Chapter 484 Buying Out the Bond Between Master and Servant
Ah Shuang, who was standing to the side, couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up to criticize, "Manager Yang, you and Granny Fang have been serving the old lady your whole lives. Don't you know how much the old lady trusts you?"
"The Liao family embezzled public funds, and you two helped cover it up?"
"It's been half a year already. If we hadn't found out, were you just going to let it slide like this?"
Ah Shuang was furious.
At first, when she heard He Rui say that there was a problem with the accounts, she secretly wondered if He Rui was eager to show off and was deliberately nitpicking to find fault with Yang An.
And what happened? She was absolutely furious. After a pause, she spoke again: "Wasn't the old lady good enough to you?"
"We've freed you from your citizenship, provided you with property, given you a livelihood, found you a good marriage partner, and even added a dowry for your granddaughter..."
"In every single thing, what has the old lady ever done to wrong you?"
"You whole family have conspired to deceive the old lady!"
"Are you all thinking that once the old lady leaves the capital, she'll never come back? And that you'll have complete control over the businesses in the capital?"
"I'm innocent!" Yang An quickly kowtowed and protested, "Miss A Shuang, we had no intention of conspiring to deceive the old lady. We would never have dared to have any thought of taking the old lady's things for ourselves!"
Ah Shuang scoffed, "A thousand taels of silver is no small sum!"
"With such a large sum of money added to the dowry, can't you see anything unusual?"
"Heh, Steward Yang, don't tell me that neither you nor Granny Fang have looked at your granddaughter's dowry list!"
"By the same logic, if the dowry is so much more than expected, do you think your son, grandson, and granddaughter won't notice the problem?"
"It's just that everyone tacitly agrees but pretends not to know."
"In the end, you just think that the old lady treats you well and trusts you, so you don't check the accounts carefully. You take the money and that's it."
"Perhaps you secretly think that a thousand taels is nothing to the old lady, and given how tolerant she is of your family, even if she finds out, she won't do anything to you! That's why you dare to be so reckless!"
"You tell me, is it or isn't it?"
Yang An's last shred of hope was ruthlessly shattered by A Shuang.
He banged his head on the ground, lay prostrate, and did not get up for a long time.
The substance and the appearance are completely gone.
At that moment, he had no face to raise his head and face Qiao Qinghe.
Qiao Qinghe sighed and waved to A Shuang. A Shuang understood and obediently shut her mouth.
"Yang An, you and Fang Xing have both disappointed me greatly."
“Grandma…” Yang An suddenly raised his head and looked at Qiao Qinghe with a pale face.
Qiao Qinghe raised her hand to stop his explanation and said resolutely, "What's done is done. I can no longer use your whole family to work for me."
"I'll find someone to take over what your family is doing later."
"From now on, you should find other ways to make a living."
"Grandma..." Yang An's voice choked with emotion, his eyes filled with guilt and regret.
"You don't need to return the thousand taels you took. Use this money to buy back our master-servant relationship of so many years."
"You don't need to come see me anymore unless it's absolutely necessary."
Qiao Qinghe felt a pang of sadness and said with a self-deprecating laugh, "Come to think of it, you're a family with a scholar now, it's not appropriate for you to keep trying to get close to me."
Isn't this a reminder to outsiders that their family originated from her servants?
People's hearts change little by little.
You don't usually notice it, but by the time you realize it, it has already become unrecognizable.
"That's fine then."
Qiao Qinghe reached out her hand to A Shuang, "I'm tired."
Ah Shuang quickly stepped forward to help Qiao Qinghe out of the side hall.
Yang An knelt on the spot for a long time before leaving.
He Rui had already left with Qiao Qinghe when she left.
Upon learning of this, Ms. He's heart pounded.
She glared at He Rui with lingering fear and said irritably, "Wasn't what you did too risky?"
"The Yang family has been with the old lady for decades. Aren't you afraid of just revealing their affairs so rashly?"
"What if the old lady takes pity on the past and favors the Yang family? Do you still want to work properly under her in the future?"
He Rui said with a serious expression, "Mother, I wanted to serve the old lady well, which is why I brought up the Yang family's affairs to her."
"The old lady is a reasonable person, and she can't tolerate any nonsense."
"If I knew that the Yang family had problems and still concealed them, then how am I any different from the Yang family?"
"The old lady and the Yang family still have decades of friendship, but the old lady and I not only have no so-called friendship, but also have many past grievances."
"Only by being wholeheartedly loyal to the old lady can I truly gain a foothold under her."
After hearing He Rui's words, Madam He couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. "You've grown up and have your own opinions now. You're right. If we want to gain a foothold by the old lady's side, we shouldn't worry about so many things. We just need to be loyal to the old lady wholeheartedly."
The words of the He mother and daughter soon reached Qiao Qinghe's ears.
Qiao Qinghe simply smiled and ignored it.
Everyone can talk. But very few people actually put their words into action.
Therefore, whether the He mother and daughter can do what they say remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, Yang An also returned to the Yang family.
Yang An usually leaves in the morning and doesn't return until the evening. This time, he's back before noon, which surprised Granny Fang greatly. She immediately put down her needlework and came forward to inquire about the situation.
However, when she got closer, she noticed that Yang An looked listless and his complexion was very bad.
She was startled and quickly asked, "What happened to you? Why do you look so distraught?"
Upon seeing his wife, Yang An finally couldn't help but pound his chest and shed tears of guilt.
"What happened to you? Don't scare me!"
Today isn't a day off, and both grandsons are at the academy. My son and daughter-in-law also went to work at Qiao Qinghe's shop early this morning. Only Granny Fang is left at home to look after the house.
Seeing Yang An's state, Granny Fang's eyes reddened with anxiety, and she hurriedly went to call her son and daughter-in-law back. But Yang An grabbed her arm.
"Grandma, I understand!"
Granny Fang was taken aback, then her face turned pale. "You mean..."
Yang An nodded and recounted what had happened that morning, including Qiao Qinghe's decision to sever ties with their family.
Upon hearing this, Granny Fang's legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.
That evening, the Yang family all returned home, including Yang Honglan, who was married.
Yang An recounted the story to everyone again.
With tears in her eyes, Yang Honglan said, "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, Mother wouldn't have stolen the old lady's money."
“I will sell my dowry right now and raise the money to return it to the old lady.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com