Chapter 763 - 765: Gains and Losses
Chapter 763: Chapter 765: Gains and Losses
Gu Wenheng sat opposite Jin Qianqian, dipped his finger in his tea, and traced two characters on the table.
"It’s not that I can’t bear to part with it; I just feel a bit stifled," Jin Qianqian said, understanding his implication. "This kind of bridge-burning behavior truly chills the heart."
"That’s human nature," Gu Wenheng replied. "We originally thought we could hold on to it for at most two years. I didn’t expect them to lose their patience in less than a year."
Regarding their income from the sea trade, they were no saints who could just let go at the drop of a hat.
Although Bai Jinglie hadn’t explicitly asked them to hand over their shares, the sudden reduction of their dividends by nearly twenty percent spoke volumes. It was a probe. If they accepted it silently, their share would likely be halved the next time around.
"Wealth tempts the heart." To be honest, Jin Qianqian felt a faint sense of disappointment. "I wonder if Prince Bai’s actions are his own doing, or..."
"We’ll know once we test the waters," Gu Wenheng said, refusing to swallow this bitter pill in silence. "The tax revenues here are about to be tallied up, and I was already planning to send a missive to Shangjing. I’ll just write a few extra letters while I’m at it."
"That’s exactly what you should do," Jin Qianqian agreed. Even if they had to take a loss, they weren’t going to take it lying down.
Not long after the letters were dispatched, Gu Wenheng received a reply from Zhou Shixiong in Shangjing.
"Take a look. It seems we’ve truly become a thorn in someone’s side.
"They burned their bridges so quickly. I suppose Bai Jinglie isn’t innocent in this matter either," Gu Wenheng said. He knew that when it came to the sea trade, Bai Jinglie was merely a middleman without any actual shares. But facing such massive cash flows day in and day out, it was impossible for him not to be tempted. Otherwise, everyone knew that the lion’s share of the sea trade was firmly in the Emperor’s grasp, leaving only scraps for the rest.
"But he wouldn’t go so far as to gamble with Old Marquis Bai’s life, would he?" Jin Qianqian found it illogical. "Isn’t he afraid of ruining his reputation?"
"It’s just my speculation," Gu Wenheng replied. "I’ve already sent the letters to Shangjing anyway. Let’s see how they respond."
Shortly after their conversation, another expedited letter arrived.
Looking at the sender’s name, Gu Wenheng was puzzled. "Sending two letters back-to-back... It seems this matter is quite thorny." Without delay, he swiftly tore open the envelope.
The couple leaned their heads together to read the contents. Once finished, they exchanged a glance.
"It truly is hard to fathom the human heart," Jin Qianqian said with a long exhale. "The Holy Emperor wouldn’t mind us holding so many shares. Prince Bai is far too audacious, daring to pull strings from the middle."
"People’s hearts change easily," Gu Wenheng mused.
Now that they had found the root cause and the previous missives were already sent, Gu Wenheng discussed the matter with Jin Qianqian before picking up his brush to write a few more letters.
"I’ll have someone make a trip to Lu City to handle the handover of our properties there," Jin Qianqian said.
"Are you sure you can bear to part with them?" he asked.
"What does it matter whether I can bear it or not? We’ve already gained more than enough over these past few years. I’m not a greedy person."
Thinking of the gold, silver, pearls, jewelry sets, and other valuables she had slowly stockpiled in her Space over the years, she knew those were her true foundation. Besides, she and Gu Wenheng simply didn’t want the extra hassle. Otherwise, with their abilities, they could easily earn much more; it was just meaningless to do so.
"We can’t let them off too easily," Gu Wenheng said. "Since they failed to honor our agreement, the contract we signed previously is now void. Didn’t you train some skilled hands back in Lu City? If they haven’t changed their loyalties, you can recruit them over here."
He had been busy with the affairs of Yi Province all year and constantly felt short-staffed.
"I had the same thought, but I transferred their contracts to Prince Bai back then. Thinking about it now, I truly regret it."
"You don’t need to worry about this. I’m sure Brother Zhou will help us handle it," Gu Wenheng assured her.
"Is it appropriate for us to get too involved with him again?" Jin Qianqian asked hesitantly.
"It might seem a bit inappropriate, but there are some things we can’t avoid just because we want to. Rest assured, at least in the short term, we won’t get dragged into it."
Once he cleaned up the mess in Yi Province, who knew where he, as a mere brick in the imperial wall, would be moved next. For now, he wouldn’t overthink it.
"Sigh, what kind of mess is this?" Jin Qianqian muttered. "They wanted to take a cheap advantage, but they might end up paying a much heavier price."
"That’s their own choice. As long as we have a clear conscience, that’s all that matters."
「Meanwhile.」
After Bai Jinglie finished managing the funeral affairs, the Marquis Wu’an Mansion swiftly underwent a division of the family estate, presided over by the Old Madam.
Bai Jingyang was allotted ten percent of the family assets, along with a three-courtyard residence. Kuang Yunqiao, unable to bear being far from her children, pleaded for the Old Madam’s permission and moved in with them to enjoy family bliss.
The mother and her two children held the thin family division deed, their faces clouded with gloom.
"I never should have kept that dead old hag around," Kuang Yunqiao spat out. She hadn’t expected that after years of meticulous scheming, this would be the only result she got.
"Mother, what’s the use of saying this now?" Bai Jingli grumbled, wishing she could snatch the division deed from her second brother’s hands and tear it to shreds. "If you had just treated Eldest Brother a little better back then, we would at least still be living in the Marquis Mansion. Look at us being kicked out so disgracefully! How am I supposed to socialize with the other noble ladies in Shangjing now?"
In the past, whenever she went out, she was a Miss of the Marquis Mansion, and others had to defer to her. But now that the family division clerk had come down with the decree, she had gone from a legitimate daughter of the main house to a mere collateral branch relative.
It sounded nice to call it "setting up a separate household," but everyone in Shangjing knew the three of them had been disgracefully kicked out. The thought of the humiliating scenarios she might soon face filled Bai Jingli’s heart with even more resentment.
"I only hate that I wasn’t ruthless enough back then," Kuang Yunqiao said, her own heart brimming with spite. "But it’s not like we have zero chances left. You both have to observe the mourning period in the mansion. Once the mourning period is over, three years will have passed. As long as we haven’t left the mansion yet, it’s still uncertain who has the final say in there."
"Give it a rest," Bai Jingyang snapped, harshly interrupting them. "You ran the household for so many years, yet you didn’t even have a clear grasp of the servants attending to Father. That’s why Nanny Meng was able to catch us completely off guard this time! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be in such a passive position. The family division clerk has already been sent to the government office to file the records. What’s the point of talking about this now?"
"Are you blaming me?" Kuang Yunqiao stared at Bai Jingyang in disbelief.
"Shouldn’t I blame you?" Bai Jingyang retorted. Thinking of his meager inheritance and the loss of his status as the Second Young Master of the Hou Family, he had no idea how he was going to live his life or establish a foothold in Shangjing. "If you had been a little smarter, the position of Princely Heir might have been mine!
"In the end, Father still favored Eldest Brother. That’s all because you failed to coax him properly. During the time Father was sick towards the end, you should have personally attended to him. If nothing else, it would have at least made my and my sister’s reputations sound a bit better.
"If Grandmother hadn’t known that dirty laundry shouldn’t be aired in public and suppressed the matter, do you really think my sister and I would still be able to sit here so peacefully?"