Chapter 22 Returning the Silver
They really do say that people who aren't family don't end up in the same household!
After being tormented by those two reckless people, Wen felt like she was going to lose a few years of her life.
"What exactly do you want?!"
Ignoring her own condition, she scrambled off the bed, grabbed the pitiful Zheng Xiulan, and angrily shouted at the people in the room, "They are such pitiful orphans and widows, what good would it do if our Marquis's mansion gave them some money!"
Su Junyao's face darkened: "A little?"
"Oh, Mother, you've really made a lot of 'a little'!"
Just now, Yun Jinglan had Chen He bring over the household accounts from all these years, and all the discrepancies were marked with cinnabar.
You won't believe it until you see it!
In just ten years, he actually gave Zheng a total of 10,000 taels of silver, not including the silks, satins and jewelry sent to Zheng Xiulan's home under various pretexts.
He no longer dares to investigate further!
Su Junyao handed the account book to his father, picked up Qiuqiu and took a few steps back to avoid accidentally hurting her later.
"Father, this is the account book. Please take a look."
The old marquis took the account book and flipped through it, his face growing increasingly grim as he read.
Ms. Wen held Zheng Xiulan's hand tightly, her palms damp with sweat.
She kept excellent accounts, and the accountant was her person, so she wasn't afraid that Yun Jinglan would see through her scheme!
Who knew that the old Marquis would suddenly erupt in anger and throw the account book in his hand at Madam Wen's face.
Caught off guard, Ms. Wen and Zheng Xiulan were struck and cowered.
"How dare you! Ten thousand taels of silver, and you're taking goods from shops under the name of the Marquis of Wenyang at will..."
"You guys are incredibly audacious!"
Lord Su was so angry he was about to lose his mind and was about to send the two men to the authorities.
Qiao Muyang, who had been silent until now, suddenly shouted, "We can't report this to the authorities!"
Old Marquis Su's sharp eyes made Qiao Muyang tremble all over, but thinking of his future, he couldn't let the people of the Wenyang Marquis's mansion report him to the authorities!
"Grandpa, these were all gifts that my maternal grandmother voluntarily gave to my mother. You cannot report this to the authorities!"
"You think I'd just give you and your son so much silver for nothing? That's utterly ridiculous!" Old Marquis Su laughed in anger. "You really dare to take so much money."
He carefully examined Qiao Muyang's clothes and appearance; everything about him was impeccable. Thinking about his usual extravagant habits made him grit his teeth in hatred!
The money spent was actually all from the Wenyang Marquis's mansion!
"I only give you two choices: either report it to the authorities, or the Wenyang Marquis's mansion will not take responsibility for the loss of tens of thousands of taels of silver. Whoever goes to the government office will have to explain to the prefect himself."
He glared at Lady Wen, who was hanging her head and dared not look at him: "Even the mistress of the Marquis's mansion is the same!"
This time, Qiao Muyang knelt down with genuine sincerity, dragging himself to his knees before Old Master Su, clutching his clothes tightly and refusing to let go: "Grandfather-in-law, Muyang is going to take the provincial examination after the New Year. If something like this happens, won't it ruin my future!"
These words enlightened Madam Wen, who immediately spoke up in support: "Mu Yang is exceptionally talented and has the makings of an official. I gave money to the mother and son to nurture Mu Yang, so that when he becomes a marquis or prime minister in the future, our Marquis's mansion will have someone to rely on, won't we?"
I don't know where she got her confidence from, she even convinced herself.
She earnestly turned around and lectured the old Marquis: "My lord, don't be stingy. How can ten thousand taels of silver compare to Mu Yang's future!"
Ugh, how shameless!
My eldest brother is a young general, renowned throughout the borderlands. My second brother is the youngest scholar to pass the imperial examination in this dynasty; our teacher said his temperament was unpredictable and took him on a three-year study tour, otherwise he would already be the top scholar. My third and fourth brothers… well, although we can't see what they're capable of yet, my brothers are definitely the most outstanding!
Su Jingwen & Su Xiucheng: “…” Is this how you describe us?
With so many capable older brothers in our family, what's the point of having a male lead?
[Am I after his youth and greed, or am I after the fact that he'll eventually wipe out our whole family?]
Chiu Chiu shook her head sadly: "Even my unreliable father is a favorite of the Emperor. As long as he doesn't cause trouble, he'll definitely be able to hold his own!"
[Father, rise up!]
Su Junyao: "!!!" Can this girl still be kept?!
Why would the Wen Yang Marquis's son, who is so outstanding, need someone like Qiao Muyang, who is only interested in seeking fame and fortune, as a crutch?
One of the main reasons why Lord Su and Su Junyao still didn't take Qiao Muyang seriously after hearing Qiuqiu's heartfelt words was that they felt he was unworthy.
A mere scholar, with no idea of what his future holds and no family to rely on, how can he be compared with a century-old family!
but……
Lord Su and Su Junyao exchanged a glance. If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze.
Keep your eyes peeled; if anything seems amiss, don't blame them for being ruthless!
Qiao Muyang didn't know that he had been labeled "dangerous" by Wen Yanghou, and he was very confident about his future.
From a young age, a voice in his heart encouraged him, telling him that he was the protagonist of this world, and that the world revolved around him.
As long as he follows its instructions and completes the key tasks, he can become the master of the world!
Since all of this will be his in the future, what's wrong with him using it in advance?
Wen Yanghou saw Qiao Muyang's unconvinced expression clearly, and his voice revealed danger: "Don't you want to listen to the second option?"
Qiao Muyang immediately replied, "I choose the second one!"
"Haha, the second thing is to return the silver you and your son collected. As for those items, convert them into cash. Considering our relationship, you will return three thousand taels, a total of thirteen thousand taels!"
"If you pay it back, the matter will be settled. If you don't pay it back, you will be sued!"
Wen Yanghou looked at everyone present and asked, "Are you dissatisfied?"
Zheng Xiulan definitely didn't have any silver, but he had estimated that Wen Shi should still have around 13,000 taels. This woman couldn't have any money, so it would be better to confiscate it all.
Part of the money was used to celebrate Qiuqiu's full moon celebration, and the rest was donated in her name to disaster victims in the north. It can be considered as doing good deeds for her.
Liu Yueyao was furious when she heard that Zheng Xiulan had swindled so much money from the Marquis's mansion by taking bribes and other bribes. She was overjoyed when she heard that she could get her money back.
"Sir, isn't your future important? If your personal ethics are flawed, you won't even be able to take the imperial examination. In my opinion, you'd better just give up the money."
"I'm not afraid of burning my hands if it's not my own money!"
The Wen family put a lot of effort into keeping the accounts in order to balance things out. Each household had a little extra, and over time it accumulated to this much!
Even my former second sister-in-law, who had already divorced and returned to Jiangnan, had a bad debt on her head.
These people are absolutely disgusting!
Qiao Mu's eyes were bloodshot; taking his money was tantamount to taking his life!
He's rich; there's gold buried under the trees in his house!
[This is our family's money! I'm so anxious! Grow up quickly, I want to dig it up!]
This is the capital for the male and female protagonists to make a fortune in the future, so we can’t let it go to them!
Let go of the gold, let the little chick come!
Su Junyao's eyes lit up, "Super double!"
"Mu Yang, for the sake of your future, please make up the money. Even if you have to borrow it, you can't delay yourself!"
He glanced at his mother meaningfully. Isn't the rich guy over there?
(End of this chapter)
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