Chapter 173 The Concubine is Imprisoned
After Xue Surong had been the housekeeper at Huayingxue for more than half a month, she went to the Shen family to find Old Madam Shen. She wanted the old lady to come forward and try to let her take power in Huayingxue as soon as possible.
She had been living a life worse than death for the past half month. Those people would come to her for every little thing. Even in the middle of the night, if there was a fire on the farm, they would come and knock on her door to ask her to take charge of the matter.
She made a big fuss about a pile of waste materials catching fire and being put out with two buckets of water...but when she arrived, there wasn't even a spark left.
Whenever there were difficult customers in the store during the day, those people would immediately call out "Manager Xue" and push her out to deal with them. She was really busy day and night.
It's just that because she hasn't officially taken over yet, she can't see any of the really important information in the account books, which is very infuriating.
But even so, Xue Surong could easily see that Hua Yingxue was making huge profits, and most importantly, her business was very good.
There are too many rich people in Beijing. For example, as soon as a new color of lipstick comes out, those rich ladies seem to have a hoarding habit. No matter whether it is suitable for them or not, they will buy it home and keep it to make sure they own all the colors of Huayingxue.
Especially those popular colors that are in limited supply, there are really servants lining up to buy them for their masters... How can those things be sold for so much silver?
Xue Surong felt jealous, but then she thought that once Hua Yingxue was taken away by the old lady and handed over to her to take care of, she would be able to make more profit.
Thinking of this, she became happy again, and then she began to urge the old lady to get Hua Yingxue as soon as possible.
After hearing what Xue Surong said, Old Lady Shen was also moved.
After all, in order to have an excuse and to make it impossible for Shen Ning to refuse, she gave her a jade bracelet. The bracelet was also quite valuable. If she couldn't get the shop into her own hands early, wouldn't she be at a disadvantage?
"Go back. I'll find an opportunity to speak to them in the next two days. I'll make sure they can't refuse."
Old Madam Shen was confident.
Xue Surong smiled when she heard this: "Then I'll wait for your good news."
But at this moment, the servants outside suddenly rushed in in a panic: "Oh no, old lady, something happened... Jingzhao Prefecture is here to arrest someone, saying that our shop lent money at high interest and forced debtors to pay, and someone was killed."
Madam Shen was suddenly startled and stood up: "How could it be?"
She hurriedly said, "Go and send someone to call my son back."
Xue Surong was also shocked.
The old lady always found someone through her to lend money at high interest, but the person she found had changed hands several times. Everything had been peaceful for all these years, so how could there be trouble suddenly?
"Madam, what should we do now?"
At the beginning of the year, the imperial court had just cracked down on the practice of usury, but Madam Shen had been doing this business for more than ten years through Xue Surong. She had already established her own network, which was very secretive and safe. In addition, the profits were considerable, so she was reluctant to give up, but she was more careful and secretive in her work.
Those people below still depend on them for their livelihood, how dare they bite them?
But it was too late to say anything now. The officials from Jingzhao Prefecture had already entered the yard. Xie Yunqing was also alarmed and came out to greet them with Chen Ning and a large group of servants.
When Xie Yunqing heard the official say that the old lady's shop was related to usury, he was shocked: "The court has a clear decree prohibiting usury. Oh my God, this is a serious crime and I will be imprisoned."
The incident happened suddenly, and Mrs. Shen was also panicked. Her son couldn't come back for a while. Seeing the officials coming fiercely, the old lady took a step back. The next moment, she reached out and pushed Xue Surong forward, lowering her voice and saying, "You can't escape anyway. Hold on first, and I will rescue you."
Xue Surong was also a little panicked by this sudden change. Seeing the old lady pushing her forward without hesitation, her heart suddenly felt a chill. But when she heard the old lady's words, she realized that this was indeed the fact, and she knew that she had no choice.
After all, if she went in, the old lady could still find a way, but if the old lady went in... she couldn't escape, and no one would care about her.
She had the old lady's property and account secrets in her hands, so the old lady dared not not save her.
As soon as she thought of this, Xue Surong came out with a pale face and said in a trembling voice, "I am in charge of all the accounts of Madam Shen's property. If you have any questions, please come to me."
The officer looked her over and waved his hand, "Take her back for questioning."
The next moment, Xue Surong was taken out. She struggled to look back at the old lady, who nodded at her repeatedly to reassure her.
When Shen Nian arrived, she saw Xue Surong had been taken out of the door. She was filled with panic and hurriedly supported the old lady: "Grandma, what should we do? What should we do?"
Madam Shen managed to calm herself down and said, "Wait for your father to come back and make the decision."
Beside them, Shen Ning and Xie Yunqing looked at each other, both of them smiling.
Soon, Shen Xiuhe hurried back home... After learning that his mother had been caught secretly releasing the seal, Shen Xiuhe, who had always been respectful to his mother, became extremely displeased.
"Mother, how could you be so foolish? You know, I've recently encountered an opportunity. The Minister of Rites intends to recommend me for promotion... Why did you choose to cause trouble at this critical moment?"
The old lady became anxious upon hearing this, feeling both panicked and aggrieved: "Mother didn't know anything would happen. It's been more than ten years. If it weren't for my careful management over the years, how could the Shen family have such a comfortable and comfortable life... Now you blame me for everything..."
As she spoke, the old lady began to wipe her tears and complain, complaining about how difficult it had been for her all along. Everything was for her son and the Shen family, and now she was being blamed for everything that happened.
"Wow, I'm so old and so hated, and my son is implicated... As a mother, I'd rather die than ruin my son's career."
Chen Xiuhe's eyebrows were throbbing from crying, and he had to force himself to comfort her.
"I'm just worried, son. If I'm really convicted of usury, I'm afraid I'll have no hope of getting a promotion this time."
Shen Xiuhe was indeed very anxious.
He had served as the Minister of the Honglu Temple for several years, with no achievements or faults, and originally thought that there was no hope of promotion. However, in recent days, the Minister of Rites had been much warmer and closer to him. Then Shen Xiuhe learned that the emperor might be interested in promoting him. It was said that it was because his daughter had saved the mother and son of Concubine Ma, as well as the second prince who fell into the water, and had previously been kind to Prince Ding.
His Majesty intended to reward him, but the reward given to Shen Ning was already enough, so he thought of promoting him as a father.
But who would have thought that something would happen at this critical juncture.
At this moment, Chen Xiuhe was actually very regretful and irritable in his heart... Xie Yunqing managed the backyard and property for him in an orderly manner. Although Chen Ning, his daughter who was living away from home, was a widow, he was also very capable.
It just so happened that his mother and Xue Surong's true identities were shameful and needed to be carefully hidden, which brought him trouble.
Seeing his mother still crying, Shen Xiuhe sighed deeply: “Don’t think about it, I’ll find a way.”
Old Madam Shen looked up and asked, "How do you want to deal with this, my son? According to Mother, the first thing we need to do now is to make sure Su Rong doesn't make random accusations and implicate me, so that my son can get rid of it."
She said, "The eldest daughter of the Xie family has been made a concubine now, so it shouldn't be difficult to deal with such a small matter. Why don't you ask Cheng Xiniang to go to Concubine Xie and ask her to release Su Rong?"
Chen Xiuhe was a little impatient: "Do we have to ask Concubine Xie to come forward and exonerate a mere shopkeeper who manages our business?"
The old lady kept silent in dismay.
Chen Xiuhe stood up and said, "I'll ask Yunqing if I can ask the eldest brother of the Xie family to come up with a solution. The eldest brother of the Xie family is familiar with the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, so maybe it can be done."
The old lady said hurriedly: "Good idea, good idea, we can spend money, as long as we can rescue the person safely."
After all, Xue Surong was working for her, and her status was different. She was the biological mother of her grandchildren. She also hoped that one day she would kick the Xie family girl out of the house so that she could firmly hold everything the Shen family owned now in her hands.
But when she thought about the fact that the eldest daughter of the Xie family had been made a concubine, she thought this would be difficult, and the old lady sighed deeply.
If there is no other way, then this is the only way. Fortunately, it will be beneficial for their Shen family after the eldest daughter of the Xie family is made a princess. It may even be helpful for his son's career in the future.
If it really doesn't work, then find a decent identity for Chongge who is being raised outside and bring him home. With Concubine Xie's connections, he might even have a good future.
By then, for the sake of her children, Xue Surong should not cause any trouble.
In fact, at this time, Madam Shen was already vaguely regretting her decision back then, but it was pointless to say more now. She could only take it one step at a time and firmly grasp the Shen family's assets in her hands first...
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