Fix Smile Order

At the end of the year, the officials sent abroad generally were given a one-month vacation. This way, they could go home to reunite with their parents and relatives. Tang Tianyuan naturally was given a month's vacation, but there were a few things holding him back from leaving.

For one, due to the previous turmoil, he had yet to start looking for the hidden gold. The amount was not small and there were too many insiders gathered in Tongling. Tang Tianyuan’s presence kept everyone under control. However, once he leaves, any information accidentally revealed would cause disturbances.

Secondly, if he were to go back to the capital, Tang Tianyuan would be separated from Tan Lingyin for at least a month...

Of course, the second point was beyond his control. There was no way he could bring his future wife into his house before they married. It's too out of order.

But it was better to find the gold as soon as possible and quickly close the case. Tang Tianyuan needed to settle his work before he could go home and be happily married.

The problem before him now was that there were too little useful clues. The former County Magistrate San Jie was a natural foreman. Although there were many participants and insiders in this case, everyone had a clear division of labor. The bandits in Phoenix Mountain just concentrated on mining, while Official Sun and Official Qi were focused on dividing the profits, and Zong Yinglin was in charge of giving bribes to cover for them... After San Jie's death, others suddenly found out that apart from the jobs assigned to them, they knew nothing from the other chain of works.

This was also the reason why Zong Yinglin and others could not find hidden gold. Zong Yinglin regretted killing Sang Jie very much. But what was done was done.

"There are too few clues. It's better to think from another perspective." Tan Lingyin suggested.

Tang Tianyuan asked, "Oh? Which perspective?"

"Stop thinking of those matters, there’s no way we can figure it out anyways." Tan Lingyin replied, "Why don't we guess where San Jie would hide the gold?"

Oh, so just randomly guessing.

This was another plausible method. Tang Tianyuan touched his chin and asked Tan Lingyin, "If you were Sang Jie, where would you hide the gold?"

Tan Lingyin closed her eyes and thought for a while. A box of gold bricks appeared in her mind. She giggled and swallowed her saliva.

Tang Tianyuan: "..." There’s no need to be so invested.

Tan Lingyin said to herself, "If so much money was moved into my house, it would require a lot of manpower. It would also be easy to be exposed. This also meant that moving it anywhere else would not be feasible. The best solution was to keep hiding it in the mountains. Just choose a random cave and block the entrance with multiple layers. This way, no one will discover it..."

Tang Tianyuan nodded. Tan Lingyin made a lot of sense and he also thought of this. But the problem was, Tianmu Mountain was a sizable mountain. It’s hard to say which part of the mountain San Jie chose. There was no way they could search the whole mountain inch by inch...

Tan Lingyin was still talking to herself, "That’s so much money, it would take a big cave to hold it..." As she spoke, a dreamy smile appeared on her face.

Tang Tianyuan felt that she was probably imagining herself moving gold into the cave. He couldn't help interrupting her, "Okay, that's enough."

Tan Lingyin ignored him.

Tang Tianyuan bit her.

Tan Lingyin suddenly opened her eyes. She covered her mouth and glared at Tang Tianyuan angrily.

Tang Tianyuan silently smiled, motioning for her to sit beside him. He spread out a map on the table. It was a newly drawn map of the entire Tianmu Mountain. Several abandoned gold mines were marked by Tang Tianyuan. He tried to connect these dots, looking for a place that was relatively close to them. Maybe that was where San Jie chose to hide the gold.

Tan Lingyin suddenly let out a cry.

"What's wrong?" Tang Tianyuan asked.

Tan Lingyin picked up the map. Her eyes wandered all around the map, she even made a few hand gestures, and finally pointed to one spot and said, "The feng shui of this place looks good. This spot can block wind and absorb energy. If the dead were to be buried here, their descendants would be blessed with prosperity and power."

"Don’t carelessly speak of matters about life and death." Tang Tianyuan didn't like to hear such words. He was living well now and the real happy days had yet to begin. The idea of death was too far away.

Tan Lingyin thought he didn't believe it. "Really! Look, the mountains here and rivers here..."

Tang Tianyuan interrupted her, "Do you know the art of geomancy?"

"I don't dare claim to be! I only know a little bit." These were not self-effacing, Tan Lingyin really only knew a little bit. She liked to read and she studied this field for a while. Geomantic omen and acupoint fixing were profound and unfathomable, she only just glazed the surface before she stopped learning.

Tang Tianyuan was deep in thought.

A few days later, Tang Tianyuan asked someone to find the most famous Fengshui Master in the area. He took him to Tianmu Mountain for an on-sight investigation.

Tan Lingyin also went. She thought that Tang Tianyuan really wanted to choose a grave site for himself, so she couldn't help asking, "Isn't your hometown in Sichuan?" 

Her meaning: Is it suitable to be buried here?...

Tang Tianyuan was a little amused. "What are you thinking!"

Tan Lingyin had a flash of inspiration. "Ah, I understand!"

He patted her on the head, "That’s good you understand."

With the Feng Shui Master around, Tang Tianyuan didn't dare to be too intimate, but he just helped her when she encountered a difficult path. Fortunately, the winter in the South was not as heavy as in the North. The snow on Tianmu Mountain had already melted a lot, so the trip went relatively smoothly.

The Feng Shui Master walked to several areas on the mountain. He took his time to look at every spot from different angles, and finally praised, "Hmm… Not bad. The fierce tiger is roaring at the moon and the water moves through lotus blossoms. This really is an auspicious location."

Tan Lingyin was puzzled and asked what he meant.

The Master pointed and explained, "The shape of this mountain is similar to a tiger. At night, the moon rests just above its head, so it is a tiger roaring at the moon. The tomb is surrounded by mountains and water, and it is shaped like a lotus flower. This is why I named it ‘water moves through lotus blossoms’."

Tan Lingyin finally found someone who could outcompete her in terms of making up nonsense. The top of the mountain was a big rock. She widened her eyes, but no matter what angle she looked, it looked nothing like a tiger!

Let alone mentioning ‘water moves through lotus blossoms’.

Tang Tianyuan's focus was elsewhere. He asked the Feng Shui Master, "Do you know how to break into tombs?"

The Feng Shui Master turned pale with shock. "Tomb robbery is an act of shady business. This little one would not dare to do it!"

Tang Tianyuan comforted him with a relaxed expression. "I didn't say you did such a thing. This official only wants to know if you know how to."

"No!" His tone was firm.

Tang Tianyuan shook his head with some regret. "Oh nevermind then. This official wanted to trouble you about something and there would be a big reward after the matter is done."

"What is it……"

Tang Tianyuan pointed to the lotus and said, "Since this place is so good, maybe someone has already been buried here. I just want you to help me see if there is a tomb underneath, and if this tomb had been opened before."

"That is not difficult," The Feng Shui Master nodded confidently. "We need to determine the exact location of the tomb first. I didn't bring any tools when I came out today."

"Then tomorrow." After a pause, Tang Tianyuan threatened, "This matter involves the imperial court. Don't tell others about it, otherwise you won't be able to afford the consequences."

The Feng Shui Master smiled, "Of course, this little one does not dare."

Tan Lingyin smirked and asked the Feng Shui Master, "How did you learn how to identify a tomb?"

He coughed embarrassingly, "This... this little one had encountered it a couple times before."

Tang Tianyuan knew this master had probably done shady business, but he was too lazy to pursue it. After making their appointment for tomorrow, the three slowly made their way down the mountain.