Empress Jiang's heart sank, and she quickly looked at the signature and fingerprints at the end of the IOU, and her expression suddenly changed: "Duan Xicheng? I remember that this is your eldest son? Isn't it because he is bad at speaking, and he didn't even become an official? How can he actually borrow the money? To five hundred thousand taels of silver! That’s ridiculous!”
"Since Mr. Duan sent someone to get this IOU and he has an explanation, why are you panicking?" Empress Dowager Gu said casually, "Isn't it okay to just listen to it?"
A sneer appeared at the corner of Duan Jin's mouth, but he said respectfully: "In reply to the two ladies, there is indeed a reason why the eldest son of Chen was able to borrow this huge sum of money. Speaking of which, Qingfengji insisted on giving it to the eldest son of Chen. It’s just that the eldest son of the minister showed no intention of repaying the kindness, but firstly, it was not as good as the Gu family’s begging; secondly, it was Princess Qi who made the dowry in front of her. If Princess Cai was too shabby, she was afraid of being disrespectful to the Tian family, so she wrote the IOU. ”
The queen's party all frowned, but the queen's party had already understood it. At that moment, someone deliberately said: "But I don't know what great favor Mr. Duan has to Qingfeng Ji?"
"As you all don't know, not long ago, Gu Zonghao, the current owner of Qingfeng Ji, accidentally fell off his horse outside the city. He was entangled in the reins and dragged for several miles on the official road. It was Xiao'er who happened to meet him and chased after him and cut the rope to save him. He died." Duan Jin said calmly, "Everyone knows that Gu Zonghao is a romantic young man. He is still unmarried and has no children. He is the only male heir of Gu's family. How does the woman handle herself? Her grandmother even used a long kneel to force the son to accept the gift... Although the son couldn't resist her, he didn't want to take advantage of the Gu family, so he insisted on setting up the IOU! "
One of the palace servants who was responsible for accompanying his servant to get the IOU testified: "This IOU was indeed taken from Gu Zonghao, the proprietor of Qingfeng Ji." Of course, this palace servant was sent by Empress Dowager Gu.
"So that's it!" The Queen Mother's party immediately supported their allies, "Everyone knows that the Gu family is rich, and it is not unusual for the proprietor to be rewarded five hundred thousand taels of silver for his life-saving grace."
"It's just a little effort for me. I'm ashamed to say that if it weren't for Princess Qi's generous dowry, Princess Cai would not dare to surpass her eldest sister-in-law. However, both King Cai and King Qi are of the same bloodline as the Tian family, and they really wouldn't dare to prepare only tens of thousands of taels of silver. There is no way our family will accept this generous gift if we let our niece leave the palace!" Duan Jin cupped his hands in all directions, with a look of helplessness on his face, "Our family also came from a humble background and has a shallow foundation. The Chengtian family is grateful, so we are trembling with fear. !”
"This old man really has the nerve to say that!" Everyone in the Queen's Party cursed in their hearts, "When we don't know that the reason why Qingfengji is able to do such a prosperous business and spread all over our country is because of the This is your line! Even that old thief, Tang Zimo, probably gets more than half a million taels of dividends from the Gu family!
It's just that the reason for saving my life is there, no amount of reward is too much!
Duan Jin saw that the faces of most of the queen's party were livid, and he felt proud, and said: "If you don't believe it, you can tell the master of Qingfeng Ji to go to the palace to confront him!" He handed over to Danqi and said impassionedly, "If I have even half a lie, let it go. The two empresses will deal with it without any hesitation!"
Empress Dowager Gu didn't agree to pass on He Shuijin before, and now the Queen's Party certainly doesn't want to pass on Gu Zonghao.
Moreover, the purpose of the Queen's Party is ultimately the Queen Mother's Party, not just a businessman. So Empress Jiang ignored his words, but said slowly: "Just now, Shi Yushi said that if you had never been corrupt, your family fortune would never exceed 70,000 taels of silver. Can you admit it?"
Duan Jin admitted it simply: "My family fortune is indeed only a little over 60,000 taels of silver."
He wasn't worried at all about Empress Jiang's request to investigate his net worth - it wasn't that Duan Jin was really clean or had already hidden his property accounts, but he knew that if Empress Jiang wanted to investigate him thoroughly, Empress Dowager Gu would also ask for an investigation of all his assets. A minister of similar rank to him!
The Jiang family has Shuijin in charge, so it is reasonable for the master to make as much money as he wants. But what about everyone else? The Jiang family is not the only one in the Queen's Party, no other family has such a capable daughter-in-law! How to explain the huge wealth of these people
If it really comes to that, the Queen Mother's Party and the Queen's Party will both lose! Only the neutral party will benefit!
Duan Jin believed that Queen Jiang would never do this.
The queen indeed did not mention checking his words, but asked: "Then how do you plan to repay Qingfengji for the five hundred thousand taels of silver? Or is Duan Xicheng's IOU just for show?"
"If you want to reply to the Queen, of course this IOU is genuine." Duan Jin's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he thought of something, but for the sake of his son's reputation and the reputation of the Duan family, he could only insist on saying, "The Chen family I have long planned to repay this money even if I save money on food and clothing!”
"Oh?" Empress Jiang looked at him playfully, "But you have been in the official position for so many years, and with the accumulation of generations of your ancestors and grandchildren, you have only accumulated an estate worth less than 70,000 taels of silver, and a debt of 500,000 taels. Even if your descendants continue to serve as servants for generations, it seems that no one will be able to pay it back! This still doesn’t count as interest! Why do you plan to continue paying it off for generations to come?”
Cold sweat broke out on Duan Jin's forehead. He had already guessed what the queen was going to say and do next, but now that it had happened, could he deny it
Sure enough, Empress Jiang continued, "Then I'll wait and see how you retaliate!?"
The implication is that you and your whole family will wear silk and gold from now on. Don’t let me catch you!
In this way, although the queen did not say that she wanted to investigate Duan Jin's property, she looked like she would not allow his family to have good food and clothing, and might not allow his family to live well... With the Jiang family's way of tormenting people, it is conceivable that they have long been used to enjoying it. For the Duan family who died, how miserable will the next days be!
Only then did Duan Jin realize that he had been deceived: "When Jiang Tianqi asked for the IOU, I thought that even if the queen would send palace servants to follow my servant to monitor me, the queen mother would also give the servant some advice and send a letter to Gu Zonghao on my behalf. —This way we can easily explain the amount of my niece’s dowry! Now it seems that the Jiang family has colluded and deliberately induced me to do this!”
If he had known that Empress Jiang would personally watch over him to "pay off the debt", he would not have acknowledged the IOU, and directly said that he could not refuse the Gu family's gratitude, and then used the money to repay the debt to his niece. Wouldn't it be over
It's fine now, I was caught by the queen like this all my life!
"Now..." Duan Jin glanced bitterly at Tang Zimo from the corner of his eye. He could only count on the deputy prime minister to save him at this moment.
And Tang Zimo did not live up to his secret prayer, and he really stood up: "The Queen's move is inappropriate! The reason why the Gu family is willing to accept the IOU is because they are afraid that the Duan family will not accept their thank you gift! Otherwise, why would Duan Shilang's The servant can get the IOU by just bringing two palace attendants there, and Gu Zonghao doesn't even wait at the palace gate! This shows that he wants this IOU to be taken away by the Duan family!"
Jiang Tianyao sneered: "Master Tang, don't forget to get the IOU. It's the wishes of the two empresses. The palace servants brought the instructions!"
"What Zhongshu Ling said is absolutely true!" Tang Zimo smiled and changed the topic, "It's just... Gu Zonghao is just a businessman, how could he possibly know the palace servants in front of the two empresses?! There is no actual evidence for the oral instructions! Even if he leads the palace The person who came was the servant of Duan Shilang, but this IOU was worth five hundred thousand taels! How many lifetimes would it take a noble minister to save it? I dare to ask Zhongshu Ling, if Gu Zonghao cared about this IOU, it would be so easy. Leave it to a servant! Isn't he afraid that the young man will find two palace servants to deceive him without telling his master?"
Seeing Jiang Tian'ao frowning and speechless for a moment, Tang Zimo turned to Danqi and said loudly, "So if the Queen forces the Duan Shilang family to live frugally and repay debts because of this IOU, she will be doing injustice to the Gu family who are bent on repaying kindness." ! This move will also damage your reputation—"
"When a dignified courtier borrows a huge amount of money that will be difficult to repay for generations, doesn't it hurt the dignity of the court?!" Empress Jiang sneered and said, "Moreover, these four words, frugal and frugal, Duan Jin said it himself, and I didn’t force him to express his position! I just hope that he won’t deceive me! Why force him?”
Duan Jin smiled bitterly: "I... How dare you deceive the Queen?"
"Then what's the matter with the servant?" Empress Jiang said matter-of-factly, "As long as Duan Jin keeps his word, can't I still cause trouble for him?!"
Tang Zimo said calmly: "Don't you think, the Queen, that the reason why Shilang Duan 'borrowed' such a huge sum of money was because Princess Qi's dowry was too generous back then, and she was afraid of neglecting His Highness King Cai?"
"That's because the Jiang family is rich. Since the Duan family doesn't have that foundation, why should they learn from the Jiang family?" Empress Jiang sneered, "Is it possible that Princess Qi's dowry is so rich that all the women in the world will follow her when they leave the cabinet? Duan Jin is obviously confused. ! Why do you want to blame Princess Qi? "
Jiang Tianao immediately came out and said: "The Empress knows clearly that Princess Qi is the young daughter of the minister and his wife, so she is inevitably spoiled. She often enjoys the pleasure at the knees of the minister's second uncle and second aunt. Therefore, when she leaves the cabinet, the minister's second uncle and second aunt They all came with a dowry, so it was extra generous!”
Jiang Tianqi immediately explained on behalf of Duke Qin: "My youngest daughter-in-law, He Shi, was born very smart and good at making a living. Before she passed the door, she was already taking care of the Jiang family's property. She has made a lot of profits over the years, and my father and I have made a lot of money." Since I, my brothers and nephews are busy with the political affairs of the previous dynasty, they rarely ask about the accounts. If Prime Minister Tang or anyone has any questions about Princess Qi’s dowry, my young daughter-in-law can come to the palace to reconcile the accounts at any time!”
The Queen Mother's party didn't want to reconcile accounts with He Shuijin. When this master came out to make money, how could he see her as a delicate eldest lady in the accountant's account, and all of them served as a stepping stone for her to become famous? It is said that in the properties managed by He Shuijin, the managers did not dare to tamper with even a penny - for no other reason than they could not hide it!
What's more, what happened today was the result of the Jiang family's troubles. I'm afraid He Shuijin had packed up his books a long time ago and was ready to teach the Queen Mother Party and the Neutral Party a lesson on how the Jiang family made so much money!
Tang Zimo just pretended not to hear what the Jiang family brothers said: "The Queen said this, but I think otherwise! As the so-called marriage depends on the husband, His Royal Highness King Cai and His Highness King Qi are both your Majesty's flesh and blood. Princess Qi has a generous dowry, and the Duan family dare not let Cai Isn’t it human nature for a princess to leave the palace in a poor state? There were rumors that the Tao family was in dire straits in the early years, but not long ago, Princess Lu’s dowry was not much less than that of Princess Cai! “What do you think?”
"The Tao family is the maternal family of this palace. Their ancestor, Tao Yinsong, was deeply favored by the late emperor and received constant rewards over the years. Even if there was a temporary difficulty in cash flow, it was just cash. As for the treasures, the best wood and the warehouse There are so many riches!" Queen Jiang said coldly, "This time Princess Lu comes out of the cabinet, and my mother also has a generous dowry. What's so surprising about Princess Lu's generous dowry? And you said that both King Cai and King Qi are married? They are His Majesty’s flesh and blood, so Princess Qi’s dowry should not be too shabby. I would like to know why Princess Cai’s dowry exceeds that of Princess Lu’s. Generally speaking, His Majesty’s flesh and blood is true, but the age-related principles of orderliness should be followed. Can’t you remember it?”
Tang Zimo sneered: "How can your words convince everyone? It has been more than thirty years since the late emperor passed away, and Mr. Tao passed away even before the late emperor! After Mr. Tao passed away, the decline of the Tao family was obvious to all. He had not seen his family for decades. The business has been revitalized—there have been many treasures pawned by the Tao family in the market over the years! How could the Tao family only have trouble with cash? Even though Princess Lu’s dowry was replenished by Mrs. Qin Guogong, Wei Chen remembered that Jiang When the eighth young lady of the family came out of the palace, she didn't seem to have as much makeup as the current Princess Lu, right? The eighth young lady of the Jiang family was also the grandniece of Mrs. Qin Guogong, or the eldest niece! According to their elders, Mrs. Qin Guogong added makeup to their sisters. The income of the eighth young lady of the Jiang family should be higher than that of Princess Lu! But I don’t know why Princess Lu’s dowry is higher than that of her eldest sister!”
This Tang Zimo is worthy of being the deputy prime minister of the court. The Queen just pointed out that Princess Cai’s dowry passed Princess Lu, and she was suspected of disrespecting her sister-in-law. He immediately thought of Princess Lu’s cousin Xiao Tao, who also caught the Queen’s eldest son who was out of order. The handle!
Queen Jiang's face changed, and she couldn't reply for a while. After a short silence, Dou Jijiu suddenly stood up: "It's better to thoroughly investigate the Tao and Duan families and see who is right and who is wrong!"
As soon as these words came out, the neutral party just followed Xue Chang to make soy sauce. Most of the people in the second empress felt abrupt and surprised, but Qin Guogong and others looked calm. This calmness fell into the eyes of Queen Mother Gu, Tang Zimo and others, and they were slightly surprised. As soon as I thought about it, my expression changed!