SFS Chapter 173 Prince Yu learns about his true parentage
Chapter 173 Prince Yu learns about his true parentage
The person in charge of Gu's shipping company was at the Gu residence at this very moment.
Shen Qingtan and Zhao Yi, a married couple, were also at the Gu residence.
After reading the letter in his hand, Gu Zongci's tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and he said with relief, "Only one large ship sank, and all the sailors on board were rescued. No one was killed."
The person in charge wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and took the initiative to explain the cause and effect of the matter.
"Master, my youngest son wanted to start his own business. The government's approval was supposed to be issued, but nothing came of it."
“We tried to bribe them, give them gifts, and ask people to pull strings and find out what was going on, but they just said it wasn’t in accordance with the rules.”
"Until half a month ago, the official summoned my youngest son and allowed him to run a business."
"But the official has one condition: he wants my son to persuade me to rent Gu's shipping company's large ship to transport a batch of goods."
At this point, the person in charge nervously swallowed, glanced at Gu Zongci, and continued speaking.
“My unfilial son dared not agree. It was the official who promised him that if a natural disaster caused the ship to sink, we would not be required to compensate for the loss. Instead, we would be compensated for the cost of the damaged ship.”
Gu Zongci asked, "You've already rented it out?"
“My unfilial son agreed without permission and was even given a gift by the official. I dared not offend the official, so I returned the gift and then rented the boat to him.”
“At the time, I was taking a chance and thought nothing would happen. Even if something did happen, it was all clearly written in black and white, and we wouldn’t need to make any compensation. I was also afraid of being held accountable by you, so I kept it from you and dared not tell you.”
"This is the first time I've broken the rules of the shipping company, and I'm feeling uneasy. So I started thinking about renting a boat, but the more I thought about it, the more something seemed off. Hongyun Shipping Company is competing with our company, and they don't stop operating even during the flood season. Plus, they have powerful backers. Why doesn't the official go to Hongyun, but instead goes to all this trouble to find our Gu's Shipping Company?"
"At this time, I received a letter reminding me that the large ship I rented out was transporting government grain. If something went wrong, it wouldn't be enough to just pay compensation. I was told to throw this hot potato to Hongyun Shipping Company."
“I had already suspected that the official was up to something, and seeing that what was written in the letter made sense, I did as he said. When the manager of Hongyun Shipping Company came to bribe me again, I subcontracted the order to them.”
“If the official has no problems, Hongyun Shipping will not be in trouble. If the official really has problems, with Hongyun Shipping as their backer, they will be able to get out of danger.”
"Who knew...who knew something would actually happen?"
All the large ships of Hongyun Shipping sank.
Having been in charge of shipping for many years, the person in charge immediately noticed something amiss. Even the worst storm couldn't have sunk dozens of large ships; it was clearly intentional.
He was terrified when he first heard the news.
Fortunately, he was cautious and lied to the manager of Hongyun Shipping Company.
This order was for goods transported by the Gu family shipping company, which was appointed by the government. If he transferred the order to Hongyun Shipping Company, he would offend the government and Gu Zongci. If Gu Zongci heard the news and intervened, the order would not be given to Hongyun Shipping Company.
This matter also requires the cooperation of the Hongyun Shipping Company. When the goods are being transported, the soldiers transporting the grain will ask which shipping company it is, and they should all say that it is the Gu family shipping company.
After this batch of government grain arrives at its destination, they will inform the government that they are from Hongyun Shipping Company. The reason they are transporting the goods is because the Gu family shipping company is afraid of floods and is unwilling to rent boats.
In this way, Gu's shipping company will offend the government and will inevitably be suppressed by the government, at which point Hongyun Shipping Company will become the only dominant player.
“Master, all of Hongyun Shipping’s large ships have sunk.” The manager said, “When the authorities investigate, I will say that I was already dismissed by you and that I was secretly working for Hongyun Shipping under the name of Gu’s Shipping. I will not implicate you.”
Gu Zongci: "..."
The official apologized, saying, "I almost caused you a great disaster because of my own personal matters. I am truly ashamed of my trust in you."
After Gu Zongci processed the information, he asked, "Did you deliberately accept the merchants' orders to cover it up?"
The person in charge nodded: "That's what the letter instructed me to do."
Gu Zongci frowned and said, "You dare to follow a letter from an unknown source?"
The person in charge, feeling guilty, said, "I think what's said in the letter makes a lot of sense..."
Gu Zongci ignored him and instead looked at Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan: "Did you write the letter?"
Otherwise, when the steward proposed to go to Qingzhou, Shen Qingtan would not have stopped him, and even allowed him to spread the news of dismissing the steward.
Shen Qingtan secretly pointed at Zhao Yi with her index finger.
Gu Zongci raised an eyebrow, thinking: He really is a cunning scholar, with one trick after another. I wonder if Manman has suffered a loss at his hands.
Zhao Yi said gently, "It was the advisor given by Tan'er."
A hint of a smile flickered in Gu Zongci's eyes. As expected of his niece, she was incredibly resourceful and shrewd.
He asked, "How did you know? Why didn't you tell me?"
"Qingzhou's granaries are empty, so how could there be grain being transported to Guanzhou? Moreover, it's unprecedented to recruit merchant ships; it all seems like a conspiracy."
Shen Qingtan said coldly, "As soon as this news came out, I asked Second Master to send people to Qingzhou to investigate. Sure enough, it was Marquis Chengen who wanted to harm the Gu family."
The Marquis of Chengen's intentions toward the Gu family are too obvious. He probably realized her relationship with the Gu family, but he did not find out her relationship with the Prince of Zhenbei's Mansion.
Otherwise, her true identity would definitely be revealed before the Prince of Zhenbei returned to the capital.
"As for why I didn't tell you..." Shen Qingtan smiled and said, "The Marquis of Chengen must have sent people to keep an eye on the Gu residence. If I had told you, and you had heard about the shipwreck, you might have inadvertently revealed something, and all our efforts would have been in vain."
Gu Zongci: "..."
He was looked down upon by his niece.
Gu Zongci then asked, "Did you deliberately come to the boat company in the rain?"
"Second Master was worried that a storm might come, so he instructed the person in charge in the letter to switch to the land route when they arrived at the next dock."
Shen Qingtan said with a worried expression, "I didn't receive any news that the merchant ship had docked at the pier. I was really worried when I suddenly heard that the ship had sunk."
Gu Zongci offered a few words of comfort. At this moment, Jiang Mu rushed over and reported, "Second Master, Prince Yu exposed that the sandbags being transported from Qingzhou to Guanzhou were for Ling Zhongshi's sake. Now that Marquis Chengen has been imprisoned, I'm afraid his fate is grim."
Zhao Yi and Shen Qingtan exchanged a glance; they were not surprised by the news.
Sacrifice a pawn to save the king.
This was a tactic commonly used by Prince Yu.
-
Prince Yu's Mansion.
Prince Yu sat on the couch, looking down at the letter in his hand, which contained only one sentence.
Shen Qingtan is the daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei.