Chapter 308 - 308: The Emperor Summons

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Xiao Junhao’s smile deepened when he said the last sentence.

Although there was a smile on Xiao Junhao’s face, his eyes held no hint of amusement—only a cold, piercing gaze.

With the decree from Emperor Qi Ming, Jiang Peihuan could only watch as Yan Kuan was taken into the palace.

Once Yan Kuan was taken away, Jiang Peihuan realized that this matter would likely be downplayed.

Sure enough, an hour later, news came from the palace. Yan Kuan was punished with twenty lashes, but other than that, he faced no further consequences.

The Cao family, upon hearing the emperor’s decision, felt resentment. However, it was the emperor’s decision, and even if they were unhappy, they could not voice their grievances.

At the Yan residence.

“Your Highness, Prince Qing, I am truly grateful for your help this time.”

“Lord Yan is too courteous; it’s my duty.”

Upon hearing Xiao Junhao’s words, Lord Yan said nothing more but glanced at Madam Yan.

After a moment, Madam Yan placed a box next to Xiao Junhao.

Then, Lord Yan said with a smile, “Prince Qing, this is a small token of my gratitude. 1 hope you will accept it.”

Opening the box, Xiao Junhao found it filled with silver notes.

Seeing the silver notes, Xiao Junhao’s eyes widened in surprise. He promptly closed the box and pushed it back towards Lord Yan, saying, “1 cannot accept this.”

“The Yan family has just contributed a hundred thousand taels to my father, the emperor. How can 1 take more from Lord Yan?”

“Your Highness, what we gave to the emperor was for him. This is for you.”

“If you don’t accept it, it means you don’t acknowledge our gratitude.”

“This…”

“Kuan Er is the only son of the Yan family. If anything were to happen to him, how could 1 live on? So, these silver notes are a token of my gratitude to you and are nothing significant.”

“Please, Your Highness, accept them.”

Hearing Lord Yan’s words, Xiao Junhao looked conflicted.

After a long pause, he finally took the box, saying, “In that case, I will humbly accept.”

Jiang Peihuan only found out about the Yan family’s tribute of a hundred thousand taels to Emperor Qi Ming the next day.

When she learned of it, her eyes were filled with disbelief.

In her past life, she knew that Emperor Qi Ming wasn’t a wise ruler. But in this life, she felt he was even more incompetent.

However, she couldn’t voice these thoughts, neither in front of Xiao Nanye nor in front of her family.

Soon, Jiang Peihuan had other matters to deal with, as disasters began breaking out all over the Qi Kingdom.

While there was heavy snowfall in the capital, Jiang Peihuan had been distributing porridge, so the situation there was manageable.

But outside the capital, the disasters were severe.

Due to these calamities, both Jiang Hong and Xiao Nanye were busy from dawn till dusk.

On the evening of the third day, Jiang Peihuan and the entire Jiang family went to the Chrysanthemum Hall.

The men of the Jiang family wore grave expressions.

Seeing this, Jiang Peihuan turned to Jiang Hong and whispered, “Father, has something happened at court?”

Hearing Jiang Peihuan’s voice, Jiang Hong’s expression softened slightly.

However, he did not respond, instead, he looked at Xiao Nanye.

“Imperial Brother has already dispatched funds to various places, but this money seems like a drop in the ocean, making no ripple.”

“This morning, against the advice of the ministers, the emperor demanded that each household contribute 50,000 taels of silver.”

Though Xiao Nanye’s words were brief, Jiang Peihuan could easily imagine the scene in the Palace.

As for Emperor Qi Ming, Jiang Peihuan didn’t even want to comment.

Even for someone like Jiang Hong, a top general, his annual salary was only 2,000 taels.

For some wealthy and influential families, 50,000 taels might not be much. But for many ordinary officials, it’s almost like losing half their life.

“How could the emperor do this? This is just forcing…”

Hearing Xiao Nanye’s words, the Old Madam Jiang frowned, but given Emperor Qi Ming’s status, she didn’t say anything in the end.

“Enough, let’s have dinner first. We can discuss this after eating.”

Hearing Old Madam Jiang’s voice, everyone began to eat.

Just as they were about to start, Nanny Xu entered the room.

Looking at Old Madam Jiang, Nanny Xu said with panic, “Madam, someone from the palace is here. They’ve summoned the great general, the King Cheng, and also the third master.”

The fact that Jiang Hong and Xiao Nanye were summoned to the palace wasn’t surprising. But when they heard that Jiang Ren was also called, everyone looked concerned.

“Nanny Xu, who came to deliver the emperor’s decree?”

“It’s Chief Wang.”

Hearing this, Jiang Peihuan immediately went outside.

Xiao Nanye followed after a nod to the old madam.

Wang Kun was sitting in the Jiang’s living room. Seeing Jiang Peihuan and Xiao Nanye, he greeted with a smile, “Greetings to the King and Queen Cheng.” “Chief Wang, why has the emperor summoned King Cheng at this late hour?” Hearing Jiang Peihuan’s question, Wang Kun lowered his voice, “The emperor is concerned about the disaster-hit areas. Prince Qing went to see him and mentioned the Liu family.”

After these words, he fell silent.

Thanking him, Jiang Peihuan whispered, “Thank you, Chief Wang.”

“You’re too kind, Queen Cheng.”

A moment later, Jiang Hong, Jiang Ren, and Xiao Nanye entered the palace.

Seeing them enter, Emperor Qi Ming said, “Rise. Great General Jiang, I’ve called you today because of the disaster situation. Jiang Ren, isn’t your wife a daughter of the Liu family?”

After briefly speaking, Emperor Qi Ming turned his attention to Jiang Ren.

Jiang Ren had probably guessed the emperor’s intention – wanting the Liu family’s money.

Even though Liu Xiu was married to him, he couldn’t represent the Jiang family. So when he heard the emperor’s words, Jiang Ren simply nodded, “Yes.” After that, he remained silent.

Seeing Jiang Ren’s attitude, Emperor Qi Ming frowned.

At that moment, Xiao Junhao laughed softly, “General Jiang, the Liu family is the top merchant of Qi Kingdom. During this national crisis, shouldn’t they contribute?”

“The Liu family are citizens of Qi Kingdom and should contribute. As the emperor’s son, Prince Qing should do his part. I’ve heard that the Prince Qing Mansion has many treasures. Besides the 50,000 taels, is there anything else the prince can offer? Why not just donate the entire mansion?”

Before Jiang Ren could respond, Xiao Nanye spoke up.

Though Xiao Nanye’s voice was soft, his words were like slaps to Xiao Junhao’s face.

“Imperial Uncle, you must be joking.. Could it be that Imperial Uncle is willing to donate the entire Cheng Mansion?”