It was only because of the power of the Prince's Mansion and the fact that Lady Li had given him three sons and a daughter that he dared to be so audacious.
Even if Fourth Master was angry, he would still help.
However, upon seeing the date of the outstanding payment, I laughed in anger.
The initial debt was 50,000 taels of silver. Later, in the year after Honghui's death, he actually issued IOUs for another 30,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue under various pretexts.
What does this mean? Are you celebrating the death of the eldest son?
When Honghui got into trouble, the Fourth Prince was no longer at the Ministry of Revenue, so he was unaware of it. His subordinates didn't say anything either, assuming they knew everything about the Fourth Prince's affairs, which led to the current situation.
Hongshi was mediocre in talent and had grown up with the Li family since childhood. He was short-sighted, lacked any sense of the big picture, and was not magnanimous.
Fourth Master will not make him the heir apparent; this was decided long ago, but he just didn't say it aloud.
Hongshi was Li's youngest son. Hongpan died young, while Hongyun was clever and quick-witted, but he was in poor health. The Fourth Prince did not have high expectations for him, as long as he was safe and healthy.
However, Hongyun died young in the 49th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, at the age of only 11.
When Hongshi was born, Hongpan had already died, and Hongyun was in poor health, so Li had very high expectations for this youngest son and doted on him in every way.
Although the Fourth Prince doted on Lady Li, he focused more on Honghui, regarding his children, and regarded Honghui as his heir.
Furthermore, because Hongpan died young and Hongyun was in poor health, he was very lenient with Hongshi, which fostered Hongshi's current personality.
Foolish and arrogant, he always considered himself the eldest son of the royal family and thought that the crown prince was his for the taking. He was not kind to his younger brothers.
The Fourth Prince saw all of this and wanted to correct him, but once his personality was formed, and influenced by Lady Li over the years, as his fourth wife gave birth to a legitimate son and the women in the harem gave birth to children one after another, the Fourth Prince gave up on Hongshi.
That's why they were so furious when they saw the Li family's IOU, and why they acted so arrogantly. They didn't know how the Prince's Mansion was using its influence to bully others.
Moreover, they actually dared to celebrate Honghui's death by borrowing 30,000 taels of silver.
Look at these entries, what are they? A grandson getting married?
From then on, the Li family was blacklisted by the Fourth Master, a stain that was deeply etched on his record.
It was a serious offense.
Regarding Honghui's death, the Fourth Prince did find out that it was related to Li Shi, but since all his children at the time were born to Li Shi, he let it go lightly.
But it's not so easy now.
They're settling scores now.
Firstly, Lady Li was old and her beauty had faded, and she was no longer favored.
The most favored concubine in the mansion was Consort Nian.
Compared to Lady Nian, Lady Li was inferior in terms of family background, appearance, and personality.
This time, the Ministry of Revenue is in debt, and the Nian family is the least troublesome, since Nian Gengyao was someone they personally helped to rise to power.
The Fourth Prince's scales naturally tipped in favor of Lady Nian.
The wife's actions this time were also very straightforward; she directly gave 50,000 taels of silver to her family without begging the prince. Through their marital bond, or perhaps through Honghui's connection, she also gained the prince's favor.
Compared to this, Li appears utterly repulsive.
Despite repeated pleas from Madam Li and Hongshi, the Fourth Prince refused to see them. Madam Li remained sidelined in the mansion for over a year, privately complaining that the Fourth Prince was cold-blooded, but he ignored her.
Finally, forced by circumstances, Li sold her private savings and barely managed to scrape together 20,000 taels of silver to give to her family.
When Lady Li entered the household as a princess, she had no dowry. After being promoted to a secondary consort, her family sent her a dowry, though not much. However, she was favored by the emperor, and the fourth prince gifted her two shops and a estate.
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