Chapter 111 - 109: The Unemotional Emperor
"You wretched child." Xiao Bairen glared with his old eyes, almost too angry to speak. He had always felt that although his second son was not clever, he was honest. He never expected the son whom he disdained would one day force him like this.
Asking him to repay all his debts within three days, how could that be possible?
The Xiao Family had become wealthy starting from his generation, but their foundation was not deep. Although the family had produced an Empress Dowager and a Noble Consort, the rewards from the palace could not be turned into money. Moreover, the Empress Dowager’s earlier visit to her family had cost quite a bit. Over the years, the debts owed to the National Treasury had mounted to a million taels. Although his subordinates contributed silver every year, the amount he spent on dealings was also considerable. How could he produce over a million taels of silver?
But, regrettably, his second son showed no understanding of his hardships and insisted on the repayment of all the debts. Thinking of this, Xiao Bairen could not help but curse Ye Qiu inwardly. Even if Prince Qing himself had come, he could have shirked it, but the one demanding repayment was his son, who could not be reasoned with.
"Father, I know you have never liked me since I was young, but what I am doing is an official task assigned by His Majesty. Are you really so ruthless as to watch me reach a dead end?" Xiao Qi angrily questioned.
"His Majesty ordered you to persuade Prince Qing, how did you become so obsessed about repaying our family’s debts first? Moreover, we don’t have that much money at home," Xiao Bairen said impatiently.
"Father, you are the Prime Minister. If you do not repay first, which Minister would dare to? If even you do not support your son’s work, then which courtier will respect your son in the future? Or do you really not care about your son at all?" Although Xiao Qi was not as intelligent as his elder brother, the honesty of an honest person was his strength - he was not afraid to offend others and dared to face any issue head-on.
Since his father had always looked down on him, he had gotten used to it. Since his father did not consider his future, he could only rely on himself. Besides, the money for the debt repayment was to come from public funds; even if the family assets were divided later, he wouldn’t get much. So why should he care so much?