Chapter 458: Think of a Solution
Mrs. Xie's eyes were like sharp swords, falling on the couple, making them feel guilty.
"This is what happened. No one was killed and Taoer didn't do it on purpose. The other party was too aggressive..." Mrs. Lin said in a low voice.
Mrs. Xie slammed the table and said, "Tell the truth!"
Mrs. Lin was helpless: "Tao'er had an argument with someone in Deyue Tower in Mizhou. I didn't know that person was the eldest princess's son..."
Mrs. Xie took a breath of cold air when she heard this.
The Lin family's headquarters is in Mizhou. It's not that Lin Tao doesn't like the prosperity of the capital, but if he gets into trouble in Mizhou, it can be easily settled with the help of the Xie family.
"What a fool this guy is. Why didn't he tell us earlier that he had a powerful background? Otherwise, he wouldn't have to get beaten." Mrs. Lin blamed.
All the bad parents in the world are like this. When their children make big mistakes, they will only blame others.
Mrs. Xie's forehead twitched and asked, "How did he beat Master Shen?"
"Master Shen only had a minor scratch on his head, but the guard who followed him was unlucky and died. Look, sister, our Taoer was sensible in what he did and didn't kill anyone important," said Mrs. Lin.
Mrs. Xie felt that she almost forgot the word "moderation".
"The eldest princess is the emperor's biological sister. Many officials in the court used to be her retainers. Why do you have to pick on her when you can pick on anyone else?" Mrs. Xie questioned.
Mrs. Lin still didn't think it was her son's fault. She said, "Why did he hide his identity and go to Mizhou? Isn't this asking for trouble? If he revealed his identity, everyone in Mizhou would treat him as a guest of honor."
Mizhou is not far from the capital, and it only takes a day to travel there. Now it is the twelfth lunar month and the end of the year is approaching. Mrs. Lin can't understand why Shen Changfeng went to Mizhou at this time.
Madam Xie was also unclear, so she called the housekeeper to ask, "I heard someone say before that Master Shen from the Princess's Mansion seems to be working as a servant now? What job is he doing?"
The butler of the Xie Mansion was General Xie's confidant and was supposed to find out the court's movements for his master. When he heard Mrs. Xie's question, he immediately replied, "Your Majesty loves his nephew and now lets him work in the Ministry of Works. He has done a good job and has been praised by His Majesty many times."
Madam Xie said, "This playboy has really changed his personality. Is it because Your Majesty favors him that he praises him so much?"
The housekeeper nodded and said, "Master Shen is good at observing celestial phenomena. The Ministry of Works likes to send him out to inspect river works. His contributions are all real, not entirely out of favoritism."
When Mrs. Xie heard this, she had some worse guesses in her mind. Could it be that Shen Changfeng went to Mizhou this time to act on orders?
If this is the case, then my nephew from my mother's side has caused even greater trouble.
She directly asked the butler to open the storeroom: "Prepare a generous gift."
When Madam Xie saw the housekeeper take out the key, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Nanny Xie's husband, Steward Xie, used to be one of the managers of the public treasury of the general's mansion. Nanny Xie secretly replaced Xie Xingchuan's private treasury with a fake one. Did Steward Xie do the same to the public treasury?
"Forget it, I'll pick out the gift myself," said Mrs. Xie.
The Lin couple looked at each other, and then quietly followed Mrs. Xie. They also wanted to see the wealth of the general's mansion.
Madam Xie asked the housekeeper: "Do you know what the eldest princess likes?"
"Everyone in the capital knows that the eldest princess admires the Saint of Painting very much," said the butler.
"Are there any authentic works of art in the storehouse?" Mrs. Xie asked.
The butler took out a locked long rosewood box from a shelf nearby, opened it, and revealed the scroll inside.
Mrs. Xie heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that since the things were locked, they should not have been swapped by Manager Xie.
"Are you sure this is an authentic work?" Mrs. Xie couldn't help but ask again.
The housekeeper nodded and said, "After the general got this painting, he invited someone to come and appraise it. It was confirmed to be an authentic work of the painting master. The general regards it as a treasure. If the lady wants to use this painting as a gift, she needs the general's consent."
Mrs. Xie looked unhappy.
Mrs. Lin said, "Sister, your nephew's life or death depends on your thoughts!"
Mrs. Xie also understood this truth.
The housekeeper asked, "Madam, the General's Mansion has never had any dealings with the Princess' Mansion. If you go there to give a gift, I'm afraid that the outside world will think that our general is trying to curry favor with the Princess."
Mrs. Xie understood this logic very well. She had been secretly supporting her parents' family over the years, and her husband had turned a blind eye to it. Now that the Lin family was involved in such a fatal lawsuit, not only would Lin Xueruo's marriage be ruined, but she was afraid that her husband would not allow her to continue to have any contact with the Lin family in the future.
The Lin couple naturally realized Mrs. Xie's hesitation, and they sang together again: "Sister, Tao'er is the only child of our Lin family! If anything happens to him, our Lin family will be extinct!"
Mrs. Xie was so annoyed by the noise that she said impatiently, "If you had known this would happen, why didn't you control him? You didn't even bother to find him a wife to carry on the family line, and you just let him do whatever he wanted!"
Mrs. Lin lowered her head after being scolded and whispered, "Aren't you trying to marry him off to a wealthy family? Who knows that those wealthy families are so arrogant?"
Madam Xie was too lazy to scold her. She turned to the housekeeper and said, "I want this painting. I remember there are two gem potted plants in the storeroom. Take them too."
The housekeeper said: "Those two gem potted plants are gifts prepared for the He family."
The He family is General Xie's superior, so they never dare to be negligent in gifts to him.
But Mrs. Xie's eyes fell on other things in the public treasury. After looking around, there was nothing better than the jeweled potted plant. She thought to herself, since she had already taken the original painting, why should she care about these two things? Only by doing things to the utmost could she have a chance of survival for her nephew.
"I've taken them all. I will explain to the general myself." Mrs. Xie said.
The butler agreed, and then he bumped into Master Lin without leaving a trace.
With a "bang", a palm-sized pure gold ornament fell from Mr. Lin's sleeve and hit the ground.
Under the gaze of everyone in the audience, Master Lin smiled awkwardly and said, "How did this thing get into my body? I just touched it and accidentally stuffed it into my sleeve."
Her own brother ran to the warehouse to steal, and Mrs. Xie was so embarrassed by what he did that her face turned red.
The butler silently picked up the gold ornament and put it into a wooden box beside him in front of everyone, saying, "It must be that the person who did it was careless and forgot to put it in the box."
Mrs. Xie went through a lot of trouble and finally prepared the generous gifts. However, when she sent the visiting card from General Xie's Mansion to the Princess' Mansion, the other party refused to accept it at all.
When the news got back to the Xie family, Mrs. Xie's heart skipped a beat.
Mrs. Lin only put pressure on her sister-in-law: "Sister, isn't it just a little scratch on your head? Why is the princess so stingy? You should think of a solution!"
(End of this chapter)
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