Chapter 238: Strangeness, disappointment, indifference and determination

Yu Lingye had long been accustomed to the Fang family's expressions and his mother's behavior, and his mood did not fluctuate at all.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand taels?" Yu Lingye looked at Fang Zhengtian, "Are you sure it only costs two hundred and fifty thousand taels?"

Fang Zhengtian felt even happier when he heard this.

"If it's a little more, it would be fine. Ye'er, you know that the Fang family has a lot of expenses, and we have been fined for three years, so money is very tight."

"How about, consider it as your uncle's debt to you, and give him a few tens of thousands more taels?"

Yu Lingye: "Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

Fang Zhengtian rolled his eyes.

Of course, the more the better.

In addition to the 300,000 taels of silver, it would be best to give an additional 100,000 taels.

If he couldn't give 100,000 taels, 50,000 taels wouldn't be too little.

Fang Zhengtian said, "If we can raise an extra hundred or eighty thousand, that would be the best."

"Haha." Yu Lingye laughed out loud.

He was clearly smiling, but there was no smile on his face.

Fang Zhengtian's heart was beating fast.

Is this an agreement or a disagreement?

If you agree, give me a definite answer, and it would be best if you could give him the money today.

Three hundred thousand taels of silver, if you put it in a money shop for four or five days, you can earn dozens of taels of interest.

"Ye'er," the concubine said, "your uncle is right. It won't be a big deal for you to get an extra hundred or eighty thousand. Your uncle and your grandmother have had a hard time..."

Xie Yingmian couldn't bear to listen any longer.

It’s not easy, it’s not easy!

"It wasn't easy for his uncle, it wasn't easy for his grandmother, so how could it be easy for him?" Xie Yingmian faced the Concubine Dowager directly, her voice filled with anger. "As Yu Lingye's mother, it's fine if you don't share Yu Lingye's worries, but you're causing him trouble."

"Is it Yu Lingye who is causing other people's difficulties?"

"It's not easy for others, but it's easy for Yu Lingye? Have you ever taken good care of your son?"

"Those who know him say that Yu Lingye is your biological son. Those who don't think he is your enemy. I've seen people cheat their sons, but I've never seen anyone cheat his son like you."

"How dare you!" The concubine shouted angrily, "Who are you to speak to me like that?"

Xie Yingmian sneered: "Oh, are you angry out of shame?"

"Teacher, there's no need to worry about Zuo Yan. I'm just asking you, what's going on with the Fang family? What's going on with the old lady of the Fang family?"

"You keep saying it's not easy, but they all wear gold and silver, have gorgeous clothes, and spend lavishly. Their food and clothing are more luxurious than a concubine like you. If you still say it's not easy, then there is no one in the world who has not had a hard time."

The concubine's face flushed red after being scolded by Xie Yingmian: "Ye'er, don't you care about her?"

Yu Lingye's eyes were as cold as his voice: "The princess didn't say anything wrong."

"I am also very curious about what has become of the Fang family? Why don't you tell me in detail, Mother?"

The concubine said, "Your uncle is in charge of a large family."

"The Fang family has many expenses but little income. It's very difficult to support the family with only your uncles' salaries."

"As your nephew, what's wrong with you helping out?"

Yu Lingye's lips curled up: "Oh? How many people are there in the Fang family?"

The concubine did not hear the other meaning in Yu Lingye's words.

She said, "The Fang family has over 300 people in total. The monthly expenses are several thousand taels, not to mention food, clothing, and social interactions."

"With just your uncles' salaries, we can't support so many people, isn't that right, brother?"

Fang Zhengtian felt something was wrong.

But I couldn't figure out what was wrong for a moment.

He echoed the concubine's words: "That's right, the Fang family is large and the expenses are high. Your other uncles and I don't have high positions and salaries. It's been very difficult these years."

Yu Lingye looked at the concubine quietly.

The concubine didn't know what Yu Lingye meant.

She felt that Yu Lingye would not really be so cruel and would just be unhappy, so she said:

"Ye'er, Mother knows that you are a good child who is both loyal and filial. I also know that you are always cold-faced but soft-hearted. So, Mother will make the decision. You will collect 280,000 taels and give it to your uncle."

"Your uncle has already collected 30,000 taels. The New Year is coming soon. I'll leave 10,000 taels for your uncle to have a good New Year..."

Bang!

Yu Lingye slammed the document in his hand heavily on the table.

He looked at the concubine with eyes as cold as a knife: "Mother, are you sure?"

The Toffee was startled.

She looked up and met Yu Lingye's eyes.

Those eyes were filled with strangeness, disappointment, indifference and determination.

"Ye'er, what's with your attitude?" the concubine said, "I'm your mother, how can you speak to me in this way?"

Yu Lingye's eyes were dark. "Excuse me, mother, do you know how many people I need to support?"

The concubine said, "In our palace, including the guards and maids, there are less than sixty people in total."

Yu Lingye's smile was filled with endless mockery: "Mother, do you think I only need to support these sixty people in the palace?"

Toffee murmured.

Isn’t it?

If we don’t support these sixty people, who will we support?

Xie Yingmian gave Yan Qing a wink.

Yan Qing stood up.

He picked up the account book and said loudly, "The prince has done a lot of business to make money. Every shop needs a shopkeeper, an accountant, and clerks. The entire industry of the Dayu Dynasty adds up to no less than 3,000 people."

"As long as the shop is open for one day, the prince must pay them their full wages. For these three thousand people, a monthly salary would be 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver."

The concubine wanted to say that the shop needed to pay monthly wages, but it also made money.

There was no time to ask this question.

Yan Qing took the account book.

He informed Yu Lingye of the profit and loss during the six months that he had been in a coma.

After hearing that the business was suffering overall losses, the toffee could no longer sit still.

"Your business is doing very well, how could you possibly be losing money?" The concubine said, "Besides, even if your business loses money, you still have your fiefdom."

"It's the end of the year now, and the taxes collected after the autumn should be collected. The fiefdom has hundreds of thousands of people, and the taxes converted into silver would be at least a million taels. Your uncle and his men only need 280,000 taels."

"Two hundred and eighty thousand taels shouldn't be a lot of money to you. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

When Yu Lingye heard this, his heart sank.

No wonder my mother has always been lavishly giving money to the Fang family.

No wonder the Fang family and my mother were so sure that he could come up with the money.

It turns out that they were targeting the tax revenue from the fiefdom!

"Mother, do you know where my fiefdom is?" Yu Lingye asked.

The concubine said, "Of course I know."

Yu Lingye mocked, "Does mother know that that place is the poorest in the Dayu Dynasty?"

The Toffee didn't know about these things.

She only knew about the tax system of the fiefdom. The imperial court only collected 10% of the taxes, and the rest was decided by Yu Lingye.

Even if he collected 20% tax in total, Yu Lingye could still keep 10%.

The fiefdom is so large and the population is so large that 10% of the tax revenue is a huge sum of money.

Yu Lingye said, "The fiefdom is mountainous and the grain production is low. In good years, we can barely pay 10% of the taxes to the court. In bad years, not only can we not pay taxes, but the people can hardly eat."

"However, this year's disasters are particularly severe."

"Months of torrential rain have reduced grain production by 70% to 80%. Of the remaining grain, 10% must be paid as tax to the imperial court. If the grain is paid as tax, what will the people eat? How will they survive this winter? Has your mother ever thought about this?"