On the official road, a dozen fast horses galloped past like lightning, then rushed into the mansions of some aristocratic families in the capital.

"My lord, I'm innocent..."

"Take it down!"

Before he could finish shouting his innocence, the leading general slapped him twice.

"Having long enjoyed the Emperor's favor, they have no thought of repaying the country and dare to lend money at exorbitant interest rates, harming the people! Guards! Seize them all!"

The general held the imperial edict in his hand, his gaze cold and sharp. At his command, officials from the yamen burst in, arresting people and sealing off residences with remarkable efficiency.

When the news reached the Earl's residence, the Earl's wife was so frightened that she trembled and could not stand up straight.

Jiang Yao found it even more unbelievable.

"Didn't Madam say she didn't lend money at exorbitant interest rates?"

What the hell!

They didn't release it in the previous life, so why did they release it this time...?

Jiang Yao felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had cracked.

Damn, I was reborn into loneliness. Everything has changed. What a load of rubbish about being reborn...

She was furious.

"She's gone mad to lend money at exorbitant interest rates! She's not afraid of retribution, and she's even lending out 100,000 taels of silver at a time..."

"You shameless woman, it's all because you dragged back all the dowry of the noble family's daughter. If the Earl's mansion hadn't become so much wealthier than before, why would I have taken such a risk!"

"You bitch!"

"It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"

Lady Bo was already terrified, and hearing Jiang Yao's curses only fueled her anger. She pounced on Jiang Yao and began punching and kicking her, making Jiang Yao scream in pain. Her hairpin flew off her head, and her beautiful face swelled up instantly.

"Waaah, what does this have to do with me? I even reminded you before, and you still said you didn't put it away..."

"Shut up! It's all your fault, you bitch, it's all your fault, you..."

The aunt slapped her again in anger, "You just wait, I'll deal with you when I get back!"

After saying that, the aunt scrambled out of the room.

"Madam, the carriage, the carriage..."

Lady Bo had no time to take a carriage. She rushed to the Marquis's residence and found it eerily quiet, like a graveyard. The maids and servants moved about quietly, as if some major event had occurred.

Could it be that even the powerful Marquis's mansion has been reprimanded by His Majesty?

Lady Bo's heart grew increasingly uneasy. She rushed to Madam Wen's courtyard, only to find it eerily quiet with the gate wide open. Madam Wen was kneeling on the ground, her face deathly pale.

He looked dazed, as if he had aged ten years. Pei Jing stood to the side, his face filled with shock and disbelief, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

The aunt screamed and rushed over.

"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, sister-in-law, what's wrong? Sister-in-law, you have to save me! I don't want to go to jail, waaaaaah! The usury has collapsed! Sister-in-law, have you heard the news? The usury has collapsed, but how could it collapse at this time of year? Did those lowly commoners sue the officials? The government offices in the capital are a bunch of useless idiots. They can't even suppress a bunch of lowly commoners, yet they dare to bring this matter to the Emperor's attention!"

"Useless! A complete bunch of useless trash!"

"And what about those lowly commoners? How dare they? How dare they sue the officials!"

“These lowly people are born of lowly people. The common people don’t fight with officials, yet they dare to sue us. I’ll skin them alive…”

"Sister-in-law, why aren't you saying anything? Have you also been reprimanded by His Majesty? But you are the Lady of the Marquis, and the Marquis is deeply favored by the Emperor. His Majesty even took him with him on this summer vacation. How could His Majesty reprimand the Marquis's family? Has His Majesty already forgotten the Marquis's family's contributions to the rise of the new emperor after only a few years?"

"Waaaaah, I really don't want to go to jail! I'm so old, how can I endure the suffering of imprisonment? And my grandfather has become a Taoist priest, the entire manor depends on me to support it, how can the manor survive without me! Heavens, if you're going to destroy my manor..."

Lady Bo cried her heart out, but Madam Wen still showed no reaction.

Judging from her appearance, she had most likely been reprimanded, and quite severely at that.

What a useless jerk! He's no use at all when it matters!

Lady Bo gritted her teeth, wiping her face, which was streaked with tears, and grabbed a young maidservant, pleading urgently, "Quickly, go and fetch the old lady! The old lady has connections with the Dowager Consort in the palace and has influence with the Empress. Please, old lady, plead for me..."

"Old Madam?" Madam Wen turned around abruptly, as if she had just heard the aunt's heart-wrenching cries. She stared blankly at the mad aunt, her eyes vacant. "The old madam has already gone to the palace to apologize to Her Majesty the Empress."

"What!"

"Did the old lady go to the palace to plead guilty?"

"That's good, that's good. I've always been filial, and the old lady will definitely plead for me."

Lady Bo covered her face with her handkerchief and began to sob. Then, Wen's dazed voice was heard, "Before the old lady left, she confined me to my room and told me not to leave without her permission. She also handed over the management of the household to Jiang."

What!

Is there really such a good thing?

Lady Bo couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, but Pei Jing screamed and pounced on Madam Wen, "Madam, don't be discouraged! The power to manage the household has only been temporarily transferred to Madam Jiang. Madam, you must cheer up! You are the Lady of the Marquis, how can you let a lowly fifth-rank official like her oppress you!"

"Who does she think she is, daring to mock me like that!"

Pei Jing also roared with all his might.

With the Wen family in charge, she was the most esteemed aunt in the Marquis's mansion.

Lady Wen is not in charge of the household, and the old lady dislikes her; her status in the Marquis's mansion is...

"Madam! You must pull yourself together!"

Pei Jing's words brought a glimmer of hope to Madam Wen's eyes. "Yes, yes, yes! My son, you're right! The power to manage the household is only temporarily given to her. I have been in charge of the Marquis's mansion for twenty years. Even if I haven't made any great contributions, I have certainly worked hard. I have given birth to two sons and a daughter for the Marquis's mansion. I have made tremendous contributions. Even if the Emperor himself came, he wouldn't be able to surpass me!"

The aunt's lips drooped immediately.

She and Pei Jing quickly helped Wen Shi up from the ground.

Wen Shi, that vicious woman, is indeed an eyesore, but her status in the Marquis's mansion is certainly extraordinary.

If the Empress is not as angry as imagined, Lady Wen will probably just be confined to her quarters, and then she will still be the high and mighty Lady of the Marquis, and the power to manage the household will return to her.

In the end, they were just a bunch of lowly commoners, their lives as fragile as paper. How angry could the Empress possibly be...?

In other words, since no one in the court benefits from their Earl's Mansion, they still have to curry favor with the Marquis's Mansion.

Thinking of all this, Madam Bo hurriedly tidied up Wen Shi's crooked hair and had a maid serve tea, trying her best to please Wen Shi.

The head maid who had been inquiring about news outside also returned.

"Madam, I have found out the reason why the usury has collapsed. The harvests have been poor in recent years, and last winter there was a lot of heavy snow. People have had a hard time, and many families have to borrow money to make ends meet. But they can still get by."

"If things are going well, why would there be a sudden disaster?"