Chapter 199 This is slander!
Xia Chan put down her brush and stood up to greet Madam Ma.
Madam Ma wore a haughty, aloof expression, exuding nobility and authority, and let out a cold, arrogant "hmm" through her nose.
She sat down in the chair where Xia Chan had just been sitting.
Seeing Madam Ma's expression, Manager Liu had a feeling something was wrong, and he gave Xia Chan a wink.
Xia Chan knew that the Lady Hou wouldn't come to the shop without a reason.
Miss had warned long ago that the Marquis's mansion would make unusual moves during her childbirth, so we must be careful.
The cicadas are extra vigilant and dare not relax for a moment.
Mrs. Ma slowly flipped through the account book: "How's business at the shop lately?"
The cicada said, "It's pretty much the same as before."
After Jinmantang opened, Huibafang lost a lot of business. However, after the behind-the-scenes boss Zhou Zhining was exposed, some powerful people disliked her and stopped buying things there, returning to Huibafang.
In addition, the Censor's wife has been busy with social activities recently, which has brought back some business.
Hui Ba Fang also caters to ordinary people, has a good reputation, operates on a low-profit, high-volume model, and its shops are very popular.
After looking at the ledgers for a while, Ma said, "If business is so good, why is the income for the past two months only this much?"
Her face darkened, and her cold eyes stared at Xia Chan, trying to overwhelm her with her aura and make her feel guilty.
Once a person feels guilty, they will lose their footing.
The cicada, neither humble nor arrogant, explained the reasons one by one.
Firstly, social unrest and rampant banditry led to a decrease in the number of goods entering the capital, and various favors had to be made along the way.
Furthermore, the longer the transportation time, the more resources are consumed along the way.
"Third, the first few months are summer, and goods are difficult to preserve. To ensure the quality of the goods, Huibafang reduced its inventory..."
"Enough!" Madam Ma interrupted Xia Chan's explanation. "I think it's not any of the reasons you're giving. It's that you've embezzled the money!"
"Madam, conviction requires evidence. You cannot convict me based on mere words!"
Manager Liu also looked puzzled: "Madam Hou, Miss Xia Chan is acting as the shopkeeper, a position personally appointed by Miss Qing Ling. If Miss Xia Chan were corrupt, why would Miss Qing Ling value her so highly?"
Lady Hou looked coldly at Manager Liu: "Did I say she is, or that you aren't?"
"The two of you are in the shop together, so naturally you'll work in tandem. She embezzles, and you cover for her."
Manager Liu: "..."
Without any beginning or end, a huge black pot has been thrown at them, and there's simply no way to reason with them.
Xia Chan understood perfectly well that the Lady Hou was going to openly rob her!
Xia Chan said, "I do not accept the Lady Hou's judgment. I request the authorities to clarify the truth!"
Lady Hou sneered, "Xia Chan, you are a servant of my household, why do we need the government to intervene? However, I will make sure everyone knows what wrong you, Xia Chan, have done, so that no one will think that I have wronged you."
She glanced over coldly, and the old woman who was following her took out a house deed from her sleeve. Then two servants brought in a man.
They said that this man was Xia Chan's lover.
"Xia Chan, how dare you buy a house outside and transfer your valuables there, as if no one knows?"
The man knelt down tremblingly, confessing his crimes over and over, and crying as he begged Xia Chan not to be stubborn and to be lenient with the lady.
Xia Chan looked at the man who was crying bitterly and smiled silently.
If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext!
...
Mulan Courtyard.
After wiping Qingling's body, Lou Yue looked up at the window.
It's already dark; judging by the time, the cicadas should have returned.
"Could it be that I'm staying at the shop tonight?" Lou Yue muttered to herself.
In the past, when the shop was busy, Xia Chan would stay at the shop because she thought it was a waste of time to go back and forth.
But now that the young lady is unconscious, Xia Chan will come back no matter how late she is busy.
He Yin gestured with her fingers: "If Xia Chan stays at the shop, she will send someone back to let us know. She won't leave without a word."
Lou Yue nodded. She remembered that she had accidentally broken a bowl at noon and felt her eyelids twitch at the time.
"Then I'll send someone to the shop to check." Lou Yue walked out of the house, intending to find a servant to go to the shop to fetch Xia Chan back. Just then, a string of lanterns came through the bottle door.
Lou Yue frowned, a bad feeling creeping in.
She turned around and quickly told He Yin to go out through the back door and find the Censor's wife.
He Yin picked up her skirt and ran.
Lou Yue stepped forward to block the approaching group of people: "It's so late, is Madam Hou here to visit Miss?"
"However, Miss is asleep and should not be disturbed."
Yao Qingqi stepped out from behind Madam Ma, the dim light making her face appear cold and sinister: "She's about to die and she still has the nerve to talk back. Guards, seize her!"
The entire Mulan Courtyard was in a panic, not knowing what was happening.
Xia Chan didn't return, and Lou Yue was also arrested.
Yao Qingqi cleared her throat and said loudly, "Xia Chan of Mulan Courtyard took advantage of her position as manager of the shop to embezzle money and have an affair with a man outside the family. The evidence is conclusive. She managed to escape when they tried to arrest her."
"Lou Yue plotted to murder Yao Qingling, attempting to seize the Marquis's property and harm her master. She was beaten to death on the spot!"
"Another servant girl, Taoye, has fled out of fear of punishment. The Marquis's mansion has already dispatched men to capture her. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of her and Xiachan will be richly rewarded for reporting. Anyone who harbors these two will not be let off lightly!"
As she spoke, two guards brought over a long bench.
Lou Yue was forcibly pressed down. She struggled violently and shouted that she was wronged and refused to accept it, but the courtyard was full of people brought by Ma Shi. The people in Mulan Courtyard did not understand what was going on, and fear filled everyone's mind and body.
Lou Yue was furious.
This is slander!
She realized that Madam Hou wanted to take advantage of her young mistress's unconscious state to kill the people around her and seize power and wealth from the Mulan Courtyard!
She was so barbaric and brutal!
However, they were just servants, and even if they were completely innocent, it wouldn't matter if they just opened their mouths.
How many servants in this world died unjustly?
Some people were even executed before they could even voice their grievances.
Yao Qingqi disliked Lou Yue's loud voice, so she ordered someone to stuff a strip of cloth into her mouth.
Lou Yue couldn't even make a sound; the only thing she could move was her fingers, which were tightly gripping the stool leg, tearing off splinters of wood.
She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the stick to fall.
I just hope He Yin can run fast enough to bring reinforcements as soon as possible.
Just as the board was about to fall, a flash of silver light appeared, and it snapped with a crack.
Before anyone could see what happened, the broken wooden plank hit the ground with a loud thud.
The cut was neat and clean, indicating that it had been cleaved in two by a single sword stroke.
Her sword strike scared away several guards.
"You—you dare to obstruct this lady from punishing the sinful slave!" Madam Ma was furious, but also pleased that Nie Yun had rushed out, which gave her a perfect reason to punish him.
Nie Yun was wearing a guard's robe. She held a long sword in her hand and stylishly flicked her lower robe with the other hand, tucking it into her belt so she could start her killing spree later.
The gaze was cold and sharp, making people dare not take a step forward.
She said calmly, "Guards of Mulan Courtyard, can't you tell whose money you're taking?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards of Mulan Courtyard came out and formed a standoff with the guards from the Marquis's mansion brought by Madam Ma.
Madam Ma shouted, "You dare to rebel! This is the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence, and you are all people of the Marquis's residence. Be careful, the Marquis will punish you all!"
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