Chapter 227 Mother and Daughter
The imperial edict from Princess Shen Nianfeng was delivered directly to the Shen family.
Chen Xiuhe, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, had been very busy these days with the matter of welcoming the Yuan Dynasty envoys to the imperial palace. He finally got a day off last night and went home to bed early. However, he did not expect that the imperial edict would arrive before he had finished breakfast in the morning.
Everyone in the Shen family knelt down in confusion to receive the decree. When they heard that Chen Nian would be named Princess Yuhe, Xue Surong was first stunned, and then burst into ecstasy.
Her daughter became a princess?
Her daughter became a princess!
Isn’t this more honorable than the title of the village lady of that bitch Chen Ning... Her daughter has become successful, and who would dare to look down on her, Xue Surong, in the future?
Her daughter is a princess!
Xue Surong was so excited that she didn't even hear what the imperial edict said after that. When Shen Xiuhe sent the eunuch who announced the edict away with a gloomy face, Xue Surong couldn't wait to rush over and said, "Husband, Nian Nian is going to be a princess. Oh my God, what's going on?"
But before she could finish her words, which seemed worried but were actually joyful, she saw Shen Xiuhebing's face turn pale.
Xue Surong paused, then hurriedly and cautiously asked, "What happened? This isn't a good thing, so why is your husband so worried?"
"Good news?"
Chen Xiuhe looked at Xue Surong in disbelief: "My daughter is going to be married off to the Yuan Dynasty as a peace treaty, and you say this is a good thing?"
Beside him, Shen Chong also had a complicated expression.
Xue Surong's expression froze.
Marriage?
Wasn't her daughter supposed to be the crown prince's concubine? Why was she suddenly being sent to the Yuan Dynasty for marriage?
"Husband, what on earth is going on?"
Chen Xiuhe's face turned pale: "I don't know either, but something must have happened last night. I'm going to the palace now."
He could have had a day off, but now his daughter was going to be sent to marry a foreign prince. Shen Xiuhe could no longer sit still and immediately set off for the palace.
When the imperial edict was delivered, Mrs. Shen was not at home. She went to the weaving and dyeing bureau.
She went to ask her daughter Shen Xiang for money.
When it came to the raw silk matter, she gave Shen Xiang five thousand taels of silver, and asked for two thousand taels back halfway. Now, there were still three thousand taels of silver in Shen Xiang's hands.
But Old Lady Shen knew that the business had already failed. Not to mention making money from Shen Ning, the Prince's Mansion had lost more than 10,000 taels of silver. What was more important was that the Queen Mother knew the truth about this matter.
This is what Shen Xiang said when Old Madam Shen asked her for money last time.
Old Madam Shen knew that the Prince's Mansion had suffered a great loss this time...but that was the Prince's Mansion's business, and her money was hers, so she couldn't invest it.
She sent people to the Prince's Mansion several times to ask Shen Xiang to come and see her, but Shen Xiang refused every time. The Shen family now had no other means of livelihood and was struggling financially. Old Madam Shen was determined to get the three thousand taels of silver back, so she went directly to the weaving and dyeing bureau.
In fact, in the past, although three thousand taels of silver was a lot, it was not worth it for an old lady like her to show up in person, and it was not embarrassing enough.
However, things are different now. When they were driven out by Xie Yunqing, they had nothing at all. The only two shops left were also making losses. Not only were they not profitable, they also owed a lot of debts.
In addition, buying this big house basically emptied out the family's savings.
Originally, he thought that Shen Xiang and he could make a fortune from Xie Yunqing and her daughter, so that the family could live in peace for at least one or two years. These one or two years would be enough for them to turn their fortunes around. However, he did not expect that he would end up losing more than he gained.
Now I don’t even have the money for the three thousand taels of silver…
Old Madam Shen went straight to the weaving and dyeing bureau. Shen Xiang had no choice but to lead her to the reception hall with a cold face.
Both mother and daughter had cold faces. Old Madam Shen didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point to ask Shen Xiang to return the three thousand taels of silver.
However, Shen Xiang's face was icy cold: "Mother, you also know that the Duke's Mansion lost more than 10,000 taels of silver in the last business, and the matter of the weaving and dyeing bureau almost caused trouble. Now, how can we give you any money?"
Madam Shen said angrily: "Even if you don't make money, you should at least give me back my capital."
Three thousand taels of silver is a huge sum of money for the Shen family today, but it should not be difficult for the Prince's Mansion to come up with.
Losing tens of thousands of taels of silver is a lot, but the Prince's Mansion has been managing the weaving and dyeing bureau for the Empress Dowager for so many years, and who knows how much profit they have made. Now they actually want to withhold these three thousand taels!
Old Madam Shen was furious: "Is this how you treat your mother? Are you still human?"
Old Madam Shen's words were harsh, and Shen Xiang immediately lost her temper and slammed the table. "Don't be so harsh. Since this is a business, there will naturally be gains and losses. You took out money, but you only want to share the profits with you, and the losses have nothing to do with you? Where in the world can such a good thing happen?"
Madam Shen was furious: "You are the one who said..."
"The past was the past, and the present is the present!"
Shen Xiang sneered: "If you hadn't been making trouble at home and had Xie Yunqing kicked the whole family out, causing a grudge with our Shen family, how could Shen Ning be so ruthless and cause the matter of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau to be reported to the Queen and the Queen Mother. Do you know how big a mess this is?"
Shen Xiang became more and more angry as she spoke: "My prince knelt outside the Queen Mother's ancestral hall for a whole night because of this. Mother... I'm not going to settle the score with you, it's already good enough, but you still come to me to ask for money, not caring about your daughter's life or death in the Prince's Mansion. If that's the case, why should I care so much!"
After saying that, Shen Xiang took out two silver notes from her sleeve and said, "Here is a hundred taels. Take it, mother. The Prince's Mansion almost caused a disaster this time. If I lose my authority to manage the weaving and dyeing bureau, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive in the Prince's Mansion... If you still care about the relationship between mother and daughter, don't force me."
Putting the banknote in front of the old lady, Shen Xiang stood up and said, "Come here, show the guest away."
Madam Shen was furious: "You..."
At this moment, a servant suddenly rushed in from outside and said in a panic, "Princess, it's bad. Someone has come from the palace and said that the Queen Mother has ordered the Prince's Mansion to seal up the accounts and return them, and to leave the Royal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau immediately without delay."
Before the servant finished speaking, a young eunuch walked in with his men. "The Empress Dowager has issued an oral order. From now on, the Royal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau will be fully managed by Xiangjun Chen Ning... From now on, the accounts will be sealed and returned, and all irrelevant persons will be cleared out immediately..."
Shen Xiang was stunned and hurriedly shouted: "The prince is not here right now, we have to wait for him to come back..."
"Princess, the Queen Mother has instructed that you please go ahead and don't let me use violence."
The trusted eunuchs in the Empress Dowager's palace were not polite in front of the powerless Prince's Mansion. Seeing that Shen Xiang refused to leave and was still winking at the servants beside her, the eunuch waved his hand and said, "Princess Princess and the relevant people, please leave. Seal the accounts immediately."
Two young eunuchs carried Shen Xiang on the left and right and dragged her out. Outside, the palace guards also began to clean out the people in the Prince's Mansion and drove them all out of the weaving and dyeing bureau.
Old Madam Shen was watching from the side with a look of astonishment on her face. Before she could come to her senses, she was "helped" outside by two young eunuchs and thrown directly onto the street.
Shen Xiang fell to the ground, got up and was about to run to find her husband, but was grabbed by Old Madam Shen: "Give me my silver first, Xiang'er. Without this money, the Shen family will not be able to survive. I beg you."
A fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites could not afford such a large house and so many servants.
Old Madam Shen saw that the Prince's Mansion was about to fall into misfortune. When the Prince's Mansion fell into misfortune, it would be even more impossible for her to get her money back. Therefore, she didn't even care about her dignity and directly grabbed her daughter.
Shen Xiang didn't have the mind to care about anything else at this moment. He threw off Madam Shen's sleeve and ran towards the carriage without looking back. He said to the servant beside him: "Hurry, go back to the palace directly."
Madam Shen was thrown to the ground by her daughter. She cried out in pain and looked up in anger, only to see the carriage from the Prince's Mansion had already left...
The servants of the Shen family who were waiting outside hurried over to support the old lady: "Old lady, are you okay?"
Old Madam Shen's hand was trembling, she opened her mouth, but finally closed her eyes, her heart full of sadness and helplessness.
She already knew who this daughter was when she fled to Beijing.
There was only one pancake left in the family, and she took it out and gobbled it up when no one was paying attention. If no one stopped her, she could finish it by herself.
She would stay away when encountering problems, but rush to get close when there were benefits. If she had not been born with a good appearance and had not been taken by Xie Yunqing to attend those banquets of noble ladies, she would never have been able to marry into a wealthy family.
When she first married into the Prince's Mansion, Shen Xiang cried with joy and kowtowed to her, saying that she would serve her well in the future when she was able to marry into a wealthy family. But now...
Madam Shen said in a trembling voice, "Go back, go back."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
