The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"According to our plan, the initial amount is already sufficient!"

Upon hearing this, Master Zheng's eyes lit up. He almost slapped himself for not thinking of that.

Jia Huan isn't stupid; how could he possibly expect Master Zheng to pay off the national treasury's debts all at once?

By doing that, wouldn't it be an open declaration to the Emperor that the Ning and Rong families have plenty of money, and that two million taels is nothing to them? Wouldn't the Emperor then target the Ning and Rong families as easy prey?

Raising one million taels initially would be enough to satisfy the current emperor and the court.

The remaining debts can be repaid gradually, and the government will still provide this convenience. After all, the Ning and Rong mansions have been very proactive in repaying their debts, which is already quite commendable.

"Don't be too happy, sir!"

Seeing that the Second Master was very excited, Jia Huan poured cold water on his enthusiasm, saying, "What if the Old Madam says that she can only get the silver from the Imperial Treasury after the two branches of the family have separated?

Master Zheng was stunned, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and quickly calmed down.

Such a possibility...

He shook his head abruptly, glared at the indifferent Jia Huan, and said irritably, "You wretched child, stop talking! Let me ask the old lady first!"

After saying that, he got up and left immediately, his steps hurried and his heart filled with urgency.

Tsk!

Watching Master Zheng's departing figure, Jia Huan was already certain that a considerable amount of the Rong Mansion's inner treasury's silver reserves had been taken away by the old lady.

In fact, it is entirely possible to deduce this from the subsequent plot of the original novel, Dream of the Red Chamber.

The construction of the Grand View Garden did indeed cost a fortune, but that was all from the Lin family's assets and the Xue family's donations. The Ning and Rong mansions contributed their own money, but it certainly wasn't a large amount.

In the original novel, after the Grand View Garden was completed, the Rong Mansion's cash flow was completely depleted.

This is a joke. It doesn't stand up to scrutiny at all!

With Wang Xifeng, that big fool, ensuring the normal operation of the Rong Mansion, and with no extra expenses, where did the silver in the inner treasury go?

The silver in the inner treasury is the family fortune left by two generations of Duke Rongguo, how could it be less?

Just as Master Zheng had guessed, the amount was at least several million taels!

Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to two generations of founding nobles and leaders!

The only explanation is that the internal silver reserves were transferred out long ago.

Who has that ability? Isn't it just that old lady who has controlled the inner treasury for many years?

Jia Huan understood the situation and urged the somewhat worried Aunt Zhao to continue enjoying her dinner. After all, it had cost extra money, and they couldn't afford to waste it.

Sure enough, when it got completely dark, Master Zheng Er came over looking dejected again.

Just as Jia Huan had guessed, Master Zheng Er rushed to Rongqing Hall in high spirits and full of hope to claim the 300,000 taels of silver that he, as the second son of the legitimate wife, was entitled to.

The result was naturally rejected outright!

The old lady was furious, saying that she was not dead yet, and the Second Master Zheng was already thinking about dividing the family property. Wasn't that a bit too hasty?

A reprimand full of moral condemnation made Master Zheng kneel down, not daring to utter a single word.

Finally, the old lady stated directly that as long as she was alive, the first and second wives would not separate. As for the silver in the inner treasury, it would naturally not be taken out and divided directly; it would remain in the inner treasury for unforeseen circumstances.

Sure enough, Master Zheng returned dejectedly, but his expression was rather subtle.

She no longer reprimanded Jia Huan for his previous slander of the old lady, clearly knowing what was going on.

Jia Huan thought this was perfect!

In the story of Dream of the Red Chamber, Master Zheng is a typical example of blind filial piety. In modern terms, he's a classic mama's boy.

Compared to the dejected Master Zheng, Jia Huan remained calm and was not greatly affected.

Of course, he hadn't expected this to happen before, and hadn't considered whether the old lady would support him; he just subconsciously felt that the old lady definitely wouldn't object.

As a result, this awkward situation has arisen!

"Sir, there's no need to be discouraged. We haven't reached the end of our rope yet!"

"As for the silver, we'll try our best to find a way; we should be able to raise it, albeit with some difficulty!"

"But this time, the Ning family will have to foot the bill the majority!"

At this point, Jia Huan felt somewhat fortunate, as the Ning family was currently easy to talk to and easy to control.

If Jia Zhen were still in charge, it would be virtually impossible to squeeze money out of him to make a big profit.

Will the Eastern Prefecture agree?

The Second Master Zheng was very insecure, and his voice sounded somewhat guilty and short of breath.

There was no way around it; a million taels of silver was an immense burden, weighing him down and making it hard for him to breathe.

Fortunately, despite the previous events, his mindset, though still depressed, was not filled with gloom and despair, and he still wanted to fight back.

"You have no choice but to agree!"

Jia Huan coldly said, "Given the current state of the Ning Mansion, it simply cannot withstand any storms!"

"As long as we tell Rong-ge'er and Rong-ge'er's wife that the Ning family's debt has come to the attention of the current emperor, the couple will definitely not dare to harbor any illusions!"

"Besides, it's not like there's no benefit to it!"

"Don't worry about this, sir. I will personally explain things to those people in the Ning family!"

"This time, their household must come up with at least 600,000 taels of silver, no less, only more!"

This is what domineering means. Jia Huan has completely taken over the Ning Mansion.

Master Zheng was somewhat taken aback, not understanding where Jia Huan got his confidence from.

But since it concerned his own vital interests, he ultimately said nothing.

"That's still 400,000 taels short!"

With his brows furrowed and his face still grim, the Second Master Zheng said in a deep voice, "This money will not be easy to raise!"

"Your wife should be able to contribute some of it!"

Jia Huan said calmly, "How should I put it, 100,000 taels shouldn't be a problem, right?"

He looked at Master Zheng Er with a questioning look in his eyes: "I'm not trying to be rude, but with Madam managing the household for nearly twenty years, she could easily raise half a Lai family out of the money she's earned through her own efforts!"

"Half of the Lai family?"

The second master originally wanted to say that the second branch of the family could only contribute a maximum of fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver from their private treasury.

Upon hearing Jia Huan's explanation, he was stunned, his heart filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Even if he was ignorant, he knew that the Ning family had confiscated Lai Er's house and found 450,000 taels of silver. Just thinking about that number made him feel agitated.

All he lacks now is a mere 400,000 taels of silver.

"how can that be possible?"

With an unnatural expression on his face, Master Zheng Er shook his head and said, "Huan-ge'er, don't talk nonsense!"

"Master, do you really think that Steward Zhou Rui is inferior to Lai Er?"

Jia Huan continued to sow discord: "Even his good-for-nothing son-in-law, Leng Zixing, can easily set up an antique shop outside!"

He lowered his voice and said coldly, "Sir, do you think the antiques in Leng Zixing's shop came from somewhere? Were they all obtained through normal channels?"

The Second Master Zheng's expression gradually changed from normal to ugly.

Although his eyes were full of disbelief, the understanding and anger in them showed that he believed Jia Huan's story.

Now that Jia Huan had started, he naturally wouldn't stop easily. He said leisurely, "Master, you probably don't know, but most of the income from the estates in the manor has actually ended up in the hands of the old lady and the madam!"

Then, ignoring the stunned and numb expression on the Second Master's face, he briefly explained the private dealings of the heads of the eight major estates outside the city.

"How could it be possible if the village head's share alone didn't amount to ten thousand taels of silver a year?"

"It's a pity, I was planning to use the grain stored in the manor's estates to make a fortune through cooperation!"

Then, he briefly talked about his collaboration with Jia Qiang of the Ning Mansion to do grain business while grain prices were high in the capital, with the focus naturally on the Ning Mansion's profits.

"Does the master know how much money the Ning family made in just two months by selling grain and other daily necessities?"

Master Zheng shook his head blankly. He was only half as knowledgeable about business matters.

But he was short of money at the time, and extremely short of money, so naturally his attention was drawn to him.

Seeing Jia Huan speak of it so solemnly, he knew in his heart that he must have made a lot of money, but he didn't take it too seriously.

Even if he was not knowledgeable in business, he knew that the advantage of grain trading was its stability, and it was difficult to make a lot of money in a short period of time; otherwise, grain shops in the capital would not be so stable.

"Ninety thousand taels, a full ninety thousand taels!"

Unexpectedly, the number Jia Huan mentioned immediately stunned Master Zheng, who almost stood up from his chair, exclaiming in disbelief, "How could there be so much?"

Jia Huan smiled faintly and said slowly, "This is just a small part. The real big part is in the hands of those commanders of the Five Armies Commandery. Where did the millions of taels of silver that the court spent in just a few months go?"

Chapter 126 A Laughingstock in the Capital (Please Subscribe)

Only by truly getting involved can one realize just how corrupt the military grain trade really is!

The Ning family was relatively fortunate, as this was their first time doing such a business, and they didn't have a strong pillar of support. The military rations they sold were all real grain.