Qin Yuan nodded and said, "I have also heard about this matter."
Granny Zhao glanced at Master Xu and Madam Xu and said, "But who knew that Madam Xu not only refused, but also complained when she visited Madam Liu about the drastic drop in pepper prices. Now, not only can she not sell the pepper to return the money she gave as a gift, but she also forced Madam Liu to take out her private savings to make up for the loss. She said that it was all Madam Liu's fault for acting inappropriately, which is why Zhen'er got lost. Out of respect for Madam Liu, the Xu family swallowed their anger and bought pepper after listening to Madam Liu. Madam Liu was already weak and could not bear this. She vomited blood on the spot, and this old servant could not stop her."
Madam Xu was shocked and said urgently, "Nonsense! This scoundrel is talking nonsense! I never said such a thing!"
Lord Xu glared angrily at Granny Zhao.
Granny Zhao was fearless.
Madam Xu screamed in defense: "When my sister-in-law wakes up, you can ask Sixth Madam in person. I didn't know my sister-in-law was so ill that she couldn't handle the stress. She blurted out that the pepper had fallen badly, that she was short of money and had nowhere to sell it, and that the pepper was probably going to be stuck with her. My sister-in-law was so anxious that she vomited blood. This wicked servant added fuel to the fire and made false accusations."
This statement is as good as saying nothing; who would bother asking the Sixth Madam again?
What if he vomits blood again?
Qin Yuan didn't try to persuade them, but only asked, "Who else was in the room at that time?"
Granny Zhao shook her head and said, "There's no one else."
Madam Xu said, "I was worried that my sister-in-law wouldn't like having too many people and would find it troublesome, so I didn't bring any maids with me. Who would have thought that there wouldn't even be anyone to witness this?"
At this point, Qin Yuan already understood what was going on.
Qin Yuan asked, "How much of the money for buying pepper did Madam Six contribute, and how much did the Xu family contribute?"
Zhao Mama said, "The Sixth Madam contributed more than 27,000 taels of silver. I don't know how much the Xu family contributed."
Madam Xu spat and said, "Nonsense! The 27,000 taels of silver came from the Xu family. The Sixth Madam only contributed a little over 2,000 taels. Even with the contributions from the stewards and matrons in your household, it's only 3,000 taels."
Granny Zhao was so angry that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She shouted, "This old servant has always been respectable in her work. Even if I spit, I can make a hole in the ground. If I have lied, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."
Qin Yuan picked up her teacup and slowly took a sip of tea.
Madam Xu and Granny Zhao glared at each other like fighting cocks.
Seeing her actions, Lord Gu asked, "Yuan'er, have you come up with a plan?"
Qin Yuan nodded, somewhat troubled, and said, "I understand this case, but I don't know whether I should speak frankly. Granny Zhao is protecting Sixth Sister-in-law's reputation, so there are many things that are not easy to say openly."
Lord Gu then stood up, pulled her up with his hand, and said, "My wife and I have some private things to say. We'll be right back."
Without waiting for anyone's reply, Lord Gu pulled Qin Yuan out of the hall and stood under a clump of oleanders outside the room, asking, "What do you mean?"
Qin Yuan said, "It's clear that the Xu family wanted to embezzle the money that Sixth Sister-in-law spent on pepper. This pushed Granny Zhao to her limit, which is why she made such a scene. No one dares to ask Sixth Sister-in-law about this anymore. Either someone will make up for the money by giving it to her, or they will have to fall out with the Xu family and get the pepper back."
She didn't want to get involved, but ultimately, the whole pepper thing started because of her.
Qin Yuan sighed.
Gu Jinghui said, "That's what I guessed too, but... Sixth Madam took the money to have the Xu family do things, just to lend them a title. Why doesn't Granny Zhao say that? Why is she still covering it up? How could the Xu family possibly be willing to give up the money if things are done like this?"
Qin Yuan said, "If the Xu family is willing to sell their pepper at a low price, I would be happy to buy it. Even if I take the pepper back from the Xu family and keep it, I can still make a profit in the future. I won't lose money. But now that we have the seriously ill Sixth Madam who cannot be agitated, it is really troublesome."
After saying that, Qin Yuan looked at Gu Jinghui.
Gu Jinghui thought for a moment and said, "Sixth sister-in-law's deficit is nothing more than tens of thousands of taels of silver. Even if the manor makes up for it, it won't be a big deal. However, if we just let it slide like this, how will the Marquis's manor and the Xu family get along in the future?"
It is quite clear that the Sixth Madam colluded with the Xu family to lend money at exorbitant interest rates using silver from the Marquis's household account.
This deal is off.
The Xu family also resented the Marquis's mansion for losing Xu Zhen and wanted to swallow the Sixth Madam's money.
Gu Jinghui couldn't help but sigh. He didn't want to get involved in the matter. After thinking for a moment, he asked the maidservant guarding outside to call out Sixth Master Gu.
Sixth Master Gu walked out with a dejected face and a listless expression.
"Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law, have you come to some conclusions while you're talking here?"
Seeing his expression, Qin Yuan asked, "What do you think about this, Sixth Brother?"
Sixth Master Gu said irritably, "What else can we think? It's obvious what's going on, but since Madam Xu vomited blood, no one dares to ask her anymore. What can that old woman and Madam Xu possibly argue about?"
Gu Jinghui said calmly, "There's something I've been keeping from you."
Sixth Master Gu looked at Gu Jinghui warily and whispered, "Third Brother, don't tell me if it's not good news. I'm in a real mess right now."
“But this matter concerns the Sixth Branch of the family. If I don’t tell you and make the decision on my own, I’m afraid you’ll resent me in the future.”
Master Gu stamped his foot and sighed, "Fine, tell me, it's just that Xu did something again."
Qin Yuan looked at Sixth Master Gu with sympathy.
Gu Jinghui said, "Sixth brother, during the time your wife was in charge of the household, she embezzled a lot of money. The Xu family was going to make a big fuss about Xu Zhen's matter, but after seeing this debt, they dared not say a word, fearing that your wife would be divorced and everyone would lose face, so they gave up."
Sixth Master Gu said blankly, "I know about this."
Gu Jinghui continued, "Clearly, the Xu family holds a grudge about this. Sixth sister-in-law previously used the money from the household accounts to lend money to the Xu family at exorbitant interest rates. Now that your third sister-in-law is in charge of the household, she has discovered this, and the accomplices, Steward Zhang and Accountant Sun, have confessed. The Xu family now wants to swallow up this money that Sixth sister-in-law lent out. As her husband, what do you plan to do?"
Master Gu was initially shocked, then remained stunned for a long time before finally giving a self-deprecating laugh.
"Third brother, if the Xu family hadn't caused this mess today, were you still planning to keep it from me and let us be husband and wife?"
Gu Jinghui twitched the corner of his mouth, met Gu Liuye's gaze, and said, "How many children do you have? Her health isn't good, so we can only take it slow. What do you think I, as her third uncle, should do?"
Sixth Master Gu squatted down, slapped his head, and said angrily, "Why did I marry Madam Xu?"
Gu Jinghui said helplessly, "Back then, Mother listened to Aunt Wen's opinion on this marriage."
Master Gu sighed even more helplessly.
"What should I do now? My mind is in complete turmoil."
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