After Lanxi and Fushun left, Dongfang Yukun did not immediately attend to official business. Instead, he opened the thicker of the two letters.
The thick stack of banknotes inside confirmed Dongfang Yukun’s suspicions. At that moment, he appeared unusually calm.
He picked up the contract written on white paper and read it from beginning to end. Then, without hesitation, he took the letter and banknotes to find Dongfang Yuanbin, who was staying at home.
The grandfather and grandson spent a long while examining the letter and contract. When they finished counting the banknotes and confirmed that they amounted to one hundred thousand taels, the shock in their hearts lingered.
“One hundred thousand taels in a single winter?” Dongfang Yukun’s pupils contracted, and he could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
“Not one hundred thousand taels—several hundred thousand, perhaps even over a million taels!”
Dongfang Yuanbin tapped the banknotes beside him with one finger.
“This is only twenty percent. When Song Jinzhao’s people sent them back, winter was barely halfway over.”
Dongfang Yukun unconsciously clenched his fists. One shock after another made his chest pound like a drum, as though his heart might burst through it at any moment.
“It’s even more astonishing than a money tree. I truly want to see this smokeless coal for myself.”
Dongfang Yuanbin slowly lowered himself into a chair, steadying himself against the edge of the table. “They haven’t sold it in the capital yet. We’ll have to investigate the matter thoroughly.”
“And the coal mines around the capital.”
At that thought, Dongfang Yuanbin immediately stood and called for someone.
“As I recall, there are several small coal mines around the capital. Find out who owns them and how much they produce. Do it quietly, without alerting anyone. Come back and report to me as soon as you have the answers.”
Seeing the seriousness on his master’s face, the servant hurriedly acknowledged the order, then turned and strode away without looking back.
After a moment of silence, Dongfang Yukun could not help asking, “Grandfather, if the profits from smokeless coal really are as County Princess Linghui claims, should our family get involved?”
“Such astonishing wealth, all in exchange for having Gu Huaiyuan transferred away—I can’t help feeling uneasy.”
Dongfang Yuanbin let out a soft laugh. “It’s not merely a matter of having Gu Huaiyuan transferred away. Three years from now, if Song Qiming wants to become the Provincial Administration Commissioner of the Southwest, he’ll need our help. His Majesty no longer trusts Ye Liangyu. If the Song family wants to rise, they must find allies.”
When he finished, he sighed. “To be honest, County Princess Linghui is quite clever.”
Dongfang Yukun exhaled slowly and sat down.
“She’s more than clever. If she were a man, there would be no place in the civil service for men of your grandson’s generation.”
By the time the servant hurried back that evening, Dongfang Shaoting had already returned from the Secretariat.
Three generations of the Dongfang family sat in the study and listened to the servant’s report.
“There are seven coal mines in total around the capital. Their output isn’t particularly high. Five of them changed hands at the end of last year. On the surface, the new owners are innkeepers from neighboring counties, but in reality, they’re servants sent out from County Princess Linghui’s residence. If I hadn’t recognized one of them, I never would have noticed.”
“That innkeeper once came to our residence when Young Master Song was studying here.”
Dongfang Yuanbin pressed him, “What about the other two coal mines?”
The servant’s tone grew solemn.
“The hidden owner of the remaining two coal mines is Chancellor Gu. I also heard that the two mines are apparently about to be sold.”
Dongfang Yuanbin asked, “Have the county princess’s people been in contact with them?”
The servant shook his head. “Probably not. When they bought the coal mines last year, they deliberately avoided those two.”
After serving as Chief Secretary for a year, Dongfang Shaoting had already taken on the bearing his father had possessed in his prime.
Even so, faced with the prospect of receiving a share worth more than a million taels, his heart still raced slightly.
He took a deep breath and calmed himself.
“Since Gu Qishan wants to sell, we’ll buy them and join the venture. We can’t take too much advantage of the Song family.”
Dongfang Yuanbin cautioned him, “Send someone unfamiliar to make the purchase. For now, don’t let Gu Qishan know that we’re the buyers. Before news of the smokeless coal reaches the capital, get it done within the next two days.”
When Prince Qi was still around, the Dongfang family had kept its distance from both sides, so its relationship with Gu Qishan could not be considered particularly close.
Gu Qishan was suspicious by nature. If the Dongfang family suddenly bought coal mines, they feared he might become suspicious.
Seeing how his grandfather and father had settled the matter in just a few sentences, Dongfang Yukun felt conflicted.
Compared with the twenty percent profit offered by the Song family, two coal mines seemed like too little.
The contribution and the returns were out of balance. Whenever he thought about taking advantage of the Song family, he felt uneasy.
