RWNEFE -Chapter 100 All the Disaster Relief Silver Has Turned to Stones!

Shen Yuanjing’s eyes flashed with disappointment, but he said calmly and confidently, “I’ve heard that half of the year in Dongchuan is covered in ice and snow. Big Brother spent all the money he had on buying this ship. If we don’t earn some money now, how will we survive when we reach Dongchuan? I still owe ten taels of silver. I’d have to kill ten pirates just to pay off the debt. I’m young and have only trained in martial arts for a few days. Even if I survive, do you think I can kill a single pirate? By the time it’s over, I might not even be able to repay the debt!” He certainly couldn’t give money to the family. Even if he somehow had some leftover, he wouldn’t hand it over!

The Shen family had all forgotten about the huge debt of ten taels that Shen Yuanjing carried. Earlier, they had hoped he could earn money for the family, and now, that hope had turned into annoyance.

Old Madam Shen looked at her three sons and their grandchildren behind them and closed her eyes for a moment. “What do you think?”

Shen Conglian pursed his lips. “Mother, maybe we should forget it. The ship’s cabin isn’t bad!”

“Yes, Mother. Right now, the most important thing for the Shen family is the safety of our children. Everything else is secondary. Once we reach the shore, we can sell this ship and have money, right?”

“We don’t know how to handle the water, and we’re still seasick. How can we fight pirates?”

Old Madam Shen’s frown eased slightly.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help—it was that they couldn’t manage on the water and were seasick. Seasickness was miserable enough, and the cabins still smelled of vomit.

“You have a point. If you go and can’t help, you might even become a burden!” Old Madam Shen pondered.

Shen Yuanjing’s expression darkened, and he silently led his younger brothers toward the registration area.

The line was long, and when Shen Yuanjing arrived, someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Yuantang, Yuanxin, Yuanqing, Yuanzhao, why are you here?” Shen Yuanjing exclaimed, surprised.

Shen Yuantang snorted proudly. “Why is it only allowed for you to come, but not us? We’re also Shen family descendants!”

“Yes! We want to kill pirates and earn silver too!”

“It’s a pity Yuanqing wanted to come too, but Father stopped him,” Shen Yuanzhao said, disappointed.

Shen Yuanjing was surprised. “Father knew you came?”

Shen Yuanqing nodded, a bit disappointed. “Yes. Father wanted to come too, but Grandmother kept an eye on him.”

All of them showed resigned expressions and signed up one by one.

Just as they were about to leave, four more people arrived.

“You’re signing up—why didn’t you call us?”

It was Shen Yuanxu and Shen Yuankun from the second branch, and Shen Yuanpeng and Shen Yuanhao from the third.

Shen Yuanjing smiled awkwardly. “We didn’t call you because we thought Uncle wouldn’t allow it.”

Shen Yuanxu rolled his eyes. “So you can secretly come, but we can’t? That’s not fair!”

Shen Yuanjing laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Last time we fought mountain bandits together, it was exhilarating. This time, we’ll do it again!”

Shen Yuanxu smiled, raising his chin. “That’s better!”

Shen Yuanjing put his arm around his shoulder, and the group chatted as they walked toward the second floor for martial arts practice.

Time was short—they had to practice diligently!

A sharp cry of an eagle announced that Xiaoxue had returned with intelligence.

After reading the note, Shen Lanxi sent someone to fetch Liu Yanhui and Wei Dongzhu.

“The Liu family has sent naval forces to pursue us. Tell the sailors there will be no rest tonight—full speed ahead!”

Liu Yanhui quickly went to inform the ship captain after seeing the report.

“Tomorrow afternoon, take Liu Yanhui in a small boat to Tongluo Island!”

Wei Dongzhu: “Yes!”

Besides the news of the Liu family’s deployment, there was also information that Zhou Xiwu had colluded with pirates.

She needed to think carefully about how to use this information.

Jinmen

Zhou Ruyuan had rested for two days, planning to depart early the next morning. Suddenly, he received an urgent report from a subordinate and had to leave in a rush.

“Carry all the boxes onto the ship, be careful!”

For safety, all the disaster relief silver Zhou Ruyuan brought was stored on the dock, guarded heavily.

Because of the rush, the soldiers carrying the boxes stumbled on the deck. One box slipped from a soldier’s hands and fell to the ground with a crash.

From the open box, a handful of stones spilled out.

Zhou Ruyuan stared, frowning, and walked over. He intended to scold the soldiers—but what he saw shocked him.

How could stones fall out of a box containing disaster relief silver?

“Open the box!” Zhou Ruyuan had a bad feeling. Impatient with the guards, he opened the box himself.

Seeing the contents clearly, Zhou Ruyuan’s face turned pale, his expression horrified, as if he had seen a ghost.

“Stones… how can it be stones?”

Was it just this one box? What about the others?

Thinking of the stolen army rations for the Wei family troops, his heart began racing.

“Quick! Open all the boxes!”

The soldiers stopped and hurriedly opened all the boxes.

Stones. Every single box contained stones!

Zhou Ruyuan felt chills run through his body; his vision blurred.

The soldiers were equally terrified.

“Second Prince, we swear, we guarded the warehouse without leaving it even an inch. We ate, drank, and slept there. Daytime dock labor can attest, nighttime unloading labor can attest. No one has been near it, not even a mouse!” The captain knelt and explained in panic.

Zhou Ruyuan’s face turned deathly pale. This was disaster relief silver. He had received reports of refugee uprisings in the north; he was rushing to deliver aid.

Now, the silver had all turned to stones. How could he provide relief? By offering the soldiers themselves?

“Second Prince, I can also testify. Ever since the relief silver was moved to the warehouse, the guards never left, and outsiders couldn’t approach within a hundred meters,” a strategist hurriedly vouched for the guards—protecting the guards, but also protecting himself.

Zhou Ruyuan snapped back to reality and roared furiously: “Then how do you explain this? All the silver in the boxes has turned to stones!”

The strategist, seeing the stones, immediately recalled the case of the stolen Wei family army rations.

“Your Highness, I dare speculate: either the disaster relief silver was tampered with before being handed over to us, or something happened during the transfer. Once we left the capital and were on the ship, there was no chance to swap it!”

These words hit Zhou Ruyuan like a bucket of cold water, shocking him fully awake.

Could it be that the Wei family’s army rations were stones all along?

Impossible—absolutely impossible! How could the Great Zhou Treasury be so poor as to swap silver with stones?

But… what if it really was?

Zhou Ruyuan’s heart raced at the thought.

“Second Prince, I believe now is not the time to investigate who swapped the silver. The urgent matter is to quickly gather disaster relief funds.”