In the evening, at the main hall of the Wang residence.
“Get out! Someone help! They’ve broken in! Drive them all out…” In the bedroom, Madam Hu awoke with sweat covering her face and head, screaming as she thrashed about.
“Mother, Mother… It’s alright, no one has broken in. Cousin has people standing guard,” called Wang Wan’er, who had been dozing in the outer room. Hearing the screams from inside, she rushed to her mother’s bedside.
“Ah, no one broke in? Right, your cousin is keeping watch. Look at me, having nightmares again.” It took Madam Hu a while to come to her senses. Upon seeing her daughter before her, her heart finally steadied.
But then her eyes welled up with tears. Though it had been merely ten days since the money house incident, to her it felt like ten years had passed. She had just had another nightmare where people stormed into their home, destroying everything, and demanding payment. In the dream, when she couldn’t pay, they threatened to sell off Wan’er and Qingguan.
“Mother, rest a while longer. I’ll go prepare your medicine,” Wan’er said, helping her mother lean against the bed’s headboard. Her mother’s health was truly poor—her face had turned sallow, making her look as if she’d aged a decade overnight.
“Why are you going to prepare it? Where are the maids?” Madam Hu looked at her daughter, noting how much weight she’d lost in these few days.
“Many people have come from the Wang family in Huizhou and Grandmother’s family. They all need attending to, so I’ve sent the maids and servants to look after them,” Wan’er explained while wiping her mother’s sweat with a handkerchief.
“Hmph.” Hearing this, Madam Hu let out a cold snort. Her heart was still burning with anger. People truly showed their true colors only in times of hardship. Before, when the money house was flourishing, both the Wang and Hu families had curried favor with her, eagerly trying to invest money in exchange for shares or to secure positions for their people in the business.
Back then, how accommodating the Wang and Hu families had been! They would pound their chests and guarantee anything.
But now that the money house was in trouble, they were all afraid of losses, frantically calling to withdraw their shares. With the money house sealed, they were only thinking about salvaging what they could from the family. Though they hadn’t completely fallen out yet, it had certainly left Madam Hu feeling cold-hearted.
“How is your father doing now?” Madam Hu asked, holding Wan’er’s hand.
“Father is still unconscious, but he was awake for about ten minutes today. The doctor says his condition is improving,” Wan’er replied with a slight smile.
“That’s good. That’s good.” Madam Hu repeated.
“Wan’er, you said you were going to prepare medicine. Go ahead, I’ll look after your mother,” said a woman in her forties as she entered.
“Alright, thank you, First Aunt,” Wang Wan’er nodded, then nodded again to her mother before withdrawing.
This woman was Madam Hu’s sister-in-law, Madam Hu-Jiang.
After Wang Wan’er left, Madam Hu-Jiang took a different stool and sat by Madam Hu’s bedside. Madam Hu remained silent, her heart troubled.
“Sister-in-law, I know you’re unhappy about us withdrawing our shares, but times are hard for us too. You know we invested considerably in Sifang Money House, and now that it’s been sealed, our family is in chaos. When Mother heard the news, she nearly fainted. We really can’t afford these losses. Besides, now that the Huizhou Merchants’ Association has taken charge, we couldn’t withdraw our shares even if we wanted to. We’re all in the same boat, so we must work together to get through this crisis,” Madam Hu-Jiang said earnestly after sitting down.
Hearing these words, Madam Hu felt somewhat better: “Does First Sister-in-law have a way to overcome this crisis?”
“Your brothers have calculated it all. The money house can’t fail right now—if it does, the losses will be irretrievable. So at this moment, the only way for the money house to survive is to invest more capital,” Madam Hu-Jiang explained.
“That’s what the Huizhou merchants are thinking too,” Madam Hu nodded.
During this period, since Wang Sifang’s incident, the Huizhou merchants had essentially taken over the money house’s affairs.
Indeed, Sifang Money House held deposits from various Huizhou merchants and the association itself. One could say that Sifang Money House’s survival was tied to the survival of Nanjing’s Huizhou merchant community.
When the Textile Commissioner’s Office got into trouble, Sifang Money House was also a victim.
The Yingtian Prefecture government sealed Yihousheng Money House for two reasons: first, to investigate any possible illegal dealings between Sifang Money House and the Textile Commissioner’s Office, and second, to prevent unrest due to the large number of merchant deposits involved.
Regarding the first point, Madam Hu knew that aside from legitimate business dealings, Sifang Money House had no improper connections with the Textile Commissioner’s Office. For this, she had to thank her nephew Luo Wenqian.
Previously, when Wenqian was engaged to Li Zhenniang, Sifang had approached Wenqian intending to break up the engagement. Instead, Wenqian had warned his uncle not to meddle in the Xu family’s affairs.
Additionally, during the previous land incident, the Xu family had also deceived Han Yigui, so Wang Sifang had become wary of the Xu family and their affairs.
This year, when the Textile Commissioner’s Office approached through the Xu family’s connections, inviting Sifang to dinner, they had intended to persuade him to take Wei Baiwan’s former position and directly manage silk procurement. But with Wei Baiwan’s fate as a warning, and coupled with Wenqian’s caution, Wang Sifang hadn’t agreed to directly purchase silk, instead offering to lend money to the Textile Commissioner’s Office.
In this regard, Sifang Money House has maintained its integrity, so these past few days, Hu Zonglin and Wenqian have been working to clear this point. Once they could prove their innocence and get the Yingtian Prefecture to unseal the Sifang Money House, then with investment from the Huizhou merchants, the Money House would have a chance at survival. This would also minimize losses for the Huizhou merchants.
If Sifang Money House operated well in the future, everyone might even profit.
“I know Hu Zonglin and the others are planning this, but have you considered that once the Huizhou merchants invest in Sifang Money House, will it still belong to your Wang family? Your husband Sifang and Hu Zonglin have been rivals for over ten years, and now you’re just going to let Hu Zonglin’s people take over Sifang Money House? Can you accept that?” Madam Hu-Jiang asked irritably.
“If it’s not ours, so be it. Right now, I just want to get through this crisis,” Madam Hu sighed. What use was there in being stubborn when you lacked the strength? She knew well how Wang Sifang and Hu Zonglin had fought for over ten years, and clearly, Hu Zonglin had the last laugh.
“You fool, you’re holding a trump card and don’t even know how to use it,” Madam Hu-Jiang said, patting Madam Hu’s hand.
“What trump card? First Sister-in-law, I don’t understand,” Madam Hu looked confused.
“Your nephew Luo Jiu! He has Yihousheng Money House behind him, plus the gold mines beyond the passes for support. I hear he even has Master Zhang and General Qi backing him, right? If he fully supports us, what chance would Hu Zonglin and his people have?” Madam Hu-Jiang explained.
“First Sister-in-law, you’re being unrealistic. Wenqian hates us deeply. If the money house wasn’t tied to the Huizhou merchants’ survival, and if he didn’t owe us a favor from that incident in Shizhou where Sifang helped him, he wouldn’t even touch our affairs,” Madam Hu sighed. She knew Luo Wenqian’s temperament well.
“Why do you think that way? Sifang can’t be entirely blamed for what happened to Luo Jiu’s parents. After all, Sifang is now his only blood uncle, isn’t he? Besides, don’t you have Wan’er? I see Wan’er and Luo Jiu as a perfect match,” Madam Hu-Jiang suggested.
“First Sister-in-law, you’re talking nonsense now. Wenqian is already engaged to the Li family’s daughter,” Madam Hu said weakly. She still had a fever, and her sister-in-law’s scattered words were giving her more of a headache.
“So what if they’re engaged? They haven’t married yet. I don’t think that Li’s family girl is fated to be with Luo Jiu. Otherwise, why would their wedding be postponed just as they were about to marry when Old Master Li suddenly passed away? I think this is an opportunity…” Here, Madam Hu-Jiang lowered her voice and continued, “Even an engagement can be broken. At this time, we might need to use some tactics. Why not take advantage of Luo Jiu staying here to help, and find a way to create a fait accompli between him and Wan’er? Once it becomes a scandal, how could the Li family not break off the engagement…”
“First Sister-in-law!!” Madam Hu was shocked by her sister-in-law’s words. She also felt angry—what did her sister-in-law take Wan’er for? Yes, she was greedy, status-conscious, and somewhat vain, but no matter what, everything she did was for Wan’er and Qing’er. If they followed her sister-in-law’s suggestion, how could Wan’er ever hold her head up in public again?
She wanted to rebuke her sister-in-law, but the surge of anger made her head spin even more.
“Mother, the medicine is ready,” Wan’er entered with the medicine at this moment, her face pale. She brought it to the bedside without even glancing at Madam Hu-Jiang. The Wang family’s Great-aunt had entered with her—they had been outside and heard Madam Jiang’s words. They were both furious.
Great-aunt Wang’s eyes bore into Madam Jiang like daggers.
“Think about it some more. I’ll leave now,” Madam Hu-Jiang felt uncomfortable under Great-aunt Wang’s gaze. She whispered to Madam Hu, then said to Wang Wan’er, “Take good care of your mother,” before practically fleeing the room.
“Mother, you mustn’t listen to First Aunt,” Wang Wan’er said tearfully, holding the medicine bowl with a hurt expression once Madam Jiang had left.
“Don’t worry, I’m not foolish. I might not have seen things before, but now I do. No matter what, Wenqian only has your father as his uncle. He won’t just watch our family fall. I won’t sacrifice you,” Madam Hu said weakly.
“Good that you understand. Your natal family is just afraid they’ll lose their benefits once the Merchants’ Association takes over management, that’s why they’re trying to get you to use Luo Wenqian,” Great-aunt Wang snorted. Though she had never had Luo Mengzhen’s insight, she had lived long enough to see through such matters.
“Mm,” Madam Hu nodded as Wan’er helped her drink the medicine.
“By the way, I just went to the Li family and asked Li Zhenniang to come manage the household affairs. For now, you just focus on recovering, and try to see as little of the Wang and Hu families as possible,” Great-aunt Wang told Madam Hu.
“Miss Li agreed?” Madam Hu was surprised. Previously, she hadn’t thought much of the Li family and had particularly disapproved of Li Zhenniang. So when Great-aunt Wang mentioned asking Li Zhenniang, Madam Hu hadn’t been optimistic. After all, their family was now a liability—managing the household at this time would only make enemies.
“That girl is magnanimous and capable. Don’t underestimate her,” Great-aunt Wang said irritably.
“Mm.” Madam Hu nodded slightly, feeling touched. In the past, she and Sifang had failed in their duties as elders.