Chapter 21
Chapter 21
On the way here, the eldest and second wives naturally saw the fish basket in the servant's hands. After asking about it, they became even angrier.
Just now, several shopkeepers blocked their yard and refused to even take off their box of rouge. They calculated every penny strictly, and now she had money to send her servants away.
The two of them rushed to the yard in a rage. Wen Shuse had already entered the house. The eldest and second wives first went to the west wing where Xie Shao lived and knocked on the door.
"Third brother."
"Third brother..."
Xie Shao had been running all night yesterday and had a quarrel with that sharp-tongued man on the street. He was quite exhausted both physically and mentally. Just as he was about to take off his shirt, take a shower, and have a good sleep, someone suddenly knocked on the door, and it seemed as if they were going to take down both doors.
Min Zhang was always helpless in dealing with spoiled young ladies. He just stood outside the door and called them "Madam" and "Madam" one by one, "The young master is resting, ladies, please stop taking pictures." He didn't dare to actually pull them away.
His ears were numb from the noise, Xie Shao closed his eyes and made a hissing sound, then he put on his clothes again, opened the door, and said with a bad face, "What's going on?"
The eldest lady stood outside the doorway, looking aggrieved, and said, "Third brother, Third sister-in-law is too bullying. She took advantage of Third brother's absence to make the whole house in turmoil. Mother was so angry that she cried, and grandmother was so angry that she fainted."
The second lady followed up, "Yes, we can't acknowledge such a sister-in-law. Third brother, let her go back to where she came from."
The two men's words were full of accusations and complaints against Wen Shuse.
Xie Shao was a little surprised. Wasn’t Butler Wen II doing a good job? He didn’t quite believe what they said.
Turning his head, he looked towards the east room and saw Xiangyun standing under the eaves. He said in a long voice, "Our Third Madam said that if the First and Second Madams have any troubles, they should hurry up and tell the Third Master about it. She will come out after taking a bath and then listen to the two ladies' arguments."
Xie Shao: ...
The eldest and second wives were both stunned by that sophistry. When they came to their senses, they stamped their feet and cried, "Third brother, look, is she just taking advantage of others' power?"
Xie Shao had a headache and glanced over, "Who are you scolding?"
The second lady was choked and said hurriedly, "Third brother, you don't know what she did..."
I can't sleep anymore.
Xie Shao entered the room and sat on the futon. He dozed off while listening to his two cousins complaining about their new wives. After listening for a long time, he finally understood. He pried his eyelids open and asked, "You said she asked the shopkeeper to ask you for money?"
"That's right. Today the shop owner came to check the bills, but she refused to acknowledge anything. All the shop owners came to ask for money for the spices and powder, even my mother was not spared..."
The eldest lady fanned the flames, "Everyone in this mansion used to know that the third brother was the most caring, but everything changed when she came..."
While several people were accusing each other in the house, Wen Shuse had already finished bathing and changed into new clothes. He asked Aunt Qing and Nanny Fang to bring out the wooden table and bench and put them under the pear tree. He also prepared tea and cakes, and acted as if he was willing to accompany them to the end before asking Xiangyun to call for help.
Xiangyun went to the west wing to deliver the message, but he did not step over the threshold. He stood at the foot of the steps and stretched out his voice, "The Third Madam has finished her bath. The First and Second Madams want to ask for an explanation. Come on."
The first and second ladies in the room leaned back in anger, "Look how arrogant she is..."
Xie Shao rubbed his brows, knowing that if he didn't show up today, he would not be able to resolve the situation. He wanted to go and see if the Third Grandma was as arrogant as they said.
As soon as he stepped out of the door, he saw the girl sitting on a round stool under the pear tree. She was wearing a long crabapple skirt, a pearl flower in her hair, and was waving a silk fan in her hand, sipping tea leisurely.
Xie Shao: .....
The eldest and second wives were like wasps, "Third brother..."
Xie Shao walked over with gritted teeth. Wen Shuse only had two round stools prepared, one for him to sit on and the other placed next to him.
Xie Shao was not polite at all. After sitting down next to the young lady, he raised his hand and waved his sleeves, "Your third sister-in-law is here, just say whatever you want."
The eldest and second ladies had no seats and could only stand. They were able to speak back in front of Xie Shao just now, but when they really faced each other in person, they suddenly got choked up.
The eldest lady bumped into the second lady and asked her to speak first. The second lady had suffered a loss in front of Wen Shuse last night and was a little scared. She had to think carefully before saying anything.
Wen Shuse was not in a hurry and waited for them to think slowly. After a while, it was the eldest lady who spoke first, and she did not call her sister-in-law, "Before you came, the mansion was harmonious."
Wen Shuse nodded and admitted, "I really can't do this. I'm not stupid, and I've never been a fool."
Xie Shao: ...
The second lady couldn't stand it and immediately complained, "Third brother, she called you stupid."
He heard it, so there was no need for her to repeat it. She had already scolded him several times, so this time wouldn't matter. Xie Shao had a splitting headache, "Let's get down to business."
The eldest lady calmed down and said, "All the money spent by the Xie family in the shop is included in the monthly expenses. This is also tacitly approved by my second uncle and second aunt..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a noise behind him.
Uncle An came over hurriedly with a few servants holding a pile of account books. Wen Shuse continued the words of the eldest lady and instructed Uncle An, "Read to the eldest lady how much she spent last month."
Uncle An had already memorized these accounts by heart. He opened the account book and read aloud, "Last month, the Madam withdrew a total of 1,268 taels of silver from the accounting office to buy spices, powder, silk, and jewelry. In addition, in addition to the Xie family's shop, she also borrowed a total of 150 taels of silver from other places."
Tsk, more than a thousand taels of silver, a month...
It was amazing that he could even buy a house in Fengcheng. Even the Second Lady was stunned and turned to look at her own sister.
The eldest lady's face changed, "Don't talk nonsense, one thousand taels of silver was given to me by my third brother as a reward because I subsidized Aunt Gu's cousin with five hundred taels of silver."
This is asking for a beating. Wen Shuse showed no mercy. "Madam, you probably don't know yet, but I happened to see Aunt Gu's cousin being driven out of Xie's house that day. The five hundred taels of silver were not given by you, but by me. Aunt Gu has been to the yard, and your third brother also knows that you cheated him of one thousand taels of silver."
The lady looked at Xie Shao hurriedly.
Xie Shao sat next to Wen Shuse, looking calm and composed. It was self-evident that the lady's face turned pale in an instant.
Wen Shuse continued, "If you don't come to me, I will send someone to find you. The account you owe includes my Wen family's. Madam, please settle the account today."
Ignoring the eldest lady's expression as if she was buried in the ground, he turned around and looked at the second lady, "Second lady, you owe me the 480 taels of silver from the Wen family. When will you pay it back?"
More than 400 taels on credit? She is really brave.
This time it was the eldest lady who was surprised. The second lady opened her mouth and blushed. When she bought on credit, the other party said that he would keep it a secret, but who knew that he would sell her out...
"Uncle An, please read the Second Lady's account book as well."
Uncle An was happy to oblige. "Last month, Second Lady withdrew a total of ..."
—
The noise from the garden soon reached the ears of the Madam. The servants trotted along and said as soon as they saw people, "Madam, it's bad. The Madam and the Second Madam were caught by the Third Mistress and reported to the Third Young Master..."
The eldest lady was stunned and cursed, "Is she going to make a big fuss?" and quickly sent Biyun to take a look.
When Biyun arrived, not only the eldest and second wives, but also the second master and second mistress were summoned to the yard.
Wen Shuse handed out a stack of account books to everyone, sat there upright, and spoke politely, "I'll trouble you all to settle the accounts first today."
The eldest lady and the second lady never imagined that they came here to complain, but in the end they were asked to pay a debt. That was not all, the secrets behind the two of them were also exposed in public, just like being stripped of clothes, with no face left, and everyone's face turned blue.
The Second Lady had been spoiled by the First Lady since she was a child, and she was the first to get angry, "I won't give it to you, what can you do to me?"
Wen Shu smiled, "I can't do anything to you. We can only meet in court to pay back the debt. Go to the government office to find your elder brother. The second lady should have valuable things in her room. Selling them can pay off the debt."
The second lady pointed at her, "You!"
"Hasn't the Master taught you since childhood that people should do things within their means? Don't you know that you have to pay back what you owe?"
The second lady burst into tears on the spot.
The lady snorted, "It's just a little over a hundred taels of silver. Why is it necessary for Third Sister-in-law to mobilize so many troops and force everyone into a desperate situation? What good will it do you?"
This is playing the emotional card.
"I'm not a likable person, and I disdain using money to win people over." Wen Shuse didn't buy it. "I know that you have saved a lot of private money, so you don't have to sell it. Let's settle the account today. You can take back the 1,000 taels of silver tomorrow. Don't cheat easily next time. It's too embarrassing to be exposed."
The lady was so angry that she shed tears.
Seeing the two nuns crying in anger, the second wife stepped forward and added fuel to the fire, "Sister-in-law is so arrogant today. After all, we are just outsiders. You have offended everyone this time..."
"Is it my second sister-in-law?" Wen Shuse interrupted her. Seeing that she didn't say anything, he knew that she didn't admit her mistake. He sighed softly and said kindly, "You should persuade my second brother to go to less Italian restaurants. I heard from my brother from the Wen family that the girls there are very good at cheating people. Usually, a pot of wine costs dozens of copper coins, but it costs dozens or even hundreds of taels at their place. My second brother must have been cheated, otherwise how could he have bought more than 600 taels of wine on credit..."
Second Mistress was startled, turned around and looked at Second Master in astonishment, "You, you went to the Yidian?"
Fengcheng Yidian is full of girls, and everyone knows what kind of business they are doing.
The second son looked flustered and hurriedly explained, "I, I was also forced to do so. I was dragged up there by force..."
The second grandmother grabbed him and beat him while crying, "I gave birth to your children at home, but you were so carefree and even went to the Italian shop. You are so heartless, I will not live anymore..."
Biyun rushed over and saw this scene. Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly went over to pull the Second Grandma away and asked, "What happened?"
Wen Shuse recognized her as Biyun, the maid serving the eldest lady.
Just right.
Wen Shu called out, "Aunt Biyun."
As soon as Biyun looked over, Wen Shuse said, "The eldest lady didn't come today, so it's a good opportunity for you to take a letter back with her, saying that the third young master is busy with affairs every day and has no time to take care of the accounts. You are not convinced by my housekeeper. From today on, to avoid such conflicts in the future, we will each take care of our own affairs, and our second house will not have an accounting office."
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