Chapter Nineteen: Dispelling Doubts

  The night outside was getting darker, and Cao Yun sat at the desk in the west house of Qiuji Residence, lost in thought. Dinner was still served at Chunjing Hall, but he couldn't remember what he had eaten, not because he was forgetful, but because some food had no taste. He had thought that it would take ten or twenty years for the Cao family to decline, but this afternoon, the silver transport cart stopped in front of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau reminded him of another thing - the death of Cao Yin.

  I remember seeing on the Redology forum that Cao Yin seemed to have died of malaria in the 51st year of Kangxi, and there are still seven years left. Before his death, Cao Yin's body was already exhausted, because he had been working hard to make up for the deficit in the national treasury. According to various unofficial historical records, the Ministry of Revenue should have recovered the deficit in the national treasury before the abolition of the former crown prince, at the latest by the 47th year of Kangxi, which is three years from now. Thinking about these things, even if Cao Yu had a calm personality, he couldn't just stand by and watch Cao Yin tragically walk towards death, and then feel at ease thinking that this was just history and couldn't be changed.

  Just as Cao Guang was thinking of a way to solve the difficulties of the Cao family, he heard someone say: "Master, if you're tired from reading, have two lychees." The voice was soft and gentle, and it was Cao Guang's maid Hui Xin who brought over a nephrite dish with several peeled lychees on it, accompanied by two small bamboo skewers.

  Cao Cong picked up a small bamboo skewer, pierced a lychee and put it in his mouth. The juice was abundant and the pit was small, leaving a fragrant aftertaste: "It's really fresh, have you and An Xiang tried some? This year's batch is half a month earlier than usual, and they're bigger too."

  Huixing hadn't spoken yet, when the maid Anxiang came in with tea and said: "There's only this small dish, about ten or so pieces. Sister and I will just take a look. It's said that they were delivered to the mansion at noon today. They're for Fēi Zǐ Xiào from Guangzhou to welcome the Holy One."

  "You talk too much, it seems we are greedy." Huixin said with a smile.

  An Xiang pouted: "It's all for sister, sister loves to eat lychees the most, every year our house has never been short of them, but this year there is no share for sister!"

  Hui Xin saw the lamp was dim, picked up the lampshade, and used a small pair of scissors to trim the wick. After tidying up, she smiled and said: "You're really a child, what's the point of saying these things? It's just making Grandpa laugh. Nowadays, this is a rare thing, even the girls in Old Lady's courtyard didn't get any, what do we have to complain about?"

  Because it was evening, Huixin and Anxiang both took off their jackets. Huixin wore a pale blue lake-colored jacket with a green skirt tied underneath, and at the age of 16, her figure already showed the elegance of a young girl. Her face was shaped like a goose egg, with bright red phoenix eyes, the corners of which were slightly downturned, giving her an always-smiling appearance. Huixin not only had a delicate appearance but also had a gentle and considerate temperament, taking care of Cao Guang's daily life in a meticulous manner.

  In his past life, when reading "Dream of the Red Chamber", Cao Yun didn't like Qingwen's arrogance and Baoyu's cunning. Coincidentally, in this life, he met two maidservants who matched those characteristics, so he wasn't very fond of them at first. After getting to know them better, he kept the honest Hui Xin and sent away the mischievous Cha Jing. After all, he was not Baoyu from the book, and there were no romantic relationships with the maidservants in the house, nor any rivalry between Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. Hui Xin was meticulous, efficient, and didn't talk much, which suited Cao Yun's taste perfectly. An Xiang was two years younger than Hui Xin and had been trained by her; she learned everything from Hui Xin and was also very considerate. However, this young maid sometimes was too honest, and in her eyes, it seemed that Sister Hui Xin's weight was heavier than the master's.

  In other storybooks, personal maidservants are often one of the main characters' little wives. Although he's a man himself, when facing the two little girls he's watched grow up, he really can't muster any improper thoughts. As he thinks about it, Cao Yun feels his body heat up slightly, and scenes of entanglements with women from his past life flash through his mind. But as soon as he remembers that this body is only eleven years old, his head clears again. Only then does he hear Hui Xin say: "Young master, young master!"

  "Hmm, what?" Cao Gong withdrew his attention and asked.

  Hui Xin picked up a piece of paper on the left upper corner of the desk and handed it to Cao Gong: "This was sent by Miss after dinner, saying that it will be used for guests in a few days. Let Master take a look at whether there are enough people, and add or subtract accordingly."

  The girl in Huixing's mouth refers to Cao Yu's elder sister, Cao Yan. She only told Cao Yan about the package seat before dinner, and the list was sent after dinner, it seems that it was planned early in the day.

  Cao Gong looked at the list in his hand, all of which were familiar names. Cao Yan's side had the usual suspects - Guqin, Qi, Shu, and Hua. Cao Ye's side had Xiangcao and Fangcha (formerly Tea Crystal, who changed her name after following Cao Ye). The two on the west wing, Cao Ying's side, and the two in the old lady's room were also there. Even the two in Li Shi's room were included, and Cao Gong's own place hadn't been left out - Yan Xiang's name was prominently listed. Fortunately, Cao Yan knew that this residence couldn't be separated from Hui Xin, so he had left one for Cao Gong.

  Cao Yan knew how to use people, and each room was used to it, but didn't pretend. Thinking like this, Cao Yun seemed to wake up from a big dream, they are a family after all, when something happens, of course, don't go outside the house, thinking deeply about the future of the Cao family is not as good as going to find Cao Yin to make things clear.

  "Alright, old man, but Miss will be waiting for an answer tomorrow!" asked Hui Xin.

  Cao Gong nodded, stood up, pointed to the lychee on the table: "You and An Xiang eat it quickly, peel off the skin, leave it for a long time, it's not fresh, I'll go to see Master once!"

  Hui Xin saw Cao Guang get up and want to leave, hurriedly pulled him: "Master, if you want to go, change your clothes first!"

  Cao Gong only then remembered that he was only wearing his undergarments, which was fine in his own room, but going to see his father like this would be very disrespectful. As they spoke, Hui Xin and An Xiang found a set of clothes that were about 80% new and had Cao Gong change into them. This way, he didn't appear too casual or too overly formal, it was just right.

  The grandfather clock in the study room rang "dong dong", Cao Gong looked at it and found that it was already 8 o'clock in the evening. Due to the recent reception, Cao Yin had been busy in the study until midnight every day, so Cao Gong went directly to the study to find him.

  In the distance, several young servants were waiting at the door of the study, and people were moving in and out of the room. Cao Song knew that Cao Yin was discussing official business, so he stayed under the corridor for a while. When the people at the door of the study dispersed, he walked over.

  The little servant at the gate saw Cao Song coming over and hastily greeted him: "Master is here, I'll go inform them right away!"

  "Yong'er?" Cao Yin asked from inside the room, with a hint of doubt in his voice. For these few years, Cao Yong had always been distant towards him as his father, let alone taking the initiative to look for him, how could he not be surprised?

  "Yes, father, son has come to pay respects to father!" Cao Song said at the door.

  Good evening, Cao Yin was naturally skeptical, knowing that his son had become mature since the kidnapping incident that year. He came to find him late at night, and there must be something on his mind. After glancing at the bookshelf, he hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Hmm, come in!"

  "I've seen Father, he's been working hard lately, take care of your body!" Cao Song entered the study and paid his respects in a dignified manner.

  Cao Yin felt a bit helpless, what else could he do? Inside and out, many things had to be decided by him personally. Looking at Cao Jiong, who was like a young master, he felt some regret in his heart. If his son had been born ten years earlier, he would definitely have been his trusted assistant now.

  Although there is a baby in the belly, it's unknown whether it's a boy or girl. As for what will happen to the Cao family later on, it still depends on this son of his. Thinking about these things, Cao Yin's eyes became more affectionate: "Coming over so late at night, does Rong'er have something to discuss with Father?"

  Cao Yun thought for a moment, his face became more serious and also more difficult.

  Cao Yin saw his son like this, and he was very curious in his heart. It wasn't that he was boasting, but his son had been the most worry-free for him in recent years. Although young, he had arranged his studies and life properly, so now he seemed to have encountered some difficulties.

  "Father, son just read a book, there is one thing that doesn't understand." Cao Song thought for a long time before speaking.

  Although he had many things on his hands, his son rarely showed him a childlike expression in front of himself. Cao Yi was also happy to enlighten him and sat at the desk, asking: "What's wrong? Tell me!"

  "Yes!" Cao Gong responded, beginning to speak: "In a certain year and month, the new emperor of a certain country ascended to the throne. With many things to attend to, there were countless places throughout the country that needed silver. At the time, annual taxes were around 50-60 million taels of white silver, but when the new emperor needed to use silver, he discovered that the treasury only had about 20-30% left, and the rest was all embezzled by officials at various levels." He glanced at Cao Yun as he spoke.

  Cao Yin's face was as calm as water, listening attentively to Cao Gong's account. Cao Gong continued: "The new emperor issued an order to recover the deficits, and it was discovered that a veteran general had embezzled hundreds of millions of taels of silver. The old general's embezzlement was too severe, his crime punishable by death, but his circumstances were pitiful, as they were all spent on celebrating the previous emperor's birthday many times. Although the law cannot tolerate this, the old general sold everything to repay the deficits, but somehow the deficits kept appearing, and in the end, he was left with nothing but a ruined family, 'a humble room, empty halls, withered grass and barren willows, once a scene of song and dance'. Was this old general loyal? Or disloyal? If loyal, why did he end up so miserably; if disloyal, how could he be so reckless as to disregard the safety of his family and descendants?"

  Cao Yin's forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at Cao Guang and asked: "Why didn't you understand?"

  Cao Song still spoke slowly and deliberately, "There are two things that my son doesn't understand. Firstly, why hasn't the old general cleared up his debts yet? Even if he repays them today, they will appear again tomorrow."

  "Why hasn't he made up for his losses yet?" Cao Yin seemed to be muttering to himself.

  "Yes, why is that? The old general's family has been guarding the local area for many years and is extremely loyal to the country. Even political enemies cannot slander his loyalty." Cao Guang continued after Cao Yin, saying calmly: "Why does the old general clearly understand the principle of 'repaying debts' but still borrow from the national treasury year after year? This is the second thing that puzzles me as a son."

  The room fell silent, and both father and son began to be quiet. After a while, Cao Yin's voice with a hint of fatigue was heard: "It's late at night, you go back and rest first, let your father think carefully and see if he can enlighten his son."

  "Yes, Father, I'm going back!" Cao Song saw that everything had been said and responded by leaving. In his heart, he couldn't tell whether it was heavy or light.

  After Cao Cong left, Cao Yin was extremely exhausted and his expression was indescribably dejected. Just then, a noise came from the bookshelf, and Zhuang Chang, the chief aide of the Weaving Department, walked out of the secret room behind the bookshelf: "I didn't expect the young master to have such insight!"

  Cao Yin's face fell: "I knew the principle of 'prosperity and decline', but I didn't expect that the Cao family, which seemed to be in full bloom, had already entered a dead end."

  Zhuang often saw Cao Yun's expression and comforted him, saying: "The emperor treats his ministers with the utmost generosity, Dongting brother does not need to worry too much about the loss, there will always be a place to make up for it."

  Cao Yin shook his head with a bitter smile: "It won't be that easy, the first two times we lost nearly 2 million taels, and this time it's no less than 1 million taels. Even if we sell the house and land, I'm afraid it still won't be enough!"

  Zhuang Chang was aware of the grand occasion of each imperial visit, all of which were paid for by silver from various local treasuries and then spent like flowing water, but all of which had to be accounted for on Cao Yin's ledger. The "dead end" that Cao Yin feared was something that could be anticipated. The Cao family had been in Jiangnan for decades, and it was only natural that they would not be tolerated by the new emperor after his ascension to the throne. Isn't there a common saying, "One day as king, one day as minister"? But the Cao family had controlled the Jiangnan Provincial Administration Commissioner's office for over 40 years and were considered trusted advisors by the emperor, so how could they simply withdraw?