After Transmigration: Building a Kingdom in Turbulent Times-Chapter 609 - 603: Bracelet

Zhao Erlang pried the bed board open and couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw the neatly arranged items inside. His trusted aide immediately leaned in to take a look as well.

Under the bed board, there were many neatly arranged jewels, the most striking of which was a large silver bottle. Everyone was staring intently at the bottle without moving.

However, Zhao Erlang had no interest in that; he preferred things that sparkled and shone.

He opened a box and saw it was full of gemstones. He couldn’t help but grab a handful and stuff them into his pocket, and as he rummaged around, he saw a pure white bracelet underneath.

Zhao Erlang paused for a moment and took out the long bracelet. His aide’s gaze was involuntarily drawn from the silver bottle to the bracelet. They couldn’t quite describe their feelings at the moment, just that it looked beautiful, extraordinarily beautiful.

"General, is this jade? I’ve never seen jade this white."

Zhao Erlang hadn’t seen it either. He touched it again and again and finally said, "It’s not jade, but it’s like jade."

Instinct told Zhao Erlang that this thing was very expensive. Moreover, such a white, beautiful bracelet should be given to his sister and brother-in-law.

Zhao Erlang looped the bracelet and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked down to rummage through the stash, hoping to find another one.

But after going through all the items under the bed board, he didn’t see another one. He frowned slightly, "Why is there only one?"

"General, my mother once said that the best things in the world are unique."

Hearing this, Zhao Erlang hid the bracelet even deeper. He decided not to turn it in.

The trusted aides following Zhao Erlang also quietly took some easily concealed items and stuffed them into their pockets, while the rest were bagged up to be taken to the front.

The two armies gathered to start dividing the spoils... ahem, war booty.

Of course, it was impossible to account for every single item in detail, so they made a rough estimate and then added some of their own findings into the mix.

In the end, Zhao Erlang and his men also took some items from the Xiliang Army, but it wasn’t over yet—both sides searched each other, and even the soldiers’ private stash was discovered.

Of course, they didn’t search too thoroughly. If someone managed to hide things in their crotch, they wouldn’t search there.

Zuo Du glanced at Zhao Erlang’s chest, clearly stashing something and quite a lot of it, but he didn’t dare to search him, so he looked at Beigong Chun.

Beigong Chun gave him an displeased glance and shook his head slightly, so Zuo Du had to give up.

In Beigong Chun’s eyes, Zhao Erlang was still a kid, unworthy of being counted against him, especially since they had already taken advantage of him.

Wasn’t it true that Zhao Hanzhang knew they were coming to Hai’er Ridge to eliminate bandits today?

But she remained silent, quietly permitting it, and all because of whom?

None other than Zhao Erlang?

So, Beigong Chun decided not to interfere.

Zhao Erlang managed to keep a stash full of items and, on his way down the mountain, he gleefully held onto his chest, afraid of dropping anything.

Once at the foot of the mountain, he took out a box of jewelry, leaving the rest for Lv Hu and the soldiers to bring back to Xin’an.

The soldiers were excited and asked, "General, are these all ours now?"

"Aren’t we turning them over to the lady?"

It was known that Zhao Erlang was quite enthusiastic about turning over war spoils captured from bandits to the public treasury. Of course, Zhao Hanzhang would always allocate some items back to them.

Zhao Erlang slightly raised his chin and said, "My sister said that with the summer harvest coming soon, after that, each of our armies will need to bear some of our own grain and provisions. So unless we’re fighting as a coalition, any spoils from elsewhere can be kept for ourselves."

As he said this, Zhao Erlang proudly continued, "But we still need to contribute something to the public treasury, so this box will go to my sister."

The soldiers were pleased and praised the general’s wisdom one after another.

Zhao Erlang, in high spirits, told Lv Hu, "Keep an eye on them as they take the stuff back to camp. All these items need to be recorded and handed over to Mr. Xie."

"Handed over to Mr. Xie?"

"Yes," Zhao Erlang said confidently, "He’s my strategist and also my teacher. Who else do I turn them over to?"

He added, "My sister’s money is all handled by Mr. Ji and my brother-in-law."

He was imitating Zhao Hanzhang.

Lv Hu agreed, and then had someone seal the boxes. Items that couldn’t fit inside a box, like bedding and screens, were piled together with people assigned to guard them.

Zhao Erlang had an impulse to return to Luoyang immediately, but Beigong Chun stopped him, saying, "It’s already dark, and by the time we reach Luoyang City, it will be late at night. The gatekeepers might not open the gates, so it’s better to rest here for the night and head back first thing in the morning."

Zhao Erlang touched his chest, looked once more at the darkness around him where the road ahead was barely visible, and reluctantly agreed.

Early the next morning, just as the sun’s first rays lit up the earth, he immediately signaled to Lv Hu and prepared to leave with everyone and their items.

Seeing Zhao Erlang’s eagerness, Beigong Chun couldn’t help but shake his head. This kid was too eager. They hadn’t even discussed what to do with the captives yet.

Beigong Chun would definitely not admit that he intentionally didn’t mention it last night.

Rushing back to Luoyang on horseback, Zhao Erlang was about to gallop into the city when he thought of something and reined in his horse to ask the gatekeeper, "Did my sister and brother-in-law leave the city today?"

The soldier, momentarily stunned, quickly replied, "To report to the Little General, the Magistrate and the Young Master left the city this morning. They seemed to be heading towards the water mill by the Luoshui River."

Zhao Erlang then turned his horse around and called to his companions behind him, "Let’s go."

Zhao Erlang rode to the water mill, where workers were already starting their shifts, pounding away diligently.

The people at the mill saw him and pointed him in the right direction, and Zhao Erlang easily found them in a room.

Fu Tinghan was adjusting the newly delivered stone mill, intending to link several mills together to turn simultaneously with one effort.

Zhao Hanzhang was watching and lending a hand. Something went wrong, and the mill turned unevenly, causing the other mill to come to a halt. If Zhao Hanzhang hadn’t quickly loosened the chain, the wooden rod would have snapped.

Zhao Erlang rushed in, shouting, "Sister!"

Zhao Hanzhang, supporting the millstone, raised her eyes to glance at Zhao Erlang. When Fu Tinghan untangled the wooden rod, she finally let go of the millstone she was holding. She shook her hand and chided, "Shouting like that—if I had flinched, your brother-in-law’s hand would be gone."

Fu Tinghan glanced at her. Despite the commotion, her hands hadn’t flinched at all, clearly not scared.

Zhao Erlang, however, was startled by Zhao Hanzhang and hurried to check on Fu Tinghan, "Brother-in-law, are you alright?"

"I’m fine," Fu Tinghan replied. Seeing Zhao Erlang dusty and with slightly blackened eyes, he asked, "Was the bandit extermination smooth? Any injuries?"

"Very smooth, no injuries," Zhao Erlang grinned happily and said, "Sister, Brother-in-law, I brought you treasures."

He took the bracelet from his pocket and spread it out for Zhao Hanzhang to see, "Look, sister."

Astonishment flickered in Zhao Hanzhang’s eyes as she looked at the pure white bracelet in amazement. This white was even whiter than jade.

Fu Tinghan reached out to touch it and exclaimed, "Is this giant clam?"