Chapter 57 Letting Go
Ye Shanming almost lost his voice.
Just when he thought Su Qing was bold enough, she would always pull off another surprise.
He had also considered how Su Qing would repay the money owed to the Ye and Hua families.
As of now, one company has 1.5 million taels of silver, and the other has 2.2 million taels.
In his view, it would be best if they couldn't repay the debt.
He can then make his own requests.
She married into the Ye family.
Not only was the money owed to his family wiped clean.
He would also help pay off the Hua family's debts.
Ye Shanming, who came from a merchant family, felt that this was the most worthwhile deal in the world.
I just didn't expect it.
Su Qing already had a solution.
“Okay, I’ll take them to the Jiangnan and Fujian areas to sell.” Ye Shanming agreed immediately.
Putting aside the chaos in the imperial court, the rebels had also amassed far more wealth than this.
There's no way the higher-ups could find any fault with it.
Of course, the prospect of profiting from it was also a reason why he was willing to take the risk.
Su Qing knew then that she had chosen the right person.
But words are no guarantee, so the two signed a contract in private.
He asked Ye Shanming to help sell these items, promising to give one-tenth of the proceeds to Ye Shanming himself, as a reward for bribing various parties and for his own personal gain.
With so many things appearing out of nowhere, Ye Shanming also had to make plans in secret.
However, Su Qing and his group used the precious medicinal herbs of Yaogu Village as a pretext to obtain this money.
It was only mentioned that Su Qing provided several precious prescriptions, which could be used as medicinal materials from that side.
And an agreement has been reached with Yaogu Village as well.
The village chief and others trusted Lord Su implicitly and would not reveal anything.
However, this box of items is worth only about 100,000 taels, far from enough to pay off the debt.
After the two finished discussing the details, Su Qing had two more boxes of vases and paintings brought out, all of which were exquisite.
These two boxes together are estimated to be worth 1.2 million taels, plus the small box of jewelry from earlier.
It is estimated that it can bring back 1.3 million to Su Qing.
Even so, we still can't pay back the Ye family's debts.
Ye Shanming laughed and said, "I won't take a cut from this first batch; I'll work for you for free."
As he spoke, he even offered to pay a portion of the money in advance.
The items haven't been sold yet.
Why not take a cut and give them banknotes in advance?
In the past, Su Qing would definitely have asked why, and would have thought he wanted to cooperate properly.
But he was unusually silent at this moment, and did not immediately accept Ye Shanming's 500,000 taels of silver notes.
Ye Shanming couldn't help but laugh again, deliberately moving closer and saying, "What? Prefect Su doesn't dare to accept it?"
Although Su Qing deliberately ignored the conversation between the two in the restaurant just now.
Now that we've finished our work, it's inevitable that old topics will resurface.
Ye Shanming haggled with her over every little thing, and she could still retort and ask for more benefits.
Now, not only does the other party not want any benefits, but they also make numerous concessions, leaving her with no choice.
Hayama Ming, can't you recover?
Are you going to keep trying to steal my profits?
Su Qing remained silent for a moment, and Ye Shanming had already placed the silver notes on the table, repeating the same words: "There is no possibility between you and Gu Congsi."
Is it possible?
Su Qing didn't want to say anything more. She simply adjusted her mindset and accepted the 500,000 taels of silver: "The silver from the sale will be used to offset the debt. Let me know in advance when you've bought enough."
Subtracting 500,000 from 1.3 million taels, the remaining 800,000 taels were used to pay off the debt.
Even so, they still owe the other party 400,000.
The more I calculate these accounts, the more of a headache I get.
Ye Shanming did not linger. After checking the two boxes of items with his trusted aides, he quickly boarded a boat and left.
Just let Su Qing wait for his good news.
Before we knew it, it was February.
Su Qing should also head to the prefectural city.
This time, however, Su Qing did not let Mei Niang and the others come with her, and stayed in Nanjiang County instead.
He left with only Yunxi and Lvlan.
Su Qing said to Mei Niang, "Nanjiang County is peaceful, and my younger brother is used to studying at the county school."
"My cousins Mei and her younger cousins can also study here. I've already spoken to Dr. Bai, and they can prepare themselves and go study medicine."
Mei Niang had no objection to this, and Aunt Zhu was happy about it too.
Aunt Su and Su Xi, however, were somewhat at a loss, not understanding why they weren't returning to the prefectural city.
They figured they wouldn't suffer any injustice if they followed Mei Niang, so they readily agreed.
However, Magistrate Fei and Assistant Magistrate Zhu will definitely have to stay.
Although they were reluctant to leave, they knew the importance of Nanjiang County and that there were still twenty-nine boxes of items in the warehouse that needed their care.
Before leaving, Su Qing asked Fei Xiucai, "There's a provincial examination this year, are you going to participate?"
"If you participate, then give the job to Magistrate Zhu."
Fei Kaiyu had no idea about this.
Everyone says that taking the imperial examination is for becoming an official, and he actually did it.
But it's only February, so there's no rush.
As for County Magistrate Tian, who was in charge of the overall situation before, he is now seriously ill. He spends his days in the prison, keeping a close eye on Prince Wuyong.
If it weren't for someone keeping a close watch on him, and his own lack of physical strength, he probably would have killed the rebel leader long ago.
Su Qing had seen his condition and knew that County Magistrate Tian was almost insane.
His last bout of lucidity was when the war ended and everything returned to calm.
But the loss of Yisong County again completely irrational him. Doctors Bai and Hao had come to see him, and it was too late to change anything.
His only thought was probably to kill Prince Wuyong.
Fei Kaiyu said, "What should we do if the capital comes to demand our people?"
Fei Kaiyu also had relatives who died at the hands of the rebels, and if asked, he would naturally just kill Prince Wuyong to settle the matter.
However, the attitude of the capital was unclear, so he could only be detained like this for the time being.
Su Qing said, "Just make sure he doesn't get away and die."
“I’ll take care of things in the capital.”
After explaining everything, Su Qing left with peace of mind.
No, there's also General Yan, who went to Gaoqing Prefecture to wipe out the remaining rebels.
Su Qing sent only one letter, which read: "I've gone to the prefectural city."
Lian Feiyang, who had finally been transferred to General Yan's side as his deputy, came over to take a look: "Lord Su's letter? Why is there only this one sentence?"
When the two of them communicated, they even exchanged messages back and forth!
Seeing that Lian Feiyang spoke to Su Qing so familiarly, Yan Zhengzhou asked, "Do you two know each other?"
“Yes.” Lian Feiyang immediately recounted how he met Su Qing, how they became acquainted, and even mentioned Hua Jingming.
Yan Zhengzhou naturally knew about the transformation of Shan'ao Village into Yaogu Village, but he had never heard of Lian Feiyang, Su Qing, or the Hua family member who coveted his friend's fiancée before.
Su Hehe.
They called each other intimately, though.
I had feelings for my friend's fiancée back then.
Yan Zhengzhou frowned but offered no comment.
Lian Feiyang chuckled, "When I return to the capital and get promoted, I might be able to sit on equal footing with Lord Su."
"I wonder if Lord Su will agree to let my grandfather propose marriage then."
Yan Zhengzhou frowned even more deeply: "Prefect Su has a fiancé."
Lian Feiyang didn't care at all: "You're Gu Juren, right? His parents are extremely old-fashioned. They think women should obey the three obediences and four virtues, and they also think that Prefect Su hasn't been in office for very long, so they've wanted to break off the engagement for a long time."
Lian Feiyang even seriously considered: "But I think that no matter how far Lady Su's official abilities go, she is a formidable person."
"But once she stops being an official, the Gu family will definitely break off the engagement. Next year is the provincial examination, and once Gu, the Juren, becomes Gu, the Jinshi, this marriage will definitely be over."
He rambled on and on for a long time, but to his surprise, General Yan didn't find him annoying at all.
After a long while, the General glanced at him and said, "Now that you have a fiancé, it is not appropriate to take away someone else's love."
It seems so?
Lian Feiyang didn't care much: "Who cares? Gu Congsi is so far away, it's none of my business."
“General Lian, how could you have a grandson like you?” Ma Hao couldn’t help but say. “What decent family would covet someone else’s fiancée like that?”
As soon as Ma Hao finished speaking, both Lian Feiyang and General Yan fell silent.
? ? ?
Is there something wrong with what he said?
Just as Lian Feiyang was about to retort, he heard General Yan say, "Let's eat first."
Yan Zhengzhou put away the letter written by Su Qing and left directly.
At this moment, Su Qing finally returned to the prefectural city.
In fact, the changes in the city of Guangyue Prefecture are not that significant.
The weapons workshops in the northern suburbs were what made this area lively.
But as everyone knows, this place has brought both peace and debt to the local people.
It was still a huge sum of money.
Even now, it continues to incur debt.
During wartime, no one can say anything.
Now that the war is over, some opinions are inevitable.
However, this was all prepared by Prefect Su, and since she was never in the prefectural city, there was nothing anyone could do.
Now that Su Qing has returned, the officials of the Third Rank and Sixth Division, as well as Hua Youling and others from the Hua family, are all lining up to meet her.
From April of last year to early February of this year.
Su Qing had returned a few times, but always in a hurry.
At the end of the year, the whole family even moved back to Nanjiang County.
This is something that the Hua family, as well as other families, inevitably have some opinions about.
If it weren't for the urgency of the war, they probably would have been dissatisfied long ago.
Luo, the registrar, and Wu, the head of the household affairs department, withstood a lot of pressure, especially the latter, who clearly grew more.
If her father were alive, he would probably praise her, saying that his daughter was far more capable than her, even though they were both in the same household registration office.
After listening to their report, Su Qing said, "Rest today, we'll meet with each of you tomorrow."
Once she was certain that nothing serious had happened in the prefectural city, she would definitely need to rest.
Those outside were inevitably disappointed upon hearing this.
The officials in the government office were alright; they knew what their superior had been busy with lately, and since Su Qing had promoted them, they certainly wouldn't say much.
But other families in the prefecture couldn't help but laugh at the Hua family.
Even the Hua family can make mistakes.
They call themselves the leading family of Guangyuefu, and this is all they are?
He was completely outmaneuvered by a female prefect.
At first, people didn't dare to laugh at each other freely.
But Hua Chengzai, the eldest son of the Hua family, was the first to tell the story as a joke.
The purpose was naturally to mock Hua Youling and Hua Jingming.
You should know that he didn't get involved in supplying weapons workshops at all.
Hua Youling first caused the weapons workshop to owe more than one million taels of silver.
When Hua Jingming left, he owed about one million yuan.
“Even my family can’t afford to squander money like this,” Hua Chengzai said with a laugh while drinking. “Hua Youling is a woman, so it’s understandable, she hasn’t seen much of the world.”
"Hua Jingming is both a scholar who passed the imperial examination and a man, yet he also blindly joined in the commotion."
Hua's friend burst into laughter, attracting the attention of the other people in the restaurant: "Isn't your third brother the smartest? He's working so hard for the female prefect, could it be that he's fallen for her?"
"Doesn't the female prefect have a fiancé?"
The crowd laughed again, clearly with disdain.
Even your own family members are criticizing it, so don't blame us for being ruthless.
By the time Hua Youling and Hua Jingming found out, these people had already been talking without restraint for half an hour.
Hua Jingming's face was grim.
It wasn't because of him, but because Su Qing was involved.
Hua Cheng said this only because she was jealous of his passing the imperial examination and being valued by his father.
The second and third sons of the Hua family arrived at the restaurant almost simultaneously.
It is said that family scandals should not be aired in public.
This idiot actually made a scene outside.
What good would it do him to lose face for the Hua family?
Of course, the 2.2 million in payment for the weapons workshop was indeed a huge sum.
But the debt is already owed, and now that the war has stopped, there's a chance to slowly pay it back.
Given Prefect Su's abilities, this matter is not difficult.
If they don't even have this much self-control, how can the Hua family be the number one family in Guangyuefu?
No wonder, his father preferred to let his second sister co-manage the household rather than let his eldest son take charge.
I saw my second sister and third brother coming over.
Hua Chengzai, already quite drunk, laughed and said, "Our two money-splurging boys have arrived!"
Hua Youling had gotten used to his sarcastic remarks.
Hua Jingming, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable. His smile froze slightly as he said, "Brother, you're drunk. You should go home and rest."
The other servants rushed to support the eldest son, trying to persuade him repeatedly, but he refused to go home.
Now that everyone knows about this, they will be the first to be punished.
Seeing that everyone around him was listening to Hua Jingming, Hua Cheng flew into a rage: "Third brother! You're not even in charge yet! How dare you try to boss your eldest brother around!"
"I am the eldest son! I should be the one in charge of this family."
"So what if you passed the imperial examination and became a scholar? So what if you're good at studying? Your father treats you like a treasure!"
Hua Jingming had a smooth and successful life from a young age.
From the moment he was born, he was loved by his parents and his family was harmonious.
Even his elder brother and sister's affairs never bothered him.
Especially after his talent for studying began to emerge, everything in his family made way for him.
He had never experienced such a scene of being verbally abused to his face before.
Hua Jingming, who is only twenty-one years old this year, was scolded by his older brother for the first time.
Hua Youling, on the other hand, was already used to it and said coldly, "Young Master is drunk, haven't you noticed yet?"
Hua Jingming nodded to the people around him, instructing them to take his elder brother back.
The more this happens, the more trouble the flower causes.
As more and more people gathered around the restaurant, it was clear that the "drama" involving the three members of the Hua family would soon become the talk of the town.
If Master Hua knew about this, he would probably be furious.
Hua Jingming was about to say something more when he saw his elder brother's resentful eyes, which made him stop in his tracks.
This was intentional.
The goal is to ruin his and his second sister's reputations.
They wanted to seize the Hua family's property.
After all, it now seems to be their problem; they can't recover more than two million in foreign debt.
"It's so lively!"
A voice suddenly rang out from behind.
"It's been so long since I've been back to the capital, and there's such a lively scene to watch."
Hua Jingming subconsciously turned around, and the person who spoke was indeed Prefect Su Qing.
Su Qing was not wearing official robes, but many people had seen her before. Moreover, the aura she exuded was something that ordinary people could not possess.
"Greetings, Your Excellency the Prefect."
"Greetings, Prefect Su."
"My lord, thank you for taking care of logistics at the front. Otherwise, we don't know how long the battle in Guangyue Prefecture would have lasted."
“My nephew is in the army and even recuperated from his injuries in Nanjiang County. Thank you so much.”
The onlookers in the restaurant immediately bowed to Su Qing.
Even though she was only twenty, she was still a woman.
But the respect on everyone's faces was genuine.
Anyone else in this position would never have done as well as her.
Especially compared to other places.
The smarter a person is, the more they know how important she is.
The restaurant owner, manager, and chef all crowded around, afraid that getting too close would displease the prefect.
Yun Xi and Lü Lan, who were standing behind Su Qing, had extremely serious expressions.
Even the servants were so different from others.
Not to mention the prefect himself!
Su Qing walked over to Hua Jingming and Hua Youling, nodded slightly to the people around them, and said to the two of them, "What a coincidence, to run into you two here."
"I had planned to invite you two to the yamen tomorrow, but we've run into each other earlier than expected."
Hua Jingming blinked: "Yes, what a coincidence."
Seeing Su Qing smile, Hua Jingming, Hua Youling, and the others couldn't help but understand.
It wasn't a coincidence; they clearly knew something was going on here and came specifically for that purpose.
After all, the restaurant was only a few steps away from the government office.
Su Qing didn't look at Hua Chengzai much, but said to the other two members of the Hua family, "We owe a lot to the two of you for your help with the weapon workshop. Otherwise, Guang Le Prefecture wouldn't be living such a peaceful life now."
"General Yan and I are very grateful to you."
Su Qing did not mention the Hua family, only these two.
I wanted to carry the message that I hadn't brought any flowers with me.
Hua Cheng was only pretending to be drunk, and now he was getting a little anxious.
But Su Qing went on to say, "There's no time like the present, how about I treat you both to dinner tonight?"
The prefect invited the two of them to dinner; how could they refuse?
The restaurant owner even said, "How could we let the Prefect spend so much? I'll cover it all."
Su Qing smiled and said, "Ah, although the government office is quite in debt, things have eased up recently, and we still have some money."
They are heavily in debt.
Everyone knows that.
What does "some easing" mean?
Yunxi chuckled: "How could we not make money from the medicinal herb trade in Nanjiang County?"
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
Wait a minute.
If that's the case, then what about the payment from the Hua family?
Prefect Su, however, did not give them that chance and had already led Hua Youling and Hua Jingming into the private room.
Prefect Su is not one to boast.
Everyone around her says that means she's earned the money from the goods?
Is she here to pay for the goods?
Many people secretly glanced at the eldest son of the Hua family, whose face was flushed red.
The louder she was mocking her younger siblings just now, the more embarrassed she is now.
I thought I could catch the two of them off guard and give them a good beating.
Unexpectedly, the prefect not only personally helped the two out of the predicament, but also prepared to return the payment.
This caused a commotion.
It's self-evident who is truly shameful.
Hearing the whispers around him, Hua Chengzai was about to lose his temper when the family butler came over with a gloomy face and said, "Young Master, the Master requests that you go home to sober up."
The housekeeper rarely takes on the task of relaying messages.
His personal visit must mean that Master Hua already knows and is furious.
Hua Cheng could only leave resentfully.
The butler didn't follow, but instead hurried to greet Prefect Su in his private room.
When the butler left the private room, his face was half red and half green, a truly fascinating sight.
"What happened? Did Prefect Su say something to you?" someone familiar with the area asked.
The butler waved his hand.
Giving him a piece of your mind actually made him feel better.
This wasn't a secret anyway, so the butler said, "Prefect Su has paid for the goods."
"A silver note worth five hundred thousand taels!"
How many? !
Five hundred thousand taels?!
Where did Prefect Su get the money?
She'll be back from Nanjiang County soon.
There is a medicinal herb trading center over there.
I also heard that several precious medicinal herbs have grown in Yaogu Village over there, and they are selling exceptionally well.
No wonder everyone says that Prefect Su is good at making money.
That's absolutely true.
The fact that the government has started paying for the goods is originally a good thing.
However, if the flowers are allowed to cause such a commotion, conflict between the two sides is inevitable.
Fortunately, the second young lady and third young master of the Hua family were somewhat rational.
Otherwise, it would be a huge loss for the Hua family to fall out with the government at this critical juncture.
It's just like mining.
All the hard work we've done so far is just one step away from completion.
Wouldn't all our previous efforts have been in vain?
No wonder the butler looked so grim.
What should have been a good thing was almost ruined.
Let's leave aside the discussion about the eldest son of the Hua family for now.
Needless to say, it goes without saying how Master Hua will punish him.
Inside the private room, the atmosphere was one of joy and harmony.
Hua Youling rarely smiles.
Hua Jingming stared intently at Su Qing.
This was the first time he had been publicly criticized.
This was the first time someone had rescued him from such a situation, and even turned the tide.
Su Qing also explained, "I originally planned to give it to you tomorrow, but I didn't expect it to cause such a big fuss."
Green Orchid said, "Sister Su had just fallen asleep when she was woken up again."
"Yes, as you all know, Sister Su only arrived this morning and had to handle official business at the government office." Yunxi feigned helplessness. "I didn't expect your young master to be so impatient."
Hua Youling and Hua Jingming were naturally helpless.
Hua Jingming felt even more sorry for her and said, "Why don't you go back and rest first, and we can talk about it tomorrow."
"Everyone's up, let me have dinner?" Su Qing smiled, "But no alcohol, just a proper meal."
That's no problem.
However, Hua Jingming himself drank some wine, which was not very strong, and it was just because he was in a good mood today.
After dinner, Su Qing went back to the yamen to rest, leaving behind 500,000 taels of silver notes, which was Ye Shanming's advance payment.
The two boxes of valuables have now been sent out.
The Ye family has 1.5 million in debt, of which 700,000 remains.
The Hua family has 2.2 million, so they have 1.7 million.
Although there is still some distance to go before all debts are paid off.
But as long as it's repaid, everything will be fine.
Hua Jingming didn't touch the banknotes; he only gave them to his second sister.
Hua Youling was not polite about this. Most of the workshops that supplied materials to the weapons workshops were located in Guangxio County, and she urgently needed this money to fill the gap.
To be honest, the siblings don't communicate much.
One is due to an old grudge.
Hua Youling could never forgive Hua Jingming's biological mother.
The other two are eight years apart in age and have not lived together since childhood, so they are not very familiar with each other.
But since they were half-siblings and there was the weapon workshop involved, Hua Youling reminded her, "Lord Su has a fiancé."
"Her fiancé is also your good friend."
Hua Youling had naturally met Gu Congsi, who was not someone easy to deal with.
This person is quite favored by the Emperor in the capital; the Hua family should not provoke such trouble.
Hua Jingming was not surprised that his second sister had seen through his thoughts.
In fact, his expression today was so overt that even he himself noticed it.
“They’ve already broken off the engagement,” Hua Jingming said directly. “Second Sister should have heard about it.”
Unexpectedly, Hua Youling laughed: "Would Scholar Gu let go?"
If he were to truly let go, Scholar Gu should be getting married in the capital.
With his reputation and talent, finding a good in-laws wouldn't be difficult.
Is it right for them to remain silent for so long, even hiding the news of the supposed annulment of the engagement?
Moreover, a woman like Prefect Su is extremely rare.
Who will let go?
If she were a man, she would definitely cling to him shamelessly.
The reason they don't mention it now is simply because they know the time isn't right.
Hua Youling finished speaking and left with the silver notes.
He left Hua Jingming to continue drinking and said in a low voice, "I don't know either."
Even if it's her best friend's fiancée.
He won't let go.
Su Qing returned to the government office and fell asleep immediately.
There are so many things to do tomorrow, I don't have time to think about anything else.
It is springtime, and this year Guangyue Prefecture must cultivate more fields and plow more land.
All treasures are illusory.
They have food and weapons.
Only then can Guangyue Prefecture, and even Gaoqing Prefecture, enjoy peace and stability.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
