Xie Qiuliang slammed his teacup down. "Say that again!"
The servant who reported this trembled and stammered, "The people from Prince Yong's mansion are auctioning off the things we sent over the other day."
"Say that again!" Xie Qiuliang swept the teapot off the table, his tone menacing.
The servant was so frightened that he lowered his head, knelt on the ground, and cried out, "Master, everything I said is true. I dare not deceive you."
This time, Xie Qiuliang was inexplicably angry with his father, but his mind cleared up considerably. He pointed at his attendant and said, "Xie Gui, go and see what's going on."
"Yes, sir." Xie Gui glanced at the person kneeling on the ground and strode away.
Before long, he returned in a panic, "Master, Master, something terrible has happened! It really is auctioning off the things we sent over the other day. The people from Prince Yong's Mansion clearly stated that they belonged to the Xie family, and the bidding is quite high."
The point isn't that the bidding price was quite high, but that it's clearly stated that it belongs to the Xie family!
Xie Qiuliang was furious. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, shouting, "This is outrageous! The Prince Yong's mansion is going too far! Men, come with me to smash this shop!"
Xie Gui also felt that the Prince Yong's Mansion had gone too far. The Xie family was still around, and it was still prosperous. How dare they auction off the Xie family's belongings? They were simply showing no respect for them.
So he hurriedly went down to gather people.
In the main courtyard, Xie Sunshi frowned upon hearing the old woman's report. "How could the master be so reckless? Go and stop him!"
After saying that, she hurriedly went to the study.
When Xie Sunshi arrived at the study, Xie Gui had not yet gathered his men and returned. Instead, Xie Qiuliang was there, rubbing his hands together, so angry that he almost forgot his elegant and refined demeanor as the eldest son of a noble family and beat his chest in frustration.
Seeing his expression, Xie Sunshi sneered inwardly, but smiled gently on her face, "Husband, what has angered you?"
Xie Qiuliang turned around and saw his wife speaking softly to him. His anger subsided a little. He thought that although his wife did not have the beauty of a concubine to please him in bed, she was from a prestigious family and was exceptionally intelligent.
He then said, "My lady, you've come at the perfect time! Quickly, think of a solution for your husband. The Prince Yong's mansion is simply going too far!"
"What has the Prince Yong's residence done to anger my husband?" She pretended not to know.
Xie Qiuliang gestured to the servant and his wife to explain clearly. The servant then embellished the story, exaggerating the crimes of the Prince Yong's mansion many times over.
Upon hearing this, Xie Sunshi said worriedly, "Husband, in my opinion, you should send someone to buy those things back. Otherwise, when Father-in-law returns home from court, he will blame you for all the mistakes."
"Madam, how can you speak like this? The Prince Yong's Mansion is so blatantly bullying my Xie family. Are we supposed to just swallow our anger and silently send people to buy back the items at a high price? A mere prince's mansion dares to mess with us! How dare they! How dare they!" Xie Qiuliang was furious. On one hand, he hated the Prince Yong's Mansion so much that he gritted his teeth. On the other hand, the more he looked at his wife, who was no longer as youthful as before, the more displeased he became.
Seeing the look in her husband's eyes, Xie Sun felt a pang of pain in her heart, but smiled faintly. "Husband, please let me finish what I have to say." Before Xie Qiuliang could speak, she continued, "The folk songs in the capital, one praises our Xie family for its illustrious virtue, while the other sings that the Prince Yong's mansion is so poor that they can't even afford to eat. These two seem unrelated, but upon closer inspection, they are intricately connected. Today, the Emperor in the palace issued an imperial decree bestowing upon us the title 'A Family of Accumulated Virtues.'"
Xie Qiuliang was stunned. He couldn't understand why his father called him a spendthrift. Therefore, he was still half-asleep.
Seeing his expression, Xie Sunshi knew that her words had been taken to heart, so she continued, "His Majesty's words can be said to be in line with the will of the people. If our Xie family were to smash up the Yongwang Mansion's shops today, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor and disregarding His Majesty's grace."
“That song wasn’t sung by the Xie family, and the lyrics weren’t obtained by us.” He said this with less confidence.
"Whether it is true or not, it's too late to undo it now. My husband, please listen to my advice and send someone to buy everything back. Otherwise, leaving it out there will damage our reputation."
She phrased it subtly, saying that what she meant by "damaging reputation" was that it was a disgrace to the entire capital. But even if she spent money to buy it back, it would still be a disgrace. However, how could the Xie family's property be auctioned off?
This was a slap in the face, a series of slaps in the face! Xie Qiuliang couldn't catch his breath, his face turned red from holding it in. Just then, Xie Yun returned, intending to teach his eldest son, who had caused the trouble, a lesson to vent his anger.
He heard everything his eldest daughter-in-law said, and in a flash, he understood what was going on. He kicked open the study door.
Xie Qiuliang was about to yell at whoever kicked the door when he turned around and saw his father staring at him angrily. He stammered, "Dad, you're back."
"You unfilial son!" Xie Yun kicked him. Xie Qiuliang didn't dare to dodge, and was afraid of the pain, so he fell to the ground. Xie Yun didn't let him go and picked up a chair to hit him.
"Father, Father, please calm down. I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Please calm down..." Xie Qiuliang was so frightened that he got up and ran all over the house.
Seeing his good-for-nothing behavior, Xie Yun was even more furious and felt a pang of pain in his heart. Xie Gui had just gathered his men and returned when he saw his father chasing after him and beating him, while his son was wailing and begging for mercy in front of him.
He wanted to help, but he didn't dare. He could only kneel down with a thud, and the servants behind him also knelt down.
Seeing that it was enough, Xie Sunshi knew that Xie Yun was getting old and didn't have much strength left to chase after his young and strong son. So she gritted her teeth and stepped in front of Xie Qiuliang to block him.
"You unfilial son!" He spat as he raised the chair, ready to smash it, but then saw his eldest daughter-in-law step in front of him, and he slowly lowered the chair.
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