Chapter 100: Never Showing Mercy When Fleecing Others

Watching Du Qi'an, who looked ready to snap, Shen Zhao said unhurriedly, "I will not let you take Du Kang away, but I can spare his life for now."

If she wouldn't let him take Du Kang, who would return with him to take over their branch's tasks? He didn't know what their ancestors were thinking, insisting that their branch had to be completely wiped out before another could be chosen to take over their assets, connections, and unique status within the Du family.

What was most absurd was that the Du family was forbidden from abandoning them; as long as they were alive, the Du clansmen were required to ensure their safety. Otherwise, why would he be here, suffering this aggravation and putting in so much back-breaking effort to save such an idiot?

Forcing down the urge to curse, he restrained himself and said, "That won't do. To be honest, General Chu, I must take Du Kang back. His identity is special, and since he is the last of his branch, he must return to take up their burden. If he doesn't return with me and stays at the General's Mansion, it would be no different than being dead."

Shen Zhao had already guessed Du Kang's identity. So, he was a descendant of the branch of the Du family that handled trade.

Was he the only one left?

It seemed this Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was the type to only listen to half of what was said. Earlier, when they were alone, she had mentioned one of Du Kang’s crimes: confusing the bloodline of the Chu family. He hadn't taken a single word of that to heart.

This made things even easier. The Du family only wanted a descendant of that branch, and the Chu family now had several others besides Du Kang.

She wondered if this Lord Du would be overjoyed to hear that. After all, Lord Du only thought there was one, but she could send him a whole group.

"Lord Du, do not be impatient. I will ask you one thing: as long as it is a descendant of that branch, can anyone—not just Du Kang—go back with you to take over the burden?"

"Yes, as long as it is a descendant of that branch, anyone can return with me," Du Qi'an replied testily. Their branch only had Du Kang left; what did this Chu woman mean by suggesting she could conjure up more Du family members?

"In that case, it is easily solved. However, the price will double. I wonder if Lord Du would agree?"

Chu Mu had reached the same conclusion as Shen Zhao. His A-Zhao knew how to be flexible. He had been worried that this Du fellow would hoodwink her, but now he had nothing to worry about. He wondered what terms A-Zhao was negotiating. After all, his A-Zhao didn't have a calculating mind, and this Du fellow looked like he was full of malice. He worried A-Zhao might suffer a loss in the deal. Chu Mu watched Du Qi'an with guarded eyes, determined to ensure the man didn't pull any tricks.

Du Qi'an was even more depressed by Shen Zhao's words. What was easily solved? Was the Chu woman planning to let Du Kang go? But what did she mean by doubling the price?

He had already demanded a staggering nine hundred thousand taels from the Du family; doubling that would mean one point eight million taels! Thinking of this astronomical figure, Du Qi'an nearly choked. Did she think the Du family was the national treasury? The Chu woman might as well stop negotiating and just have his father step down so she could become the head of the Du family herself.

She really dared to ask for that much.

"General Chu, you certainly have a lot of nerve. You might as well just rob us directly; why bother giving the Du family a person? Nine hundred thousand taels wasn't enough to satisfy you, and now you want one point eight million? Does General Chu know how much one point eight million taels is? Do you know how much money a noble family even has? I dare ask if the General's Mansion could even produce one point eight million taels!"

Du Qi'an's eyes were red with fury. This Chu woman was blinded by greed, with nothing but money on her mind.

When Chu Mu heard the figure, his eyes nearly popped out. One point eight million taels! After the initial shock, he felt a surge of pride; his A-Zhao had more courage than most women. A typical young lady would never dare ask for such a sum. Yet, after the pride came a sense of heartache. A-Zhao must be demanding so much money for the sake of the drained General's Mansion—for his sake. She was too kind; despite all the grievances and hardships she had suffered at the General's Mansion, she hadn't complained and was always thinking of the mansion and him.

But she was asking for too much. He didn't know if the Du family could produce one point eight million taels, but he knew for certain that no noble family would pay that much for a single clansman.

Du Qi'an would certainly not agree to pay that amount to save one person. Not only would he refuse, but his father wouldn't agree either.

Seeing Du Qi'an's reaction, Shen Zhao pondered; perhaps one point eight million was indeed a bit too much. She coughed lightly and said, "Lord Du, don't be hasty. Hear me out first."

"Then please, General Chu, speak quickly!" This Chu woman was insufferable; no wonder she was ostracized at court.

"As for doubling the price, how about we just add one hundred thousand taels on top of the original? Do you think the Du family can accept that?" Shen Zhao still wanted more, as she had too many places to spend money.

Besides the four thousand Northwest Army soldiers in the capital, she also wanted to recover her father's other subordinates. All of this required silver. Winter was fast approaching; the soldiers' cotton-padded uniforms were still unprovided for. The court might not issue them, but she had to prepare for her men.

Du Qi'an clenched his fists. The Chu woman was pushing her luck, but compared to doubling the entire amount, adding another hundred thousand taels was something he could accept.

Damn it! A single Du Kang was worth a million taels? If you carved him into pieces and sold them one by one, he wouldn't be worth that much!

"Fine! One million taels it is. General Chu, you cannot go back on your word again." Du Qi'an began to scheme. If this million taels came from the public coffers, the other branches would certainly object. If he asked his own household to pay, even if he and his father agreed, the women in the inner courtyard wouldn't—especially his dear second mother and second younger brother, who would surely raise hell.

There was only one way: pack up all the assets of Du Kang’s branch and sell them off; that should be worth about a million taels. Leave him enough to run his business and use the rest to fill this hole. That way, the other Du clansmen couldn't complain, and if Du Kang had any objections, he would just have to swallow them. If he couldn't, he could go die. He was the one who caused the trouble; who else could he blame?

"Look at you, Lord Du. I am not a person who goes back on her word."

Hearing this, Du Qi'an’s eyes went round. He wanted to see just how shameless this Chu woman could be to say such a thing. They had clearly already reached an agreement, and he had almost signed and stamped the contract, only for this woman to find out Du Kang had sold himself to the Chu family and immediately reneged on the terms.

Bah! She was the definition of someone who broke her word.

"However, now that this is settled, I must re-state the other terms to you, Lord Du." Shen Zhao met Du Qi'an's angry gaze and spoke again.

Du Qi'an's voice turned sharp with rage. "Are you finished yet, you Chu woman? Do you really think I'm easy to bully? You aren't negotiating with me; you're just squeezing me for every drop!"

"Heh! We've come this far. If you want to back out now, then please, see yourself out. You can go to the mass grave on the outskirts of the capital another day to collect your uncle's corpse!"