After arguing for a while, the people standing in the large study split into three factions.
One faction consisted entirely of old-fashioned conservatives who advocated that the illegitimate son inherit the family business, while the other faction remained silent and obeyed the emperor's orders.
The last faction consisted of Chengfeng alone, who advocated that Miss Chen should inherit the family business.
Yinzhen said with a hint of impatience, "Alright, all this noise is getting on my nerves."
At this opportune moment, Chengfeng said, "I hope Your Majesty will make the decision."
Yinzhen: "What my ministers have said makes sense. However, I think Chengfeng is right. It is not impossible for a woman to inherit the family business. I sent people to inquire. The Chen family's daughter was raised as a boy, so she is naturally not lacking in any aspect. I think if she is capable of managing the family business, then let her inherit it."
Chengfeng immediately replied, "Your Majesty is wise."
At this point, some people became unhappy.
"Your Majesty, this servant believes that Miss Chen may not be capable of managing the family business. After all, having learned how to manage a family business is different from actually managing one. Women are not suited to appear in public, so it would be better for the family business to be inherited by the illegitimate son."
Chengfeng: "This servant feels..."
Then another argument ensued. After the argument had subsided, Yinzhen said, "In that case, let Miss Chen and that illegitimate son have a match."
The outcome of this competition was already decided.
Since Yinzhen was the emperor, no one objected to his statement.
The crowd exclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The competition was simple. Since time was limited, it was impossible to give each person a shop to compete in doing business. So, the competition was not about anything else, but about looking at the account books.
Yinzhen also sent someone to inquire about this. Chen Yingjiao had been helping her mother with household chores since she was a child, and she had been exposed to account books since childhood. In addition, she had some talent to begin with, and when the new mathematics came out, her mother specially let her listen to the teacher and teach her.
As for the illegitimate son, no one knew he was Chen Xingyu's son before Chen Yingjiao died. His identity was already obvious to everyone, so the Chen family naturally wouldn't give him the opportunity to see the account books.
In addition, Chen Xingyu wasn't a particularly smart person, otherwise he wouldn't have remained a poor scholar all this time, so his talent was just so-so.
Besides, Chen Xingyu always felt guilty towards his son. Before he achieved his goal, Chen Xingyu heard that his son was not living comfortably in the mansion, so he specially prepared a house for him.
Naturally, no one cared or asked about him. Chen Xingyu and his mother spoiled him terribly, so it was a miracle if he could even sit still and read a book, let alone study seriously.
Chen Yingjiao and her half-brother were soon "invited" over. Before this, Yinzhen had not revealed their identities, and no one else would tell them.
So Chen Yingjiao, who was living in the small courtyard, was suddenly "invited" over by people from the government office, which puzzled her greatly.
There were some of Yinzhen's men left in the courtyard, and one of them told Chen Yingjiao not to worry.
Chen Yingjiao went with a heavy heart, but she couldn't refuse. The government officials came to her door, and as an orphan, she had no right to refuse.
The local magistrate sat nervously at the head of the table, while Yinzhen sat beside him listening, and other officials stood around.
Chen Yingjiao was a merchant's daughter, so she naturally had no chance to meet the local county magistrate, but she could still recognize his official robes.
Knowing that the county magistrate was sitting at the top, she also recognized that one of her saviors was listening in. She could tell that the county magistrate was sitting somewhat uneasy, and given the current situation, with no one reporting to the authorities, she felt that her benefactor's identity was unfathomable.
She was naturally happy. Her benefactor was kind-hearted, and with his help, her mother's revenge could be avenged.
As for how to repay this kindness, that's something to consider in the future.
"This humble woman greets Your Excellency," Chen Yingjiao said, kneeling on the ground.
Normally, one has to kneel when entering a government office, but this is no ordinary appeal for justice. The county magistrate knows that the emperor is sitting next to him, so he is not at ease sitting there.
In addition, this Miss Chen was very beautiful, and he was unsure of the Emperor's intentions. In order not to offend anyone, he said, "Get up and answer."
The magistrate stammered, "I called Miss Chen here today because I need you to do something. The matter of your father, Chen Xingyu, killing his wife has been settled, and Chen Xingyu will naturally be dealt with according to the law. However, what to do with the Chen family's property is a problem."
Hearing this, Chen Yingjiao became somewhat anxious. The Chen family's business was all her mother's dowry. Her mother was quite talented in business, but her mother was dead and her scumbag father was about to be punished. While she was happy that her mother had avenged her great wrong, the Chen family's business was indeed a problem.
She absolutely did not want to give away what her mother left behind. It was what her mother left her, not only the foundation of her survival, but also a memento.
"My lord, you must do justice for me!"
The county magistrate had heard this many times before and remained unmoved. However, with the emperor sitting right next to him, he naturally had to show that he truly cared for his people.
"Miss Chen, please don't worry. As the magistrate of Jinan, I will naturally not let the people suffer injustice. However, Miss Chen has a half-brother. I have an idea. Would you like to hear it?"
Chen Yingjiao was quite clever, and with her benefactor sitting up there, she felt reassured.
“This humble woman naturally trusts you, sir.”
The county magistrate was naturally pleased that such a beautiful woman was distrusted.
"Here's the thing, now only your half-brother is left in the Chen family. You should have a contest with your half-brother. If you can beat him, you will inherit this family business. If you can't beat him, your half-brother will temporarily manage the family business. What do you think, Miss Chen?"
Chen Yingjiao naturally didn't want to hand over her family business to her enemy, but she didn't know what the competition was about, and wasn't particularly confident.
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