Chapter 96 What can you do?

After the old lady finished speaking, she left without looking back. Zheng Qiaohui came to her senses and was furious.

What did she do wrong? Where did she go wrong? Is there anything wrong with her just wanting to make more plans for her children?

If the Ruan family could treat everyone equally, she wouldn't be living like this now. Isn't it because her mother is partial to her? The eldest wife controls the entire Ruan family. They are obviously a family, but they are treated like guests living under someone else's roof?

The old lady left, Zhou Yunzhi also left, and only Ruan Qinghuan and He An were left in the hall. Zheng Qiaohui tried hard to suppress the anger and dissatisfaction in her heart, and her face was full of sadness when she turned around.

"Qinghuan, Auntie did some things wrong in the past, but we are a family after all, you can't just kill them all like this."

"Second Aunt, what you said is wrong. You have always been dissatisfied with Grandmother and Mother. It is a bit wrong to say this now." Ruan Qinghuan did not buy her nonsense. She turned around and sat down. She ordered someone to help Zheng Qiaohui sit up on the chair. "Now that things have come to this point, I would like to have a good chat with Second Aunt."

Before, Zheng Qiaohui never took Ruan Qinghuan seriously, thinking that she was just a simple-minded person who would only get angry when something happened. She only needed to use some tricks to provoke her and make her lose her composure.

But now it's different. She has been married into the prime minister's mansion for less than a year and she almost doesn't recognize him. Now seeing her indifferent but calm expression, she is inexplicably scared.

"Aunt, you should own at least five shops." Ruan Qinghuan smiled faintly, "If what I said is correct, you have taken a lot of money from your parents in recent years, and invested it in Uncle Xiaorou's shop. You should be able to get some dividends every year."

Zheng Qiaohui: “…”

How could she know all this and know it so clearly?

"Qing Huan, don't say anything nonsense. Auntie doesn't know what you are talking about."

He sat aside, drinking tea comfortably, but a trace of contempt flashed in his eyes. What things in the capital could be hidden from him?

"It's okay if Second Aunt doesn't know. Although the Zheng family's business is all in Los Angeles, it's not too far away. It's not difficult to find out something." He paused and took a sip of tea. "And I heard that during the disaster in Los Angeles, the Zheng family's grain store took the lead in raising grain prices, which almost caused panic among the people. Is this true?"

Zheng Qiaohui took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and didn't know how to answer.

It was He An who spoke up: "It is true. Recently, the government has conducted a thorough investigation into disaster relief, from high-ranking officials to ordinary merchants who stir up trouble. Raising food prices during a disaster is no different from profiting from a national disaster, and should be punished according to the law."

"No, the Zheng family raised the grain price because the cost of purchasing grain has increased..."

"High enough to more than triple the price of food?" Ruan Qinghuan interrupted her and asked.

Zheng Qiaohui's face turned pale. Ruan Qinghuan had found out everything about the Zheng family. Now she had the Prime Minister's support. If she continued to make trouble, her natal family might be implicated.

Seeing that she was wavering, Ruan Qinghuan stopped talking. Even for the sake of her second uncle, she had to leave some room for her.

Zheng Qiaohui's eyes were filled with reluctance. She put away her pitiful expression and discussed the terms with Ruan Qinghuan: "You can split up the family, but I want five shops and 12,000 taels of silver."

"Okay, I'll deposit this 12,000 taels of silver in the name of my second uncle. As for the shops, I've already signed the contract for the two in Xiaorou and the three in Qingchi."

Zheng Qiaohui: “…”

Didn't they say they would only give her two shops? That's why she asked for three more. Unexpectedly, Ruan Qinghuan agreed right away, which made her feel like she was being cheated: "Besides that..."

"Aunt, people should know when to stop. Don't even think about the rest."

Seeing the two people leave the hall, Zheng Qiaohui was so angry that she grabbed the teacup and smashed it to pieces.

Isn't she just a prime minister's wife who is like a vase? When Pei Chong is promoted in the future, he will let them see what it means when fortune changes.

**

In Jingxin Pavilion, Zhou Yunzhi patted the old lady's chest and advised: "Mother, think more positively. Qinghuan did this for her own reasons. Now the wind in the court is unclear, it is always good to be more prepared."

The old lady sighed.

Although they are just a merchant family, they have seen a lot and naturally know a lot since they are in the capital. In addition, now that they are marrying into the He family, they must be even more cautious.

The struggle for imperial power was a matter of great importance, and was equivalent to doing things with one's head on the line. Pei Chong was the Second Prince's man, and the Second Prince was now under house arrest... She didn't want to get involved in Pei's family affairs, but she was really worried about her youngest son.

"The banknotes that the Pei family got from the bank were all Xiaoyue's dowry?" the old lady asked in a low voice.

"This morning, the bank manager sent someone to deliver the dowry you prepared for Xiaoyue. Now it has been exchanged for cash. I don't know what to do with such a large amount of money."

Yes, for an ordinary family, who would withdraw so much money at once?

What made the old lady even more angry was that the Pei family had already coveted their granddaughter's dowry of two thousand taels just two days after the wedding. How could this be something a noble family would do?

It wasn't that she felt bad about the silver. After all, the silver was given to Xiaoyue to take to her husband's house. But two thousand silver coins were gone in two days. This was too...

"If the Pei family really does something outrageous, will it implicate us?" The old lady was worried.

"Don't worry, mother. With He An here, she will definitely find a way to keep us out of this."

The old lady nodded, muttering, "Let's divide it up. If the family is divided up, it will be quieter. As for Chenglin, let Chengfu take care of him more."

"Don't worry, mother. My second brother is not a fool. We will not ignore him."

**

Zhou Yunzhi came out of the old lady's room and happened to meet her daughter and son-in-law coming over. She quickly stretched out her hand and made a shushing gesture.

Ruan Qinghuan knew that her grandmother must be upset and it would be good if she could take a short rest, so she went back to the front yard with her mother.

On his way back, Jiang Yun came over and told him that the Dali Temple had summoned officials from the Ministry of Revenue for questioning, and the Dali Temple Minister asked him to go over and supervise.

It sounds good, but in reality it's just a formality. Ruan Qinghuan was a little unhappy: "I heard that Jiang Jie is going to get engaged to Qi Siwei, but he brought it to the Ministry of Revenue for review at this time. I guess he wants to find a scapegoat. To put it bluntly, he probably wants to put on a show for you, my Lord."

"Since he wants to act, I'll go and see what he can do."

After He'an left, Ruan Qinghuan returned to Cuijingxuan with her mother. She learned that Zheng Qiaohui agreed to divide the family. She was a little surprised at first, but then she felt relieved. Since her daughter could find out the debt, other things would probably happen too.

After entering the house, Liu's mother brought the prepared sugar cakes over. Zhou Yunzhi pushed the plate in front of her and said, "Qinghuan, tell me the truth. Did the Pei family really do something wrong?"

Ruan Qinghuan didn't want her to worry: "These are still undecided, mother, don't worry about it."

"It's not that I'm worrying about nothing, but this morning the bank manager came over with the dowry notes your grandmother prepared for Xiaoyue, and he exchanged all the two thousand taels of silver into cash. It's very unusual to suddenly spend such a large sum of money."

Ruan Qinghuan was also shocked when he heard this: "What happened this morning?"

Zhou Yunzhi nodded.

Ruan Qinghuan was thoughtful. It seemed that her idea of ​​dividing the family was right. The Pei family was just an empty shell with a strong family background. They had just gotten married, but they were already misappropriating Xiaoyue's dowry. Such a large amount must be some ulterior motive.