The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Xia Mianwan returned to Pei Mansion late, only to see Aunt Qin and Qin Qinqing there too. Both of them were wearing the most popular hairpins and rings in the capital at the time.

"How come you have time to come over today, Aunt and Cousin?"

Aunt Qin smiled and said, "I recently found a profitable business and wanted to involve you, but your mother didn't want to worry about it, so we came to ask you."

Xia Mianwan paused. Could it be that Aunt Qin also...

Qin Qinqing saw that Xia Mianwan looked unhappy, and asked with some concern: "Are you still feeling unwell, cousin? I heard from my aunt that you caught a cold."

Xia Mianwan shook her head and sat down at the main seat. "Aunt, are you talking about Chen Er in this business?"

Aunt Qin was startled. She looked at Xia Mianwan carefully. Seeing that Xia Mianwan had no smile on her face, she couldn't help but panic, "Is there something wrong?"

Xia Mianwan said coldly: "Aunt Qin, have you ever thought about what is behind this high-interest money? You are actually lending money. If someone dies in the capital, how can you escape unscathed?"

Aunt Qin waved her hands and said, "No, Mian Wan, I have asked around and Chen Er is not a pawnbroker."

Qin Qinqing nodded quickly, "Yes, I asked about it too."

Xia Mianwan looked at the two men in confusion and sighed helplessly, "Let me ask you, does Hengzheng know that you put the money with Chen Er?"

Aunt Qin nodded, "Ah Qing said Hengzheng said it's okay."

Qin Qinqing lowered her head, her face unable to hide her panic.

Xia Mianwan looked at Qin Qinqing. Qin Qinqing's behavior could only mean that she was lying.

"Aqing, tell the truth." Xia Mianwan said earnestly.

Qin Qinqing avoided her gaze and hesitated, not daring to speak. Mrs. Qin knew her daughter too well, so there was nothing she didn't understand. "Ah Qing, tell me the truth, what did your son-in-law say?"

Qin Qinqing was stared at by her mother's sharp eyes, and she really didn't dare to lie, "Hengzheng didn't let me do it, but... I thought that I had taken out the money before, so it should be fine. I did it without telling my husband."

Mrs. Qin was horrified. They had invested as much as five thousand taels of silver. If something went wrong, there would always be a rift between her daughter and son-in-law.

"Mianwan, is there something wrong with Chen Er? Can the money be got back?" Aunt Qin asked hurriedly.

Xia Mianwan said, "The most frightening thing about lending money is that you can get the interest but not the principal. You value their interest, but they value your principal. Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has always hated the usury that exploits the people. If a few lives are lost outside, do you think it will be so simple? Aunt, just listen to me and go get the money back quickly."

"You can't take it, you can't take it..." Qin Qinqing shook her head.

Mrs. Qin looked at her daughter in confusion, "Why not take it? At worst, I won't pay the interest."

Qin Qinqing lowered her head in bewilderment. "Chen Er didn't let me put in so much money, but I insisted. I signed a note with him, saying that if I didn't get the money back after the specified date, I would have to pay for it."

Mrs. Qin realized the problem now, and pointed at Qin Qinqing and scolded her angrily: "You are so confused!"

Qin Qinqing cried. She had no idea it would be like this. Seeing that she was pregnant, Mrs. Qin didn't know what to say, so she said to Xia Mianwan, "Mianwan, is there any way to remedy this?"

Xia Mianwan said: "Yes, bring back as much as you can. My cousin is crying like this, so the deadline should be very long, right?"

Qin Qinqing couldn't help but look up and asked, "How did my cousin know?"

"Most scammers use this trick." Xia Mianwan said unhappily.

Aunt Qin couldn't sit still anymore, so she hurriedly pulled Qin Qinqing up and said, "Ah Qing, let's go find Chen Er and get the silver back. We'll accept the compensation."

Qin Qinqing was somewhat unwilling and didn't want to move, but Aunt Qin kept urging her, so Qin Qinqing had no choice but to stand up and walked towards the door reluctantly.

Five thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, and Aunt Qin doesn't have the money to pay for it now.

However, Xia Mianwan did not expect that Qin Qinqing, who had just returned to the capital not long ago, would fall into the trap. This shows how wide the coverage is.

……

Ever since Xia Mianwan made a scene with a rolling pin that day, no colleague dared to invite Pei Yanxu to drink for a long time, so Pei Yanxu came back relatively early these days.

As soon as Xia Mianwan returned to Shaoguangyuan, she saw Pei Yanxu who had changed into casual clothes, "You're back, Pei Yanxu."

When there were no outsiders around, Xia Mianwan hadn't called Pei Yanxu "husband" for a long time. She just called him by his full name. Pei Yanxu felt that the two of them seemed to have become much closer.

"I am back."

"I have something to tell you." Xia Mianwan said as she walked into the study, and Pei Yanxu followed her in.

Then Xia Mianwan told Pei Yanxu what happened to Chen Er and her own inferences.

Pei Yanxu was silent for a moment and felt that there was some truth to this. This was simply robbery.

"If the rebellion really breaks out in a year, are you sure you can prepare in advance and take them all down?" Xia Mianwan asked.

Pei Yanxu said: "Now their every move is actually in the sight of the emperor. The biggest problem and variable now is still with Zhuang Mingming and Zheng Xiaoyun. Judging from the current chess cards, the rebellion will be wiped out in one year. It's just that it's hard to determine the variables, and we can't be sure whether it will be like the time in Yanzhou, where we failed to cut the grass and uprooted it, leaving behind troubles."

Xia Mianwan immediately thought of the key point, "We can't let them get such a large amount of silver. Pingyang Marquis Mansion and Minister Qiu are not fools. They know that their actions must have been figured out. The connection with Xu Guogong Mansion must be related to the fight for the throne. So, they may be open cards, or they may be a decoy. In fact, the ones who play the most role may be the Ninth Prince, Zhuang Mingming and Zheng Xiaoyun."

Pei Yanxu nodded, "Madam is smart. It took me several days to figure out the variables."

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "There is information asymmetry between us. I only think so now that I have received new information."

If Zhuang Mingming and Zheng Xiaoyun are actually the ones who play the biggest role in changing the situation, then what they need most is money, lots and lots of money.

The Ninth Prince has never been to his fiefdom, and he lives in the capital city under the Emperor's command, so it is impossible for him to have a lot of money to use.

Stringed...

All of these things are linked together...

Xia Mianwan and Pei Yanxu looked at each other and understood everything.

Therefore, if there is a variable, it must be eliminated first. Then the problem at hand is how to eliminate Chen Er without alerting the enemy and prevent the appearance of Wang Er, Qian Er, and Li Er.