noffsinger Chapter 254 focuses on the principle of "equal distribution of favors".
Chapter 254 focuses on the principle of "equal distribution of favors".
Whether it was a matter of personal feelings or not was secondary; what Yinzhuo was most curious about was just how big of a deal it was that could make his father so angry that he made his brothers kneel outside for so long in the dead of winter.
"What are you saying, Second Brother? What kind of relationship do we have? We're brothers who are even if our bones are broken, how could I stand idly by when you're in trouble? Speaking of which, what really happened today that made Father so angry?"
As soon as Yinzhuo said this, the atmosphere, which had eased a little, became heavy again. Yinreng, Yinzhen, and the others looked at each other and then sighed helplessly.
"What else could it be? It's all because of the national treasury's debt. A few days ago, officials from the Ministry of Revenue reported that the national treasury was almost empty. When Father sent people to investigate, good heavens, tens of millions of taels of silver in the national treasury had been borrowed clean by officials of all ranks in the capital. Of course, this included my royal relatives, my eldest brother, third brother, eighth brother, ninth brother, tenth brother, and twelfth brother—they all got a share. If it weren't for you being with my eldest brother today, he'd probably be kneeling in the garden with us..."
If you ask why Yinreng, Yinzhen, the thirteenth, and the fourteenth were punished even though they didn't borrow money from the national treasury, you can only say they were unlucky. Who told them to have a father who liked to punish everyone? Kangxi's main policy today was to treat everyone equally. Whether you borrowed money or not, if I'm not having a good time, none of you will be either. As for Yinti, the fourteenth was absolutely right; he was purely benefiting from Yinzuo's influence.
The Fourteenth Prince's words silenced Yinzhuo. He glanced at the people the Fourteenth Prince had called out, then looked at Yintang, who had been keeping his head down and remaining silent.
"Little Nine, come here, have a good talk with Sixth Brother. What are you thinking? Are you short of money? So you're called God of Wealth Nine for nothing? I think you're asking for trouble again. If I had known this, I should have gone all out against you earlier."
Yinzhi, Yinzhi, and Yinsi all borrowed money from the national treasury, which Yinzuo could understand. Take Yinzhi, for example. As a prince, his annual salary, including miscellaneous expenses, was at most 10,000 taels. This amount was an astronomical figure for ordinary people, but for them, it was really not enough. They had to support their wives, their children, and they needed to have many servants in their household. If they had ambitions, they would have to win over their subordinates. Of course, they also spent a lot on social obligations throughout the year. If they didn't have any extra income, their lives would be more than just miserable.
But Yinzhen is different. Just like in history, he has a good business sense. Over the years, Yinzuo has been responsible for coming up with ideas, and Yinzhen has been responsible for carrying them out. The two brothers have done a lot of work and made a fortune. Not to mention anything else, just this year's trade with foreigners alone is enough for the two brothers to stay at home and spend money like crazy for several years without doing anything else.
Yinzhi was truly stumped by Yinzhi's question. After all, he was not short of money, but as the saying goes, who in this world would complain about having too much money? Everyone can borrow money from the national treasury, so why can't he? However, Yinzhi knew that if he dared to say that, he would probably be beaten to death on the spot by his sixth brother. So he could only stammer and come up with a reason that sounded reasonable.
"Sixth Brother, don't be angry. I don't lack money, but I'm always out and about, so I have to maintain good relationships with everyone. Everyone is borrowing money from the national treasury. If I don't lend, wouldn't I seem out of place?"
Upon hearing Yin Tang's words, not only Yin Zuo, but even Yin Zhen, who had been wearing a cold expression the whole time, couldn't help but roll his eyes at him. Heh, do you even believe what you're saying? You're just trying to fool people with this. It's better to say that your greedy nature has kicked in again, and you couldn't resist taking advantage of this little bit of money.
"Alright, it's getting late. We have to get up early tomorrow to go to Khan's place. Everyone should go back and rest early tonight. We can talk about it tomorrow."
Yinreng's intervention at this moment saved Yintang's life. Had it been any later, Yinzuo probably would have slapped him. Yintang knew that this was not a place to stay for long, so he bowed to his brothers and pulled Yinzhen towards their resting place for the night.
"Second Brother is right. It's getting late. Sixth Brother, you've had a long day, so you should go home and rest. We can talk about this tomorrow. Don't worry, Sixth Brother, I'll go to the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow and return the silver..."
Yinzuo watched as Yintang, who had already dragged Yinzhen far away before he finished speaking, was at a loss for words. Was he really that scary? Why was this kid running away in such a hurry... After Yintang and Yinzhen left, Yinreng and his brothers didn't linger. They exchanged a few more pleasantries and then went their separate ways to their respective residences for the night.
"Fourth Brother, if Father asks who is willing to go to the Ministry of Revenue to collect the debts tomorrow, you must not be the first to do it. It's not a good job. If someone takes it, they'll probably offend a lot of people. You see, Qingxi Bookstore is going to be quite lively tomorrow."
Yinzhen was originally supposed to go to the West Garden to rest, but halfway there, Yinzuo forcibly dragged him to his Shufeng Pavilion. In Yinzuo's words, the West Garden didn't even have a proper place to stay, so why go to the West Garden to suffer? You might ask why Yinzuo called Yinzhen instead of the Fourteenth Prince, since they were brothers. It's actually very simple: that kid is very shameless. He had already been staying at his Shufeng Pavilion for ages.
Yinzhen didn't respond to Yinzuo's earlier words. Yinzuo wasn't stupid; he could tell from his brother's attitude that he didn't take his words seriously at all. Indeed, although Yinzhen's personality had changed a lot in this life because of Yinzuo's arrival, his essential nature wouldn't be easily changed. Deep down, he was still the same person from later generations who saw things in black and white and couldn't tolerate any flaws.
"Alright, it seems Fourth Brother has made up his mind. In that case, I won't say any more. Let's go back and rest first, so we can get up early tomorrow."
When Yinzhu was woken up by Dexi the next morning, he was completely dazed. He could tell from the candles still lit in the room that it was not fully light outside. By the time he finally got ready and went to the flower hall, Yinzhen was already sitting there having breakfast.
"Good morning, Sixth Brother. Come over quickly. The kitchen made your favorite lean meat porridge today. Look, they even added salted egg yolk."
Yinzhu greeted Yinzhen and the Fourteenth Prince in a daze, then swayed to the table and sat down. He stirred the porridge in the bowl with a spoon for a long time, but didn't put a single bite in his mouth.