Chapter 566: See Through
Chapter 566 -567: See Through
Opening the letter and glancing over it, Gu Baijiang’s eyes narrowed. Even if he had hidden a portion of the Silver earlier, no one else knew about it but him. Gu Antong definitely didn’t have any concrete proof.
But when his gaze reached the end of the letter, he held it up to the candlelight. He discovered three faint fingernail scratches, and his expression grew heavy. This was the secret signal they had agreed upon when Gu Antong left home. Three scratches meant the worst-case scenario—a point of no return.
Gu Baijiang slumped into his armchair, his eyes devoid of life. Was such a crucial chess piece about to be ruined?
Perhaps it was because he was getting older, but fond memories of Gu Antong growing up suddenly flashed through his mind. As the eldest granddaughter and the firstborn child of the Gu Family, even though Gu Baijiang tended to favor boys over girls, he still doted on her. In fact, even Gu Kaiyuan might not hold as high a place in his heart as this granddaughter.
From the news he had received earlier to this very letter, everything indicated that the Gu Family was past the point of no return this time. Gu Antong’s situation was even worse than what he had gathered. At this moment, a pang of regret pierced his heart. If he had just married Gu Antong into an ordinary family back then, she wouldn’t be entangled in these schemes. She might have lived out her life in peace. But it was too late to dwell on that now. Prince Ning Mansion wasn’t an entity they could afford to offend anymore. Both grandfather and granddaughter knew this well, which was why Gu Antong hadn’t asked for help in the letter.
The letter stated her wish for him to assist Prince Ning and made all sorts of promises, yet it didn’t mention a single word about her own deteriorating health. It was obvious that she had written this letter under duress.
“How wonderful,” Gu Baijiang muttered to himself. Rong Ruiyuan had used him, abandoned them, and now, even at this point, still wanted to coerce them. How blind he must have been to pledge his loyalty to such a man. Rong Ruiyuan no longer took them seriously, yet Gu Baijiang couldn’t make the slightest move in retaliation. Given the circumstances, he had to think about his two grandsons. This was also Gu Antong’s intention; otherwise, she wouldn’t have left those three scratches in the letter.
“Rong Ruiyuan, you’ve played the Gu Family for fools. Not only have you failed to fulfill a single promise, but you also expect me to continue supporting you. What a brilliant scheme you’ve cooked up.”
It was just a pity that he didn’t know who had taken that Silver; otherwise, Gu Baijiang would have considered taking it to defect to a new master. He knew Rong Ruiyuan suspected him of holding back. Aside from the Gu Family, everyone else in this estate was Rong Ruiyuan’s informant. Their lives had been so miserable lately—surely Rong Ruiyuan didn’t think he was just putting on an act? If that Silver hadn’t been lost, at least he wouldn’t be falsely accused. But without any trump cards left in his hands, he truly lacked confidence. Although Gu Antong had sent back a “farewell letter,” she had also presented him with a difficult problem. How was he supposed to reply?
After a moment of thought, he immediately picked up his brush and personally wrote a reply to Gu Antong.
This letter didn’t even sit overnight before it was placed in front of Rong Ruiyuan. Rong Ruiyuan was full of anticipation, but when he read the heartbroken, helpless words on the page, his face darkened completely. He had pinned all his hopes on the Gu Family, yet this was how Gu Baijiang responded.
Grabbing the letter, he prepared to head to the backyard to demand an explanation, but just as he stepped out of the study door, he turned back. He examined the letter inside and out, up and down, but it really was just an ordinary reply. His brows furrowed tightly. He understood Gu Baijiang’s mindset: the man had placed most of his hopes on Gu Antong. It was impossible for him to be so indifferent to her plea for help, even going so far as to tell her to calm down and serve Rong Ruiyuan well.
Tossing the letter aside, he rubbed his temples. He thought that if there was nothing left to squeeze out of Gu Baijiang, he might as well give the Gu Family some Silver and send them packing. There was no need to keep providing for them.
Rong Ruiyuan summoned his advisors again. They discussed the matter all night, but ultimately failed to come up with a good solution. On the contrary, these advisors all knew that Prince Ning Mansion was now nothing but a hollow shell. How could that meager official salary support so many people? Since this concerned their own future interests, the advisors racked their brains and finally set their sights on the wealthy merchants.
Rong Ruiyuan was initially hesitant, but one of the advisors persuaded him, “Prince, I know what you are wary of. His Majesty dislikes you getting too close to merchants, but I actually think a method Gu Baijiang used in the past was quite brilliant. These wealthy merchants don’t lack Silver, and similarly, they don’t lack daughters.”
Rong Ruiyuan immediately rejected the idea. “That won’t work. Father Emperor has already specifically summoned us brothers to the South Study to warn us. Royal descendants must not allow lowly merchant daughters into their households.” At the end of the day, the Emperor was just afraid they would grow too powerful and use the wealth behind these merchants to buy people’s loyalty.
“Prince, we naturally cannot undermine His Majesty’s demands,” the advisor continued. “Prince, even if you cannot marry them, you can still take a roundabout approach.”
Rong Ruiyuan stared at the white-haired advisors before him. He had thought that their old age would make them steady, but he didn’t expect them to have such dirty minds at their age.
Before the words had fully settled, the other advisors’ eyes lit up.
“Those wealthy merchants aren’t fools either,” one pointed out. “If the bargaining chips are too small, they won’t make a losing deal.”
“We’d merely be changing the pretext,” another chimed in. “As for whether the wealthy merchant actually marries his daughter over, that doesn’t matter. Even if he just bestows the title of a daughter upon a lowly cleaning maid, as long as the dowry comes through, we will warmly accept it.”
Rong Ruiyuan swept his gaze over them. “This method is feasible, but considering your ages…”
The advisors’ faces stiffened, and they hurriedly waved their hands in panic. “Prince, we aren’t talking about ourselves!”
“Oh? Not you?” Rong Ruiyuan hadn’t expected to guess wrong. He had assumed these old fogeys were feeling the stirrings of spring and wanted to indulge in a May-December romance with young maidens like Li Hua.
“Of course it isn’t us,” the advisors replied, their faces flushing red. Though they harbored such thoughts, their bodies were no longer up to the task. Moreover, this kind of affair wasn’t easily managed.
“Prince, you have quite a few guards and stewards by your side, and there are many of a suitable age. As long as you are willing to offer a few promises, there are plenty of wealthy merchants who would be eager to climb the social ladder through these marriages.”
These advisors traveled outside every day. Those wealthy merchants couldn’t easily connect with royal descendants, but they often invited the advisors over. The advisors had received quite a few benefits in the process. The merchants were merely asking them to act as matchmakers, ideally to establish a connection with the princes. Since they had accepted the gifts, it would be unreasonable not to get things done, so they took advantage of this perfect opportunity to proactively offer the plan.
Actually, two days ago when Rong Ruiyuan first started agonizing over the lack of funds, they could have brought this up. However, they understood strategy; sometimes, things that are too easily obtained aren’t cherished. Bringing it up now at the most critical moment yielded exactly what they wanted—the unconcealed admiration in Rong Ruiyuan’s eyes.