The Emperor is ruthless towards his own brothers, yet treats his sister rather well. The Eldest Princess Songyang is quite favored by the Emperor, such that families like the Shen Family, which are royal relatives from three generations ago, do not dare to offend her.

Shen Si was choked to death, unable to find words to retort.

This matter was too humiliating, Shen Si had lost all his face and dared not stay longer. He kicked open the door and swiftly walked away.

"Elder Shen Si, Elder Shen Si!" Those people inside, who followed Shen Si’s lead, immediately chased after him, but as soon as they reached the middle of the courtyard, they stopped... this deal is likely not going through, and Shen Si was just heavily humiliated by Young Master Dou. To chase after him now would risk incurring his wrath.

No one wanted to suffer a pointless outburst, so they did not continue to follow.

Shen Si’s servants had been waiting outside the courtyard, drinking tea and eating snacks, and they quickly greeted him with joy when they saw him come out, "Elder, did the deal go through?"

With two slaps, Shen Si slapped one servant twice and then kicked another, venting his frustration, he shouted, "Shut up, let’s go!"

The two servants suffered unwarranted misfortune but did not dare speak further and hurriedly followed Shen Si.

Young Master Dou saw Shen Si leave after being scolded by him and laughed proudly, "Heh, a son of a prostitute trying to act like a big shot with me? I’ll curse you to death!"

Master Ouyang heard and said, "Enough, although his mother’s background is poor, he is nonetheless a descendant of the Marquis Mansion, we must show respect to Marquis Rong’en."

Those who chased out of the house just returned and were shocked by these words.

Us? Is Master Ouyang taking the blame for Young Master Dou scolding Elder Shen Si?

Young Master Dou listened, feeling more triumphant, he glanced around the room and respectfully addressed Master Ouyang, "Since you’ve spoken, we won’t scold Shen Si anymore, let’s discuss other matters."

He turned his gaze onto the group that had just entered, grinned at them, and said, "Everyone here is from a charitable family, and you mentioned earlier that you wanted to help farmers get through the tax hardship. Since you insist, our Dou Ou Bank won’t stop you from donating Silver. So, now that everyone is here, please bring out the money you want to donate."

What!

Have them donate Silver!

Everyone present nearly lost their minds; they came thinking of making money, not donating money.

Furthermore, when they said they wanted to help the farmers, it was just talk. Who in their sane minds would actually help those poor folks? If they had money, they’d rather buy more land or indulge in some entertainment in a brothel. Donate Silver? Are they crazy!

But today, they must donate this Silver; dreaming to leave without any loss is impossible.

Master Ouyang had already sat down, taking the paper and pen handed to him by Gu Jin’an, he looked at everyone, saying, "I admire your noble act, I will personally take the trouble to record your donations." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

He continued, "Rest assured, this donation list will be sent to my brother with a letter back to the Ouyang Family. My brother will enter the palace with the letter and list, letting the Emperor know of your virtuous gesture."

Bastard!

In their hearts, everyone cursed Ouyang Hu for being deceitful, using the Emperor to bite off a piece of their flesh.

Ouyang Hu, aren’t you a famous Great Scholar? Shouldn’t Great Scholars be detached, treating wealth as dirt? How come you are willing to go this far for money?

Everyone looked at Young Master Dou, glaring at him as if they wanted to eat him alive. This scoundrel, Master Ouyang must have been influenced by him over time and thus picked up these bad habits!

Young Master Dou laughed, eyeing them, "Don’t look at me, Young Master Dou, donate Silver promptly. Don’t say you didn’t bring silver notes, if you planned to invest in our bank, you couldn’t possibly have come without money!"

Not only did they bring silver notes, but they were also large denominations, so don’t even think about donating less.

After hearing this, everyone was more furious, wishing to tear him up.

Boss An ignored the angry crowd, was the first to step forward, took out a stack of silver notes, and respectfully handed it to Master Ouyang, "An Hong, of An Family from He’an Prefecture, donates thirty thousand taels of Silver."

Master Qi was shocked, his jaw almost dropped, "Old San, are you crazy? Donating this much Silver, what should I do later?"

Master Qi saw Boss An go forward and hurriedly followed with a pained heart, initially considering donating just three thousand taels as a token gesture. But now that Boss An donated thirty thousand taels, isn’t this killing him?!

Due to some ham matter, Master Ouyang recognized Boss An, glanced at him, noted his name and donation amount, and, after receiving the silver notes, handed him a few name cards, "Mr. An is noble-hearted, keep these name cards. If you encounter difficulties, you can use them to seek help at Ouyang Family’s shops or local government offices. If you visit the Capital, you can directly visit the Ouyang Family with the cards."

Boss An listened and was delighted, unexpectedly gaining such benefits, he respectfully took the name cards and said, "Thank you Master Ouyang for your gift."

The people present were astonished, was Master Ouyang beginning to favor Boss An, offering protection to the An Family?

They regretted it, realizing the Ouyang Family was actually superior to the Shen Family, who are royal relatives from three generations ago. Earlier, we were really out of our minds, why did we only think of opposing Master Ouyang to help Shen Si, not thinking of ingratiating ourselves with Master Ouyang?

Master Qi was extremely excited, as soon as Boss An stepped aside, he immediately followed with silver notes in hand, smiling, "Does Master Ouyang remember me? I’m Qi Chengfang of the Qi Family in Prefecture City, a scholar from the Jingtai Period, my elder brother Qi Zhengfang serves as an official in the Capital, currently..."

Master Ouyang was exasperated, "Are you planning to report to me how many people are in the Qi Family and what all of them are doing?"

He interrupted Master Qi, saying, "Master Qi, I remember you. How much Silver are you donating? Hand over the silver notes, others are waiting."

Stop talking, wasting time!

Master Qi felt quite wronged but dared not argue further, he quickly handed over the silver notes, "Here you go, Master."

Feeling he was donating less than Boss An, he hurriedly added, "Upon learning of the farmers’ situation, my mother was very concerned and has already sent a large sum of Silver to family members and villagers from several villages near our hometown, a considerable amount has been spent from the account, hence..."

You understand.

Bah!

Could Old Madam Qi be kind-hearted? If you don’t want to donate more, just say it.

Master Ouyang did not mind the smaller donation, accepted it, and gave Master Qi a few name cards, "Master Qi, hold onto them, and remember not to misuse them."

"Absolutely, I assure you, I won’t misuse them." Master Qi was almost delirious with joy and asked, "Can I send the name cards to my elder brother, allowing him to visit Elder Ouyang?"

Master Qi was not only a fickle person but also expert at climbing the ladder.