No one knew what Feng Jingye had said to him, but Feng Linche issued an imperial edict to levy an additional 50% tax on all prominent and wealthy merchants in the Great Zhou whose annual profit exceeded 100,000 taels of silver.
Hearing this news brought back by the cook who had gone out to buy ginger, Bai Zheng, who was boiling lard in the kitchen, just smiled faintly and was not surprised at all.
In the current situation of the Great Zhou, Feng Linche had long set his sights on those wealthy merchants, but he had been hard - pressed to find an excuse. Now that the Song family had voluntarily offered 200,000 taels of silver, how could Feng Linche, who had tasted the sweetness, hold back?
"Miss, though," the cook looked at the ginger in the basket and asked, "what do you need so many medicinal herbs for?"
In this era, people only used ginger as medicine and didn't know how to use it for cooking.
Bai Zheng looked at the lard that was almost done boiling in the pot and said with a smile, "I'll make some delicious food for you."
Although seasonings like garlic and Chinese prickly ash couldn't be found for the time being, with the existing ingredients, it was still enough for Bai Zheng to make a few delicious dishes.
Just as Bai Zheng was thinking about what dish to make first, Bai Fu found her in the kitchen. Seeing her, he shouted hurriedly, "Miss, the Fifth Prince is here. He said he wants to see you."
Feng Jingyi? Bai Zheng was a bit surprised.
Looking at herself covered in the smell of oil and fumes, she immediately told the cook to remember to scoop out the lard, then stepped out of the kitchen to change her clothes.
By the time Bai Zheng entered the main hall, Feng Jingyi had already finished his second cup of tea.
"I pay my respects to the Fifth Prince. I've kept you waiting for so long," Bai Zheng said hurriedly as she bowed.
Feng Jingyi got up with a smile. "It takes time for a woman to dress up. It's only natural. Miss Bai, you don't need to be so polite." Then he signaled with his eyes to the young servant standing respectfully on one side.
The young servant and another person carried in a black box and carefully placed it on the ground.
Bai Zheng gave Feng Jingyi a puzzled look. Feng Jingyi didn't beat around the bush and stepped forward to open the box.
Suddenly, in front of Bai Zheng's eyes, there appeared a whole box of bright yellow gold, shining dazzlingly in the sunlight.
Seeing a hint of surprise in Bai Zheng's eyes, Feng Jingyi said with a smile, "This is the 20,000 taels of silver that Minister Su sent some time ago. I thought silver was too heavy, so I exchanged it all for gold. I've brought it here especially for Miss Bai."
Bai Zheng's eyes glistened with the golden radiance.
She smiled faintly. "The Fifth Prince is still so polite. I offended you greatly that day. I've already made it clear that this 20,000 taels is for me to apologize. It seems that Your Highness still won't forgive me?"
Feng Jingyi quickly said, "Let's just consider the matter that day as the start of my acquaintance with Miss Bai. This 20,000 taels was originally obtained by Miss Bai. How could I take it all for myself?"
Bai Zheng was too lazy to keep pushing it back and forth with him. After thinking for a while, she said, "Well, how about this? Although I bluffed this silver, it was also under the name of the Fifth Prince. Let's each take half of the 20,000 taels. Your Highness, please don't decline anymore."
Feng Jingyi wanted to say something else, but then he felt that if he kept declining as she said, he would be less decisive than this little woman Bai Zheng. So he nodded and said, "All right."
As if he suddenly remembered something, he then said, "Miss Bai, I came here today with an important piece of news for you."
Bai Zheng raised her eyebrows. "What news?"
Feng Jingyi sat back on his chair and motioned for Bai Zheng to sit down too. Then he said, "During the morning court today, the Crown Prince petitioned the Emperor for your marriage. He said that neither the Prime Minister's Mansion nor the Bai Mansion intended to continue the engagement, and asked the Emperor to approve your request to cancel the engagement."
Hearing this, Bai Zheng just smiled faintly and didn't say a word.
Feng Jingyi continued, "Originally, the Crown Prince had tried his best to protect the faces of both mansions, and the Emperor had granted the request. Who would have thought that the Censor - in - Chief, Liu Yunyu, would suddenly submit a memorial impeaching Young Master Chu for his immoral conduct, which was why you were determined to cancel the engagement."
"Liu Yunyu?" Bai Zheng frowned.
"Liu Yunyu is an old acquaintance of Minister Su. Recently, he has also been very close to the Third Prince," Feng Jingyi explained.
Bai Zheng narrowed her eyes. "It seems that the Crown Prince has won the Emperor's favor because of the papermaking technique, and the Third Prince can't hold back anymore."
Feng Jingyi nodded. "Of course, the Third Prince won't let go of such an opportunity to step on the Crown Prince's maternal clan."
This time, Chu Feng had just walked right into Feng Jingxuan's trap. The matter of increasing the tax was originally proposed by Feng Jingye, and he must have made thorough preparations. But for Feng Jingxuan, it was a complete surprise.
Which prince didn't collude with one or two wealthy merchants? When these wealthy merchants suffered heavy losses, the princes behind them naturally wouldn't fare well either.
Moreover, most of those princes had substantial assets of their own, which were just nominally managed by others. If the tax was increased, they would be the first to suffer losses.
Wouldn't Feng Jingxuan hate Feng Jingye, who proposed this suggestion, to the core?
In this situation, even if he couldn't deal with Feng Jingye for the time being, it would be easy for him to pin the charge of immoral conduct on Chu Feng, who had come to him on his own.
However, Bai Zheng didn't care about Chu Feng's reputation. For her, as long as she could successfully cancel the engagement, nothing else mattered.
Feng Jingyi sighed. "The Emperor was furious when he heard this and severely scolded Prime Minister Chu for his poor upbringing of his son. Fortunately, the people of the Crown Prince's lineage pleaded desperately, and the Emperor barely calmed down."
Bai Zheng lowered her eyes. "So, is the Fifth Prince here to tell me that I still can't cancel this marriage?"
Feng Jingyi shook his head. Feeling thirsty after talking, he picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of tea before he began to speak.
"During the Censor - in - Chief's accusation against Young Master Chu, he also mentioned General Bai Qiying. He said that General Bai, who had fought for the Great Zhou all his life, had only asked for a marriage for his little granddaughter once, but unexpectedly, he had asked for a dissolute young master like Young Master Chu."
As if recalling the Censor - in - Chief Liu Yunyu's excellent performance at that time, a mocking smile appeared on Feng Jingyi's face.
"This made the Emperor think of General Bai, and he became even more disgusted with Prime Minister Chu. The Emperor even said that if your marriage ended up like this, he might have no face to meet the old general in the underworld in the future."
When Bai Zheng heard Bai Qiying's name, she found that her impression of this grandfather was not very clear.
When he passed away, Bai Zheng was only five or six years old.
She only vaguely remembered that this grandfather always looked energetic. Whenever he saw her, he would pick her up and tickle her with his beard. He had also specially made wooden swords for her and her younger brothers.
Come to think of it, this grandfather was indeed the only one among her father's relatives who had truly loved her father's lineage.
Suddenly recalling the past, Bai Zheng was a bit dazed.
After a long time, she finally asked softly, "So what does the Emperor want to do?"
Feng Jingyi looked at her as if he was carefully observing her reaction.
"The Emperor said that since Young Master Chu was so unworthy, this marriage would no longer count. In order not to feel ashamed in front of the old general in the future, and to avoid disappointing the old general's former subordinates and the current General's Mansion, he would..."
Feng Jingyi deliberately paused. Seeing that Bai Zheng was looking down and showing no reaction, he had to continue reluctantly, "The Emperor plans to choose a good husband for you himself."