“Lai Da, the head steward, has been taken away!”
“This, this, how is that possible?!”
“What’s impossible about it? I heard he was extorting Third Master Yu’s estate. The estate has the gifts Third Master was preparing for His Majesty the Emperor.”
The news of Lai Da’s arrest by the Jinyiwei spread quickly throughout the Jia Mansion.
Lai Mammy, who had just returned from outside, almost fainted upon hearing the news.
Only those within the family know their own affairs.
Lai Mammy wouldn't have been worried if Lai Da had been taken away by the Shuntian Prefecture. With the Jia family's power, getting Lai Da out would be a breeze.
But, he was taken to the Jinyiwei’s prison.
Those damn Jinyiwei! Good people would become bad once in their hands.
Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no one had ever walked out of the Jinyiwei’s prison in one piece.
The Lai family’s bottom was not clean.
Especially the silver and various precious items they had pilfered from the Jia Mansion over the years.
If Madam (Grandmother Jia) found out, the Lai family would be doomed.
Don’t think that their grandson is now a county magistrate. He was once just a house servant, now he is a government official.
The Jia family could easily destroy their family.
Lai Mammy was terrified. She kept begging Grandmom Jia for mercy.
Dai Yu was arranged to live in Li Wan’s courtyard in the backyard.
It wasn’t convenient to stay with Grandmother Jia. Her front courtyard was where Baoyu resided.
Grandmother Jia specifically instructed that Wang Xifeng and Li Wan could not let Dai Yu and Baoyu stay in the same courtyard.
A boy and a girl staying in the same courtyard, how could it be decent?
If Dai Yu’s father found out, it would be difficult to explain.
So, they placed Dai Yu in the big courtyard where Li Wan lived.
Once Dai Yu's room was settled, the other girls and ladies kindly bid farewell.
She had travelled a long way and was very tired. They needed to let her rest.
After everyone left, Xue Yan approached Dai Yu and said excitedly, "Miss, I just heard that the one who kicked open the gate of the Rongguo Mansion was Third Master Yu of the Rongguo Mansion, the same one who turned the tide in the defense of the capital.”
The name Jia Yu had spread throughout the Great Zhou within just a few months.
He became a rising star in the Great Zhou.
Those who were well-informed or held high positions knew that Jia Yu had led three thousand men to break the ten-thousand-strong army of Jiangnan, beheaded the main general Zhang Qing, and captured the King of Wu.
While in Yangzhou, Dai Yu had often overheard her father and tutor Jia Yucun talking about it.
The Jiangnan army of ten thousand was defeated and incorporated into the capital’s garrison.
The Emperor would soon take over power from the Supreme Emperor. For Jiangnan, this was not good news at all.
Xue Yan continued in a low voice, "It is said that the head steward of the Rongguo Mansion tried to extort Third Master, so he got angry."
Dai Yu was curious, "You’re a new maid, how did you so easily find out about this?"
Xue Yan tilted her head and said, "I just played with them for a while, and they told me themselves.”
Dai Yu remained silent for a while before instructing Xue Yan, "You can tell me about these things, but don't let anyone else hear you.”
“Miss, Xue Yan knows the importance of these things, and I’ll only talk to you about them.” Xue Yan said with a smile.
Dai Yu sat on the couch and looked out the window with a sense of melancholy. "I wonder when Father will arrive in the capital.”
…
“That’s certainly something he would do.” The Emperor Qian Yuan looked at the report from the Jinyiwei. A smile appeared on his usually worried face. “To actually kick open the gate of the Rongguo Mansion. It’s a good thing he’s a descendant of the Jia family. Otherwise, if Old Lady Jia complained to the palace, I wouldn't know how to handle it."
Xia Shouzhong smiled, "Jia Jieshuai is a man who doesn't tolerate sand in his eyes. He says what he thinks.
The Jia family acted unilaterally, removing Jieshuai's name from the family register and then adding it back later. They were already in the wrong.
Now they have to watch Jieshuai's face.”
“Right, Your Majesty, Jieshuai has sent the warhorses and those jewels to the palace, saying that there were too many eyes on them outside.
I checked some of them and they are worth roughly one hundred thousand silver taels.”
“One hundred thousand silver taels?” The Emperor Qian Yuan sighed after hearing the number. “You calculate for me how much all the things that Jia Yu has given me are worth.”
The Emperor Qian Yuan had been having a tough time recently. He was fully supporting the construction of the new capital garrison.
The new capital garrison had more than one hundred thousand troops, and the daily expenses were astronomical.
He was relying on the treasury from the Supreme Emperor’s era to get by.
For the past two months, the autumn taxes from various places had not been paid under various pretexts.
Only the tax revenue and salt tax from South Zhili had been submitted.
Both combined were only five million silver taels.
He was almost unable to make ends meet some time ago.
It was Jia Yu who sold various goods, warhorses, jewels, and silver seized from the Mongols to the Emperor at a discount.
Only then did the Emperor Qian Yuan manage to get through that period.
Xia Shouzhong calculated silently in his mind. “Including this batch of silver, all the things that Jieshuai has sent to the palace are worth about five million silver taels.”
The value of the warhorses accounted for more than half of that sum.
“Five million silver taels.” The Emperor Qian Yuan picked up a scroll from the side. “Jia Yu, a rough and tough man, knows that the court is facing financial difficulties, and he even stays in a mid-range inn when he comes to the city.
Those who are deeply rooted, whose families have lasted for countless generations, spend their days drinking and having fun in brothels, yet they don't think about repaying their debts.”
“Xia Shouzhong, what do you think would happen if I ordered them to repay their debts?"
As soon as the Emperor Qian Yuan finished speaking, Xia Shouzhong immediately knelt down. “Your Majesty, please be cautious.”
The Emperor Qian Yuan had just ascended the throne, and this was a time when he needed to win people over.
The Supreme Emperor and other princes were all watching. If the Emperor made the nobles repay their debts, it would only make him stuck in a difficult position.
The Emperor Qian Yuan also realized this, put the scroll aside, and sighed, “It seems we’ll have to find a way to get this money ourselves.”
“By the way, how is the renovation of the Yi Zhong Prince’s Mansion going?”
Xia Shouzhong said, “It’s almost finished, but there are some places that violate the rules and are difficult to change.”
“Then don't change them.” The Emperor Qian Yuan waved his hand. “Get the mansion ready before the grand court meeting.
It’s ridiculous for a general to stay at an inn.”
Xia Shouzhong smiled. “Yes!”