Jia Zhen roared angrily, "Go! Tell Jia Yun on Taiping Street to bring his mother back immediately! How can a member of the Jia family go to such a filthy, lowly place? Does he have no shame, and does his mother have no shame either? Even if they both have no shame, the Jia family still has face! If they dare to run there again, they will be punished according to clan rules. Bring them back first, and beat them half to death!"
Jia Rong went out expressionlessly. Before he even left, he heard Jia Zhen order the servant waiting outside, "Please invite Master Zhao of Dongsheng in for a chat."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhao Donglin took his seat in Ning'an Hall.
Looking at the extremely luxurious and opulent furnishings of Ning'an Hall, Zhao Donglin was secretly shocked.
The Zhao family of Dongsheng was considered one of the wealthiest families in the world, but in this world, many things cannot be bought with money.
For example, the large plaque above the entrance, adorned with nine dragons in crimson gold and a blue background, bore the three enormous characters "Ning'an Hall," followed by a line of smaller characters: "Written on such and such a day, month and year, as a gift to the Ningguo Duke's family banquet." There, too, hung the imperial seal, the seal of the founding emperor!
In the center of the hall stood a large rosewood table carved with dragons, upon which rested a three-foot-tall bronze tripod, its surface gleaming with a dark blue hue, and hanging above it, a large ink painting of a dragon awaiting the emperor's arrival.
These were all imperial gifts, written by the founding emperor himself.
Even the highest-ranking prime minister's family might not possess such favor and privilege.
Alas! Despite such a wealth and background, the unworthy descendants had led to this decline.
The mansion remained the same as before, but the heir to the title no longer possessed the immense power and prestige that the Rong and Ning Dukes once held in court.
Thinking this, Zhao Donglin's awe of the noble family's grandeur diminished considerably.
After several pleasantries, Zhao Donglin took his seat as a guest and said, "I apologize for coming today, but I truly have a favor to ask."
Jia Zhen, knowing the situation, feigned generosity and said, "Brother Zhao, please speak frankly. Whatever I can do, I will not refuse."
Zhao Donglin smiled upon hearing this, knowing that while such noble sons might lack the ability to accomplish great things, they were first-rate at handling social interactions. He then mentioned that Jia Yun possessed a good formula for dyeing cloth, concluding with praise, "The Jia family truly deserves its reputation as a centuries-old noble family; even the Emperor..." The imperial decree praised the clan's members, saying they were all up to par, and that a clan head like the general was truly a model for all parents. It continued, "My Zhao family owns some businesses, primarily the Dongsheng Cloth Shop. We shouldn't be bothering your esteemed household, but we heard that your son, Young Master Qiang, sold a dyeing formula to the Hengsheng Wang family, so we have shamelessly come to request it. If we can obtain the formula, Dongsheng Cloth Shop is willing to pay ten thousand taels of silver."
Upon hearing this, Jia Zhen's expression changed drastically. Ten thousand taels of silver was by no means a small sum, even for the Ningguo Mansion.
The Ningguo Mansion's annual income largely depended on the harvest from its estates. With so many estates, they could only earn a maximum of five thousand taels of silver a year, and in years of famine, even half that was barely enough.
This ten thousand taels of silver, however, was equivalent to two or three years' worth of the Ningguo Mansion's income.
After a moment's hesitation, he slowly said, "Since Brother Zhao has spoken, I cannot refuse. But who is this person you speak of?"
"It's Jia Yun. I originally intended to go directly to Young Master Yun to buy it, but I think he's just a child, and in a dangerous place like the Jinsha Gang, if I really gave him ten thousand taels of silver, with his parents not around, wouldn't that harm the child? At that point, even my Zhao family would bear a sin. So I came to consult with you, General, the head of the Jia clan." Upon hearing this, Jia Zhen's expression softened considerably. He nodded and said, "Brother Zhao truly lives up to his reputation as the Chief Censor's brother; he understands both the legal and human aspects perfectly. Very well, I'll personally accompany you."
Zhao Donglin smiled upon hearing this, took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve, and placed them on the table, saying, "This is ultimately an internal matter for the Jia family, so I, as an outsider, will not interfere. Leave the silver notes here; I'll send someone to collect the prescription tomorrow. I apologize for troubling you, General."
Looking at the stack of large dragon-patterned silver notes on the table, Jia Zhen's eyes lit up! Bitter Water Well, Taiping Street.
The headquarters of the Golden Sands Gang.
Jia Yun looked at Jia Rong, frowning, and said, "Rong-ge'er, the clan doesn't care about my family's life or death. When my father was buried, the clan didn't even show up. My uncle sold our land and house so they could hold the funeral. What, now you remember I'm a member of the Jia family?"
Jia Rong said with a stern face, "I'm only responsible for relaying Master's words. Whether you listen or not is none of my business."
Fortunately, having received Zhang Quan's instructions, Jia Yun hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Rong-ge'er, go back and tell..." "Uncle Su Zhen, I, Jia Yun, support my mother with my own hard work; I have done nothing to dishonor our ancestors. The Jinsha Gang are descendants of veterans who followed our ancestors in conquering the land; how can they be considered disreputable? As for going to the Ning Mansion, we'll discuss that during the ancestral worship ceremony at the end of the year."
"Alright, I will pass it back intact." Jia Rong cupped his hands in a gesture of respect and sighed, "Father was indeed unfair in this matter. Yun-ge'er, take care."
When Jia Zhen arrived, Jia Yun was already working for Zhang Chun.
The prescription had been handed over to Zhang Chun, and at this point, Jia Zhen was dumbfounded.
He had already received the money, and it had been spent.
He had thought it would be a simple matter, but Jia Yun said the prescription was no longer with him!
It was now in Zhang Chun's hands. Zhang Chun's current position was the Vice Minister of Liangzhou, overseeing the Three Auxiliary Regions.
This position meant he was in charge of finances, which made things difficult!
Moreover, Jia Yun had only obtained the prescription in exchange for helping Zhang Chun.
Even Jia Zhen couldn't force Jia Yun. He wasn't afraid to confront Zhang Chun, but Zhang Chun had Lu Ming backing him.
Furthermore, Zhang Chun was now a money-making machine, specializing in acquiring wealth.
Especially with his backing in Liangzhou and his partnerships with merchants in many places, coupled with his presence in Chang'an, even Jia Zhen found it troublesome.
Now, Jia Zhen was in an awkward position: he had received the money but hadn't accomplished the task, which was very embarrassing.
And it wasn't a small amount. The Zhao family didn't want to pay 30,000 taels of silver, so they changed their strategy and bought it from Jia Zhen for 10,000 taels, which they had already paid.
Now Jia Zhen only had two options: return the money, but that would mean losing face, and rumors in Chang'an would spread that he was incompetent. Who would hire him in the future?
More importantly, his reputation would be ruined, rendering his position as clan head meaningless!
The second option was to find Zhang Chun and get the formula, but when Jia Zhen heard that Zhang Chun was offering 30,000 taels of silver, his eyes went black and he almost fainted!