"Oh my, have you heard? Trouble has found the Ji family!"
A villager seemed to have just returned from the town to Yangluo Bay and started shouting to some acquaintances as soon as he entered the village.
"What happened? I saw Xin He going to the shop in town early this morning."
"Oh! It’s not about Xin He’s family, it’s about the elder Ji family! Ji Dashan!"
Upon hearing this, the other villagers who were working were intrigued, they retorted annoyedly: "What could possibly go wrong with their family? They have been doing well recently and are now looking down on everyone in our village. They even abandoned their house in Yangluo Bay and moved into a mansion in town, living quite the life."
"Not at all! I just came back from town, and the whole town was buzzing about their family’s misfortune. Their house was confiscated by the government, all their purchased mansions, gold and silver jewellery, even the recently acquired servants, were seized and taken away. Their whole family has been summoned to the county office, they’re even getting beaten!"
"What?!"
Everyone gasped in shock, "What on earth happened?"
The man replied mysteriously, "Guess where all their money came from?"
"Wasn’t it all from the Wang family? Lady Ding even showed off to us before, saying that the Wang family had a good relationship with them and always considered them for good opportunities. They didn’t hesitate to bestow funds to them."
"No way! That money wasn’t given to them by the Wang Family! They stole it!"
"Was it stolen?!"
"Yes, the Wang family has reported it to the authorities, officers were sent directly to arrest them. It seems they stole eight hundred taels of silver, and now all their possessions have been confiscated and returned to the Wang family. Plus, their entire family has to be beaten at the county office, fifty strikes per person! I happened to pass by the county office and saw the sight of the Ji family getting beaten. The screams could be heard from miles away."
"Oh dear, I was wondering how they suddenly became wealthy. It turns out they stole the money! How could they be so shameless? They unapologetically spent stolen money and showed off with arrogant pride. They have truly lost face for their entire lineage!"
"Isn’t that so? I fear the reputation of our entire Yangluo Bay will be tainted because of this thief. If this goes out, it’ll be shameful for us!"
People were voicing their separate thoughts, causing quite a stir in the entire village. Although there were some small complaints, everyone was quite pleased deep down. The Ji family started offending everyone in Yangluo Bay the moment they came into some money, so now that the Ji family is facing misfortune, who could possibly feel sorry for them?
When Ji Xinhe returned to the village, Hong Qin immediately told her the news with great excitement.
"I had heard about it in town," Ji Xinhe laughed, as this was entirely within her expectations and not a surprise at all.
However, she was surprised by the ruthlessness of the Wang family. She thought that the Wang family would want to secretly inflict some damage to the Ji family as revenge, but they completely skipped over the grape wine issue and directly blamed Ji Dashan for stealing money. Now, not only has his family been completely deprived of properties, but they’ll also receive fifty beatings. This could potentially take away lives, not to mention, their reputation would be entirely ruined.
The Ji family had a bad reputation to begin with, largely due to Lady Ding’s hot-tempered nature and her tendency to look down on others. But, the bad reputation now is a whole other level. It directly relates to their moral conduct. From now on, regardless of whether it’s in Yangluo Bay or in town, they’ll be treated worse than a rat crossing the street.
Formerly, Ji Dashan could still do some odd jobs in town to support his family. Now that this has happened, who would dare to employ him? As for his family, their lands have almost all been sold and their silver confiscated. Will they be left to starve at home?
Ji Xinhe gave a cold humph, muttering to herself they deserved it.
Weren’t they just like thieves all along?
However, the Wang family’s sudden outrage seems to imply that their grape wine has encountered some problems, and moreover, it has already been dealt with the Palace. Does this mean her grape wine business is about to become a success?
Just as Ji Xinhe was thinking, she heard the sound of a horse carriage approaching. Judging by the sound, it seemed rather urgent.
As the carriage arrived at her courtyard gate, Ji Xinhe finally saw that it was from Guilin Residence.
"Miss Ji! Miss Ji!" Wu Zhanggui was so excited that he was shouting her name before even getting off the carriage, he didn’t even bother to step on the stool.
Hong Qin saw that Shopkeeper Wu had some issues to discuss with Ji Xinhe, so she made herself scarce, saying, "I’ll go first. I’ve finished all my work for today, and I still need to hurry home to cook dinner."
"Alright, alright!"
No sooner had Hong Qin left than Shopkeeper Wu entered gleefully. His face was beaming with delight, "Oh, there’s some terrific news! I must tell you!"
Ji Xinhe raised an eyebrow, "Could it be that the batch of wine we transported to the capital has been put to use?"
"How did you know!" Wu Zhanggui exclaimed happily.
Ji Xinhe smiled and invited Wu Zhanggui into the house, she also served him some tea. "Seeing your glowing face, it seems there could be no other reason."
"It seems I really can’t keep any secrets from you at all!" Wu Zhanggui laughed heartily, "You have no idea, this afternoon, Eunuch Lin from the palace personally came to my Guilin Residence to discuss the grape wine business! I told him it was perfect timing, as I just sent a batch of wine to the capital, which could straight away be sent to the palace."
So it turns out, Eunuch Lin from the capital went to visit the Wang family to announce an imperial decree and punishments and then he went to Guilin Residence to discuss the grape wine business. He even had lunch there before leaving.
Ji Xinhe’s lips curled into a smile, without any hint of surprise, "That’s good. It seems our hard work was not wasted. Today is the third day of March, the Princess’s wedding is not until the seventh, we won’t miss the Princess’s wedding."
"Isn’t it? That’s exactly what I thought! It’s such a lucky break!" As Wu Zhanggui was talking, he lowered his voice mysteriously, "I was initially curious about why, all of a sudden, the palace wanted our grape wine. Wasn’t this business originally belonging to the Wang Family? Eunuch Lin then let me in on some inside information, guess what it is?"
Ji Xinhe feigned confusion, "What’s happened?"
"Turns out, the Wang family never succeeded in creating grape wine pastiche. They bit off more than they can chew and the wine they sent into the palace didn’t last two days before it spoiled! What a joke, whose wine could actually spoil that soon?
The Emperor was enraged and directly issued an imperial decree to punish them. Eunuch Lin’s long journey to Lian’an Town was not just to talk business with me. The main purpose was to announce the decree in person! The Wang family lost their royal merchant title and the two young masters from the Wang family who held government positions were also dismissed. It seems like the Wang family has really hit rock bottom this time!"
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