Shen Qing asked warily, "What is it?"
Master Zhao laughed and said, "You don't need to pay me back the 100,000 taels of silver. I'll give you the IOU and the property deeds today, and we'll call it even!"
Shen Qing raised an eyebrow: "Is there really such a good thing?"
She turned her gaze to Qi Zhenheng: "Lord Qi, do you think this is feasible?"
Qi Zhenheng also sensed that something was amiss and frowned as he looked at Master Zhao.
Master Zhao explained, "In addition, I will give Boss Shen an extra 200,000 taels of silver in exchange for him giving me the Gao family's residence..."
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Qing interrupted him: "Does your master know that not only do you not want me to return the money, but you also want to give me an extra 200,000 taels?"
“He…” Master Zhao suddenly fell silent, realizing he had fallen for Shen Qing’s trap. He immediately changed his tune with a dark face, “There was no master. I personally lent the Gao family father and son this 100,000 taels!”
"Why do you insist on the Gao family's house? If you can convince me, I'll consider selling it to you."
Master Zhao chuckled dryly and remained silent, refusing to mention the person behind him.
Shen Qing patiently persuaded him: "That lord went to great lengths to acquire the Gao family's house, offering a total of 300,000 taels of silver. This shows that the house generates far more profit than 300,000 taels. In that case, why don't you keep the house for yourself?"
Master Zhao swallowed hard, but remained silent.
He seemed to really want the Gao family's house, but didn't dare to compete for it.
Shen Qing saw through it and continued, "I don't want to give the house to that person, but I can give it to you—just tell me who he is, and I'll immediately vacate the Gao family's house for you!"
She didn't really want to give up the Gao family's house; she just didn't want to miss any opportunity to test that person.
That person caused the Gao family to be destroyed and killed, and may continue to harm others. Even if the chances are slim, she still wants to find that person!
“Boss Shen, as I said, I don’t know any important figures. I’m the only one who wants the Gao family mansion. Since you’re willing to give it up to me, then today, in front of Lord Qi, let’s…”
That bastard even wanted to take advantage of the situation.
That stubborn bastard!
"Bah!" Shen Qing stood up, her attitude resolute. "I won't sell the Gao family's house! You take the 100,000 taels, but give me back the IOU and the land deed!"
Master Zhao's expression also changed.
Although he still had a smile on his face, it was a forced smile, and his eyes revealed a fierce glint.
This was the first time Shen Qing had ever seen such a terrifying, ghostly expression, as if it were a human skin mask being manipulated.
She leaned towards Qi Zhenheng's side and finally felt a normal level of human presence.
Qi Zhenheng is a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, upright and honest, making him the perfect person to confront these treacherous villains.
He looked at Master Zhao with a righteous expression, clearly showing his dissatisfaction.
Seeing this, Master Zhao stopped pretending and glared fiercely at Shen Qing: "Boss Shen, do you know how many people you've offended?"
"I never do anything bad, so who could I possibly offend?" Shen Qing asked deliberately.
“You’ve offended the foreign cloth merchants! I’ve heard that some of them have already spent a lot of money to have you killed. Even if you die, the Gao family’s house will still be lost. You might as well sell the house to me and I’ll protect you.”
Foreign cloth merchant?
Shen Qing was not surprised.
That day, she instructed the shopkeeper to seal the water vat with foreign cloth and rayon, knowing that this would severely damage the foreign cloth industry.
She cut off the foreign cloth merchants' source of income, and they will surely seek revenge against her.
But if she hadn't done so, the rayon business would have failed due to the sabotage by the foreign cloth merchants. Not only would she not have earned enough money to pay off her debts, but she would also have owed money to a host of Gao family relatives.
If you can't repay your debts, you're also headed for death.
Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well take a gamble!
Her gamble paid off; rayon gained widespread recognition and attracted merchants from three different regions. She believes rayon has a bright future!
Although it could also lead to death.
Shen Qing looked at Master Zhao, whose face was full of cunning schemes.
She didn't believe that this villain, who had tried to kill her time and time again, would protect her just because she agreed to sell the house.
I'm afraid that once the house is sold, they'll turn around and kill her! And then they'll take back the two hundred thousand taels of silver they gave her!
Since she was going to die anyway, she wasn't going to let that bastard and the people behind him get away with it!
Thinking of this, Shen Qing looked up at Qi Zhenheng and said firmly, "Lord Qi, I don't want to sell the house. I just want to pay off the debt and get back the IOU and the property deed!"
Qi Zhenheng looked down at her and nodded.
Then, her expression changed as she looked at Master Zhao, her tone serious: "Alright! Since Madam is unwilling to sell the house, there's no reason to force her. Quickly return the property to her!"
"Yes, yes!" Master Zhao bowed and nodded, reaching into his sleeve and taking out a yellowed piece of paper, which he handed to Qi Zhenheng. "Lord Qi, this IOU states that the principal will be repaid in the eleventh month of the Guangxu era. Since the eleventh month has not yet arrived, I can refuse to take back the principal."
Qi Zhenheng frowned as he looked at the IOU, pondering it in his mind.
Shen Qing held his breath and waited.
When she arrived, she thought that the scoundrel Zhao might refuse to take back the loan, since the repayment period had not yet arrived. But she wondered if Qi Zhenheng could help her out of consideration for Cheng Zhiwen.
Thinking of Cheng Zhiwen, whom she hadn't seen for three months, Shen Qing felt a sudden pang in her heart.
I feel a little uncomfortable.
“In that case,” Qi Zhenheng returned the IOU to Master Zhao, “madam, you should return the principal to me in Xuan Yue! I will be your witness at that time.”
"Lord Qi..." Shen Qing wanted to ask Qi Zhenheng for help, but was stopped by a look from him.
Master Zhao stuffed the IOU back into his sleeve: "Boss Shen, until we meet again!"
"Hahahaha." He laughed loudly as he left.
The door closed, and Shen Qing looked at Qi Zhenheng with annoyance.
Qi Zhenheng had already guessed what she was going to say, and comforted her, "Madam, Zhiwen asked me to take good care of you on a regular basis. I will definitely do so, but I can't be too obvious and let people see that I'm covering for you, otherwise it might be bad for you."
Shen Qing sighed.
“I understand.” She bowed to Qi Zhenheng. “Thank you for your help today, Lord Qi.”
She carefully collected the silver notes on the table, put them into her purse, and then took her leave of Qi Zhenheng.
The horse-drawn carriage sped towards the outskirts of the city, heading back to the factory.
Thinking about Qi Zhenheng's words before leaving, Shen Qing missed Cheng Zhiwen even more. She opened the curtain and asked Old Xu, "Is Boss Cheng in Shanghai recently? I need to talk to him about something."
"I heard that Boss Cheng is still in Yongzhou."
Shen Qing was surprised: "He's been back in Yongzhou for two or three months now, hasn't he? Even if he went back to get married, this honeymoon period is going to be far too long."
He appeared relaxed and natural, cracking jokes, but his voice sounded strained, and his heart seemed a little uneasy.
Old Xu laughed and said, "I heard that Mr. Cheng is eager to have a grandson. Mr. Cheng may have to wait until his second young mistress is pregnant before he can return to Shanghai to do business."
Shen Qing forced a smile: "Oh, busy making babies, huh?"
Old Xu didn't understand what "creating a person" meant, so he asked her what it meant.
Shen Qing said dejectedly, "Give birth to a baby," then lowered the curtain and sat back in the carriage.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com