Pregnant Before the Royal Marriage

Chapter 959: Chapter 959 Typical Bureaucrat-Businessman Collusion_1

Jiang Yi laughed heartily: “I’m just a compiler in the Imperial Academy, a department with absolutely no perks. Where could I possibly amass wealth?”

He pointed to the first box, “This is from father and mother. The one in the middle is from Aunt. And this box here, is from your sister-in-law.”

That his parents and Aunt would contribute was expected. They couldn’t leave her penniless.

But what she didn’t expect was that her soft and frail third sister-in-law could contribute a whopping two hundred thousand taels of silver.

“Where did sister-in-law get so much money from?” She asked.

“Your sister-in-law has a knack for making money.”

“What?” Jiang Ning asked with a laugh, “Are you implying that Third Sister-in-law runs her own business?”

“As you know, your sister-in-law comes from a classic aristocratic family. The dowry she brought with her at the time of her wedding was already hefty.”

“Sister-in-law’s dowry, that can’t possibly be touched.” Jiang Ning hadn’t fallen to the point where she would covet her sister-in-law’s dowry.

Jiang Yi hurriedly explained, “This isn’t her dowry. Listen to me. From the age of eight, your sister-in-law followed her maternal grandfather in managing a small moneylending house. For ten years now, she has run five or six money houses. It was not a bother to take that money out.”

At this point, Jiang Ning was truly shocked: “Sister-in-law owns five or six money houses?”

“Surprising, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. I haven’t seen it coming.” Jiang Ning had always thought that her third sister-in-law was a genteel lady who rarely ventured beyond her house’s gate, and simply enjoyed composing poetry.

But who would have thought she was a shrewd and accomplished businesswoman; a big boss.

Indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover.

“Brother, does your salary barely cover the cost of Sister-in-law’s skirts?” Jiang Ning teased Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi chuckled, “To each his own. She enjoys doing business, and I enjoy writing. We don’t interfere with each other.”

“Apparently”, she smiled. “Your combination is a perfect example of an official-merchant collusion.”

“Hey!” Jiang Yi hushed her, “Don’t talk nonsense. Who colluded with her? It was not until after I married her that I became aware of all this.”

Jiang Ning laughed, “Don’t stutter, it just reveals your guilty conscience.”

“I don’t have a guilty conscience!” Jiang Yi slapped the lid of the third box shut, reaching to carry it away, “If you despise the money I earned through collusion, I’ll just take it.”

“No!” Jiang Ning quickly grabbed the hem of his robe, “Come, sit brother. I’ll make tea for you.”

She signaled Gufeng with her eyes at the same time.

Gufeng then went to get the box.

Jiang Yi chuckled, “Stingy.”

Jiang Ning pulled him to sit down, sighing, “And yet again, I’m causing the family to waste money.”

“Hey.” Jiang Yi was unconcerned, “In this life, how much money do you think you can actually spend on eating, drinking, and dressing? Even if you live in luxury, these silver taels will only gather dust if left untouched in the treasury. If you spend them, it would be putting them to good use.”

“I like hearing that.”

“It wouldn’t matter even if it was three to five million taels”

Jiang Ning looked at him.

“Ahem, that might be a bit difficult.” Jiang Yi coughed, “But, our Jiang Family does not unnecessarily suffer a loss. The money will eventually be recovered from those people.”

Jiang Ning took out the evidence Li Hongyuan had given her and handed it to him, “Here, use these to get the silver.”

Both the Governor of Chang’an, Cheng Renyu, and the Imperial Censor of the Court of Judicial Review, Huang Ren, were known for their misconduct. The Crown Prince had evidence against them but he chose not to use it thus far.

Now is the time, isn’t it?