Later, after discussing many details with Jia Yucun and others, it was already midnight when Sun Shaozong returned to his mansion.
He was thinking about making ends meet in his study for the whole night. Tomorrow morning, he could also go to the Military and Horse Department of the Five Cities to borrow people and horses when he saw Zhao Zhongji scurrying out like a night owl. He came forward and respectfully said, "Second Master, the Elder Master specifically instructed me to tell you to go and find him in the flower hall to talk to.”
It was already late at night his Big Brother was still waiting for him to come back. And he has specified something to discuss with him. It was likely related to today's solar eclipse.
This was really a coincidence. Sun Shaozong was full of wild thoughts and was just trying to find someone to vent his anger.
Therefore, he asked Zhao Zhongji for a lantern and rushed alone to the flower hall in the northwest corner of the backyard.
This was the place where Sun Shaozu placed his Concubines nearby. As he walked along, he saw a red lantern hanging high at the entrance of the side rooms on both sides. Only a few of the side rooms were black and without any light.
According to Sun Shaozu's rules, if he hasn't rested in the mansion yet, more than a dozen Concubines must stay up late with him, except those who came to the moon and hang an exemption card.
It was estimated that these ten or so women have been suffering again tonight.
When he stepped into the flower hall, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but be stunned, because the hall was densely packed with large wooden boxes, roughly speaking, with at least thirty.
His Big Brother, with a dignified face, sat on a box in the center. Seeing Sun Shaozong coming in, he didn't speak and only raised his hand and threw a copper key.
The key looked like it was used to open these wooden boxes.
Sun Shaozong was also curious about what was inside, so after catching the key, he chose the outermost box, turned on the lock, and lifted the lid of the box. However, he saw a bunch of silver ingots neatly arranged inside the box.
Sun Shaozong picked up a bumpy one, which should be fifty taels of official silver. The box was divided into two layers, about forty ingots, and there should be two thousand taels of silver per box.
Wasn’t there sixty or seventy thousand taels of silver in this room?
Sun Shaozong's expression immediately became solemn, frowning and asking, "Brother, where did this silver come from?”
Just as his Big Brother sighed, he said quietly, "Prince Zhongshun gave it.”
From Prince Zhongshun?!
Sun Shaozong opened his mouth in surprise. Prince Zhongshun was famous for taking advantage and not losing money. But how could he suddenly start a ”loose money” business? If something goes wrong, there must be something wrong. This silver may not be so easy to obtain!
Sun Shaozong couldn't care about his wild thoughts for a moment and quickly approached to inquire about the reasons behind his passing.
It turned out that Sun Shaozu was summoned to the Residence of Prince Zhongshun in the evening.
Prince Zhongshun first cursed Prince Beijing in front of him and then said that since the matter of serving as the Commander was full of twists and turns, the silver he had collected before should naturally be returned to Sun Shaozu intact.
Sun Shaozu was dumbfounded at that time and quickly knelt and exclaimed that he wouldn’t dare take it.
However, despite repeated concessions, Prince Zhongshun still returned the silver to him and borrowed more than a dozen carriages for him, ostentatiously transporting the silver back to the Sun Mansion.
After listening to these words, Sun Shaozong's brow furrowed even tighter. This was clearly an act of soliciting people's hearts, and coupled with the fact that the solar eclipse had just passed, it was truly thought-provoking and terrifying.
He quickly pursued and asked, "Besides this, did Prince Zhongshun say anything else?”
His Big Brother shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "If he explains something more, I can still feel more at ease in my heart, but he's just flipping around and cursing Prince Beijing.”
After a pause, he lowered his voice again and said in fear, "When I listen to that, it seems like veiled abuse.”
Prince Zhongshun has always been an unscrupulous person. At first, even in front of the two brothers, he intended to surpass the Princess Consort of Prince Beijing, but now he only dared to criticize others.
Sun Shaozong reached out and pointed up, but also lowered his voice and said, "Isn't there some disagreement between the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty? So someone wants to take advantage of this opportunity to make trouble?”
His Big Brother shook his head again and said, "His Majesty has been on the throne for more than ten years, and all the governors have been replaced. The foundation has already been firmly established. Even if the Supreme Emperor is dissatisfied and coincides with a natural anomaly, it may not be possible to shake the position of His Majesty's throne.”
As he spoke, he hesitated again and muttered to himself, "But the actions of Prince Zhongshun today have a hint of urgency and chaos in seeking a solution. Is there any hidden truth that has shaken His Majesty's foundation? That's why Prince Zhongshun panicked for a while?”
The two brothers thought of something!
But what exactly was this secret? The two of them couldn't understand even if they broke their heads.
Since Emperor Guangde ascended the throne, he has been diligent and cautious due to the control of the Supreme Emperor. It was not until he established himself in the past two years that he gradually revealed his governing philosophy.
But this new reform policy has only just begun, and there should be no major fallacy that could seriously endanger the throne of Emperor Guangde.
“Big Brother.”
Unable to figure it out, Sun Shaozong simply raised another urgent question, "If the Supreme Emperor and His Majesty really make a scene of war, how should we deal with ourselves then?”
“Should... Shouldn't it be like this…”
Sun Shaozu sucked his teeth and scratched his head, then decadently patted the box next to him and sighed, "These dozens of big boxes are being carried home. What else do you think we have to choose from?”
As he spoke, he gritted his teeth again and said with a ferocious expression, "If we really get that share, we would have to sacrifice our lives and fight for magnificent wealth.”
Seeing Big Brother's statement, Sun Shaozong felt a bit more at ease.
Although it might not be possible, if the time came for the Supreme Emperor and Emperor Guangde to face each other in battle, people who held military power like his Big Brother but were not an irreplaceable high-level military general, the most foolish approach would be to use both ends of the spear.
Especially the two brothers, who first offended the Empress Dowager's family and were on par with the wife and clan of Prince Beijing, would be the targets of liquidation if Emperor Guangde and Prince Zhongshun were to suffer a complete defeat.
Therefore, at that time, it was necessary and only possible to exert oneself!
Fortunately, no matter how one looked at it, the chances of victory on the side of Emperor Guangde should be even greater.
In this way, the two brothers chatted until dawn and had a simple breakfast before splitting up and going to the Five Cities Army and Horse Division and Shenji Camp.
Because Sun Shaozong had a familiar face at the Five Cities Military and Horse Division during last year's Birthday Banquet, and now that he had a relationship with Qiu Yunfei, he was naturally brought to the presence of Commander Qiu smoothly.
When he saw Qiu Ying, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but be intimidated again. However, he hadn't seen him for more than a month, and it seemed that Commander Qiu aged more than ten years old.
If he suffered from a malignant disease and gradually aged within a month, he might still be able to recover. However, he was afraid his aging would happen overnight!