Ruanjiaobao was forced to marry by Lord Hou again

Chapter 55
The sun was getting higher and higher, and we had lunch quietly in the house.The old Shen's house is not as complete as the Hou's Mansion in the capital, but it is not as good as the simple food. The maid sent by the Wang family is quite good at cooking, and the radish and green vegetables can also be made into delicious delicacies.

After lunch was finished, Old Madam Shen wiped the corners of her mouth with a white cloth, and said, "Go and buy some sacrificial offerings in the afternoon and come back. The day after tomorrow is a good day. The sacrificial ceremony is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and we will leave at Mao."

Shen Pan'er bit the wooden chopsticks, turned her eyes and said, "Grandmother, let the second elder brother handle this matter, didn't you say that you want him to take care of things?" grimace.

Shen Ci cast a contemptuous glance at Shen Pan'er, too lazy to argue with her.

Seeing Shen Pan'er's mischievous appearance, Mrs. Shen's head hurts, but the girl who is about to be sixteen is still a child at heart, so how can Ying Xu feel at ease in the future to entrust her to her.

After thinking about it, we still have to take advantage of this time to teach well. Mrs. Shen made up her mind, put down her wooden chopsticks with a straight face, and said: "Let's stay here for a while, and return home tomorrow according to the month of crime." It is customary to invite your neighbors, if friends from the city come to have tea and watch a play at home, you three girls will follow Mother Xuan to take good care of the guests."

When she heard that there was going to be a banquet, Shen Pan'er had a bad face and said: "Grandmother, don't you like the excitement the least, the banquet is troublesome, if you can avoid it, it's better to be quiet."

Shen Ci smiled and said: "I think you are not worried that grandma doesn't like to be lively, but you are afraid that you will be tired."

"..." Shen Pan'er gouged out her eyes and said.

Ye Lingwu was no less annoying than Shen Pan'er regarding the banquet.

I still remember her first family dinner when she returned to the Ye family. Her relatives arranged rumors, her aunt put on a show, and before she even ate a bite of food, her father started to pat the table, inexplicably getting angry at her.

The second time was at Ningbei Hou Mansion, Shen Zhan's return to Beijing banquet, and there was nothing wrong with that time, but she still remembers the feeling of helplessness and confusion when a local duck mixed into a flock of swans.

The third time was Mrs. Shen's banquet. She and the little princess died together, which became a joke in the capital.Ugh……

In the garden, you can see the rockery piled up with stones in the front hall. The rockery slope is three feet high, and several green pine trees are planted on it. On the edge of the slope, there are winter jasmine, narcissus, jasmine, canna, osmanthus, chrysanthemum, peonies... It seems that there are many kinds. , messy, but as long as you count the flowering period, you will know that even if the seasons change, the flowers here are still invincible.

The winding corridor in front of it is well-known for its shade and depth.

At the corner of the corridor, there is a water pavilion, which is as long as a boat, surrounded by flowers and trees, and the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. Looking around the mansion, there are beautiful scenery everywhere. The white crane stands on the stream, and the green mist curls up, which is comparable to a fairyland.

The price of this mansion is not much compared to the courtyard at the foot of the imperial city, not to mention that this courtyard is located in the most prosperous street in Suyue.

A middle-aged man dressed in rough clothes nodded and bowed, leading several tall men to pace in the garden.

The middle-aged man said: "Mr. Murong is very generous, and he sold such a big house in just a few months. Do you need a young man to help you with your family and housewife?"

Dressed in a navy blue brocade suit, Yue Yang said: "For the time being, there is no need to make arrangements. My brother and I don't like to be lively, and we have brought some servants at home, so it's the most important thing."

Seeing that he was the one who spoke, the middle-aged man glanced at Shen Zhan next to him, and was startled that the two brothers looked very different, so he came back to his senses and asked, "So Mr. Murong and you are brothers. May I ask the two Mr. Murong if there is anything else you need to be small, if not, the small ones should go back to the shop."

"No hurry," Yue Yang said, "When my brother and I were in Fengzhou, we heard that you have a restaurant called Xueyue Qinyuan in Yuecheng. When we first came to Guibao Land, I don't know where the restaurant is?"

The middle-aged man replied: "I didn't expect Mr. Murong to have heard of 'Xueyue Qinyuan'. This restaurant is good. It's not far from the mansion you see here. Just go around this street."

Yue Yang glanced at Shen Zhan who was at the side and raised his eyebrows, and said, "Really, then my brother and I have to go and have a good look at it tonight."

A few people walked around the inner house again, and the middle-aged man didn't leave until the afternoon.

In the study room, Yue Yang handed over the letter that had just arrived at the mansion, Shen Zhan glanced at it, snorted and threw away the letter in his hand, leaned on the grand teacher's chair, and played with the gem between his fingers, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became solemn.

For this unannounced visit, he dispatched a total of more than [-] black flag troops into the city.A third of them disguised themselves as servants of Murong's family, and the other two thirds were distributed in the city of Zuoyue and the twelve towns under the city of Yueyue.

No matter it is wine shop, tea house, pawn shop, restaurant, etc., there are dormant points, but Xueyueqin Garden can't get through no matter what. Not only that, the merchants in Yuecheng and Twelve Towns are all concerned about the tax revenue. There are a lot of complaints, and after inquiring, I found out that the monthly tax is higher than that of the capital, and it is even ridiculously high.

And the instigator of all this is Sun Kunqian, the governor of the Yueyue. The reason why he can make thousands of merchants in the Yueyue follow his rules is due to his own means.

In addition to him, their family also has the second house and the same line. The second house is a son-in-law, and his subordinates monopolize the Zuoyue Mill and the rice shop.

Speaking of which, this son-in-law seems to be more powerful than the Sun family, but when the dynasty emphasized agriculture and suppressed business, the biggest difference between court officials and businessmen was their status.

Even if a businessman has mountains of gold and silver, he will eventually have to seek the protection of the yamen. If he is obedient, he can make a fortune together. If he is not obedient, he will have to pack up and leave.

These, Cheng Fei had already inquired before, and it was not a hidden matter, but it was also the most troublesome matter.

If Sun Kunqian is a corrupt official and Erfang is a profiteer, then they can find out the evidence of the crime, but who knows that all the mills and rice shops under the Erfang and Yimai have clear records of merchants, and there is no trace of mistakes.

Moreover, the taxes in the city are all handed in at ten percent, and the second house and one branch are also paid according to the tax set by Sun Kungan.

As for whether the account handed in is fake or not, further verification is required.

But how to check it can only be done by Mrs. Shen.

Although Mrs. Shen has no official position, she has the title of Mrs. Guo'an. As long as Mrs. Shen speaks, Sun Kunqian can't fool her even if she is shrewd.

Finally, there is the Xueyue Qinyuan. This restaurant is not an ordinary traditional restaurant. This restaurant has a tradition, that is, there will be an auction every month. The things in the auction start with a hundred taels of gold.

Ever since the Holy Master noticed that he was guilty, there was no trace of the owner of this Xueyue Qinyuan, and even the regular customers in the auction field couldn't find a specific roster.

Under the surface of the water that is too calm, there must be a whirlpool hidden.

After a while, Shen Zhan put the letter on the table obliquely on the candle and burned it to ashes. His bony hand fell on the table, and his index finger knocked on the table without any connection.

After a while, he said in a deep voice: "Has the information of the second bedroom owner been verified?"

Yue Yang took out a booklet from his arms, handed it over and said, "It's almost done. The second room of the Sun family is called Sun Jinlan, who is in charge of the Sun family's support. Sun Kungan is not often at home, and his sister takes care of everything in the house." , her husband's name is Lu Xu'an, and the Lu family's ancestors were in business, but they have been tepid, and the family business is still after Sun Kungan took office as the governor of Yuezhou."

Shen Zhan hooked the corner of his mouth: "The division of labor is quite clear."

Yue Yang said: "It's been a long time since the time of consolation, naturally the division of labor is clear, but I don't know how long they can continue to comfort. By the way, there is still something that has not been reported to the young master. There is only one daughter in the Erfang family. That daughter is the same as the eldest son of the Wang family. Wang Xuzhou is engaged."

"It seems that this Wang family is really not simple. It can be favored by the grandmother and Sun Jinlan's only daughter." Yue Yang shook his head with great admiration.

Shen Zhan said noncommittally: "The Wang family is in charge of the river engineering and water conservancy in Twelve Towns. The official position is not light, and the hairpins have been worn for generations. The Wang family's eldest son is now the court minister, with a bright future. This marriage is not bad for the Sun family. "

"Grandmother and the others are going to commit suicide?" Shen Zhan asked again.

Yue Yang said: "It's almost a quarter of an hour this morning. I have to say that the Wang family is very attentive. Wang Xuzhou, the second eldest son of the Wang family, cleaned the old Shen's house early and waited for people to come. He even sent a lot of servant girls."

Shen Zhan remained silent, picked up the teacup on the table and drank it slowly, and said slowly: "You send a letter to grandma tonight."

"A letter?" Yue Yang was puzzled.

"Our identities in the prison cannot be revealed, and the investigation can only be carried out in secret. Sun Kunqian is a cautious person. If we can divert his attention, we will be able to do things more easily."

Yue Yang suddenly realized, and said with a smile: "So that's the case. No wonder the young master asked Mrs. Shen to go back to the moon to worship the ancestors. The subordinates knew it was not easy. So the young master's plan is here!"

Shen Zhan said: "Are you free?"

"..."

"Not idle, I'll be busy now." Yue Yang said his farewell, turned around and left immediately, and only dared to breathe a sigh of relief when he left the room.

(End of this chapter)