Chapter 58 Who would have thought the Marquis's residence would be smuggling salt?

Zhang Xiangling grew increasingly anxious, and she stood up and paced back and forth. After a while, she stopped and said:

"No, I must return to the Marquis of Jiangling's residence tomorrow and tell my father and mother what happened at the Duke's mansion. The title cannot be given to someone else just like that. In the first place, I married Jiang Jiarong precisely because he could inherit the title of Duke of Chu."

Bitao glanced at her and asked, "Then...Young Master, you're not going to take care of this?"

Zhang Xiangling glared at her fiercely again, "You're completely focused on him, but I don't have time to care about him right now. I don't even know where the Duke has locked him up."

Bitao kept her mouth shut and didn't speak. Zhang Xiangling felt a burning anger in her chest that she couldn't let out. Now, seeing Bitao, Jiang Jiarong's concubine, her anger flared up even more.

She picked up the water glass on the table and slammed it down in front of Bitao, angrily saying, "You're good at serving men, but you can't serve me. Get out!"

Bitao hurriedly ran out, and Bichun, Zhang Xiangling's other personal maid, glanced at her and could only carefully go in to serve her.

...........

The next day, the weather was still sunny. Jiang Yu got up early to practice her boxing as usual, and Chunxue's practice was much better than the day before. After finishing, she asked Jiang Yu, panting, "Miss, how long have you been practicing?"

“It started when I was five years old,” Jiang Yu said.

To conceal her martial arts skills, she even asked Cheng Xiuyun to hire a martial arts instructor for her. At the time, their family's grocery store wasn't doing very well, but Cheng Xiuyun still reluctantly hired one for her.

At the time, she also said, "My daughter is good at martial arts, so she won't be bullied after she gets married."

Thinking of this, Jiang Yu couldn't help but smile. Just then, a maid brought over breakfast, and Jiang Yu washed up and began to eat.

We had only eaten half of the meal when Granny Liao came over and whispered, "The eldest young mistress has gone out; she should be returning to the Jiangling Marquis's residence."

Jiang Yu continued eating, saying "I understand." With so much happening these past few days, it's understandable that Zhang Xiangling is anxious. She married the eldest son of the legitimate wife, so she probably thought from the beginning that she would become a marquis's wife.

Now that Jiang Jiarong is facing a crisis and his title is somewhat unstable, she is naturally anxious. Jiang Yu doesn't think there's anything wrong with this. Everyone is trying to protect their own interests. Zhang Xiangling, a legitimate daughter of a marquis's family, is a good match for Jiang Jiarong in terms of social standing, and it's normal for her to be after the position of Duchess.

The fear is that if it's true, she won't be able to accept it and might do something rash. Furthermore, if Jiang Jiarong colluded with outsiders to plot against Jiang Chengye, and if Jiang Jiarong had known for a long time that he was actually born out of wedlock, would the Duke of Chu have spared his life?

Jiang Yu didn't know if the Duke of Chu would be so ruthless, after all, Jiang Jiarong was his own grandson. But if it were her, she would definitely not spare Jiang Jiarong's life, because he was a threat. Jiang Jiarong was never a good person to begin with.

........

Zhang Xiangling arrived at the Jiangling Marquis's residence and went directly to the Jiangling Marquis's wife. Upon entering the small flower hall, she saw the Jiangling Marquis's wife examining a gold-inlaid jade hairpin. The hairpin was crystal clear and emerald green, and the patterns inlaid on it were exceptionally exquisite. It was clearly not an expensive hairpin.

Zhang Xiangling couldn't help but ask, "Mother, where did you get this hairpin?"

Lady Jiangling smiled and invited her to sit beside her, saying, "I bought it, of course. Would I steal it?"

Zhang Xiangling took the hairpin from her hand and examined it, then asked, "This hairpin must cost at least a hundred taels of silver. Where did Mother get the money?"

Her question wasn't abrupt at all; the Jiangling Marquis's mansion had been slowly declining in recent years. The Jiangling Marquis was of average ability, holding a sinecure in the imperial court. Although his sons weren't as adept as Jiang Chengye and Jiang Jiarong, they weren't far behind.

Moreover, the Jiangling Marquis's mansion was not as wealthy as the Chu State Duke's mansion. The Chu State Duke's mansion came from a military background, with previous generations of Chu State Dukes all serving as generals. After the founding of the Great Gan Dynasty, the borders were unstable, and three generations of Chu State Dukes made great contributions to pacifying the frontier.

Each time they rendered meritorious service, the emperor would bestow upon them land and gold and silver, making the Duke of Chu's mansion very wealthy. However, later, with the borders stabilized, the emperor at the time intended to strip the Duke of Chu's mansion of its military power. The Duke of Chu, wanting to hold onto military power, nearly led to the destruction of the Duke of Chu's mansion.

However, the Duke of Chu eventually relinquished his military power and recalled all of the Jiang family's influence in the army, shifting his focus from military to civil affairs. This was a blow to the Duke of Chu's family, but they eventually weathered the storm. The current Duke of Chu was once a powerful and influential figure in the imperial court.

But the Jiangling Marquis's family was different. The Jiangling Marquis's family also followed the founding emperor in conquering the country and was granted the title. However, the first Jiangling Marquis was a civil official, and so were the later ones.

When emperors rewarded their officials with great achievements, they usually gave them jade or porcelain items. These items looked valuable, but because they were imperial gifts, they couldn't be exchanged for silver. This was only true for those who had made outstanding contributions, such as pacifying the border regions.

Therefore, the Marquis of Jiangling's household could not rely on the emperor's rewards to become wealthy, nor could they rely on their salary. With less than a hundred strings of cash a month, they couldn't even make ends meet, let alone supplement their household income. They could only maintain the Marquis's household's enormous expenses by managing their ancestral properties, such as land and shops.

The Marquis of Jiangling's family had followed the founding emperor in establishing the dynasty, and the emperor had bestowed upon them considerable rewards. Therefore, the Marquis of Jiangling's family possessed substantial ancestral property.

However, in recent generations, no one in the Jiangling Marquis's household has been particularly good at managing the household, and the expenses of the Marquis's household are enormous, so gradually the income could not keep up with the expenditure. By this generation, although the Jiangling Marquis's household cannot be said to be very poor, it is impossible to maintain the extravagant lifestyle of the past.

For example, this hairpin, which costs over a hundred taels of silver, is beyond the means of the current Lady of Jiangling. That's why Zhang Xiangling asked the Lady of Jiangling where she got the money.

Upon hearing her question, Lady Jiangling waved for the maids and servants to leave, then leaned closer and whispered, "It was given to me by your father and elder brother, who said it was for household use. I haven't bought a hairpin in five or six years, but I saw this one at Linglong Pavilion yesterday and bought it. Isn't it pretty?"

Zhang Xiangling glanced at the hairpin again, casually said it was pretty, and then asked, "Where did Father and my elder brother get the money?"

“They didn’t tell me,” Lady Jiangling said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “but the day before yesterday I went to the study in the front courtyard and vaguely heard your father and elder brother talking about transporting salt.”

Zhang Xiangling's eyes widened in shock. "Smuggling salt? That's a crime punishable by death and the extermination of one's entire family."

"Keep your voice down!" Lady Jiangling looked around and whispered in Zhang Xiangling's ear, "You know what's going on at home. Besides, we're a Marquis's mansion. Who would think that a Marquis's mansion would be involved in smuggling salt?"

"This won't work either!" Zhang Xiangling said urgently.

Lady Jiangling glared at her. "You're like a well-fed man who doesn't know the hunger of an starving man. You live a life of luxury in the Duke of Chu's mansion, while we're struggling every day. Besides, your father and elder brother aren't stupid. They'll surely make some money and then quit. Do you think they'll just wait for someone to come and arrest them?"

"What brings you here today?" asked the Lady of Jiangling.