Rebirth of the High Family's Beloved

"Madam, this cloth shop has losses every month. We reserve a portion of silver to make up for the losses after inspection. Also, if a customer is not satisfied with the cloth we sold, we need silver to compensate them."

Jiang Qingqing asked, "Can you spend a thousand taels of silver just for these?"

"That's right," Zhao De said with an embarrassed look on his face. "It's easy if you meet a good customer, but if you meet a difficult one, not only will you have to pay compensation, but you will also have to apologize in person. You don't know this because you are not in the shop."

Jiang Qingqing sneered. What do you mean she didn't know because she wasn't in the shop? Doesn't that mean she was new and didn't understand the market? But everyone knew where all the money went in the end.

"I know you're in trouble. Aunt Zhao used to be the head of the household, so I called Aunt Zhao over as well, and brought along the income and expenditure account books of Aunt Zhao's courtyard. Oh, by the way, I heard that you're Aunt Zhao's distant cousin."

After hearing this, Zhao De's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the money he secretly gave to Aunt Zhao as a gift was discovered?

Without hesitation, Zhao De knelt down with a thud, "Madam, what does this have to do with Aunt Zhao? Although we are relatives, we are several rooms apart. Besides, I have made the account clear. You can't falsely accuse a good person."

Unexpectedly, Zhao De couldn't help himself. Jiang Qingqing smiled and said, "I didn't say it had anything to do with Aunt Zhao."

Zhao De stammered, "Then...then..."

He didn't know what to say, fearing that if he said one more word it would implicate Aunt Zhao, and then he would be unable to escape.

Just at this moment, a group of people came to the door. It was Aunt Zhao and several other concubines.

As soon as she entered the yard, Aunt Zhao saw Zhao De kneeling on the ground with a hint of surprise in her eyes. Zhao De happened to hear the noise and glanced over with his head lowered. Their eyes met, and both of them felt a little uneasy.

There was no way for the two of them to collude in testimonies in front of Jiang Qingqing and so many people. Aunt Zhao could only walk in with a smile, walked lightly past Zhao De, and stood in front of him.

"Madam, you called us sisters here, do you have any instructions?"

Jiang Qingqing smiled very subtly, which made Aunt Zhao look unfathomable, and she felt even more nervous.

"It's like this. When I checked the accounts, I found that Zhao's Cloth Shop was short of a thousand silver coins every month. I didn't know the reason, so I asked Aunt Zhao."

Aunt Zhao glanced at Zhao De who was kneeling on the ground. She didn't know how much he had said, but this matter had been going on for more than ten years, so they must have a story. But for Aunt Zhao who was only responsible for collecting money, she didn't know the reason behind it.

"Isn't Shopkeeper Zhao here? What did he say?"

"Shopkeeper Zhao said so, but I don't quite believe it. I want to hear what Auntie has to say."

Aunt Zhao met Jiang Qingqing's smiling eyes and couldn't help but shudder. Did she know?

She was silent for a long while and did not speak again. All that was circling in her mind was the thousand taels of silver notes that Zhao De sent her every month. There were a thick stack of them, and she gave 20% to Zhao De. She used most of the rest to lend at high interest rates, and used a small amount to supplement her parents' family.

Seeing Aunt Zhao, who was still full of vigor and high spirits yesterday, now speechless, Jiang Qingqing threw out the account book of Aunt Zhao's courtyard.

"The concubines are all paid fifty taels of silver every month. Even if Aunt Zhao is in charge of the household, the amount of silver in the account must be at least tens of thousands of taels. Let me ask, Aunt Zhao, where did you get so much money?"

When the other concubines heard this, they all looked at Concubine Zhao. Concubine Song, who had always been close to Concubine Zhao, said, "Sister Zhao, you said yesterday that you were short of money. How...how can you have so much money!"

Aunt Song opened her eyes wide, her shock clearly visible.

Hearing Aunt Song's words that were like a finishing move, Aunt Zhao immediately glared at her. She was not afraid of god-like opponents, but she was afraid of pig-like teammates.

All the money I had was originally put up at loan sharks. Just yesterday, that girl Yan Ru said she liked a piece of fabric and insisted on buying it. I didn't have that much money at the moment, so I asked Concubine Song to borrow two. Who knew that it would become a handle on me today.

Receiving Aunt Zhao's glare, Aunt Song opened her mouth in disbelief, lowered her head with sadness in her eyes.

Aunt Zhao forced a half smile in embarrassment, "Madam, don't think too much. I borrowed this ten thousand silver from my parents. You know my family is not rich. I used all my parents' efforts to collect this much money. I also borrowed some from Sister Song. Madam, please understand. This silver is clean!"

Jiang Qingqing didn't believe what she said, but even though she knew it, she lacked evidence. Aunt Zhao refused to admit it despite her sweet talk, and she couldn't do anything about it for the time being.

Yan Ci saw Jiang Qingqing's hesitation and knew that she couldn't deal with Aunt Zhao because she didn't have solid evidence.

"Auntie, what did you do with all that money?"

These simple words seemed to open up Jiang Qingqing's mind.

After being reminded by this sentence, everyone at the scene also had great doubts.

Yes, what did so much money do?

Aunt Zhao looked at Yan Ci's fair face full of curiosity, his eyes staring at her blankly, it was really just pure curiosity.

But Aunt Zhao, who had been caught on the key point, didn't believe it at all. Everyone else was thinking about where they came from, but only she was concerned about where they were going. No one would believe that it was a coincidence.

Aunt Zhao was thinking over and over again, and was just trying to make up an excuse to get away with it when she heard Jiang Qingqing speak.

"Such a large sum of money, and such frequent transactions, could it be that he is lending it at high interest?"

Aunt Zhao's heart skipped a beat. She met Jiang Qingqing's inquiring gaze and knelt on the ground without daring to raise her head.

"Madam, spare your life!"

She couldn't delve into this any further, otherwise she wouldn't be able to survive in the Yan Mansion.

"The Emperor has issued an order prohibiting private lending. Since Aunt Zhao has admitted it, then all the money will be taken back and its origin will be returned to the original source after verification. As for Aunt Zhao, her monthly interest will be reduced by half and she will be confined to the courtyard for three months."

After Aunt Zhao was dealt with, the other concubines watched from the sidelines, and no one begged for mercy. Perhaps they were originally on the same side as Aunt Zhao in their hearts, but when they found out that Aunt Zhao made money by lending money at high interest rates and never took them with her, they had already become alienated from her.

The matter was not over yet. Shopkeeper Zhao, who was on the same line as Aunt Zhao, knelt on the ground and dared not say a word, thinking that he could escape the disaster.

Jiang Qingqing stood up from her chair and said, "Manager Zhao, since you are in trouble for running two shops by yourself, then don't worry about it. I will send someone capable to replace you. Go back and pack up and go to the farm."

How could the farm earn more than the shop? Shopkeeper Zhao fell to the ground and kowtowed, "Madam, I know I was wrong. I will never do it again. Please forgive me, Madam."

Jiang Qingqing returned to the house with the help of Nanny Ruan. Chuntao looked at the people in the yard, said "Go away", and left too.

The initial battle was a victory, and they killed the chicken to scare the monkeys. They dealt with Aunt Zhao and Shopkeeper Zhao, and those who had dirty hands dared not to take any action for a while.