Chapter 919: Chapter 917: Am I That Kind of Person?
Between Lord Prime Minister Han and His Highness Prince Yu, there is a father-in-law and son-in-law relationship, and Han Yanhui is a strong supporter of Prince Yu’s bid for the throne.
Before he could inquire, Jinrong sent someone to tell him the reason for the grand banquet held by Prince Chong’s Mansion.
The offspring of the Han Mansion might not be considered very prosperous, but they are not few either. Moreover, it is the birthday of Han Yanhui’s elderly mother this month. Thus, the Han Mansion inevitably has to contribute to the court.
Han Yanhui is not afraid of losing money. Although this plan is somewhat insidious, as long as Prince Yu can receive the emperor’s approval and eventually succeed the throne, the Han family can at least sustain two more generations of glory.
This little bit of wealth, the Han Mansion can still afford.
The other old fox, Duke An, went back and mulled over it for a while, feeling that his granddaughter must know about this matter.
That day, when Prince Yu donated the rent income from Lang Garden to the court, he was immediately summoned to the palace by the emperor. This hadn’t even been a couple of days, and the usually low-key Old Prince personally organized a birthday banquet for his grandson, who held no significant title.
This was abnormal to begin with. The palace, which has always been strictly guarded, actually allowed the emperor’s statements and actions on this matter to be leaked. This is even more irregular.
Moreover, the income from Lang Garden includes a share for his granddaughter. With his granddaughter’s acquisitive nature, she would not agree to donate without a reason.
Duke An received the invitation from the Old Prince, and on the same day, Ye Xinyan was escorted back to Duke An’s Mansion by Lian Gui from Guangsha Construction.
Ye Yuan, Qi Jiaer, and the three of them went to Marquis Zhongyong’s Mansion. She did not delay, first paying respects to the Duchess before heading to Duke An’s study in the outer courtyard.
Duke An’s Mansion is the sort of estate with a sparse family. Since Ye Yuan was born and grew up to a year old, Duke An never held a decent banquet, cherishing him immensely.
Now, however, he is to send a first-year birthday gift to Prince Chong’s Mansion, which is teeming with offspring. Duke An is not pleased at all.
Ye Xinyan listened to Duke An’s question and exaggeratedly blinked her eyes, making a face of ignorance: "Grandfather, you know, your granddaughter has never paid much attention to such matters. How would I know about the happenings of Prince Chong’s Mansion?"
Duke An snorted coldly, looking Ye Xinyan up and down a few times.
This girl went outside for a few days and now wants to play tricks in front of his old eyes—was she joking with him?
"Don’t try that with me. Tell me properly, what is the deal with the first-year banquet of Prince Chong’s little one? Your grandfather has crossed more bridges than you have walked roads, don’t think of fooling me. The wealth and silver of Duke An’s Mansion should be saved for your brothers, well, your sisters can have a share too, but it can’t be wasted on others for nothing."
Pfft, she doesn’t care, she can earn it herself. But, does the old man have to be so sharp? Ye Xinyan secretly admired Duke An. To be able to trace it back to her from the unrelated Old Prince, that’s quite something. Who said people get muddled in old age?
"Grandfather is indeed remarkable, it’s no wonder people say grandfather is a..." Ye Xinyan almost blurted out the truth.
She glanced at Duke An with a smile and said, "Well, grandfather, you should know this is actually a compliment from your granddaughter. Your granddaughter’s admiration for your wisdom is quite unparalleled."
Duke An waved his hand helplessly, "Alright, stop with the flattery. Tell me properly, what kind of game is Prince Chong’s Mansion playing here?"
Ye Xinyan felt quite melancholic, her wit really can’t compare with these ancient people. Look at the old Duke An, asking about Prince Chong’s Mansion right away, convinced it has something to do with her.
Duke An listened to Ye Xinyan’s explanation and remained silent for quite some time. Surely it was this girl’s idea. If people found out, wouldn’t she be scolded to death?
"Girl, your courage is enormous. Making so many people lose money at once could have everyone point fingers at you."
Ye Xinyan was quite innocent, "Isn’t your granddaughter just thinking of the court? Only when the country is prosperous and the people at peace can everyone earn money. Even for officials, if all places are peaceful and people live happily, the officials too will have more opportunities to earn. Your granddaughter trusts the officials are men of great learning, this truth they understand."
She dared to say such things? Even at this time, she couldn’t refrain from being cheeky.
"Let’s hope everyone understands the rationale," Duke An said, not very optimistic. He had little faith in the principles recognized by the learned officials of the court.
Ye Xinyan glanced at Duke An and said, "Our Duke An’s Mansion is sparsely populated, and in recent days there indeed hasn’t been much to celebrate. This isn’t a compulsory levy, grandfather doesn’t need to worry about Ye Yuan’s property."
Duke An glanced at Ye Xinyan rather unwillingly, "Do you think the old man cares about this kind of matter? I’m pondering about you. Once this starts, with the emperor exerting pressure, there’s bound to be a continuous stream of celebratory banquets, taking the biggest toll on lower-level officials. Your family Yuanfan will have to respond to many invitations. As long as you are not worried, then good."
Ye Xinyan snorted, "Jiang Yifan, after all, is an official on the court’s payroll. He holds some shares in both the cattle farm and mechanical workshop. Giving out gifts befitting his position is still manageable. Moreover, these are not to curry favor with superiors but to purchase grains to send to drought-stricken areas and aid disaster victims. Your granddaughter does possess this level of consciousness."
Duke An nodded, not showing much emotion, but feeling very gratified inside.
He knew well how acquisitive his granddaughter was. But in matters such as this, she was extremely straightforward. With her guiding Ye Yuan, possessing both intelligence and righteousness, the old man felt more at ease about the future of Duke An’s Mansion.
"It’s best if you think this way. People are foolish; once it involves themselves, they can’t distinguish the importance. Just as you said, if the country falls into chaos, officials won’t be able to endlessly earn their salaries. Alas!"
Ye Xinyan cheerfully asked, "Grandfather doesn’t think this approach is excessive, right?" She could tell Duke An’s demeanor didn’t show the slightest reluctance or displeasure.
She still remembered a book she read before. It talked about the late Ming Dynasty, when peasant uprisings erupted everywhere, and the Jurchen People kept pressing from the north. The court was beleaguered internally and externally, and the national strength was exhausted.
At that time, corruption was rampant from top to bottom in the court, the officials, and the imperial relatives weren’t short of silver, yet they tightly clutched their wealth, watching the empire collapse with open eyes.
After the fact, the court was gone, who then would protect their families? The undisciplined rebel army capturing the capital and other cities first victimized the wealthy and powerful families. Not just their wealth, but even their lives were lost.
Such obvious reason, such absurd result, unbelievably actually transpired.
Luckily, this is not the late Ming Dynasty, and Duke An is not a fool.
Looking at his smiling, inquisitive granddaughter, Duke An’s expression was quite unapproving. Without a grandson, it’s truly not enjoyable. If a grandson asked such a question, he would smack him on the back of his head—just imagining it felt delightful and gratifying.
"What’s excessive about it?! At the banquet of Prince Chong’s Mansion, the old man will prepare a generous gift to send. Thereafter, every family and mansion will send something alike, raising the market value. If not for the desire to avoid attention, it’d be no harm for our mansion to organize a grain dispatch team to Yuanzhou." Duke An spoke with bravado, and indeed, that was his intention.