Chapter 188
Chapter 188
No one could say a word.
“The Hidden Yuan Society isn't the only one here to collect a debt today, are they? Who else has a debt to collect from us? Step forward!”
After a moment, a man stepped forward. It was Wu Yuanhua, the heir to the Count of Jing'an's Estate. In his hand was a promissory note, one that Shen Lang had previously written for Lin Mo. Not long ago, Lin Mo had come to the Count of Xuanwu's Estate, groundlessly demanding payment for tens of thousands of silkworm eggs and extorting three thousand five hundred gold coins. Of course, Lin Mo and his entire family were brutally annihilated after that. Therefore, no one had imagined that someone would appear with his promissory note to collect the debt in his stead.
Wu Yuanhua, the heir to the Count of Jing'an's Estate, spoke.
“This debt belongs to Master Lin Mo of the Brocade Pavilion. Although he met a tragic and mysterious end, a debt does not disappear simply because the person has died, does it? As a relative of the Lin Clan, I have the right to collect this debt on his behalf. Young Master Shen Lang, do you acknowledge this debt?”
“Of course, I acknowledge it. It's merely three thousand five hundred gold coins, is it not? I acknowledge it. Now, who else is there? Who else has come to collect a debt?”
After a moment, another person stepped forward. He wore leather armor, yet the tattoos covering his entire body were still visible, even extending to his face. They say enemies are bound to meet on a narrow bridge; it was none other than Qiu Xiao, the Pirate King's son. The Count of Xuanwu's Estate truly had a blood feud with him.
Twenty years ago, the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei annihilated the entire army of the Jin Clan. And just recently, Qiu Tianwei had sent his forces to seize Gold Mountain Island. Not only that, but his son, Qiu Xiao, had ordered his subordinates to throw poisoned corpses into the wells of the Count of Xuanwu's fief to spread a plague and kill the people. He had also allied with the Zhu Clan and attempted to destroy the Jinxi Great Dike to flood the fief. The Pirate King's son had no character to speak of.
What was more absurd was that no one stopped him. Within this hall were the Minister of Revenue, the Royal Uncle Ning Ji, and His Highness the Sixth Prince, yet how could the son of a pirate king so brazenly enter the estate of a count? But everyone looked at him and pretended not to see.
Unimpeded by anyone, Qiu Xiao, the Young Lord of Raging Tide City, stepped forward and raked his greedy eyes up and down Jin Mulan, who stood beside Shen Lang.
*‘How beautiful. There seems to be no woman in this world more beautiful than her. What a pity. The Crown Prince has his eyes on this woman, so no one dares to take her. But Jin Jianniang will be mine, Qiu Xiao's. When I'm with her, I'll just close my eyes and imagine I'm with Jin Mulan.’*
Qiu Xiao slammed a contract down on the table with a 'thud' and spoke in a cold voice.
“Twenty years ago, Jin Zhuo led an army to attack our Qiu Clan, resulting in the annihilation of his entire force. At that time, he signed a truce with our Raging Tide City, promising to pay our family nine thousand gold coins in reparations every year. You haven't paid this year's sum yet, have you?”
“Isn't the Spring Festival still half a month away?”
In response to Shen Lang's answer, Qiu Xiao, the Young Lord of Raging Tide City, said in a cold voice.
“But your family will be gone before you can even celebrate the Spring Festival, so we must collect the money now. Are you going to deny this debt?”
“Nine thousand gold coins? Fine, I acknowledge it. Of course, I acknowledge it! Is there anyone else? Anyone else here to collect a debt?”
After a moment, Xue Pan, the heir to the Count of Wu'an's Estate, came forward.
“Twenty years ago, when Count Jin Zhuo's attack on Qiu Tianwei ended in annihilation, he had no money to pay solace to the families of the deceased soldiers. Our Xue Clan lent thirty thousand gold coins to help the struggling Jin Clan. Although no contract was written, surely Young Master Shen Lang is aware of this?”
There was indeed such an event. However, at the time, the Xue Clan had explicitly stated that the money was a gift, not a loan. They even said that this sum couldn't repay even a ten-thousandth of the kindness the Jin Clan had shown them. If such a debt had to be repaid, then everything your Count of Wu'an's Estate and the South Sea Sword Sect possesses was given by Ancestor Jin Zhuo—how could you possibly repay that? Yet now you change your tune, claim it was a loan, and come to collect.
“Since thirty thousand gold coins were borrowed twenty years ago, according to the lowest interest rate for long-term loans from the Hidden Yuan Society, the amount to be repaid, including interest, is now fifty-one thousand gold coins.”
In an instant, the Count of Xuanwu's Estate had three debts to repay. The total amounted to sixty-three thousand five hundred gold coins. Just then, another person stood up. It was a Vice Minister of Revenue from the State of Yue's royal court. The Minister remained seated while the Vice Minister spoke.
“The year is already coming to a close, yet the Count of Xuanwu's Estate has not yet paid its taxes to the national treasury. The original amount is nine thousand gold coins, but including the arrears from the past ten years, the total is twenty-seven thousand gold coins.”
The Jin Clan had indeed not paid this year's taxes. But the claim of ten years of back taxes was complete nonsense. This was all due to messy ledgers. For example, if the State of Yue undertook a major construction project in a given year, the established noble families were required to send laborers. But since they couldn't send people to work in distant places, they paid in money instead.
Or if the State of Yue went to war, the nobles had to mobilize workers to transport provisions. In those cases, too, they paid in money. This was the true nature of the 'arrears'. However, in recent decades, the royal court of Yue had never specified a fixed amount for such labor or conscription, so most of the established noble families simply ignored it and didn't pay.
To be frank, just paying taxes on time every year was already a remarkable feat. If you were to ask the Tang Clan of the Count of Jinhai's Estate how much they owed in back taxes, they would probably admit to not having paid for at least seven or eight years. On the contrary, Count Jin Zhuo, being an honest man, paid his taxes diligently every year. Among the numerous noble families, the Jin Clan was the most proactive in paying their taxes. This was a testament to Count Jin Zhuo's upright character.
This was the newly emerged fourth debt. Including all the newly revealed debts, the total liability of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate was now close to one hundred thousand gold coins. Furthermore, their opponents intended to seize not only Wang'ai Island but also the tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and the fortress belonging to the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. No wonder Chi Yu had come a few days ago, saying to seek her out first if they intended to sell their farmlands... They had been planning to monopolize those tens of thousands of acres all along. If they lost Wang'ai Island and their farmlands, what would be left for the Count of Xuanwu's Estate? How could they feed their two or three thousand private soldiers? Everyone was trying to rip out the very pillars of the estate, root and stem.
Shen Lang spoke.
“Very well. Are there any others besides the five debts mentioned so far?”
When no one answered, Shen Lang asked in a loud voice.
“Is there anyone else who has a debt to collect from our estate?”
Still, no one answered. Shu Tingyu said in a cold tone.
“Young Master Shen, stop wasting time. Sign the document quickly and hand over Wang'ai Island to us.”
Qiu Xiao, the Young Lord of Raging Tide City, said.
“You won't be able to produce the remaining one hundred thousand gold coins, so sell your farmlands quickly. If selling tens of thousands of acres of land isn't enough, sell your house. It is only right and proper to repay what you borrow.”
At that moment, despite their cruelty, everyone looked at the Count of Xuanwu's Estate with a hint of pity.
*‘It's useless to struggle! Your Jin Clan is about to lose Wang'ai Island, tens of thousands of acres of land, and even your home. Today, you will lose everything. The total is eight hundred thousand gold coins, and your Count of Xuanwu's Estate can't even produce eight thousand right now.’*
*‘Eight hundred thousand gold coins is about twice the tax revenue of the entire Tiannan Province. Even a god couldn't produce that much money in just one month. Everyone clearly saw the Jin Clan cornered when that little terror went to a dozen noble houses and could only borrow a thousand gold coins. And you, Shen Lang, are nothing but an unruly clown! There's no way you could come up with that money.’*
Shu Tingyu urged.
“Sign it! We don't have time to waste with you.”
Qiu Xiao said coldly.
“Sell the farmlands. And sell that woman of yours, Jin Jianniang, to me for five hundred gold coins. I'm being generous! That's a price as if her parts were gilded in gold.”
At Qiu Xiao's vulgar words, Shen Lang looked at the Pirate King's son with an indifferent gaze.
*‘What a precious fellow! I'll let you live for ten more days. Just ten more days!’*
“Hahahaha...”
Shen Lang picked up the contract on the table and forcefully tore it into pieces. Then, he threw off the black robe he was wearing. Underneath, a magnificent and dazzlingly expensive silk robe was revealed. Everyone was nearly blinded by the light radiating from the splendid attire, the likes of which they had never seen. It was a robe that had cost a full five hundred gold coins to make.
At Shen Lang's sudden action, Shu Tingyu's expression changed drastically, and he said coldly.
“Shen Lang, have you gone mad? Do you think tearing up the contract makes the debt disappear? If you cannot pay immediately, we will send troops to enforce it by force!”
Shen Lang laughed and said.
“Fine, Shu Tingyu. I'll sign my name directly on your mother's body. Oh, and Qiu Xiao. How much to buy your mother? One gold coin should do it, right? And that's me being generous!”
Hearing Shen Lang's words, everyone's expression changed completely. Shen Lang laughed loudly and continued.
“You want to drive our Jin Clan to ruin with a mere eight hundred thousand gold coins? With such a paltry sum, you demand we hand over Wang'ai Island and sell the lands our ancestors left us? What a ridiculous daydream! Is it not just eight hundred thousand gold coins? It's nothing more than a light drizzle!”
Shen Lang reached into his pants, plucked out a single hair, and placed it on the table.
“A single hair from me, Shen Lang, is more precious than eight hundred thousand gold coins! Xu Baidao, you old fool! Shu Tingyu, you fool! Xue Pan, you fool! Wu Yuanhua, you fool! Qiu Xiao, you fool! All you creditors, stand still. Stand properly. Don't move, don't move! Every debt you just mentioned, I will repay them all with money. Eight hundred thousand gold coins, was it? Here, take your money!”
Shen Lang roared.
“You fools, don't move! Open your mouths and take your money. You absolutely must not move! It's just money, isn't it? I'll bury you alive in gold!”
Crash!
A cracking sound was heard, and then the ceiling directly above the five men shattered, leaving a gaping hole. An endless stream of gold coins poured down like a torrential downpour that could cover the heavens and the earth. It was a rain of gold. It was a sight none had ever witnessed, an utterly thrilling moment. A scene that could shatter a person's entire perception of value.
A grand total of seven hundred thousand gold coins, along with another one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins' worth of gold chunks and ingots, poured from the ceiling like a tidal wave. In an instant, the great hall was buried in the golden rain, and the five creditors standing there were all engulfed in gold.