Hu Mingmei sneered, "Since Master Zheng has inquired and knows that I took your shops, why didn't you inquire more thoroughly before coming to interrogate me? I, Hu Mingmei, am not a good person, but I don't live off just those few shops of yours. I won't starve even without those few shops of yours!"
"In this capital city, who doesn't know you have a bad reputation?" Master Zheng said sarcastically. "What wouldn't you do? You even locked up your own grandfather. Is there anyone more cold-blooded and ruthless than you? Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
Eunuch Qian said calmly, "Master Zheng, you've gone too far. Why don't you ask Master Hu why he did this? Master Hu isn't an unreasonable person. Today, since we're here, I'll shamelessly be presumptuous and ask you to speak your mind about any conflicts you may have. Master Hu, if you don't have a legitimate reason, you'll have to return those shops to Master Zheng!"
Although Eunuch Qian was just a servant with no money or power, he was still one of the most trusted eunuchs by the Emperor's side, the kind of person who would be respected by everyone. Hu Mingmei and Master Zheng were just merchants, how could they dare to refuse him? They could only bow and thank him.
Hu Mingmei didn't have any particular thoughts. In any case, even if Eunuch Qian was here, Hu Mingmei wouldn't return Master Zheng's things to Master Zheng. Even if Eunuch Qian wasn't here, Hu Mingmei still wouldn't return the things to him. In short, he just wouldn't.
However, Master Zheng couldn't help but feel annoyed that Eunuch Qian was being nosy. Eunuch Qian's words seemed very fair, but upon closer listening, they were actually siding with Hu Mingmei. What did he mean by a legitimate reason? In other words, if Hu Mingmei had no reason, he could still return the shop to him, but if Hu Mingmei had a reason, then he could take the shop away.
He was not convinced and did not want to suffer this loss.
"Donglai!" After Hu Mingmei had invited Eunuch Qian and Master Zheng to sit down, he called out Xia Donglai in a deep voice. As soon as Xia Donglai came out, Eunuch Qian smiled and said, "Is this the leader of the royal guard left behind by the princess back then?"
“No, he’s the former leader’s son!” Hu Mingmei said calmly to Lu Ying. “Bring Zheng Qiang out!”
"Who is this Zheng Qiang?" Eunuch Qian asked.
Master Zheng quickly said, "He's a younger brother from a collateral branch of my family, Second Master Hu. Why is my brother here?"
Seeing the accusing look on Master Zheng's face, Hu Mingmei gave him a half-smile and said, "You'll find out soon enough. What's the rush? Go and bring your sister out!"
The first sentence was spoken by Hu Mingmei to Master Zheng, and the second sentence was spoken to Bai Nuo.
Master Zheng was baffled by what Hu Mingmei said, since he knew nothing about it. So he could only suppress his frustration and sit to the side to wait.
Xia Donglai accepted the order and left, while Bai Nuo quickly arrived with Jiang Qiao'er. Bai Nuo returned before Xia Donglai, but she not only brought Jiang Qiao'er, but also Aunt Liu and Granny Liu. "My lord, please forgive me. I thought I should make things clear, so I took the liberty of bringing Grandma and the nanny who serves her!"
Eunuch Qian was increasingly confused. Wasn't the conversation about Hu Mingmei seizing Master Zheng's shop? How come this young mistress of Hu's family (because the Empress Dowager wanted Hu Mingmei to release Huang Wenbai's entire family, Eunuch Qian started calling Bai Nuo "young mistress") had brought her entire family with her?
Eunuch Qian looked at Hu Mingmei with suspicion. Hu Mingmei said calmly, "Don't worry, sir. You'll understand soon enough. This matter is related to my sister-in-law. Nuonuo, take your sister away first!" Hu Mingmei asked Bai Nuo to bring Jiang Qiao'er over not to embarrass her by having her listen to those unpleasant words, but to let Eunuch Qian recognize the person involved.
The provincial official, Mr. Zheng, said he was being unreasonable and pedantic.
When Granny Qian and Aunt Liu heard that this man was the emperor's eunuch, they immediately wanted to bow down. However, seeing that Granny Qian was not comfortable with this, and that he was Bai Nuo's maternal grandmother, Eunuch Qian smiled and said, "Madam, there's no need for such formalities!" But Aunt Liu did bow once.
"Today's incident was unintentional; I had no intention of offending your Zheng family!" Hu Mingmei said in a deep voice. "But my younger sister from my maternal family has only been in the capital for half a month with my grandmother, and your Master Zheng Qiang has taken a liking to her. He actually tried to force her to be his concubine. When she refused, he guarded the door day and night, watching my sister, waiting for her to come out so he could take her home. If we hadn't arrived in time today, my sister would probably have been defiled by Master Zheng Qiang. Zheng Qiang, and Master Zheng, I want to ask you, are you worthy?"
Um... When Eunuch Qian thought of that girl from earlier, she was only about ten years old, with a tender face, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was a child. But this Master Zheng Qiang, he was middle-aged, with a big belly, like a pregnant woman, and he was also fat. Apart from being a little rich, he didn't have anything else to offer.
Although Zheng Qiang's family is wealthy, Hu Mingmei's family is not bad either. As Hu Mingmei's only sister-in-law, one can imagine what kind of life that girl lives. In that case, Mr. Zheng Qiang is really not good enough for her and is disgusting to her. If this is true, then he can understand why Hu Mingmei is so angry.
Hu Mingmei already had a falling out with the Zheng family, so how could he possibly be willing to marry his wife's younger sister off to them? And not just marry her off, but snatch her back to be a concubine. Putting aside the fact that this was bullying, it was definitely a slap in Hu Mingmei's face.
Master Zheng said firmly, "Impossible! My brother may be a bit lecherous, but he would never do such a thing. He may be lecherous, but he's not a beast. Hu Mingmei, don't slander us with everything you say. We're not easy to bully!" As he spoke, Master Zheng glanced at Zheng Qiang without leaving a trace.
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