While Madam Yao was making a scene, Madam Ge stood at the doorway watching, secretly delighting in her misfortune. Who told Madam Yao to always look down on others, constantly bringing up her marriage to Zhengping in conversation?
As if Li Zhengping had suffered some loss by marrying her! She was the daughter of Inspector Ge—how was marrying her a loss for Li Zhengping?
Besides, she had originally thought Li Zhengping was a legitimate member of the Li clan, a descendant of a prestigious family. But now it seemed that while he was indeed a Li descendant, his branch had diverged so many generations ago that his position in the Li family was merely that of a manager. If anything, it was Ge Qiujie who had gotten the short end of the deal.
The more she thought about it, the more indignant Ge Qiujie became.
Therefore, seeing Madam Yao’s misfortune gave her the same satisfaction as drinking iced plum soup on a hot summer day.
“Qiujie.” Just then, a woman sashayed over—it was Madam Cao, Ge Qiujie’s stepmother.
“What do you want?” Ge Qiujie asked Madam Cao irritably. She had never shown a pleasant face to her stepmother.
However, Madam Cao had always been low-key and perceptive, treating Ge Qiujie, the eldest daughter of the Ge family, with complete deference. Thus, although Ge Qiujie never showed her a pleasant face, she harbored no real ill will toward Madam Cao and had always treated Ge San’er, Madam Cao’s son, quite well.
“Your father sent me to find you,” Madam Cao said with a smile, completely unfazed by Ge Qiujie’s attitude.
“What for?” Ge Qiujie raised an eyebrow.
“These are the tax receipts and shop rental fee bills your father issued for the Li family,” Madam Cao said, handing several tax receipts to Ge Qiujie.
“Why are they so high?” Ge Qiujie exclaimed upon seeing the receipts.
“These are all based on that special account book,” Madam Cao replied.
“That book was fake, just used to fool Second Madam and Miss Zhen. How can we charge according to it? Has Father lost his mind?” Ge Qiujie said irritably.
“Your father hasn’t lost his mind at all. Think about it—you showed Second Madam and Miss Zhen the fake account book. If we now collected taxes at the normal rate, the sudden drop in fees would expose our deception, wouldn’t it? Anyone would realize there was something wrong with the previous accounts,” Madam Cao explained.
“That’s true, but this money…” Ge Qiujie clicked her tongue.
“Don’t be foolish. Isn’t Miss Zhen in charge in Nanjing now? Besides, it was because of her that the goods warehouse and grain shop moved out. Your father-in-law’s accounts show a large sum being returned. For the tax matter, if there’s not enough, naturally Miss Zhen should make up the difference,” Madam Cao said.
She glanced around before whispering in Ge Qiujie’s ear: “Your father said to talk to your mother-in-law about collecting according to these tax receipts. Of the excess money, he’ll only take ten percent. The rest goes to you all. Wouldn’t that mean a nice sum of silver in your pockets each year? Your mother-in-law will surely agree.”
Hearing Madam Cao’s words, Ge Qiujie’s eyes lit up. This could work indeed. But then she frowned: “No good. The past is past—even if it wasn’t reasonable, what’s paid is paid. But now, Miss Zhen isn’t a fool. She’ll spot the discrepancy just by comparing it with other families. This method won’t work.”
“Who says? Your father has thought of that too. The Li family had trouble with tribute ink in the past. Afterward, the court imposed punitive tax rates on the Li family. Otherwise, with the Li family’s foundation, they could have weathered it. How could they have suddenly withdrawn from the Nanjing market? It was because of these punitive taxes. So we’ll use that as our explanation—Miss Zhen won’t be able to argue with that,” Madam Cao said.
“There was such a thing? That’s perfect then. Alright, I’ll talk to my mother-in-law,” Ge Qiujie happily took the tax receipts, already imagining the silver entering her pockets.
“Sister Zhengping, why are you talking at the door? Won’t you invite people in?” Just then, Zhen Niang arrived with her little maid. Finding the doorway blocked, she had to stop at a distance and call out.
“No need, no need. I was just passing by and stopped to chat when I heard Madam Yao making a fuss,” Madam Cao hurriedly replied, making way for Zhen Niang.
“Oh.” Zhen Niang nodded slightly and entered without further comment.
“So that’s Miss Zhen? She doesn’t look very old—I heard she’s only sixteen,” Madam Cao said to Ge Qiujie, watching Zhen Niang’s retreating figure.
“She’s just a little girl, nothing special. She’s only got Second Madam and the Old Madam backing her,” Ge Qiujie replied disdainfully, also watching Zhen Niang’s back. A girl with an unlucky fate who’d had her engagement broken off was now putting on airs before her—it was ridiculous.
“That’s right, that’s right. Our Qiujie is the truly capable one,” Madam Cao nodded repeatedly.
“Alright, you can go now. Standing here talking at the door—who knows what Li Zhen Niang might think we’re saying about her,” Ge Qiujie waved Madam Cao away, then turned and slammed the door shut with a bang.
“Pah! Acting like you’re somebody. Sure, Miss Zhen might not be anything special, but she can still make your old man eat humble pie,” Madam Cao muttered contemptuously toward Ge Qiujie behind the door.
She had suffered much at the hands of Ge Qiujie’s mother back then. Even after finally outlasting her, she still couldn’t become the official wife due to Ge Qiujie’s opposition, remaining forever a concubine. Therefore, although she fawned on Ge Qiujie outwardly, she never truly respected her in her heart.
Then Madam Cao turned and left.
Ge Qiujie went inside and eagerly sought out her mother-in-law, Madam Fang, showing her the tax receipts.
“Pah! What kind of scheme is your father plotting? When others have an inspector for an in-law, they try every way to pay less tax. But your father—he’s racking his brains to squeeze money from us! Is he an in-law or an enemy?” Madam Fang angrily threw the tax receipts in Ge Qiujie’s face.
“Heh, now you want to pay less, but when you had my father make fake accounts, you wanted to record as much as possible,” Ge Qiujie retorted irritably.
Caught by Ge Qiujie’s words, Madam Fang had no response for a moment but insisted they couldn’t charge according to the fake accounts.
Then Ge Qiujie explained what Madam Cao had told her.
“Ah yes, that did happen! After all these years, with things changing so much, I had completely forgotten,” Madam Fang clapped her hands.
So the two women schemed together, finally deciding to charge according to the tax receipts.
“I’m just worried Father-in-law won’t agree,” Ge Qiujie finally said.
Truth be told, she was somewhat afraid of her father-in-law in this household. Li Jingming was always meticulous in his dealings, and even her father showed him some respect. Therefore, Ge Qiujie didn’t dare try any tricks in front of Li Jingming. She had to incite her mother-in-law Madam Fang to take action.
In this world, there’s always something to counter everything. While Madam Fang wasn’t particularly capable, she was quite skilled at handling her husband. In general, whatever she said or complained about, her husband rarely refused.
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it,” Madam Fang patted her chest confidently.
Night fell quickly.
Madam Fang stood at the door constantly peering out. Finally, when Li Jingming entered, she hurried forward, helping him with his clothes, changing him into casual wear, fawning over him attentively.
“What do you want now?” Li Jingming sighed. He knew his old wife well. She wasn’t usually this good-tempered—such unprompted attentiveness surely meant she wanted something.
So Madam Fang brought out the tax receipts and repeated what Ge Qiujie had said earlier.
“Not! Do you think Miss Zhen is a fool? Last year, when the Li family’s main branch had that huge incident, it was Miss Zhen who weathered it. She’s extremely shrewd. I’ve been on tenterhooks these days, just waiting for her to deal with us. And here you are, wanting to rush headlong into danger—do you want me to be expelled from the Li clan?” Li Jingming nearly jumped up when he saw the tax receipts, ranting in agitation.
“How can it be as serious as you say? These past few days, when Miss Zhen sees us, she’s always smiling. After all, she’s just a sixteen-year-old girl. Even if she has some ability in Huizhou, she probably doesn’t have much experience in Nanjing. Stop being so paranoid. In any case, I’ve decided on this,” Madam Fang said dismissively.
“No.” Li Jingming rejected it again. Seeing Madam Fang’s unconcerned attitude, he knew he needed to frighten her, so he gritted his teeth and said, “If… if you insist on this, I’ll divorce you.”
“Divorce me? Li Jingming, you dare speak of divorcing me? Do you know that I saved your life? The Li family? You’re loyal to the Li family, but how have they treated you?” Upon hearing Li Jingming mention divorce, Madam Fang’s eyes immediately reddened.
“Back then, you devoted yourself completely to the Li family, never keeping even an extra copper for yourself, sending everything to the main branch. At most, you got a mere ‘thank you for your hard work’ from the Old Madam. But what use are mere words of thanks? That year, in the bitter cold, you lay unconscious with illness. I was like an ant on a hot pan with anxiety. We had no money left for medical treatment, and the main branch’s money had been sent away. I had to write to the main branch, begging them to bring some money to treat your illness…”
At this point, Madam Fang continued through gritted teeth: “And how did they respond? ‘No money’—just two words to dismiss us. If Doctor Li hadn’t happened to pass by, not only treating you for free but even waiving the medicine costs, you wouldn’t have survived. In short, I’ve figured it out—all that loyalty and propriety is false, only money is real. When trouble comes, loyalty and propriety can’t help you; only the money in your pocket can help.” Madam Fang began wailing loudly.
“You… why bring up the past? Maybe the main branch was wrong back then, but does that make what we’re doing now right? This can’t go on. I have a feeling Miss Zhen is just waiting for us to make a move. There are no walls that don’t let wind through, no schemes that don’t leave traces,” Li Jingming sighed at Madam Fang.
The room fell silent for a moment.
“Father, Mother, dinner’s ready,” Hua’er called from outside.
“Come, let’s eat,” Li Jingming pulled Madam Fang along. They walked out one after the other.
At that moment, by another window, Zhen Niang sighed and turned away. She had come to find Uncle Jingming about having some people make a new set of counters tomorrow.
The counters in the Ming Dynasty were too high—customers standing outside could barely show their heads above them. Zhen Niang not only found this uncomfortable but also felt it hindered communication with customers. Therefore, she wanted to modify the counters.
However, she hadn’t expected to overhear such a conversation while passing by the window. It wouldn’t be appropriate to approach Uncle Jingming now. So she turned back to her room, pondering Madam Fang’s words.