How many? !
Pei Jianzhi felt as if he was hallucinating.
Grandmother Lu sat upright in her chair, smiling as she held up five fingers.
"It's not much, just five million taels. My Xue'er's Jin Guo Mansion still needs three hundred thousand taels for repairs. Judging from your noble bearing, you must be a generous person. Why don't we pay it all together?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Jianzhi felt his mind go blank.
If he could come up with five million taels, would he still need to fight for a future in the army?
Although Pei Jianzhi always mentioned the name of the Pei family of Qinghe, he was actually just a branch of the Pei family.
Even if they pawned all his houses and fields, they wouldn't be able to scrape together even one million taels, let alone five million.
Seemingly noticing the embarrassment and shock on Pei Jianzhi's face, Grandmother Lu said with a look of disdain.
"I thought he was the young master of some wealthy family clan. How come he can't even come up with a mere five million taels?"
Upon hearing this, Pei Jianzhi couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Do you think this silver is like cow dung on the ground, something you can just pick up anywhere?
Five million taels of silver—let alone for a mere branch of the Pei family, even the main family would have to suffer a major setback if they wanted to come up with that much money!
Seeing her beloved looking embarrassed, Lu Yunxue immediately stepped forward to protect her.
"Grandmother, this amount of money is too large. Please give us some time. What if it's three days? I don't believe that Mu Zi can be so heartless."
Upon hearing this, Pei Jianzhi felt somewhat embarrassed.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said something.
"May I ask, Grandmother, how were these five million taels spent?"
Grandmother Lu was also somewhat dissatisfied with Pei Jianzhi in front of her, and said in a detached tone.
"Naturally, it's all been subsidized by Mu Zian over the years. Xue'er has been away on campaigns for three years, and my Lu family, a large family, needs money for food and supplies."
Pei Jianzhi was speechless again upon hearing this.
What extravagant lifestyle could have led to the expenditure of five million taels of silver in just three years!
At this moment, Pei Jianzhi also made up his mind that if he were to marry Lu Yunxue in the future, he would have to sever ties with the Lu family first.
Otherwise, given how ruthlessly they exploit him, how could they possibly let him go so easily?
In this whole world, perhaps only that foolish prince from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion would be willing to spend money and even pay out of his own pocket.
Although that's what I really think, I can't say it out loud, otherwise I'd lose face in front of the woman I love.
Upon realizing this, Pei Jianzhi coughed twice and then spoke.
“In that case, I do have some ideas that can help Grandmother get rid of this five million taels of debt and make Mu Zian suffer in silence.”
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately became interested, and Lu Yunxue also spoke excitedly.
“I knew that Pei Lang was full of strategies, which is far superior to that playboy Mu Zi’an.”
Pei Jianzhi seemed quite pleased with Lu Yunxue's praise, and then confidently spoke up.
"As the saying goes, taking without permission is theft, but Mu Zian voluntarily contributed, so the money should not be attributed to the Lu family."
Upon hearing this, Grandmother Lu was speechless. She had thought he was going to reveal some earth-shattering strategy, but it turned out to be just this.
Doesn't this mean they're being told to become deadbeats?
In the past, he could have been a deadbeat, but times have changed. Now, Mu Zi'an is a Duke of Zhenguo, holding a high position and great power.
It's not that easy to be a deadbeat.
Pei Jianzhi paused deliberately, but unfortunately, he didn't receive the praise he had imagined. Instead, everyone looked at him as if he were a fool.
Pei Jianzhi looked slightly embarrassed, so he quickly tried to salvage the situation.
"Tonight is a celebration banquet for Xue'er and me. I believe His Majesty will also be present. In the past three years, Xue'er has suffered countless hardships and made countless contributions in the war, while Mu Zi'an is just a playboy in the capital who has made no contribution to the country."
“As long as the two of us explain the situation to His Majesty together at the banquet, His Majesty will surely forgive this mere five million in debt. With His Majesty’s golden word, even Mu Zi, as the Duke of Zhenguo, would not dare to object.”
"In this way, we can both reduce the debts owed by our grandmother and take this opportunity to curb Mu Zian's arrogance. Don't think that just because he has become the Duke of Zhenguo, he can be arrogant and domineering. In the future, we will still be the pillars of the country."
Upon hearing this, Grandmother Lu felt a surge of anger rising within her.
After all that, the bottom line is just two words: no money.
You should know that back then, no matter what he wanted, Mu Zi'an would buy it for him, no matter how expensive it was.
The person in front of me now looks respectable, but he only knows how to make empty promises.
It's true what they say: comparisons are odious!
However, Pei Jianzhi did not sense the strange atmosphere at all, and continued to talk eloquently.
"Even if Mu Zi'an inherits the title of Duke of Zhenguo, so what? The territory of Dali still depends on us to defend it. At most, he is just a leisurely prince. He is ultimately a caged bird and a fish in a jar. He is not worth worrying about."
Hearing this, Lu Yunxue couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If only Pei Jianzhi's words were true.
Thinking of the cold look Mu Zian had given her before, she knew that the five million taels of silver would probably not be so easily forgotten.
However, there was no other way at the moment. She could still manage to scrape together two or three hundred thousand taels, but it was impossible for her to raise five million taels. What Pei Jianzhi said was a last resort.
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