Hong Xi sneered at Song Tao, "Didn’t you say you had a way to get Eunuch Wan to support you? Then, you might need to prepare more silver to see if Eunuch Wan would make a move at this time."
After he finished speaking, he scanned her from head to toe and said, "However, how much silver have you siphoned off from the Liangyu Kiln Factory in private? Let me calculate, do you have fifty thousand taels? I’m afraid fifty thousand taels are not enough to get Eunuch Wan to make a trip to Nanjing for you, are they?"
Song Tao felt a chill running down her spine.
She indeed had concealed the kiln factory’s earnings, and just as Hong Xi had guessed, it was exactly fifty thousand taels.
Had Hong Xi been watching her all this time?
She couldn’t help but take several steps back.
On the other side, Hong Zhao grabbed Hong Xi and said, "Brother, since you know everything, you must also have a way out. I know, Grandfather is biased, and you hold resentment in your heart. It’s too late for me to do anything now, too late to say anything. I’m willing to take the blame. I just ask that when you escape, you take Grandfather with you. He’s old and can’t endure the hardship of prison."
But in the blink of an eye, he seemed to have grown up, quickly understanding the situation and desperately pleading with Hong Xi, "In my next life, I’ll be your ox and horse to repay you."
Hong Xi scoffed, "Why would I need you to be my ox and horse? Are you able to plow two acres of land or carry a hundred catties of grain?"
Unperturbed by his mockery, Hong Zhao earnestly said, "Brother, for the sake of our father, if not for the monk then for the Buddha’s sake, Grandfather and I have wronged you, but our father hasn’t wronged you."
Hong Xi fell silent.
His father, in order for him to grow up with dignity, had never brought him back to the Hong Family and even had him take his mother’s surname, secretly providing for him. If it weren’t for his father’s sudden demise, Old Grand Master Hong finding him, and forcibly bringing him back to the Hong Family, he would have been like Hong Zhao, studying at Crane Mountain Academy, taking imperial exams, and pursuing a career in civil service.
Seeing Hong Xi soften, Hong Zhao hurriedly said, "Grandfather left me some money for my studies, kept at the Silver House. I’ll tell you how to retrieve it..."
"Ah Zhao!" Old Grand Master Hong roared, cutting off Hong Zhao’s words, "That money is for your survival and protection, not for him." He also said, "You don’t need to talk more with him, he’s an ingrate. Without me, would he have what he has today? But look what he’s done?"
With a headache, Hong Zhao called out, "Grandfather," and said, "Can’t you listen to me just this once?"
Old Grand Master Hong gruffly replied, "Except for this matter, I can listen to you on anything else."
"Grandfather, I’m no longer a child," Hong Zhao tried to persuade Old Grand Master Hong, "The Imperial Guards, they won’t let go as long as they smell blood. Unless Prince Ning himself comes to vouch for us. Don’t be angry with my elder brother any longer."
Old Grand Master Hong still stubbornly said, "Don’t worry, I’m confident they’ll let you go."
The two of them went back and forth, each trying to give the other a chance at life.
This only irritated Hong Xi more. He couldn’t help saying, "Stop pushing it back and forth. The formal interrogation hasn’t even started yet, you don’t even know what charges the Imperial Guards will pin on us, and you’re already thinking about getting out. Are you daydreaming, have you lost your minds?"
Old Grand Master Hong and Hong Zhao were stunned.
Hong Zhao asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean by that?"
As if resigned, Hong Xi bluntly said, "Who doesn’t know about Prince Ning’s smuggling? Yuan Yunzhong, Inspector General of Jiangxi, arrived last year. If he had truly wanted to investigate Prince Ning, he would have done so long ago. Why is he acting now? Have you not thought about how suspicious that is?"
Hong Zhao seemed thoughtful.
Old Grand Master Hong’s expression became even uglier.
Hong Zhao murmured, "Are you saying, are you saying that the imperial will has changed? They didn’t want to deal with Prince Ning before, but now they’ve decided to teach him a lesson?"
Then none of them could escape.
Hong Xi looked at him, chuckled softly, leaned toward Hong Zhao’s face, and said loudly enough for everyone to hear, "Ah Zhao, you are quite smart. It would indeed be a pity if you just died in prison. However," he turned his head back to look at Old Grand Master Hong, "you guessed right. Knowing that the old grandmaster harbors ill intentions, I definitely have to guard against him. I indeed have a way out. Although I hate the old grandmaster, who would hold a grudge against money? But with my capabilities, I can’t get the whole family off the hook, only one of you can go with me. Have you decided whom I should take?"
His malice was clear, and Hong Zhao even knew that he was using the threat of life and death to drive a wedge between them, but he had no choice but to fall for it.
"Let grandfather go!"
"Let Ah Zhao go!"
The two voices spoke in unison.
Song Tao, seeing Old Grand Master Hong lose his composure in front of Hong Xi, realized that the matter was extraordinary. It was possible that even if she offered all her savings, she might not be able to influence Eunuch Wan.
And the Hong Family was even less reliable.
Seeing how Hong Xi behaved, he didn’t plan to spare either Old Grand Master Hong or Hong Zhao, let alone her.
She felt a chill all over, rushed to the rough bars of the cell, and shouted at the distant jailor, "I have something to say. I want to see my family. Help me send a message to my mother, I am willing to pay twenty taels, not fifty taels of silver."
*
Yuan Yunzhong employed drastic measures, quickly summoning the Imperial Guard, and also spread his efforts across Jiangnan, rounding up everyone who worked for Prince Ning, filling up the jails of various counties to the point that they had to borrow cells from the Inspection Divisions in various places.
When the news reached Jingde Town, everyone was even more panicked. Old Master Yan and Chairman Ma, entrusted by the owners of various kiln factories and workshops of Jingde Town, made a special visit to Song Jiyun.
"Young Master Yuan said, this issue has nothing to do with us in Jingde Town." Song Jiyun had never dreamed that Yuan Yunzhong would "punish the many" and sweep across a wide area. Seeing Yinyu Hall buzzing with people in various official uniforms coming and going, she seized a quiet moment to inquire. Now that Old Master Yan and others had come to gather information, she revealed everything without equivocation, "The Hong Family was investigated because they had set up a wild kiln in a valley belonging to the Hong Family and even hired refugees to help Prince Ning manufacture imperial-style porcelain. We are all legitimate businessmen who pay taxes regularly. When orders for porcelain come in, we adhere to the regulations of the Imperial Kiln Factory. Even if involved, it was only because we were deceived, so we will not be implicated."
Old Master Yan and the others sighed in relief; they all praised Yuan Yunzhong for his just handling of affairs. Of course, there were also those who flattered Song Jiyun for being fortunate enough to have an engagement with Yuan Yunzhong.
Song Jiyun smiled and accepted everyone’s compliments, instructing the servant girls to refill the tea and bring fresh refreshments.
Suddenly, a burst of cursing and noisy quarreling came from outside.
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but frown,
In the past, such incidents had occurred at the Song Family, back when Madam Zeng was still being supported by their family.
Since she took over the household, such an incident had never happened again.
As Zheng Quan was serving tea to everyone, he had just said, "I’ll go check it out," when Nanny Zheng walked in with a troubled expression, saying, "Great Madam is here, insisting on seeing you. She says Third Miss Song was implicated by the doings of Old Grand Master Hong, and asks that you, having shared meals from the same pot with Third Miss Song since childhood, plead with Young Master Yuan no matter what, to show leniency toward Third Miss Song."
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