I am the villain in the book

At the hour of midnight, a black carriage, having traversed most of Shu Province City, finally came to a slow halt before another residence, one without a nameplate hanging on its gate.

Having reached an agreement with Qingxian and temporarily resolved the issue of Shu Province's insufficient "military strength", Wei Changtian simply went all the way, directly setting about resolving the second, more pressing problem at hand –

Money.

Whether it was the promise to Qingxian to start construction in ten days, or all the preparations needed for war, all of this required a large amount of money.

Even if Shu Province's financial situation was excellent, it was clear that it could not bear such a huge expense.

Not even with the addition of the Wei family.

Therefore, Wei Changtian needed to find someone richer than the Wei family to foot the bill.

Currently, there were only two such people in the entire Da Ning.

Ning Yongnian, who controlled the national treasury, and...

“Hahaha!”

“Madam Wei, long time no see!”

That's right, the person Wei Changtian was looking for was Wei Yanyu.

Ever since the fall of Ji Province City, after Wei Yanyu had fled with the remaining assets of the Xu family, most people had assumed that she had run to Da Feng to seek refuge.

After all, judging from the previous situation, the Xu family seemed to have countless connections with Da Feng, so it was normal to have such a guess.

However, Wei Changtian was clear that she had not gone to Da Feng.

But he also didn't know where Wei Yanyu had taken the Xu family's "remnants" during this time.

In any case, after the news of Ning Yu Ke's intention to establish himself as king spread, they came to Shu Province and had been living in the city for over ten days now.

“...”

“Young Master Wei, long time no see.”

Meeting again after more than half a year, Wei Yanyu was quite calm at this time, seemingly not surprised that Wei Changtian had come to find her in the middle of the night.

“Haha, I've been busy with the enthronement ceremony these past few days and haven't had time to visit. I hope Madam will forgive me.”

Laughing twice, Wei Changtian sat down with Wei Yanyu on either side of the tea table, casually asking as if facing an old friend, “I wonder if Madam is accustomed to living in Shu Province City?”

“It's alright.”

Nodding, Wei Yanyu said softly, “I am grateful for Young Master's care.”

“Madam is too polite. I have said long ago that Shu Province is always the Xu family's fallback...”

Wei Changtian smiled, “So there's no question of taking care of you. It's all what I should do.”

“Alas...”

Sighing softly, Wei Yanyu once again said politely, “In any case, the entire Xu family will remember Young Master's kindness.”

“...”

Unlike Qingxian's straightforwardness, women like Wei Yanyu seemed to like talking nonsense for a long time before getting down to business.

Wei Changtian was not in a hurry either, so he accompanied her in chatting about this and that.

For example, "mourning" the Xu family soldiers who died on the Ji Province battlefield, "regretting" the unsuccessful rebellion, "lamenting" the current state of Da Ning, and so on.

And as these pleasantries were finished, today's topic was finally officially raised with Wei Yanyu's sentence, “Young Master Wei, do you have something important to discuss with me on this late-night visit?”

“Oh, it's like this.”

Actively refilling Wei Yanyu's cup of tea, Wei Changtian lowered his voice with a serious expression, “Madam Wei, to be honest.”

“Just two hours ago, I received news that Ning Yongnian has already sent General Han Zhao to Yuan Province to mobilize troops.”

“There are as many as 300,000 people, and they will arrive in Shu Province within a month at most.”

The hand holding the teacup wavered slightly, and a hint of surprise inevitably appeared on Wei Yanyu's face.

“Young Master Wei, does the current Shu army have the strength to fight?”

“Yes.”

Unexpectedly, Wei Changtian's answer was very firm, “Not only do they have the strength to fight, but I even have the confidence to make these 300,000 people come and never return.”

“Hmm?”

Wei Yanyu's surprise was even greater, but she quickly calmed down again and looked at Wei Changtian, asking faintly, “Young Master Wei, since that's the case, then what are you here for?”

“Madam should be clear.”

Wei Changtian looked back, playing with the rim of the teacup and laughing, “Naturally, it's because Madam has what I want.”

“...”

Smart people never need to be too explicit in their conversations.

Soon, Wei Yanyu stood up, nodded to the old butler who had been standing behind them, and then said softly to Wei Changtian:

“Young Master Wei, please come with me.”

An incense stick's time later.

A secret room hidden in the basement of the residence had been opened. Wei Changtian stood outside the door and glanced inside, but only saw large boxes.

He smacked his lips, muttering in his heart –

Speaking of which, this Xu family isn't doing so well.

This secret room isn't big. Although there are many boxes, even if they are all filled with gold, it's estimated to be only a few million taels of silver.

Of course, a few million taels is not a small amount.

But it's still a bit lacking for the Xu family, who used to be richer than a country.

Could it be that they spent too much in the previous battles?

Or did they not bring everything when they ran?

Alas, what a pity!

Although a little disappointed, Wei Changtian still prepared to accept everything on the principle of "something is better than nothing."

But he also understood that Wei Yanyu would definitely not give these silvers for nothing.

“Thank you, Madam, for your generous help.”

Withdrawing his gaze, Wei Changtian turned to look at Wei Yanyu beside him and directly opened the door to the mountain, “But I wonder what Madam wants in return?”

“Young Master Wei is too polite.”

Wei Yanyu also gave a straightforward answer this time, “Young Master Wei, the Xu family has now lost Ji Province, and these silvers are just lying around.”

“This concubine is willing to do everything in her power to help Young Master succeed, only seeking a chance to personally avenge her enemies.”

“Personally avenge your enemies?”

Wei Changtian narrowed his eyes, “Does Madam want to personally kill Ning Yongnian?”

“Yes.”

“But what if there is no such opportunity?”

“Then this concubine will accept her fate.”

“Is Madam not afraid that I will kill and steal your treasure?”

“If Young Master really intended to do so, he wouldn't have said so much.”

“Hahaha, that's true... But I wonder, besides these silvers, what else does Madam have to offer?”

“This concubine has said, I will do everything in my power.”

“...”

“Okay, it's a deal.”

Nodding, Wei Changtian didn't ask any more questions.

Although the amount of silver was much less than he had expected, Wei Yanyu's conditions were relatively simple.

Wei Changtian didn't have the obsession to personally kill Ning Yongnian, so he didn't care who the latter died at the hands of.

And Wei Yanyu wouldn't force it if there wasn't a good opportunity.

This was simply like giving away money!

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this wave was not a loss. Wei Changtian quickly walked into the secret room happily.

Large and small boxes were stacked on several rows of wooden shelves, most of which were not locked.

A room full of gold, that's good.

“Click!”

Casually twisting open the copper buckle of a wooden box next to him, preparing to take a look and then have Chu Xianping find someone to haul them all away.

However, when the objects placed in the box came into view, Wei Changtian was immediately stunned.

Not gold, not silver, not jewelry, but stacks of silver notes from various Da Ning banks!

“Gulp...”

Unconsciously swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Wei Changtian suddenly felt that his previous estimate of the value of this room of boxes should not be very accurate.

“Madam Wei, how much silver is there in total here?”

“Well... After several twists and turns, this concubine is not very clear about the specific amount at present.”

Wei Yanyu thought for a moment, and then gave an answer.

“But it's no less than the current Da Ning national treasury.”