Chapter 223 Little Chili’s stab in the back
2 years ago, shortly after Duan Xiaolou left Yangzhou City with Ling Miaoyi and returned to the capital, He Danggui and Liao Qing’er went to academy together on one day. As soon as they entered the academy, they heard many noble misses chatting. “He Danggui’s father abandoned her mother and her because her mother had done something immoral.”
“No, I guess He Jingxian is not her biological father, otherwise, why did He’s Family abandon her?”
“Right, her mother got married again soon after being sent back to Luo’s Mansion. It can be confirmed that she is a skittish woman.”
“My Second Aunt has been a widow for 10 years. Every time someone came to fix her up with an appointment, she hung herself next day. She is really a model for us.”
He Danggui and Liao Qing’er heard the key words keenly, such as “He Jingxian” and “Luo’s Mansion”. They understood that. But He Danggui just ignored them. She went into the musical instrument room to wipe her pentachord as usual under the eyes of the crowd. However, Liao Qing’er could not hold back her anger and ran to the crowd. She stood with her hands akimbo and exposed the scandals of the misses who had gossiped He Danggui. Miss A was the daughter of a concubine who was accused of stealing in her husband’s house. Miss B once squatted by the river and cried because her letter to a childe was rejected. And Miss C put a fart in class one day.
Although the aggressive counterattack of Liao Qing’er depressed the excitement of the public, it couldn’t slow down the spread of rumors. After all, the topic of “the denunciations of the noble First Miss’s life experience” was much more attractive than scandals of those misses.
This topic spread like the wind in Chengxu Academy, and it was constantly supplemented by Luo Baiqiong and others. They provided people with new talks. Feeling extremely angry, Liao Qing’er vowed to find out the source of rumors and the evil villain. So, she called herself “Sherlock Holmes” in a black cloak, though she was not a veritable expert in reasoning. She also made He Danggui, who was lack of interest, play the role of doctor “Watson”, though there was no corpse for her to examine. After a few days of investigation, they caught several reading attendants by chance who were spreading bad tabloids in the academy. Then He Danggui recognized that the script of the tabloid was made of Qingzhu rice paper from Wenzhu Corridor in the capital.
As soon as they came to the conclusion that the rumor came from the capital, Liao Zhiyuan came to Yangzhou City hurriedly. He apologized to He Danggui that he and Lu Jiangbei made a secret investigation of her life experience, since Duan Xiaolou was interested in her. And they hid the relevant investigation letters in Baisha Mountain Villa in Yinma Town. Later, Ling Miaoyi lived in the villa for a few days and stole those letters, which led to the leakage of the privacy.
Only then did He Danggui realize that Ling Miaoyi was her cousin, who liked to wear red clothes and was known as “little chili” and “liar”. He Danggui didn’t know how to react. Although Ling Miaoyi knew the kinship, Ling Miaoyi stabled her in the back. Liao Zhiyuan gave her a letter which was written by Lu Jiangbei and left.
The letter written in a wild scribble was not in line with He Danggui’s impression to Lu Jiangbei, such a gentle and cultivated man. It said that Lu Jiangbei was very sorry for investigating He Danggui without authorization, and for not keeping the letters properly. He asked scouts to go to He’s Mansion to fish for her life experience because Master Duan, who was regarded as his younger brother, requested him to be a matchmaker in Shui Shang Temple. Though no amount of apology would change the evil consequence, he would try his best to compensate He Danggui to show his guilt.
Since then, He Danggui had never seen any letters from Lu Jiangbei again, let alone he himself. She gradually left the matter behind. Moreover, she was not too angry with Lu Jiangbei and Liao Zhiyuan. After all, they were not the culprits of spreading rumors, and they helped her find a very important gold lock in the past years.
Rumors came and went quickly. Even He Danggui herself didn’t remember when did people stop staring at her strangely and talking about her in the academy. This affair was running to an end. But now, He Danggui suddenly heard Chang Nuo mentioning Lu Jiangbei, who was related to the case of her stepfather He Fu. He Danggui couldn’t help doubting that Lu Jiangbei used this affair to frame He Fu. Was this his compensation for her?
No wonder He Danggui thought so. Lu Jiangbei was the commander of imperial guard at the top, and always behaved himself in a good manner. It was hard to imagine what grudges he had with He Fu. Since Lu Jiangbei had investigated her life experience, he must know the past between He Danggui’s mother and He Fu. A woman from a respectable family fell in love with a poor man. However, the poor man cheated the money and left. The woman was so sad that she lived in the Taoist temple as a recluse.
Under such a background, the poor man, He Fu was regarded as Chen Shimei in real life. And Lu Jiangbei believed that He Danggui also hated He Fu, so he collected all kinds of evidences to prove that He Fu was a corrupted official. He made He Fu in real trouble to compensate He Danggui by divulging her life experience.
Before the exposure of her life experience, He Danggui was identified as a granddaughter of Luo’s Family. Outsiders only knew that her father’s status was not high, so she mentioned the name of her grandparents. People ridiculed her most because her mother remarried after her life experience was exposed, which led to her poor family education. Male students harassed her because they tended to consider her as a concubine who could be kept.
In this case, Lu Jiangbei did bring her some troubles, so she could accept such compensation. However, He Danggui had not figured it out thoroughly, and asked Chang Nuo, “He Fu’s property has been confiscated by government. How can you secretly transfer it to me? It’s not for fun. What’s your identity, Brother Zhoushi? Please disclose some ideas. Otherwise, I would not dare take the money and do anything against the law. I do not have the powerful support from a backer as my Fourth Sister’s. She had no fear of anything.”
Chang Nuo couldn’t help laughing and said, “You dare not do anything against the law, but be disrespectful to Lord Ning in front of me. I think you are braver than me. Don’t worry, Sister Qingyi. I will do it without leaving any traces. Even the Emperor can’t find it out. Moreover, your backer is much more powerful than that of Luo Baishao. In due course, you will know that even if you poke a hole in the sky, there is a man determining to shoulder and plug it for you.”
“Come on, you don’t have to speak well of Lord Ning all the time.” He Danggui sighed, “It seems that you don’t know about Lord Ning as well as me. In this world, he will not feel heartbroken for the departure of any women. And you think too highly of me. He will only regret meeting such a mediocre woman as me who not only won’t help him make achievements, but also may hold him back.”
Chang Nuo gently comforted, “Don’t worry. Lord Ning won’t ask you to do anything for him. He just wants...”
“In time, you will know whether I am a sail with the wind or water against the current.” He Danggui couldn’t hear the nonsense anymore and interrupted him. The person he talked about was not Zhu Quan at all. She asked angrily, “How much is He Fu’s property? How much money can I earn by working hard for you for 10 days? I’m more interested in money.”
“Sister Qingyi, are you short of money?” Chang Nuo looked at her narrowly and said, “How come? Leaving the token of love which is worth no less than 100,000 liang silver given by Lord Ning to you aside, I offer you cheques of 3,000 liang at the end of each year. Why do you refuse those cheques?”
He Danggui said with stiff lips, “I only earn the deserved money. I will help my mother get back her money which was cheated by He Fu as much as possible. As for Lord Ning’s gifts, I’m afraid they will be damaged in my yard one day, so I store them all in the treasure chest of Qibao Money Shop. The key is kept of me. The annual storage fee of 56 liang is really expensive. I wonder if you can afford half of it.”
Chang Nuo couldn’t help exclaiming in his mind that women’s hearts were unexplainable. His Eleventh Sister had already made him annoyed. Now the very principled Sister Qingyi was going to drive him nuts. He didn’t understand the significance of her persistence and stubbornness. Lord Ning had offered her wealth, but she insisted on earning money by herself. Though saying that she was more interested in money, she impressed people as a money immune. Once his Eleventh Sister said she was hungry, so he hurriedly cooked a fancy meal for her. To his surprise, she stopped after only a couple of bites. Both of them shared a strange sense of inconsistency.
Chang Nuo didn’t know what women really wanted. He thought even if women were not as straightforward as men, they couldn’t be too different from each other. But the girl in front of him seemed to throw him into the sea. Finally, he had to give up the topic of “finding women for the Lord” and started to help her calculate the funny cost of keeping the gift. “I will pay 300 liang to you for the annual storage fee of 56 liang, plus the travel and tea allowance over the 3 years. How do you think?”
He Danggui said with a smile, “It’s always exhilarating to talk about business with a rich guy. I shouldn’t have taken so much money, but it’s a two-way street. With the good beginning, I will also give you a pleasant price next time. But then again, how much is He Fu’s family poverty? Haven’t you found out yet?”
“20,000 liang.” Chang Nuo answered.
“20,000 liang?” He Danggui’s first reaction was doubt. She asked, “Are you looking for any excuse to give Lord Ning’s money to me again?”
20,000 liang?! Though her business with Qing’er was very popular, which even caused quite a stir in the field of aphrodisiac and brothel throughout Yangzhou City, it took them 3 years to make a profit of more than 20,000 liang silver.
He Danggui and Liao Qing’er were gifted merchants. With the money to buy a fragrant wooden coffin, Madam Luo’s family heirloom, cheques of more than 6,000 liang that Liao Qing’er brought from her family, and a sum of Sister Zhenzhu’s private money, they bought several potential shops and expanded the business wisely. Now Liao Qing’er had a wealth of 20,000 liang. He Danggui had a wealth of 15,000 liang, and Sister Zhen Zhu had a wealth of 8,000 liang.
He Fu, an ignorant man, got nearly 2,000 liang silver from He Danggui’s mother by coaxing and cheating 4 years ago, and then he went to the capital to be an unpromising official. How could he turn 2,000 liang into 20,000 liang in just 4 years? Anyway, it was impossible.
“I’m really not cheating you. The 20,000 liang did belong to He Fu.” Chang Nuo said in a deep voice, “I asked the warders to torture He Fu and inquire about the source of the money. He repeatedly said all the money was his wife’s dowry. His wife was a miss from a respectable family in Yangzhou City. I know nothing about your mother’s dowry, but when my aunt got married, my family only prepared a dowry of 14,000 liang for her. How could your mother give 20,000 liang silver to others generously? Our Caobang Organization can even hardly collect 20,000 liang.”
He Danggui stroked the pattern of plum blossom on her sleeve and analyzed according to his words, “Though you can go in and out of the prison in the capital freely and order warders, and you are from a family which is more respectable than Luo’s Mansion, you even could abandon your noble identity to do business here. I really admire your entrepreneurial spirit.”
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