Chapter 352 Layout
The next morning, after finishing his breakfast, Shen Qingtan sat on the Arhat couch, holding a booklet in his hand and continued to review the relationships among the Northern Qi families.
At this time, Liu Yue hurried in from outside, shook off the cold air, and came to her side.
"Princess, Vice Admiral Sun has sent back a message that the old lady of the Lin family has brought Madam Lin to the palace to meet her relatives." Liu Yue lowered her voice and said, "The Emperor of Northern Qi issued an edict yesterday. All officials of the Lin family, whether from the main family or from other branches, will be demoted by one rank."
"I think the Concubine invited her family to the palace today to discuss this matter." Liu Yue said with a worried look on her face, "You must be careful about the Lin family."
Shen Qingtan turned a page with his fingertips, lightly pressing along the binding line with his fingertips, and said nonchalantly, "Is Ah Rong in charge of the purchasing affairs of the mansion?"
Liu Yue replied, "The steward will follow your instructions and arrange for her to be in charge of the shopping."
Speaking of Arong, Liu Yue recalled a suspicious incident: "I discovered that Arong had bought a lot of expensive teas and some coarse teas at a tea shop, so I asked the accountant to ask her what she was buying the tea for."
"Arong said that the New Year is coming soon, and the master's family will prepare tea as a precious gift to give to relatives and friends."
"When I heard this, I immediately became suspicious. Before coming to Guangling Prince's Palace to take up her duties, Arong had never served the nobleman. She was just a palace maid on night patrol. How could she know what kind of gift the master's family had sent?"
"I was worried she might do something bad, so I secretly asked Vice Admiral Sun to arrange for someone to investigate. They actually found some clues."
"The owner of that tea shop is the Lin family."
At this point, Liu Yue's expression became serious: "Will your arrangement for Arong to do the shopping bring us trouble?"
"We and Concubine Shu are at the point of a life-and-death struggle. Instead of waiting for Concubine Shu to plot against us and then strike back, it's better for us to take the initiative."
Shen Qingtan explained: "I arranged for Arong to go shopping so that she could get information from us and report it to us."
Sure enough, as soon as Arong went shopping, he took action.
Liu Yue asked worriedly, "What about the tea leaves?"
Shen Qingtan frowned slightly. "Whether this tea is good or bad, we need to investigate further. However, I have thought of something else."
Liu Yue looked at Shen Qingtan in confusion.
"In the Northern Qi Dynasty, tea was not allowed to be sold privately by merchants. All the tea grown by the common people was sold to the government, who then exchanged the tea for war horses."
Shen Qingtan said: "The scarcer something is, the greater the profit. Many people risk death to sell illegal tea for the huge profits it brings."
What about the Lin family? Do they smuggle tea?
Judging from Lin Yi's personality, he is probably not that clean.
Liu Yue was shocked. The princess meant that... the Lin family was selling illegal tea?
Shen Qingtan pondered, "Send someone to check the tea. If there's nothing wrong with the tea that Arong bought, have Lieutenant General Sun send someone disguised as a merchant to the tea shop to buy a large quantity of tea."
Liu Yue quickly agreed and turned to leave the house.
Shen Qingtan called Tingxue and left the house together.
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A carriage slowly stopped at the gate of the Lin Mansion. A maid moved a wooden ladder aside and helped Old Madam Lin and Madam Lin get off the carriage.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to the palace to meet Concubine Shu. When they mentioned Lin Yi's death, they were all heartbroken.
The Lin family’s current fate is closely related to Zhao Yi.
Compared with the Queen Mother and the King of Qi, Zhao Yi poses a greater threat to them.
Now Zhao Yi still doesn't know his mother died at the hands of Concubine Shu, and the two families are already locked in a mortal conflict. If Zhao Yi knew the truth, would he let Concubine Shu go? Or would he let the Lin family go?
After some discussion, several people decided to strike first.
Mrs. Lin helped Mrs. Lin go to Kangningyuan. As soon as they entered the house, they smelled the strong scent of sandalwood.
When she looked up, she saw a Buddhist shrine in Old Madam Lin's house, with incense burning continuously.
Ever since the Lin family's descendants became successful in official circles, Old Lady Lin donated a sum of money to the nunnery and lived there to practice asceticism all year round.
Now that Lin Yi was in trouble, Old Madam Lin returned home and lived the same frugal life as she did in the nunnery.
Madam Lin personally helped Madam Lin change out of her imperial robes. "Mother, you got up early today. Seeing the Empress in the palace must have exhausted your energy. Would you like to rest in bed?"
Madam Lin didn't respond to Madam Lin's words. She turned around and asked the maid beside her: "Where is Brother Nian?"
Nian Ge'er is Lin Yi's eldest son, Lin Qinian.
The maid replied, "Master just happened to be coming back from the shop."
"He's completely focused on the shop." Madam Lin frowned, clearly unhappy. "Go and ask him to come over."
When Mrs. Lin was young, she had eaten many dishes with Old Madam Lin, and she was afraid of Old Madam Lin in her bones. When she saw her face change, she nervously clenched the handkerchief in her hand and looked at Old Madam Lin cautiously.
Mrs. Lin was in her early sixties. After experiencing the pain of losing her son, her hair turned completely white overnight.
"Yier died tragically. Even his funeral couldn't be arranged. He could only be buried in a thin coffin." Hatred shone through Mrs. Lin's shrewd eyes. "Yier had a bright future, but it was ruined by Zhao Yi. His death was so unjust."
"All the children and grandchildren in the family have been demoted. It's now as difficult as climbing to the sky to climb up. All of this is caused by Zhao Yi."
The more Mrs. Lin spoke, the more resentment she felt in her heart: "Nian'er could have been promoted, but now, let alone being demoted, he is in mourning at home because of his father's death."
Mrs. Lin didn't dare to say a word. Because of Lin Yi's matter, they couldn't hold a big New Year's banquet in the Lin Mansion this year, nor could they go to other mansions for New Year's banquet.
He had no chance of meeting anyone from the Guangling Palace, and he had too few opportunities to make trouble for Zhao Yi and his wife.
Madam Lin warned, "Don't get involved with Prince Guangling. The Empress and I have our own arrangements."
Mrs. Lin said respectfully, "My daughter-in-law knows."
Old Madam Lin looked down on Madam Lin, believing her to be simple-minded. If she told her about the plan, she would definitely hold her back.
At this time, the voice of a maid came from outside the door, saying, "My Lord, all is well."
The next moment, Lin Qinian walked into the house with his hands tucked into his sleeves, and staggered to the two elders: "Long live the ancestors, and long live the mother."
Old Madam Lin looked at her eldest grandson who was walking in an unsteady manner, her eyes full of doting.
This is her most valued grandson, who originally had a smooth career and a bright future thanks to his aunt.
Now he has to stay at home in mourning for three years before he can resume his duties.
Thinking of this, Madam Lin was heartbroken: "What's going on in the shop that requires you to go there in person?"
Lin Qinian hooked an object on his finger and swung it around as he spoke, "It's the end of the year, and a batch of tea has arrived at our shop. Many dignitaries will buy tea from us. As the eldest uncle of the Lin family, the future head of the family, shouldn't I go and meet them in person?"
When Old Lady Lin heard Lin Qinian's ambitious words, a smile appeared on her face. "The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites is a good friend of your father. You should call him Uncle Ji. Bring some gifts and visit him tomorrow."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Qinian threw the object that was hooked on his fingertips out, and with a "ding dong" sound, it flew into the teacup held up by Old Lady Lin.
He touched his nose guiltily and forcibly changed the subject: "Are you always going to avenge my father?"
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