RPAGF Chapter 43 Yin'e's Brother-in-Law
Chapter 43 Yin'e's Brother-in-Law
Just when Yin'e was about to give up, Wulan's name suddenly flashed on the page of "Overheard".
A small icon appeared out of thin air, shaped like a trumpet, and glowed faintly.
Yin'e paused for a moment, then extended his finger without hesitation.
"Damn, that's awesome!"
He almost shouted out loud, his voice was kept very low, but he couldn't suppress his excitement.
"This even has a translation function? That's fucking high-tech!"
His heart was pounding.
In Yin'e's eyes, that tiny horn icon was more valuable than any gold-inlaid jade or silver-inlaid diamond.
He had no time to marvel, because Ulan's voice had already clearly entered his mind.
After translation, the gibberish Mongolian language was transformed into Chinese that he could understand, word by word, clearly and distinctly.
Ulan's tone was urgent, carrying an uncontrollable anxiety and a sense of helplessness that only comes when one is cornered.
"Brother, please stop."
"I...I don't have any money left either."
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
Then, a deep male voice came out.
"Girl, just this once, the last time."
Ulan remained silent for a while.
"Brother, let me tell you the truth."
"The tens of thousands of taels of silver I gave you before were all taken from the Tenth Prince's mansion. It wasn't money that should have been spent in the mansion; I took it from the accounts."
There was no response from Batu.
I don't know if he was shocked or just pretending to be calm.
"Tenth Master... he's not unaware. The accounts in the manor may not have been checked before, but that doesn't mean they'll never be checked."
He turned a blind eye, which was a favor to our whole family.
When she said the word "the whole family," Ulan's voice noticeably lowered.
"But face is something you can only use once. Do you think people are stupid? They know exactly what's going on, they just don't say it."
"And now? The accounts in the manor are full of holes. Ninth Master paid off 200,000 on behalf of Tenth Master. That was out of brotherly affection, but how many times can such affection be repaid?"
"We haven't even paid off our debts to the imperial court, and you want me to get you more money? Brother, tell me, where am I supposed to get it for you?"
By the end, Ulan's voice was trembling with tears.
Batu quickly said, "Sister, I know, I know. I know I'm putting you in a difficult position. But... but you can't just stand by and watch someone die."
His voice lowered even further: "Think of your father, think of our tribe. If... if even you abandon us, then we're truly finished."
There was silence for a moment.
Then Batu's voice suddenly rose a few decibels: "By the way! Sister, when you married into our family, your father gave you quite a dowry."
Those gold and silver jewelry, silks and satins, coral beads, and turquoise stones.
Which one of them isn't valuable?
Here's what you'll do: take it to the pawnshop and pawn it to get the silver for me.
"Once I've sorted things out here, I'll redeem you double! You won't be shortchanged!"
Ulan was so angry at Batu's words that she trembled all over.
"You...you...you actually dared to covet my dowry!!"
"Brother, do you know that even though I am the wife of the emperor in this mansion, my life is not easy!"
Everyone, from top to bottom, needs to be bribed. The eunuchs need rewards, the maids need rewards, the managers need rewards, and even the gatekeepers at the entrance need to be given silver on the first and fifteenth of each month.
If I don't have any money, how can I survive in this mansion? You expect me to starve?
Batu was speechless after being scolded by her. He stammered for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a few words: "I know, I know..."
"You know? You know what? You know how much I've suffered in this mansion? You know that when I first married into the family, the Tenth Prince wouldn't even give me a second glance?"
Do you know I'm all alone in this capital city, with no relatives or friends, not even anyone to talk to? Do you know…”
Ulan's voice suddenly stopped, as if something had choked her.
Batu remained silent for a long while before whispering, "Sister, I know it's hard for you. But this isn't for me, it's for Father, it's for our tribe."
"Sister, you don't know how terrible the disaster is on the grasslands this year."
In early spring, a white plague struck, freezing 30% of the cattle and sheep to death. Having barely survived spring, another epidemic struck in summer, killing 50% of them.
Our tribe's livestock is now less than 40% of what it was last year. Without cattle and sheep, there's no milk, no meat, no hides—how are we supposed to survive?
He swallowed hard and continued, "What's worse is that the Khalkha tribe to the south is taking advantage of our weakness to try and kill us."
Their men have already occupied our pasture, claiming they were just "borrowing" it, but they're not returning it.
My father sent people to reason with them, but they wouldn't even let them in the door.
We don't have enough manpower, we can't win a fight, and we have nowhere to sue.
"As for the imperial court... how could the imperial court have time to concern itself with such trivial matters as ours?"
"Sister, tell me, if I don't come to you, who will I come to? Father is getting old, I can't let him worry."
I'm the eldest son, and I have to support this family. But what can I do? I can't exactly steal or rob, can I?
Ulan fell silent.
After a long silence, her voice rang out again: "But when I wrote to my father to ask, he replied that everything was fine?"
Batu sighed, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "Father only reports good news, never bad. Don't you know his temper?"
He would shoulder everything himself, even if the sky were to fall; how could he bear to let a married girl like you worry about him?
You actually believed his letter saying "everything is fine"? Girl, don't you know your father?
Ulan fell silent again.
It took him quite a while to finally speak.
"Brother, you should go back first."
"Girl..."
"Go back first," Ulan interrupted him. "Let me think about it. I'll let you know when I've made up my mind."
Batu remained silent for a moment, then finally nodded.
"Alright. Girl, I'll head back now. Think it over carefully, but don't take too long. Our tribe can't wait any longer."
A rustling sound, like a chair being moved, or like clothes rubbing together.
Then came a series of footsteps, which gradually faded away outside the courtyard gate.
The east wing room fell silent.
Yin'e did not get up immediately to go see Wulan.
At this moment, she needed to be alone; his presence would only make things awkward.
He also needed time to process what he had just heard and to sort out the mess in his mind.
He gently closed the copy of "Overheard" in his hand.
He stood up, walked around to the other end of the alley, bypassed the Fujin's courtyard, and went straight back to his study.
Yin'e leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed.
He was thinking about a problem.
How much of what Batu said is true?
It is possible for the grasslands to suffer from white plagues and epidemics.
The Khalkha tribe encroaching on grasslands is not uncommon under normal circumstances.
But when you put all these things together, there are always some things that don't add up.
First of all, Prince Urjingalap was a Mongolian prince appointed by the imperial court, and his territory, pastures, and subjects were all registered with the imperial court.
If his tribe had truly suffered such a great disaster, he should have reported it to the Court of Colonial Affairs and requested relief from the imperial court, instead of letting his daughter steal money from her husband's family.
When problems arise among the Mongol tribes, the imperial court is obligated to intervene, not out of kindness, but for the sake of stability.
If the grasslands are in chaos, the borders will be unstable, and if the borders are unstable, the imperial court's northern defenses will face serious problems.
Secondly, the power of the Mongol princes was never as great as Yin'e imagined.
During the reigns of the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors, the policy toward the Mongol tribes was consistently "divide and rule, weaken and decentralize power."
They may have their own territories, subjects, and a small number of guards, but real military power is in the hands of the imperial court.
The imperial court stationed Eight Banner troops at various important grassland nodes. Mongolian princes had to obtain approval from both the Court of Colonial Affairs and the Ministry of War before they could mobilize their troops. Unauthorized troop movements were tantamount to treason.
Disputes over grasslands between tribes were also arbitrated by the Court of Colonial Affairs, and private attacks were strictly prohibited.
If the Khalkha tribe is indeed encroaching on the territory of Prince Urjingalap, then it is not just a feud between two tribes, but an open challenge to the authority of the imperial court.
Such a major matter could not possibly go unnoticed by the imperial court, nor could it be ignored.
However, after searching through the original owner's memories, he found no information about this matter.
What does this tell us?
Either the matter hasn't reached the imperial court yet, or it simply doesn't exist.
Yin'e opened his eyes, looked at the sky outside the window, and his gaze gradually turned cold.
Batu is lying.