Chapter 257 I must hurry to the palace to plead guilty
The internal personnel and organizational restructuring of Jufeng Money Shop was carried out simultaneously with the business adjustments of related money shops and commercial banks outside the company.
The main changes to the money shops involved reclaiming their right to issue banknotes and the government implementing necessary oversight of each money shop. Every reform has a pilot program, and the pilot program for the money shop reform was Baoyuan Money Shop.
Li Zhengze and Kou Bin went directly to the Beijing branch of Baoyuan Money Exchange and requested to see the owner. The manager, who had been in charge of Baoyuan Money Exchange in Beijing for many years, naturally knew Li Zhengze and Kou Bin.
The shopkeeper, bowing and smiling, ushered the two into the reception room, then immediately sent someone to fetch the head of the Ling family. The head of the Ling family had been feeling down yesterday after hearing from the Princess Consort of Yong that he hadn't been able to get things done, when a servant came to report that two officials from the Secretariat wanted to see him.
When Ling Yaoying, the head of the Ling family, heard that someone from the Secretariat wanted to see him, he knew things were not going well. But he didn't have time to think about it; the person was waiting at the money shop. He immediately took a sedan chair to the money shop, and upon seeing Li Zhengze and Kou Bin, he quickly greeted them with a smile.
Li Zheng looked him up and down, thinking to himself that he didn't know how this man had offended the Duke of Chu, but he said calmly, "I've come today to inform you that Baoyuan Bank is no longer allowed to issue silver notes. You must exchange any silver notes that have already been issued within one month."
Ling Yaoying's mind went blank. Exchanging all the money in one month? This was going to bankrupt their Baoyuan Money Exchange!
"Sir, a month is too tight," Ling Yaoying said with a smile. "The bank doesn't have that much cash!"
“This is something you need to worry about; we are just doing our job,” Li Zhengze said. “In addition, your bank will be subject to inspection by the imperial court every quarter from now on. We hope that Patriarch Ling will cooperate.”
Li Zhengze stood up. "Alright, Patriarch Ling, get ready. The government will issue a notice the day after tomorrow, instructing people who have Baoyuan Bank accounts to exchange them for cash within a month."
“This…” Ling Yaoying broke out in a cold sweat. He stopped Li Zhengze, who was about to leave, and asked, “Do all the banknotes from all the money shops have to be redeemed within a month?”
Li Zheng smiled at him, "Baoyuan Money Shop is a pilot project."
After saying that, he strode away, leaving Ling Yaoying standing there dumbfounded. How could this be? His backer was the Yong Prince's Mansion. Among all these large-scale money shops, few had a stronger backer than him. Why would they choose his family's money shop as a pilot project?
And the deadline is only one month, which is clearly making things difficult for him! Where did the problem lie?
He paced anxiously back and forth, finally thinking of Jiang Yu. The restructuring of Jufeng Money Shop and the merchant houses was entirely Jiang Yu's doing, and using Baoyuan Money Shop as a pilot project must have been her decision. But he hadn't offended the Duke of Chu!
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he hurried to the Prince Yong's residence. He wanted to find out what had happened. He had originally wanted to take advantage of the reform to gain some benefits, but he didn't expect to be the first to be attacked.
He arrived at the Prince Yong's residence as quickly as possible, and upon seeing the Prince, he recounted what had happened, then asked, "What exactly happened?"
Prince Yong frowned, unaware that Princess Yong had gone to see Jiang Yu.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Ling Yaoying continued, "This matter must have been instigated by the Duke of Chu. I haven't offended her. Is it because you...you have some kind of conflict with her, Your Highness?"
He felt that this was the only possibility.
Upon hearing this, Prince Yong's gaze turned somewhat unfriendly. Although he usually yielded to Princess Yong, it didn't mean he was truly weak. Ling Yaoying had no right to question him.
Realizing he had misspoke, he quickly apologized. Prince Yong ignored him and sent for Princess Yong in the backyard. He suspected the problem likely stemmed from Princess Yong.
At this moment, Prince Yong regretted agreeing to the marriage between Qin Yalin and Ling Qichen. If his princess hadn't wanted to marry Yalin to Ling Qichen, she wouldn't have done something so outrageous.
The fact that Prince Yong survived the struggle for the throne and still maintains a good relationship with the emperor proves he's not a fool. So, after a little thought, he understood what was going on.
A short while later, Princess Yong arrived, looking rather displeased. She hadn't fulfilled her promise to the Ling family, so naturally, she wasn't in a good mood.
"Your Highness summoned me here, what is it?" Princess Yong gave Prince Yong a perfunctory bow.
Prince Yong was not angry at all. He even asked Princess Yong with a smile, "You don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"
Princess Yong nodded stiffly; she wasn't physically unwell, but emotionally distressed. Prince Yong glanced at the anxious Ling Yaoying and asked Princess Yong, "Did you go to see the Duke of Chu?"
Princess Yong looked guilty, but still nodded and said, "Yes, I had an appointment with the Duke of Chu for tea yesterday, and we...discussed some things."
Prince Yong's expression darkened. "What did you talk about with him?"
Princess Yong didn't think she had done anything wrong; her earlier guilt stemmed from her unauthorized meeting with the Duke of Chu. Once that feeling of guilt subsided, she spoke with righteous indignation:
"The restructuring of Jufeng Money Shop was handled by the Duke of Chu. I... discussed with her whether Baoyuan Money Shop could retain the right to issue banknotes, but the Duke of Chu refused."
At this point, her face showed anger. "Later, I told her that Baoyuan Bank should not retain the right to issue banknotes, but that Baoyuan Bank could exchange tax silver in the future. The Duke of Chu got up and left. He has made two contributions, and now he is so arrogant. No matter what, I am a member of the royal family. But he doesn't give me any face at all. Your Highness, we cannot let her bully us like this."
"Shut up!" Prince Yong's voice was filled with anger. "Didn't I tell you that the reform of Jufeng was approved by the Emperor? The biggest beneficiary after the reform is the Emperor. What are you doing now? You are competing with the Emperor for profit."
Princess Yong was reprimanded in front of others, her face flushed red, feeling utterly humiliated. She retorted, "Why are you yelling at me? That Jiang Yu is extremely arrogant in front of me. Is she trying to embarrass me? She's slapping you, Prince Yong, in the face."
King Yong was so angry that veins were bulging on his neck. He took two deep breaths and said, "Did you say something bad to the Duke of Chu?"
"No," said Princess Yong.
Seeing that she was incorrigible, Prince Yong grabbed the cup beside him and smashed it on the ground with a crash. Then he roared at Princess Yong, "Speak!"
Princess Yong had never seen him like this before. She was so frightened that her face turned pale. She stammered, "I told... Duke Chu not to think that just because you've solved two major cases, your future career will be smooth sailing."
The Prince Yong pointed at her with a trembling hand—a blatant threat. If the Duke of Chu didn't make things difficult for them, who would? He snorted heavily and strode out. He had to hurry to the palace to apologize.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
