The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor Chapter 358: Meddling of the Xue Family Offers Assistance (2)
Chapter 358: Meddling of the Xue Family Offers Assistance (2)
Later, people from the Xue family approached them, offering fifty taels of silver if they caused trouble at the Mo Family Fragrant Rice Shop every day, disrupting their business. For the impoverished Zhang family mother and son, fifty taels of silver was a windfall, so they agreed without hesitation.
Thus, the Zhang family mother and son started causing disturbances at the shop. When Mo Yan questioned them that day, Wang Pangtou hesitated to speak, not wanting to trouble Mo Yan with such matters and thinking that Shopkeeper Li could handle it.
But the mother and son were only concerned about the fifty taels of silver. Even when driven away by Li Zhong, they continued to come and cause trouble. Fortunately, most of the customers who came to buy grains were old patrons who had heard about the Zhang family's previous sale of moldy grains and naturally disliked them, so the business in the shop was not affected.
This result displeased the Xue family greatly. Therefore, they decided to take drastic action by directly instructing the Zhang family to set fire to the Mo Family warehouse.
Once the grain in the warehouse was burned, not only would it severely damage the Mo Family Fragrant Rice Shop's vitality, but they would certainly find a way to procure grains again. This would allow them to trace back to the source of Mo Family Fragrant Rice and potentially take over.
One had to admit, the Xue family's plan was quite cunning. Even if the Zhang family were exposed, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to the Xue family. After all, it was normal for the Zhang family to seek revenge against the Li family due to their past grievances.
"Yan girl, what do you plan to do with these two?" Li Zhong looked at the Zhang family mother and son, who looked like dead dogs, his hatred evident. Although this matter didn't have much to do with his Li family, it was because of their feud with the Zhang family that the Xue family had managed to scheme their way into the shop. If Mo Yan hadn't been foresighted and stationed someone there, the warehouse might have been burned down.
Upon hearing this, the Zhang family mother and son looked anxiously at Mo Yan. Seeing that she hadn't put away the sharp knife, their faces turned even paler.
Mo Yan looked at them expressionlessly and said coldly, "Take them to the yamen and let the Zhang family reunite there."
"Wu, wu—" The Zhang's mother and son struggled violently. They didn't want to go to the yamen or stay in a cold and damp cell where they couldn't even eat enough.
"They attempted arson. The yamen won't give them a severe punishment," Li Zhong hated them to the core. Sending them to the yamen to sit in jail for a few years was letting them off too easily.
Watching the Zhang family mother and son continue to struggle, Mo Yan shook her head. "For them, a few years in jail is already enough punishment."
She hadn't experienced the jails of this era, but the environment couldn't be better than in her previous life. For the lazy Zhang's mother and son who had no relatives to visit them, this punishment would be a dual physical and mental torment.
Li Zhong had to relent and asked again, "What about the Xue family?"
"The Xue family?" Mo Yan frowned. Then she turned to the Zhang family mother and son with a malicious look and said, "If it weren't for listening to the Xue family's instructions, you wouldn't have come to cause trouble that day. Yao Taohua wouldn't have had the opportunity to take away your Zhang family's only grandson and all your silver. You wouldn't have ended up in this situation today. So when you go to the court, don't forget that it was the Xue family who brought this upon you."
The eyes of the Zhang's mother and son changed. They gradually stopped struggling and their eyes showed a glimmer of hatred, clearly blaming everything on the Xue family.
Coming out of the small room, Li Zhong frowned. "Even if the Zhang family clings to blaming the Xue family, as long as the Xue family doesn't admit it and even uses some connections, the yamen won't dare to do anything to them. They might even turn the tables and accuse us of falsely accusing the Xue family."
Mo Yan smiled with a hint of malice on her face. "The Xue family went through so much trouble to use the Zhang family against us, clearly they still have their fears. As you said before, because of the moldy grains incident, the Xue family's reputation suffered a great blow and was criticized by other imperial merchants. If news of this spreads to their rivals, even if they can't do anything to the Xue family directly, it would be enough to busy them for a while."
This was just to gain some interest from the arson! However, since the Xue family had discovered their own fragrant rice, they might be discovered by other families, so they had to bring Yan Junyu into the fold.
After pondering for a moment, Li Zhong thought it was a good idea. He went to the yamen to lodge a complaint, and soon several constables followed him to the shop and took the Zhang family mother and son away.
Seeing that there was no time to delay, Mo Yan planned to go to Huixian Residence to ask about shopkeeper Xing. Unexpectedly, shopkeeper Xing came over first.
Seeing Mo Yan, shopkeeper Xing smiled and said, "Miss Mo is here, that's great. My master has some free time today and is having tea at Huixian. If Miss Mo is free, you can come with me now."
"That's wonderful!" Mo Yan was pleasantly surprised. She briefed Li Zhong and then went with the head of the punishment to Huixian.
Shopkeeper Xing led Mo Yan directly to the third floor and into the elegant room where they had met last time. Guan Yu was guarding the door. After nodding to them, he knocked on the door and pushed it open, gesturing for Mo Yan to enter.
Upon entering, Mo Yan saw Yan Junyu standing by the window, gazing at the scenery outside.
He was dressed in a luxurious purple fur coat, his already tall figure appearing even more extraordinary. Half of his jet-black hair was neatly tied by a white jade hairpin, while the other half casually draped over his shoulders. The bright sunlight cast a slanted halo on him, giving him a dazzling aura. The noble air surrounding him made people dare not to gaze directly at him.
Mo Yan was captivated by his appearance, involuntarily comparing him to Xiao Ruiyuan. Both were extraordinarily handsome men, but their auras were completely different. One exuded a strong presence, as cold as an iceberg, while the other was as bright and charming as polished jade. They each had their own unique characteristics, and she couldn't determine who was better.
"How about it? Have you been overwhelmed by my charm, wanting to kneel at my feet? Hmm, considering our brief acquaintance, I might just leave a position for you as my personal maid."
Yan Junyu turned around with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, his narrow fox-like eyes flashing with a hint of mischief.
Mo Yan rolled her eyes silently, but her smile was incredibly sincere. "Young Master Yan is joking. There are plenty of women who would vie to be your maid all over the capital. I won't join in that excitement."
Yan Junyu narrowed his eyes, knowing he couldn't take advantage in the verbal joust, so he ended the joke and sat down. Seeing Mo Yan still standing, he elegantly picked up the teapot with his jade-like fingers and poured two cups of tea.
Mo Yan didn't stand on ceremony either. She sat down opposite him, drank a cup of tea, and then went straight to the point.
Comments
Post a Comment