What role did Chapter 47 play?
Looking at the father and son kneeling on the ground, their skin torn and bleeding, trembling and filled with fear, the Duke of Chu felt once again that he had failed and raised his descendants to be like this.
He walked to the side, picked up a sword, and held it to Jiang Chengye's neck. "Smuggling salt is a capital offense. I'm taking your life today to prevent you from bringing disaster to your whole family."
"Father, Father, I really don't know," Jiang Chengye said, trembling all over.
"Father, you know I'm timid. How could I do something so dangerous? Although he scolds me every time I ask Yifang for money, he always gives me some, more or less. Father, I have no reason to do something so deadly! Waaah..."
Jiang Chengye lay on the ground, trembling and sobbing. This time, he was truly terrified.
Seeing that his expression seemed genuine, the Duke of Chu picked up his sword, walked to the chair, sat down, and asked, "Tell me about your purchase of the ship. No detail is too small to be missed."
Jiang Chengye cowered and raised his head, glancing at the sword in the Duke of Chu's hand. He knew that if this matter could not be resolved perfectly, he would surely die. The Duke of Chu's words just now, "I will take your life today to prevent you from bringing disaster to your whole family," were absolutely true.
His life couldn't compare to the lives of his entire clan; the Duke of Chu was truly ruthless when he wanted to. The last time he was plotted against and almost brought ruin to the Duke's mansion, the Duke of Chu nearly took his life.
After thinking for a while, he said, "That day, I went to Qimeng Tower."
Seeing the Duke of Chu frown, he explained, "Qimenglou is... a brothel."
"Don't you usually go to the Wan Hua Lou?" the Duke of Chu asked.
Jiang Chengye shrank his neck and said, "I got tired of Wan Hua Lou, so Jia Rong recommended Qi Meng Lou to me."
These words drew the attention of both Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu to Jiang Jiarong, whose body trembled slightly. The Duke of Chu narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you very familiar with Qimeng Tower?"
Jiang Jiarong trembled violently. "I've been there a few times and thought it was good, so I told my dad."
After hearing his explanation, the Duke of Chu and Jiang Yu exchanged glances for a moment before looking away. The Duke of Chu then said to Jiang Chengye, "Go on."
Jiang Chengye glanced cautiously at the Duke of Chu and said, "I've been to Qimeng Tower a few times and become familiar with the madam there. Once, as soon as I entered Qimeng Tower, I saw the madam grabbing a man's ear and saying that he owed money and wouldn't pay it back. I didn't pay attention at the time and just wanted to go directly to... find Xiao Taohong."
At this point, he cautiously glanced at the Duke of Chu, and seeing that his expression had not changed, he continued:
"But the madam stopped me and asked me to judge the matter, saying that the eldest son of the prestigious Chen family of Jiangzhou, who owns several cargo ships, actually owed money for prostitution and refused to pay. This was clearly a case of defaulting on a debt."
I also felt that the eldest son of the Chen family was trying to renege on his debt, so I said... I said, if you don't have the money, sell your boats to pay back the money. The eldest son of the Chen family said with a mournful face that ever since his uncle, Kong Wenjie, the transport commissioner of Jiangzhou, was investigated and punished, no one dared to do business with their family. Now he has several boats but can't make any money at all.
Moreover, those boats needed maintenance and the people on board had to be supported, resulting in daily losses. He couldn't even sell those boats if he wanted to. I just listened to these words without taking them to heart and went to find Xiao Taohong.
Two days later, Jia Rong told me that the transportation business was extremely profitable, and he wanted to buy the Chen family's ship, but he didn't have the money.
Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu's gazes once again focused on Jiang Jiarong. Jiang Jiarong lowered his head and said, trembling, "I...I only got the idea because I heard from the madam and the eldest son of the Chen family that transportation...could make money."
The Duke of Chu remained silent. Jiang Yu didn't know if he believed Jiang Jiarong's words, but she certainly didn't.
Although Jiang Jiarong kept his head down while speaking, Jiang Yu noticed his eyelids trembling. His hands were also clenched into fists. These were all signs of guilt and nervousness.
He wasn't like this when he was beaten, which can only mean one thing: he lied. So why did Jiang Jiarong lie? Was he involved in plotting against Jiang Chengye?
That's his own father. Moreover, once Jiang Chengye is convicted of smuggling salt, no matter how extensive the Duke of Chu's connections are, he won't be able to withstand the emperor's fury.
Furthermore, the wider one's network of connections, the more suspicious the emperor becomes. Ordinary commoners might smuggle salt for a living, but why would a long-established noble like the Duke of Chu smuggle salt? There is only one explanation: rebellion.
With the fall of the Duke of Chu's mansion, what benefits could Jiang Jiarong, the eldest son of the Duke of Chu's mansion, possibly gain?
Jiang Yu couldn't understand it.
After a moment of silence, the Duke of Chu looked at Jiang Chengye and said, "Go on."
Jiang Chengye turned to look at Jiang Jiarong. At this moment, he resented Jiang Jiarong. If it weren't for Jiang Jiarong mentioning the purchase of the ship to him, this trouble wouldn't have happened.
“Jia Rong told me he wanted to buy a boat, but he didn’t have the money. He also told me that transporting goods was very profitable,” Jiang Chengye said. “Those few days, I was short of money. I asked Yi Fang for some, and she scolded me for a long time before giving me fifty taels. I thought that if I could earn money myself, I would never have to look at Yi Fang’s face again, so I agreed to buy the boat.”
The Duke of Chu's hands began to tremble with anger. He asked, "Where did you get your silver?"
Jiang Chengye: "I...I stole the calligraphy and paintings...and a few antique vases from Yifang's dowry."
"Smack!"
The Duke of Chu smashed a cup into Jiang Chengye's face. The cup made a cut on Jiang Chengye's forehead before falling to the ground with a crisp sound.
"I... how could I have given birth to such a wretched child, cough cough cough..."
Duke Chu coughed violently again. Jiang Yu went over and gently patted his back, saying, "Grandfather, calm down. There are more important things to do."
Jiang Yu didn't want to say this, but the matter was urgent, and the Duke of Chu absolutely could not be harmed at this time, so he had to keep his spirits up.
The Duke of Chu took a deep breath and said, "Go on."
Jiang Chengye knelt on the ground, blood streaming down his forehead and nose, but he dared not wipe it away. He quickly said, "I...I sold those paintings, calligraphy, and antiques, bought more than ten thousand taels of silver, and sold four boats belonging to the Chen family. The eldest son of the Chen family also gave me the people on the boats."
I was afraid that my theft of Yifang's dowry would be discovered, so I didn't dare let anyone know that I had bought a boat. Instead, I had Feng An contact the people on the boat to get the money.
"Fool!" the Duke of Chu roared. "That ship had no business in the Chen family's hands, so how come it has business in yours? You didn't tell anyone you bought the ship."
Jiang Chengye suddenly realized that he had been so happy when he saw the silver notes that he hadn't thought about it at all. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he had indeed been tricked again.
He suddenly turned to look at Jiang Jiarong. It was Jiang Jiarong who took him to Qimenglou, and it was Jiang Jiarong who suggested buying the boat. What role did his own son play in this matter?
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