Chapter 144 Reporting to the Officials
Early in the morning, Ling'er woke up everyone in the Xie family.
The little girl had a crisp, high-pitched voice, and her cries were louder than the crowing crows in the garden.
Xie Chengzhi didn't sleep a wink all night, excited to have obtained the dyeing chart but also worried about what had happened at Qianxiang Courtyard. After a peaceful night, he realized he had been deceived by Mianhe.
The claim of being caught red-handed is just a way to pressure him into paying money to avoid further trouble.
Having calmed down, Xie Chengzhi was no longer worried now that the truth had come out. He urged Zheng Shu to get dressed, and the two of them went to Yujintang with great joy.
Half an hour later, the entire Xie family had arrived.
Xie Qi's face was the most unpleasant, and Xie San Niang's face was also very dark.
She had foreseen that the dyeing process would run into problems, as she had fueled the flames.
She just didn't expect Xie Chengzhi to make things so ugly.
She never doubted anyone else; this brainless and reckless person could only be the second son.
The eldest brother lacked the courage to steal the dyeing score, and his Jingyuan wouldn't do something so foolish.
The only ones who were surprised were Xie Xuchuan and Jiang Wansu.
Jiang Wansu was still trying to persuade Xue Qing to subtly win over Ling'er, but only two or three days had passed when her things were stolen...
She frowned slightly, her gaze wandering around the room.
Xie Qi said, "Yesterday, Mianhe sneaked into Qianxiang Courtyard and stole Yuanzhu's dyeing manual. I asked the servants at home, and no one has seen Mianhe since noon yesterday."
"Oh dear, what... what is this girl, Mianhe, doing secretly dyeing the pattern?"
Xie Chengzhi looked anxious: "Shen family girl, I'm not saying this as your second uncle, but tell me, if you had taken out the dyeing manual earlier, none of this would have happened."
"Now look what's happened, it was stolen by a servant, what kind of nonsense is this?"
He extended his index finger and pointed at the Chenyuan Pearl with a trembling motion.
Xie Qi snorted coldly upon hearing this: "It is true that Mianhe, a servant, is useless for dyeing a pattern, but others may not be."
Xie Xuchuan frowned: "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that the dyeing stencil was stolen by someone else in the family?"
"Although the Shen Family Dyeing Manual is very important to the Xie family, I... but the marriage agreement between the two families has already been made, why go to such lengths?"
With that, Xie Xuchuan walked towards the Shenyuan Pearl.
Shen Yuanzhu stood beside Xie Qi with reddened eyes and a sad expression on her face.
Xie Xuchuan walked up to her, his hand under his sleeve clenching slightly.
"Your family wouldn't steal your dyeing pattern. Perhaps Mianhe thought it was valuable and that's why she became greedy."
"Don't worry, I'll send someone to find her right away and return everything to its rightful owner."
Yuanzhu married Xie Qi but never produced the dyeing manual. Although this displeased her grandmother and mother, Xie Xuchuan did not believe they would steal Yuanzhu's things.
Xie Boyu didn't think anyone in the family could do such a despicable thing, and said, "This is no small matter. If we don't find out the truth in a day, you will continue to suspect your family members."
“You and Xie Qi have just gotten married. If you harbor such suspicions in your heart, how can the family get along in the future? For the sake of harmony in the family in the future, we must investigate to the end.”
Shen Yuanzhu looked up, not expecting Xie Boyu to say such a thing.
Even Xie Qi was quite surprised.
In his mind, Xie Boyu had always been a mediocre and incompetent person.
This person is good at escaping. Whether he sees Xie San Niang abusing him or Hua Nan Zhi ignoring and treating him coldly, Xie Boyu will only stand aside with a slightly embarrassed look, or turn around and leave.
But today, he actually said something sensible.
As soon as Xie San Niang mentioned the 20% share and 5,000 taels of silver, Xie Jingyuan knew what his mother meant.
He just hadn't expected that his second brother would actually...
He stole his nephew's wife's dowry.
Xie Jingyuan felt humiliated and didn't know what to say.
When an elder speaks, Shen Yuanzhu has no reason not to reply. Hearing this, she could only say with red eyes, "Father is right. I don't want to suspect my family in the future, so I think we should report it to the authorities if necessary."
Upon hearing this, Madam Luo gently tugged at Shen Yuanzhu's sleeve and whispered, "Miss, if a new bride reports to the authorities, your reputation will suffer."
Shen Yuanzhu rubbed her eyes: "Nanny, but those are my mother's belongings..."
As she spoke, she tried to throw herself into Luo's arms, but Xie Qi stepped aside and stopped her, pulling her into his embrace.
Luo had already stretched out his hand, but then he sheepishly withdrew it.
Shen Yuanzhu was also taken aback. Afraid that she would be discovered if she couldn't cry, she buried her head in Xie Qi's arms.
Xie Qi felt a pang of sadness and tenderness in his heart, realizing he had truly wronged Yuan Zhu.
He knew perfectly well what Xie San Niang was planning, but he didn't ask Ran Pu a single question, nor did he remind Shen Yuan Zhu to put the things away properly.
He didn't ask because he was afraid that Shen Yuanzhu would think he had other ideas and deliberately inquire. Now, because he was timid and hesitant, he lost her mother's belongings.
Looking down at the Shenyuan Pearl in his arms, Xie Qi tightened his grip on her arm: "I think reporting it to the authorities is a good idea. Since something has been lost, the government should investigate."
"What does Father think?"
He looked up at Xie Boyu and called him "Father," which made the other person pause for a moment.
The fleeting awkwardness disappeared, and Xie Boyu nodded.
"Report to the authorities?"
Zheng Shu snorted coldly: "Brother, haven't you heard the saying, 'The yamen gate faces south, but those with reason but no money shouldn't come in'?"
"It's just a few things that were lost, but once the official reports it, we'll never have peace again."
"As the saying goes, 'Trouble doesn't enter the government's gates, and one should not file a complaint even if one is wronged.' How dare we, ordinary people, provoke those officials when we have nothing better to do?"
"I'm afraid that even if we don't get our things back, we, the plaintiff, will be skinned alive."
Xie Boyu looked troubled.
What the second son's wife said was not a lie.
Merchants value their reputation most. If someone says that a servant has run away with the family's money, at most people will say that the steward is not strict, but it's not a big deal.
But if it goes to the authorities, who knows what kind of rumors will spread? And if the rivals make up some nasty gossip, that would be truly...
The losses are huge.
And these merchants often dealt with government officials, which was indeed true...
Even if you throw in eight or ten thousand taels of silver, you might not see any ripples.
Seeing Xie Boyu's predicament, Xie Chengzhi perked up: "Report to the authorities? What authorities? Didn't Mianhe come from your Xie Qi's room?"
"Xie Qi, everyone knows what you've been thinking all these years. You just feel that the family..."
Even someone as reckless as Xie Chengzhi hesitated and swallowed his words when asked about the Xie family's attitude towards Xie Qi.
He gritted his teeth and forced a change of heart: "Who doesn't know that you resent your family and have always wanted to get involved in their business?"
"After selling the faded red silk last time, you failed to take care of the family's livelihood. Perhaps that's why you came up with this wicked plan, conspiring with your wife to extort money from the family?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yuanzhu tried to look up and speak, but Xie Qi pressed her back into his arms.
He looked at Xie Chengzhi, his tone sarcastic: "Although Second Uncle isn't very physically strong, he's also a bit simple-minded..."
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