Chapter 410
“The fengshui is not good?” Wei Yuewu’s heart skipped a beat.
“Yes. She said that the fengshui was bad and wanted to end the business. She fired all of the waiters in the shop. Now, there are only our shopkeeper and the two of us. We have been working here for so long, and we don’t want to leave. Moreover, this is Eldest Young Lady’s shop. It’s really too much to close the shop.”
One of the waiters grunted angrily.
“Eldest Young Lady’s shop?” Wei Yuewu asked faintly.
“Yes. She was Marquise Hua Yang. This shop was originally hers. We were the old staff who were transferred here with the shop when she got married. Later, she even redeemed us and turned us into ordinary citizens in the capital. She said that we didn’t have to work for the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang anymore. We thought that we could guard her shop, but now…”
The old waiter choked, turned his head, and secretly wiped his tears.
“Are you saying that this shop is Marquise Hua Yang’s dowry shop?” Wei Yuewu asked calmly. “Do you have any evidence? You’re not bluffing, right?”
“No, we’re not bluffing! It’s true! Our shopkeeper has Eldest Young Lady’s signature at that time. Back then, she would personally check the account book herself. Even when she was sick, she asked the shopkeeper to send the account book to the mansion. When Eldest Young Lady passed away, the account book was directly sent to the mansion. Previously, it was said that the second branch checked the account, and then it was Concubine Dong. Now, Madam Dowager gave the order…”
The waiter was agitated, and his face and neck turned red as he grunted indignantly.
“Did it happen suddenly?” Huamo asked.
“She announced it the day before yesterday and then fired all the waiters. We chose to stay behind because we are reluctant to leave. Concubine Dong and Madam Dowager are really something. They are so mean. Isn’t it a basic etiquette for the aristocratic families to leave Madam’s dowry to their children? Eldest Young Lady had a daughter! Why didn’t they let her manage the shop?!”
“Are those account books still here?” Wei Yuewu’s eyes flashed as she asked softly.
“Of course, they are! The shopkeeper would take them to the mansion once a month. Ever since Eldest Young Lady passed away, the shopkeeper has always kept the account books for nostalgic purposes,” the waiter said.
So, there was evidence! Wei Yuewu’s eyes were slightly cold. Her father had just said that he wanted to ask for the dowry back, and Madam Dowager immediately took action. Her watery eyes were slightly raised as she gestured to Huamo.
“This is the Sixth Young Lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Please ask your shopkeeper to come out and see her!” Huamo took a step forward, straightened her chest, and said loudly.
“Sixth Young Lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang?” One of the waiters was dumbstruck.
The other shopkeeper was quick to react. He nudged the dazed waiter and beamed excitedly. “Sixth Young Lady? The daughter of Marquise Hua Yang? The Sixth Young Lady who has been raised in her maternal family?”
“Yes! It is our Miss!” Huamo nodded.
“Little Miss, please wait!” The other waiter also reacted, turned around, and ran away.
The other immediately invited Wei Yuewu to the lounge on the side. After inviting her to sit down, he happily ran out to make tea for her.
When he served her tea, the old shopkeeper came to the lounge with the old waiter. When he saw Wei Yuewu’s familiar face, the old shopkeeper already believed her. He respectfully called out, “Little Miss!” After that, his eyes turned red.
“Shopkeeper Liu, please sit down and talk,” Wei Yuewu said politely.
The names of the shopkeepers were noted on the list of her mother’s dowry. Since this shop had not changed its staff much, she believed that the last name of the shopkeeper was Liu.
“Little Miss…” Shopkeeper Liu wanted to exchange some pleasantries, but Wei Yuewu interjected him and went straight to the point. “Shopkeeper Liu, I just want to know about the matter of the shops on the list of my mother’s dowry. You are my mother’s old staff and are loyal to her. We can skip all the formalities.”
“Yes, Little Miss!” Shopkeeper Liu wiped away his tears and sat down.
“How many shops did my mother have when she married my father?” To find such a loyal old shopkeeper was exactly what Wei Yuewu needed the most right now. Her watery eyes raised slightly, and her gaze fell on the old shopkeeper.
“The shops that Madam had when she got married… Actually, I’m not too sure…” At this point, Shopkeeper Liu frowned and looked a little apologetic. “She had only five shops when she got married. They were all similar to this one. You should know that it was quite good for Madam to have so much dowry.”
Of course, Wei Yuewu understood this. Based on the number of shops in the capital as her mother’s dowry, Wei Yuewu could speculate that her maternal family had given all of the capital city’s businesses to her mother. Brocade Clothing Shop was opened later on, and this shop was one of the original ones.
“What happened afterward?” Wei Yuewu asked calmly. It was impossible for such a big gold jewelry shop to appear out of nowhere.
“I’m not sure what happened later, but I heard that the contents on the dowry list suddenly increased a lot. I don’t know exactly how many shops Madam had. But every month, when I handed in the account books to the mansion, I bumped into a few people, but I don’t know them.”
Shopkeeper Liu thought for a moment and lamented with a bitter smile, “Some said that the old master got some rare treasures, so he could give so much dowry to Madam. Some said that Lord Marquis filled in some of the items to make her dowry look more extravagant so that others would not look down on her.”
In short, these shops appeared inexplicably, so much so that those staff who came over along with her mother had no idea about them.
“You said that you bumped into a few shopkeepers that you didn’t know when you handed in the account books earlier?” Wei Yuewu’s eyes were a little deep, and she repeated it for affirmation.
“Yes, there were some that I didn’t know, but I didn’t meet them every month. I didn’t even meet some once a year, but Madam checked the account books all the time,” Shopkeeper Liu thought for a moment and said with certainty.
“Are you certain that those people are not part of my mother’s dowry?” Wei Yuewu bit her lips.
“Yes, I’m certain. Previously, I thought that they were newly hired, but no one recognized them. In fact, when we tried to talk to them, they seemed very arrogant and proud, and they didn’t want to have anything to do with us, the shopkeepers of the smaller shops.”
“Later… Did you meet these people after my mother passed away?” Wei Yuewu asked, her heart skipping a beat.
“I have rarely met them ever since. After so many years, I have only met them several times, and I don’t even know which shops they are from.” Shopkeeper Liu shook his head. He had always been very puzzled about the shopkeepers’ identities. He couldn’t figure out what those people were doing.
He felt that those people were extraordinary. Their eyes were too sharp, and their movements were fast. They seemed to be martial artists.
There was indeed something fishy in the shops of Mother’s dowry…
However, this was not something that needed to be dealt with immediately. Wei Yuewu could not figure it out for a while, and she temporarily put the matter aside. “Why is this shop going to be closed?”
“Sixth Young Lady, actually, it’s not just this shop. Most of Madam’s shops are going to be closed. Two of them were already closed yesterday. If you don’t come today, our shop will be closed soon.” With a sigh, Shopkeeper Liu lamented sadly.
The shopkeeper and waiters had feelings for this shop after working here for years. Shopkeeper Liu was extremely sad when he received the order to close the shop because the person who gave the order did not give them any warning beforehand. Shopkeeper Liu wondered what he had done wrong to upset the Master in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, which had led to the current situation.
“What about the other two that haven’t been closed?” Wei Yuewu asked after thinking for a while.
“The shopkeepers of those shops have joined Concubine Dong long ago and are loyal to her. I heard that they only moved to a different location this time, unlike this shop, which is listed among the mansion’s shops. Soon, there will be no more Madam’s shop!” Speaking of those two days, Shopkeeper Liu bellowed angrily.
Shopkeeper Liu was very disdainful toward the two ungrateful shopkeepers who chose to curry favor with Concubine Dong despite receiving kindness from Madam.
“So, the two shops only changed the address and name, but it is still the same shopkeeper and selling the same thing?” Wei Yuewu asked indifferently as she looked at her fair hands.
“Yes, I heard that they were transferring shops these past two days,” Shopkeeper Liu said angrily.
In other words, not only Madam Dowager, but Concubine Dong was also trying to lay her hands on Mother’s dowry shop. One used a merging method, and the other changed the locations. These two people both attacked her at the same time!
A cold and fierce ripple appeared in her eyes. Both Madam Dowager and Concubine Dong had planned their schemes really well. They wanted to keep Mother’s shops for themselves in a stealthy way!
“Do people need to go to the government to register for the transfer of the shop?” There were some things that Wei Yuewu didn’t understand very well, so she asked in detail.
“Yes, you have to go to the government office to register. For our case, we need to state the reason that we end the business due to the lack of profit, while they can also say that they intend to end the business of the two shops. Madam Dowager even asked me to go to the mansion to report to her, but the waiters and shopkeepers in these shops have been hired by someone else,” Shopkeeper Liu said in detail.
So, she couldn’t blame anyone for the closing of the shops if the business ended because of poor management. It had nothing to do with the newly-hired shopkeepers and waiters.
Wei Yuewu was sure that the goods were taken away with the shopkeepers and waiters.
Both Concubine Dong and Madam Dowager were good at scheming, and both of them had a tacit understanding. Madam Dowager had three shops, and Concubine Dong had two shops.
Their division of wealth really suited their temperament…
“There will be goods coming tomorrow. In the past, Madam left a message saying that whoever has a good business will get more goods. But now there is nothing to take!” Shopkeeper Liu shook his head with a bitter smile and muttered to himself.
“Where did the goods come from?” A light flashed in Wei Yuewu’s mind as she asked quickly.
“They were transported here by cargo ships. Actually, we have nothing to do with the goods now. They will probably be delivered to the two shops that have moved to new sites!” Shopkeeper Liu shook his head.
“Shopkeeper Liu, can I ask you something?” A sharp light flashed in her eyes. Wei Yuewu stood up and politely bowed to Shopkeeper Liu. Shopkeeper Liu hurriedly stood up and waved his hands. “Sixth Young Lady, please just tell me if you have anything to say. I will do as you say!”
……
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l