"That's a human life!"
"It's a human life!"
"It's not a cat or a dog!"
"You're driving people to their deaths! You're driving people to their deaths! Do you even realize that?!"
Seeing that they still seemed indifferent, Old Madam Pei almost fainted from anger. She held onto Chang Mama's hand and said, her whole body trembling.
"Not to mention, the court is short of money right now. The north has won a battle, but His Majesty can't even come up with the money to reward the army. You guys are all rich, lending out 100,000 or 200,000 taels of silver at exorbitant interest rates. If His Majesty finds a pretext to do something, it's a miracle that His Majesty hasn't confiscated the Pei family's property."
"We've been lucky, really. We've been loyal to His Majesty all these years and have some influence in his eyes. Plus, the Marquis accompanied the emperor this time, and as soon as he heard about the usury, he immediately requested an investigation..."
"What? The official in charge of the investigation is the Marquis..." Madam Wen was dumbfounded. "Isn't that like family members fighting each other?!"
"Why didn't you spare us, Lord Marquis?"
"Yeah, yeah, so what if so many people let us go? Anyway, no one else knows."
The aunt also chimed in from the side.
"You're all so stupid! You're all incredibly stupid! If it weren't for the Marquis finding out and reporting you, and His Majesty remembering his honesty and integrity, you would all be dead by now!"
As she spoke, Madam Pei tossed a list to them for them to see.
"What!"
"Not only the Marquis of Yongwu's mansion, but even the Duke of Chen's mansion has been demoted. This is a dignified Duke, yet a few lives have been lost, and it has caused such a big commotion. Other officials of the fourth or fifth rank have also been reprimanded by His Majesty."
Looking at the list, Madam Wen and Madam Bo remained silent.
Of the eight most powerful and influential families today, the Pei family is only one, and the Duke of Chen is another.
With even one member of the once-powerful Duke's mansion fallen, how could they dare to utter a single complaint?
But in his heart, he still felt that His Majesty was making a mountain out of a molehill. It was just a few worthless lives, yet he made such a big fuss.
People die every single day in this world.
It's just a worthless life.
Putting aside everything else, countless people froze to death during the heavy snow last winter. They only lost a few people, and besides, it wasn't them who did it.
They just wanted to earn some money, but who knew the thugs would use such excessive force?
Regret!
The fine silver was stained with blood.
And we even have to take the blame for the thugs...
Thinking of this, Madam Wen and Madam Bo exchanged a glance, and then the two hurriedly knelt down.
"Grandma, what did Her Majesty the Empress say? We really just want to earn some money; we don't want any dead people."
"That's right, we're not those heartless, conscienceless villains, how could we possibly want to kill someone?"
"We have no other ideas besides making money."
"We are innocent too! Your Majesty, please see the truth!"
"Hmph, Her Majesty the Empress said that, considering the merits of the Pei family and the fact that you were only accomplices, she will spare you this time. You will only be allowed to reflect on your mistakes in seclusion. Don't even think about the money you lent out. His Majesty has already decreed that the people should not repay it. All the money that has not yet been lent out in the bank will be confiscated and used to reward the army."
"What? It's been confiscated?"
Lady Wen and Lady Bo were dumbfounded. When Old Madam Pei first said that the Empress would spare them this time and only let them reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors, they were actually relieved.
Just as I was starting to smile, they said the remaining money had been confiscated.
"Grandma, this won't do, this is our hard-earned money."
"How are we supposed to live without money...?"
Pei Jing was even more shocked, "Confiscate it? What's the difference between that and robbery?"
"Who said you robbed me?" Old Madam Pei glared at him, and Pei Jing's heart trembled at her icy gaze. He quickly shrank back in fear.
The old lady's gaze was terrifying.
"You brat, how can you talk like that?" Madam Wen also felt that Pei Jing's words were outrageous. She reached out and pretended to hit Pei Jing twice, then crawled to Madam Pei's feet and cried wildly.
"Grandma, what should I do? Please forgive me, Grandma. Even the Empress has forgiven me. Please give me back the power to manage the household. I was wrong, I was really wrong this time. I will never lend money at exorbitant interest rates again. Please forgive me this time, Grandma."
Seeing that Madam Pei's face was ashen and she was unmoved, Madam Wen continued to cry, "Madam, your daughter-in-law has been in charge of the household affairs. Even if she has not made any great contributions, she has worked hard. How can we give all the power to a new daughter-in-law as soon as she enters the house? Your daughter-in-law has also given birth to two sons and a daughter for the Marquis's mansion. If you don't care about my face, you should at least care about the children!"
She cried bitterly, tears streaming down her face, staring longingly at Madam Pei. All the maids and servants in the room also knelt down to beg Madam Pei.
"Please, old lady, forgive your wife."
The maids spoke in unison, and Pei Jing knelt at the feet of Old Madam Pei, tugging at her sleeve, his eyes filled with tears as he pleaded, "Old Madam, Madam really knows she was wrong, please give Madam a chance."
She said through tears, "Grandma, you know that my sisters-in-law in the Liu family have bullied me a lot because of Madam's status as a royal merchant. If I lose Madam's management power because of the usury issue, I don't know how they will ridicule me."
Madam Pei's face darkened.
She had feelings for Pei Jing, but it would have been better if Pei Jing hadn't mentioned it; the more he did, the angrier she became.
“I disagreed with your marriage to the Liu family back then, but you insisted on marrying into it. Not a single person in that whole family is good for anything, and they even dare to look down on your mother’s humble origins. It’s ridiculous. They haven’t had a few decades of good life, and they’ve already picked up the bad temper of those wicked families, looking down on this and that. They’ve spoiled them!”
Madam Pei was very angry.
No matter how despicable Wen Shi is, she is still her family's daughter-in-law. How dare outsiders gossip about her, especially since it's the Liu family, which is full of good-for-nothings?
Seeing that the old lady was angry, Pei Jing and Madam Wen were both delighted, thinking that there was hope. Then they heard Madam Pei say, "However, one thing is one thing. I will talk to the Duke of Liu's family about it later. Madam Wen has made a big mistake. The two cannot be compared."
no!
Why is the old lady so stubborn?
Wen Shi and Pei Jing were dumbfounded. Wen Shi was still making a last-ditch effort, "Grandma, it's really not that your daughter-in-law is power-hungry. Your daughter-in-law is doing this for the sake of the Marquis's mansion. The relationships between aristocratic families are complicated. If you move one thing, it will affect the whole family. Jiang Shi is still young. How can she be in charge of the household? You should know that the interactions between ladies are not something that can be done by simply knowing how to use an abacus."
"Oh, you've really made something of yourself. You know that one small thing can have far-reaching consequences. If you had known this earlier, why did you lend money at exorbitant interest rates?"
Madam Wen blushed as Madam Pei mocked her.
"However, you did give me a reminder. Being a steward is indeed different from managing a shop. After the steward takes over, the maid will have to go out and socialize as the mistress of the Marquis's mansion. She should be more careful in her actions."
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