RCDSA 03

Chapter – 03

Emptying the Prince’s Mansion

Ever since the imperial edict ordering him to take up his fief was issued, there had been gradual movements around the Second Prince’s mansion over the past half month. The main gate remained tightly shut, with all visitors declined, but people were constantly coming and going through the side and rear gates, hauling out cart after cart of crated goods.

Rumors had long since spread that the Second Prince—now the Prince of An—had already awakened. Many were waiting to see how he would react to the bad news of being sent to his fief.

Perhaps he would throw a thunderous tantrum in the mansion over the Ministry of Revenue’s underhanded dealings; perhaps he would enter the palace to beg Emperor Xuanhe for leniency, pleading for an extension of his departure date… But no one expected that the Prince of An would actually start liquidating his assets, appearing to accept his fate with equanimity.

His former subordinates and supporting ministers were utterly baffled.

Some tried to visit, only to be turned away; others sent letters, but received no reply.

No one outside could guess what the Second Prince was truly up to.

At this moment, however, Xie Linchao was busy taking stock of her assets.

“Farmlands, shops, antiques, calligraphy, paintings, gold, jade, fabrics, and so on—except for a few rare editions and unique pieces from the Empress Dowager’s dowry that we kept, and two or three shops and residences outside the capital to facilitate future communications, everything else has been sold off, totaling five hundred thousand taels of silver.”

“Items bestowed by the imperial court bearing the royal seal cannot be sold. As per Your Highness’s instructions, they have been locked in the private treasury on the east side of the rear courtyard.”

“All subordinate officials, guards, and servants have been dismissed. Each received a severance payment according to their rank or position, and the servants were given back their indenture contracts so they could return home freely… These are the keys to all the courtyards and rooms. They’re all here for Your Highness’s review.”

Steward Wu presented a box filled with banknotes. Each note was worth one thousand taels, and there was a thick stack inside.

On top of the box lay a large bunch of keys, each tagged with a strip of cloth marked in ink to indicate which gate or courtyard it belonged to.

Xie Linchao counted the five hundred banknotes, placed them back in the box, and locked it.

Time was tight, and some farmlands, shops, antiques, and artworks had to be sold at reduced prices.

She now had five hundred thousand taels, but Xie Linchao didn’t plan to use all of it to activate the card-draw system.

On the surface, the prince’s mansion had been cleaned out, but those bulky large items and imperially bestowed objects bearing the royal seal were still intact—they needed to be “put to use as waste.”

Now that all unnecessary personnel had been cleared out, no one would notice if a few things went missing.

“Uncle Wu, the Imperial Guard barracks still haven’t selected the two thousand private troops I’m taking to my fief. Go urge them on.” Xie Linchao gave Steward Wu his next task.

According to the laws of Great Qi, a prince of the first-rank could have three thousand private troops within his fief, while a prince of the second-rank could have two thousand. For a prince being enfeoffed, the quota for private troops was supposed to come from the Imperial Guard.

“This old servant will go press them right away.”

Once Steward Wu was sent off, Xie Linchao picked up the box of banknotes and the large ring of keys and began wandering through the mansion.

Her first stop was the eastern private treasury where the imperially bestowed items were stored.

*Ding! Dragon-patterned ink-green jade pendant ×1, value 500 taels of silver. Convert?*

*Ding! Hollowed-out jade crown ×1, value 200 taels of silver. Convert?*

*Ding! Hetian jade Buddha figurine ×1, value 1000 taels of silver. Convert?*

*Ding! Emperor Xuanhe’s self-painted ‘Landscape of the Realm’ ×1, value 5 taels of silver. Convert?*

Huh?

Did something odd just slip in there?

Xie Linchao glanced back at the two now-empty large chests. The system had converted so many items that she couldn’t even remember which specific ones had been turned in.

“Whatever, let’s just get this done quickly.”

Linlang, who had gone out on business, would be back today. Xie Linchao had to clear out this private treasury before her “housekeeper” returned.

And so, Xie Linchao continued her whirlwind sweep.

After one incense stick’s time, the once-stuffed treasury was completely bare. Even the extra boxes and shelves had been converted by Xie Linchao, leaving behind only a few imperially bestowed items for appearances, small enough to fit in one chest.

In addition, a few special items were kept: three sets of Xuanming armor, three golden bows, and two daggers.

Antiques and treasures could be bought back with money, but armor was strictly regulated—selling or privately possessing armor was equivalent to treason, and weapons sharp enough to cut through iron were even rarer. Since these items from the private treasury were all gifts from Emperor Xuanhe, Xie Linchao could use them openly and without reproach.

Moreover, the journey to her fief was long, with the possibility of bandit attacks along the way. Xie Linchao needed to keep some weapons for self-defense.

She found a large chest, packed the Xuanming armor and golden bows inside, and locked it. The remaining two daggers were crossed at her lower back, hidden beneath her outer robe. She could move freely, and no one would notice anything unusual.

Finally, Xie Linchao closed the treasury doors. Without the keys to open them, no one would ever know that the Second Prince’s private treasury was completely empty—not even rats would bother to visit.

Next, Xie Linchao made her way through every courtyard and side room in the mansion.

Bed boards? Cabinets? Convert!

Rockeries? Pond fish? Convert!

Flowers and plants? Fruit trees? Convert!

Convert, convert, convert! Convert everything!!

After all that commotion, Xie Linchao was just short of tearing off the roof tiles. The card-draw system’s activation progress had changed to—

**[150,000/500,000]**

“Still short by 350,000 taels? That much?” Xie Linchao hugged her box of banknotes, looking reluctant.

She looked around, trying to spot anything else that could be converted, but the entire prince’s mansion had already been hollowed out by Xie Linchao… Oh, there were still the pair of stone lions at the main gate—they looked quite valuable—but unfortunately, those couldn’t be swapped. She didn’t want to end up in court.

Xie Linchao’s mind wandered chaotically: *If only I could pawn the entire prince’s mansion to the system…*

*Ding! The Second Prince’s Royal Mansion in the Capital ×1, value 500,000 taels of silver. Convert?*

Xie Linchao: “…”

She was just joking.

There was really no need for the system to take it so seriously.

“Ah well, looks like I’ll have to use my private savings.” Xie Linchao reluctantly pulled out a neat stack of 350,000 taels in banknotes and offered them to the system for conversion.

[The system does not accept paper currency from this world. It only accepts natural hard currency, such as gold and silver.]

Xie Linchao:  “…”

Why didn’t you say so earlier, system?!?!

System:  You didn’t ask.