Chapter 102 Manager Cui Comes to Collect Debts

Chapter 102: Manager Cui Comes to Collect a Debt

"No need, I'll go myself. You take good care of Qiyue. Yaoniang needs to rest in bed for now, so she can't take care of her. I'm entrusting Little Qiyue to you."

Tao Zhi was startled. "Princess, what are you saying? This is what I should be doing. There's no need to talk about entrusting."

"Only by taking care of a child myself do I realize how hard it is to be a mother. Yaoniang was injured in our manor, so it's only right for me to help her. Besides, Little Qiyue is very well-behaved and obedient. I'm happy to look after her."

Ji Yuntang nodded and asked, "Has the prince eaten?"

"Yes, he has. I prepared millet porridge, steamed egg custard, and milk for the prince. He finished it all. He also told me not to disturb you and let you sleep longer."

Tao Zhi finished speaking with a smile, then suddenly thought of something, and her expression changed for a moment.

"Oh, Princess, there's something I need to tell you."

"This morning, the servant guarding the woodshed reported that Liu Linlang is dead. Nanny Xu cried all night, banging on the door and pounding the walls, but because of your orders, no one dared to open the door for them."

What Tao Zhi didn't say was that Nanny Xu had been cursing Ji Yuntang all night in the woodshed.

She had always been good at pretending in front of others, but last night she dropped the act. All sorts of nasty words poured from her mouth.

Even the gatekeepers couldn't stand it, wishing they could take off their smelly socks and stuff them into her mouth.

Perhaps she was tired from cursing; there was no sound this morning.

"She's dead, so be it. Just wrap her in a straw mat and have someone bury her."

Ji Yuntang took a sip of her millet porridge, showing no surprise at the news.

Liu Linlang had been poisoned with five or six of her toxins. Each one could cause unbearable pain, yet they kept her barely alive, leaving her without even the strength to commit suicide.

After half a night of such torment, even if she hadn't died, she wouldn't have lived another day.

Ji Yuntang finished her breakfast and stood up, saying calmly, "Nanny Xu won't die that easily. Keep her locked up and have someone guard her well. I'll go check on Chen Hu first."

Now the West Courtyard was full of injured and sick people, including Ji Baiyi in the doghouse, who had a limp in one leg.

Ji Yuntang went to see Chen Hu and gave him a thorough examination. He was still unconscious, but he didn't have a high fever. The poison in his body had been neutralized. It was only a matter of time before he woke up.

Next, Ji Yuntang went to the space hospital to check on Yaoniang's injuries.

After a night of rescue, Yaoniang was out of danger. Her vital signs were now normal.

Ji Yuntang gave her an antibiotic injection and then moved her out of the space, where she would recover in Tao Zhi's room.

Finally, she took out some medicine for bruises and sprains, and bandaged Ji Baiyi's hind leg.

To prevent him from running around while recovering, Ji Yuntang even took a dog cage out of the space, lined it with soft cushions, and let Ji Baiyi sleep in it.

Dogs are very intuitive animals. Ji Baiyi had done his part in yesterday's events.

As one of the heroes of the West Courtyard, Ji Yuntang naturally prepared dog food, canned dog food, dried pork, and other treats for Ji Baiyi.

As if knowing that his owner was saving him, Ji Baiyi rubbed his furry head against Ji Yuntang's hand until he heard her say, "Eat up."

The little black dog then lowered his head and began to eat.

After doing all this, Ji Yuntang got up and planned to go into the house to see Luo Junhe. But just then, a servant from the front courtyard came to report.

"Princess, something terrible happened. Manager Cui from Jincheng Bank has brought people and blocked the entrance to Prince Ye's Mansion. He says that Nanny Xu must come out and repay the money, or they refuse to leave."

Ji Yuntang's eyes darkened slightly. "Let's go, let's go see."

At the gate, Ji Yuntang saw Manager Cui, a middle-aged man in blue robes. He stood with a dozen servants in a row blocking the entrance to Prince Ye's Mansion, shouting loudly.

"Where's Nanny Xu? The three days are up. Let her come out and repay the money quickly, or I, Manager Cui, will drag Prince Ye to the magistrate's office and let the magistrate judge. How can anyone just borrow money and not pay it back?"

"Who dares!"

Ji Yuntang's voice was low, and she swept her cold gaze over the servants at the gate, finally landing on the man in blue in the middle.

"Manager Cui, how much silver does Nanny Xu owe your bank? Is there an IOU?"

"Of course there is." Manager Cui pulled a promissory note from inside his robe. Seeing Ji Yuntang's stunning beauty and extraordinary demeanor, he guessed she must be Princess Ye.

"Yes, Princess Ye, a year ago, Nanny Xu borrowed 15,000 taels of silver from our Jincheng Bank in the name of Prince Ye, with a repayment period of one year. I figured with Prince Ye's Mansion as the guarantor, it was safe to lend her the silver."

"But now it's been over a year. Nanny Xu kept stalling and hasn't paid back even one tael. Now the principal plus interest has reached 19,862 taels. So I'm asking, when is Prince Ye going to repay this debt to Jincheng Bank?"

"Although our bank is not as famous as the imperial Baiyun Bank, our owner is an honest businessman. I'm sure Princess Ye can understand our situation."

Ji Yuntang would be lying if she said she wasn't angry.

She hadn't even started investigating Nanny Xu yet, and the woman had already caused such a huge mess outside.

If Manager Cui hadn't come to the door today, both she and Luo Junhe would still have been kept in the dark about this.

Borrowing money in the names of Luo Junhe and the mansion to spend on herself, she enjoyed the benefits while leaving the debt for Luo Junhe to bear. How dare Nanny Xu do this?

No wonder over the past few days she'd been eyeing the 20,000 taels of gold in her treasury. So this was her plan.

Ji Yuntang was very curious: what did she do with such a large sum of silver?

She now felt grateful that she hadn't killed Nanny Xu yet. She had to investigate this matter thoroughly today and provide an explanation to Luo Junhe and Jincheng Bank.

With this in mind, Ji Yuntang took a deep breath, suppressed the surging anger in her heart, and then calmly said to the man in blue:

"Manager Cui, this princess understands your difficulties. However, this princess and Prince Ye were completely unaware of Nanny Xu borrowing 15,000 taels of silver from Jincheng Bank. Please, Manager Cui, give this princess another day to investigate this matter. By then, this princess will certainly give your esteemed bank an explanation."

Manager Cui saw that Ji Yuntang had spoken like this. It would be unreasonable to press further, so he was willing to do her this favor.

"Very well, then I will give Princess another day. I ask Princess to interrogate Nanny Xu carefully and make sure she repays the money to our bank quickly. Otherwise, if the owner blames me, I cannot bear that responsibility."

"Naturally," Ji Yuntang said calmly.

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