Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 57
Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Sitting there, Dai Quan sipped the tea, and said with a smile;

"Just to let them know that you immediately write three IOUs, first use the Great Seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to print them, and then send them to the Hou Mansion. If Mrs. Yang agrees, you can sign and draw a deposit."

Steward Wang nodded, and asked suddenly;
"Internal Prime Minister, what if Mrs. Yang disagrees?"

"Oh, I forgot. This Mrs. Yang is just an introduction, and she is acting with the Ministry of Household Affairs. After the event is completed, these properties can be given to her. Your Majesty also said that she would give her a dowry. Do you understand?"

"If you really want to give them all away, everyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is looking forward to the increase in the industry in recent years. How much do you think is appropriate?"

"Well, give away most of it first. If it's really not possible, just sell one or two places symbolically. Don't look at that girl who is careless and difficult to deal with. She must ask the Hou Mansion to agree to help. It's okay to return it after borrowing it. Remember Hold on, don't make any mistakes for me, I'm here waiting for a reply, go."

Steward Wang stood there with his eyes wide open after hearing this, it's a free gift, and after hearing the inner minister's special explanation behind him, he immediately answered seriously;
"Don't worry about the interior, the small one will be done properly."

The steward Wang of the House of Internal Affairs took the three written IOUs and printed them and handed them to Dai Quan for review. Dai Quan nodded after reading them. After that, Eunuch Wang took the IOUs and took the people straight to Luoyunhou's mansion.

And Bai Shaofeng, the third master of the Xiangyang Hou Mansion, who pretended to have a stomachache, ran out of the office of the House of Internal Affairs, straightened up immediately, jumped into the carriage, and shouted at the servant;

"Quick, idiot, hurry back to the Hou Mansion, there is something important to do."

"Yes, third master."

Bai Shaofeng, the third master of the Xiangyang Marquis Mansion, was very excited and uneasy. What does the court mean? Which nobles and noble families in the whole court did not borrow money? How much money is it after decades? The one I got will be less again, let's see what my elder brother says, the parents are gone and I can't discuss it, hey.

Uneasy all the way, finally returned to the Hou's mansion and hurried to the mansion, reached the gate,
asked the doorman;

"Where is my elder brother?"

"The third master is back, the master is talking with you in the study,"

Before the porter could finish his sentence, Bai Shaofeng raised his legs and ran away.

The porter is still shouting;
"Third Master, slow down. Second Miss will go back home and talk to the Master in the study today."

Bai Shaofeng ran directly into the study room in the southeast corner of the inner courtyard, and slammed into the study room, scaring his second sister and his little nephew into tears.

Xiangyang Hou Baiguangju frowned when he saw it, and shouted;

"Old man, why is your frizzy and irritable personality still like that? You have been sent out of the government, and you still can't change your stinking problem."

"That's right, it scares your nephew, oh, oh, don't cry, don't cry."

Bai Shaofeng was at a loss when he saw that his second sister and nephew were there, and the child was still crying.
"I'm sorry Second Sister, I'm also in a hurry. Something happened to Eldest Brother, and Second Sister happened to be there too. Let the three of us discuss it together. Eldest Brother, I feel that the court is going to be in turmoil."

Hou Baiguangju in Xiangyang also changed his face after hearing the words of the third child, knowing that although the third child was rough, he would never be confused about major matters, so he asked;

"What's the big deal? Didn't you go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to buy property?"

The youngest, Bai Shaofeng, didn't speak, turned around and closed the door of the study, then walked back to the desk and said;
"That's right, I heard it from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It was said by Dai Neixiang, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It can't be wrong. Brother, let me drink first."

Bai Shaofeng directly picked up the boss's tea and drank it, and drank it all in one go.

"How fast you are running, you are so thirsty, drink slowly."

The second sister, Bai Wenyao, said something concerned.

"Thank you, Second Sister, it's all right."

"Don't worry, you go on and say, is it from the court or the civil servants, or our nobles."

The boss, Bai Guangju, waited for the third child to finish drinking tea, and asked calmly.

"Big Brother, Second Sister, neither. It's about the nobles and officials of the family. The civil officials are not left behind this time. I'm not going to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to buy some property. Who knows that Mrs. Yang of the Luoyunhou Mansion also wants to buy it. , She must finish the selection before I can choose."

The second sister, Bai Wenyao, has heard about Mrs. Yang, she has been very beautiful these days, and she is a stunning beauty, why is there something about her, so she interjected;
"Third brother, it's not a big deal, you can buy it from others, her man Luo Yunhou Zhang Jinyu has done meritorious service at the border, so it's right to take care of her."

The boss also nodded his head to express his agreement. I myself can't compare with Zhang Jinyu, the Marquis of Luoyun, who is the Marquis of Real Power.

"No, big brother, the second sister is not the point, the point is that she wants to buy all the properties sold by the Ministry of Internal Affairs this year."

"Ah, this is too rich. Mrs. Yang is amazing. Could it be that Mrs. Yang contacted Lord Zhang Jinyu of Pingyang and asked for it?"

Boss Bai Guangju was also surprised;

"This is indeed a big deal. What Wen Yao said is that it is impossible to get in touch with Lord Zhang Hou. The official document of the court has just been issued. How can we contact you so far away? You can't take the urgent line, but the third child is okay, right?"

"Brother, second sister can let me finish my sentence, that's not the point. The point is that Mrs. Yang has no money. She still wants to ask the imperial household department to borrow money to buy property."

Bai Wenyao thought for a moment that this was abnormal, which family hadn't borrowed money from the court, and wanted to say something, but was stopped by the elder brother's eyes, who swallowed the words again.

"continue."

"Then the inner minister should have told the emperor about it and agreed to borrow money, but the loan has conditions, and the conditions have changed."

Boss Bai Guangju's pupils shrank when he heard this, he knew what the third child was going to say, the emperor wanted to recover the loan, or clear up the old debts, when his parents left, he said that this matter would definitely explode, but he didn't Know when it pops up.

"The inner minister said that the borrowed money should have interest, and it will be settled in one year. The loan can be borrowed for up to 5 years, and there is a loan limit. The Luoyun Hou Mansion can borrow 100 million taels of silver, and it should not be given any more. By the way, the interest is 30 pumps one."

The second sister, Bai Wenyao, also changed her expression after hearing this, it can't be.

"Third brother, you can't talk nonsense. You know, the capital is full of dignitaries and civil servants from aristocratic families."

"Second Sister, I don't dare to talk nonsense. The Prime Minister said it herself right next to her. She also asked Steward Wang to write an IOU and went to Luoyunhou Zhang Jinyu's house. She should have asked Mrs. Yang to sign it."

"Here, what should I do, big brother?"

"What the third brother said should be true. One is to send someone to look at the mansion of Luo Yunhou Zhang Jinyu to see if the prince has gone, and whether there is such a thing. The other is to liquidate how much property is left in the Marquis's mansion. In cash, calculate the amount of money owed by the Marquis of Xiangyang."

"Brother, this is just a rumor. Can we really ask us to pay back the money, and we didn't say anything about it."

Bai Wenyao had a look of disbelief, and when she heard that the Marquis Mansion had to pay, she was unwilling. So many people owed money, and if the court pursued closely, there would be no chaos.

The third child didn't think so, and directly interjected;
"Second sister, the inner minister also said that if you don't make it, you can use your family property and official title to pay for it."

"This, hey."

Bai Guangju is not afraid. Back then, his parents also left money for the loan, which can be repaid at any time, but the interest was never thought of.
"Calculate the money owed first. I remember it was as much as 150 million taels. Calculate the interest."

"Almost, I remember the IOUs in the treasury after the separation. I borrowed 150 million taels one after another. It has been almost 20 years. 30 draws a year, and the interest is more than 4 taels a year. After 5 years, it is More than 20 taels, my God."

After the second sister finished the calculation, the third child and the eldest child were also stunned, which was too much.

"Second sister, you are right, why are there so many?"

"Let me do the math again. That's right, there are so many. This adds up to 240 million taels of principal and interest."

Boss Bai Guang lived there silently, who would have imagined that today, he regretted the past.

"Brother, you are talking, what should we do?"

The boss also had a wry smile on his face.
"What can I do? The tall man will bear it if something goes wrong. At worst, I will take off my clothes."

"I'm still poor. Brother, this title must not be lost, or our Bai family will be ruined. I and the old third family have taken so much. Let me tell you first, I will give 30 taels from my dowry to Mr. Hou's family." On the mat. What do you say, third child?"

"You don't need to ask. The 60 taels I plan to buy the property will also be put on the back of the elder brother. You can see how much is still missing. You can't sell the property."

"Can we talk about this first, if you can't sell the property, it's an income of more than 30 taels of silver a year."

"Okay, I know what's in my mind. Your money is really needed by the Marquis. Even if it's borrowed by the elder brother, there will be interest. I'll also write the IOU."

Bai Guangju also unambiguously wrote two IOUs and stamped them with the seal of the Hou Mansion, and handed them over.

"Brother, what else are you writing, the three of us have a share in the bill owed to the court."

"That is, after taking so much money from the Hou's Mansion, how can I contribute to the Hou's Mansion."

"Take it, what you all share is cash, and you don't have much income. The Hou's mansion has no shortage of property and has money to earn. If it wasn't for the ancestor's precept that you couldn't share it, it should have been given to you at that time. The Hou's mansion has 100 million taels of cash. There are 190 million taels for you, and there is still a shortfall of 50 taels. I am asking my wife to borrow some money to make up enough 200 million taels of silver."

"Brother, can you ask those old relatives to borrow some money?"

The third child came up with an idea there, but the second sister disagreed and said;
"You, you are short of money after this incident, and what's more, let those old relatives think about the Hou's mansion, they will have more face."

"Yeah. This?"

"By the way, third son, you just said that you can borrow money from the household department according to your title, right?"

The boss, Bai Guangju, suddenly thought that it doesn't have to be paid all at once, it's okay to pay part of it first.

"Yes, according to the internal phase, the ranks are descending in descending order."

"Well, let's calculate 100 million taels as in the Luoyunhou Mansion. We owe a total of 240 million taels. We just need to pay off the big ones, and we can just re-borrow the rest. Of course, I will borrow your money first. It will be hard to take money from the imperial court in the future, but you have to take it, hey."

Bai Guangju knew what the emperor meant, and he also knew that the money had to be repaid or borrowed. It was better than Luoyunhou's mansion also wanted to borrow it. It seems that this matter should be discussed at the Beijing Palace tonight.

(End of this chapter)