Wang Shangshu's expression changed completely. Cheng Jingxuan, the legitimate son of Dongyou's largest merchant family?
Although the status of the family of scholars, farmers, merchants, and merchants has never been high, and it can even be said that they have no status at all in front of the imperial officials, when the family industry reaches a certain level, it means that there is status even without status, and even officials have to worry about it.
Three points.
What's more, the Cheng family is not just a family of merchants. I heard that there are many shady forces in the dark, and assassinating a court official is not a problem at all.
At this time, Wang Shangshu finally regretted his impulse.
"Since Mr. Wang is here, please pay back all the money that Mr. Wang owes." Cheng Jingxuan smiled lightly, "As for the matter of injuring Mr. Ling, I don't know whether Mr. Wang wants to do it for business or privately. I respect you.
Your Majesty’s intention.”
Wang Shangshu was riding a tiger at this time. He knew that the person in front of him was not easy to mess with. Even if he was an official of the imperial court, he would not dare to deal with him easily.
Even if you want to deal with them, you must wait until there is an opportunity to deal with them secretly in the future, instead of confronting them head-on now. Money can make people go around.
The Minister of Civil Affairs has the power. Over the years, he has not only accumulated a lot of wealth through buying and selling officials, but also won over many officials. However, these are his handles. He does not dare to exercise these powers unscrupulously at the feet of the emperor.
But the more low-key you act, the safer you will be.
The Cheng family is rich and has plenty of people to do things for them, both publicly and privately. If he dares to do anything to Cheng Jingxuan tonight, he is afraid that tomorrow's impeachment will drown him out.
Wang Shangshu thought for a moment, thinking about how to get rid of the Cheng family's legitimate son without anyone noticing, but his face remained calm: "How much money does Shuoer owe Mr. Cheng in total?"
Cheng Jingxuan raised his eyebrows and smiled: "Master Wang, do you want to keep it private?"
Wang Shangshu turned his eyes slightly and saw the pair of black deerskin boots again. He wanted to know who was lying on the couch in the inner room. This person could take a nap peacefully in the presence of Cheng Jingxuan. His status was definitely higher than that of Cheng Jingxuan.
Maybe even Cheng Jingxuan will listen to him.
Mr. Wang looked away: "Can I sit down and talk to Mr. Cheng?"
"Of course you can." Cheng Jingxuan smiled nonchalantly and raised his hand to signal Nan Sheng to step back, "Go and take care of the prince first, and don't forget to ask the best doctor to come over and treat his injuries."
Nan Sheng nodded, stood up, hugged his Qin and left.
Mr. Wang also raised his hand and stepped back: "You guys stay away, don't stay here."
The boy and the guard obviously didn't expect such a development. They looked at each other for a while and had to stay away for the time being.
Mr. Wang walked into the private room and closed the door. He kept looking behind the screen. He wanted to enter the inner room to take a look, but hesitated. When he was in a dilemma, a familiar and stern voice came from behind the screen.
A ruthless voice: "It turns out that Mr. Wang's family is so rich. Mr. Wang loses tens of thousands of dollars when he goes to gambling houses. He goes to a brothel and spends a lot of money without any mercy. It really makes people sit up and take notice."
As the voice sounded, Mr. Wang's expression suddenly changed. Before he could sit down, he knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty... Your Highness?"
The prince is actually safe and sound?
Mr. Wang felt a chill in his heart, and a chill came from the soles of his feet.
Sicang stood up from the couch and walked out with steady steps, "Tonight is really an eye-opener for me."
"I...I failed to teach my son well, and I deserve to die for my crime." Mr. Wang's face turned pale, and cold sweat broke out uncontrollably all over his body, "Your Highness, I forgive you! I will discipline him strictly when I go back, and I will never dare to indulge him again——
"
"Who are you conniving at?" Si Cang walked to the throne and sat down. "Compared with the dandy nature of Mr. Wang, I want to know more about how Mr. Wang's family can get so much money for his son to squander?"
Cheng Jingxuan stood up and stood aside.
Wang Shangshu was sweating profusely: "I don't have much wealth, but... It's just that Quanzi is really prodigal. I often save some money by frugally. If he owes too much debt outside, I can only let his wife return to her parents' home."
Find a way, or borrow some from colleagues..."
"Do you believe what Mr. Wang said?" Si Cang leaned against the window, his eyes cold, and his brows showed deep pressure, "I heard that Mr. Wang has many disciples."
What else does Wang Shangshu not understand at this time? His Highness the Crown Prince appears here tonight just to wait and see. Does he think he is angry about his marriage to Chengfu?
Thinking of this, Mr. Wang apologized again and again: "Before the Cheng Palace, I discussed the marriage contract between Prince Sheng and my daughter with you. In order to show your sincerity, I first gave you one hundred thousand taels of silver as a betrothal gift, and there will be others who will be hired at a later date. I
These days I have been thinking about how to reject Prince Cheng, how to cancel the engagement with Prince Cheng, and I beg His Highness the Crown Prince to take a closer look."
"I have no interest in interfering with your daughter's engagement with the heir apparent of Prince Cheng." Sicang said in an indifferent voice, "Master Wang hasn't said yet, when will the money owed by your son be repaid?"
Wang Shangshu's face turned pale and he looked uneasy.
Of course he has the ability to repay the money owed by his son, but as he holds the position of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, his monthly salary is less than 400 taels, which is less than 5,000 taels a year. It is known that officials in the court have a lot of entertainment, except for family expenses.
In addition, there are also the monthly salaries of the servants in the mansion. Added up, the monthly stipends are simply not enough to make ends meet. Even if there are occasional unreasonable sources of income, as long as the amount is not large, the emperor will mostly turn a blind eye.
After all, if the water is clear, there will be no fish.
But even so, if the family of the Minister of Civil Affairs spends tens of thousands of taels at once, he has to explain the origin of this money to others.
A heavy layer of cold sweat broke out on Wang Shangshu's back.
There are very few officials in the court who are truly honest. How can they support such a big family with just a small salary? But most of the time, the emperor does not investigate, but colleagues in the court know very well that if they really want to investigate
, few can withstand investigation.
Wang Shangshu had already had a premonition of something at this time, and he was panicked for a moment. He had used his position to buy and sell officials over the years, and he had accumulated a lot of connections and wealth. If the prince wanted to investigate, the consequences would be disastrous.
"I...I will think of a way to pay back the money as soon as possible." He said with a troubled expression, "Your Highness, please give me a few days of grace, and I will find a way to raise the money as soon as possible."
Si Cang turned his head and glanced at Cheng Jingxuan: "What do you think?"
"No." Cheng Jingxuan spoke firmly, leaving no room for negotiation. "Before I threw him down, Mr. Wang tried to hit me with 50,000 taels of silver. Isn't this bullying others? The little money he owed was of great significance to the Master.
, it should be just a drop in the bucket, right?”
Wang Shangshu's heart sank, and he suddenly felt like he was in jail and couldn't escape.