Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5247 Returning the Money in Full
Gao Lixing broke out in a cold sweat and grabbed the furious Princess Dongyang tightly: "Your Highness, please calm down and consider the matter carefully before making a decision!"

Princess Dongyang angrily said, "Li You's intentions are malicious; his heart deserves to be punished!"

While pressing Princess Dongyang into a chair, Gao Lixing advised, "Even so, we can't be the ones to take the lead! There are so many princesses, it's not our turn to count them."

Li You's move was a classic case of cutting off the enemy's supply lines, making things extremely difficult for all the princesses' residences. But ultimately, it was a perfectly legitimate and open strategy, and there was no proper way to deal with it. One should not be impatient and jump out too early.

Princess Dongyang had no choice but to turn around and sit back down in her chair. Still angry, she slapped the tea table with her slender hand and said discontentedly, "This is outrageous! The Gao family is the richest, but they haven't made a move at all. Li You is a fool too. Instead of keeping an eye on Gao Yang to make a big profit, what good are our meager earnings?"

Just then, the steward came to report that Daowu Zhou had come to visit...

The couple welcomed Zhou Daowu into the main hall and served him fragrant tea. Zhou Daowu looked worried and asked Gao Lixing, "You all know the rumors circulating in the market, right?"

Gao Xingli nodded and said, "I have heard about it, but there is no need to rush into this matter. Let's wait and see what the other princesses have to say."

Zhou Daowu sighed and said, "You don't know this, but just now, several censors have written to His Majesty, impeaching the princesses and their husbands for 'lacking both brotherly love and kinship,' only knowing how to 'demand official positions and titles' and 'extort wealth on a large scale,' and demanding that His Majesty reprimand and punish us... The court is in an uproar, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to end this."

Gao Xingli was taken aback: "These censors acted so quickly?"

The public opinion in the city had just begun to rise, and the imperial court immediately echoed it. No one would believe that this was not a premeditated plan.

Previously, when there was only a lot of public opinion, we could calm down and wait and see. But now that the matter has been brought to the forefront, we must take a stance as soon as possible.

Princess Dongyang sneered, "Is he determined to make us pay dearly? Li You is incredibly audacious; His Majesty will not stand idly by."

Zhou Daowu shook his head and said, "But up to now, not a single word has come from the Imperial Study. The 'Hundred Cavalry Division' could not possibly be unaware that Li You is stirring up trouble, yet they have remained inactive. They must have received His Majesty's orders."

The Gao couple were stunned for a moment, their faces filled with helplessness.

Since His Majesty sits idly by and turns a deaf ear, his attitude is quite clear—he condones Li You's actions.

To go further, His Majesty also believed that these princesses should contribute money to "gift" to the princes who were about to be enfeoffed overseas, in order to demonstrate the "harmony and friendship" among the royal family members...

After a long pause, Gao Lixing asked, "How much money is your family planning to offer?"

Zhou Daowu said, "I came here to discuss with you two. Since we can't avoid taking this money, let's agree on a fixed amount so that the differences between us are not too great, otherwise it will not look good."

Before Gao Lixing could speak, he sighed again and said with a bitter smile, "Don't laugh at me, but my family really can't come up with much money. That's why I've been pretending to be confused about this matter. I was punished by the late emperor and stripped of my official position. Fortunately, His Majesty was magnanimous and allowed me to serve as the Vice Minister of Revenue. But in recent years, my family has been unable to make ends meet. It would be difficult to continue if we had to take out a large sum of money to 'gift' to the princes."

Tang Dynasty officials received substantial salaries, along with official land, permanent land, and various subsidies, resulting in considerable income. However, families like Zhou Daowu's had even greater expenses. While it might seem that a princess and her husband earned a great deal, princesses naturally had various lavish lifestyles, spending money like water. It was impossible to support a family fortune solely on these fixed incomes.

Therefore, they had to find a way to secure an official position...

However, Gao Xingli had been stripped of all his official lands and all his lands had been taken back. Now, having just joined the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he was unfamiliar with the place and had not yet had the opportunity to "make money," so his household expenses were naturally tight.

Gao Xingli nodded, counting on his fingers one by one: "The six princes who have already been confirmed to go to sea to take up their fiefs include the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth princes. The other princes are still young and will not take up their fiefs for two or three years... Since we are going to 'gift' them money and silk as a token of our appreciation, none of these six can be left out. Although the Prince of Wei has already taken up his fief, he might be missing a group but not a single person, so we still have to make up for it... That makes seven princes. After all, they are princes of the Great Tang Dynasty and our own brothers-in-law, so no matter how frugal we are, we can't give too little, otherwise it won't look good for everyone. Even if we calculate it at 20,000 strings of cash per person, it would still be 140,000 strings of cash..."

After calculating this far, they all shook their heads with wry smiles.

It is said that the family wealth accumulated by each family over generations is considerable, but the vast majority of assets are real estate, land, shops, etc. However, this more than 100,000 strings of cash is for cash. They are about to go to sea to settle down, what use is it to give them a bunch of houses and land?

Zhou Daowu also scratched his head: "But if it's any less, it really won't be presentable."

Surely you can't send several thousand strings of cash to one person?

Not only would they be ridiculed by the world, but those hot-tempered princes might even throw the money out in the street, and those sons-in-law would lose all face. It would be better not to give it at all...

Gao Lixing rubbed his temples and said helplessly, "Let's just set it at 20,000 strings of cash per person. If it's less, people will inevitably have something to say. Let's all tighten our belts and get through this difficult time first."

Zhou Daowu nodded in agreement: "Then I will contact the other princesses and try to reach a consensus."

As long as the princesses and their husbands are determined to act in unison, it won't matter much if public opinion is divided, since the law does not punish the masses.

*****
As evening approached, the sky was overcast and snow was falling heavily. Before 3 PM, the mansion had already lit up its lamps and candles.

After changing his clothes, he sat in the main hall and overheard his wives and concubines chatting amongst themselves about the rumors circulating in the market and the matter of the imperial censor's memorial to the throne...

Fang Jun was quite surprised: "Was this something the Prince of Qi did?"

He had always thought that Li You was incredibly stupid, otherwise he wouldn't have ended up in this state. Fortunately, Li Chengqian governed the country with "benevolence and forgiveness," otherwise he would have been dealt with long ago, either imprisoned and forbidden to see anyone, or simply hanged with a white silk ribbon and a cup of poison...

But I never expected that he would have such a clever trick up his sleeve.

Princess Gaoyang was very worried: "Rumors are circulating that Li You was behind it, and his other brothers are all agreeing... Will His Majesty be angry about this?"

Manipulating public opinion is an extremely sensitive matter at any time, and it is not uncommon for people to lose their lives because of it.

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and said, "Although it is somewhat presumptuous, it's not a big problem. Firstly, His Majesty may not be satisfied with the fact that the princes' sons-in-law are unwilling to give the princes money and silk. He probably wants to see his brothers with more money and silk in their pockets when they go overseas to their fiefdoms, so that they can live a better life. Secondly, as the princes are about to go overseas to their fiefdoms one by one, His Majesty can tolerate his dissatisfaction. He wouldn't punish them before they leave, leaving them with resentment, when they will hardly see each other again in this life, would he? That's not His Majesty's character."

Princess Gaoyang was relieved and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "That's good. It's just using some tricks to ask for some money and silk, it's not excessive."

Fang Jun put down his teacup, thought for a moment, and said, "If I were the Prince of Qi, since I have resorted to such a shameless move, I should take advantage of the situation and go even further."

"What do you mean by that, sir?"

"King Qi's tactics are almost shameless, forcing the princesses to pay money, but even if they do pay, there is room for negotiation on how much to pay."

Princess Gaoyang asked in bewilderment, "But it can't be too little, can it? It's not only unpresentable and will only invite ridicule, but it might also displease His Majesty."

“If one person contributes too little, it will naturally displease His Majesty. But what if all the princesses contribute the same amount of money and silk? His Majesty cannot blame all the princesses and their husbands for that, can he? Therefore, if Prince Qi wants more money, it is not enough to simply stir up public opinion or even bribe the censors. He needs to take further steps.”

"How to do it?"

"There are many ways, but I don't know which one King Qi will choose."

After saying this, he called the steward over and whispered some instructions in his ear: "...go and tell His Highness Prince Qi what this means."

"Here."

After the steward left, the wives and concubines all stared wide-eyed at their husbands.

Xiao Shu'er looked incredulous and stammered, "This...my husband is too wicked."

Princess Gaoyang nodded in agreement: "Not just bad, they're downright rotten to the core!"

……

Li You was enjoying the snow and drinking wine in his mansion, feeling quite pleased with himself.

This move will surely extract a large sum of money from the pockets of the princesses and their husbands, making their lives overseas much easier from now on.

Suddenly, someone entered from outside the door, saying that Grand Commandant Fang Jun had sent someone to tell them something.

Li You was startled. Had he angered Fang Jun by using public opinion to force the princesses to "donate" money and silk?

It shouldn’t be!

Other families might not be willing to part with such a "gift," but it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Fang Jun was richer than a country. He had given hundreds of thousands or even millions of coins and silk to the King of Wei, so why would he be stingy with such a small amount?
Not daring to delay, I quickly came out to meet you.

After listening to the steward's detailed account, Li You's expression was incredibly complex and moving...

When it comes to bad apples, you, Fang Er, are the best!

He dared not delay. After seeing off the Fang family steward, he quickly changed his clothes, put on a cloak, and went out to leave the mansion in a carriage braving the snow.

Duke Lu's Mansion.

Snowflakes fluttered down in the courtyard, while the main hall was warm and cozy with the warmth of an underfloor heating system.

Cheng Chuliang and Princess Qinghe stared wide-eyed at Li You, who had come to visit. The former asked in an incredulous tone, "What did Your Highness just say?"

This fellow arrived in the dark with no manners whatsoever, and upon entering, he actually demanded that each prince be "gifted" 50,000 strings of cash.

Are you crazy, or am I hearing things and hallucinating?

Princess Qinghe's almond-shaped eyes widened in anger: "Li You, don't push your luck!"

She was childhood friends with Li You, but was a few months older. Moreover, Li You was usually lazy and uneducated, so she didn't respect him much and now called him by his first name.

Li You slowly took a sip of tea, ignoring the couple's anger, and said with a smile, "You should at least hear what I have to say before you start cursing. I didn't come here to invite insults, but to offer you a life of luxury. I won't offer you a feast and wine as a token of my gratitude, but you can't repay kindness with enmity, can you?"