The first thing Zheng Jin did after returning home from this conversation was to cooperate with the old Marquis to completely crush Gu Xiao in the countryside.
At the same time, she could no longer tolerate Gu Ting's family! Yes, that included Xu Shaoqing as well.
The maid (Liu Xiang'er) sent by Gu Ting was beaten with ten strokes of the cane and then sold off.
But through this poisoning incident, the old Marquis also realized just how perverted the second branch of the family really was!
He knew that when Granny Lu went to interrogate Liu Xiang'er, the maid was so frightened that she blurted out everything.
The initial assessment is likely true; Gu Ting, that madman, actually wanted to poison his stepmother!
The old Marquis was furious when he heard this, but Gu Ting denied it, not uttering a single word.
“Grandfather, you’re wronging me. I only saw her packing her luggage, asked her a couple of questions about the medicine bottle, and asked her to deliver ginseng soup to Father and Mother.”
Who knew that this maid would be so prone to overthinking and fantasizing? That's how the misunderstanding started.
But how to deal with him? Let the grandfather decide; if the grandson agrees, just beat him to death with sticks.”
The old Marquis looked at Gu Ting in disbelief, unable to believe that he would say such a thing.
Gu Ting saw the old Marquis jump up from his chair in surprise, and gave a mocking smile.
"Grandfather has taken my advice! In that case, I will arrange for someone to beat Liu Xiang'er to death right now."
The old Marquis roared, "Stop! You poisoned your mother! Even now, you still try to argue."
Gu Ting! You're hopeless!
Gu Ting shrugged indifferently. Say whatever you want. It's impossible to convict him without solid evidence!
However, because of Gu Ting's arrogant attitude, the old Marquis felt no pity or sympathy for Gu Xiao.
The whole family should get out of here and be locked up in the countryside, not a single day later.
The second wife was almost overjoyed, as she successfully used this incident to divide the family property among the three Gu brothers.
Gu Ting also gave a considerable sum: 70,000 taels of silver and 100 mu of land in his hometown of Qizhou.
Not a single house or shop was given to him in the capital. It wasn't that the second wife was being stingy and refusing to give him anything, but rather that the old marquis had instructed the second wife not to give him any.
The house here has been converted into cash, and the silver has been added to the amount to be given to him when he divides the family property.
The old Marquis was truly enraged and wanted to drive Gu Ting out so that he could not return to the capital.
After all, even if they locked him up on the estate, it wouldn't be for very long.
The second wife was unwilling to take on this matter. After the family division, what happened to Gu Ting was none of her business.
But the Marquis's mansion has already separated from their second branch. This time, they only had an excuse to suppress them by taking advantage of the Emperor's reprimand, but if they were kept locked up again in three to five years, it would be the Marquis's mansion being unethical.
But let's take the first step and get rid of them now. We'll also support them from other aspects.
Houses in the capital are hard to buy, especially on the main streets, where almost all the nobles live. Even if ordinary people have money, it's difficult for them to buy one.
If Gu Ting knew what was good for him, he should have gone back to his hometown after being released from confinement, instead of coming to the capital to annoy people.
………………………………………………
Things have changed so much in the last two days that Xu Shaoqing has changed her mind again.
She was determined to go to the countryside, and she had someone instruct Lin Mama to come in.
After hearing what she said, Lin Mama suddenly felt dizzy.
But she had no excuse to stop Xu Shaoqing now; her young lady was determined and wouldn't listen to her at all.
With no other option, Granny Lin could only use the excuse of visiting her family to ask for another day off and return to the Anbo Mansion to see Jiang Shiyi.
"What are you panicking about? I already got your indenture back a long time ago."
I already said she wants to stay on the estate, so let her go. No need to report back to me.
Was Granny Lin unsure whether Madam was telling the truth or not? Was she really going to just ignore it?
"I don't care anymore!" Jiang Shiyi made up her mind to teach Xu Shaoqing a lesson.
There was no other way, so Granny Lin had to take Yingchun away. She went with her young mistress to the country estate, but she still needed a trustworthy assistant by her side.
Madam Guixiang and Madam Guilan wouldn't let her go, and Granny Lin had no intention of leaving. What was the point of leaving? Was she just waiting to be beaten to death by Gu Ting?
And so, Lin Mama and Yingchun accompanied Xu Shaoqing to the estate where Aunt Yang lived a day later.
The next day, everyone walked to Ma Xing Street, where all carriages leaving the city had to pass through.
Xu Shaoqing overheard passersby discussing how a fried chicken strip stall by the river was doing very well.
Fried chicken strips? What are fried chicken strips? Xu Shaoqing was curious and asked Granny Lin to buy some.
When Granny Lin went there, she tasted the water and bought half a bucket. Since they didn't bring any buckets, Wang Yan bought two buckets from Aunt Lu next door for 200 coins.
Lin Mama paid for this. Two buckets cost 200 coins. Isn't that a great deal?
Aunt Lu was overjoyed and came over with a beaming smile, carrying the bucket. After delivering the bucket, she didn't leave but helped Wang Yan fill the bucket with chicken strips.
Wang Ying wasn't outside; she was embroidering inside. Therefore, Granny Lin didn't recognize this as the small foot-feeding shop run by Wang Xing and Wang Ying.
There was little exchange between them. Granny Lin then had the maid who had come with her carry the two buckets and leave.
Wang Yan was overjoyed to have sold half a bucket in no time. Just as she was feeling happy, she saw Sister Ying come out.
"How old is that old lady who just came to our house to buy chicken strips?"
After Wang Yan answered, Wang Ying immediately concluded that it was Granny Lin.
"I recognized her voice, but I didn't want to come out and say hello."
Wang Yan hadn't expected it to be someone from the Third Young Master's side. Fine, no need to greet them, we're not that close anyway.
Turning her head to look at the half-eaten chicken strips left in the pot, she said, "Dad went out to sell chicken strips. There's definitely not enough left for me later. What should we do?"
Wang Ying peeked over and saw that the amount was indeed a bit small. "You've practiced your knife skills with your father for so long, why don't you try cutting it yourself?"
That was the only way. Fatty Wang rowed his boat out to sell fried chicken strips and chicken nuggets.
Isn't their fried chicken strip business booming right now?
Every time, the chicken strips sell out in less than an hour at noon. After testing them for the past few days, my family also thinks that this fried chicken strip business is profitable.
The foot shop is only busy during the noon and evening rush hours, but now they also sell fried chicken strips again in the evening.
Fatty Wang couldn't stay still. Everyone else was busy with their own things, but he was the only one sitting there bored.
He glanced to his left at Wang Yan practicing her knife skills, and to his right at Wang Ying practicing court embroidery.
Aunt Wang, Aunt Erhua, and Aunt Lu were making fish balls.
A few of the male shopkeepers next door would get together to drink and chat, but Fatty Wang wasn't happy drinking every day.
He would sit and chat with them then, but Fatty Wang felt that chatting for a while was rather boring.
The key issue is that he had just left the government office and was preoccupied with making money. He felt that it was not worthwhile to leave the shop empty since he only did two business sessions a day.
So he and Wang Yan suggested that their home should also cook all day, just like other shops.
Since this is a dock, we don't know when a group of people will come down.
Wang Yan nodded in agreement, but then raised the knife in her hand and asked, "Father, does that mean I can stop practicing knife skills for now?"
Alright! If Wang Yan doesn't practice, Lu Qi will kick Wang Pangzi repeatedly.
But Fatty Wang was really bored. "Dad, don't be bored. Aren't we going to start selling oden tomorrow?"
"Oden is sold all day long, so you won't be bored starting tomorrow."
Speaking of this, we have to mention just how much trouble Wang Yan can cause.
The hot pot stand is still there, but Wang Yan isn't selling it anymore.
As the weather gradually warms up, will anyone still be willing to eat mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot)?
That's pure nonsense. It's only spring now, and with that gentle breeze, nothing beats a bowl of hot and spicy hot pot.
She simply felt that preparing thousands of dishes every day was exhausting, and the young girl was living a very lazy life!
Oden is great! Selling oden will allow Wang Yan to sell her business.
Aunt Erhua, Aunt Lu, a few other aunties, and Aunt Wang often sit together and chat.
When they had nothing to do, they would chat together while skewering vegetables.
Before I knew it, I was able to prepare the daily oden dishes. Of course, I didn't let the aunties work for free, but I didn't pay them either.
Every day, a bowl of various vegetables, sausages, and fish balls is served, topped with a spoonful of sesame sauce and two spoonfuls of chili oil, so that everyone can take it home.
After Wang Yan's oden shop opened, it became quite popular.
But Fatty Wang was still not satisfied. He felt uncomfortable because this pot of oden had trapped him here.
He squatted by the river and watched, and a flash of inspiration struck him as he looked at the small boat in the river.
That noon, while everyone was eating together, Fatty Wang shared his thoughts.
"Father, you want to buy a boat?"
"That's right. I was thinking that our chicken strips are so popular now, so if I transport two big buckets every day to the Bianhe Wharf to sell, how much more can I earn in a day?"
That's my opinion anyway; buying one of these ships is definitely worth it.
Aunt Wang didn't object; buying a boat was fine. This season was perfect for rowing a boat to sell things; there were many boats traveling back and forth on the Bian River every day, carrying a large volume of passengers.
Wang Yan found it strange, "Mother, didn't you say a while ago that you were going to buy a shop on Ma Xing Street?"
At that time, we even talked about buying a shop, hiring two people there, and then having Dad go there to be the manager.
"Well, do you think you can just buy a shop whenever you want? Do you think you can just say you want to buy one and suddenly there's an empty shop available?"
Wang Yan retorted, "Didn't you say you were going to buy a house the day before yesterday? Why are you going to buy a boat now?"
"Oh my goodness!" Aunt Wang was speechless. "Buy it! When did you say you wouldn't buy it? We just celebrated the New Year."
"If you want to buy someone's family member, we have to find them for you from scratch! It's not like buying a boat, where you just walk in and there's one ready-made."
“No,” Wang Yan retorted to Granny Wang. “I heard the other day that over on Xilou Street, two thousand taels of silver could buy a small house, though it would be half the size of the one we live in now.”
"Are you worried about the money? This money is practically free; it's ten thousand taels!" Wang Yan whispered slyly.
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