After Mr. Zhang finished his lunch at the mansion, Mrs. Zhang personally watched him get into his carriage and return to the pharmacy to continue his business.
When the carriage reached the end of the street, it turned at the next intersection and disappeared from sight.
After withdrawing her gaze, Madam Zhang immediately ordered her servants, "Quickly! Get the carriage ready right away, I need to go to the Qiao residence."
Before long, a carriage appeared in front of the Zhang residence.
With the help of her maid Xiaoru, Madam Zhang boarded the carriage and headed straight for the Qiao residence.
The Zhang family's carriage stopped in front of the Qiao family's gate. Without the servants going inside to report, they welcomed Madam Zhang into the mansion.
As soon as Madam Zhang and her maid entered Madam Qiao's courtyard, they heard a noisy commotion coming from inside.
The sound wasn't loud and wasn't very clear, but it was obvious that there were many people in the courtyard.
Just as Madam Zhang had guessed, many prominent women from the border town were sitting in Madam Qiao's room.
"Mrs. Qiao, it was you who assured us sisters that everything would be foolproof."
Now that Consort Ning has absconded with the money, how am I supposed to explain this to my husband?!
"Yes, Mrs. Joe."
It was because of your guarantee that we sisters dared to move boxes of silver to General Wu's mansion.
I even included my brother and sister-in-law from my maternal family.
If I can't get this money back, then I won't even be able to go back to my parents' home!
Therefore, I might as well hang myself in front of the door with a white silk ribbon to atone for my sins.
"And me..."
Madam Qiao had fainted upon hearing the news, and now she wore a wide, dark blue headband, her face was as pale as if she had just recovered from a serious illness, and her lips were completely bloodless.
When she saw more than a dozen mouths chattering incessantly in front of her, constantly urging her to come up with a solution.
The noise was driving her crazy.
Although she acted as a guarantor, she still received a significant share of the profits and invested in business.
Upon closer examination, she had actually invested half of her entire fortune into it.
She doesn't even dare to think about what would happen to her if her husband found out about this.
Thinking of this.
Madam Qiao's face turned from white to green.
Therefore, when Madam Zhang stepped into Madam Qiao's room, she was startled at the first sight of Madam Qiao.
If she hadn't known the whole story, she wouldn't have believed that the pale-faced woman before her was the same Madam Qiao who had been rosy-cheeked when she visited her residence yesterday.
When Mrs. Qiao saw Mrs. Zhang arrive, it was as if she had seen her last straw.
She quickly stood up, and with the help of her maid, walked to Madam Zhang, grasped Madam Zhang's hands tightly, and said, "Sister Zhang, you've finally arrived! What should we do now?"
Upon hearing this, all the ladies turned their gazes to Madam Zhang, hoping to hear something favorable to them from her.
At that moment, Madam Zhang felt a chill run down her spine. She felt as if she were in a dangerous situation, and the noble ladies around her were like wolves eager to devour her flesh, while she was the lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
To reassure everyone, Madam Zhang said, "We haven't seen Consort Ning yet, and the news that has spread throughout the border town is hard to tell whether it's true or false."
Instead of staying here in fear, we sisters should send someone to the Wu residence to deliver a visiting card and find out what's going on.
As soon as these words were spoken, a woman dressed in green stepped forward.
She said, "There's no need to send anyone to deliver the visiting cards. I sent my servants to deliver them early this morning."
A servant from the Wu household brought news that Consort Ning had suddenly caught a cold and was unable to receive guests, so she directly declined my visiting card.
One sentence caused a huge uproar.
"That's not right. I've seen that Aunt Ning has calluses on her hands."
That's something only martial artists would leave behind.
Besides, the weather hasn't changed in the last few days, so it's not that easy to suddenly catch a cold.
"Could this be a trick orchestrated by Madam Wu, ordering her servants to deceive us?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Zhang's face also darkened.
After all, these women, to put it nicely, were respected ladies in the border town.
To put it bluntly, they are all merchants.
The Great Jin Dynasty has always valued agriculture over commerce. If it weren't for the recent wars, the soldiers on the border would have relied on some of their donations.
Otherwise, how could these women have had the chance to step into the General's Mansion, let alone enjoy flowers and tea with the women of the General's Mansion?
Therefore, no matter how anxious they were, they dared not rush to the general's mansion to demand an explanation.
If I offend General Wu, I'm afraid I won't be able to stay in the border town, let alone do business there in the future.
They still need to weigh the pros and cons carefully.
......
at the same time.
After finishing lunch, Lu Qiqi and Song Yanqing got into the carriage that Shijiu had arranged.
When Shijiu heard that Lu Qiqi was going to take him out of the military camp to watch a play, he was overjoyed.
Not only was he adept at harnessing the carriage, but he was also very thoughtful, preparing sweet cakes and tea inside.
However, there were only Lu Qiqi and Song Yanqing in the carriage.
After all, An Yi was assigned to work, so the task of driving the carriage naturally fell to Shi Jiu.
The carriage quickly arrived inside the border town.
Before long, Nineteen tightened the reins, and the axle came to an abrupt stop.
After the carriage came to a complete stop, he turned around and said to the two people inside, "Young master, young lady, we have arrived at the teahouse."
After Lu Qiqi got out of the car, she looked up and saw a plaque with the four characters "Qingchen Teahouse" written on it.
Nineteen pulled the carriage to the backyard of the teahouse, and the wheels started turning again. Lu Qiqi turned her head and saw the gate of the Wu residence.
Song Yanqing looked in the direction she was looking and gently reminded her, "Let's go."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi followed Song Yanqing into the teahouse and walked all the way to a private room on the second floor.
This Qingchen Teahouse was the place that Lu Qiqi asked An Shi to find.
The private rooms on the second floor of the teahouse offer a perfect view of the Wu family mansion's main gate.
It's a fantastic stage for watching plays.
As soon as Lu Qiqi entered the room, she walked to the window and pushed it open, letting the light into the room.
She looked in the direction of the Wu residence and could see the golden plaque of the Wu residence.
She turned around and smiled at Song Yanqing, saying, "The place An Shi found is quite good. Just as he said, it's an excellent viewing platform."
Then, she sat down opposite Song Yanqing by the window.
When she looked at the pastries, candied fruits, tea, roasted chestnuts, and candied hawthorns that the Shadow Guards had prepared in advance on the table, she couldn't help but smile.
These were all her favorite foods; it was obvious who had ordered them.
She sat by the window, eating candied fruit, waiting for the show to begin.
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