Chapter 147 Imperial Power

Although Chen Qi did not dare to refuse due to the imperial power, Princess Pingyang did not give her a chance to refuse.

As soon as she finished speaking, before Shen Qi stood up, a maid dressed in palace dress presented a gift and knelt forward to accept it.

Another gift that has been prepared long ago.

The eldest princess took a quick look, nodded, picked out a red gold dragon necklace, put it on Ming'er's neck with her own hands, and asked her with a smile.

"Huai Ming, do you like it?"

Ming'er raised her head slightly and took in everyone's expressions. After all, she was only eight years old, and she really didn't understand why no one had a smile on their face today.

She looked at the princess in bright yellow, smiling, and nodded, telling the truth.

"like."

The princess also smiled and nodded.

"That's good. From now on, you are my goddaughter."

Chen Qi felt a chill in her heart, and she stood up and walked forward. Just as she was about to speak, Meng Shi saw this and followed her forward. She leaned over and dragged her down, and they knelt together to express their gratitude.

Imperial power is supreme and infinite.

Whether it was the Xie family who engaged in business, the Wen family who served as officials, or even the direct descendants of the sage Meng family of Hedong, no matter how rich or powerful they were, or how high their family background was, they were all under the imperial power.

Regardless of whether Chen Qi agrees or not, or Huai Ming nods or not, what Princess Pingyang wants to do is unstoppable.

Chen Qi knelt on the ground and couldn't help but dig her nails into her palms.

…

The sun was setting when Xie Yuduo came out of the study. The eldest princess had already left for home, and Chen Qi had been waiting for him with the children for a long time.

Xie Yuduo's face was cold and hard, and he remained silent.

An old man walked side by side with him and accompanied him to the carriage.

Lord Wen walked behind the two of them, following closely.

Chen Qi didn't know the old man's identity, so she took the opportunity to take a look at him. She saw that he was nearly seventy years old, with pale hair, but he was neatly dressed, walked steadily, and had a gentle smile on his face.

When leaving and getting on the horse, Xie Yuduo hesitated for a moment, but still turned around and bowed to the old man. Seeing this, Chen Qi hurriedly pulled the children and prepared to follow suit.

The old man stepped forward, helped Xie Yuduo up with both hands, and spoke with a sincere tone.

"Why are you so polite, sir? It's really troublesome! Thank you very much!"

He looked at Chen Qi, who was standing beside him with the children, and her face was also full of kindness.

“Mrs. Shen, you have a good husband!”

Chen Qi did not deny it, but lowered her head slightly and thanked him in a low voice for the compliment.

Everyone said goodbye and went home. Just as they walked out of a street, without waiting for Chen Qi to call him, Xie Yuduo dismounted, lifted the curtain, and stepped into Chen Qi's carriage.

Chen Qi had wanted to call him over for a long time, and now she was in a state of confusion. She pulled her husband's arm and asked him questions repeatedly.

"Who is that old man? Why does he want to thank you? What does he want you to do?"

Xie Yuduo sighed deeply, then lay down in the car, resting his head on Shen Qi's legs, and gave her the sweetest kiss. He then took her hand and covered his eyes with it, his voice low.

"He is the current prime minister, Zhou Ting'en."

After hearing this, Chen Qi couldn't help but close her eyes, feeling desolate.

No matter which one it is, the princess in power or the prime minister, no matter what they want to do, they are not people that the Xie family can afford to offend.

Xie Yuduo couldn't help but cover his face with Chen Qi's sleeve, sniffed her scent, and tried to calm down.

"He asked me to help the court raise military funds."

"Military pay? War pay? Isn't that the court's responsibility? We're not officials, so why should we ask you to raise the money... How much silver does this cost?"

"Eighty million taels."

The total annual tax revenue of the current imperial treasury is only 30 million taels of silver.

They wanted the Xie family to give up nearly three to two years of national treasury revenue.

Chen Qi felt relieved when she heard such a large sum of money. She knew his wealth and the growth of the Xie family's assets.

"It's not bad. My family can afford it. It will only take seven or eight years, or at most ten years..."

Xie Yuduo touched her hand and smiled bitterly.

"Three years."

"Three years?! In such a short time, the imperial court wants to lend us 80 million taels of silver!"

“…only borrowing, never returning.”

After hearing this, Chen Qi became furious.

"Why don't they just issue an order to confiscate the property? It would be much quicker!"

…

The Xie couple had just arrived at Qingyun Street, and before they even reached their doorstep, Lord Wen and Madam Meng followed them.

The four of them went into the study together and went over all the details of today carefully, back to front, and finally understood the whole story.

Twenty years ago, the northern border was in turmoil, and vast tracts of territory fell into the hands of the enemy. Now, the emperor has been in power for several years. He is young and promising. Seeing the country's prosperity and the people's strength, he has long planned to march north to reclaim the old territory.

The battle in northern Xinjiang started three years ago.

I thought I could successfully withdraw my troops within two years, but it has dragged on until now. The war has become increasingly tense, and both sides have begun to fight, but the national treasury is becoming increasingly empty.

Raising military funds was the top priority for the then Prime Minister Zhou Ting'en.

The national treasury is empty, and the Jiangbei Xie family, a wealthy merchant family that can rival a country, is the most eye-catching nest of silver.

…

The Wen couple tried to explain in every possible way that they really had no idea what the eldest princess and the prime minister were planning.

Lord Wen is on vacation today, and he sent an invitation to the Xie family yesterday, indeed just to have a gathering to appreciate the flowers.

Before the Xie family arrived at the Wen family, they were asking people to prepare fruits and snacks for viewing the flowers.

Suddenly, a servant came to report that the Prime Minister was coming to Wen's house. Wen Boyuan was so panicked that he hurriedly changed into his official robe and went out to greet him. However, the Prime Minister was in casual clothes, sitting in the study drinking tea.

In the Wen family's rear house, Meng Qinghui had just learned that her husband was going to receive the prime minister of the current dynasty when someone informed her that Princess Pingyang had arrived.

The matter was so urgent and pressing that the couple really couldn't guess what it was, but the princess in charge and the prime minister arriving at the house at the same time must be a shocking event!

…

After hearing this, Xie Yuduo held his forehead and sighed.

They knew he was worth eighty million taels, knew he doted on his daughter, knew they were in the capital, and even knew they would be visiting the Wen family today...

The princess and the powerful minister came out of nowhere and caught everyone off guard. It was not a one-day job.

As soon as he met the old prime minister today, he knew that Shen Ji and Yu Suo's places in the Imperial College must have been intentional on his part.

Now it seems that whether the Xie family comes to the capital or goes to the Wen Mansion, the imperial court has already set its eyes on this piece of fat meat of the Xie family.

Even if the Xie family does not come to the capital, Guangling City is still within the imperial territory.

If the imperial court wanted to use the merchants' money, it could use bribery or even coercion.

If you find the slightest mistake, an imperial decree will be issued to confiscate the property of the entire family and exile them. It would take no effort at all. Even if the merchant was as rich as a country, his money would naturally go into the national treasury.

Chen Qi was right, they did think about confiscating the house.

However, Xie Yuduo, the richest man in Jiangbei, is indeed an impeccable businessman.

At home, he loved his wife, took care of the elderly and children; outside, he befriended the rich and helped the poor, and was generous and charitable.

He started from a small Pingshan County and worked his way up to become the richest man in Jiangbei. He inevitably devoured other people's wealth and made many strategic moves. Naturally, he had extraordinary scheming and tactics, as well as many business strategies that he could not tell anyone.

However, no one was found to have died, and his business would never violate the law.

Clean and tidy.

He had promised Chen Qi that he would never kill anyone and would never put himself in danger.

He married a wife who was always timid and cautious. In order to make her feel at ease in her dreams, he always cherished human life and abided by the law, and finally he got this reward.

Therefore, the court decided to have a serious discussion with him.

The court offered no bargaining chips: no confiscating property or exterminating the entire family, but rather exiling them.