Zu An hurriedly helped her sit down: "Don't get agitated. You're still recovering from your serious injuries and your body is very weak. Please rest for a while."
Chu Chuyan sat down and drank some water, and her complexion improved a lot.
Zuan asked curiously, "Donation, what is that?"
Chu Chuyan explained, "Whenever the country needs money for military operations, disaster relief, or large-scale projects, it calls on wealthy merchants from all over the country to donate money and goods. This is called donation."
"There's such a thing?" Zuan was dumbfounded. "Since it's voluntary, I can refuse to donate, right?"
“It’s not that simple,” Chu Chuyan shook her head. “Although it is nominally voluntary, it is definitely not in practice. Generally, those who are required to donate are the extremely wealthy and powerful. The reason why these families have been able to build such large businesses is mostly due to the policies of the imperial court.”
“If you don’t donate, there are plenty of other small families under you who are willing to donate, eager to get such an opportunity so that the court can give them some favorable policies.”
"Our Chu family, which deals in salt and iron, is one of the wealthiest families in Mingyue City and even the surrounding prefectures. Naturally, we cannot escape the fate of being required to donate."
...
Zu An gradually understood what was going on: "According to you, this donation should be a kind of political contribution. Wealthy merchants donate their wealth, and the court gives them preferential policies. It should be a win-win situation, so why are you so troubled?"
Chu Chuyan explained, "Take the salt industry for example. The imperial court implemented the salt license system, which indirectly led to some large salt merchants forming a monopoly and earning huge profits. Naturally, they had to give back to the imperial court. Those salt merchants also understood that their achievements today were entirely due to the benefits of the imperial court's policies, so they did not object to the donations."
"But the imperial court would demand donations every now and then, and even the wealthiest families couldn't withstand such extortion."
"Moreover, our Chu family has owned this land for hundreds of years. Our prosperity today is not due to the grace of the imperial court, but because our ancestors conquered these salt and iron mines with their blood and sweat. To put it bluntly, when our Chu family owned this land, the Great Zhou Dynasty had not even been established yet."
“Over the years, we have not received any benefits from the imperial court, yet we have been forced to make donations by the court. Naturally, we are not happy about it.”
Zu An was stunned and couldn't help but say, "Judging from the tone of your words, the Chu family is planning a rebellion."
"Don't talk nonsense," Chu Chuyan rolled her eyes at him, "I'm just a little dissatisfied, but it's not going to get to that point. Besides, the court is strong now, and if I really had that thought, I would be courting death."
“But people like you will definitely become a thorn in the side of the imperial court. If I were the emperor, I would definitely get rid of you first,” Zu’an said with emotion.
“There are actually many families like ours in the world, and the emperor can’t just get rid of them whenever he wants, otherwise it would easily cause chaos in the world,” Chu Chuyan replied. “So the emperor can only follow the rules and regulations. This is what Sang Hong came here for. He’s envious of our Chu family’s salt and iron mines, but he can’t openly rob them.”
"In this way, both sides will use their own methods to attack and defend against each other, and it will be a matter of who will have the last laugh."
Although Chu Chuyan spoke lightly, the worry between her brows revealed her true feelings.
"You can't fight city hall. I feel like your Chu family is going further and further down the path of self-destruction," Zu An couldn't help but complain.
Chu Chuyan glared at him before saying, "We know that all too well, but the foundation laid by our ancestors cannot be lost in our hands. So even if we know it's impossible, we still have to try. This is our family's honor and sense of mission."
Zuan was taken aback. He noticed a strange radiance on the other person's face when he said these things, and he gradually understood.
Such ancient families were rare in my past life, so it was difficult to understand their choices at first, but now I can sense something from them.
If we really have to determine who is right and who is wrong, then neither the emperor, the court, nor the Chu family is wrong. They all have their own motives and purposes, and in the end, it's all just a struggle for interests.
"By the way, what's the deal with Qiu Honglei? How did she end up at our house?" Chu Chuyan suddenly asked, looking at him with a strange expression.
"I don't know what's wrong with her either. Don't worry, nothing happened between us. I've kept my chastity for you!" Zu An had just finished speaking when he suddenly remembered what had happened with Xue'er before, and he felt a little guilty.
But then I thought about it again. Xue'er was originally the maid she gave me as a concubine, so strictly speaking, this isn't really doing her a disservice.
With this in mind, his confidence returned.
"Remain chaste?" Chu Chuyan sneered. "The rouge on your lips last night was left by her, wasn't it?"
Zuan: "..."
How come you still remember this?
Chu Chuyan sighed and then said, "Don't run around today. Chen Xuan just tried to assassinate you during the day, so don't give him another chance."
As he spoke, he pulled a small booklet from his pocket: "Here, take this. Use your free time to practice diligently, and you'll have a better chance of protecting yourself when facing Chen Xuan in the future."
"What is this?" Zu An was taken aback. He subconsciously took it and looked at it. He saw the four big characters "Snowflake Divine Sword" written on the booklet.
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