Chapter 428
Chapter 428 Malicious Intentions
Without a doubt, those two shop assistants had been brought here before, but they had been waiting outside the house.
“Go and bring them in!” Wei Luowen ordered after nodding.
At once, the lad servant ran out and brought the shop assistants in. After the shopkeepers saw Wei Yuewu’s childlike yet stern face, they inexplicably felt terrible, and their chubby faces began to sweat uncontrollably.
“Were you two fighting at the dock?” Wei Yuewu spoke while looking at the shop assistants coldly.
“Y-Yes!” Although the shop assistants saw the shopkeepers, it wasn’t a proper time to talk. They quickly answered Wei Yuewu after hearing her question.
“Was it because of the injustice in the distribution of goods? This issue has even been reported to the government and alerted the Mayor of the capital city!” She asked again.
“Y-Yes!” The shop assistants were frightened by the thick tension in the room and stuttered.
“When Mother was alive back then, the rule was whichever shop had the most profit could take more goods. But now, you said Shopkeeper Liu had the least profit, and he should not take the goods. When the time comes, you must clarify these things at the mayor’s yamen.” Wei Yuewu deliberately added the word “yamen” before finishing her sentence.
Immediately, the shop assistants’ foreheads began to sweat.
Once they entered the yamen, there would be witnesses. Since many people were at the dock then, anyone might have heard the commotion. Furthermore, the account books had been sent to the government.
“Yes… That’s right!” One of the shop assistants knew they could not lie, so he replied truthfully.
“What was the final result after the account books were sent over?” Wei Yuewu asked.
“O-Our shops have more profits, and Shopkeeper Liu’s shop has the least!” The shop assistant looked at the shopkeeper, who was shooting him a meaningful look, and replied helplessly.
There was no way out for the shop assistant. The evidence had been sent to the mayor. It would be illegal if they tampered with the evidence again.
“Tell me. What is going on?” At this time, Wei Luowen caught a few odd details from the conversation. As he roared, he slammed his hand onto the writing desk harshly, and his face turned cold.
Immediately, the shopkeepers and shop assistants shivered in fear and knelt with a loud thud.
“Lord Marquis!”
“Lord Marquis!” The shopkeepers’ faces turned pale, and a cold sweat broke out on their backs.
“You said the mayor has already gotten his hands on the account books, right? Then what are these?” Wei Luowen stood up, walked around the desk, picked up the several account books in front of Wei Yuewu, and flung them onto the shopkeepers’ faces.
The shopkeepers fell onto the ground from the force and begged for mercy while holding their heads.
After Wei Luowen threw the account books, his anger still hadn’t subsided. Therefore, he came over and kicked the shopkeepers fiercely. With that, they fell sideways from his kick while clutching their chests. They almost fainted from the kick.
“Do you want to say it here or in the mayor’s yamen?” Wei Luowen said harshly. The scars on his face twitched, making him look ferocious. Meanwhile, the murderous aura in him became more apparent.
Wei Yuewu sat quietly at the side, not saying a word. There was only a hint of sadness in her eyes. When Wei Luowen’s eyes met Wei Yuewu’s sorrowful gaze, he became angrier.
Wei Luowen’s anger could no longer be contained. He walked back to the wall behind the desk and pulled out a sword unhesitatingly. Then, he howled, “You useless imbeciles! If you dare to hide anything from me today, you will never get to leave this courtyard!”
He was a general who had just returned from the battlefield, which explained the cold murderous aura that exuded from his body. The shopkeepers were so scared that they trembled uncontrollably. How would they dare to hide anything?
“Lord Marquis… I-It was not our idea… I-It was Concubine Dong’s idea…”
“Lord Marquis, Concubine Dong told us to make fake account books to fool Sixth Young Lady. Then, she told us to close the shops and bring all the employees and goods to her newly opened shop. Besides, she sold the previous shops and used the money to purchase a better shop!”
“Lord Marquis… W-We did not do this on our own!”
“Lord Marquis, we were originally Madam’s servants, but since Madam is not here, Concubine Dong is in charge. Concubine Dong is our new master… Lord Marquis, we dare not disobey Concubine Dong.”
“Lord Marquis, spare us! It really wasn’t done by us!” The two shopkeepers pushed the blame onto Concubine Dong eagerly.
It was Concubine Dong, after all. When the shop assistants mentioned the profit of the two shops, Wei Luowen suspected it was Concubine Dong’s doing. Now that he heard she was behind everything, he trembled with anger.
“Quick! Bring Concubine Dong in!” He threw the sword in his hand and shouted to the people outside.
The lad servant ran out immediately after hearing the order.
“Father, please have a seat first!” Wei Yuewu stood up and walked over to help Wei Luowen sit behind the writing desk. After Wei Luowen sat down, she said softly, “Father, it’s just two shops. It’s not a big deal. If Third Elder Sister wants them, she can have them for herself!”
“What do you mean by she can have them for herself? Has she not taken enough? Everything in the mansion was hers when she was at the border, and she was still unsatisfied!” Wei Luowen’s eyes were furious, and he gritted his teeth angrily.
Thinking about it now, he realized that he had mistakenly thought Concubine Dong was a good person at first. However, he didn’t expect her to turn out to be this greedy. Even the few shops Rui’er left for Yuewu could not escape her greed.
“Aren’t there three more? Father… Let it go!” Wei Yuewu lowered her eyes and persuaded him.
These words reminded Wei Luowen of something. He suddenly sat up straight and asked with burning eyes, “How many shops did you say were left? Aren’t there five shops?”
Previously, he had asked someone to clean up the shops for Wei Yuewu and he knew five shops should be under her name. As for the other shops, he would never touch them.
Those things didn’t belong to Rui’er in the first place. They were only sent to the mansion in the name of Rui’er.
He and Madam Dowager knew about this, and Rui’er herself also knew about this…
“That t-three…” The two shopkeepers looked at each other and stuttered.
“What happened? Have they gone to seek refuge with Concubine Dong just like you? Did Concubine Dong have them for herself?” Wei Luowen sneered.
“Lord Marquis, it wasn’t Concubine Dong this time. It was M-Madam Dowager!” The shopkeeper timidly replied.
“Madam Dowager?” Wei Luowen was stunned. He did not expect Madam Dowager to be involved too.
“You are talking nonsense. Grandmother would not do such a thing. The two of you must be blindly accusing her!” As Wei Yuewu stood at the side, she sneered coldly. She knew Madam Dowager would be exposed. Madam Dowager and Concubine Dong were indeed birds of the same feather. One worked in the light, and one worked in the dark to seize Mother’s shop. Their greed knew no boundaries, indeed.
The mansion of Marquis Hua Yang possessed many shops, but Mother had only five. How could they thirst after those few shops? Internally, Wei Yuewu scorned Madam Dowager, who had always appeared noble and elegant, in front of everyone else.
“Sixth Young Lady, I am not speaking nonsense. It really is Madam Dowager. If you don’t believe me, you can call those shopkeepers over so that everyone can confront each other face-to-face!” The two shopkeepers were now saying whatever they thought of. How would they still dare to hide anything?
They had already spilled all the truth, fearing Wei Luowen would not believe them and his merciless punishment.
The account books were already presented to the yamen. In fact, what happened next was just a matter of a word from Wei Luowen.
Even though they were no longer servants of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, it would be child’s play to take their lives away based on Marquis Hua Yang’s power and influence.
“Lord Marquis, you must believe my words. It really is Madam Dowager. If you don’t believe me, you can call the shopkeepers from those shops over. However, they all resigned because they did not want to follow Madam Dowager’s orders. Only Shopkeeper Liu stayed behind. I heard he wouldn’t be able to endure any longer and would be leaving. At that time, Madam Dowager will merge those shops with the other shops possessed by the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.”
“Yes, Lord Marquis. It is true. I swear that I’ll be struck by lightning if I dare to tell a lie.”
The two shopkeepers didn’t need any more questions from Wei Luowen. They both swore and cursed, afraid he wouldn’t believe them.
At this time, Wei Luowen, sitting behind the writing desk, had calmed down. He only stared at the shopkeepers with darkened eyes and quietly listened to them. When they finished speaking, he sneered, “It turns out not only Concubine Dong has taken a fancy to Madam’s shops, but even Madam Dowager has also taken an interest in them. I didn’t expect the few stores left by Madam to be this desirable. It is a blessing!”
He was so angry that he laughed in sarcasm, but his sinister laugh scared the shopkeepers and shop assistants. They were stunned and did not know what else to say.
“Father, don’t be angry. Perhaps… Grandmother didn’t know either…” Wei Yuewu comforted Wei Luowen gently.
When Wei Luowen looked at his innocent daughter, who still believed it was a misunderstanding, his heart ached. “Yuewu, don’t worry. No matter who did it, they must return the shops to you. Your mother originally left behind the shops for you. You are my legitimate daughter. How can you be deceived like this!”
“B-But Concubine Dong and the others might also have their difficulties!” Wei Yuewu hesitated for a moment and exclaimed.
How could Concubine Dong surrender without a fight when she came later? She must have thought of thousands of reasons, and Wei Yuewu knew her father might soften once he heard Concubine Dong’s words. What Wei Yuewu needed to do now was to say what Concubine Dong would say before she could say it herself.
In that case, Concubine Dong’s words could not sway her father as much as she expected!
“Difficulties? What difficulties does she have? They ate and lived well when she and Yuejiao were at the border. They never lacked anything. What else does she lack?” At this time, the more Wei Luowen thought about it, the angrier he became. His hand slammed the table harshly, and his face darkened.
“M-Maybe Concubine Dong has mistakenly thought that Third Elder Sister doesn’t have any dowry? She might think I have more, so she should give some to Third Elder Sister…” Wei Yuewu hesitated for a moment but still defended Concubine Dong.
“I remember telling her not to worry about Yuejiao’s dowry long ago. Yuejiao won’t be treated unfairly. Moreover, she is wealthy and doesn’t need to take your shops.” Wei Luowen’s face turned stoic, and his voice was filled with hatred.
“Lord Marquis, I wasn’t interested in Madam’s shops. I am innocent!” Suddenly, a burst of crying came from outside the door. Then, Concubine Dong stumbled in and fell to her knees in front of Wei Luowen with a thud. She covered her face with a handkerchief and cried loudly, “Lord Marquis, I had no choice. Why would I have done such a thing if I had a choice!”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢