The Prodigal Son

The next day, Qin Yu prepared to set off early, and Jiang Ci also prepared to set off.

However, since Qin Yu planned to rectify officialdom and salt affairs along the way before slowly making his way to Jiuyi Prefecture, he sent Jiang Ci ahead of him, and they would meet again once they arrived in Jiuyi Prefecture.

Before they set off, Guo Yang's men had already been sent out, leaving only Guo Yang by Qin Yu's side.

"Then we'll wait for you at Jiuyi Prefecture. You absolutely have to come! If Sister Xuan gets excited for nothing, she'll nag me to death."

Before leaving, Jiang Ci seemed worried that Qin Yu would break his promise, so she extended another invitation to him.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely go!"

Qin Yu agreed with a smile: "However, I might have a lot to do on the way, so I estimate I won't arrive for a few days."

"I know you're busy, it's good that you've arrived!" Jiang Ci giggled, then waved to Qin Yu and Lü Si, "Then we'll see you at Jiuyi Prefecture!"

"good!"

Qin Yu smiled and agreed.

Soon, Jiang Ci boarded the carriage and left, and Qin Yu also officially set off.

"So you've hooked up with Jiang Ci again?"

As soon as Jiang Ci left, Lü Si asked her in a cheeky manner.

"Can't you think of anything good?"

Qin Yu looked at Lü Si with displeasure, "They're just ordinary friends."

"Who would believe that!"

Lu Si curled his lip, "You said back then that you and Xu Wan were just friends!"

"I……"

Qin Yu was speechless for a moment.

"See? I was right."

Lu Si snorted and then whispered, "Are you still thinking about that Xuan something... oh, right, Xuan Cailing!"

"Uh-huh."

Qin Yu was too lazy to explain to him, "I'm fucking greedy and lustful, I want to take any beautiful woman I see into my room! What, are you jealous?"

"I'm not envious at all!"

Lu Si pursed his lips. "Right now, I just want to get to the bottom of that matter as quickly as possible!"

Got it!

Young Master Lü is starting to have ambition too!

Qin Yu smiled, ignored Lü Si, and rode off.

Nan Que'er followed beside Qin Yu and asked with a low laugh, "On this trip to Jiuyi Prefecture, you probably also want to investigate the Xuan family's situation, right?"

"Um."

Qin Yu nodded slightly, then began to ponder silently in his heart.

The Xuan family were tea merchants, and according to his understanding, they used to frequently travel to Longshan County.

When it came to selecting candidates for salt merchants, Shi Yi immediately thought of the Xuan family.

If the Crown Prince's case is related to the Shi family, I wonder if it is also related to the Xuan family.

Investigate!

Regardless of whether there's a connection or not, we have to investigate!

Let's just consider this an opportunity to investigate the background of the new salt merchant!

……

Yun Huai, a historian.

After finishing his business with salt affairs in Taozhou, Shi Yi finally returned home.

These days, he is dealing with the salt affairs in Taozhou while also putting the finishing touches on Ge Songtao's matter.

The Ge family's property was seized, and all those involved in the illegal rock salt mining case were also dealt with.

It would have been better if he hadn't known these inside stories. But once he did, Shi Yi was so angry he wanted to dig Ge Songtao up and whip his corpse.

These damn bastards!

He had already subtly warned these people to know their limits!

As a result, these bastards became increasingly audacious.

Now things have gotten really bad. The imperial court has been angered and, disregarding the threats from Beiqi, is determined to thoroughly overhaul the salt administration.

The money they had previously spent, along with interest, was all gone, and many people even lost their lives!

Are you satisfied now?

I should have dealt with these bastards sooner!

That way, you can also gain merit from the imperial court!

"Second Brother."

Upon learning that Shi Yi had returned home, Shi Wang hurriedly came to find him.

"Um!"

Shi Yi nodded slightly, asking wearily, "How's the money preparation going?"

When it comes to money, Shi Wang's heart bleeds.

Three million taels of silver!

How many years would it take to earn that much money!

"Two million six hundred thousand taels have already been prepared, and the remaining amount will be raised within three days."

Shi Wang forced a painful reply, then asked somewhat reluctantly, "Are we really going to sell some shops?"

Shi Yi's face fell. "What, you're not willing?"

Shi Wang glanced at his second brother and said, "It's not like we can't afford this much money. Those shops are all prime locations; it's such a waste to sell them at such a discount!"

Three million taels of silver is indeed a painful sum.

But historians can still hold on!

They didn't need to sell those prime shops at a loss just to raise money.

"I'm telling you, those shops have to be sold!"

Shi Yi's voice suddenly turned cold, brooking no argument: "Not only are we selling, but we're selling for real! Don't try to pull any of those shady deals!"

"Why?"

Shi Wang retorted indignantly, "We've already lost three million taels of silver; do we not need these shops to recoup that loss?"

Are you brain-dead?

Shi Yi was furious, glaring at his brother with a dark face: "You're in your fifties, don't you even understand the saying 'It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who's eyeing you'?"

All those years of food have gone to waste!

Yes, the historians can indeed come up with three million taels of silver, and it will absolutely not affect their existing business.

However, historians should learn a lesson from this incident!

They sold off those prime shops at rock-bottom prices to tell the imperial court that the Shi family doesn't have much money left and that the Shi family is also in trouble!

To prevent the imperial court from finding another excuse to covet the historian's money!

If someone is constantly being targeted, even if the Shi family has a mountain of gold, it will eventually be emptied out!

The historian accepted the punishment and fully cooperated with the imperial court to rectify the salt administration.

The imperial court should stop coveting the Shi family and stop trying to take advantage of them whenever it's short of money!

After being reprimanded by Shi Yi, Shi Wang immediately fell silent.

"Think long-term, don't just focus on immediate gains!"

Shi Yi glared at him again and asked, "Have those salt merchants delivered the silver yet?"

Shi Wang suppressed his resentment and replied with a cold face, "Four families have already sent their money; the rest are probably still raising funds."

"Send someone back to tell them that fifteen days means fifteen days! If they exceed that deadline, don't blame me for not warning them when Qin Yu finds them!"

Shi Yi was clearly not satisfied with the result.

The historians were all implicated by those bastards!

If it weren't for those bastards' insatiable greed, which forced Zhao Luan to make the decision to reorganize the salt administration, there wouldn't be so much trouble.

The Shi family paid out three million taels of silver, including principal and interest, without uttering a sound. What right do they have to complain?

"Um."

Shi Wang nodded listlessly. "By the way, have we weathered this crisis?"

Shi Yi nodded slightly, then reminded him, "Even if we get through this, we can't be careless! As long as Qin Yu and Lü Si haven't returned to the capital, things could still change! Tell everyone in the manor to keep quiet. Anyone who dares to cause trouble at this time will face my wrath!"

It appears that the crisis has been temporarily averted.

However, Qin Yu is no good!

Moreover, there's that beast Lü Si by my side!

They all have some grudges against the historians, and they might find all sorts of ways to make things difficult for them!

We must not give Qin Yu and his group any excuse to cause trouble now!

"Um."

Shi Wang agreed, then tentatively asked, "We've suffered such heavy losses this time. Once things calm down, should we reopen that gold mine...?"

"Shut up!"

Shi Yi's expression changed drastically, and he looked at his brother with a frosty expression. "I'm telling you, never, ever mention this again! Even if my Shi family is so poor we have to beg for food, we will never mention this again!"

What a fool!

Once the wound heals, the pain is forgotten!

Has he forgotten the time when he was filled with anxiety and fear?

Qin Yu and the others haven't even returned to the capital yet, and he dares to have such thoughts?

Was he trying to kill them all?

Shi Wang lowered his head and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Anyway, so many years have passed, and the court hasn't suspected anything, so why are we leaving it unattended..."

Before Shi Wang could finish speaking, a cold, sharp gaze swept over him.

"Okay, okay, I won't mention it, I won't mention it!"

Disappointed, she quickly backed down and changed the subject, "Now that you're done with your work, shouldn't you be throwing a one-month celebration for your grandson?"

The baby's full-month celebration should have been held long ago.

They were originally going to Jiangning Prefecture, but later Shi Yi was sent by Qin Yu to Taozhou to reorganize the salt administration.

With the head of the family absent, the full moon celebration was repeatedly postponed.

Now that things have come to a close, it's time to hold the full moon celebration!

Shi Yi thought for a moment, "Let's not do it! We can't be high-profile at this time!"

"How is this being high-profile?"

Shi Wang shook his head and said, "Our Shi family has lost both money and face. There might already be people who don't take us seriously anymore. This is a good opportunity to test the waters and see who our enemies and friends are!"

"Um?"

Shi Yi pondered silently for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's true! However, we can't go on a big fuss; a simple event will suffice!"

It's no big deal to do it!

Ordinary families hold a full moon celebration, let alone the Shi family.

The third brother is right. This is a good opportunity to see if anyone has stopped taking historians seriously...