From the Red Mansion, you can travel through the world of martial arts

Chapter 381 Prince Zhongshun
When they arrived in front of Prince Zhongshun's palace, a group of people dismounted. Jia Wei looked around the magnificent prince's palace before waving his hand.

A Ti cavalryman stepped forward and showed the gatekeeper his Jinyiwei badge, then knocked on the side door and the group entered.

The Zhongshun Palace was extremely powerful, so of course they could not act rashly without reason. In other words, Jia Wei's predecessor, the Jinyi Commander, had to kneel down and beg for an audience.

A small team of Jinyiwei, less than ten people, were led into the reception room. As soon as Jia Wei sat down, a pretty maid came in and served him tea.

He glanced at the maid casually, and then looked at the furnishings in the hall. All the furniture and antiques were more exquisite and luxurious than those in the palace.

However, it seems that Prince Zhongshun not only borrowed a lot of money from the Ministry of Revenue, but also committed many evil deeds such as seizing people's property and occupying land to make money. Naturally, he has a rich family background.

After all, in addition to the expenses of enjoying a luxurious life in daily life, Prince Zhongshun also had to spend a lot of money to win over ministers and gain people's hearts.

Therefore, Prince Zhongshun has always been known as the "virtuous king". Over the years, he has built up such a huge network of power that the emperor would be afraid to act rashly when he saw it.

Jia Wei waited for a quarter of an hour before he saw an old man and a young man coming in one after another. The former was Prince Zhongshun, and the latter was Chen Tao, the prince of the royal palace.

Prince Zhongshun was over forty years old, in the prime of his life, with thick black hair and beard, and a plump face that exuded a sense of majesty without even being angry. He wore a round-necked dragon robe and a winged crown, and looked very good.

At first glance, Crown Prince Chen Tao was a talented young man with a handsome appearance and a dignified appearance.

Jia Wei stood up slowly, bowed and said with a smile: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Prince Zhongshun walked in, his eyes fixed on Jia Wei.

Before Jia Wei rose to prominence, he hid behind the scenes, claiming to be ill and living in the palace all year round to manipulate the court, so this was the first time the two met.

"Marquis Yong'an, there's no need to be polite!" Prince Zhongshun smiled heartily, "I've long heard that Ningguo Mansion has produced a young talent, who won the martial arts examination, saved the emperor and suppressed the rebellion, and was awarded the first-class marquisate. This prince and Marquis Yong'an have been friends for a long time, and today is the chance to meet!"

"Your Majesty, you are too kind!" Jia Wei also laughed, and suddenly changed the subject:
"Isn't the prince ill in bed and unable to attend court? I know a little bit about medicine, and after a few examinations, I feel that the prince is in good health and is at the age where he can accomplish great things."

Jia Wei smiled and said, "Why don't I report to His Majesty and let the prince take charge of the overall situation of the court, which can also relieve His Majesty's worries!"

The prince Chen Tao behind him changed his expression when he heard this, and looked Jia Wei up and down with a pair of vicious eyes, which were extremely unfriendly.

Prince Zhongshun was still smiling: "Marquis Yong'an really knows a little about medicine. I have been treated by famous doctors in the Imperial Hospital, but my body is too weak to work, so I can only stay at home."

"I see."

"Sit down!" Prince Zhongshun smiled.

The host and the guest sat separately, and a maidservant served tea. Jia Wei looked around the tables, chairs, and furniture in the hall and said with a smile, "Your Highness is really blessed. This auspicious incense burner with carved elephants and a golden lacquered blue dragon with eight orifices is something that even the palace doesn't have!"

Prince Zhongshun said with a smile, "They are just toys, nothing to worry about. Marquis Yong'an likes them? Just take them."

"Is that so?" Jia Wei smiled. "I have long heard of the great reputation of the 'virtuous king'. Your Majesty is virtuous, so I can only refuse his invitation with disrespect..."

Prince Zhongshun waved his hand, not taking it seriously, and said, "Have someone pack these two things up and send them to the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion."

Chen Tao's face twitched. Could it be that Jia Wei came to beg for money?
He couldn't help but interrupted, "I haven't asked why the Marquis of Yong'an brought the Jinyiwei to the palace today?" "Don't misunderstand, my lord. These people are my escorts." Jia Wei laughed dryly, "I did come here today for some trivial matters."

He looked at Prince Zhongshun: "Your Highness lives in the palace, so you may not know that the emperor ordered the Jinyiwei to cooperate with Lord Lin of the Ministry of Revenue to recover the debt owed to the national treasury..."

"What debt to the treasury?"

Chen Tao slammed the table and shouted, "That was the money the Emperor gave us. When the Emperor was alive, no one dared to ask us to pay it back. You had the guts to ask Lin Ruhai to come in person. Why are you Jinyiwei meddling in other people's business?"

Jia Wei only chuckled when he was interrupted. After Chen Tao finished speaking, he continued, "Your Highness, we sorted out the treasury accounts and found that the Zhongshun Palace owed 3.7 million taels of silver... It's so shocking. Now that His Majesty has ordered us to recover the debt owed to the treasury, I wonder what your plans are?"

Chen Tao, who was standing by, saw that Jia Wei ignored him and went to talk to Prince Zhongshun. He was so angry that his eyes were wide open. He slammed the table, stood up, pointed at Jia Wei and started to scold him.

But Prince Zhongshun turned around and glanced at him coldly. Chen Tao was immediately speechless and his face turned red with anger. He had no choice but to sit down obediently.

Prince Zhongshun looked at Jia Wei, sighed again, and then slowly said: "To be honest with Marquis Yong'an, the national treasury is indeed in arrears! Three million seven hundred thousand taels is not too little!"

"But this is also a helpless move. This huge palace has a lot of daily expenses. This prince is frugal, but he is afraid of losing the etiquette of a prince and bringing shame to the royal family..."

Prince Zhongshun sighed and said, "Marquis Yong'an asked me what to do, but he asked the wrong person. Since His Majesty has asked Minister Lin and the Royal Guards to investigate the deficit, then what to do should be decided by Minister Lin and Marquis Yong'an!"

"Without the loan from the Ministry of Revenue, the future expenses of the Prince's Palace will become a problem, not to mention paying back the 3.7 million taels of silver borrowed from the Ministry of Revenue. But as long as the Marquis of Yong'an and Minister Lin say a word, even if I have to confiscate this Prince's Palace to pay off the debt, I will never say a word!"

Jia Wei had a blank expression on his face. It was not difficult to guess Prince Zhongshun’s reaction. He admitted that he owed the debt, but he didn’t have the money.

It's just a piece of meat, and he is lying about it openly.

Chen Tao's anger turned into joy after hearing this, and he quickly said with a smile: "That's right, father is right, can we go against His Majesty? How about this, I will move these belongings to the street tomorrow, and sell them for as much silver as I can. If I can't pay back the money, I can make up the interest."

Jia Wei shook his head and said, "Your Highness is wrong. How to deal with the debt depends on the palace's opinion. Let's skip this matter. I have another thing to do."

Chen Tao snorted coldly: "Tell me what you have to say!"

Jia Wei looked at Chen Tao with a smile: "Coincidentally, this matter is related to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"It's related to me?" Chen Tao frowned, "What is it?"

Jia Wei asked with a smile, "I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had a close relationship with the rebel king Ning Jing a while ago. Is this true?"

Chen Tao raised his eyebrows and said angrily: "What do you mean by saying this? I did have contact with him in the past, but I was not the only one in the royal family who had contact with him? The traitor king is dead, burned to ashes, why are you mentioning him!"

Jia Wei suddenly stopped smiling and his tone became extremely cold!
"The Northern Pacification Office has several confession files of the rebels, which mention that His Royal Highness was involved in the Ningjing County Prince's conspiracy to rebel."

"Many people have mentioned that the Prince of Ningjing promised that, 'after the matter is accomplished, he will confer the title of Prince Zhongshun's son Chen Tao as a prince to appease the people's hearts.' Please, His Royal Highness, come with us!"

(End of this chapter)