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“Conservatively estimated, it’s over ten million taels… The actual silver is only a portion; a large part consists of antiques and paintings.”

His words sent a wave of astonishment through the crowd. Even Chancellor Xu Jingzong, who was usually unflappable, stared at the mule carts with trembling eyes.

Yang Yi had spent just a few months in Qing, and yet he had managed to bring back a fortune of over ten million taels?

Li Yifu’s face flushed red with disbelief. How could this young upstart swindle such a vast sum and return from Qing unscathed?

Driven by jealousy and suspicion, he stepped forward and pried open the nearest box.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. The box was filled to the brim with glistening gold. Li Yifu’s entire body quivered as he stared at the gleaming treasure. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Could this really be gold? Had Yang Yi truly managed to pull off such an audacious feat?

Overwhelmed with disbelief and a burning envy, Li Yifu continued opening the boxes one by one. Each container revealed more jewels, paintings, antiques, and gold bars, dazzling in their abundance. As each box opened, his face grew paler, and his heart sank deeper. Yang Yi had actually succeeded.

The surrounding officials were equally stunned, their minds struggling to process the unimaginable wealth before them.

How had Minister Yang achieved this?

Xu Jingzong and the other high-ranking officials, who were accustomed to the riches of the court, were left speechless. The treasure before them represented a staggering sum—nearly half of Great Zhou’s annual tax revenue.

“Minister Yang is truly remarkable,” one official murmured, breaking the silence.

All eyes turned to Yang Yi, now filled with a mixture of shock, admiration, and awe.

Just then, a palace maid’s voice rang out, clear and melodious:

“The Emperor is coming…”

The Empress’s grand carriage appeared, and the officials immediately bowed.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

Wu Zhao acknowledged their greetings with a casual nod, her eyes quickly finding Yang Yi.

Though her face remained composed, her heart raced with a mix of relief and excitement.

“Minister Yang, are you alright?” she asked, her tone calm despite her inner turmoil.

Yang Yi clasped his hands and bowed, a confident smile on his face.

“I report to Your Majesty, I have not failed in my mission.”

Wu Zhao’s eyes widened as she turned her gaze to the treasure-laden carts beside her.

The sunlight reflected off the gold and jewels, creating a blinding spectacle. She was momentarily speechless, her usually calm demeanor shaken by the sheer magnitude of the wealth displayed before her.

“What is all this?” she asked, her voice tinged with incredulity.

Shangguan Wan’er and the other officials were equally dumbfounded, their eyes fixed on the glittering treasures. It was as if they were witnessing a dream unfold before them.

Yang Yi stepped forward, his voice steady and respectful.

“Your Majesty, after reaching Qing, I issued bonds that sparked a frenzy among the nobles and commoners. In just three months, I collected these treasures. There are eight million taels of gold and silver, and the value of the antiques and paintings is no less than seven million taels combined.”

A collective hiss of astonishment swept through the crowd. The sheer scale of the fortune left everyone in stunned silence.

To a mass treasures worth over ten million taels was an achievement beyond imagination. The sight of so much wealth, tangible and real, was overwhelming even to the most seasoned among them.

Wu Zhao, the Empress of Great Zhou, who had seen and experienced so much, found herself momentarily at a loss for words.

This was the first time she had ever witnessed such a vast fortune laid out before her eyes.

Wu Zhao turned her head with some difficulty, her clear black eyes clouded with confusion as she stared at Yang Yi.

“I’ve heard about your bond business in the Qing Dynasty… but I also heard that the interest rates you offered were astonishingly high. How did you manage that? And this money…”

Everyone present fixed their eyes on Yang Yi with a mix of curiosity and disbelief. Even Li Yifu, consumed by jealousy, couldn’t help but lean in, desperate to understand the secret behind such a profitable venture.

Yang Yi smiled, a peculiar glint in his handsome eyes.

“Your Majesty, the scheme I devised is quite simple. It’s all about exploiting human greed.”

“The bonds I issued promised a ten percent return in ten days, fifty percent in a month, and a tenfold return in a year. Such high rates were irresistible. People couldn’t suppress their greed and flocked to buy them…”

“At first, some were skeptical, so we refunded their principal and interest in full to gain their trust. We even set a limit—each person could only buy once a month. This way, those who bought less regretted it, and those who hadn’t bought at all became desperate to invest big the next time.”

“We repeated this cycle a few times, and the demand surged. To pay the interest, I used a classic strategy: robbing Peter to pay Paul. The funds from new bond buyers covered the payouts to earlier investors. The cash flow snowballed, growing larger with each cycle.”

Yang Yi paused, letting the enormity of his plan sink in before continuing.

“But of course, such a scheme is bound to collapse eventually when the cash flow becomes unsustainable. So, I only ran it for three months. When they invested the most, I took the money and ran.”

He glanced at the stunned faces around him, his voice steady and unapologetic.

“The so-called bond business never made a real profit. They were chasing my promised interest, but I was always after their capital.”

The room fell into a stunned silence. Everyone seemed to hold their breath, grappling with the audacity of Yang Yi’s scheme.

The realization dawned on them: the staggering wealth before them was not just a windfall—it was the spoils of a ruthless and calculated con.

Yang Yi had pulled off the impossible: he had run off with the Qing people’s money right under their noses.

Wu Zhao’s eyes were filled with a mix of shock and admiration. This was the first time she had witnessed such a grand scheme, executed with chilling precision.

“So, you simply left them… and those people?”

Wu Zhao asked, still trying to wrap her mind around the enormity of the plan.

Yang Yi chuckled softly.

“Many of them were nobles and wealthy merchants. They pawned everything they had—houses, land, even family heirlooms—to buy my bonds. Now, with their investments gone, they’re bankrupt. They have nothing left. I wouldn’t be surprised if they start tearing down the Qing government offices in their rage.”

A collective hiss of disbelief swept through the room. Scalps tingled, and shivers ran down spines as everyone absorbed Yang Yi’s words.

Even Shangguan Wan’er and the other officials, usually composed, were left staring at him in awe.

Yang Yi hadn’t just swindled Qing’s wealth; he had planted the seeds of chaos, leaving a colossal mess for Qianlong to clean up. His strategy was ruthless, calculating, and brilliant—a perfectly executed gambit that would haunt their rivals for years.

Qianlong, no doubt, would be furious beyond words.