Chapter 1034, Closing the Shop
Bamu Town.
Mr. Fang and Mr. Du stood at the gate of the yamen with anticipation, waiting for Fang Liangji.
Mr. Fang: "I heard that there are quite a few shops for rent this time. It's a pity that you and I have no connections here. Otherwise, if we open a few more shops, we can make more money."
Mr. Du's face showed envy. "If you ask me, the Fang family is really lucky. After marrying into the Li family, they were able to directly marry into the Yan family."
"The Yan family is doing better and better now, and they even have a princess. Prince Weiyuan is in charge of all the affairs of Xiliang. With the relationship with Prince Weiyuan's palace, it won't be long before the Fang family can gain a firm foothold in Xiliang."
Mr. Fang was also very envious of this: "If anyone wants to blame someone, it's only you and me for not being as sharp-eyed as Lao Fang." Back then, the Li family's business was not as big as theirs.
But now, it’s incomparable!
Not long after, Fang Liangji came out of the yamen.
Master Fang and Master Du hurried forward. As soon as they got closer, they saw Fang Liangji's face full of worry: "My dear nephew, have you rented a shop?"
Fang Liangji had no intention of paying attention to the two people at the moment, but thinking of the ten thousand taels of silver notes they had given him before, he said perfunctorily: "All the shops for rent this time have been rented out."
Mr. Fang and Mr. Du's expressions suddenly changed. They pulled Fang Liangji aside and asked, "Nephew, have we rented a shop yet? You promised us that you would help us rent one."
Fang Liangji was feeling annoyed and said impatiently, "All the shops are rented out. I can't do anything about it. I can't even rent a shop myself."
Master Fang and Master Du's hearts sank. Seeing Fang Liangji's grim expression, they quickly said, "My dear nephew, this is not the place to talk. Why don't we go back to your shop first?"
Fang Liangji also wanted to go back to the shop to think about what was going on. The last time he met the mayor, Ma Teng, he had been very polite to him, but this time, he was being completely indifferent.
The other party simply said that the several shops that had been reserved long ago were sold out.
What went wrong?
Fangji Silk Shop.
Sun Jiayue was happily directing her maid to pack up the items she had bought from the merchants in the Western Regions: "Send all of these back to the Fang family."
Maid: "Miss, with so many things, don't you want to give some to the master and his wife?"
Sun Jiayue smiled and said, "My eldest brother will be here soon, so I'll ask him to buy some for my parents. This time, my husband promised to help my brother get the qualification to sell tea, so I have to show my filial piety to my parents-in-law."
The maid smiled and said, "Master is really good to you, young lady. I heard that the qualification to sell tea is very rare, but when you asked, Master agreed without hesitation. It shows that he holds you in his heart."
Sun Jiayue loved hearing such words. She glanced at the maid with a smile and was about to say something when she heard Fang Liangji's voice from the front. Her face suddenly lit up with joy: "My husband is back!"
After saying that, he walked out quickly.
As soon as Sun Jiayue arrived at the front, she saw Fang Liangji sending Master Fang and Master Du away with an unhappy look on his face. "Husband, why are you back so soon? Didn't you say you had rented a shop and that you should go up to check it out?"
Fang Liangji waved his hand: "Don't mention it, I couldn't even rent a shop this time."
Sun Jiayue's expression changed. "How could this happen? Didn't you say the mayor promised you that he would keep the shop for you?"
Fang Liangji frowned and said, "I've been wondering about the reason as well. This time when I met Mayor Ma, his attitude towards me was completely different from the last time."
As he spoke, he looked at Sun Jiayue.
"Jiayue, please help me think about it. Have I offended him in some way during this period of time?"
Hearing this, Sun Jiayue's heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but think of the lady she met when buying the tapestry.
"My husband, you've been busy with the store all this time, so you haven't had the chance to offend Mayor Ma, right?"
Fang Liangji shook his head: "It is impossible for Mayor Ma to ignore me for no reason. There must be something going on here." After saying that, he called the servant and asked him to go out to inquire for information.
Watching the servant leave, Sun Jiayue's heart suddenly started pounding, and she quickly recalled the day when she bought the tapestry.
Although she wanted to buy a tapestry that day, she stopped pestering the lady after she started talking, thinking that she would not offend anyone.
Therefore, it was not her fault that her husband failed to rent a shop.
Thinking of this, Sun Jiayue breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Fang Liangji's worried face, her eyes flickered, and she asked tentatively, "Husband, could it be that someone doesn't want you to open a shop?"
Fang Liangji looked up suddenly: "Who?"
Sun Jiayue showed guilt on her face: "Because of me, the Li family has always been dissatisfied with my husband." Having said that, she didn't say anything more.
Regardless of whether it is the Li family or not, it is always right to push the blame on the Li family. After all, the Li family has been operating in Xiliang for many years, so it is not impossible.
Fang Liangji really pondered for a while, then shook his head again: "It shouldn't be. I asked, and the Li family didn't open a store in Bamu Town."
Otherwise, he would not have allowed Sun Jiayue to show up in public.
Just then, the servant who was sent out to gather information came back.
Fang Liangji asked hurriedly, "How is it going? Have you found out anything?"
The servant looked at Sun Jiayue and didn't dare to answer.
Sun Jiayue felt nervous when she was being stared at.
Fang Liangji saw the servant dawdling and said angrily, "I'm asking you a question, why are you dawdling?"
The servant then spoke: "Master, I gave the hundred silver notes you gave to Mayor Ma's attendant. The attendant then spoke and said..." He looked at Sun Jiayue again.
Fang Liangji realized something was wrong and asked in a deep voice, "What did you say?"
The servant said stiffly, "It is said that a few days ago, Prince Weiyuan came here with the princess to relax and met Aunt Sun on the way."
Fang Liangji's heart trembled. The last time he went to the palace, the princess talked about his wife two out of three sentences, which showed that she had a very good relationship with his wife.
The princess met Jiayue.
Fang Liangji didn't dare to think too much, and turned to look at Sun Jiayue: "Did you meet the princess?"
Sun Jiayue's face turned pale, and she instinctively denied it: "I don't know, my husband, I haven't seen the princess many times. Even if I met her, I wouldn't recognize her."
Fang Liangji's face looked very ugly, and he didn't need to ask about what happened afterwards.
Regardless of whether Jiayue offended the princess or not, just because she was his concubine and he kept her by his side, the princess would immediately dislike him.
What should I do now?
If he offends the princess, he will never be able to gain a foothold in Xiliang.
The servant thought for a moment and reminded him, "Master, you haven't paid your respects to your third uncle yet."
Fang Liangji's eyes lit up. Yes, his third uncle was in Ganzhou. Maybe he could ask his third uncle to help mediate.
"Get ready immediately. I'm going to Ganzhou tomorrow."
Before he could finish his words, a team of patrol officers entered the store.
Fang Liangji's scalp was numb. "Sir, what are you doing?"
The officer produced a document and said, "Someone has reported that your shop is not in compliance with the rules. We are now taking it back. Hurry and move the goods out of the shop. We will close the shop tonight."
Fang Liangji's face changed drastically, and Sun Jiayue beside him was also shocked. She didn't expect things to become so serious.
The closure of Fang's Silk Shop surprised Mr. Fang and Mr. Du. Both of them were smart people and quickly realized that Fang Liangji might have done something wrong.
The Fang family and the Weiyuan Palace are related, but their shop was still closed, which shows that the matter is not small. After receiving the news, the two immediately came to Fang Liangji to ask for the 10,000 taels of silver back.
Fang Liangji angrily returned the ten thousand taels of silver to them, arranged the frightened Sun Jiayue in the inn, and then rode to Ganzhou.
(End of this chapter)
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