Reprimanded by Lu Zhao, Su Heng felt resentful, but dared not show it on his face. He nodded and bowed, saying, "That's right, then let's call him Guard Lu."
Lu Zhao said, "I have two things to say. First, you and your wife, Su Heng, colluded with Magistrate Ge Fanghai to forge land deeds and seize Madam's pharmacy. Return it to Madam immediately."
Su Heng felt sorry for the pharmacy and wanted to argue, but Madam Yang reached out and pinched him hard on the lower back, laughing, "Of course, of course, we were just helping her manage it. The pharmacy has long been handed over, and there are no one from our team there anymore."
Lu Zhao took out Su Wan's land deed and said, "I was afraid you wouldn't be satisfied, so Madam gave me the original land deed. Even if you go to the new magistrate, it won't do you any good. Take out your forged land deed and destroy it in front of me."
Yang dared not disobey and hurriedly returned to the house to retrieve the land deed that they had forged together with Ge Fanghai.
She held the land deed with some reluctance, as it was their source of income. Lu Zhao snatched it away, examined it carefully, tore it up, and burned it in the fire. He clapped his hands and said, "Alright, the first task is done."
Su Heng felt a pang of heartache at the sight, and said with a mournful face, "Guard Lu, please tell me the second matter."
Lu Zhao said, "The second thing is that you bought this house with the property left by my wife's father, right? You have to return it. Pack your things and move out today."
Su Heng and Madam Yang were dumbfounded. They never expected that Su Wan would even take back the house.
Madam Yang lied, saying, "Guard Lu, this...this house was bought by my husband and me with our own money."
Lu Zhao glared at her: "Stop playing the victim. Madam has made herself clear enough. Either you move out today, or I'll have the soldiers kick you out. The choice is yours."
Yang was on the verge of tears, yet still wanted to argue. This time, Su Heng pulled her back and said to Lu Zhao, "Shall we just leave the house here?"
Lu Zhao said, "That's what Madam instructed. Pack up immediately, and leave everything except the essentials."
Yang was about to cry and complain when Su Heng pulled her aside and led her to the next house, saying, "We've already earned 40,000 taels of silver from the pharmacy. We can take the money to Yue'e's place and buy another house. Otherwise, we'll be living in fear even if we stay here."
Yang thought it made sense, so the couple quickly packed up their valuables.
The forty thousand taels of silver were all in silver notes, one thousand taels each, a thick stack of forty notes, wrapped in oiled paper, which Su Heng carefully kept close to his body. The couple then pretended to pack some odds and ends and hired a carriage.
Seeing that the two were really straightforward, Lu Zhao realized she didn't need to resort to force.
Having grown up with her brother Lu Lin in the mountains, she had never seen such a large denomination item as a banknote before. She assumed that Su Heng and his wife had left all their valuables behind, so she let them board the carriage without searching them. She then led the soldiers to inventory the valuables in the Su residence.
Fearing that Lu Zhao would discover something was wrong and give chase, Su Heng and his wife made the carriage run at full speed, only slowing down after leaving Suiyang County.
Madam Yang was worried that Su Heng hadn't brought the silver notes properly, so she asked Su Heng, "Master, are the silver notes alright?"
Su Heng took out the oil paper package containing the silver notes and showed it to her: "It's right here. With this 40,000 taels of silver, you can buy a house in the capital. You can also use Yaozu's reputation to make connections with some officials. Maybe you can even get an official position. It's much better than running a pharmacy in Suiyang County. It's a good thing."
Madam Yang was also very happy, beaming as she said, "What you say is true, sir. When we get to the capital, we'll first go see our son-in-law and Yue'e, and then we'll go see Yaozu."
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