Regent, please maintain your aloof image.

This infuriated the old Marquis, who angrily cursed, "You unfilial son!"

“Father, as you have seen, my second brother has no intention of stopping. Today he went to see the Duke of Ming, and tomorrow he may go to see the Prince of Min. If this continues, our Marquis’s mansion will be dragged down by him sooner or later.”

“Brother is right. The most urgent thing is for our Marquis’s Mansion to state its position in order to avoid being implicated by him.”

“But he is the Minister of Revenue,” the old Marquis was still somewhat reluctant, not because he was reluctant to part with Su Jing’an, but because he was reluctant to part with the power Su Jing’an held. After all, Su Jing’an was now a man of great power and influence.

"Father, so what if he is the Minister of Revenue? If he offends Prince Qing, Prince Min, Duke Su, and Duke Ming, do you think he can continue to serve as the Minister of Revenue? At that time, he will probably be stuck in a quagmire and unable to extricate himself."

"Yes, Dad, you need to make plans early, otherwise it will be too late to regret it."

"Dividing the family property is no small matter; please allow me to think about it some more."

Su Shenglin glanced at Su Songwen and then said, "Then Dad, think it over carefully. We'll head back now."

"Ok".

Then, the two went outside.

Chaoxiyuan

Su Qianrou idly fiddled with the chess pieces, spelling out her title on the chessboard: Ping Le. Looking at these two characters, she silently wondered, "Ping Le, does it mean peace and joy?"

Just then, Juxia walked in and said, "Miss, the master sent someone to say that everything is settled."

"It's slower than I expected," Su Qianrou said calmly, then added, "Have someone leak the news to my good uncle and third uncle, telling them that the reason they were dismissed from their posts and framed and imprisoned was all because of me."

"Miss, if the eldest master and the third master find out, they might retaliate."

"With their cowardly and spineless nature, what kind of revenge could they possibly take? At most, they would stir up trouble with Grandfather and get him to kick our whole family out of the mansion."

"Miss, if that's really the case, what should we do?" Juxia asked, her face full of worry.

"Of course, we should go with the flow."

"What you mean, Miss, is..."

Su Qianrou smiled slightly, then said mysteriously, "You'll find out when the time comes."

Juxia didn't ask any more questions.

Longevity Palace

Mu Jinchen sat calmly, drinking tea, appearing completely indifferent.

The Empress Dowager looked at him, feeling both angry and helpless. "There is really no room for negotiation on this matter."

"no".

“That’s over ten million taels, not one thousand taels. How could your maternal grandfather possibly come up with that?”

"If you can't come up with the money, then sell your family property. The Duke of Su's mansion has many properties, so there's no need to worry about not being able to raise enough money."

"Do you have to be so heartless?"

"Then what does Mother want me to do? Give up on collecting the debt?"

"Now, because of this matter, the people in the court are in a state of panic and everyone is in danger. If this continues, something bad will inevitably happen."

"The Huainan floods have caused a major disaster, yet the Ministry of Revenue cannot even scrape together five million taels of silver. In the end, they managed to scrape together only four million eight hundred and sixty thousand taels. My Yunyue is a great nation, yet the national treasury is so empty. Meanwhile, those ministers are taking the court's money and indulging in lavish feasts and extravagant lifestyles every day. Doesn't Your Majesty find this laughable?"

The Empress Dowager was speechless.

Then, Mu Jinchen added, "Whether the Duke of Su's mansion can't afford so much money or doesn't want to, Mother knows perfectly well."

The Empress Dowager naturally knew that the Duke of Su's family was a century-old family with many properties, so how could they not even have more than ten million taels? They just didn't want to.

Then, Mu Jinchen stood up and said, "I still have some memorials to deal with, so I'll be leaving now." After saying that, he started to leave, but after taking two steps, he suddenly stopped, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

As the Empress Dowager watched his departing figure, she felt a pang of pain in her heart, as if something had pierced it. "Granny," she said, "tell me, have I hurt him again?"

Xu Mama replied, "My lady, if I may say something I shouldn't, everyone has a heart. If he hadn't been forced into this situation, why would the prince risk his reputation to do such a thing? It's clear he really had no other choice. But instead of understanding him, you're helping the Duke of Su to make things difficult for him. How can the prince not be heartbroken?"

“It’s not that I don’t understand him, it’s just that…”

“This old servant understands that the Duke of Su is your father, so you side with him. But, my master, don’t forget that the Prince is your son, whom you carried for ten months and gave birth to. He is also related to you by blood.”

The Empress Dowager remained silent, lost in thought.

Granny Xu didn't say anything more and stood silently beside her.

After a long while, the Empress Dowager spoke again, saying, "Granny, go to the Duke of Su's mansion in person and tell my father to pay back all the debts as soon as possible without delay."

"Yes, this old servant will go right away."

A few days later, in the Fengtian Hall, Mu Jinchen looked at the ministers below, and finally his gaze fell on Su Jing'an. He called out, "Lord Su."

Upon hearing this, Su Jing'an immediately stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your subject is here."

"How is the debt collection going?"

"Your Highness, we have already retrieved a small portion."

"More than half a month has passed, and you've only gotten a small portion back. What have you been doing?"

"Your subject knows his crime and begs Your Highness for forgiveness."

"Who else has not yet returned?"

"this……".

"What, can't I say it now?"

"Your Highness, there are also Prince Qing, Prince Min, Duke Ming, Marquis of Nanyang, General Li, Lord Li, Lord Mo, Lord Xu, and Lord Wang."

"Lord Li, Lord Mo, Lord Xu, Lord Wang, why haven't you four returned?"

The four men immediately stepped forward. Then, Lord Xu and Lord Wang knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, we are incompetent and beg your forgiveness."

Su Jing'an explained to them, "Your Highness, after my investigation, it is true that Lord Xu and Lord Wang are indeed short of money. Lord Xu's mother is bedridden, and Lord Xu is honest and upright, with nothing to his name, so he has no choice but to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue. Lord Wang is in the same situation. His mother suffers from heart disease, his father suffers from leg disease, his wife is pregnant, and he also has a six-year-old daughter and a three-year-old child to support. His meager monthly salary is simply not enough to support his family's expenses, so he has to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue."

"Although there were reasons for this, it is only right and proper to pay back debts."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will find a way to repay the money as soon as I get back," Lord Xu replied, though he was somewhat troubled.

"I am the same."

Mu Jinchen did not respond to them, but instead asked Su Jing'an, "How much money do they owe?"

"Your Highness, Lord Xu owes one hundred taels, and Lord Wang owes thirty taels."

"I will pay back the money for them. In addition, their monthly salary will be increased by twenty taels, which will be deducted from my account."

"Yes".

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Lord Xu and Lord Wang were extremely excited.