The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 229 Showing off unexpectedly yielded a reward.
Li Jingxiao naturally agreed to the purchase of the garden, and as for how much silver was needed, he left it entirely to his two wives to handle.

After dinner, Yuan Chun complained that the preparations for this trip were not thorough enough.

If only the servants of the Jia family in Jinling had been notified three to five days in advance.

Li Jingxiao knew what Yuan Chun wanted to say as soon as he heard it.

No one has lived in the Rongguo Mansion in Jinling for many years. No matter how much the servants clean and tidy it, it is impossible for them to clean it every day.

He gave an awkward laugh, casually drew a dozen or so purification and cleansing spells, and then waved his hand dismissively.

A dozen or so talismans flew into each room, and a burst of spiritual light easily cleared away the dust and odors.

Even the dust on everyone's clothes and hair was swept away.

This allowed everyone to settle down with peace of mind.

Nothing happened that night. The next day, after Li Jingxiao finished breakfast and chatted with his two wives for a few minutes, he was about to fly to Maoshan when...

Old Man Jin came to report that the eldest uncle of the Wang family, Master Zhen, and Xue Pan had come to pay their respects.

After hearing this, Li Jingxiao smiled and said to Qin Keqing, Yuan Chun, and the others, "Alright, the seller delivered the goods to our door himself."

Qin Keqing and the others couldn't help but cover their mouths and laugh.

Wang Boteng was actually quite grateful to Li Jingxiao.

Although Li Jingxiao sent his second brother, Wang Ziteng, back to Jinling.

But Wang Boteng was secretly gloating.

Seeing Wang Boteng's smiling face and his friendly tone, Li Jingxiao noticed that Wang Boteng was also smiling.

You can't be wrong; even brothers don't necessarily want their brothers to be better off than themselves.

In particular, it's understandable that Wang Boteng, who is clearly the eldest son and heir of the Wang family, is always suppressed by Wang Ziteng, which makes his psychological distortion understandable.

Last night, Wang Boteng learned from his second sister, Aunt Xue, that Li Jingxiao had brought his family to Jinling for a trip and had taken a fancy to that garden.

That very night, he personally went to the Zhen family.

Zhen Yingjia had actually wanted to sell the garden for a long time. Firstly, he didn't dare to live in it himself, and secondly, he had to spend a lot of money on its maintenance every year.

Secondly, the retired emperor made six trips to the south of the Yangtze River, and the Jia family hosted him once, while the Wang family hosted him once.

The remaining four times were all hosted by the Zhen family, and the money was spent like water.

Even if the Zhen family had mountains of gold and silver, they couldn't withstand such a drain.

Even though the retired emperor handed over the Jiangning Textile Bureau to the Zhen family to manage and appointed Zhen Yingjia as the president of the Jinling Tiren Academy, it was still considered a spy to monitor Jiangnan.

This indirectly made up for the money spent by the Zhen family on the four receptions.

In reality, each trip to the south of the Yangtze River cost at least a million taels of silver.

How could it be so easy to make up for it?

Emperor Qianlong made six trips to the south of the Yangtze River, accompanied by 3,000 people. When the number of people accompanying him was increased to more than 10,000, including officials from various river departments, the total number of people accompanying him exceeded 10,000.

It cost a total of over 20 million taels of silver, averaging 3.7 million taels each time.

This is only the money that was openly spent; the expenses for entertaining local officials and merchants who received Emperor Qianlong were actually quite substantial.

In other words, the Zhen family's four receptions may have cost them tens of millions of taels of silver.

It was simply impossible for the Jiangning Textile Bureau alone to make up for such a huge deficit.

Therefore, the Zhen family actually owed the national treasury at least several million taels of silver.

The retired emperor tacitly agreed to repay the debt gradually, but since the Zhen family was so favored by the retired emperor...

They lived a life even more extravagant and wasteful than the Jia family.

The silver embezzled by the Jiangning Textile Bureau each year was probably only enough for the Zhen family's own expenses.

Therefore, if they could sell the garden that they "dared not live in" and get a large sum of money, the Zhen family would be more than willing to do so.

But not everyone who wants to buy it has the right to do so.

At least in the eyes of the Zhen family, no matter how rich salt merchants, silk merchants, or their families were, they were not qualified to live in Zhan Garden.

In case Emperor Longde, like the retired emperor, went to the south of the Yangtze River and stayed at Zhan Garden in Nanjing.

That would mean handing over the opportunity to curry favor with the new emperor to the salt and silk merchants.

This alone is enough to exclude the Zhen family from the list of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Jiangnan.

But Li Jingxiao wanted to buy it because he not only had the right status, but also wouldn't compete with the Zhen family.

After exchanging pleasantries with Li Jingxiao and drinking a few sips of tea, Zhen Yingjia couldn't contain himself and asked a question.

"Duke Xingguo, I heard from my brother that you intend to establish a separate residence in Jinling?"

Seeing how directly Zhen Yingjia spoke, Li Jingxiao realized that the Zhen family's current financial situation was even more difficult than he had imagined.

But thinking about it, it's normal. Considering the timeline, the Zhen family was raided seven or eight years later in the original story, or at most ten years later.

Even a broken ship has three thousand nails; such a large family could easily survive for three, five, seven, or eight years before it truly and completely declines.

Or perhaps the new emperor cleaned up the deficit, forcing the Zhen family to repay the national treasury.

The Zhen family had no choice but to engage in some high-risk businesses.

They were caught red-handed, and for a serious crime.

This allowed Emperor Longde to truly seize the initiative, and even the retired emperor tacitly approved, which led to the confiscation of the Zhen family's property in one fell swoop.

After understanding all this, Li Jingxiao smiled and said, "In terms of seniority, Lord Zhen is still my father-in-law Lord Zheng's cousin."

Uncle Wang and Pan-ge'er are not outsiders, so I won't hide anything from them.

"The Zhan Garden is valued at 30 taels of silver. What do you think, Lord Zhen?"

Zhen Yingjia shook his head without hesitation. 30 taels was indeed a huge sum of money, even equivalent to the annual net profit of the Jiangning Textile Bureau.

However, this garden was not only specially ordered by the former Ming emperor Zhu to be built in memory of Xu Da after the death of the Prince of Zhongshan.

After changing hands several times, each family continued to expand and renovate.

After the Zhen family took over, they also repaired and maintained it once.

That one time alone cost nearly 10 taels of silver.

Including years of maintenance and the expenses of servants, it probably cost around seventy or eighty thousand taels of silver.

The amount of silver spent on building the Grand View Garden in Rongguo Mansion is said to be either one million taels or two to three million taels.

Regardless of the reason, buying Zhan Garden, which represents the pinnacle of Jiangnan garden craftsmanship, for 30 taels is indeed a bit too low.

However, Zhen Yingjia did want to sell, and Li Jingxiao had just specifically mentioned the Rongguo Mansion and Jia Zheng, forcing Zhen Yingjia to consider their old friendship.

After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and said, "Duke Xingguo, how about 40 taels?"

Li Jingxiao smiled, picked up his teacup, took a few sips, and pretended to be deep in thought.

To avoid agreeing immediately and making Zhen Yingjia feel like he'd sold it too cheaply.

They might regret it in their hearts, but they don't dare to actually back out and refuse to sell, which might eventually lead to resentment.

Therefore, the more Li Jingxiao hesitates and the longer he thinks, the more trouble he will save in the future.

After a full four or five minutes, Li Jingxiao finally sighed, "Oh well, nothing can buy what you love."

Since the two ladies like it, 400,000 it is then.

Upon hearing this, Wang Boteng and Zhen Yingjia stroked their beards and smiled.

He was still thinking to himself that it seemed the news coming back from the capital was indeed true.

This Duke of Xingguo was indeed very fond of his two daughters-in-law.

Then Li Jingxiao said, "I only have 15 taels of silver on hand at the moment," and then shook his head.

He sighed and said, "If I had known, I should have sold some of the two hundred giant trees in that newly built villa in the Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing."

After saying that, he looked at Zhen Yingjia and said, "Don't worry, Lord Zhen, the remaining 25 taels will be paid off in four installments within a year."

"This year, I'll be busy again." Wang Boteng and Zhen Yingjia had no doubt that Li Jingxiao could pay off 25 taels of silver within a year.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to build such a large garden in the Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing.

The garden alone is estimated to be worth at least 500,000 taels of silver.

It was only because Li Jingxiao somehow managed to get two hundred giant logs; otherwise, the cost would have definitely doubled.

Li Jingxiao's rise to prominence lasted only two years.

He managed to acquire seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver.

If he wanted, he could easily bring back two hundred more giant logs and sell them for a million taels of silver.

Therefore, Wang and Zhen had no doubt about Li Jingxiao's ability to repay the money.

But I couldn't help but be curious about his words that "the next year will be busy again".

Zhen Yingjia quickly gave Wang Boteng a wink. If it was related to the giant tree, even if they didn't get any benefit from Li Jingxiao, they would still be willing to do so.

The profit from just buying a hundred or two hundred giant trees is substantial.

In particular, for some giant trees, money is not the issue at all.

It depends on luck.

Wang Boteng, of course, wouldn't pass up a chance to make money, and hurriedly asked, "Jingyou, if you have any cash flow problems, Pan-ge and I can scrape together over ten thousand taels of silver for you to tide you over."

What does it mean to just be busy for a year?

Li Jingxiao smiled and looked at Xue Pan, who had been wanting to speak for a long time.

Without a second thought, he patted his chest and said, "Brother-in-law, I'll have someone send over 10 taels of silver in a bit."

If you give me another month or two to raise the money, I can easily raise 20 taels.

Li Jingxiao laughed out loud after hearing this. This guy has a lot of flaws, but he is indeed loyal.

Or rather, foolishly naive.

He waved his hand with a smile, "No need. Recently, it has been discovered that zombies are causing trouble in the Nanling Mountains of Maoshan."

A few days ago, even the sect leader personally went to investigate, accompanied by three elders and seven or eight disciples.

The investigation has basically been completed; it turns out to be an underground palace built several hundred years ago, and the seal has loosened due to its age.

This caused hordes of zombies to escape from the underground palace.

Fortunately, the zombies are led by hairy zombies and flying zombies, so there is no need to worry about them running out from the depths of the mountains and causing havoc.

Once we destroy that flying zombie, there should be a lot of money in the underground palace.

Moreover, a few days ago, Brother Zhu from the Jia family sent me a message.

When they met at Jieshou Lake, the Dragon King of Dongting said that he had noticed a decrease in the water volume of the Xiang River in recent years.

They want me to go and investigate the source.

Now it seems it must be related to those zombies.

"Once those zombies are wiped out, with the wealth of the Dongting Dragon Palace, the reward will be at least three to five hundred thousand taels of silver."

After hearing this, Wang Boteng, Zhen Yingjia, and Xue Pan were filled with envy.

He wished he could achieve the same level of cultivation as Li Jingxiao, not only be able to subdue demons and monsters, but also be a guest of honor in the Dragon Palace.

Some might even become sons-in-law of the Dragon Palace, like Jia Zhu.

For a fleeting moment, Zhen Yingjia even thought that it would be good to give Zhan Garden to Li Jingxiao.

It would be good if he could become a disciple of Maoshan, just like Jia Jing of Ningguo Mansion, and become a true disciple and cultivator.

Li Jingxiao's words instilled fear in Zhen Yingjia and Wang Boteng.

Although the agreed price of 40 taels of silver will not be changed, not a single plant, tree, table, or chair in Zhan Garden will be taken away.

He was also thinking that when he got back, he would order people to renovate the Zhan Garden inside and out again.

Send them the best of everything, including the food and household items.

We must satisfy Li Jingxiao, and even more so, the two duchesses.

If your family encounters anything strange in the future, it will be much easier to seek help from Li Jingxiao.

Xue Pan pondered for a few seconds and then suddenly said, "Brother-in-law, I heard from the caravan manager at home that..."

He heard at Lingyan Mountain that caravans had been disappearing mysteriously lately, and many caravans were now afraid to use the horse trails at Lingyan Mountain.

If my brother-in-law can find out the reason, I believe the merchants from Jinling, Luzhou, and Huainan will be willing to offer generous gifts in gratitude.

Wang Boteng and Zhen Yingjia thought for a moment and then nodded hastily.

"Yes, yes, I have also heard about this matter. Recently, many merchants have reported this matter to the prefectural government."

However, the yamen runners and soldiers went to investigate, but to no avail. Instead, the rumors became more and more fantastical.

As a result, there were far fewer merchants traveling between Nanjing and Luzhou and Huainan, and the prices of many goods also rose significantly.

If the Duke can investigate this matter thoroughly, putting aside everything else, just... just...

Wang Boteng hesitated again at this point.

Xue Pan didn't have so many reservations. When he saw Li Jingxiao looking at him, he stood up with a smile.

Walking up to Li Jingxiao, she covered her mouth and whispered, "Brother-in-law, besides merchants, that horse trail is also a mountain road frequently used by salt smugglers and tea merchants."

Li Jingxiao understood immediately upon hearing this.

In the past, when demons caused trouble, it was simply a part of my life experience.

But now that I have the Maoshan Demon-Locking Tower, a treasure trove for monster hunting, why would I care about a few or a dozen monsters or strange creatures?

You might spend several days and still not gain as much experience as you would from beating up Dang Kang.

However, disrupting the trade of caravans ultimately harms not only the merchants but also the common people.

So after thinking about it, he nodded and casually tossed out four gold beans.

In front of Wang Boteng, Zhen Yingjia, and Xue Pan, they transformed into four Yellow Turban warriors.

He bowed to Li Jingxiao and said, "We, your humble servants, greet the True Man."

Li Jingxiao nodded. The Yellow Turban warriors he summoned this time were all wielding long spears, and their golden helmets and armor were faintly glowing with light.

It was clearly much stronger than the Yellow Turban Warriors I had previously transformed into.

Li Jingxiao didn't care. A few days ago in Maoshan, his Lightning Thunder Fist broke through to the mythical level, greatly increasing his strength.

It's normal that the Yellow Turban Warriors who are summoned again are stronger.

He said to the four Yellow Turban warriors, "More than a hundred miles north of Jinling is Lingyan Mountain. Recently, there have been rumors that evil spirits are causing trouble in the mountain."

The government and the people suffered a lot of harassment.

Go and investigate. If there are indeed evil spirits causing harm, capture them and send them to Maoshan.

"I have been staying at the Demon-Locking Tower on Maoshan Mountain lately, dealing with the demons within."

The four Yellow Turban warriors bowed and nodded, then flew away right in front of Xue Pan and his companions.

Xue Pan, Wang Boteng, and Zhen Yingjia were dumbfounded.

His gaze toward Li Jingxiao grew increasingly respectful and fervent.

Wang Boteng was even thinking that, since his daughter Wang Xifeng was implicated by that scoundrel Wang Ziteng anyway.

Let alone marrying into the Jia family, no one in the capital or Jinling would be willing to marry her.

Since that's the case, it would be better to become sisters with Yuan Chun.

Moreover, if the Jia family hadn't gone back on their word, it wouldn't have been Yuan Chun who married Li Jingxiao, but their own daughter Wang Xifeng.

Thinking about it this way, Wang Boteng felt that the Jia family had wronged him first, so marrying his daughter to Li Jingxiao was just taking back what he deserved.

(End of this chapter)