Chapter 21 The ends justify the means!

The main branch of the family.

My uncle idles away his days, neither good at literature nor martial arts, running two half-dead shops and focusing on sponging off his son.

My eldest cousin.

A third-rank official, the Vice Minister of War, a rising star in the capital, with a bright future ahead.

At the same time, he is also the true head of the first branch of the family.

His wife is the matriarch of the first wife's branch of the family.

Second cousin.

Because his older cousin went to join the army, he was spoiled by his uncle and aunt, which led him to develop bad habits of eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring.

However, he was very popular and acquainted with many playboys in the capital, which greatly contributed to the establishment of the eldest son's lineage in the capital.

Third cousin.

Even becoming a junior officer of the fifth rank in the army is something to be proud of.

It has to be said that my uncle was quite lucky.

Although he was neither good at literature nor martial arts, he couldn't even manage a shop properly.

But he can eat all three of his sons!

Although the second cousin is the least promising, he has made the greatest contribution to the eldest son's branch of the family.

Where should she begin to deal with the main branch of the family?

My eldest cousin cannot be moved.

Qian Yueshu was hoping that after winning over the eldest son's branch of the family, he could have him back her up.

As for my third cousin...

He was in the army, so even if Qian Yueshu wanted to deal with him, she couldn't reach that far.

As it stands now.

The only people she could help with were her eldest uncle and second cousin.

Even if your uncle is an illegitimate son, he is still considered your elder.

She took direct action.

It would damage his reputation.

Qian Yueshu then set her sights on her second cousin, Qian Wen.

He was a gambler and owed 200,000 taels of debt.

In another half month, it will be his repayment date. That is, in half a month, the eldest branch of the family will begin to plot against the main branch of the Qian family.

Of course, their main branch also wanted to reconcile with the eldest son's family and was willing to be schemed against!

In this life, she will make those people come to collect their debts sooner.

Let the eldest son's family come to negotiate with the master's family as soon as possible!

As the saying goes, in negotiations, whoever takes the initiative first loses the advantage.

This lifetime.

She wanted to gain the upper hand.

While Qian Yueshu was arranging for the gambling den's people to go to the Ministry of War's residence to collect debts earlier, she was also spreading rumors about the relationship between the Qian family, a merchant family in the capital, and the Qian family, the Ministry of War's vice minister.

Anyway?

The Dayong Dynasty placed great emphasis on filial piety.

Even though the grandmother had mistreated the eldest son of the main branch of the family, she did not sever ties with him.

Since we haven't severed ties, we're still family.

However, the main branch of the Qian family has been in the capital for almost three months, and none of the members of the eldest branch have ever paid their respects to their grandmother or visited her.

Once this matter spreads widely in the capital!

Even though the Qian family and the Ministry of War's Vice Minister's Office each had their reasons, the Ministry of War's Vice Minister's Office was the one most affected.

Since the Qian family were merchants and did not hold official positions, they would not be impeached by the censors.

Even if they are impeached, it won't have much impact on their family.

After all, their main family only had one elder brother who was an official.

He was just a minor official of the seventh rank.

They weren't even qualified to attend court!

But the Ministry of War Vice Minister's office was different.

Once this gets out of hand, there will definitely be punishment!

Even if the current emperor favors the Vice Minister of War, he still has to reprimand him a couple of times in court, just to make a show of it.

Qian Yueshu made sure to keep an eye on the servants and spread the word about these two things.

As a merchant family, they are quite adept at spreading rumors and gossip!

After all, I used to fight business battles in my hometown.

You throw dirty water at me, I'll throw dirty water at you.

This kind of verbal sparring is commonplace!

Even the Qian family has specially trained a group of people who are skilled in verbal sparring!

They come from all walks of life.

Some were seemingly ordinary storytellers in teahouses and taverns, some were peddlers who traveled the streets and alleys, some were old women who bought vegetables and cooked, and some were even down-on-their-luck scholars who failed the imperial examinations.

They have a deep understanding of the psychology of ordinary people.

Do you know how to embellish and spread a story about something trivial?

Qian Yueshu brought a group of such talents to the capital in the first place, for the purpose of business warfare!

Unexpectedly, it has now been used on the first wife.

soon.

The news that Qian Yueshu had spread quickly spread throughout the capital.

Listening to the Rain Pavilion.

tonight.

Qian Yueshu knew that the Crown Prince was really not coming.

This is the first time they haven't slept together since they both learned about their rebirth!

Qian Yueshu was a little irritated.

Will she suffer from insomnia on her first night without the Crown Prince by her side?

The bedchamber was eerily quiet.

She turned over, facing inward, closed her eyes, and tried to force herself to fall asleep.

I've been focusing a lot of attention on the Crown Prince lately.

She was forced to calm down!

Qian Yueshu's consistent principle: "To love others, you must first love yourself."

The next day.

The "talents" that Qian Yueshu brought from the capital were indeed very useful.

The rumor had already spread throughout the streets and alleys early this morning.

The court session has just begun.

Civil and military officials lined up on both sides, while the emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, his expression majestic.

The court is already halfway through its session.

An imperial censor stepped forward.

"I impeach Qian Jin, the Vice Minister of War, for failing to manage his household affairs properly and for indulging his family members' filial impiety. Madam Qian is Vice Minister Qian's own grandmother. She has been in the capital for several days, and not a single person from the Vice Minister's residence has paid her a visit. If Vice Minister Qian, who holds the position of Minister of War, cannot even handle his family affairs properly, how can he be expected to handle important national matters?"

An uproar erupted in the imperial court.

In the Dayong Dynasty, filial piety was the foundation of one's character. If someone was labeled as "unfilial," even a high-ranking official could not escape punishment.

However, this is not a very big deal.

Compared to serious crimes such as forming cliques for personal gain, corruption, and dereliction of duty, the name of being unfilial, though unpleasant to hear, at most results in a reprimand and a deduction of several months' salary.

"Your subject has a memorial to present!"

"Your subject has a memorial to present!"

"Your subject has a memorial to present!"

Three more ministers stepped forward to impeach the Ministry of War's Vice Minister's Office.

It's simply saying that the Vice Minister of War's office is unfilial.

However, this matter can be considered a big deal, or it can be considered a small one.

After all, if we trace the root of this matter, it is related to the father of the Vice Minister of War, and has little to do with him.

In addition, Qian Jin showed a good attitude in admitting his mistake: "Your Majesty, my father and grandmother do have some disagreements, but I will persuade my father when I get back. Today I will accompany my father to pay respects to my grandmother."

The Emperor nodded.

He did not punish her severely, but only reprimanded her a few times: "No matter what grudges you have, that old lady Qian is your grandmother, and you should pay her a visit. You should fulfill your filial duties and not let others laugh at you."

"Your Majesty's decree will be obeyed!"

On the other side.

Qian Yueshu got up early today and carefully did her makeup in front of the bronze mirror.

She had a gut feeling.

The eldest son's family will come to the door today.

Therefore, she had to dress up and prepare for this tough battle!

This morning, apart from the imperial court...

The residence of the Vice Minister of War was equally lively and charming.

Early in the morning.

A large crowd had gathered in front of the Vice Minister's residence, all of them asking the second son of the Qian family for gambling debts.

At first, there were only two or three people, as if they were testing the waters.

Or perhaps they're waiting for a crowd to watch the spectacle.

But in no time at all, dozens of people had already gathered in front of the two usually quite impressive vermilion gates of the Vice Minister's residence.

"Call out Young Master Qian!" a burly man roared first, his voice like a broken gong, particularly jarring in the quiet alley: "Paying back debts is a matter of course!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large crowd gathered around.