TGCFNM -Chapter 573 Extra 5 A Supplement Requested by Readers

On the wide official road, seven or eight fully loaded carriages pressed down on the surface, slowly moving forward.

Leading the group were Qinglong and Mei Gao. By the emperor’s and empress’s orders, they were taking these gifts to Sishui County to celebrate Lord Chu’s birthday.

To be honest, they weren’t very eager to go.

The main reason? They were afraid Lord Chu would ask for money.

Previously, being far away, Lord Chu couldn’t demand repayment, so the matter gradually faded and no one brought it up.

But this time, going to Sishui County, they were certain Lord Chu would seize the chance to demand payment. The thought of all their hard-earned money vanishing in the blink of an eye made them utterly dejected.

Qinglong muttered softly, “…After subtracting, it should be twenty-one thousand taels. Killing the First Qinglong costs eight thousand taels, so that leaves thirteen thousand to repay… When they secretly transported the corpses from the palace for burial, I cleverly went along, maybe I can play the emotional card and knock off three thousand taels, so in the end, I only need to repay ten thousand!”

His eyes lit up—he only had to repay ten thousand taels!

Next to him, Mei Gao looked astonished: “You owe that much? I only owe eight thousand taels.”

Qinglong twisted his head toward him in pain. “I met them earlier.”

Mei Gao thought that made sense, then patted him reassuringly on the shoulder: “Don’t worry. I have a plan to save us.”

Qinglong looked at Mei Gao, excited.

Mei Gao exhaled deeply. He had already thought it through—this time, they were sure to get through safely.

Upon arriving at the Sishui County government office,

Lord Chu looked at the utterly exhausted Qinglong and Mei Gao, puzzled, and asked, “Did you get lost? Take a longer route?”

Mei Gao, too tired to even drink tea, pitifully said, “The emperor and empress prepared extremely valuable gifts, so we didn’t dare relax for even a moment. Only after arriving here in Sishui County do we finally feel alive again.”

Qinglong nodded vigorously beside him: “The emperor and empress truly care for Lord Chu. Everything was the finest, but we didn’t dare relax for a moment, not even to sleep.”

Lord Chu looked at the two warily and said nothing.

So Mei Gao pressed on: “Actually, coming to Sishui County this time was our own voluntary request, because we wanted to personally return the money to Lord Chu!”

Lord Chu smiled in satisfaction, quietly anticipating.

Mei Gao then put on a weak expression, forcing a single tear: “The hardship along this journey was nothing, all for Lord Chu.”

Qinglong rubbed his eyes until they were red, then spoke: “Lord Chu, this journey has been truly, truly exhausting.”

Lord Chu’s expression grew serious as he extended his hand: “The Wan family opened a new river channel. Traveling by boat here wasn’t hard. Qinglong, you owe me twenty-one thousand taels. Mei Gao, you owe eight thousand. Repay.”

Qinglong cleared his throat, ready to start calculating, but Lord Chu started first.

“On that day, you demanded eight thousand taels to kill the First Qinglong, and I agreed. But in the end, you couldn’t defeat him and nearly died. It was only after I killed the Empress Dowager that you survived. I won’t count the eight thousand taels for saving your life; it wasn’t easy for you, so just repay the twenty-one thousand taels.” Lord Chu looked at Qinglong sternly.

“As for Lord Mei, you should have eight thousand taels, right? Didn’t you get promoted to Commander of the Imperial Guards?” Lord Chu looked at Mei Gao.

Mei Gao asked blankly, “Lord, don’t you plan to accept less? I was on your boat.”

“Favor is favor, money is money. They can’t be mixed.” Lord Chu said seriously, reaching out again.

Mei Gao shakily produced his savings… though as a commander, he didn’t have much, but he had been rewarded by the emperor for this recent merit. Before he could even enjoy it, Lord Chu demanded it.

Lord Chu happily received the silver, then looked at Qinglong, who was dumbfounded: “What about yours?”

Qinglong, wronged, handed over his private stash, trembling: “That’s twenty-one thousand taels…”

Lord Chu took it, counted carefully, and was pleased. “Stay for dinner tonight. Meals are free.”

With that, she left.

Qinglong and Mei Gao exchanged glances and silently said, “Lord doesn’t budge at all.”

Mei Gao exhaled: “There’s only one explanation—Lord loves money above all else.”

Qinglong nodded knowingly: “I see now…”

So all the plans they had along the way were useless! They didn’t pay less, and Lord Chu barely ate while putting on an act of suffering.

“I’ll make sure I eat my fill tonight.” Qinglong said resolutely, leaving Mei Gao stunned.

But Mei Gao reconsidered and thought Qinglong was right: “Indeed. We need to eat our fill and rest a few more days before leaving.”

Qinglong nodded. The two exchanged a look, their determination only growing stronger.