Chapter 282 Slander in the Shop
Old Yan behind him asked softly, "Sir, do you want to go over and take a look?"
Wenren Yuebai's expression flashed with hesitation, but when he saw Qiao Youyou had already entered the store, he nodded and signaled Lao Yan to push him closer.
There was a hint of worry hidden in those eyes that were usually indifferent.
Old Yan pushed Wenren Yuebai's wheelchair to an inconspicuous corner outside Xianglai'er's shop, just in time to see what was happening in the shop.
He didn't say anything. He had watched the young master grow up, and he had never seen him fall in love with any woman.
The young master came home the day before yesterday with a bad face, and he had been worried since he heard that the Minister had returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors. Later, he asked me to go to the Ministry of Revenue to inquire about the situation. He learned that the girl surnamed Qiao was assigned the task of delivering the plaque today, and it was a day off, so he asked me to bring him to see it.
I don't know what the young master is worried about.
When Qiao Youyou entered the shop, a dignified and beautiful woman came out to greet her with a smile on her face, "This official——"
He paused after saying this. Qiao Youyou was a woman, so it was certainly not appropriate to call her "Master Official", but he couldn't call her "Madam Official", right?
Qiao Youyou smiled brightly, "Is your shopkeeper here?"
"Oh, you're looking for Fourth Aunt? She just went out for something. I'm in charge of the shop while she's away. Just tell me if you have anything to say."
Qiao Youyou nodded and asked two clerks to bring the plaque with the name of Xianglai'er's shop. She explained to the woman in front of her that this was an award from the Ministry of Revenue to several major taxpayers.
Soon, two clerks came in carrying a plaque. When they passed by Qiao Youyou, they put the plaque on the ground.
"Mr. Qiao, please help me."
Qiao Youyou subconsciously reached out to support it, but as soon as the weight of the plaque was transferred to her hand, a slight "click" sound was heard.
Qiao Youyou was startled and her hand shook, and the plaque broke directly in her hand, hitting the ground and breaking into two pieces. The loud noise attracted the attention of everyone nearby.
The woman who was looking after the shop cried out "Ah!" and hurried to check. She untied the red silk covering the plaque and held the broken plaque inside, feeling distressed.
Before Qiao Youyou could speak, a clerk shouted:
"Mr. Qiao, I asked you to help me, but you lost your grip... Alas!"
After these words were spoken, naturally everyone thought that Qiao Youyou did not hold the plaque firmly and that was why it fell.
However, Qiao Youyou knew clearly that when she touched the plaque just now, there was already a problem with the plaque, but it was wrapped in red silk and others could not see it.
She narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at the two clerks.
OK, so you are waiting here!
"This plaque is cracked, what should I do?" The woman stamped her feet anxiously and asked if a new plaque could be made.
You have to know that the plaque granted by the court is of great significance to the merchants in the capital. It is a symbol of credibility and a golden signboard! The most important thing is that if the shops want to borrow money from the money houses, with the certification of the court, the threshold for borrowing money will be much lower.
"I'm sorry, although this plaque is unnamed, the government office only made one plaque for each family, and we didn't have any surplus. If we took someone else's plaque and gave it to you, it would be unfair to others, and we have no right to make the decision." The clerk spread his hands, looking helpless.
The woman looked at Qiao Youyou with some anger, "Sir, do you know how important this imperial plaque is to our shops? You smashed our shop's plaque, you must give us an explanation for this!"
As she spoke, she had already stopped in front of Qiao Youyou, fearing that she would cheat and run away.
"Did anyone of you see that I was the one who smashed the plaque? The plaque was clearly cracked before, and when it was in my hands, the force position changed, and it broke completely." Qiao Youyou defended.
The two petty officials responded in unison as if they had planned it in advance.
"Mr. Qiao, you said that the plaque had cracked before. Who saw it?"
"When you two were carrying the plaque, you deliberately put the two pieces together. The plaque was wrapped in red silk, so naturally the cracks were not visible!" Qiao Youyou said with clenched fists.
"God and heaven are my conscience! Mr. Qiao, you must have evidence to speak like this. Although we are low-ranking officials and you are a higher official than us, you cannot frame us so wantonly and let us take the blame!"
The two petty officials started shouting and throwing tantrums.
Qiao Youyou was slandered and became furious. She loudly asked the people around her if anyone had seen what had just happened. It was clear that the plaque broke first and then fell to the ground.
However, everyone around was bewildered. No one noticed Qiao Youyou's action of holding the plaque. It was only when the plaque fell to the ground that they were attracted by the noise. Coupled with the accusations of the two clerks, people could not help but think that Qiao Youyou accidentally dropped the plaque and let his subordinates take the blame in order to shirk responsibility.
For a moment, everyone sympathized with the two clerks and glared at Qiao Youyou.
"Young Master, someone is trying to harm Miss Qiao!" Lao Yan and Wenren Yuebai, who were not far away, had been keeping an eye on Qiao Youyou. Even Lao Yan saw clearly what had happened just now, let alone Wenren Yuebai.
Wenren Yuebai's eyes were tinged with a hint of coldness, "Aunt, let's go over there."
If no one comes forward to testify at this time, Qiao Youyou will never be able to clear herself of the charges even if she jumps into the Yellow River. Not only will she have to pay the compensation out of her own pocket, but she will also be punished when she returns to the Ministry of Revenue.
"Oh, the shop is so busy this morning."
A female voice sounded from outside the crowd, and the guests saw her and made way for her to come in.
"Fourth Aunt, you're back." The woman who was looking after the shop hurried over and explained what had happened to Fourth Aunt Zhang.
After hearing this, Auntie Zhang raised her eyebrows and said, "This plaque was obtained by our Xianglaier with great difficulty. I want to see who is so bold——"
Seeing Qiao Youyou's face, Zhang Sigu abruptly stopped what she was going to say.
"...Miss Youyou?"
"Fourth Aunt, I wasn't the one who smashed the plaque." Qiao Youyou said seriously to Fourth Aunt Zhang.
"It's okay if you smashed it. It's just a plaque. Even if it's cracked, it may not look good when hung up, but it won't really affect the reputation of the shop." Aunt Zhang took Qiao Youyou's hand, smiled kindly, and asked her how she and Zhu Lan were doing recently.
When I first met the Dong family, Miss Youyou and Miss Lan, they were still little girls. Now, each of them has grown into a more beautiful girl.
"Fourth Aunt..." The woman next to her was a little confused. This lady just smashed the plaque that Xiang Lai'er had obtained with great difficulty!
Sigu Zhang signaled her with her eyes not to worry about it, and pulled Qiao Youyou to walk inside.
It was just a plaque. She was sad that it was cracked, but the matter could be a big deal or a small one. How could she possibly vent her anger on Qiao Youyou over a dead object?
"Wait a minute, Fourth Aunt, I really didn't smash the plaque." Qiao Youyou stood where she was, not wanting the matter to end in an unclear way.
The two clerks started shouting again, accusing Qiao Youyou of bullying others by abusing her power and making things difficult for them.
Qiao Youyou gently brushed away Zhang Sigu's hand and squatted down to carefully examine the two broken plaques. Although she was not sure whether she could find evidence, she had to give it a try.
(I saw that some people in the comment section were confused. This part of the plot did not deviate from the main plot. Lanbao's search for someone is also the key clue to the later plot, and it is not a water story. The perspective of a group portrait will not always be on Lanbao. Everyone has a story line but the details are different. Youyou's line is quite special, and there are few emotional scenes in the whole book, so more ink is placed on it. It is recommended to directly substitute Youyou's perspective for this part and read it as a sweet story and a counterattack story about workplace bullying.
The plots of the Ministry of Revenue and the Bank will eventually return to Lanbao's career line. Thank you for your patience in reading, love you~)
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