Chapter 44: Trying to sell the ship to whoever wants to sell it.
When Jiang Yu arrived at Yunfeng Courtyard, she saw Granny Liao standing at the entrance.
Upon seeing her, Granny Liao came over to greet her and then said, "There have always been empty seats in your courtyard. This old servant and Steward Li have picked out a few for you to choose from."
Jiang Yu nodded and agreed. Granny Liao sent a servant to bring people over, and then said to Jiang Yu, "According to the rules of our mansion, you should have one nanny, two first-class maids, four second-class maids, and six maids who do odd jobs by your side."
Jiang Yu entered the house and sat down, saying, "The maids in the courtyard are quite good now. I'll just pick one first-class and four second-class ones."
Xia He was naturally her first-class maid.
Before long, everyone arrived. Jiang Yu looked at the row of more than a dozen people, and recognized a few of them from the Duke of Chu's courtyard.
When Liao Mama saw that her gaze fell on those people, she said, "These people serve in the Duke's courtyard and are responsible for some miscellaneous tasks."
In other words, he was not one of the people who served the Duke of Chu personally.
“This is my niece,” said Granny Liao, pulling a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. “She used to be in charge of cleaning the Duke’s study, so she knows some characters.”
After hearing this, Jiang Yu asked the maid, "What's your name?"
"This servant is Chunxue," the maid said.
Jiang Yu asked her a few more questions and thought she was clever, so she said to Granny Liao, "Let her be first-class, and she will also be in charge of tidying up my study from now on."
Chunxue was stunned, not expecting to be promoted to a first-class maid so easily. Seeing this, Granny Liao patted her and said, "Hurry up and kowtow to the young lady!"
Chunxue immediately knelt on the ground, "This servant, Dongxue, thanks Miss."
Jiang Yu smiled and told her to get up, then selected four more second-class candidates and dismissed them. She took Xia He to Cheng Yunxiu's place, where Granny Liao explained the affairs of Jiang Yu's courtyard to Dongxue and the others.
Jiang Yu had dinner with Cheng Yunxiu and his wife. The new house was almost ready, and they would be moving there in the next couple of days. Jiang Yu was very reluctant to see them go. However, it was inconvenient for Cheng Yunxiu and his wife to stay at the Duke's mansion, so they had no choice but to move.
Two days later was an auspicious day, suitable for moving. Cheng Yunxiu and Jiang Mingchang were moving into their new house. The Duke of Chu personally escorted them to the gate. Lu Yifang, Zhang Xiangling, and Wu Zhengyan all went to the new house with them, as a kind of housewarming party.
After a lively day, Jiang Yu and Lu Yifang left together to return to the Duke of Chu's mansion, but she still felt some worry. Xia He and Chunxue helped her bathe, and Chunxue, seeing the worry on her face, said:
"Miss, please rest assured. The western district of the capital is the imperial district, patrolled by the army, so it is very safe. Moreover, the guards in the master and mistress's residence are all skilled men selected from our own household."
Jiang Yu knew everything she was saying, but she was still a little worried. The next morning, she got up and went there, where she saw Cheng Yunxiu directing Jiang Mingchang to turn the soil, saying they were going to plant vegetables.
Jiang Yu was relieved; the elderly couple were adapting very well.
After moving, it was time to prepare for the shop. Two days later, Jiang Yu met Dong Shuang at the new house and asked her about the freight business.
“We used to transport goods by waterway in cooperation with the canal gangs, but Ge Da said that the Chen family’s boats in Jiangzhou have changed owners. The new owners have a lot of influence in the capital and have taken away a lot of the canal gangs’ business. The canal gangs will not be able to set sail again for a while,” Dong Shuang said.
After listening, Jiang Yu remained silent for a while before asking, "Is the Chen family of Jiangzhou related to the previous Jiangzhou Transport Commissioner?"
“Yes,” Dong Shuang said, having investigated the matter thoroughly over the past two days. “The Chen family of Jiangzhou is the maternal family of the wife of Kong Wenjie, the former transport commissioner of Jiangzhou. Last year, Kong Wenjie was investigated for embezzlement, and the Chen family of Jiangzhou also suffered a great blow. A few days ago, they sold several ships.”
Jiang Yu: "Jiangzhou is so far from the capital, how did they manage to sell the ship there?"
"They say the eldest son of the Chen family in Jiangzhou owed money at a brothel and couldn't pay it back, so he had no choice but to sell his boat. He happened to meet a powerful figure from the capital at the brothel and bought the boat," Dongshuang replied.
Upon hearing the word "brothel," Jiang Yu recalled what Lu Yifang had told her a few days ago: Jiang Chengye and Jiang Jiarong hadn't asked her for money for a while, and Lu Yifang was worried they were doing something wrong. She felt that this matter seemed to have something to do with the two of them.
But perhaps she was overthinking it.
Jiang Yu leaned back in her chair, deep in thought. After a while, she suddenly sat up straight and said to Chunxue beside her, "Call Butler Li over."
Seeing her expression, Chunxue knew the seriousness of the situation and immediately ran out. Dongshuang looked at Jiang Yu with suspicion.
Jiang Yu explained to her, "How much money could the eldest young master of the Chen family in Jiangzhou owe from brothels? How could he be so poor that he has to sell his boat to pay it off?"
Dongshuang was quick-witted; she said, "He deliberately wanted to sell the boat."
“Yes,” Jiang Yu said with a serious expression, “it’s also possible that he wants to sell the ship to someone who wants to sell it.”
"Is there a problem with the boat?" Winter Frost asked.
Jiang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I'm afraid so, but I don't know what's wrong with the ship."
Hopefully, it's not related to her biological father and older brother, otherwise...
Butler Li arrived shortly after. Jiang Yu did not hide anything and told him everything that Dong Shuang had found out and what he suspected was related to Jiang Chengye and Jiang Jiarong.
Then he said, "Steward Li, quickly go and check those ships to see if they are related to my father and elder brother, and also check if there is anything wrong with those ships."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhong immediately replied, "This old servant will go and investigate right away."
Jiang Yu hummed in agreement, and Li Zhong bowed and withdrew. He walked quickly towards the front courtyard, and upon reaching the entrance of the Duke of Chu's courtyard, he hesitated for a moment before ultimately deciding not to go in. The Duke of Chu's health was deteriorating, so it was best to investigate this matter thoroughly before reporting back; after all, the young lady was in charge.
He turned and walked towards a secluded courtyard. After entering, he went to a dilapidated room, pushed open the door, pressed a mechanism on a wall, and a door opened. Li Zhong walked in.
After walking for a while, they arrived at a spacious courtyard, where two men stood guard at the entrance. Li Zhong took out a bronze plaque, which the guards took and examined carefully before saying, "Please forgive me, Steward Li, this is the rule."
Li Zhong naturally understood, nodded and went inside. Someone led him to the main hall, where a slender man dressed in white sat in the main seat. Upon seeing Li Zhong, he smiled and said, "Steward Li, it's been a long time since you've come here."
Li Zhong found a seat and said, "Send two people to follow the young master and the eldest young master."
The thin man's smile faded, and he asked, "Is the Duke finally going to take drastic measures?"
“No,” Li Zhong said, “this time it’s the young lady who wants to investigate them.”
The slender man was taken aback. "What, you're with the new young lady now?"
Li Zhong didn't reply to him, but instead said, "Hurry up and do it discreetly."
The slender man said, "I know, you wouldn't use bodyguards if I didn't try to hide."
Li Zhong got up to leave. He didn't want to alert the secret guards, but he knew the guards in the mansion, Jiang Chengye and Jiang Jiarong. Following them would be easy to be discovered, so he had no choice but to use the secret guards.
…………
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com