“Wenxiu! There’s no rush with this leg injury. I just got back and was just made Prince Yi by Father Emperor. I’m definitely going to do my best for the Qing Dynasty. How can I put down what I’m doing to treat a leg ailment at this crucial time when the New Year is almost here? It’s not a life-threatening illness. Why can’t we wait?” Thirteen’s stubbornness kicked in again. No matter what Zhao Jia said, he wouldn’t budge.
Seeing that Thirteen was so stubborn, Lady Zhaojia had no choice but to say, "Your Highness, if I can help you solve the problem of the national treasury's deficit, then you must promise me that you will start treatment immediately."
Thirteen was stunned this time. He looked at his wife from head to toe and then from toe to head, and said, "I know that your hot pot restaurant has made some money, but that can't compare to the national treasury. Do you know how big a gap we need to fill?"
Seeing that Thirteen looked down on her, Zhao Jia raised her chin and asked, "How much do you need?"
"We're short 1.5 million taels. My fourth brother and I have been scraping together every penny we could, robbing Peter to pay Paul, just to get by. Otherwise, if any one issue isn't resolved, it will have a domino effect. Now that it's the end of the year, where are we going to find that 1 million taels?" Thirteen asked hesitantly.
"It's only a little over a million taels. If you agree to pay the fine immediately, I'll provide the money for you, how about that?" Upon hearing this, Madam Zhao was overjoyed. She already had enough money and didn't need to go to Lanqin. In fact, Lanqin had mentioned this matter to Madam Zhao, telling her that if she encountered such a situation, she should just agree, so that the Thirteenth Prince would no longer obstruct the opening of the hot pot restaurant.
If Lanqin was so prescient, it was because she knew that at the end of the Kangxi reign, the national treasury was empty, the people were suffering, and natural disasters were frequent. This meant that after Yongzheng ascended the throne, he would face a heavy burden. So Lanqin boldly told Zhaojia these things.
The Thirteenth Prince had previously looked down on his wife going out to be a merchant, but now that he heard Lady Zhaojia say that she could help the court solve the problem of insufficient income, he must have been deeply shocked.
"Can you really come up with so much silver?" Thirteen stammered. Since returning, he had ignored these mundane things and naturally left them to Zhao Jia's management.
“Yes, as long as you agree to get treatment immediately, I will withdraw 1.5 million taels of silver from the bank and hand it over to you.” Madam Zhao Jia said without any hint of joking.
Seeing that she wasn't joking, Thirteen said, "Alright, Wenxiu, consider it a loan from the court. We'll definitely pay it back later. The court is in a hurry to get this money out. Can you really handle it?"
Seeing that Thirteen still looked incredulous, Zhao Jia chuckled a few times, covering her mouth with her handkerchief, and said, "If you don't believe me, then go and look at my savings slip."
After saying this, Lady Zhaojia had someone fetch her deposit slip to show to Thirteen. When Lady Zhaojia presented Thirteen with a treasure box made of ebony and gestured for him to open it, he was already five or six parts convinced.
As he flipped through the deposit slips, a tremendous change occurred in Thirteen's mind. He never imagined that a hot pot restaurant he looked down upon could earn so much money, and he couldn't believe even more that his seemingly frail wife could earn so much money.
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