For a moment, Third Brother Ji was so infuriated he began to speak recklessly.
"Relieving disaster-struck citizens is the responsibility of your Imperial Court, not mine! I too am a victim of this catastrophe! An entire shipload of my cloth, all gone! Isn’t that a loss for me? Will the Imperial Court come to my aid?"
Without a second thought, Ji Youzhi responded, "The Imperial Court can assist you, as long as you lend money to it. The Court will surely record it as a significant contribution. Once this matter is over, His Majesty will most definitely make it up to you somehow."
Upon hearing this, Third Brother Ji burst into wild, exasperated laughter.
"Using my money to aid me, and it’s not even the kind that’s repaid immediately? Seventh Brother, who gave you the audacity to say such things to me? We are brothers, yes! But when I’m struggling the most and need help, instead of helping me find the lost gold, you’re here stabbing me in the back!"
Ji Youcheng’s words made Ji Youzhi uncomfortable. He suddenly lost his temper and shouted, "So tell me what I should do now? I have accepted the Gold Medal Warrant! If I can’t get the funds from you, I’ll have to take action against Ying Tai! His Majesty has said that disaster relief is of the utmost urgency. He is willing to be seen as a tyrant as long as the disaster victims receive aid!"
"A tyr... tyrant? How? Is His Majesty actually planning to let you rob the money houses?" Ji Youcheng scoffed, refusing to believe His Majesty would allow Ji Youzhi to do such a thing.
Ji Youzhi felt extremely helpless. "The Divine Hunter’s Station has no official court establishment. If I step forward, I am His Majesty’s man; if I retreat, I am an outlaw. I am merely a sword in His Majesty’s hand. And where this sword strikes is, naturally, decided by His Majesty!"
Ji Youcheng stared blankly at Ji Youzhi, then suddenly, his reason returned. "Is there any other way to resolve this issue?"
His brother’s life, or his own money? If he had to choose between the two, he would choose his brother!
"I didn’t know the Ying Tai Money House was yours before," Ji Youzhi said. "That’s why I came up with this wretched plan to find out who was behind Ying Tai. The idea was to find some leverage, make them cough up a little something for the emergency. I never expected Ying Tai to be yours!"
Ji Youzhi desperately wished he could go back to the previous night, when he was urgently summoned to the Palace, and take back what he had said to His Majesty. He remembered his words to the Emperor: "That massive Ying Tai Money House sprang up overnight throughout Capital City. Within a year, it spread across all of Great Han, and in three years, it infiltrated Xiling. The owner behind it must be connected to high-ranking court officials. I will investigate immediately! Once I find out who it is, we can surely procure some silver for this emergency!"
These words echoed in Ji Youzhi’s mind. Furious with himself, he forcefully slapped his own face. "It’s all your fault, you wretched mouth," he seethed internally, "for causing such a disaster!"
"Why are you hitting yourself like that?" Third Brother Ji exclaimed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "If you leave handprints all over your face, Mother will be heartbroken when she sees them!"
Ji Youzhi took a deep breath, composed himself, and then asked, "Third Brother, are you really out of options? Do you have no savings left at all? I heard you put aside a fixed sum every year into your private little vault, money you don’t touch!"
Third Brother is like a Pixiu; he would never leave himself without a fallback. Ji Youzhi wouldn’t believe for a second that he truly had no spare silver, not even if his own life depended on it.
Hearing this question, Ji Youcheng could not help but touch his nose, his expression somewhat awkward. "Well, it’s just that... a while ago, when Suisui returned, I was so overjoyed that I bought her an entire street in Yang City for her dowry!"