Shen Qing only emerged from behind the pillar after Gao Yuanxiang's figure disappeared into the darkness.
She kicked open the door with one foot, but didn't go in immediately. Instead, she stood outside, looking around to make sure there were no traps or mechanisms to trick her, before slowly walking into the room with her hands behind her back.
She carefully checked every corner in the room where someone could hide.
Last time, Gao Laosan deliberately broke into the inn's room, arrested her and Cheng Zhiwen, and fabricated a "caught in the act" incident to frame her for adultery and have her drowned in a pig cage. She has to be careful that Gao Yuanxiang doesn't use the same trick!
Right now, Gao Yuanxiang, the daughter who married out of the family, wants to come back and seize the family property, so she must first get rid of her only sister-in-law.
Therefore, Shen Qing was not surprised at all what kind of terrible tricks Gao Yuanxiang would come up with.
Thinking of this, Shen Qing carefully examined the other details.
Everything inside was the same as when she left this morning. Gao Yuanxiang seemed to have not touched anything, but Shen Qing knew that was impossible.
Now that Gao Yuanxiang has come in, she can't just sit idly by and do something.
The following day, at the Gao family's dining hall.
Shen Qing walked in without making a sound and sat down opposite Gao Yuanxiang.
Gao Yuanxiang glanced at him guiltily, then quickly turned back to feed her son.
Shen Qingjing stared at her for a moment, then suddenly spoke up: "A thousand taels of silver notes went missing from my room. You stole them, didn't you, Gao Yuanxiang? I saw you enter my room last night!"
With a "clatter," the porcelain soup spoon in Gao Yuanxiang's hand fell onto the table.
In a moment of panic, she quickly regained her composure and retorted, "You clearly don't have any banknotes in your room! Who are you trying to fool?"
Shen Qing raised an eyebrow: "So, you admit you were in my room? Otherwise, how would you know there were no silver notes in my room?"
Gao Yuanxiang choked and looked at Gao Liushi: "Mother! Look at her! She's framing me!"
Gao Liu opened her mouth, but didn't dare to say anything.
Shen Qing slammed the chopsticks on the table with a "thud".
She looked at Gao Yuanxiang sternly: "Speak! What did you do in my room last night? If you don't tell me, I'm going to report you to the authorities!"
Gao Yuanxiang immediately stood up agitatedly and shouted, "I only went in to look at the style of your clothes, I didn't steal anything from you! Go ahead and report it to the authorities! I'm not afraid!"
Shen Qing crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and squinted at her.
Not even afraid of reporting to the authorities?
OK!
Shen Qing stood up and said to Chunju, "After breakfast, take Sulan to the factory. I need to go to the prefectural government office to see Lord Qi!"
Upon hearing this, Gao Yuanxiang swallowed hard, a look of fear flashing across her face.
After leaving the Gao family's gate, Shen Qing headed towards the prefectural government office, but she was not there to report Gao Yuanxiang; instead, she wanted Qi Zhenheng to be her witness.
Along the way, she would frequently press her bulging purse, afraid that the banknotes inside might be lost.
This was the deposit from three merchants, and she dared not put it anywhere else, carrying it on her person day and night and tying it to her waist.
But this is not a long-term solution, which is why she is going to the prefect's office today.
The advisor led her into Qi Zhenheng's study.
Behind the dark brown solid wood desk, there is a large picture of a crane, symbolizing the official rank of the owner of this study.
Qi Zhenheng put down his brush on the brush holder, stood up and came over to greet Shen Qing, inviting her to sit in the main hall: "Please sit down, Madam."
He sat down in the armchair on the right side of the main hall and quietly looked at Shen Qing: "Madam, what brings you here today?"
The clerk served hot tea, and Shen Qing thanked him quietly. Then he looked at Qi Zhenheng and said, "It's like this. I originally owed Master Zhao 100,000 taels of silver, which was due to be repaid in half a year. But I have recently raised the money and want to pay it off as soon as possible so that I can get back the land deed and house deed. Therefore, I would like to trouble you, Master Qi, to do a notarization for me."
Qi Zhenheng was puzzled and frowned, saying, "You can just take the principal to repay the creditor and get back the items you mortgaged. Why do you need me to be your witness?"
“Lord Qi, you are unaware of the truth. Master Zhao has no intention of repaying my debts; what he wants is the Gao family's mansion. He even had me arrested and tortured in every way possible because of this. If I were to deliver the money to him alone, I fear it would bring trouble upon myself.”
The advisor whispered something in Qi Zhenheng's ear at the opportune moment.
Upon hearing this, Qi Zhenheng's eyes widened in anger. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Outrageous! The debt is not due yet, and you dare to openly break into a house to rob and humiliate a woman!"
The advisor was slightly taken aback.
I've never seen my parent so emotionally expressive.
Qi Zhenheng himself noticed the abnormality, waved the sleeve of his official robe, coughed lightly, looked at Shen Qing, and softened his tone: "Madam, don't worry, I will immediately order someone to invite that Master Zhao over!"
Shen Qing felt relieved and bowed to him with a smile: "Thank you, Lord Qi."
Master Zhao arrived quickly.
When the constable reported this outside, Shen Qing felt a jolt in his heart.
She had never met this person before, but she knew that he was cunning, vicious, and had even molested the original owner of this body. Now that she was about to confront him, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
The door opened, and a tall, robust, fair-skinned, ruddy-faced middle-aged man slowly walked in.
He wore a light blue silk robe of excellent quality, with intricate embroidery.
Shen Qing recognized that this type of silk and embroidery was specially made as tribute to the imperial court.
A wealthy landowner from the common people was able to wear tribute items...
He definitely has powerful connections!
Shen Qing squinted and sized up the man.
With two deep smile lines on his face, Qi Zhenheng bowed obsequiously as soon as he entered the room: "I heard that Lord Qi has been transferred to Jiangzhou and I have been wanting to pay my respects. I didn't expect that something would delay me. It turns out that Lord Qi invited me here first. I deserve to die! I should have come to pay my respects to Lord Qi first!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing thought to himself:
Qi Zhenheng, a fifth-rank prefect, was no match for the power behind him. Moreover, Qi Zhenheng was a generation younger than him. Yet, he fawned over and ruined himself over a junior, even uttering words like "I deserve to die" so naturally. This showed how terrifying this person was.
If even the henchmen are this treacherous, the people behind them must be even more vicious!
That makes sense. If he wasn't vicious, how could he have secretly killed the Gao family father and son, as well as Gao Laosan, without leaving a trace, so that nothing could be found out?
Everyone who had ever owned the Gao family mansion was dead, leaving only the elderly Gao Liu and her, the newly widowed woman.
Gao Liushi survived probably because she had one foot in the coffin and posed no threat.
But why wasn't he killed? Shen Qing couldn't figure it out, and a chill ran down his spine.
I pray that, with Qi Zhenheng as my witness, I can successfully repay the debt today, and that all my anxieties and risks will end today.
"Did you bring the lady's IOU and collateral?" Qi Zhenheng asked Zhao Yuanwai in a firm and serious tone.
Master Zhao chuckled and bowed obsequiously, "Yes, yes, I brought it. I did exactly what you ordered me to do!"
Qi Zhenheng nodded and looked at Shen Qing: "Madam, have you brought all the cash you wanted to return?"
Shen Qing quickly nodded: "I brought it!"
"Alright, both of you, please place the items you wish to exchange on the table. Once I have verified that everything is in order, the exchange can proceed!"
Shen Qing opened his purse and carefully counted out 100,000 taels of silver notes, placing them on the table.
Across from her, Master Zhao remained motionless, his gaze fixed on her chest, his eyes gleaming with lust.
Shen Qing subtly shifted her body, suppressing the urge to vomit.
“Gao Shenshi…” Master Zhao paused, then said with a sinister smile, “No, I should address you as Boss Shen now. Boss Shen, how is your business?”
He wore a smile, but his eyes revealed a lewd and fierce glint.
abnormal!
Shen Qing felt a chill run down her spine and leaned closer to Qi Zhenheng, who exuded righteousness.
Master Zhao smiled and said, "I'd like to discuss something with Boss Shen."
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