The Demon-Slaying Grandmaster

Chapter 80 Double the amount and return it to me
Afterwards, Jia Heng patiently talked about a lot of things, among which was the issue of improving the quality of the wine and food.

Li Jingxiao smiled. He had to accept the favor, but he would definitely not abuse his power to commit the serious crime of confiscating property.

There are no small cases handled by the Jinyiwei.

But if you can provide some convenience and relax your grip, the other party will make a lot of money.

But before he could leave the backyard, he was stopped by Jing Xi.

"Brother, I was just in the middle courtyard when I saw Mother instructing Madam Liu to wait for you outside the main hall.

After hearing this, I realized that it was my uncle who asked my mother to pass on a message, saying that he had something to talk to you about."

Li Jingxiao thought for a few seconds before he realized that the so-called uncle was Qiu Kaiwen from the Dingyuan Earl's Mansion.

But in Li Jingxiao's heart, Qiu Kaiwen is not his uncle.

The Dingyuan Earl's Mansion is the same as the Xing'an Earl's Mansion. Although the ancestors have made great contributions, their descendants are used to enjoying themselves.

He was neither good at studying nor at martial arts, so he inherited the rank of a third-class general and became a sixth-rank deputy commander in the Nancheng Bingmasi.

Compared with Li Jingxiao's fourth-rank pacification envoy, it is five levels lower.

Moreover, the southern part of the capital has always been where the lowest class of people live.

There's not much oil and water.

Li Jingxiao thought about it and realized that if he had to see him at this time, it might be because he wanted to resolve the issue of his second uncle embezzling money from the Xing'an Earl's Mansion.

He knocked Jingxi on the head three times and said, "Don't bother with this kind of thing next time."

Jing Xi felt pain, covered his forehead pitifully, and said with a sad face, "Brother, my mother must want to take advantage of your marriage today so that she can't argue with my uncle.

I'm forcing you to let my second uncle go home."

Li Jingxiao thought to himself that it was no wonder that he was so good to the three sisters. Now, for the sake of him as the eldest brother, they even gave up their mother and uncle.

He smiled and said, "Okay, big brother knows what's going on. Take your second and third sisters to the backyard to accompany your sister-in-law."

Jing Xi finally felt relieved, smiled and nodded, and went to look for Jing Yue and Jing Rong.

When Li Jingxiao left the backyard and arrived outside the main house in the middle courtyard, he was stopped by the housekeeper beside his second aunt.

Li Jingxiao didn't waste time talking to the old woman. When he met Qiu Kaiwen, after some polite exchanges, Qiu Kaiwen gave him a stack of silver notes worth 1 taels of silver under the pretext of a gift.

Li Jingxiao thought to himself, it was just as he had guessed.

I have to say that power is really a good thing.

As soon as the emperor and empress presented their gifts, this cheap uncle took the initiative to return the money.

However, Li Jingxiao was not in a hurry to accept it. He smiled and asked, "Uncle, if you want to solve the problem of Second Uncle, it is not as simple as 1 taels of silver.

And today I call you "uncle" because of the friendship between our two ancestors.

Don’t make it difficult for me.”

Qiu Kaiwen smiled awkwardly, knowing that Li Jingxiao was warning him not to cause trouble at his wedding.

Otherwise, it's not just about money.

Qiu Kaiwen also knew that Li Jingxiao must have checked the conditions and accounts of those shops.

The thought that if Li Jingxiao turned against his family, relying on the emperor's favor and his power as the pacification commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he might really be able to find out something, made him feel uncomfortable.

Even if only business and personal ethics issues were found, Qiu Kaiwen shuddered at the thought.

Lack of personal morality is often a serious crime.

But he felt reluctant to ask him to return all the money he had embezzled in the past few years.

I cursed myself inwardly, saying that I had already returned 1 taels of silver. What else do you want?
You can't force the Dingcheng Marquis's family to pawn their land and shops to return the money they've made in the past few years, right?
Li Jingxiao had long guessed that it was definitely not just his second uncle Qiu Kaiwu who embezzled the profits from those shops.

To say that Qiu Kaiwen, the eldest brother, knew nothing was an insult to his intelligence. Even his cousin, Li Huaili, might have known about it long ago, but his condition has only worsened in recent years.

Since I don’t have a son, I can only accept that my second aunt is asking for benefits from her parents’ home.

However, my second uncle probably didn't expect that my eldest and second uncles would be so greedy.

Not to mention that he embezzled the profits from the shop jointly run by both parties.

He even wanted to sell the shop at a low price, but in fact the shop ended up in the hands of the Qiu family.

It's simply shameless.

No wonder Jingxi took the initiative to talk about this matter as soon as he met his cousin.

If the uncle is unkind and unjust, don't blame the niece for not standing on his side.

Li Jingxiao casually threw the banknotes on the coffee table, stood up and said with a smile, "I heard that there have been many fights in the cattle and horse market in the south of the city in recent years.

Uncle, you should be more diligent in your work, or you might get reported to the police, which would be embarrassing."

Qiu Kaiwen's pupils shrank. The so-called disturbance in the cattle and horse market in the south of the city was just an excuse.

The real problem is actually the water source.

Logically speaking, the capital city should not be short of water.

But the fact is that the capital is not only short of water, but the shortage is severe.

Especially in the south of the city, which is mostly low-income, with a large population and livestock, there is an even greater shortage of water.

Li Jingxiao said this at this time, clearly intending to use this matter to cause trouble for Qiu Kaiwen.

Qiu Kaiwen immediately realized that Li Jingxiao had no affection for him as his uncle.

If you try to use family affection to control him, he won't pay any attention to you.

Qiu Kaiwen became anxious at the thought of losing his position as deputy commander of the South City Military Division.

The Ningguo Mansion’s gate lintel is so high, but in front of the powerful bosses, Jia Zhen is nothing.

Who would take you seriously if you only have the title of a third-class general but no actual position or power?

Moreover, whether a family with military merits can gain power depends entirely on the emperor's attitude towards you.

The third and fourth generations of the Jia family all chose to take the imperial examinations. They must be crazy.

Ordinary people and low- and middle-level officials were concerned about the connections left by the Jia family's ancestors and did not dare to offend them.

Seeing that Li Jingxiao was about to leave the room, Qiu Kaiwen hurriedly said, "Jingyou, in addition to the ten thousand taels of silver today, how about giving another twenty thousand taels in a few days?"

Li Jingxiao then turned around with a smile, but still said dissatisfiedly, "Uncle, if you say so, things will be easier."

Seeing that Li Jingxiao spoke so bluntly, Qiu Kaiwen secretly cursed the boy for being so shameless.

But he knew in his heart that good people were not suitable for officialdom.

Being cruel, ruthless and shameless is the norm in officialdom.

Li Jingxiao didn't let the Qiu family off so easily, and continued with a smile, "I heard that the five shops where the two families cooperated and each held a half-share have been doing bad business recently.

It would be better to give it to me for free. Whether it makes a profit or a loss in the future is my business, and it will also save the Dingcheng Marquis’s Mansion from continuing to suffer losses.”

Qiu Kaiwen's expression changed. This meant he was asking for half of the shares of the five shops for nothing.

But when he wanted to refute, he realized that his second brother had said before in the Xing'an Earl's Mansion that the shop was making losses and he wanted to sell the shop to recover the losses.

If I refute it now, wouldn't it be like saying that I and my second brother were involved in this?
Qiu Kaiwen couldn't help but curse his own brother Qiu Kaiwu in his heart for giving Li Jingxiao such a handle.

I gritted my teeth and nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)