Chapter 60 Do we have a grudge against the Xie family?
Both Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu suspected that Jiang Jiarong was involved in plotting against Jiang Chengye. However, they both believed that Jiang Jiarong was merely an intermediary, or that he was initially unaware of the problems with the ships sold to Jiang Chengye.
However, it now appears that Jiang Jiarong was indeed involved, and very deeply involved at that.
“Continue,” said the Duke of Chu.
Li Zhong: "This old servant has investigated extensively but has not been able to find out who the owner behind Qimenglou is. However, Lan Mudan has had multiple contacts with the second master of the Xie family, not at Qimenglou, but at teahouses outside."
"The Xie family." The Duke of Chu murmured these two words in deep thought.
At this point, Jiang Yu asked, "Who was the owner behind Yingchunlou back then?"
Li Zhong was taken aback, then said, "This old servant will go and investigate."
"No need, I know," said Steward Hu. "Back then, when the young master wanted to redeem Aunt Zhao, the Duchess asked me to investigate Yingchun Pavilion. At that time, I found out that Yingchun Pavilion was owned by the Xie family's maternal family."
Steward Hu was a dowry attendant of the deceased Duchess of Chu.
"It's the Xie family again." Jiang Yu said thoughtfully, then asked the Duke of Chu, "Do we have a grudge against the Xie family?"
The Duke of Chu remained silent, then asked Li Zhong and Steward Hu, "Is there anything else?"
Li Zhongdao said, "The captain of the Chen family's boat confessed to being the one who went to the capital to pick up smuggled salt, and this old servant has investigated and confirmed it's all true. Moreover..."
He paused for a moment and then said, "There is someone who is connected to the Marquis of Jiangling's residence."
Upon hearing this, both Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu sat up straight, their faces showing shock. The Duke of Chu asked, "What does this have to do with anything?"
Li Zhong: "According to the boat captain, there was a man named Zhao Wanshou in the capital who was one of the people who handled smuggled salt. When I investigated this man, I found that he was the brother-in-law of Zhang Rongguang, a close follower of the Marquis of Jiangling. I had someone follow Zhao Wanshou for a few days and found that he had very close ties with Zhang Rongguang."
Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu both had solemn expressions. At this moment, Steward Hu said, "This old servant has inquired about the recent situation of the Marquis of Jiangling's residence and found that the Marquis of Jiangling seems to have made a considerable fortune. The Marquis of Jiangling and his heir are spending money much more lavishly than before. The Marquis's wife spent 130 taels of silver on a hairpin at Linglong Pavilion yesterday."
"It seems he really has struck it rich," said the Duke of Chu.
The Duke of Chu was well aware of the situation of the Marquis of Jiangling's household. The Marquis of Jiangling could certainly afford a few hundred taels of silver. However, a marquis's household had enormous expenses; a few hundred taels on paper was simply not enough. So where would they find the extra money to allow the Marquis of Jiangling's wife to buy hairpins costing over a hundred taels each?
With a sigh, the Duke of Chu asked, "Is there anything else?"
Li Zhong and Steward Hu both said there was nothing left, and the Duke of Chu waved them out. Then he said to Jiang Yu, "When a family is wealthy and powerful for too long, its roots will rot. Look at the Marquis of Jiangling's mansion, and look at your father and elder brother; it's the same for them."
"It seems that the Marquis of Jiangling's mansion is most likely involved in the salt smuggling," Jiang Yu said. "Grandfather, what's your decision?"
The Duke of Chu remained silent for a long time before asking, "What are your thoughts?"
Now the Duke of Chu is quite used to asking Jiang Yu for her opinion.
Jiang Yu decisively said, "Cut it!"
The Duke of Chu remained silent for a long time. After all, it was an old relationship, and although the Marquis of Jiangling's mansion was about to fall, it still had some connections.
Seeing his hesitation, Jiang Yu sighed inwardly. The Duke of Chu might have been a decisive man in his youth, but now he was clearly less so. However, it was understandable; he was old and in poor health, and with such a large ducal mansion to manage, he naturally had many concerns.
“Grandfather,” Jiang Yu continued, “if another peach is placed next to a rotten peach, it will also become a rotten peach.”
The Duke of Chu sighed deeply and asked, "How should it be cut?"
Jiang Yu: "If my eldest and second brothers have really had their identities switched, the Jiangling Marquis's Mansion will probably come after you for an explanation, and then we'll just break off all relations."
The Duke of Chu remained silent for a moment, then Jiang Yu continued, "If my sister-in-law wishes to remain in our Duke of Chu's mansion, we will not mistreat her, but she must sever ties with the Marquis of Jiangling's mansion. If she wishes to return to the Marquis of Jiangling's mansion, we will naturally not stop her."
The Duke of Chu remained silent for a while, then said, "Alright, do as you say."
Jiang Yu got up and brought him a new cup of hot tea, then said, "I've sorted out the whole thing."
The Duke of Chu picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Speak," he said.
Jiang Yu: "Let's talk about the possibility that the eldest and second brothers might be replaced. The eldest brother, Lan Mudan, and Aunt Zhao bought medicine, then combined it into a package and poisoned the second brother."
From this, it can be inferred that the eldest and second eldest brothers were very likely switched at birth. Otherwise, why would Aunt Zhao, their birth mother, so secretly drug the second eldest brother? He was her own son, her only support in the household.
The Duke of Chu nodded, "It's enough to investigate Jiang Jiarong and Aunt Zhao."
"Yes." Jiang Yu continued, "Let's talk about the matter of Father being tricked into buying the ship. Jiang Jiarong and Lan Mudan are the masterminds, but there must be someone behind them, and now it points to the Xie family. Do we have a grudge against the Xie family?"
The Duke of Chu shook his head. "Our relationship with the Xie family is so-so, we have no hatred for them. However, we have some unpleasant past with the Prime Minister's residence, as the Prime Minister's wife comes from the Xie family."
Jiang Yu adopted a listening posture, and the Duke of Chu continued, "When I was young, I met the Prime Minister's younger sister. Well, I wouldn't say we met, but we were mutually attracted to each other."
At this point, the Duke of Chu was somewhat embarrassed. He took a sip of tea before continuing, "Of course, at that time the Prime Minister was not yet the Prime Minister. He was just a Jinshi (successful candidate in the imperial examination) from a humble background, still in the Hanlin Academy. However, he had already married a young lady from the Xie family."
It is said that Pei Tinglan, the prime minister's younger sister, was acquainted with the Xie family's daughter. The Xie family then learned of the prime minister Pei Chengkun's talent and married their daughter to him.
The Xie family is a prestigious clan with hundreds of years of history, and Pei Chengkun was marrying above his station. However, Pei Chengkun was indeed talented, and with the support of the Pei family, he rose to the position of prime minister. Pei Chengkun's marriage to a girl from the Xie family significantly elevated his social standing. My parents initially disapproved of my relationship with Pei Tinglan, but after my insistence, they eventually gave their approval, and Pei Tinglan and I became engaged.
But no one expected the unexpected turn of events. At a banquet, Pei Tinglan was caught in the act of being intimately undressed with a guard. Afterwards, Pei Tinglan explained to me that she had been drugged and that she and the guard had no…”
The Duke of Chu sighed deeply and said, "At that time, my family already had many complaints because of her low social status. Then that incident happened, and my family forced me to break off my engagement with Pei Tinglan. I believed in Pei Tinglan and wanted to insist on marrying her."
But my father gave me two choices: one, marry Pei Tinglan, in which case I would lose my inheritance of the title; two, break off the engagement with Pei Tinglan, and I would remain the heir apparent of the Duke of Chu. I chose to remain the heir apparent and broke off the engagement with Pei Tinglan. On the day I broke off the engagement, Pei Tinglan hanged herself.
The Duke of Chu sighed again. Jiang Yu organized her thoughts and said, "I think my grandfather did nothing wrong in this matter."
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