Chapter 360: Reporting the Selling of Contraband Tea
Shen Qingtan learned that Madam Lin had agreed and promised to deliver tea to the old customer within a few days, hoping that the old customer could be flexible for a few days.
The old master, out of consideration for the relationship between the virtuous concubine and the virtuous prince in the palace, gave Madam Lin a favor and was willing to extend the time for a few days.
Shen Qingtan was worried and waited for half a day. When the Lin family tea shop began to fulfill its promise, he arranged for someone to reveal the news to King Qi.
The King of Qi knew that he was favored by the Emperor of Northern Qi and was convinced that he would be the future emperor of Northern Qi.
Even though the virtuous king regarded him as an opponent and wanted to compete for the position of crown prince, he did not take the virtuous king seriously.
Faced with the wise king's small moves, he countered them and fought back, and never felt threatened by the wise king.
Unexpectedly, his father went back on his word and did not follow the previous agreement to enthrone him as the crown prince after he returned from his mission to the Great Zhou.
Even when the Lin family committed the serious crime of murdering the royal heir, he protected the Lin family and only demoted the Lin family's official rank.
After that, the emperor frequently praised the virtuous king in the morning court, as if to tell the court officials that he would not dislike the virtuous king because of the Lin family's misdeeds.
Until this time, the King of Qi developed a sense of crisis and began to face the virtuous king, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible.
Otherwise, he would not be able to sleep or eat.
Now that he knew that the Lin family was selling illegal tea, the King of Qi immediately sent people to investigate.
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Every year, Madam Lin would sell half of her illegal tea mixed with legitimate tea. She would then secretly ship the remaining illegal tea to foreign countries and sell it at a high price.
Over the years, no one has ever discovered that they are selling private tea.
Now a new Yunxiang Tea Shop has opened in the capital, selling tea at a low price and with sufficient supply, causing old customers to ask the Lin family for an explanation.
Old Madam Lin had no choice but to distribute some of the private tea that was to be shipped to foreign countries after the New Year to her old customers.
It only took two days to deliver all the tea ordered by the old customers.
When Mrs. Lin heard the news from the shopkeeper, she felt very sad. She spent all the money she had earned.
She hated Yunxiang Tea Shop in her heart. If it weren't for this tea shop, she wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses.
Madam Lin instructed the shopkeeper, "Think of a way to make Yunxiang Tea Shop run into trouble so that it can no longer operate in the capital."
Otherwise, the Lin family’s tea shop would no longer be able to sell at a high price.
The shopkeeper agreed, left the Lin Mansion with a haggard look, and started to manage the Yunxiang Tea Shop.
Old Madam Lin leaned tiredly on a large soft pillow, pressing her swollen and aching forehead, hoping that the misfortune that shrouded the Lin family would dissipate as soon as possible.
"Old lady, old lady——"
Mother Sun's voice came into the room first, and then she lifted the door curtain and came in.
Old Madam Lin was terrified, worried that something had gone wrong again. She suddenly sat up straight, only to see that Mother Sun was looking very happy.
"Madam, there's good news from the palace," said Mother Sun, beaming. "His Majesty has neglected Consort Shu for some time, but last night he called her over and summoned her to his bedchamber. This morning, His Majesty bestowed upon her a reward. Our Consort is a blessed woman, and her former favor will soon be restored."
"Really?" Madam Lin's previous gloom was gone, and she smiled brightly. "This is great news. As long as Your Majesty regains His Majesty's favor, our Lin family will have a chance to return to its former glory."
Mrs. Lin's face suddenly became radiant. She quickly got off the couch, washed her hands, took a stick of incense, and reverently offered incense to the Bodhisattva and replaced the offerings.
"The Bodhisattva has appeared and is blessing our Lin family."
Old Madam Lin planned to use Lin Yi's death to withdraw from the world and fade out of the people's sight, so that if Concubine Shu regained her favor, someone would use the Lin family as an excuse to hinder Concubine Shu.
Just waiting for the wise king to ascend the throne so that the Lin family can return in strength.
"I haven't had lunch yet. Please help me to the side hall to eat."
Mrs. Lin handed her hand to Mother Sun.
At this moment, the housekeeper rushed into the room without regard for etiquette, his face pale. "Old Madam, the King of Qi... the King of Qi has exposed us for selling illegal tea, and someone from the palace... the palace is here."
When Mrs. Lin heard the bad news, she felt dizzy and before she could do anything, she saw the guards coming in and her legs went weak and she couldn't stand.
Mother Sun quickly supported Mrs. Lin.
The commander of the Imperial Guard said sternly, "I'm sorry." Then he waved his hand and said, "Take him away."
Madam Lin's hand holding the cane was shaking, but at her age, she had experienced many ups and downs, so she quickly calmed down and raised her hand to stop the guards from approaching her: "I will walk on my own."
The guards looked at the commander.
The commander of the Imperial Guard nodded slightly, agreed to Madam Lin's request, and gave her some respect.
Old Madam Lin breathed a sigh of relief and gave Mother Sun a look, indicating that she should go and inform her.
The next moment, her hopes were dashed.
"Everyone in the house must be under guard. No one is allowed to leave the Lin Mansion until Old Madam Lin returns." The commander of the Imperial Guards ordered, "Anyone who disobeys will be punished with thirty lashes of the cane."
Old Madam Lin's face changed drastically. She tightly grasped the cane in her hand, as if her last chance of survival had been cut off, and the light in her eyes dimmed.
She tried her best to remain calm and followed the commander of the imperial guards into the palace and came to the imperial study.
The Northern Qi Emperor's face turned dark blue, and the King of Qi also looked indignant.
The atmosphere in the imperial study was tense, as if filled with invisible smoke that could ignite at any time.
Old Lady Lin stared at the King of Qi standing in the middle of the hall, her heart filled with hatred.
She suspected that Yunxiang Tea Shop was the shop of King Qi.
The King of Qi deliberately forced her to give the private tea to her regular customers, and then found evidence of her selling private tea before the emperor.
The more Mrs. Lin thought about it, the more she felt that the King of Qi was the culprit. After all, the King of Qi was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue was in charge of the tea affairs of Northern Qi.
Apart from King Qi, she couldn't think of anyone else who had the ability to produce so much tea and compete with the Lin family.
The Prince of Qi heard the noise and turned to see Madam Lin stumbling. He ignored the Northern Qi Emperor's gloomy expression and continued, "Father, I am in charge of Northern Qi's tea business. The accounts clearly state who holds how many tea permits."
"And the amount of tea sold by the Lin family tea shop far exceeded the tea permits they received."
At this point, the King of Qi lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, saying, "Your Majesty, I beg you to conduct a thorough investigation."
"Your Majesty, the Lin family sells tea in an honest manner. The origin of every pound of tea is clearly recorded in the accounts. We have never made a bad debt, and the amount of tea vouchers has never been exceeded." Old Lady Lin quickly knelt down, full of grievance, and said, "Is there some misunderstanding here?"
Seeing that Old Lady Lin didn't cry until she saw the coffin, the King of Qi quickly took out the account book and placed it in front of Old Lady Lin: "What's your explanation?"
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