Empress Jiang became nervous. She quickly looked at the place where the IOU was signed with handprints. Her face instantly changed, “Duan Xicheng? I remember he is your eldest son. He did not even have a position because he said something he shouldn’t have said, right? How can a man like him have the chance to borrow half a million taels of silver? It’s ridiculous!”
“Since assistant minister Duan sent someone over with the IOU, he must have a plan. Be easy,” Empress Dowager Gu spoke out idly. She added, “Let’s go on to listen.”
A cold smile appeared at the corner of Duan Jin’s mouth, but he respectfully said, “Your Graces, there is indeed a reason why my son Duan Xicheng was able to borrow this huge sum of money. To say the least, this huge sum of money was originally a thank you gift that Qingfeng Ji insisted on giving to Duan Xicheng! It was Duan Xicheng who didn’t think about asking for others’ returns after doing a good deed. He accepted it because the Gu Family begged him so hard to do so, and Princess Qi’s dowry was there. If Princess of Cai’s dowry was too small, he was afraid it would be an insult to the royal family. So, he wrote the IOU.”
While the Empress’s party all frowned, the Empress Dowager’s party had already understood the situation. At that moment, someone deliberately asked, “I wonder what kind of great kindness your son has done to Qingfeng Ji?”
“You may not know. Let me tell you. Not long ago, when Gu Zonghao, the current owner of Qingfeng Ji, was outside the city, he accidentally fell off his horse. He got tangled up in the reins. On the officer road, the horse dragged him a few miles. At that moment, my son saw him. He went after him and cut the rope to save his life,” Duan Jin said calmly. He added, “The world knows that Gu Zonghao is a flirtatious young man. He doesn’t get married and has no children. He is the only male child in the Gu Family. If he dies, he will leave a group of women in the Gu Family in the air. So, his grandmother even used a long kneeling to force my son to accept the thank you gift… Although my son could not refuse her thank you gift, he also did not want to take advantage of the Gu Family. So he insisted on writing an IOU!”
The maid accompanying his servant to fetch the IOU bent down and confirmed, “The IOU was indeed taken from Gu Zonghao, the owner of Qingfeng Ji.” Sure enough, Empress Dowager Gu sent the maid.
“So it is!” The Empress Dowager’s party immediately stood in solidarity with their allies, “The world knows that the Gu Family is very rich. Since it is a life-saving thank you gift, it is not unusual to be rewarded with half a million taels of silver.”
“My son just did what he should do at that time. To say the least, I feel ashamed. If Princess Qi’s dowry was not too generous, I also thought that in terms of dowry, Princess of Cai would certainly not dare to exceed her eldest sister-in-law’s. But, since both Prince of Cai and Prince of Qi are sons of the royal family, we really dare not prepare only mere tens of thousands of taels of silver as our niece’s dowry. In any case, my family would not dare to accept this generous gift!” Duan Jin made a bow with hands folded in front, showing a helpless face, “My family’s ancestors were humble and my family is not a prestigious one. Thanks to the Emperor, we became rich today!”
“This old man has shamelessness!” The Empress’s party cursed in their hearts, “Does he think that we don’t know how Qingfeng Ji’s business is done? The reason why Qingfeng Ji can do good business and do business all over Darui is based on your relationship. Tang Zimo’s annual dividends from the Gu Family were more than half a million taels of silver – The Gu Family was simply the cash cow of the Empress Dowager’s party!!!”
But his son saved a life, hence, any gift could not be enough for a life!
Duan Jin saw that the people of the Empress’s party had serious faces. He was pleased in his heart and added, “Gentlemen, if you don’t believe what I said, you can summon Gu Zonghao of Qingfeng Ji to be here!” Then, he made a bow with hands folded in front toward the Graces and was impassioned, “If I have lied, Your Graces, please punish me. I accept it all!”
In the first place, Empress Dowager Gu didn’t summon He Shuijin. Surely enough, the Empress’s party did not want to summon Gu Zonghao either.
And, in the final analysis, the purpose of the Empress’s party was the Empress Dowager’s party, not a businessman. Therefore, Empress Jiang ignored his words, but said slowly, “Just now, the Censor said that your property would not exceed 70,000 taels of silver if you had not embezzled. You admit this, right?”
Duan Jin dryly admitted, “My property, taking everything into account, is indeed only a little more than 60,000 taels of silver.”
He wasn’t worried at all that Empress Jiang would investigate his property. It wasn’t because Duan Jin was really clean, or he had hidden his property accounts long ago. Rather, it was because he knew that if Empress Jiang wanted to investigate him thoroughly along the way, Empress Dowager Gu would also ask to investigate all the officers of similar rank to him!
The Jiang Family had He Shuijin in charge of the property and accounts. To the Jiang Family, it wasn’t unusual to earn as much as the family wanted. But what about the others? There were others at the Empress’s party beside one of the Jiang Family. Other families did not have a daughter-in-law who was as capable as He Shuijin in the Jiang Family! How were these people’s huge fortunes coming from?
If it really came to check each other’s property, the Empress’s party and the Empress Dowager’s party would have to face a lose-lose situation! In the end, only the neutral party would benefit!
Duan Jin believed that Empress Jiang would never do that.
The Empress also really did not intend to investigate his words, but asked, “Then how do you plan to pay back Qingfeng Ji’s half a million taels of silver? Or that Duan Xicheng wrote the IOU is just a show?”
“Your Grace, the IOU is certainly true,” Duan Jin’s face changed slightly as he smiled and thought of something. But for the sake of his son’s reputation and for the sake of the Duan Family’s reputation, he could only brace himself and state, “I have long planned to scrimp and save to repay him!”
“Oh?” Empress Jiang looked at him playfully, “But you have been in office for so many years, plus the accumulation of several generations of your grandchildren, you only have saved less than 70,000 taels of silver in the property. As for a debt of half a million taels, even if your children and grandchildren have been officers for generations, it seems that you won’t be able to repay it in a few generations! And that’s not including the interest! Do you intend to continue to repay it for generations?”
Duan Jin’s cold sweat seeped out of his forehead. He had already guessed what the Empress would say and do next, but things had come to a head. He could not deny.
Sure enough, Empress Jiang continued, “If so, I’ll wait to see how you pay your debt!?”
Her implication was that if Duan Jin and his family had a luxurious life in the future, he’d better not let her catch it!
So although the Empress did not say to investigate Duan Jin’s property, she denied letting his family have good food and clothing. What was worse, perhaps she would not let his family have a good life well… With the means the Jiang Family used to torture people, one could imagine how miserable it would be for the Duan Family, who got used to a luxurious life, in the years going forward.
It was only now that Duan Jin came to his senses. He knew he had fallen into her trap, “In the past, when Jiang Tianqi asked for the IOU, I thought after I gave it to him, the Empress Dowager would remind my young servant and would send information to Gu Zonghao even though the Empress would send servants to follow my young servant to monitor what he was doing. In this way, I could easily explain the number of my niece’s dowries! Now it seemed that the Jiang Family simply colluded and deliberately led me to do so!”
If he had known that Empress Jiang was personally watching him repay the debt, he would not have acknowledged the IOU. He should have just said he couldn’t refuse the IOU, and then gave the silver to his niece as a dowry. If so, everything would be in control.
But now, unexpectedly, he was caught by the Empress in such a way!
“Now…” Duan Jin was upset in his heart. He glanced at Tang Zimo with the corner of his eyes. He now had to count on the Deputy Premier, the vice-minister, to save the day.
And Tang Zimo did not disappoint his secret prayers. He stood out, “Your Grace, this is not a good idea! The Gu Family is willing to accept the IOU because they are worried that the Duan Family will not accept the thank you gift! Otherwise, why would assistant minister Duan, who brought two servants over, be able to get the IOU? Even Gu Zonghao himself did not wait at the palace gate for summoning? It is clear that he can’t wait for the IOU to be taken away by the Duan Family!”
Jiang Tianao smiled coldly, “Privy Counselor Tang, don’t forget it is Your Graces’ order to go and get the IOU. And the servants went there with Your Graces’ verbal instructions!”
“What the Head of the Secretariat said is very true!” Tang Zimo smiled and turned his words around, “Just… Gu Zonghao is just a businessman. How can he recognize the servants serving in the palace? The verbal instructions are not material evidence! Even if the one who brought the servants is the servant of assistant minister Duan, the amount of the IOU is half a million taels! This is a sum of money that even a minister would have to save for many generations! What I want to ask you is, if Gu Zonghao cared a little about the IOU, would he have given it to a servant so easily? Wouldn’t he be afraid that the servant hid the money from his master and deceived him by bringing two fake servants?”
Seeing Jiang Tianao tightly frowning and saying nothing, Tang Zimo turned to Your Graces, saying in a loud voice, “So, if the Empress forces the Duan Family to scrimp and save in order to repay the debt because of this IOU, then the order will make the Gu Family, who only wanted to pay a debt of gratitude, stand in an unjust position. I think this move will tarnish Your Grace’s reputation.”
“But an officer, who borrowed a huge sum of money that would be difficult to pay back for generations, wouldn’t hurt the court’s decency?!” Empress Jiang laughed coldly. She continued, “And it was Duan Jin who said ‘scrimp and save’. I didn’t force him to say it! I just hope he won’t cheat me! How can you say I forced him to do so?!”
Duan Jin smiled bitterly, “I…would not dare to deceive Your Grace.”
“So what’s so difficult, Privy Counselor Duan?” Empress Jiang rightfully said. She continued, “As long as Duan Jin does what he says he will do, I definitely will leave him alone.”
Tang Zimo said blandly, “Your Grace, do you not think about the reason why assistant minister Duan would ‘borrow’ such a huge sum of money? It is because Princess Qi’s dowry was too generous back then and she was afraid of humiliating Prince of Cai.”
“That’s because the Jiang Family is rich. Since the Duan Family is not as rich as the Jiang Family, why do they want to follow the Jiang Family?” Empress Jiang laughed coldly. She continued, “Could it be that once Princess Qi’s dowry is generous, all the women in the world should be like her? Duan Jin is obviously confused himself! Why do you want to blame Princess Qi?”
Jiang Tianao immediately stepped forward, “Your Grace, Princess Qi is my youngest daughter. Therefore, it is inevitable that she might be spoiled. She was also often taken care of by my second uncle and second aunt. So when she got married, my second uncle and second aunt gave her a dowry. That’s why her dowry was extraordinarily generous!”
Jiang Tianqi immediately explained on behalf of Marquess Qin, “My youngest daughter-in-law, He Shuijin, was born with great intelligence. She is good at managing accounts. Before she married into my family, she had been already managing the Jiang Family accounts. Over the years, the Jiang Family has made a lot of profits. My father, my brothers, my sons, my nephews and I, were busy with political affairs, so we seldom checked the accounts. If Minister Tang or anyone else has questions about Princess Qi’s dowry, He Shuijin can be summoned to verify the accounts!”
The Empress Dowager’s party didn’t want to verify the accounts with He Shuijin. When He Shuijin began to manage the accounts, many people thought she was a dainty young lady managing the accounts. So, they all fell into her trap. This made her fame in the line. It was said that the servants working for the Jiang Family even dared not to embezzle a penny – because everyone knew that it could not be hidden from her!
What was more, the Jiang Family brought up the matter today. He Shuijin might have already prepared a well-done account book and prepared herself for teaching the Empress Dowager’s party and the neutral party a good lesson on “How the Jiang Family Become a Wealthy and Prosperous Family”!
Tang Zimo only pretended not to hear them, “I can’t agree with the Empress. It is said that after a woman is married, she should obey her husband. Prince of Cai and Prince of Qi are sons of the Emperor. In the past, Princess Qi’s dowry was very generous. The Duan Family does not dare to make the dowry of Princess of Cai too shabby. Isn’t this a common human’s feeling? I heard that the Tao Family was not well-off in the early years. But not long ago, Princess of Lu’s dowries were not much fewer than Princess Cai’s! Your Grace, what do you think about this?”
“The Tao Family is my maternal grandfather’s family. Tao Yinsong, the senior of the family, was rewarded by the former emperors. Although the Tao Family did have a difficult time for a while, what the Tao Family lacked was just cash. As for the treasures and the good wood, the Tao Family had a lot!” Empress Jiang said coldly. She continued, “This time, when Princess of Lu got married, my mother also gave her a lot of dowries. What is so strange about Princess of Lu’s generous dowry? And you said that both Prince of Cai and Prince of Qi are sons of the Emperor. Princess Qi’s dowry is generous, so Princess of Cai’s dowry cannot be too shabby – I want to know why the dowry of Princess of Cai can be more than that of Princess of Lu? They are indeed both the Emperor’s sons, but do you forget the rule of respecting seniority?!”
Tang Zimo sneered, “Your Grace’s words are not convincing. The former Emperor has been dead for more than 30 years. Sir Tao died even before the former Emperor! After the death of Sir Tao, we all witnessed the Tao Family declined. After decades of absence, the Tao Family has not risen again. Over the years, we have found many treasured items pawned by the Tao Family in the market! This showed that the Tao Family is short of more than just cash! Even if there was a dowry from Princess of Lu’s dowries, I remember that when Tao Junior of the Jiang Family got married, the dowries didn’t seem to be more than Princess of Lu’s today. Tao Junior of the Jiang Family is also the niece of Marquess Qin’s lady, and she is the eldest niece! Under the rules of respecting seniority, Marquess Qin’s lady should have given more dowries to Tao Junior than that of Princess of Lu! But I am wondering now why the dowry of Princess of Lu is much more than her older sisters’?”
Tang Zimo, as expected of vice-minister, immediately remembered the cousin of Princess of Lu, Tao Junior. He caught evidence of the Empress violating the rule of respecting seniority when the Empress just pointed out that the dowry of Princess of Cai was more than that of Princess of Lu.
Empress Jiang became stern, and for a while, she had no idea what to say. After a short silence, Chancellor Dou suddenly stood out, “How about thoroughly investigating the Tao Family and the Duan Family. Let’s see which family is right and which one is wrong!”
When this suggestion was made, the neutral party felt indifferent. They, with Xue Chang as their leader, just stood aside, watching them fighting against each other. But the people of the Empress and Empress Dowager Gu all felt abrupt and surprised. The calmness was seen by Empress Dowager Gu, Tang Zimo and others. They thought for a moment, and all became grim!