Chapter 35: Interlocking
Zhao Jue judged others by his own standards and felt that businessmen were profit-driven and Boss Qin would never give up the profits he had obtained.
More importantly, he was too confident and was sure that Boss Qin would not dare to offend the Duke's Mansion.
After he took the bait, Boss Qin turned around and climbed up to Duke Zhao to find a more solid backer.
Shen Qingtan really went to great lengths to get her dowry back.
One thing leads to another.
"Bitch, bitch, she's taking revenge on us for not marrying her!" The Second Lady's heart ached, a bloody smell rising from her throat. She said with deep hatred, "She's so cruel! She ruined your future, took back her own dowry, and cheated me out of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. And yet she managed to create a reputation in front of my parents as someone who understands the bigger picture and cares about the overall situation. They felt even more sorry for her because she had suffered such a great injustice."
What’s even more hateful is that she knew that everything was planned by Shen Qingtan, but she couldn’t expose it.
You can only swallow your anger and bear the consequences.
When the Second Master saw the Second Madam collapse, his ferocious eyes looked as if he wanted to eat Shen Qingtan alive.
He was filled with suspicion: "Boss Qin didn't want the money, but gave it all to your grandfather just to help Shen Qingtan take revenge on you. This is not right."
Zhao Jue couldn't understand it either. Just based on that little bit of kindness and righteousness?
The attendant hesitated and said, "When I was investigating, I heard a rumor that the Qin's Trading Company is not just run by Boss Qin, but also by a second owner who never shows up. Could it be that the second owner is the Second Mistress?"
"Impossible!" The second wife denied this guess.
Why would Boss Qin give half of his family business to Shen Qingtan?
The thought that Shen Qingtan was the second boss of Qin's Trading Company made her feel even more painful than if she had lost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
The Second Madam was burning with jealousy. She caught sight of Shen Mingzhu weeping in a corner and vented her anger on her, "Besides being Marquis Cheng'en's biological daughter, you're worthless. You didn't even have a dowry. When you returned home, the Shen family gave it to Shen Qingtan's pawnshop. What did they give you?"
Shen Mingzhu bit her lips and dared not say a word.
The Second Madam was upset again: "If I had known this would happen, I would have married Shen Qingtan."
The speaker may not intend it, but the listener may take it seriously.
Zhao Jue took it to heart.
He looked at Shen Mingzhu, whose face was covered with tears, and thought anxiously: Is it right or wrong to abandon Shen Qingtan and marry Shen Mingzhu?
If he marries Shen Qingtan, it won't displease Duke Zhao, and he can also do a good job in the job of supplying military rations.
She has a close relationship with Boss Qin, so he won't worry about money.
Rather than being like it is now, with a bleak future.
——
After Shen Qingtan finished his breakfast, he sat on the kang and looked through the account book of Lanxueyuan.
You don’t know until you see it, and you’ll be shocked when you see it.
The monthly expenses of Lanxueyuan are frighteningly high. Zhao Yi has extremely high requirements for the quality of life. He wants to eat fine food and use expensive things. The cost of medicine alone is a considerable amount of money.
There is a fixed amount of money to be spent from the public treasury, and all of this is paid from Zhao Yi's private account.
When she saw the several shops under Zhao Yi's name that were making a fortune every day, she fell silent for a moment.
Shen Qingtan thought that a noble young man like Zhao Yi was not interested in money, but she didn't expect that he was a good businessman.
Seeing Shen Qingtan's surprised look, Madam Liu smiled and said, "Second Master said he is a worldly person. If he doesn't make a little more money, he won't be able to live a comfortable life."
Shen Qingtan was in a complicated mood: "He is going to take care of all the properties under his name for me?"
"Of course. You're the mistress of Lanxue Garden. If not you, who else can take care of it?" Madam Liu sighed. "If our Second Master were healthy, he wouldn't be the best husband in the entire capital."
"Although he is frail, he is still the best husband." Shen Qingtan looked through the account book carefully with a serious tone.
When Mother Liu heard this, she couldn't stop laughing.
When Shen Qingtan finished looking through the account book, the sun was already high in the sky. She pressed her aching waist and leaned on a soft pillow to rest.
Madam Liu brought over a few rolls of kesi silk: "Second Madam, Second Master said that it is the end of spring and summer is coming soon, so he asked you to make some new summer clothes."
When Shen Qingtan saw the cloth clearly, her eyelashes trembled. This piece of cloth was worth a lot of money, and yet they just gave her a few pieces to make clothes so casually?
She took the material. The colors were beautiful, and the fabric was even more dazzling under the changing light.
At this time, Tingxue came in holding a sewing basket: "Second Madam, Third Madam is looking for you. Do you want to see her?"
Shen Qingtan raised his eyebrows: "Let her in."
Tingxue put down the sewing basket and turned to go out to invite Shen Mingzhu.
When Shen Mingzhu came to Lanxue Garden for the first time, she was immediately attracted by the ming tiles nailed on the windows. Only the windows in the old lady's courtyard in Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion had ming tiles.
This type of tile is made of clam shells ground into thin slices, which is not only elegant but also translucent.
She had been coveting it for a long time, but she didn't dare to ask Madam Shen for it.
As soon as she entered the house, she saw a treasure cabinet filled with rare treasures. Even if she didn't know the value of treasures, she could tell that they were very valuable.
Shen Mingzhu's eyes fell on the kang, where several pieces of kesi silk were placed.
Mrs. Shen once made her a belt out of kesi silk, and said that a piece of kesi silk would take at least several months to weave and would be sold at a very high price.
Shen Mingzhu was shocked and realized the gap between the first and second wives.
Shen Qingtan caught a glimpse of the jealousy in Shen Mingzhu's eyes and gave a wink to Mother Liu.
Mother Liu carried the kesi into the inner room.
Shen Mingzhu retracted her gaze and sat beside Shen Qingtan: "Big sister, your brother-in-law is so kind to you, giving you so many kesi silks."
She smiled and said, "You've been very good to me. Whenever you got something good, you'd always give me some."
Shen Qingtan pretended not to understand her hint and said with a sweet smile: "Second sister, there is no need to envy me. My brother-in-law treats you very well. You will have everything you need."
"How could the Second House afford kesi? In order to raise money to buy military rations for the Third Master, my mother-in-law pawned all her dowry..." Shen Mingzhu's smile fell, and she said bitterly, "Big sister, you also know about this."
"They really didn't think this through." Shen Qingtan sighed softly, "Mother once taught us that we should accomplish things according to our abilities. After this incident, they should learn their lesson and not reach for things that don't belong to them."
"Yes, they've learned their lesson, and they'll be smarter next time." Shen Mingzhu coveted the kesi silk and changed the subject: "Summer is coming soon, and the mansion hasn't arranged for summer clothes yet. My dowry doesn't have many clothes. Big sister, can you spare me two pieces of fabric to make summer clothes?"
"Your brother-in-law gave it to you. I can't give it to you, or he'll be angry with me. Second sister, you've always been kind. If my husband and I have a disagreement because of you, you'll feel guilty."
Shen Qingtan declined politely and suggested, "I will discuss with my mother-in-law later and arrange for an embroiderer to come to the mansion in the next two days to take the masters' measurements so that the summer clothes can be made as soon as possible."
Shen Mingzhu was choked and hated Shen Qingtan even more. She clearly had several pieces of kesi silk, so what would be the harm in giving one to her?
She accidentally saw a plate of cherries on the kang table, and the sourness in her heart rose to her throat.
There are no cherries available in the Marquis Cheng'en's Mansion, but Shen Qingtan has them here.
Her fingers tugged at the hem of her skirt, and she said with tears in her eyes, "Big sister, are you still blaming me for what happened to Mother Wei?"
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