I Became a Sugar Mama to an Ancient General during a Famine! - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: According to History, How Did Zhan Chengyin Die?

The knocking at the door was so annoying that Ye Mumu immediately called the property manager.

“How did you let them in?” she demanded.

The property manager sounded equally troubled. “Miss Ye, that old lady is causing quite a scene. Last time when you scared her with your car, she lay on the ground motionless and refused to leave.”

“She blocked other residents’ cars at the entrance. We had no choice but to call an ambulance, but she wouldn’t get on.”

“She was out there crying and shouting that your father was unfilial, claiming you ran away after hitting your grandmother with your car.”

“We checked the surveillance footage. It clearly shows she hit your car with her cane first. You didn’t even touch her; she fell on her own, obviously trying to scam you.”

“Some residents got angry and called the police. The police took her away.”

The property management thought the issue was resolved, but two days later, the old woman returned with reporters.

Ye Mumu sighed. “Give the surveillance video to the reporters. I’m tired of her antics and don’t want to deal with this directly.”

She knew her grandmother was after money, houses, assets – anything she could get her hands on to transfer to her precious grandson.

The property manager hesitated. “This doesn’t seem right. After all, she is your family.”

Ye Mumu transferred a 5,000 yuan red envelope to the property manager via WeChat. “Please handle this for me. Treat the security guards to a good meal afterward. Make sure the reporters don’t say anything inappropriate.”

“The residents here are all influential people. If the reporters publish something, it won’t just be me they’re offending.”

The property manager readily accepted the red envelope. “Alright, Miss Ye. We’ll take care of this. We’ll send the reporters and the old lady away immediately.”

Ten minutes later, the knocking finally stopped. Ye Mumu could hear her grandmother’s hysterical curses fading away as she was escorted out.

“Let go of me! I’m not leaving!”

“You ungrateful girl, come out!”

“Don’t think hiding inside means I can’t touch you!”

“You got my precious grandson locked up and stole my son’s property. I won’t let you get away with this!”

As the shouting faded into the distance, Ye Mumu breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, some peace and quiet.

She walked into her parents’ room, heading for the safe that contained her father’s financial records – IOUs for money he had lent out over the years, along with video recordings of the transactions.

Opening the safe with the memorized password, Ye Mumu began sorting through the documents. As she tallied up the loans, her eyes widened in shock. The total amount her father had lent to her uncles and aunt over the years came to a staggering 60 million yuan.

Her eldest uncle’s family alone had borrowed 26 million – buying a luxurious apartment, renovating it expensively, purchasing a high-end car, and even funding her cousin Ye Xin’s lavish wedding and new home.

Her younger uncle and aunt were no better, having borrowed 18 million and 15 million respectively, citing reasons like buying houses, cars, and paying for their children’s education at prestigious schools.

Ye Mumu’s blood boiled as she realized the extent of their greed. They had taken advantage of her father’s generosity, and now that he was gone, they were fighting over the inheritance and even trying to marry her off to seize her property.

She decided it was time to put an end to their exploitation. Picking up her phone, she dialed the number of her father’s long-time lawyer.

“Miss Ye?” Lawyer Xu sounded surprised by her late-night call.

“Lawyer Xu, I’m entrusting you with an important matter. My father lent out significant sums of money before he passed away. I want to recover these debts.”

“Do you have loan agreements and evidence?”

“Yes, I have the IOUs and video recordings of the transactions.”

“Excellent. Do you want the law firm to handle the recovery process, or should we file lawsuits directly?”

Ye Mumu considered for a moment. “Let’s file lawsuits. I doubt they’ll repay willingly.”

She photographed the IOUs and copied the videos, sending everything to Lawyer Xu. She authorized the law firm to handle the entire process.

When Lawyer Xu saw the 60 million yuan in loans, he was taken aback. “Miss Ye, this is a substantial amount. We’ll do our utmost to recover these funds for you.”

After dealing with the legal matters, Ye Mumu turned her attention to her family’s valuables. She carefully sorted through a large box and three smaller boxes of jewelry.

Using dust bags and soft cloths, she meticulously cleaned each piece before sealing them in protective bags and placing them in leather suitcases. The jewelry filled two large suitcases, which she stored in the basement safe.

However, one item caught her eye – a colorful, phoenix-decorated enamel plate. She decided to keep this piece out, taking a photo to send to Old Mu.

At 10:30 PM, thinking Old Mu might be asleep, she was surprised when he immediately initiated a video call.

Old Mu’s face appeared on the screen, his expression one of unbridled excitement. “A Great Qi dynasty phoenix enamel plate! The tail wraps the outside, the crown circles the inside… It’s decorated with platinum and silver paint, and the back bears the Great Qi royal bestowal inscription!”

His voice filled with awe, he continued, “The aesthetics and porcelain craftsmanship of the Great Qi country were centuries ahead of their time. To think they already had colored glaze back then!”

“Miss Ye, how much do you want for this plate? I’m interested.”

The two wine goblets he previously acquired from her were bought by Deputy Director Zhang for exhibition at the museum. That bamboo slip had been collected by the National Literature Museum.

The remaining three coins were borrowed by some old men who claimed they wanted to study Great Qi’s coin history.

He spent a lot but ended up without any Great Qi antiques in hand.

Old Mu, fearing she might refuse, quickly added, “Where are you now? I can come to you immediately.”

Ye Mumu declined politely. “That’s not necessary, Old Mu. Actually, I wanted to ask you something about history. Do you recall when the unofficial histories recorded Zhan Chengyin’s exact time of death? What caused his death?”

Old Mu’s demeanor shifted, becoming more solemn at the historical question.

After pondering for a moment he said, “There are no exact records of his death year in unofficial histories; it states he died at twenty-one years old.”

Ye Mumu’s eyes widened in shock. If the unofficial histories were accurate, that would mean Zhan Chengyin was destined to die this very year.

“How did he die?” she pressed, her voice tight with concern. “Was it starvation or at the hands of the barbarians?”

Old Mu’s voice grew grave as he recounted the tale. “According to the records, when the barbarians laid siege to the city, Zhan family’s army fought valiantly to defend the gates until twenty thousand men died down to just a few thousand left.”

“In the final assault, the barbarians allied with the Yong and Chu Kingdoms to breach the city walls. Zhan Chengyin was then one of the most renowned generals; to eliminate future threats, Yong kingdom’s monarch offered ten thousand taels of gold as reward for Zhan Chengyin’s head.”

Old Mu’s voice faltered slightly as he continued, “He was killed by Yong Kingdom soldiers who surrounded and attacked him. His death was tragic, without a piece of good flesh left, his body unable to be fully reassembled.”

“Many of us have discussed this. If Zhan Chengyin hadn’t died so young, the Qi Kingdom might not have fallen to the three-kingdom alliance. The subsequent massacre of the populace might have been averted.”

“Since examining the antiques in your collection, I’ve come to realize just how advanced the Great Qi culture truly was – their art, writing systems, ceramics… They were far ahead of later dynasties in many aspects.”

Finally, old Mu sighed, “It’s such a pity this country only existed for fifty years.”

After saying this Old Mu shifted back to discussing the phoenix-patterned enamel plate.

“I’ll make an offer for it; if you’re satisfied with my price, I’ll send someone tomorrow morning to pick it up.”

“How about five hundred million? That’s an unbeatable price; even if you take it to auction you won’t get higher than this.”

“Great Qi antiques are valuable due to their rarity; any intact piece from this fifty-year existence is considered top-tier.”

“If possible I can transfer funds right now.”

Before Ye Mumu could respond she heard a notification sound on her phone—a bank alert message.

Checking her balance revealed an increase of five hundred million.

Now she had one billion in her account.