Chapter 106 The Oriole

"Falling into the Xie family?"

Luo was taken aback upon hearing this.

Shen Yuanzhu nodded: "No matter what, Yun Zheng has Yuan Xu backing him up. Even if Yun Zheng suffers this loss and doesn't tell Eunuch Yuan, he won't let it go easily."

"So eventually someone has to be brought up."

Even if he pinned the blame for taking over the Jiang family's shop on Wanbao Street on Yun Zheng, he wouldn't tell Yuan Xu.

Informing Yuanxu would only make him think that Yunzheng was too incompetent to even handle such a small matter.

So Yunzheng has no choice but to accept this loss, whether he likes it or not.

But he will not tolerate this and will definitely investigate further.

Shen Yuanzhu said, "Take Liang Mama to see Madam Jiang tomorrow. Liang Mama is going to Xinpu in Huizhou next month and won't be back until at least September. Taking her there will prevent any trouble."

"You can say that Liang's mother is a member of the Xie family and came to help the Jiang family after hearing about their troubles."

Luo asked, "How should we do it?"

Shen Yuanzhu lowered her eyes and thought for a moment: "Just say that the Xie family is grateful to the Jiang family for raising Jiang Wansu so well, and that the Xie family came to help the Jiang family in their time of need when the Jiang family was in trouble."

"You asked Mother Liang to find a way to coax Madam Jiang into putting the shop deed on Wanbao Street under her dowry name."

Upon hearing this, Luo exclaimed, "That's a good idea!"

Even if Yuan Xu were to seize the Jiang family's property under the pretext of evading commercial and municipal taxes, he would not touch the women's dowries.

The law stipulates that a wife's dowry is a woman's private property and not jointly owned by the husband's family. Therefore, even Yuan Xu would not dare to bear the reputation of embezzling a woman's private property.

However, this matter can only be addressed in advance; we must act before Yuan Xu makes any moves against the Jiang family.

"Although a woman's dowry will not be confiscated by the government, there are always other ways to make her give it up. Therefore, cash is more useful to her than a shop that she can't take with her and that attracts attention."

Luo said, "Does Miss mean we should pay for and buy this shop back?"

"Of course not."

Chen Yuanzhu extended her index finger and shook it rapidly.

"So you mean..."

Shen Yuanzhu said, "I'll pay 30% of the market value and pawn this shop for ten years."

"Classic?"

"Yes, that's the classic."

Shen Yuanzhu smiled faintly: "Carve Jiang Wansu's personal seal, sign a ten-year mortgage contract with Madam Jiang, and tell her that as long as the Jiang family comes to redeem it within ten years, this shop will still belong to the Jiang family."

"Miss, this old servant does not understand."

Madam Luo frowned and said, "Why are we going to all this trouble to preserve the shop for the Jiang family? Besides, Madam Jiang has always looked down on Jiang Wansu. Would she really agree to put the shop deed in her hands?"

Yes, it will.

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Shen Yuanzhu's eyes: "The more down on their luck they are, the more they yearn to make a comeback. Especially someone as arrogant as Jiang Hong, they would never believe that they would be completely defeated."

"So whether it's Jiang Hong or Madam Jiang, they hope that one day they can redeem the shop and allow the Jiang family to return to its peak rather than sell it."

"It is precisely because Madam Jiang looks down on Jiang Wansu that she dares to pawn this shop to the illegitimate daughter who used to work for her and depend on her for food."

"After all, once it falls into the hands of someone else, it will be very difficult to get it back."

"But Jiang Wansu, she must be confident that she can control her for a lifetime."

"So even if you want to use the Xie family's name, Madam Jiang will not agree; she will only agree to put it in Jiang Wansu's hands."

"When the time comes, have Liang's mother provoke her with words, and we will get what we want."

Madam Jiang treated Jiang Wansu just as Ye Yunyi and Shen Yuanqiong had looked down on her before.

Because they looked down on her, they had no suspicion of her whatsoever.

Madam Jiang wouldn't believe that Jiang Wansu would dare to trick her, after all, Jiang Wansu's birth mother was still in the Jiang family.

Casually brushing a stray hair from her forehead, Shen Yuanzhu said, "It's hard to say whether the Jiang family can return to Suzhou Prefecture after this incident. But even if they can, my name won't be on the deed."

"If they want to get the shop back then, they can ask Jiang Wansu or the Xie family for it."

Mr. Luo exclaimed in surprise: "You're trying to forge documents..."

Shen Yuanzhu smiled faintly and remained silent.

There was no question of forging documents. She wasn't shortchanging anyone; the money went directly to Madam Jiang. As for who ended up with the shop deed, that was beyond her control.

In their previous encounters, Jiang Wansu had shown considerable malice towards her, even going so far as to demand that she return the money Xie Qi had earned from selling rouge cloth.

Since Jiang Wansu made the first move, don't blame her for making a counterattack.

"This shop is a hot potato, so I won't keep it for too long."

"You want to resell it?"

Shen Yuanzhu nodded: "Yes, I've already chosen the candidates."

"Who will you sell it to?"

Jixia Village.

Shen Yuanzhu smiled slyly: "Now that Jixia Manor has gained the favor of Eunuch Yuan, it will surely seize the opportunity to expand its scale. And the shops on Wanbao Street are the stepping stone that Jixia Manor urgently needs."

Wanbao Street is lined with old shops and boasts the best location in the entire Suzhou Prefecture.

Those who can open shops on Wanbao Street are not ordinary business people.

In its early years, Wanbao Street was just a bustling market where several alleys intersected, but thirty years ago, when the late emperor traveled south, he personally inscribed the two characters "Wanbao".

After that, Fang was renamed Wanbao Street.

With the Emperor's bestowal, the value of Wanbao Street also soared.

The plaque hanging in the southernmost Jinxiu Pavilion was personally inscribed by a Hanlin scholar in the imperial court, while Huichun Hall on the central street was opened by the grandson of Imperial Physician Lin.

Even the most inconspicuous Juzhenhao at the end of the street requires a ticket to be submitted a day in advance to enter, and it never accepts walk-in customers.

In the early years, if you wanted to open a shop on Wanbao Street, you had to apply to the Suzhou Chamber of Commerce and declare the businesses of your ancestors for three generations. If you were a nouveau riche who had fallen on hard times and started out as a street vendor, the Chamber of Commerce would ask you to leave.

Even after passing this hurdle, at least two established shops are still needed to act as guarantors.

We will ensure that this new shop is genuine, does not cheat customers, and does not damage the reputation and rules of Wanbao Street.

However, Jiang Hong abolished the first two items on his own when he joined the Chamber of Commerce.

That's why her mother was able to spend a lot of money to leave her a shop on Wanbao Street.

Even the Xie family's jewelry shop is in a much worse location.

Jixia Village is not yet eligible to enter Wanbao Street.

That's why Shen Yuanzhu set her sights on the Jiang family's shop.

Firstly, she did want to take advantage of the chaos to make some money, and secondly...

Naturally, he also wanted to take this opportunity to rip off Yun Zheng to get revenge!

"If everything is in order, please trouble the wet nurse to find someone with a clean background to sell the shop deed to Yunzheng."

"As for the price, just make him pay back double the amount he ate from me before."

After thinking about it, Luo realized that although the matter was somewhat troublesome, it was not too difficult to handle. The only problem was that she had to clean up the mess afterward.

And it would be best if the shop ended up in Yun Zheng's hands.

Eunuch Yuan wouldn't doubt that his young lady could also clear herself of any wrongdoing.

If the Jiang family were to return in the future and want to redeem the shop, Yunzheng would have his own worries.

With the shop's sale, there's no need to worry about her young lady's forgery being exposed.

After a moment's thought, Madam Luo said, "Miss, rest assured, this old servant will do my best to handle it for you."

After all, she was the person handpicked by the madam to entrust her with the care of the orphan, so she naturally had some methods. This little matter was no challenge for her.

Luo turned and left, and Shen Yuanzhu put away the box full of sea pearls with satisfaction.

Just as I finished tidying up my makeup box, Xie Qi came in carrying a bunch of things in large and small bags, like strings of pearls in his hands.