Chapter 322: Furious
The servant came back and reported: "The prince is checking the accounts."
Zeng Wu raised his foot and slapped the servant: "I don't know what the prince is settling accounts with? Who is the prince settling accounts with? When did he start settling accounts? What is the profit of the Thirteen Hongs in Guangdong? Don't you think of asking around? You are like a tung oil lamp, which lights up when you turn it on!"
The servant covered his thigh that was kicked and murmured, "Even the Duke doesn't know how much the Thirteen Hongs in Guangdong earn. How can I know?"
"I told you you're stupid, and you still dare to talk back!" Zeng Wu kicked the servant again, "Can't you go and see if the prince is happy or unhappy? No wonder you haven't made any progress after being a servant for several years! Why don't you go and find out more!"
The servant didn't dare to retort and limped to Yizhitang.
Zeng Wu rubbed his sleeves and muttered in his heart: I am not that idiot like Lu Zheng, who would actually ask the prince to beat me!
Thinking that Lu Zheng would have to eat and wait for death in the accounting office from now on, he felt complacent for no reason and grabbed a passing maid and said, "Go, make me a cup of Da Hong Pao."
The maid rolled her eyes at him and said, "The red robe is a tribute. You can only use it after receiving the Duke's order."
Zeng Wu sneered: "It is the Duke who wants to drink Da Hong Pao. If you don't believe me, go ask the Duke."
The maid's face turned red. Even though she knew that he was just taking advantage of the power of others, she didn't dare to ask the Duke. She could only lower her head and go to the tea room to make him a pot of Dahongpao.
He sat on the armchair in the tea room and sipped his tea slowly. The servant, who had learned his lesson, finally responded with something meaningful this time: "The people who came are Zhong Bingxiang, the head of the Thirteen Hongs in Guangdong, and the heads of the farms. They have settled the accounts for five days. The prince was very happy and even held a banquet at Zuixianlou last night to entertain Zhong Bingxiang and the heads of the farms."
Zeng Wu was a little distracted after hearing this.
In the past, when the Duke of Yingguo and Yizhitang had not separated, the shopkeeper Zhong would come to Kyoto from Guangdong every year to settle accounts and would bring small things to the maids and servants, which could be pawned for a tael of silver even in the pawnshop on East Street. But since the people of Yizhitang stopped eating from the same pot with the people of the Duke of Yingguo, they no longer saw the things of the shopkeeper Zhong.
Those bastards in Yizhitang are all cheap!
He was jealous and envious. He remembered that one year, Lu Zheng took two hundred taels of silver and asked Zhong Bingxiang to take it to Guangdong to buy shares. In the second year, the two hundred taels of silver became one thousand two hundred taels of silver. He was tempted at the time, but it was a pity that he had no money, so he could only covet it secretly. But now... Yesterday, I went to Zuixianlou with the Duke to entertain, and the general rewarded me with five taels of silver; two days ago, the Duke wanted to eat sesame cakes, and he ran errands and got two cents of silver... He has only served the Duke for seven or eight days, and he has already earned more than ten taels of silver. Although it is not as much as Lu Zheng, it is not a small amount. Why not ask Zhong Bingxiang to buy some shares...
I just don’t know if Zhong Bingxiang is still willing to help with this now?
He thought about it and went to Song Yichun: "The prince is settling accounts with Zhong Da, the manager of the Thirteen Hongs in Guangdong, and the heads of other farms have also arrived. Although I don't know how much the Yizhitang has earned this year, I heard that the prince is very happy and invited Zhong Da and others to have a drink at Zuixianlou yesterday."
Song Yichun was talking to the head of the farm in Tianjin: "Last year, the forests in Tunkou brought in 2,000 taels of silver. How come this year it's only 800 taels?"
After hearing Zeng Wu's words, a fire suddenly rose in his heart, and it couldn't be stopped from rising.
He picked up the account book and smashed it on the head of Tianjin Wei Zhuangtou: "Idiot, you can't even answer when I ask you questions, what do you want me to do?"
Suddenly, the head of Tianjin Wei was so frightened that his legs felt like sieves. He knelt down with a thud and said, "Please calm down, Duke! Last year, the weather was good, but this summer, there were strong winds and some trees were uprooted. There are not as many trees this year as there were last year, so the income is not as much as last year."
Why is it that his mountains and forests are always windy, while Song Mo's Thirteen Hongs are always peaceful and calm, without even a tornado all year round? !
Song Yichun's face was ashen, but the corner of his eyes accidentally glanced at Tao Qizhong's face - Tao Qizhong's eyes flashed with surprise. Song Yichun was a suspicious person, and he was shocked. He shouted "Come here" and pointed to the Zhuangtou of Tianjin Wei, "Drag this nonsense down and give him 20 lashes. I want to see if he tells the truth!"
When the head of the farm in Tianjin heard this, he was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, crying and begging for mercy: "It wasn't a strong wind! It wasn't a strong wind! I just wanted to curry favor with the Duke. Last year, I sold all the trees that could be sold. This year, there are only some saplings left, and I can't sell them at a good price... I really didn't lie! If the Duke doesn't believe me, you can ask Liu Da, he knows it best."
Liu Da was the former boss of Tianjin Guard. Song Yichun was not satisfied with the income of Tianjin Guard, so his personal servant recommended his cousin to him. Song Yichun saw that this man spoke very well, so he replaced Liu Da with him... Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a guy who was only good at talking on paper!
He was so angry that he was shaking. He stepped forward and kicked the man a few more times: "Get out of here! Don't let me see you again!"
Zhuangtou stumbled to his feet and ran out with a look of fear on his face.
Tao Qizhong couldn't help but cough lightly.
Song Yichun came to his senses and hurriedly ordered his servants, "Tie that guy up and throw him into the woodshed. If he doesn't give a clear account of the accounts, send him directly to the government office."
Several guards waiting outside rushed forward and dragged Zhuangtou away.
Zeng Wu hunched his shoulders as he watched.
Song Yichun no longer had the mood to continue settling the accounts, so he waved his hand and sent everyone away.
The Duke's words are unpredictable, so he has to save some money while he is still with the Duke, so that even if he falls on hard times in the future, he won't be destitute.
Zeng Wu thought for a moment and called a trusted servant: "Go and see what the shopkeeper Zhong is doing."
The servant left quietly. At noon, he came back to report: "The account of the shopkeeper Zhong has been checked. He only chats with people in the side hall every day. The prince is checking the accounts with the heads of several farms."
Zeng Wu decided to go see Zhong Bingxiang right away. If he waited until night, he might not be able to see him, but be tied up by Yizhitang's people and handed over to the Duke.
The doorman of Yizhitang stopped him at the door with a half-smile on his face: "Who are you looking for, Mr. Zeng Wu? Can we help him inform them? You are a distinguished guest!"
Zeng Wuke didn't dare to put on airs in front of the concierge of Yizhitang. He smiled obsequiously and said, "Look at what my brother said. How can I be considered a distinguished guest? I'm just an errand boy for the Duke..." He said a lot of nice things, and when he saw that the concierge's expression had eased, he explained his purpose.
The concierge was just about to report for him when he saw Zhong Bingxiang and Chen Qushui walking towards them, chatting and laughing.
Zeng Wu's eyes almost popped out.
He subconsciously wanted to dodge and said hastily, "Since Mr. Zhong has a guest, I'll talk to him later." Then he ran away.
But when he turned the edge of the woods, he stopped immediately and went into the woods without thinking.
Through the bushes that were as tall as a person, Zeng Wu saw Zhong Bingxiang and Chen Qushui standing on the steps of the gate of Yizhitang. They glanced casually in the direction where he ran away, and then started talking with a smile.
After a while, a carriage drove in.
A young man in his twenties got off the carriage.
Zhong Bingxiang and Chen Qushui saw it and went to meet them.
Chen Qushui recommended the young man to Zhong Bingxiang.
The young man saluted Zhong Bingxiang respectfully.
Zhong Bingxiang hurriedly carried the man and said something to Chen Qushui with a smile.
Five or six servants jumped down from the carriage behind the young man and carried down several camphor wood boxes.
Chen Qushui, Zhong Bingxiang and the young man walked towards Yizhitang.
Several servants followed behind, carrying boxes.
The group of people quickly disappeared at the side door of Yizhi Hall.
Zeng Wu's eyes moved quickly. He took a small path out of the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion and pretended to be a freshman. He approached the carriage parked beside Yizhi Hall and asked the coachman who was stroking the horses curiously, "Hey, which mansion are you from? Why are you parked here?"
The coachman spoke in a dialect: "We are from Zhending. Manager Zhao told us to rest here."
Zhending?
Madam’s family home!
Zeng Wu thought of the two boxes of banknotes in Dou Zhao's dowry, and then of the boxes that were carried in, and he could not help shivering. He wanted to ask more, but he saw the doorman of Yizhitang coming towards him with a teapot and several teacups. He hesitated twice, dived into the woods next to him, and ran straight into the flower hall of Osmanthus Courtyard.
"My Lord, my Lord!" he shouted loudly, "I saw a guest coming to Yizhi Hall!"
Song Yichun said angrily: "What are you shouting about? You have no manners at all!"
Zeng Wu hurriedly straightened his clothes and bowed respectfully.
Song Yichun then asked, "What happened?"
Zeng Wu took a few steps forward and whispered, "Duke, I was just about to ask about the accounts of Yizhitang, but I didn't know that Mr. Chen, who used to live in Yizhitang, brought in a strange young man with the storekeeper Zhong, who also brought several boxes."
Song Mo was rescued, and only Song Yichun, Tao Qizhong and Chang Huwei knew about it. Zeng Wu just thought that Chen Qushui's appearance was a bit abrupt and weird, and didn't think of anything else.
Song Yichun's expression suddenly changed: "Chen Bo and Zhong Bingxiang welcomed a young man in together?"
Zeng Wu's eyes flashed with cunning, and he said, "I have also found out that the man's surname is Zhao, and he is from Zhending. He is my wife's family... Those boxes are all made of camphor wood, the kind that are generally used to store books and banknotes, and can prevent insects."
Song Yichun also thought of the two boxes of banknotes that Dou Zhao included in her dowry.
His face turned very ugly.
Dou family, what on earth do you want to do?
Song Yichun called Tao Qizhong over.
Tao Qizhong said with a headache: "Your Majesty, why don't you ask the Crown Prince to ask clearly - if those boxes contain banknotes, the Crown Prince will definitely not deny it. If we send someone to inquire, we may not be able to find out."
What does “may not be able to find out” mean?
Song Yichun was so angry that his mouth was crooked, but he had no better way to deal with it, so he ordered Tao Qizhong: "Go and invite the prince to come over!"
It really is up to whoever came up with the idea to do it!
Tao Qizhong smiled bitterly.
Zhong Bingxiang jumped up from his armchair, pointed at the camphorwood boxes in the middle of the flower hall, and asked in a stammering voice, "What, what is this?"