Chapter 437 In Debt

Chapter 437 Debt

The Empress nodded and did not urge her to stay. "Go, then."

After Luo Jingshen left, Luo Qingge walked out of the Fengyi Palace. She pursed her lips and said, "Empress Mother, do you really believe that Second Brother can reform himself?"

"If one Ji Qingqing is gone, there will be another Li Qingqing or Zhou Qingqing. I always feel that someone like him will eventually stumble over another woman sooner or later."

The Empress tapped Luo Qingge on the forehead, a hint of tender warmth in her beautiful eyes.

"You, you are already a young lady about to be married, why are you still so loose-tongued?"

"I have done all that I should and said all that I should. As for whether your Second Brother is willing to listen, that is his own business!"

"He is the Crown Prince, the one who will rule the entire country in the future. He should have his own judgment and take responsibility for his own actions. I cannot always protect him."

"This dynasty has never lacked talented people. Your father's sons are not just your Second Brother. It remains to be seen whether he can prove himself worthy of the Crown Prince position!"

The Empress only meant to say that the incompetent do not deserve the throne.

The throne bore on the safety and livelihood of all the people of the Dongchen Kingdom. No matter how high Luo Jingshen's status was, if he lacked the ability to govern, it would be difficult for him to hold that position.

Little did she know that Luo Jingshen overheard everything outside the door!

He clenched his jaw, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles cracked.

Other consorts went to great lengths to pave the way for their sons, winning over court officials to help them seize the throne.

But with the Empress, it was all about him improving his own judgment and ability to fight for the position himself.

What she gave was nothing but empty words, with nothing practical at all.

Even for the betrothal gifts for the Marquis's residence this time, the Empress only contributed twenty chests of medicinal herbs and some furniture—a far cry from Luo Qingge's dowry.

And with all that, the Empress still wanted him to be filial? In her dreams!

Luo Jingshen burned with resentment. He flicked his sleeves in anger and stormed off without looking back.

The moment he returned to the Eastern Palace, Liu Qingya rushed up to meet him.

"Your Highness, a disaster has occurred. The one hundred and twenty chests of betrothal gifts in the storeroom have been stolen. I have already opened them—they are all empty now."

"What?!" Luo Jingshen's heart skipped a beat, and he hurried toward the storeroom.

He pushed open the door, checked the chests, and indeed found them all empty—every gift had vanished without a trace.

And the lock showed no signs of being forced open.

Luo Jingshen exploded with rage. "What is the meaning of this? What have you all been doing? The betrothal gifts were stolen and none of you noticed?"

Liu Qingya said hastily, "Your Highness, please restrain your anger. The guards responsible for carrying the betrothal gifts said that when they brought them back, the chests still felt normal in weight—each one had something inside."

"But inexplicably, after just an hour or two, all the treasures inside were gone, leaving only the chests!"

Luo Jingshen was so furious that he slammed his fist into an empty chest. "Investigate! I want this thief found!"

"I will find this thief and have them chopped to pieces!"

Liu Qingya said, "I have already arranged for people to investigate. Please wait for news, Your Highness."

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a ledger from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands.

"Your Highness, this is the recent profit and loss records for the barbecue restaurants. Please take a look."

Luo Jingshen took it nonchalantly. He was already fuming, thinking this account would surely cheer him up.

Unexpectedly, the moment he opened the first page, he blew his top!

"In just seven days, the barbecue restaurants have lost one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver? What is going on?"

Liu Qingya sighed. "Your Highness, allow me to explain. In order to attract all the customers away from Princess Ye's barbecue restaurant, all five of our restaurants offered the cheapest set meal deals. Customers did come, but there was no profit—instead, all five restaurants have been losing money steadily."

"A while ago, Your Highness told me that our reputation had been established and that we had already taken away most of Princess Ye's customers, so you wanted to raise the menu prices. I followed your instructions."

"Who would have thought that on that very day, most of the customers left. And on that same day, Princess Ye's barbecue restaurant launched a new cold-pot skewers dish that took the entire capital by storm. All the diners flocked back to her restaurant."

"So during this period, our five barbecue restaurants have practically had no customers at all. The ingredients prepared every day went to waste, and the losses have been piling up. We now owe a considerable amount to our suppliers as well."

Luo Jingshen was speechless with fury!

The veins on his forehead throbbed as he demanded furiously, "How much do we owe?"

Liu Qingya held up eight fingers.

Luo Jingshen was dumbfounded. "Eighty thousand taels?"

"Precisely." Liu Qingya nodded. "Our barbecue restaurants are positioned as high-end and premium. All the ingredients are of the finest quality, and even the suppliers were carefully chosen and bound by one-year contracts. The payments for the initial supplies haven't even been settled yet."

"This matter cannot be delayed any longer. Your Highness, you need to come up with a solution quickly, or the debt will only grow larger."

Luo Jingshen was about to lose his mind!

He just couldn't understand why he was so unlucky—all his misfortunes had converged on him.

He wanted to go find Ji Nanchuan and ask him to fork out more silver, since this was a joint venture after all.

But thinking about the current state of the Marquis's residence, Luo Jingshen abandoned that thought.

The Marquis Yongning's estate was probably in even worse financial shape than he was—how could they possibly come up with the silver?

Luo Jingshen sat down on a chair, rubbing his brow, his heart filled with immense irritation.

He ordered, "Close the barbecue restaurants for now. I'll come up with a plan for the money."

Liu Qingya replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

Weiyang Palace.

The news of the Crown Prince's broken engagement eventually reached Consort Li's ears.

Her eyes turned cold and sinister, her blood boiled as she scolded angrily, "That bitch Ji Qingqing actually dared to trick the Crown Prince into marriage? Is she tired of living?"

She had originally been pleased with Luo Jingshen's marriage, after all, Luo Junhe had only married Ji Yuntang, the illegitimate daughter that the Marquis's residence had cast out.

And Luo Jingshen was marrying Ji Qingqing, the cherished legitimate daughter of the Marquis's residence.

Whose status was higher was obvious at a glance.

Unexpectedly, things had taken such a sudden turn.

At the betrothal banquet alone, one mishap after another occurred.

First, Ji Qingqing's biological parents appeared, and then Ji Qingqing committed murder in public.

Ji Yuntang was the true legitimate daughter of the Marquis Yongning, and Ji Qingqing was merely an adopted daughter taken in from the countryside?

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