Imperial Capital 7. Complaint and Countercomplaint

“Hehehe…”

In the carriage, Feng Zhiyao's image of a handsome gentleman who was laughing so hard that he was bent over backwards was gone. When he finally stopped laughing, he raised his head and said to Mo Xiuyao beside him: "Xiuyao, your new princess is so interesting. Haha... It's a pity that I didn't see Mo Jingli's expression just now..." Mo Xiuyao's gentle eyes showed a hint of deep thought, and it was obvious that the performance of this future princess was somewhat beyond his expectations. Even if we don't know what she looks like, with a handsome father like Ye Shangshu and a mother who was one of the four beauties in the capital at that time, Ye Li's appearance would not be too bad even if it is not the best. What is even more unexpected is that her way of doing things is not like the legendary woman with no talent and no virtue.

"But Miss Third Ye is really generous. She just gave away a Guanyin statue worth more than five thousand taels. Isn't she afraid that Mo Jingli really won't give her the money?" Mo Jingli is the younger brother of the current emperor. If he defaults, Miss Third Ye will really be helpless.

Mo Xiuyao smiled calmly and shook his head, saying, "Mo Jingli is a man who cares most about his reputation. He will never let anyone say that he took other people's things for free and didn't pay back the debt."

Feng Zhiyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, "That will be interesting to watch. According to what I heard, last month Mo Jingli also took away an authentic work of the former dynasty's calligraphy master from Shen Dexuan. The two items together cost tens of thousands of taels. This time... the emperor is quite good to you. At least you, the new princess, are quite rich." Speaking of which, this Mo Jingli is really a piece of shit. On the one hand, he abandoned the marriage proposal, and on the other hand, he took things from the store for free. Considering that he is from the royal family, he is too shameless. Mo Xiuyao glanced at him, "In terms of wealth, who dares to compare with your Feng family?" The Feng family is one of the four richest merchants in Da Chu, and the only one of the four rich merchant families that has lived in the capital for generations. Naturally, it has more advantages and power than the other three families. Feng Zhiyao waved his fan helplessly and said, "That's the old man's money. It has nothing to do with me. Everyone knows that I, a good-for-nothing prodigal, am in such a state of poverty."

As soon as Ye Li returned to the mansion, she was invited by the maid beside the old lady. When she stepped into Rongyue Hall, it was rare that the whole family was there even though it was not the time for greetings. Even the busy Minister Ye was not absent. He sat below the old lady and stared at Ye Li who had just entered the room. Ye Ying was leaning in Wang's arms, sobbing, her eyes were red from crying, and she looked even more fragile and touching.

"Li'er pays respects to grandmother and father. She has met the madam and all the aunts..."

"Evil girl, why don't you kneel down!" Before Ye Li could finish her words, the teacup in Minister Ye's hand smashed down at Ye Li's feet with a bang, and he roared.

Ye Li was silent for a moment, then calmly took a step aside and said, "I don't know what my daughter did wrong. Please tell me, father."

Seeing that she had no intention of admitting her fault, Minister Ye was about to get angry again, but the old lady on the side coughed to interrupt his anger and said, "Li'er, you were impolite in front of Prince Li at Shen Dexuan today. If this gets out, people will think you are the daughter of our Ye family. When your fourth sister returns home for her wedding, you should go and pay your respects to His Royal Highness Prince Li. You should stay in your own courtyard for the next few days." Ye Li glanced at Wang, who was kissing Ye Ying with a hint of smile on her lips, raised her head and looked at the old lady blankly and said, "Grandma, please forgive me. Since grandma said it was Li'er's fault, then it must be Li'er's fault. It's just that Li'er is stupid and doesn't know where the mistake is. I still ask grandma to give me some advice."

The old lady was startled and was speechless as she looked at Ye Li who looked confused.

Wang helped Ye Ying sit down, stood up and walked to Ye Li, smiling kindly, "Li'er, the prince is your biological brother. You have upset the prince today. If the prince blames us, no one in our family can take the blame. Apologize to the old lady and the old man, and we won't blame you."

Ye Li blinked her eyes, pursed her lips and thought for a moment, the puzzled look on her face became more intense, "Make the prince angry? But Li'er didn't say anything to the prince. The prince wanted to buy the jade Guanyin but didn't bring enough silver. Li'er also asked someone to take the things to the prince and took them away. She didn't deliberately make things difficult for him. Why would the prince be angry? Could it be... could it be that the jade Guanyin has some flaws?"

Everyone was speechless. Aunt Zhao on the side chuckled and smiled softly, "Miss San, what Madam meant was... how could you accept money from the prince?" Prince Li went to buy things but didn't bring any silver. Who would believe it if they told others? It was obvious that he had no intention of giving silver, but Ye Li caught him with words. Even the things he usually took had to be supplemented with silver. How could he not be angry?

"What are you talking about, Aunt Zhao? How could the prince care about such a small amount of money? Besides... Shen Dexuan is open for business. Not to mention the prince, even the emperor would have no reason not to give money, right?" Ye Li said in surprise.

Aunt Zhao was not angry either, she chuckled and said, "Miss San is right. Even if you purchase things in the palace, you have to pay. If you don't pay... who will do business?"

"Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about!" Minister Ye glanced at his favorite concubine who had just come in and was being favored. Aunt Zhao winked at him and said nothing more.

Ye Li suddenly realized something, and turned to Wang and said, "Could it be that the prince is really angry about this? Could it be that... all the merchants in the capital never accept money from the prince? If so, it is really Li'er who is wrong. Grandmother and father can rest assured. Li'er will order someone to send the money back, and add another three thousand taels as an apology to the prince." Wang hurriedly grabbed him, feeling bitter. If Ye Li really did this, I am afraid that the prince's reputation of never paying for things in the capital will spread. Ye Li didn't care about Wang's face, and said to the old lady with some worry and grievance, "If this is really the case, it is better to close Shen Dexuan and these shops as soon as possible."

Minister Ye said coldly: "Shen Dexuan is your dowry, why lock her up? It will not look good when you marry into Prince Dingguo's palace."

Ye Li frowned and said, "But... the monthly profit of Shen De Xuan is less than one thousand taels, and the things that the prince values ​​every time he comes are more than three thousand taels. If the prince comes once a month..."

Hearing this, the old lady and Minister Ye were both startled, and could not help but look at Wang. Shen Dexuan is one of the most famous antique shops in the capital, how could the monthly profit be less than one thousand taels? And this Prince Li is really something, as a dignified prince, it is okay for him to go to the store once in a while to get something, but it is ridiculous to go there frequently. Even the emperor would not take things from his subjects for free. Wang was stunned, gritted her teeth and dared not speak, her face began to turn pale. The old lady stared at Wang and said in a deep voice: "What's going on?" You must know that the income from Mrs. Ye's dowry shop in these years has been included in the expenses of the mansion. If someone interferes, it is equivalent to embezzling the money of the Ye Mansion. When Madam Ye was seriously ill, the old lady was also in charge of the household for a period of time. Naturally, she knew that Shen Dexuan was one of the two most profitable shops in Madam Ye's dowry, with a monthly profit of at least three thousand taels. Wang gritted her teeth and whispered, "Madam, in the past two years... maybe the business is not so good..." How dare he say that all the money went into her own private vault.

Ye Li bowed to the old lady and said quietly, "Madam is busy with the affairs of the mansion all day long, how can she know what is happening outside. Old lady, you don't know that our family is being exploited by the people below. In the past few days, Li'er has carefully checked the accounts of each shop. Take Shen Dexuan for example. In fact, the annual profit is at least more than 30,000 taels. However, since three years ago, the annual payment to the mansion has been less than 10,000 taels. More than half of it was swallowed up by the stewards below. Originally, my mother Before she died, she said that these twelve shops could make a profit of at least 25 taels of silver as long as they were profitable before Li'er got married. In addition to the expenses of the mansion, she was also the legitimate mother of the sisters and brothers in the mansion, so naturally she had to give them dowries. Unexpectedly... now her mother's painstaking efforts have been in vain. In the past few years, the silver handed over to the mansion is less than 100,000 taels of silver. Here is the account book, please take a look, grandmother. "Not only Minister Ye and the old lady, but also the other young ladies and concubines changed their expressions. Tens of thousands of taels of silver disappeared without a trace, and among them was the dowry for their daughter. There was an immediate quarrel in the hall. "Master, Madam, even though Madam Renlin has passed away, she is still thinking about us sisters and illegitimate children. Master, you must punish those damned people."

"That's right, they are all really black-hearted. They even dare to covet our money."