36. Open Scheme
"I'm not going to let the money I earn go to waste and feed a bunch of parasites."
It was not yet noon, and the air inside the flower hall was still chilly.
After Shen Suqin finished speaking, everyone present was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
"Yunzhu is His Majesty's own niece. Does Madam Xiao intend to deal with His Majesty as well?"
"This is the first time I've seen a concubine's daughter dare to speak to the mistress of the house like that. No wonder, she was raised in the countryside, so her manners are a bit lacking."
"Is it just a little bit off? I think it's much worse."
Everyone laughed at Shen Suqin's overestimation of his abilities, and even Shi Yunzhu joined in the laughter.
Only Shen Suqin stood still, her gaze casually falling on Shi Yunzhu's hair bun.
Shen Suqiu followed her gaze and suddenly her expression changed. She reached out to pick something.
But Shen Suqin was faster; in the blink of an eye, she had taken the jade hairpin from Shi Yunzhu's hair and held it in her hand.
Shen Suqiu is going to try and take it.
Shen Suqin smiled brightly, stepped aside to avoid it, and waved the jade hairpin in front of everyone. "Huangtian Blood Jade, it seems that the princess has quite a lot of ambition. Oh no, it's the old prince who has ambition."
In Daliang, Huangtian Blood Jade is rare and precious, symbolizing supreme nobility. Only His Majesty, Empress, and favored princes and princesses can use it. Anyone else who takes it without permission is considered to have overstepped their bounds.
However, with the political situation turbulent in the past two years, few people have paid attention to these trivial matters.
Therefore, nobles and aristocrats would secretly acquire one or two pieces to play with, and the officials wouldn't investigate unless the people complained.
Right now, Shen Suqin has publicly revealed this, clearly wanting to prove that she has the ability to drag Princess Changtai down with her.
After all, Emperor Jingkang was suspicious and ruthless; otherwise, he wouldn't have imprisoned the Crown Prince for two whole years just because the Crown Prince said a few extra words about the northern border.
The surroundings fell silent once again.
After a long silence, Madam Pei finally spoke up: "We're all family. Let's sit down and talk things over. Don't let outsiders laugh at us."
Shen Suqin tilted her head. Outsiders? What outsiders? Ever since she took out the divorce papers, the entire flower hall has been surrounded by servants, who are not allowed to enter.
“There’s no need for a seat,” Shen Suqin tossed the jade hairpin back to Shen Suqiu. “You know very well what I want. Give it to me cleanly and peacefully, and we’ll all be fine. Otherwise…”
"Otherwise what?" Madam Pei's tone was gentle but chilling. "No matter what, you have to call the princess 'Mother.' Are you trying to get yourself accused of disobedience by being so aggressive and helping your father divorce his wife?"
Disobeying the law is a serious crime in Daliang, punishable by imprisonment.
"Fine, the princess is too soft-hearted. Let me be the bad guy for her today." Madam Pei didn't give Shen Suqin a chance to speak. "Guards, take Madam Xiao to Yingtian Prefecture and let the prefect discipline her properly."
The prefect was a student of Prime Minister Pei, and the two were very close, so his words carried weight.
Shen Suqin had been waiting for this opportunity: to go to prison and see if the Crown Prince would bail her out. If not, she would rather break off the cooperation and escape.
If he is skilled and adept at it, then it proves that he still has the strength to fight against the powerful families, and we can consider standing on his side and cooperating well.
Unfortunately, at that moment a maid entered the flower hall and announced, "Madam, the Prime Minister requests Madam Xiao's presence."
The expressions of the people in the flower hall varied.
"Did the Prime Minister instruct you on why he wanted to summon her?" It was Shen Suqiu who asked this question.
The maid shook her head.
"Who's here?" Shen Suqiu asked again.
"Alright, Qiu'er, let her go. There will be plenty of opportunities," Madam Pei said.
Shen Suqiu turned her head and exchanged a glance with her, then said nothing more.
"Take them away," Madam Pei said.
“Yes,” the maid curtsied, “Please come with me, Madam Xiao.”
Shen Suqin nodded and followed her out of the flower hall.
Once outside, after walking around a long corridor, and seeing that there was still a long way to go, Shen Suqin asked, "Where is the Prime Minister?"
"Replying to Madam Xiao, the Prime Minister is in the council hall."
"Um."
"The council hall is just ahead. Madam Xiao, this way."
Soon, the two stopped in front of a courtyard, which was guarded by men.
Upon entering the courtyard, one first passes through a plum grove, where blood-red plum blossoms stand proudly on the branches.
After Merlin, there was a spacious room with a high ceiling.
Shen Suqin walked in, and there were four or five people sitting inside. Apart from Pei Tingfeng, they were all unfamiliar faces.
Pei Tingfeng stood, while the other four sat upright. The sunlight only reached their feet, and the four of them were half-buried in shadow. They stared intently at Shen Suqin, who walked in calmly, and the oppressive feeling was almost tangible.
“Cousin,” Pei Tingfeng greeted her slightly and introduced her, “This is Prince Jing, Minister of Revenue Yang Kan, and my father.”
Shen Su nodded, "Greetings, esteemed lords."
"Cousin, please have a seat," Pei Tingfeng said, pointing to a chair at the head of the table.
He thought Shen Suqin would refuse, since he was standing, but to his surprise, Shen Suqin sat down without saying a word.
Prime Minister Pei and the Prince exchanged a subtle glance.
“You,” Pei Xiang originally wanted to find a suitable address, but after thinking about it, he couldn’t find one, so he gave up. “You are exceptionally intelligent, so I won’t beat around the bush.” He said directly, “What happened to the Shen family back then was the princess’s fault. Jin Yun Fang will be used as an apology, and the princess can also leave the mansion and live separately, as long as you stand with the Pei family.”
"You should understand that one tree cannot make a forest; only with the support of your family can you go further and more steadily."
Shen Suqin did not reply immediately, but turned to look at the courtyard, gazing at the vigorous plum blossoms and asking him, "Does Pei love plum blossoms?"
Pei Ruhai replied, "The plum blossoms in the courtyard were planted by my own hands, so naturally I love them."
Shen Suqin said calmly, "Just now, I thought I had seen wrong."
She hadn't spoken to Pei Ruhai, but Xiao Pingchuan had mentioned him a few times, saying that he had spoken up for him.
Before entering, she thought Prime Minister Pei was an upright official, neither greedy nor treacherous, and dedicated to the country and its people.
But right now, she believes that Prime Minister Pei knows she is the Crown Prince's man, yet he still tries to get her to take his side, so this loyal minister is probably not entirely trustworthy.
"The plum blossom may seem unassuming, but its roots run exceptionally deep underground. You too are entangled by these roots; you should know how to make choices," Pei Xiang said.
Shen Suqin didn't reply, but looked at Pei Tingfeng.
"What did my cousin say?"
"Plum blossoms?"
What do you think?
Seeing that he couldn't get around it, Pei Tingfeng replied in a low voice, "My surname is Pei."
Shen Suqin nodded, indicating that he understood. "What does Prime Minister Pei want me to do?"
Pei Ruhai thought she was very obedient and greatly admired her for being pragmatic.
He beckoned to Yang Kan, who immediately stood up and handed Shen Suqin an account book.
Shen Suqin flipped through the account books, but the accounts were incomplete. He thought to himself that this was all the Liang Dynasty's finance department could do.
“Your Xingyuan Restaurant is making a fortune every day, your private treasury must be comparable to the national treasury,” Pei Ruhai said. “A child holding gold will inevitably bring trouble sooner or later. Why not invest with us, and we will guarantee you a safe and stable way to make money.”
If she could, Shen Suqin would have loved to burst out laughing. She had overestimated these people in front of her, thinking their so-called cooperation was about land taxes, but it turned out they were after her family's wealth.
"Don't flaunt your wealth"—truly a wise saying.
Shen Suqin closed the ledger. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner, Prime Minister? Do you know that my money has long been coveted by the Crown Prince and General Xiao? The Black Flag Army has a monthly military allowance of 100,000 taels of silver, which the Crown Prince can take at will. Even Jinyun Workshop will have to support the Crown Prince in the future. Prime Minister, I am just a mere merchant. I really dare not disobey the Crown Prince.”
"You're asking me for money? You might as well ask the Crown Prince," Shen Suqin thought to herself.
"Do you think we don't know these things?" Yang Kan said. "The Black Flag Army has changed hands, the Crown Prince has been sidelined, and your money will soon be unable to be sent out."
"Think it over," the prince said. "If you refuse, I probably won't be able to keep you alive, given the allure of that Huangtian Blood Jade."
As soon as the words were spoken, a gust of wind picked up. The howling wind shook the plum branches, and petals fluttered down, some even drifting into the hall with the wind.
Shen Suqin reached out and grabbed a petal, holding it in her palm and examining it closely. She suddenly realized that the delicate and vibrant petal could be crushed with a single pinch.
She stood up, her back to the crowd, and asked, "Can I know where this money will be used?"
If providing relief to the people is impossible, and privately maintaining an army is also out of the question, then what does Prime Minister Pei need so much silver for?
“You don’t need to worry about that,” Pei Xiang said.
Shen Suqin looked around and saw that the carvings on the doors and windows of the council hall were faded and the tables and chairs were old. He sneered and said, "The people of Great Liang are suffering from poverty. Even if you plunder the people's wealth, it won't be enough, will it?"
The imperial salary was reduced again and again, and the land that had been seized was left uncultivated. In short, the aristocratic families became poor.
"I apologize, everyone," she said with a cold expression, her back to the crowd, "I'm not going to let the money I've worked so hard for feed a bunch of parasites."
Her voice was carried away by the cold wind, sharp as thorns, piercing the hearts of everyone present.
“Shen Suqin! I advise you to think carefully,” the prince said. “If you insist on going your own way and walk out of this door, no one can protect you.”
"Your powerless husband won't do, and neither will the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace."
Shen Suqin lifted her foot, "We'll see."
Prime Minister Pei said calmly, "I'm giving you a warning first. Think it through before you come back to me."
After saying that, he waved his hand, and several people suddenly jumped out from the shadows, bringing in a trembling man.
Shen Suqin frowned as she watched, unable to figure out what they were up to.
"I never expected the general's wife to be so unchaste."
Shen Suqin: ...
It's quite remarkable that a bunch of important figures would stoop to doing something so low-class. Are they trying to smear her for having an affair?
"Gentlemen..." Shen Suqin lowered his eyes and said mockingly, "You have truly broadened my horizons."
“You can change your mind, and we’ll pretend this never happened,” Yang Kan said.
"Then forget it, I find it disgusting."
Things had gotten out of Shen Suqin's control; she hadn't expected them to be so poor that they were resorting to robbing Xingyuan.
Furthermore, she was curious whether Prime Minister Pei and the others knew about the land tax reform. Logically, if Pei Tingfeng knew, Prime Minister Pei should also know, but judging from the current situation, he seemed unaware.
"Guards, drag these adulterers to the Dark Fragrance Courtyard and lock them up."
The servants, upon receiving the order, immediately began to drag Shen Suqin away.
Shen Suqin waved them away: "I'll walk by myself."
Before long, she and the unfortunate man arrived at a secluded courtyard. The door closed, the light dimmed, and the man trembled even more violently.
"Tsk, stop shaking," she said, turning her gaze back from the crack in the door. "You know you're not going to make it today, are you?"
The man's eyes instantly filled with tears: "They...they said they would give my family one hundred taels of silver if I died..."
“I’ll give you a thousand taels,” Shen Suqin interrupted him, “as long as you do as I say.”
If nothing unexpected happens, there will be another scene of catching someone in the act later, so she needs to hurry, or she'll be at a disadvantage.
On the other side, Xiao Pingchuan was with the male guests. While everyone else was drinking and chatting, he was the only one sitting upright, neither drinking nor speaking, and of course, no one paid him any attention.
When he still held military power, they were willing to give him some face. Now that he has no power or influence, people completely ignore him. If it weren't for his fearsome reputation, someone would probably have already come up to mock him.
After a few rounds of drinks, as expected, things outside became chaotic, with shouts, footsteps, and general commotion.
"What happened?" someone in the hall asked loudly.
A servant boy ran in excitedly, shouting, "That thief from Shen Township has been caught!"
"General Xiao's wife is having an affair?"
For a moment, everyone looked at Xiao Pingchuan.
Xiao Pingchuan calmly stood up, walked into the crowd, grabbed the man's collar, and asked, "Where is my wife?"
"At...at Anxiang Courtyard, everyone is rushing there."
Xiao Pingchuan threw the man down and said, "Lead the way."
"Yes, yes." The man scrambled out of the room.
The crowd stopped chatting and followed closely behind Xiao Pingchuan, eager to see what was going on.
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