sinovels Chapter 415 - 264: Enormous Deficit
Chapter 415 - 264: Enormous Deficit
"Qi Stone Pavilion’s eldest daughter?" The Princess’s face turned ashen.
The thing she worried about the most was such romantic entanglements.
"Is it possible that Qingyun..." She dared not continue her question.
But the chief steward already nodded: "Indeed, the Crown Prince has long been enamored with Fang Qingwei, the eldest daughter of Qi Stone Pavilion."
Thunk~ The Princess nearly lost her balance.
Having forcibly taken the Seventh Prince’s beloved woman, Li Qingyun was undoubtedly doomed, even Prince Yun could not prevent it once he emerged.
Moreover, the anger arising from the Seventh Prince might indeed bring disaster upon the entire Prince Yun’s Mansion!
"Who would’ve thought that the Prince’s calculations over generations, using great efforts to prevent the Saint Emperor from weakening the vassals, might collapse thousands of years of planning at the most inconspicuous point!
Perhaps this is fate!" The Princess’s heart lamented.
In all of this, the crime would ultimately be pinned on her by Prince Yun’s lineage, being Li Qingyun’s biological mother and failing to teach him, leading to such a disaster; she would become an eternal sinner in Prince Yun’s line.
"Do not worry, Princess, although the Crown Prince has intentions towards Fang Qingwei, Qi Stone Pavilion has the backing of Han Zhen, the governor of Yunzhou, and isn’t likely to pay much respect to Prince Yun’s Mansion; the Crown Prince probably hasn’t succeeded yet!" The chief steward quickly reassured her.
"Not succeeded? Good, good, then... why is the Seventh Prince..." The Princess breathed a sigh of relief.
"Though he hasn’t succeeded, a few days ago the Crown Prince sent someone to Qi Stone Pavilion’s mining area and completely looted it, and the Fang family’s patriarch of Qi Stone Pavilion has been captured."
"Additionally, according to news from Yunzhou City, Fang Qingwei should have already infiltrated Black Stone City and is currently whereabouts unknown." The chief steward revealed all the information obtained.
"Could she have been captured by that beast Qingyun?" The Princess urgently inquired.
The chief steward shook his head: "Those close to the Crown Prince say it hasn’t happened yet."
"Hurry and find Fang Qingwei, bring her to see the Seventh Prince!" The Princess urgently commanded.
In her view, perhaps Fang Qingwei left quietly, even with a resolve to die, subsequently breaking off contact with Li Jizhou, which is why Li Jizhou took it out on the mansion.
"Moreover, release everyone from Qi Stone Pavilion immediately, comfort them well, henceforth Qi Stone Pavilion will be our honored guests at the mansion."
"Your servant obeys!"
As the chief steward departed, the Princess felt somewhat reassured.
It was as though all causes and effects had become clear.
She informed the people present that they need not worry; soon the matter would be resolved, allowing them to wait in peace.
However, at this moment Li Jizhou received the summary of accounts from numerous clerks within the hall, a shadow flickered across his face.
The summary of nearly a century of accounts, up to twenty years ago seemed normal, the annual mining output of Black Stone was only about five million Middle Grade Spirit Stones, all consumption within the mansion was also quite regular, and these figures were in line with those reported to the court.
With such mining output, even if Saint Emperor Li Yuan saw it, he would not be envious, after all Black Stone City’s protective array is maintained, numerous princes and descendants within the mansion practice cultivation, there are also many servants... relatively reasonable.
However, twenty years ago the mining output suddenly soared, from the initial five million Middle Grade Spirit Stones all the way to fifteen million this year, extremely frenzied.
Moreover, in these twenty years, the mansion has had many spirit stone incomes of unknown origin.
The majority of these should come from harboring bandits.
Especially twelve years ago, spirit stones of uncertain origin poured in frantically, clearly increasing the source of spirit stones.
Twelve years ago, that same year, Black Stone mined fifteen million Middle Grade Spirit Stones, with monthly entries of nearly one million Middle Grade Spirit Stones, plus irregular amounts, coming and going, totaling a giant sum of twenty-eight million Middle Grade Spirit Stones for that year.
Meanwhile, the tax revenue of the Jiuli Dynasty in a year is only thirty million Middle Grade Spirit Stones.
Having viewed the income, Li Jizhou was greatly shaken, over these twenty years the spirit stone income of Prince Yun’s Mansion rivaled even that of Saint Emperor Li Yuan in the Imperial City.
Li Yuan deals with the entire Jiuli Dynasty, requiring expenditure in more places, whereas Prince Yun’s Mansion encompasses only Black Stone City, with fewer expenditures needed.
After looking at the income, then examining the expenditures.
It shocked Li Jizhou even more.
Especially in the same year twelve years ago, there was an astonishing deficit of eighty million Middle Grade Spirit Stones.
Ever since then at least a deficit of twenty million Middle Grade Spirit Stones annually, in recent years even leading to some shortfalls!
"Where did it all go?"
Faced with Li Jizhou’s recent fierce and forceful tactics, the clerks and shopkeepers present dared not have any thoughts, each truthfully reported the expenses they managed, and seeing Li Jizhou greatly shocked after summing them up, they were all panicked.
"Step inside!" Li Jizhou looked up after reviewing the summary, sweeping his gaze across the audience, activating the Yellow Springs Blood Killing Array, engulfing everyone into it.
These were all witnesses.
The vast mansion’s grand hall was left with only Li Jizhou looking up at the sky, beside him Hong Luan had never seen Li Jizhou this serious.
"Why does Prince Yun’s Mansion need so much spirit stone resources? If it’s solely for cultivation purposes, then who is being provided for? Even if the entire Prince Yun’s Mansion including underground ants and mice were practicing cultivation, isn’t it more than enough?"
"The need for such vast resources not satisfying, needing to continue plundering?"
"Just the spirit stone revenue of Prince Yun’s Mansion for this twenty-year period suffices to establish at least a Tier Four Spirit Vein cultivation Sacred Land in the Eastern Desolate Southern Domain!"
Billions of Middle Grade Spirit Stones made it difficult for Li Jizhou to remain calm, especially when recalling the hardships of the previous life’s start, struggling with all efforts for a few Lower Grade Spirit Stones.
"What major event occurred at Prince Yun’s Mansion twenty years ago?" Li Jizhou lowered his Divine Sense into the Dharma Realm, drawing attention from the newly engulfed crowd with grand sound.
The anxious crowd within the Dharma Realm quickly kneeled, calling out their innocence.
Everyone racked their brains, recounting all supposed events of significance from that year.
Li Jizhou listened carefully, discovering no useful information, at that time Prince Yun had been in seclusion for ten years, not formally commencing mass mining yet.
"And twelve years ago?" Li Jizhou asked again.
"No matter how small or big the matter, what you recall can be told."
The crowd fell into thought,
Fortunately they were all cultivators, most events over decades are unlikely to be forgotten.
"Twelve years ago Prince Yun emerged from seclusion once."
"He hosted a banquet celebration."
"On that day the Crown Prince was punished..."
...
Once more everyone began speaking up without omission.
"Prince Yun emerged from seclusion that year? On what day?" Li Jizhou’s voice was solemn.
The eighty million Middle Grade Spirit Stone expenditure that year must only be known to Prince Yun himself, no one else would be assured, only he knew where such expenditures were precisely used.
"Reporting to the Seventh Prince, Your Highness, this old official remembers clearly, it was on May 28th!" A recordkeeper within the mansion quickly replied.
"May 28th?" Li Jizhou raised an eyebrow, examining the accounts, the eighty million Middle Grade Spirit Stone deficit occurred in May that month, it matched.
"What else happened that day? When was the banquet celebration? Why was it held?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the banquet celebration was also on that day. The reason for hosting was eighteen years of seclusion, achieving considerable progress!"
"Why was Li Qingyun punished? On what day was he punished?"
"Also that day, because the Crown Prince misspoke at the banquet celebration, he was lashed a hundred times by Prince Yun, skin torn and flesh exposed!"
"What did he say?" Li Jizhou was slightly shaken.
Simply misspeaking incurs a hundred lashes. This seemed excessive.
"This... the old official does not know, Prince Yun issued a decree at that time forbidding anyone to spread word carelessly."
"Hmm?" Li Jizhou immediately stiffened, Prince Yun’s reaction was overly cautious.
What words would make him so wary?
"Treason?"
Pausing for further thought, Li Jizhou summoned the severely fragmented Li Qingyun who had been suspended in the grand hall to come forth.
What was said, this witness naturally would know best.