Song Yaozhu bit her tongue, feeling like she had dug a hole for herself.
How do I respond to that?
What decent couple acts like this, always thinking about how to cause trouble for others?
“Anything inappropriate is fine.” Song Yaozhu shifted her position, moving a little further away from him, and then began to get down to business. “This month happens to be the silkworm production season, and I was thinking, shouldn’t we make some changes to the Ministry of Revenue?”
Xie Liwei nodded.
After the Ministry of Rites had been thoroughly investigated, various factions rushed to send their own people to the ministry. Xie Liwei noticed that there were people from the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Xuan among them.
However, their checks and balances prevent them from causing too much trouble.
The Xie family's academy in the capital was slowly starting to take shape. Those who had previously given gifts to Song Yaozhu secretly contacted her, but she pretended not to know anything about it. The ladies, believing that Song Wenyue had embezzled their money, tried every means to cause her a lot of trouble in the palace.
"Tell me your plan," Xie Liwei said, listening attentively.
"The Ministry of Revenue has always been in charge of finances. Even the powerful Prince of Yan treated the Ministry of Revenue with great respect, which shows that they have a lot of power and influence."
The Great Chen Dynasty has only been established for a little over ten years. Back then, the world was in chaos, and the establishment of the Great Chen Dynasty was fraught with difficulties, while also facing foreign invasion. At this time, there was a shortage of money and food, and the entire court was struggling to survive. In order to ensure the military pay of the soldiers on the border, the Ministry of Revenue signed national debt agreements and borrowed a lot of silver and grain from wealthy families and merchants.
But now, as time has passed, domestic affairs have stabilized, and many families who once possessed national debt certificates have declined and dare not speak to the Ministry of Revenue, so the matter has been forgotten.
Xie Liwei tapped his fingertips lightly on the table and said with a faint smile, "I understand."
She wanted those people to stand up and ask the Ministry of Revenue for money, so that the Ministry of Revenue would have to check the account books from previous years.
Even a small merchant's accounts couldn't withstand an audit, let alone a large department like the Ministry of Revenue. A mere tampering with the ledgers would be enough to cause serious trouble for all the officials under its command.
"I remember the Xie family has an IOU," Xie Liwei said with a smile.
Then he summoned Qin Yu and gave him a few instructions, which Qin Yu immediately carried out.
At this moment, Granny Qin walked in with a smile on her face and announced, "Your Highness and Your Highness's Consort, the ladies from our hometown have arrived!"
Xie Liwei was surprised, "They arrived so quickly?"
Previously, Yuwen Wuji sent people to Chenliu to arrest members of the Xie family, but the case was closed halfway through the journey. Most of the people turned back, but Xie Mingyue's wife and others hired a carriage to continue their journey to the capital.
"You're walking too slowly!" Sister-in-law Xie had already stepped into the courtyard, her hearty laughter preceding her.
Xie Liwei and Song Yaozhu hurried out to greet them. Besides Xie's sister-in-law, several other female relatives from the clan elders in the capital had also come. There were also some young boys.
"Granny, quickly send someone to clean the courtyard..."
"Oh, no need, no need!" Sister-in-law Xie hurriedly waved her hand, "We've already booked the inn, we'll rent a house outside to stay in for now!"
Song Yaozhu naturally disagreed. There was no reason to let guests who had come from afar stay outside, especially since they were not guests, but her family.
"If you consider me family, please stay! There aren't many places near the Prince's Mansion, and plenty of courtyards! It'll be more lively if our whole family lives together!"
Sister-in-law Xie looked Song Yaozhu up and down with a smile. She had heard about this sister-in-law from her husband's letters, and she was not surprised to see her now that she looked so much like her deceased cousin.
Several people went inside to talk, and unable to refuse their hospitality, Xie's sister-in-law and other female relatives stayed at the Prince's mansion.
Watching Song Yaozhu lead her people to make arrangements, Xie's sister-in-law, Madam Yin, slowed her pace and walked alongside Xie Liwei.
"I didn't want to bother you two, after all, with so many of us, it would be quite an expense for you to provide food and drinks."
Yin's words were tactful, but Xie Liwei understood her meaning. She was afraid that Song Yaozhu would resent the large number of them staying at the Prince's Mansion and spending too much of Xie Liwei's money, which would cause her to harbor resentment.
"If one day she and I go back to our hometown to visit relatives, will your sister-in-law mind if we stay at your house?"
Madam Yin looked at him with disbelief. "How could I possibly mind! I'd love for you to come home!"
"That's fine then. This will be your home in the capital. You are family to her, so why would she hold a grudge against your sister-in-law over those things? Besides, she's spending my money to give her face and do her a favor, so why would she feel bad about it?"
Madam Yin laughed heartily, "So it's because you haven't won your sister-in-law's heart! She doesn't even treat you like her own, so naturally she doesn't care about you!"
Xie Liwei: "......"
The couple really took turns hitting him where it hurt.
After settling in, the group had dinner together in the backyard that evening, and even Xie Mingyue and the others who were at the estate rushed back.
Seeing that everyone older and younger than him had a companion, Xie Lu suddenly felt all alone.
Just then, Song Yaozhu walked up from behind him and called out affectionately, "Father, please take a seat!"
Xie Lu was momentarily dazed, unsure whether it was because his daughter had been dead for so long that he had long forgotten her voice and appearance, or because Song Yaozhu looked so much like his daughter that he thought he was seeing his own daughter.
He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Coming right away!"
Granny Qin, standing to the side, couldn't help but wipe her eyes. "It's been ten years, and this is the first time our Prince's Mansion has been this lively!"
"The construction at the academy is almost finished. The desks and furniture are all done. I've also seen the dormitories, and they're all quite nice. I plan to build another row of small houses in the backyard. After all, our goal is to create a path for talented students who don't have the money, so I plan to build more houses. Even if they're empty, they can provide a place for those who go to the capital to take the imperial examinations in the future."
"That's a good idea, I agree. Don't worry about the money, there are plenty of people willing to donate to us!"
“Speaking of money, I remember the Ministry of Revenue still owes our Xie family money, right?” After Xie Liwei mentioned this, everyone at the table fell silent and looked at him in confusion.
It wasn't that they didn't know about this; rather, they all knew that the money was gone forever.
Asking the emperor for a reward is fine, but asking the emperor for a debt?
Forget it, let's not have the chance to get the money but not the chance to spend it!
"You've reminded me!" Xie Lu stroked his beard. "Anyway, our Xie family has already broken ties with the Emperor this time, so we don't care if things get a little worse. If we can also properly reorganize the Ministry of Revenue, that wouldn't be a bad thing."
"But...this must be very dangerous, right? We're already taking a huge risk with the imperial examinations. What if the Emperor wants our entire family killed..."
Slaughtering their entire clan and then disguising ourselves as bandits to plunder is not out of the question.
However, the Xie family was not without precautions. They had taken in many children of martial arts heroes to study in their hometown of Chenliu. Those people also volunteered to protect the Xie family's safety, which was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
"Have we forgotten someone?" Song Yaozhu said with a smile, "The Prince of Yan."
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