Chapter 145: Cause and Effect (Pink Ticket 580 + Extra)

  "Auntie, your dowry was worth 30,000 taels of silver! 30,000 taels!" Chen's wife said indignantly. "Now our family is not like it used to be, 30,000 taels can last us three to five years!"

  The maidservant and the old woman who were helping to move boxes in the Rain Listening Pavilion heard this, and they all paused in surprise.

  In the silent and peaceful atmosphere, Shen Mu Qing smiled at Chen Niang: "Nowadays, our family's annual expenses are no more than two or three thousand taels of silver. Three tens of thousands of taels will be enough for ten years, won't it?"

  Xianglian pulled Chen Niang's sleeve from beside her.

  "Oh!" Chen's wife forced a smile, "Aren't I worried about you, Aunt? Now that you have some savings and more silver in hand, your days are better, aren't they?"

  "Thank you for your concern. From now on, I'll be living at home, and eating and drinking will naturally be taken care of by my family, so what's there to worry about?"

  Aunt Chen laughed dryly a few times and said: "Madam is right! I was being foolish!"

  Shen Mu Qing smiled and turned around, pointing at the pair of square-mouthed blue-and-white porcelain vases in Bu Yue's hands: "Leave this one here, take the other set - I'm going to put it in the tea shop!"

  "Put it in a tea house?" The accountant next to him was very surprised, "Put it in a one-cent tea house?"

  Shen Muqing opened a teahouse in Baizhangfang, which she named "One Wen Teahouse": "...since we're doing business with those officials, it's better to be approachable and down-to-earth. Moreover, we must ensure that the name matches the reality - whether it's Longjing, Pu'er or Maojian, each package only costs one wen."

  "How much for this article?" Zhou Bing calculated the account, "This is the same price as a roadside tea shed... not making any money! Our shop may be our own, but if we rent it out, we can get an income of 120 taels of silver per year. You have to count this in."

  Indeed an old businessman.

  "I was prepared for thin profits and many sales." Shen Muqing smiled and said, "For the time being, let's first create a market presence, and then increase the variety later."

  Zhou Bing is also an old hand. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright. I've never done this before, let me try it out first and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, we can talk about it again!"

  Shen Muqing appreciated his attitude very much.

  The shop has been open for nearly half a year and has gained some reputation in the Bai Zhi Fang area.

  "Hmm!" Shen Mu nodded calmly, "I plan to make the shop more elegant and attract some young masters and gentlemen to come and drink tea."

  "But this is also... " Yingfeng gazed at the four-sided mouth celadon vase that cost three or four pieces of silver, "Too expensive!"

  "Yes! Auntie," Chen added from the side, "those who drink tea there are not decent people, if they happen to be convenient for others, they will lose a lot."

  "Let's try it then!" Shen Mu smiled lightly, but his attitude was very persistent.

  She thought of the porcelain screen in the Wanbao Study which had been smashed by her Second Sister.

  They were familiar with her personality, so they simply replied "yes" and took the new account book to start re-accounting the porcelain that Shen Muqing had checked. As she wrote, she suddenly realized something - everything Shen Muqing had checked was fake.

  It's better this way, so as not to be confused with Baipai Fang.

  She thought, and her brush moved faster and faster.

  Xiang Lian saw Shen Mu Qing's attention focused on those porcelain, and quietly pulled Chen Niang's sleeve, saying in a low voice: "Let's go!"

  Madam Chen also found it a bit dull and after exchanging greetings with Shen Muqing, she took Xianglian back to the Liu Yi courtyard.

  On the road, Xianglian said softly: "Auntie, why bother arguing with the young lady over a moment's anger? As long as she doesn't remarry, those things will stay in the house every day. You're only making her unhappy and that will annoy Master."

  Aunt Chen stopped in her tracks and said in a low voice: "Do you know what? If she continues to scatter like this, where will our Da She be?"

  Xiang Lian said softly, "Then let Auntie take charge... Isn't Master saying that everything should be asked of Auntie? What's the difference between this and letting her take charge? I think you'd better be more generous and let her take over - what use is that empty title to you? This family will eventually belong to Shu Ge anyway!"

  Aunt Chen pursed her lips: "I don't know where I am, only...". Her face showed a few points of hesitation.

  Xiang Lian smiled and said: "I was just saying that, as for what to do in the end, it's still up to you."

  Madam Chen thought for a moment before saying, "I'm not blind either. Master has been keeping me in the dark, even to the point of sacrificing the Shen family's reputation to help her out. I've already figured it out. What I'm afraid of is that she'll investigate the accounts of our southern store. You don't know, last time because of this matter, I had to pawn several rare and precious pieces of jewelry that my mistress gave me... If she hadn't stopped investigating, I wouldn't even have been able to get back the money I used to redeem them."

  Then don't just care about your brother and neglect your own son?

  The words turned around on her lips, but Xianglian didn't say them out loud in the end.

  But Aunt Chen saw that she didn't say a word, knowing that she wanted to advise herself... However, the shops in the south all had to pay bills, and if she didn't rely on her brother-in-law's help, what would happen if something went wrong? The big house was still so small, who could she count on? It was still those silver coins in her hands that she relied on. She wanted to be the mistress of the house, also for the sake of the silver coins.

  "......Auntie is really getting more and more unbearable. How can she say such things?"

  Shen Muqing held the account book she had written and flipped through it, smiling: "Without Madam's pressure on her, she is a bit arrogant, which is normal. As long as she can serve Master well, there's no need to worry about money matters."

  "Flowers don't bloom for a hundred days, and people can't be prosperous all their lives. The young lady is spending money too lavishly..."

  Is she saying that she gave those two rooms to Wang Wenxuan?

  Money makes the mare go.

  The more money she had in her hands, the more restless she became...

  But before seeing the results, Shen Muqing would never speak rashly.

  She smiled and said, "Zhū Jī is now three months pregnant, and Luò Méi has just married Lín Ruì Chūn and gone to Hú Zhōu - we can still earn money, but the good times of this young couple are gone forever."

  Ying's face turned red: "Auntie, how old are you now, and yet you say such things!"

  "I'm actually a married person..."

  Her eyes flashed with anger, and she said no more.

  ******

  The next day on Qingming Festival, Shen Zhen took Shen Muqing, Da She and Chen Niangniang to burn incense paper for Li Shi.

  Dà Shě stared at someone flying a kite beside him, his eyes couldn't move away.

  Shen Zhen smiled and instructed Chen Niang: "Help him buy a kite too!"

  Aunt Chen happily agreed, and had a young servant buy a crudely made butterfly kite from a nearby stall. She took him to an open area to fly the kite.

  Shen Zhen muttered to himself at the head of Li's grave for half a day, and Shen Muqing didn't hear a single sentence.

  He suddenly looked up and said to Shen Muqing: "You go fly a kite too! I'll talk to my wife."

  I want to be alone for a while!

  Shen Mu nodded quietly and went to Chen Niang's place.

  Despite this, she still had Shen Zhen in her heart, and her eyes would occasionally glance over at him, sizing him up.

  Suddenly, Shen Muqing saw Chen Yinniang hastily turn around: "The sun is too big, I'll go sit under the shade of that tree over there!" The voice was tense.

  It's strange that Shen Mu Qing is so calm and clear-headed.

  It was a fine day with a gentle breeze, how could it be said that "the sun is too big"? She was just about to ask Chen Niang what had happened, when Chen Niang hastily walked towards the towering tree not far away.

  "I'll go and attend to Auntie!" Xianglian's expression also showed a few points of fluster, hastily saying a sentence, then following closely behind Chen Ayi.

  Deep and serene, yet unable to help but look around in all directions.

  She saw four or five men of different ages walking towards her on the main road, with the oldest in his thirties and the youngest only seventeen or eighteen years old. They were dressed in silk and satin, accompanied by servants and attendants, laughing and chatting as they approached. Among them was one who appeared to be in his early twenties, with skin as white as snow and features as delicate as a painting. Although he smiled warmly, his eyes gleamed with sharpness and coldness whenever he glanced around. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that one of his legs was slightly twisted outward, causing him to limp noticeably as he walked, his shoulders rising and falling with each step.

  In the flash of insight, Shen Muqing suddenly understood.

  She suppressed the anger in her heart and ordered Yingfen: "Go and call Xianglian."

  Ying saw her face turn white with anger and didn't dare ask more questions, so she quickly went to call Xianglian.

  Xiang Lian followed Ying Fen over with some unease, her back to the main road as she greeted Shen Mu Qing, smiling: "What orders does milady have?"

  "Do you have any news about Shen Yue Rong?" Shen Mu Qing's eyes were filled with sharpness.

  Xiang Lian's eyes flashed with a hint of fear, but she quickly returned to normal: "You're talking about Tai Cang's fourth daughter, right? I haven't seen her since she left!"

  "Ah!" Shen Muqing saw that her eyes were cold and she ordered Ying Fen: "Find a nanny to take Xianglian away!"

  Xianglian was suddenly panicked, she knelt in front of Shen Muqing: "Auntie, please spare me!"

  Shen Mu Qing held her knees, her face cold and stern, shouting at Li Mama: "Take her away for me!"

  Mrs. Li immediately had two rough servants who followed the car lift up Xianglian.

  Xiang Lian wailed: "Auntie, spare me! I won't dare again, I won't dare again!"

  Shen Mu Qing's mother made a "halt" gesture, gazing at her coldly: "You dare not again? Then tell me, what have you done?"

  Xiang Lian looked at Chen Niangniang with tears in her eyes and shouted loudly: "Auntie, I don't know what I did wrong that you want to sell me?"

  Her crying and shouting had already attracted the attention of people around her, let alone Chen Niang and Shen Zhen.

  Two people walked over, one in front of the other.

  Shen Zhen's expression turned serious, and he asked, "What's going on?"

  Aunt Chen's eyes sparkled, but she remained silent.

  In front of so many people, Shen Muqing also didn't dare say anything, and vaguely said: "I'll tell you when I get back!"

  Shen Zhen nodded and said to Li's mother: "Take him away, we'll deal with it later according to the rules."

  Xiang Lian cried out loud.

  "Master, Xianglian is still young. If she has offended you in any way, please consider her diligent service to me and spare her from being sold!"

  Shen Zhen gazed at Shen Muqing.

  Aunt Chen saw this and again kowtowed to Shen Muqing: "Young Mistress, please spare her!"

  Shen Mu gazed at her calmly and quietly, without making a sound.

  "Whose family is this? The governance below is indeed strict! At the slightest movement, they want to sell people!" The tone was somewhat disdainful.

  Shen Mu Qing turned around and saw the group of men from earlier.