Chapter 37: "Wealthy" and "Talented"
"According to the number you mentioned, two million taels, can it be understood that you must have at least five million taels in assets to show for it?" Mu Xi estimated based on the "conventional" operation in the business world.
Qi Erniang's face was contorted with pain: "Five million taels..."
"Hmm, you're not 'hahaha' anymore. Judging from your expression, five million taels is still too little." Mu Xi just took it as a joke.
"Ah...ah...ah..." Qi Erniang was like a chicken with its neck being choked. Finally, she made up her mind and said, "Six million taels. This servant can only raise six million taels at most. As for the rest, please leave a way out for me, Your Highness."
"I'll give you a way out, and you can keep all this silver." Mu Xi had had her fill of fun, so she toned down her act. "What use would I have for your money? Could that silver shut you up or make you mute? Even if you become mute, you can still write, right? So offering silver won't work."
"Huh?" Qi Erniang didn't expect that six million taels of silver had already nearly killed her, and it still wasn't enough.
Mu Xi picked up the teacup and took a sip, but didn't dare drink it after the tea touched her lips. She had no choice but to put it down and said, "Alright, it's getting late. If you don't have any other ideas, I'll have to go back now."
Qi Erniang lunged forward, trying to grab Mu Xi's clothes: "No, no, no... I'm not only 'rich' but also 'talented,' 'talented,' Young Master..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mu Xun kicked the man away, saying, "Speak up! You think you're worthy of even touching the hem of the young master's robe?"
Mu Xi's face was cold, but she felt guilty inside. She wanted to spare her life, but she really had no good way to do it. She could only sigh, "Alas, you are a lone woman, yet you have managed to amass such a fortune. You are truly wealthy. Unfortunately, in this situation, money is useless. It cannot buy your life. I am here only to apologize to you in person. You have died unjustly in this life. If there is an afterlife, I will find a way..."
"No, no, no..." Qi Erniang was kicked to the ground, but she scrambled to her feet. "Young Master... Young Master doesn't want my money. I have other talents."
"The other 'talent'? You mean the 'talent' in 'talent'?" Mu Xi almost burst out laughing.
Qi Erniang nodded earnestly: "Yes, yes... I dare not say that it is talent, but perhaps the young master can use me in some way."
"Tell me, what talents do you have that I absolutely must use?" Mu Xi's interest was piqued again.
Qi Erniang slowly straightened her knees, as if she had made a great decision: "Then please, Your Highness, listen to a secret I have to tell you."
"Your secret?" Mu Xi asked, her curiosity growing.
Qi Erniang gripped her clothes tightly with both hands and bit her lower lip: "Since I have discovered the young master's secret, I am willing to reveal my own secret to gain the young master's trust."
"Tell me first." This is practically an admission of guilt.
After all, Mu Xi had just begun to have doubts about Mu Xun yesterday, so now it all depends on how much Qi Erniang is willing to vomit.
Qi Erniang took a deep breath and no longer hesitated: "I used all sorts of means to kill my brother, my husband, my husband's mistress and his children, just to gain this family business today."
"Hmm..." That shows some sincerity. Mu Xi was eager to be a gossip spectator. "Oh, tell me the details."
Qi Erniang slowly lowered her gaze to the void, recalling: "I was originally the only daughter of the Qi family, with only one older brother, hence the name 'Qi Erniang'. My brother was a gambler and a drunkard, but he was the undisputed heir. I considered myself to be born intelligent and quick-witted, with a business mind, but I couldn't use it because I was a girl. When I was young and impetuous, I tried to persuade my parents to find me a son-in-law, ostensibly to help my brother manage the family business better in the future, but in reality, it was to get a share for myself."
Mu Xi felt a growing sense of injustice about this situation.
"Since I was their only daughter, my parents agreed to let me marry into their family. They even carefully selected a seemingly hardworking and honest man from among the family's accountants and servants to marry into the family. At first, my husband treated me quite well, was filial to my parents, and diligently helped manage the family business. But after my parents passed away one after another, he revealed his true colors. He began to win over my lazy and muddle-headed brother, who indulged in drinking, gambling, and whoring, and gradually handed over what should have been his family business to my husband. I saw that things were getting increasingly wrong and tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen. My brother had been addicted to alcohol and women for years, and his health was already deteriorating. If things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before he died, and the family business would fall into the hands of his unfaithful husband. In order to stop my brother from squandering the family business, I decided to take drastic measures and poisoned his daily food, sending him to meet the King of Hell ahead of time." Qi Erniang paused here and glanced at Mu Xi.
That's hard to say.
Even if you call it "stopping the loss in time," it still resulted in a human life.
Mu Xi could only say, "Continue."
Qi Erniang continued her story: "My brother died without leaving any children, so I used the excuse of having a husband who married into the family to transfer my brother's property to him. Originally, I wanted to use this property to keep my husband in check, but I didn't expect that my husband would also find out. Not only did he use some means to transfer the property in advance, but he also kept a mistress outside and had a son with her."
Oh dear, this clichéd plot is so similar, how come it plays out in every time and space?
Mu Xi couldn't help but recall her past life, which deeply moved her, but she showed no emotion on her face.
Since Qi Erniang had confessed to such a crime, she was not afraid to lay bare her true feelings: "He is not as capable as me, nor does he have as good a background as me. What right does he have to get all this? Is it just because he is a man? He is a poor man who married into the family and originally had nothing. My Qi family gave him everything. Not only was he not satisfied, but he also set up his own household outside. I am absolutely unwilling to hand over our family fortune to others and let that little bastard and his illegitimate child benefit for nothing. So, I decided to go all the way and secretly bribed the bandits in the mountains to kill him under the guise of robbery."
"What about the mistress and her children?" Mu Xi understood this feeling all too well.
Qi Erniang, getting carried away, narrowed her eyes and said, "He's a scoundrel. Those vixens and bastards outside don't deserve a good end either. They've enjoyed the Qi family's wealth for so many years, it's time for them to pay back. I didn't take their lives, I just found a slave trader, secretly gained the mother and son's trust, and then sold them off separately."
Ah... these methods...
Mu Xi's feelings were complex and difficult to express.
Logically, even if the mother and child were not innocent, they shouldn't have ended up separated from each other and sold into slavery. But emotionally, if it were her, she wouldn't want to leave behind any "future troubles."
Thinking back to my previous life, if my mother or she had been more vigilant and resourceful, none of what happened later would have occurred.
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