Chapter 123 Mining Rights
Xiao Jun wanted to find his father to persuade his mother about Xiu'er, but as soon as he entered the study, the eldest master handed him the second master's letter and talked about the recent rumors in Pingyang City. Xiao Jun listened, read the letter in his hand, thought for a long time, and said to his father:
"For all parties, the Xiao family's orientation has the greatest impact on Prince Yan and the Crown Prince. My son guesses it should be the Crown Prince. Yes, father, it must be the Crown Prince who saw our unclear attitude and made people spread rumors to force the Xiao family to board his ship. This rumor will only shake the wait-and-see attitude of all parties towards Prince Yan, which will do more harm than good to Prince Yan. Father, you must not be careless about these rumors. We have to think of a foolproof plan. It seems that the Crown Prince does not want the Xiao family to waver anymore, and he is forcing us to take action."
"Last time, your grandmother was granted the grace of the emperor to go to the palace to visit Concubine Jing. Concubine Jing hinted to your grandmother that Emperor Jin had given his wishes to the crown prince. If that is true, we can go with the flow. However, we are not willing to just do what the crown prince wants."
"Father, don't be careless. Sister Jingfei is young after all. She hasn't experienced any storms, and she hasn't seen the infighting and undercurrents of the major forces outside the court. Sister admires Emperor Jin, so she thinks that he is powerful. As long as he supports us, there will be no problem. But sister doesn't know that since ancient times, the most fickle people are emperors, who can make things happen with a flip of the hand. Sister doesn't know that the struggle for the throne has always been a life-and-death struggle. Throughout history, every change of the throne has been a bloody battle. After all, the Queen Mother is not Jin. The biological mother of the emperor, once the Prince of Yan becomes powerful and unites the power of the Empress Dowager and her relatives, the emperor will be unable to control himself even if he asks the prince to do something? The killing of fathers and brothers is not uncommon in the royal family. After all, how many people can withstand the temptation of boundless desire and supreme power? Father, the Prince of Yan has always been cruel and ruthless. If we protect the Prince of Yan and the prince gains power, he may be able to survive. But if we protect the prince, the Prince of Yan will gain power and will never show mercy. If so, I am afraid that the foundation of the Xiao family for several generations will be destroyed. Let's wait and see."
"Jun'er's words make sense. Your grandmother and I both think that now is not the best time to choose whether to protect the crown prince or the Prince of Yan. It is better to wait. However, the situation is pressing. Just because your second uncle was confused for a moment, we can no longer remain silent. The water has been muddied, and I am afraid that our relationship with the crown prince cannot be cleared."
"If we can delay for a few days, we will always come up with a good solution."
"By the way, Jun'er, regarding the mining rights in the south that you mentioned last time , Concubine Jing sent someone to deliver a message the day before yesterday. Emperor Jin has tacitly agreed that the mining rights can be managed by forces other than the four great families, but this force must swear to be loyal only to Emperor Jin and not to participate in any forces in the court. It seems that Emperor Jin is really disappointed with the four great families, especially now that rumors are spreading that my Xiao family has protected the prince, which has forced Emperor Jin to break the pattern of the four great families dominating the economy of Da Qi. Jun'er, we have taken the lead in this mining right. This time when we come back, we should hurry up and deal with this matter and put other things on the back burner."
"My son has the same plan. This time when I go to Qingzhou to handle the business, I will transfer a group of people and funds from the industries there and secretly send them to the south. I will purchase land there in the name of the Shangguan family, which is my grandmother's mother's family, and make some preparations. As soon as my grandmother's birthday is over, I will go to the south to take charge. Father, I want to ask you for instructions. During this time in Pingyang, I want to transfer some funds from the north to the newly purchased industries in the south. This can also share the risks of my Xiao family, so as to avoid being caught in one fell swoop once we lose power."
"Your father has been thinking about this these days. I thought that your grandmother's birthday is coming soon, so we should wait until after her birthday to discuss everything. But Concubine Jing sent a message saying that the mining rights are urgent and there may be changes if we delay. Jun'er should put everything else aside these days and do these first. By the way, transfer some unfamiliar personnel from the secret industries in the north and send them to the south secretly along with the funds. Once the mining rights are obtained, a large amount of manpower and financial resources will be required. If there are frequent transfers in a short period of time, it will arouse suspicion. Following the flow of money, people will guess that the mining rights are also the secret industries of my Xiao family. Then we will have made direct enemies with the Ouyang family."
"Okay, son, I'll do it right away."
After discussing the business, the master suddenly remembered that he had not called Jun'er over. Jun'er must have come for something, so he asked casually:
"Come here, Jun'er. Is there anything else?"
When Xiao Jun heard this, he remembered the purpose of his visit today. He hesitated and didn't know how to say it. He lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head and said to his father:
"My son came here for no other important matter. I just thought that my son and my cousin had been good friends since childhood and grew up together. They were the most affectionate of them. My son also always regarded her as his own sister, and they had never suspected anything behind each other's backs since they were young. But now they are all grown up, and my son has a wife and concubines. If he continues to be like this with my cousin, my son doesn't mind. I'm just afraid that it will ruin my cousin's reputation. The Xiao family is large and powerful, with many people and many gossips. Good words will change in the mouths of servants. If my son told my cousin about this matter in person, it would arouse suspicion. So I thought of coming here to ask my father to talk to my mother in private and let her persuade my cousin. After all, men and women should not be close to each other, so it is always better to avoid some suspicion. My cousin will just have to put up with it for the next few days. After grandma's birthday is over and Jun'er goes to the south, I will let my cousin do whatever she wants in the mansion."
After listening to Xiao Jun's words, the master knew that Jun'er finally couldn't stand this cousin anymore. The master was also somewhat disgusted with Xiu'er's excessive behavior, but he had no choice because she was the daughter of the current censor and the niece of his old wife Cui, so he really couldn't say anything.
A few days ago, when he was having dinner, he saw Xiu'er always sitting next to Jun'er. He was so angry that he couldn't even eat. He felt that this was too bad for the Xiao family, so he mentioned it to the old lady. The old lady actually hinted to him that although the Xiao family did not protect the crown prince at present, they were already mixed up with the crown prince. If the crown prince really lost power in the future, Jun'er could temporarily climb up the big tree of King Yan by taking Xiu'er as a concubine or marrying her as a wife, and buy a chance for the Xiao family to breathe. It would be a hidden chess piece. Let her do it first. Anyway, she is willing, and no one forced her. We, as elders, just pretend not to see it, so he never heard about these things these days. Seeing Jun'er bring it up today, he was really stumped for a while.
The master thought for a long time and said ambiguously:
"Jun'er is right, but your grandma's birthday is coming soon, and Jun'er is very busy these days, so he may not be home every day. Let's just make do with what we have now. After your grandma's birthday, Jun'er will go south, and Xiu'er should go back to the Censorate too."
The master has been talking about this for a long time but has only one thing to say: If you find it annoying, just go away and hide away on the pretext of being busy. Anyway, I won't tell your mother about this.
After hearing this, Xiao Jun stared at his father in a daze. It turned out that his father was also afraid of his mother?
