kill me... just kill me!" Li Decai quickly broke down, his screams turning into wails as he begged Xia Wuyang to end his life.
Xia Wuyang turned a deaf ear. ’Dying won’t be that easy,’ he thought. ’This is just the beginning. I have to let him enjoy it for a while longer.’
He increased the output of his Spiritual Power, and Li Decai’s agony intensified, becoming a torment no less than death by a thousand cuts.
Only when Li Decai was on the verge of a complete mental collapse did Xia Wuyang finally kill him, using Corpse-Dissolving Water to dispose of the body.
Then, following the information from Li Decai’s confession, he collected all the embezzled silver, rare medicinal herbs, antiques, and paintings, placing everything into his Personal Space.
’This is all my property. I can’t just let someone else have it.’
He then deliberately left a few traces at the scene to create the illusion of a robbery. Given Li Decai’s actions over the years, it wouldn’t be surprising at all for an enemy to come seeking revenge.
Before leaving the Royal Manor, he had one last thing to do.
Xia Wuyang made a special trip to the tenants’ quarters. He left a portion of the silver for them as compensation, especially for those who had suffered the most under Li Decai.
These were his tenants, after all. He even recognized some of them from a time when they had helped the Royal Manor prosper.
’Consider this silver your compensation.’
With a sigh, Xia Wuyang returned to Wenhua Hall. The entire operation had been flawless, leaving not a single trace behind.