Shen Qing refused without even thinking.
“Although I am the president of the chamber of commerce, using funds from the chamber's slush fund for personal purposes is embezzlement, which is illegal!”
Qi Zhenheng thought for a moment and then asked, "What about the fifty million taels deposited in the Shanghai Bank?"
Shen Qing swallowed hard, her voice lowering: "That needs to be returned to Cheng Zhiwen, so it can't be touched."
“He won’t be in a hurry for the money. You can pay for it first and then deposit it back into his account when you get the payment later.”
“But I met him in Yongzhou a few days ago, and I told him that I had prepared to return the fifty million taels to him, and he can come and collect it anytime he wants.”
Qi Zhenheng remained silent, turned to the side, and secretly slammed his clenched fist on the table.
"And do you think they'll let me go if I take some of those fifty million taels?"
Shen Qing's eyes reddened, and she looked at Qi Zhenheng with a stubborn and unwilling gaze: "If this is that eunuch's conspiracy, no amount of money will help. He will only stop if I offer him more than a dozen heads of the Gao family!"
She said bitterly, "That damned eunuch, in the past he only colluded with local officials and gentry to frame me, but now he's directly getting the Qing court involved! He's only resorting to drastic measures because he thinks the local officials can't kill me! The imperial edict has been issued, how am I supposed to escape? I might as well just give him the Gao family's mansion!"
By the end, her voice had changed.
Qi Zhenheng turned around upon hearing the sound and saw her reddened eyes. He stepped forward, hugged her, patted her back gently, and comforted her, "Leave this to me. I will definitely get to the bottom of this for you! Don't worry."
"Can your father speak to that damned eunuch? Why don't you pass on a message for me, saying that the Gao family is willing to give him the house, and ask him to spare our lives?"
Qi Zhenheng closed his eyes in unbearable pain: "The imperial edict has already been issued. The matter of the Gao family's donation is now facing the imperial court, and it cannot be withdrawn by Li Zhongman saying a few words."
...
The carriage sped towards the city gate, and Shen Qing lifted the curtain to look outside.
The sky was overcast, thick clouds enveloped the heavens and earth; a fierce wind swept across the road, swirling up mud, sand, and fallen leaves.
A storm is brewing.
Shen Qing lowered the curtain and sat back down, staring blankly at a point in the void.
In the past, returning to Jiangzhou was always a joyful experience, but now I feel a sense of desolation, as if I'm about to face death.
She wasn't afraid of death, but she couldn't let the dozen or so members of the Gao family die with her.
Outside the curtain, Lao Xu and He Fei chatted casually.
Old Xu was worried about which family's daughter to choose for his son, while He Fei envied Old Xu's son for being so young yet already getting married and having children.
They were unaware that danger was quietly approaching.
Shen Qing felt increasingly distressed as she listened.
She returned to the Gao family home in a daze. Su Lan and Jiang Shen had just returned from the factory and showed her a piece of new fabric: "Master, look, this is fabric that the weaver just wove today using a new technique."
Chunju saw it, grabbed it, pressed it against herself, and laughed, "This fabric is so beautiful! Do you have any more? Could you give me some scraps to make a little spring jacket?"
Su Lan stepped forward and took her arm: "Yes, I'll bring some back for you tomorrow."
A maid entered the courtyard and stood at the door, saying, "Young mistress, the old lady requests your presence."
Chunju immediately stepped forward: "What does the old lady want with the young mistress?"
"The old lady has taken a liking to her old sister's grandson and wants the young mistress to take a look. She said that if he is suitable, he can be adopted into the Gao family."
Upon hearing this, Chunju angrily said, "No, no! The young mistress doesn't want to adopt the child now! Go and tell the old lady."
The girl said "Yes" and bowed slightly: "I understand, Sister Chunju."
Seeing that the person had walked away, Chunju immediately closed the door, walked up to Shen Qing, and said, "Young Madam, did Madam introduce any potential partners to you when you returned to Yongzhou this time? If so, you might as well pick one to bring back and have a baby. Otherwise, it's not a good idea for the old lady to go around looking at other people's children every day and keep asking you to adopt one..."
Shen Qing listened in a daze, without saying anything.
He braced himself on the round tabletop, about to get up, when suddenly everything went black and he lost consciousness.
...
Shen Qing didn't know how long she had been unconscious. When she woke up, she was in her room.
Chunju, her eyes brimming with tears, knelt by the bedside: "Young Mistress... Young Mistress..."
Su Lan was also wiping away tears.
Shen Qing, supporting her weak and limp body, got up and asked, "What happened?"
Her voice was dry and hoarse, and even she was startled when she spoke.
Su Lan quickly poured some water for her: "Master, please have some water first."
Shen Qing drank some water and choked, coughing until her whole chest hurt. Su Lan quickly put down the water glass and gently patted her back with her bare hand.
Once Shen Qing stopped coughing, they propped up a pillow for her so she could lean against the headboard.
Shen Qing breathed heavily, looking at Su Lan: "How many days have I been asleep?"
"It's been three days."
"Has anything happened in the manor these past few days?"
"Nothing else, except that Lord Qi came to see you for two days in a row and asked you to inform him as soon as you woke up."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qing knew it was related to the donation. He hurriedly got out of bed, but Chunju stopped him.
Chunju cried, "The doctor said if you don't rest in bed for half a year, you'll die! Please don't go out, I beg you!"
Shen Qing smiled weakly: "Four years ago, the miracle doctor in Huai County said that my life was in danger. How long has it been? I'm fine now. I'm going out for a bit. I have something very important to do."
Chunju couldn't stop her, so she and Sulan went to Qi Zhenheng's mansion.
Upon arriving at the Qi residence, the servant, seeing that it was Shen Qing, hurriedly opened the gate wide: "Second Miss, the master is inside. I'll take you in to find him."
Since Shen Qing started calling Qi Zhenheng her brother, everyone in the Qi household has been calling her Second Miss.
Upon entering the study, a servant called out from outside, "Sir, the Second Miss is here..."
Before he could finish speaking, the study door opened from the inside.
Qi Zhenheng looked at Shen Qing with surprise and delight: "Qing'er, you're awake?"
He stepped out of the study, helped her inside, and asked softly, "How are you feeling?"
Shen Qing smiled and said, "I'm fine. I took a nap and I feel great."
Qi Zhenheng closed the door and said in a low voice, "I'll take you to see someone later; there might be a turning point in the donation matter."
"Whom are you going to see?"
“Your Excellency, we explained the Gao family’s situation to him, and he agreed to talk to you and then consider petitioning the Emperor and Empress Dowager on behalf of the Gao family.”
Shen Qing was overjoyed, and her tense heart finally relaxed a little.
Her face was pale as she said urgently, "Then let's go quickly, let's go right now!"
Qi Zhenheng patted the back of her hand: "Calm down. I'll have the clerk invite the imperial envoy right away. We'll set off after the clerk gives his reply."
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