The Good Grandson of the Red Chamber

Chapter 60: Public loyalty to the country

The next day, the Junior Chamberlain of the Eastern Palace personally led a group to the Prince Zhongzheng's residence to demand the repayment of the debt.

The Junior Chamberlain of the Eastern Palace is a fourth-rank official who represents the Eastern Palace in public.

To show his sincerity, Prince Chungjang received the prince despite his injury.

The young master was very sincere; upon meeting, he first greeted the young master with a respectful bow.

Then it recounts the Crown Prince's predicament and the difficulties facing the Great Qian Dynasty.

He also earnestly requested Prince Chung-cheng to return the silver owed to the national treasury, considering the Crown Prince and the state of affairs.

Prince Zhongzheng felt his head throbbing and was in great pain.

He sighed, "If I had silver in my palace, why would I need to say more? I would have already returned it to the national treasury. Do you think I wouldn't be considerate of the difficulties faced by my father and the crown prince?"

"But as you all know, my Zhongzheng Prince's Mansion was sealed off for seven years, and the seal was only lifted last year."

"The Prince's treasury is now empty; at most, we can only spare a few thousand taels of silver. We are truly powerless to help."

"This debt will be repaid sooner or later, but I really don't have the money right now. Please be lenient for a few years and allow me to repay it slowly."

However, this junior tutor was unmoved by reason and repeatedly urged Prince Zhongzheng to prioritize state affairs.

He added that His Highness the Crown Prince was determined to recover the outstanding debts this time.

If the Prince's mansion cannot repay its debts in a day, he will come knocking on the door every day.

These words enraged Prince Zhongzheng, who immediately told him to get lost.

The Junior Chamberlain calmly rose and said, "This humble official takes his leave. I will come again tomorrow."

After he left, Prince Chungjang couldn't help but start cursing.

After cursing for a while, he had Xia Chengzong summoned.

He dismissed all the servants from the room and said to Xia Chengzong:

"Brother Zong, they've gone too far! It's not like my Prince's Mansion has money to refuse to pay; why are they pushing us to this point?"

"Since we have no money anyway, Father, I won't pay back a single penny. Let's see what they can do then! Do they think they can ransack my palace?"

Xia Chengzong shook his head and said, "Father, we cannot do that."

Prince Zhongzheng asked, puzzled, "Why? Our palace truly has no money. It's not like we have money and refuse to pay. We can't conjure up any more money, so what can we do?"

Xia Chengzong said, "Father is dissatisfied with the Crown Prince and is disheartened by his actions, but he cannot express his dissatisfaction with this matter."

"The national treasury is empty and the country is in dire straits. Father, you must broaden your horizons."

"Whether you can pay it back or not is one thing, how much or how little you can pay back is another thing, but your attitude must be correct."

"Our royal family should at least make a show of trying to repay the debt. We should sell off the royal family's assets while sending people to borrow money from relatives and friends."

"Even if we can only repay three to five thousand taels of silver in the end, at least it will let others know that the Prince's Mansion has been actively raising funds and trying every means to repay the money."

"Of course, it would be even better if we could pay off the entire amount or at least most of it."

"I think we can borrow tens of thousands of taels of silver from Uncle Wu to pay back part of it first."

Upon hearing these words, Prince Chungjang's face showed a thoughtful expression.

He said, "Brother Zong, you're right. I am a prince. How can I hold back affairs of state?"

"If even I'm holding you back, what will others think? It's all thanks to your reminder to Father, otherwise Father might really have made a mistake."

"Borrowing from your fifth uncle is not advisable, because your fifth uncle has also borrowed money from the national treasury. How can he borrow money from others if he hasn't paid off his debt to the national treasury?"

Xia Chengzong asked in surprise, "Isn't Fifth Uncle's mansion extremely wealthy? Why would he need to borrow money from the national treasury?"

Prince Chung-jung coughed twice and said, "Your fifth uncle is rich, but it's the national treasury's silver; why not lend it to him?"

"Many people borrow money from the national treasury because they're greedy for small gains!"

Well, so this is how the national treasury owes so much money.

Some are genuinely poor, while others are simply trying to take advantage.

……

Prince Chungjang truly heeded the advice.

That afternoon, he ordered Xia Shouzhong to carry out items from the Prince's Mansion to sell.

He also sent his wives and concubines back to their parents' homes to borrow money, and sent people to his relatives and friends to borrow money as well.

The commotion at Prince Zhongzheng's residence attracted the attention of many onlookers.

They were both impressed by Prince Chung-jung's loyalty and dedication to the country and by the Crown Prince's harshness and lack of gratitude.

In the evening, the princess and the concubines, including Consort Mei, returned.

The princess's expression was not good; her maternal family, the Su family, was originally from Guanzhong.

However, the princess also had a house in the capital. She came to borrow money, and the Su family promised to lend her 10,000 taels of silver, which would be delivered to her door within three days.

Ten thousand taels of silver is an unimaginable fortune for ordinary people.

But for the Su family, it's just a drop in the ocean.

Now that the Prince's mansion is in dire straits, this is the first time the Princess has asked to borrow money.

The fact that the Su family was only willing to lend 10,000 taels of silver was a disgrace to the Princess and the Prince's Mansion.

As for Consort Mei, the Mei family is willing to lend her 50,000 taels of silver, which will be delivered to her door within five days at the latest.

This number even surprised Prince Chung-jang.

The Mei family was a family of scholars and officials, and while they were indeed noble and distinguished, they were also quite poor.

When Consort Mei married into the family, she didn't have much of a dowry.

Logically speaking, the Mei family shouldn't be able to come up with this sum of money.

Prince Chung-jung hurriedly asked.

Consort Mei smiled and said, "The Mei family does not have that much money, but when my father heard that the Prince's Mansion was in trouble, he immediately expressed his willingness to do everything he could to help the Prince's Mansion overcome the difficulties."

"My father went to the Xue family, wanting to arrange a marriage between our children, but he demanded a dowry of 50,000 taels of silver from them."

The Xue family readily agreed, saying they would send the silver within three days.

"Once the Xue family delivers the silver, my father will send someone to deliver it to our residence."

Prince Zhongzheng was deeply moved upon hearing this, and he sighed:

"A strong wind reveals the strength of the grass, and adversity reveals the loyalty of the minister; only in times of difficulty can one truly see a person's heart!"

Hearing these words, the princess felt even more ashamed.

Xia Chengzong's face showed a thoughtful expression.

So that's how the Xue family's second branch and the Mei family got married.

For the second branch of the Xue family, although they paid 50,000 taels of silver, they did not lose out.

A marriage alliance with the Mei family would bring them many benefits.

Unfortunately, the Mei family seems to lack integrity.

In the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, Xue Baoqin moves into the Jia family, but there is no subsequent plot about her marrying into the Mei family.

I'm afraid the Mei family might break off the engagement later.

There's no need to discuss these things now.

With these 60,000 taels of silver, even if there's still a shortfall of over 10,000 taels, we can get by.

For a prince like Prince Zhongzheng to have accomplished this much is already beyond reproach.

Three days later, both the Su and Mei families delivered the silver.

In addition, the Prince's Mansion sold off its property for more than 6,000 taels of silver, raising a total of 66,000 taels of silver, which was then deposited into the national treasury.

Prince Chung-jung's actions were praised by Emperor Yonglong and all the officials and civil servants.

Hearing these praises, Prince Chung-cheng was in high spirits, and his injuries healed much faster.

He then relieved the children of their need to stay at home and allowed them to continue their studies at the palace.

That evening, Xia Bei learned some news.

It is said that Prince Yizhong, the old prince, entered the palace in tears and pleaded with the emperor for mercy.