The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

When Mr. Shen Er saw that the old lady also asked, he brought out the speech he had prepared in the morning.

"Yesterday, after I went to the Fahua Temple to light the eternal lamp for Nanhua, I have been thinking about what I can do for her.

Fortunately, Nanhua appeared in my dream last night, saying that he had passed away early, and felt sorry for the children who lost their mother. He also wanted to do good deeds for his two children, so he asked me to do more good deeds.

This morning, when the light of day dawned, I thought of this method for the country and the people, and I could no longer hold back and went to the Ministry of Revenue. I believe that if the people in Nanhua knew about it, they would support me. "

Mei Qianhe seemed to be testifying for the Second Master, and said, "That's right, I saw Lord Shen and others in the Ministry of Revenue as soon as I arrived at the yamen."

He seemed to be kind enough to advise the old lady: "Old lady, Lord Shen is doing a great good deed, I told you about it when I was in the shop today.

Many people outside heard it. I'm sure there are still people waiting at the gate of Ning'an Marquis's mansion, wanting to find out what happened."

"This matter has already been signed in black and white. The Ministry of Revenue is an important government office in the country. If it is fooled, it will be a small matter for me to be reprimanded for my poor performance, but it will be a big matter for the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion and the Concubine Shu in the palace to lose face."

Seeing that the matter was set in stone, the old lady had no other options. She forced a smile with a dark face and told the first lady, Mrs. Wang, to hand over all the house deeds, land deeds and account books to the Ministry of Revenue.

Mei Qianhe took the box of account books with a smile, and casually took out a book which was the one of the clothing shop they had visited today. He frowned as he flipped through it, and then took out a few more books and showed them to other people in the Ministry of Revenue.

The people from the Ministry of Revenue were very good at checking the account books. They finished reading them in just a cup of tea. Several people looked at each other.

It was Mei Qianhe who spoke again: "The account book in my hand is from the clothing store. It records a loss of more than one thousand taels last year."

After that, Mei Qianhe paused and pointed at the books in other people's hands: "Of course, these account books also record losses."

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Wang was very proud in her heart. Her shop had been losing money for years. She wondered whether the Ministry of Revenue would dare to take on this hot potato.

The first master Shen and the old lady remained calm. The second master Shen was stunned, as he had never thought that the shop would be in a loss.

Mei Qianhe bowed to the second master and said, "Sir Shen, it's not that I don't trust you. But if it's a shop that has been losing money for years, our Ministry of Revenue will need manpower to turn the loss into profit after donating it, which is really difficult."

"If that's the case, your humble servant..." Before Mei Qianhe finished speaking, he heard a clear and pleasant voice: "Wait."

It turned out that Shen Baozhao came out and bowed to everyone: "Can I see this account book?"

Wang Shi saw that the Ministry of Revenue was going to back down, and of course she didn't want Bao Zhao to mess things up, so she immediately stepped forward and scolded him, "Fourth girl, why are you joining in the fun? You have never learned how to be a housekeeper, how can you understand the account book?"

Shen Baozhao didn't back down, but he didn't insist on looking at the account book either: "I remember when A Niang was here, I saw the shopkeeper come to settle accounts, and I occasionally heard A Niang mention it. At that time, every shop had income."

When Mr. Shen saw Shen Baozhao's questioning, he looked at Wang and hinted that Wang should solve it.

Sure enough, although this couple was not harmonious in other areas, they were surprisingly in sync when it came to dealing with the second wife.

Wang started howling regardless, "Fourth girl, are you questioning whether I am embezzling money?"

"To put it bluntly, your mother has passed away for ten years. During these ten years, I have been diligently looking after your second wife's business. According to you, it is right for the shop to make money, but it is wrong for it to lose money."

"What did you eat, wear, and use in the past ten years that didn't come from the Marquis's Mansion? Your brother paid for his studies, and he also paid for his writing brushes, inkstones, and paper. You wear gold and silver, and your monthly allowance has never been unfair to your aunt."

"These marquisates have never asked your second branch to pay a penny, and yet you end up getting no thanks for your efforts." Wang spoke more and more, as if she was really aggrieved.

If Shen Baozhao was really a 15-year-old girl, she would definitely be coaxed by her again.

But she is not like that anymore. Her age in both lives combined is older than Wang’s. If she can’t see through her tricks, then she has lived in vain.

He said calmly, "Don't worry, Auntie. I just don't understand two things and need to ask."

Wang was indeed very anxious and cursed Shen Baozhao many times in her heart.

She stopped crying and tried to persuade Shen Baozhao: "Good boy, your aunt will not mind that you two have more food and clothing. But these are our family affairs, so don't mention anything later."

"Let the people in the Ministry of Revenue sort things out first, and then we can talk about other things."

Wang obviously wanted to get rid of these big Buddhas from the Ministry of Revenue first.

Shen Baozhao naturally knew what she was thinking, so he followed Wang's words and said, "Aunt, I naturally believe you. It's just that my father finally wanted to do a good deed, but he didn't expect to encounter such an embarrassing situation."

"We just want to clarify, and this matter has been handed over to the Ministry of Revenue. Before we figure it out, I think it will be difficult for you gentlemen to go back and report, right?"

The last sentence was said to everyone in the Ministry of Revenue.

Mei Qianhe had no intention of leaving, so he followed Shen Baozhao's words: "Of course we have to find out."

"Miss Shen, if you have something to say, just say it."

Minister Shen saw that the two wanted to continue to investigate. He didn't know Mei Qianhe's true identity and thought he was just a small official, so he used the routine of the officialdom: "Master Mei, don't worry about this matter."

"I will personally explain this to Minister Sun and will not make it difficult for you."

As he spoke, he stuffed a jade pendant into Mei Qianhe's hand.

Unexpectedly, Mei Qianhe pushed it back calmly: "Minister Shen, what you said is wrong. My grandfather has always taught me that 'honesty is the way of heaven; sincerity is the way of man. A gentleman should be honest and trustworthy.'"

"This matter is questionable, and it is my job. So I must investigate and discuss it clearly."

Seeing that he was not moved by any soft or hard words, Master Shen wanted to threaten him: "I heard from Master Mei that there is an elderly grandfather at home.

I wonder where you live? Master Mei's salary is not much, is your life tight? How about sending someone to visit your home someday?"

Shen Baozhao felt that Master Shen was really shameless, using coercion and bribery. Fortunately, she knew Mei Qianhe's identity, so she was not in a hurry.

Mei Qianhe snorted coldly: "No need to bother Minister Shen for this."

He said to Shen Baozhao, "Fourth Miss, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

He handed the account book in his hand to Bao Zhao.

Seeing that this man was neither humble nor arrogant, Shen Baozhao couldn't help but feel lucky that it was him who came today. If it was someone else, he might have succumbed to the tyranny of Ning'an Marquis' Mansion.

She took the account book but didn't open it in a hurry.

Instead, he walked slowly to the middle of the bright hall. The spring morning sun was not too hot, but shone obliquely on Shen Baozhao. Mei Qianhe stood against the light and could still see the fine hairs on Baozhao's crystal white face.

She still fascinated him.