Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 125: Chapter 121: The New Home, The Peculiar Cellar

The main courtyard had already been tidied up, and Yang Zhenshan first went to look at the bedroom.

“Tsk, tsk, is this made of Huali wood?”

He patted the wide bed frame, speaking with a hint of rarity.

Unlike the back courtyard of the Yinghe Castle government office, all the bedrooms here did not use the heated brick bed but rather bedsteads. Of course, that doesn’t mean there were no heating facilities in the bedrooms. Without the heated brick bed, one could still use heated walls.

However, heated walls generally required the construction with blue bricks and the walls would be very thick. Not to speak of ordinary folks, even general gentry landlords couldn’t afford such luxury.

“Sir, these are all made of Huali wood, this Arhat bed is made from Chi Wing wood, and this desk is made of boxwood, sir, these are all high-quality woods!”

Wu Hai looked as if he had picked up a great bargain.

Actually, his expression was not without reason, as Yang Zhenshan had indeed picked up a real bargain this time.

Just the furniture in this room alone, the Yang family couldn’t afford even if they spent all their savings.

Yang Zhenshan’s mouth curled up slightly, “Find an opportunity to sell all of these for me, and replace them with something cheap and durable!”

What a joke!

Does he really fit with such luxurious furniture in this room?

If others saw him using such high-quality furniture, they would definitely think he’s a corrupt official.

Moreover, he wasn’t the type who pursued luxury; he couldn’t tell the difference between a bed made of Huali wood and a regular poplar wood bed.

Would he not be able to sleep if it were a regular poplar wood bed?

In fact, he preferred sleeping on a heated brick bed, which was much more comfortable.

“Forget it, just replace them with heated brick beds. It’s so cold in winter, it’s more comfortable to sleep on a heated brick bed!”

“Sir, are you sure this is a good idea? If we sell these furnishings, I’m afraid there might be some criticism,” Wu Hai whispered.

A garrison officer selling the furniture from the back courtyard of the government office would definitely attract ridicule.

Of course, it would be just ridicule.

As for someone accusing him of embezzling government property, that wouldn’t happen.

Because these beds surely weren’t from the government office.

Even if bought with the government’s money, they wouldn’t be registered in the official inventory of the government office, you definitely won’t find such items there.

“Can’t you sell them secretly?”

“Sell them piece by piece, take one out every so often, sell the larger pieces in the city, smaller items can be taken to other places to sell.”

Yang Zhenshan wasn’t afraid of losing face; these many pieces of furniture could be worth a lot of silver, what’s a bit of shame compared to silver.

“Uh, I understand, sir!” What else could Wu Hai say? What the master commands, that’s what he would do.

Yang Zhenshan was secretly pleased; Cao Han was indeed a good man, even after being beheaded, he left him so much inheritance.

Such good people, he truly wished to encounter a few more.

Just as Yang Zhenshan was delighting in his fortune, Song Dashan walked in.

“Sir, we have found a cellar.”

“A cellar! Is there anything abnormal about it?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

It was quite normal for wealthy families to have cellars to store some items, and some powerful clans even had several cellars for storing ice.

“Sir, you should come and see for yourself, I don’t know how to describe it,” Song Dashan said innocently.

He really didn’t know how to describe that cellar.

What else could Yang Zhenshan say? He could only go and see for himself.

Soon, Song Dashan led him to the artificial hill in the garden.

Looking around, Yang Zhenshan noticed that the entrance to the cellar was hidden within the artificial hill. To enter, one would need to move an artificial hill block taller than a person.

“How did you discover it?”

Yang Zhenshan looked at the artificial hill next to the entrance.

If the hill was moved back in place, it should not seem out of the ordinary from the outside.

“Just now I noticed some drag marks on the ground,” a twenty-something soldier stepped forward and said.

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly, then entered the doorway.

Descending the stone staircase inside the doorway, under the faint light, Yang Zhenshan could not even see the bottom.

This deep?

Yang Zhenshan wondered as he walked down.

Why dig such a deep cellar?

When he reached the bottom, he was completely stunned.

At that moment, numerous torches were lit in the cellar, and seven or eight soldiers were conducting a search.

“So big!”

Yang Zhenshan opened his mouth wide, his face incredulous.

This wasn’t a cellar; it was clearly an underground parking lot.

Yang Zhenshan estimated that the space under both gardens and the pond had been hollowed out.

Even the pond had been emptied!

Yang Zhenshan walked to the middle and noticed there was no seepage of water.

Damn it, the pond was at least over three hundred square meters, yet there wasn’t a single sign of water seeping through.

The waterproofing was really well done.

This wasn’t a cellar; it was clearly an underground parking lot.

But clearly, it was not intended for parking.

Who built it?

Cao Han?

Or the previous garrison officer?

Or had it been there from the beginning?

Yang Zhenshan’s mind was full of questions.

“Is there anything else special?”

“Sir, this way!” Song Dashan stepped forward, leading Yang Zhenshan to the wall.

The walls here were all built with blue bricks, and so were the pillars in the cellar.

To construct such an underground space, the amount of Silver Coin spent must have been substantial.

Looking at the tunnel on the wall, Yang Zhenshan involuntarily furrowed his brows.

“Where does this tunnel lead?”

“I don’t know, it collapsed about three hundred meters in, at a spot under a civilian house to the north, but no one lives there,” Song Dashan said.

Yang Zhenshan looked down towards the depths of the tunnel, his frown deepening.

“Anything else?”

“That’s all.”

Yang Zhenshan nodded slightly and then walked around the entire underground space along the wall, knocking and tapping on the walls. After confirming there were no hidden chambers, he then walked out.

“Keep searching!” Yang Zhenshan instructed.

Such a large cellar could not have been built in a short amount of time, and the amount of human and material resources spent must have been substantial as well.

That passage must be crucial, but it has already collapsed and cannot be dug out quickly.

Moreover, it was not advisable for him to make any big movements at this time.

Song Dashan continued to lead his men in searching.

This time they were digging up every inch of ground, but they didn’t find any other special areas.

As the daylight faded, since they had just arrived today and their preparations were incomplete, the dinner was made quite simple.

The members of the Yang family were quite satisfied with their new home.

“Dad, we didn’t bring much food, we need to buy some!”

After finishing dinner, Ms. Wang said to Yang Zhenshan.

“Buy whatever you need, do we still have enough Silver?” Yang Zhenshan, preoccupied with thoughts of the cellar, casually replied.

“We still have enough, the head of the household gave me one hundred taels this month, and we haven’t spent much yet.”

Ms. Wang said cheerily.

Yang Zhenshan looked at the people of the Yang family and said, “Recently, try not to go out much. If anything comes up, you can have Wu Hai handle it!”

From the moment he received his transfer orders, he felt something was amiss.

Now that he had arrived in An Yuan State City, his feeling of unease had grown.

The attitudes of the officials he had encountered earlier, the underground space he had just inspected—everything pointed to problems here.

Without a firm grasp of the situation, it was better to be as careful as possible.

Everyone dispersed, and Yang Zhenshan sat at the desk in the study, lost in thought.

Tap tap tap~

The door was knocked.

“Come in!”

“Dad!”

It was Yang Mingcheng and Ding Qiu.

He and Ding Qiu had arrived in the state city earlier, and by counting the days, they should have been here for more than ten days.

In fact, before entering the state city, Yang Zhenshan had already sent people to find them, instructing them not to come over during the day but to wait until night.

“Did anyone see you?” Yang Zhenshan asked.

“No, but there are people watching this place!” Ding Qiu said.

Yang Zhenshan’s eyes slightly narrowed, “Tell me more in detail.”

“When we came here, we noticed someone always watching this place. I checked around and found that at least a dozen people, all Martial Artists, are watching both the front and the back of the house,” Ding Qiu reported.

Yang Zhenshan took a deep breath.

Trouble!

This was a big trap.

But he had already jumped into it!

“What have you found these days?”

Yang Mingcheng took out a booklet and said, “Dad, this is the information you asked us to investigate!”

Yang Zhenshan took the booklet and began to read.

The booklet recorded information about the officials in the government offices of the state city and some information on the prominent households.

The main officials in the city could be divided into three parts: the officials under the garrison office, the Prefectural Government, and the Military Equipment Department.

Over the course of ten days, Yang Mingcheng and his team couldn’t find any hidden information, only some obvious details.

The main information included the officials’ ages, backgrounds, family origins, characters, and family situations.

From this information alone, Yang Zhenshan didn’t find anything unusual.

“Any other findings?”

Yang Mingcheng shook his head and said, “No.”

Yang Zhenshan put down the booklet, stroked his beard, and fell into thought for a while before saying, “Don’t come back for now, stay hidden outside, and don’t reveal your connection with the family!”

“First, check on the thousand commander, Xu Wanfu, and the land steward, Tian Gui!”

“Also, check on the magistrate clerk, Zhou Ren!”

No matter what was hidden in An Yuan State City, he had to first gain control of the garrison office. Only by holding military power would he have the confidence to face any situation.

Otherwise, he would just be a figurehead commander, constrained in every action he took.

“Okay, Dad, I understand!”

Yang Zhenshan looked at Yang Mingcheng worriedly, “Be careful!”

“If you run into trouble, listen to Ding Qiu’s advice.”

Yang Mingcheng was too honest and not suited for this kind of sneaky business.

Fortunately, with Ding Qiu’s rich experience and deep thoughts, he should be able to help Yang Mingcheng without issues.

As for whether Ding Qiu might betray him, Yang Zhenshan had no such worries.

His time here had given him a good understanding of Ding Qiu’s character. Even though Ding Qiu was somewhat calculating, he had no intention of betrayal.

This was related to Ding Qiu’s background and upbringing; he had always been a servant of the Zhang family, accustomed to servitude, and even though he had acquired cultivation later in life, he never thought to betray his master.

Moreover, he had a wife and children.