DLERB -Chapter 45 Moved? Not daring to move—my entire fortune is truly gone!

Qinglong carefully tucked the paper bearing the single word “Help” into his chest.

He turned around to face the hundreds of Embroidered Uniform Guard members behind him, all of whom were already barely restraining themselves.

“The Prince has given the order.”

“These officials are weak-bodied. They’re too embarrassed to be ‘willingly willing.’”

“So…”

“We’ll help them.”

He slowly pulled out a strange small leather pouch from his chest.

Then he took out several inconspicuous cloth bundles wrapped in coarse linen.

He tilted his chin toward the Wei residence gate.

“Smash the door.”

“Let them feel the warmth of the Heavenly Craft Workshop.”

“BOOM!”

A deafening explosion.

The massive vermilion gate of the Wei residence—large enough for four horses to pass through side by side—was shattered by a huge battering ram and collapsed inward with a thunderous crash.

Wood splinters flew everywhere. Dust filled the air.

“Rebellion! This is rebellion!”

A fat figure, dressed in luxurious silk night robes and flushed red with rage, rushed out from the inner courtyard.

It was the Wei clan head.

Behind him followed dozens of vicious guards armed with swords.

“Qinglong! You have some nerve!”

The Wei clan head pointed straight at Qinglong’s nose, spitting as he shouted.

“A little brat whose hair hasn’t even grown out yet—his words dare be called an ‘order’?!”

“You dog, how dare you bark at my Wei residence?!”

The guards behind him stepped forward, shining blades almost touching the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ faces.

“Get out!”

“Otherwise, none of you will leave here standing today!”

Qinglong looked at him without any expression.

He simply raised his hand.

A cold gesture.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him did not draw their sabers.

Instead, they reached into cloth bags at their waists and pulled out fist-sized linen bundles.

With a flick of their arms, dozens of bundles soared through the night sky like locusts, crossing over the heads of the guards and landing in the courtyard.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The cloth bundles exploded either midair or upon landing.

A pale red, fine powder instantly spread like mist, filling the entire front courtyard.

The Wei clan head froze for a moment.

“What is this? Playing tricks!”

The guards beside him also looked confused.

The next moment—

“Ah… cough! Cough cough cough!”

The frontmost guard suddenly dropped his sword.

He clutched his throat with both hands and coughed violently, his face turning the color of liver.

Then came the second, the third.

As if struck by some vicious curse.

An indescribably sharp, overpowering irritant filled every nose and eyes.

“My eyes! Ah! My eyes!”

“Water! Water! It’s like fire is burning them!”

“Cough… help… help me…”

The previously aggressive guards collapsed instantly upon contact with the red dust.

They dropped their weapons and rolled frantically on the ground.

Some rubbed their eyes desperately, only to make the pain worse, letting out piercing screams.

Others were streaming tears and mucus, collapsing to their knees like dying dogs.

The entire courtyard instantly turned into a living hell.

Even the Wei clan head was enveloped by the powder. He felt as though hundreds of red-hot needles had been driven into his eyes.

His nose, throat, and lungs were all burning with unbearable pain.

His fat body crashed heavily to the ground. Tears and mucus smeared his face—there was no trace left of a clan head’s dignity.

“Demon… witchcraft! What… what sorcery are you using?!”

He rolled on the ground while screaming curses in a hoarse voice.

Qinglong stepped forward.

He walked over the scattered blades and the twisted, wailing bodies.

Finally, he stopped in front of the Wei clan head.

Looking down at the fat, writhing figure on the ground, Qinglong remained expressionless.

Through his tear-blurred vision, the Wei clan head vaguely saw a figure standing before him.

“Devils… you are devils…”

Qinglong did not respond.

He took out that strange-shaped leather pouch again.

Aimed it at the Wei clan head’s tear-and-snot-covered face.

And gently squeezed.

“Ssssh—”

A thin stream of pale red liquid shot precisely into the man’s eyes.

A moment of dead silence.

The next instant—

“AAAAHHHHHH!!!”

A scream so shrill it no longer sounded human erupted, tearing through the night sky of Xianyang as if it would split it apart.

The Wei clan head felt as if he had not been sprayed with water—but as if a spoonful of molten iron had been poured directly into his eyeballs.

That pain had already gone beyond words.

“I’ll donate! I’ll donate! I’ll give everything!!!”

He completely broke down, smashing his forehead violently against the cold stone floor with all his strength.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Stop spraying! Please! Spare me! I’ll give you the keys to my treasury! Everything!”

“I’m willing! I’m voluntarily donating to the state! AHHH—!”

The same scenes unfolded simultaneously in dozens of noble estates across Xianyang.

Some tightly shut their gates, only for the Embroidered Uniform Guards to break in through windows and toss “warm little bundles” into bedrooms.

Others tried to climb over walls, only to be “politely persuaded” back down by guards waiting outside.

That night, the proudest heads in Xianyang were all forced to bow.

Cries, screams, and repeated heartfelt declarations of “I am willing” formed a bizarre symphony.

……

Outside the Wei residence, in a secluded alley.

Li Si tightened his robe around himself, but his body still trembled uncontrollably.

He listened to the heart-rending screams coming from the courtyard not far away.

He watched as teams of Embroidered Uniform Guards expressionlessly carried out box after box, pushing carts filled with gold, silver, and silk out of the side gate.

He even saw the Zhao clan head, who only hours ago had been arguing fiercely with him in court, now being dragged out like a dead dog.

His face was swollen like a pig’s head, his eyes frighteningly red, his whole body twitching as he pressed his trembling handprint onto a bamboo slip labeled “Voluntary Patriotic Contribution.”

Li Si felt a chill surge from his tailbone straight to his skull.

It felt as if he had pierced through the palace walls and seen that small figure sitting in the study, calmly sipping lotus seed soup, smiling innocently.

In less than an hour.

The national treasury.

When Li Si saw the mountains of gold, silver, and jewels—wealth so vast it would take officials three days and nights just to tally—he had already gone numb.

This was no longer fundraising.

This was a miracle.

It was military funding for the “Divine Strategist Army,” conjured out of thin air by the prince in a way beyond mortal comprehension.

Inside Li Si’s heart, that burning fanatic flame ignited once again.

He felt unmatched honor and terror at the thought of serving such a being.

At that moment—

“Report—!”

A Black Ice Platform spy rushed in, visibly panicked, completely forgetting to salute.

His voice cracked from extreme fear:

“Chancellor! Lord Qinglong!”

“We… we intercepted a secret letter sent by Zhao Gao from the Eastern Inspection convoy!”