Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 90 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

It was September, the third autumn.

After an autumn rain, the red bricks and green tiles of the streets and alleys in Beijing have already become withered and dilapidated.

In the hall of Zhang Yunxiu's small residence on Chengdong Street in Beijing, seven or eight men who looked like managers stood with their hands hanging down.

Everyone looked grim, their expressions were stiff, and their bodies were shaking like sieves.

Zheng Xier sat on the yellow pear wood chair in front, wearing a lotus-colored tight-fitting long dress with a red carp pattern. Her jet-black hair was tied up behind her head, with a few beautiful jade ornaments stuck on it.

To her lower left, Zhang Fu had a gloomy expression on his face, and his eyes kept sweeping over these stewards.

It turned out that these people were the managers of Zhang Yunxiu's new shop.

Since getting the shop from Zhang Jing, Zhang Yunxiu immediately sent someone to take over. Zheng Xier volunteered to be Zhang Yunxiu's housekeeper.

It can be said that she is talented. In just three months, she has completely cleaned up the account book.

Today she sent someone to call Zhang Fu and the problematic managers to discuss how to punish them.

Zhang Fu's triangular eyes slanted, emitting two cold rays, and he pointed at the men and cursed them viciously: "Great, great, you are so bold, you dare to dig into the corners of our house, do you know what it's like to be in the Jinyiwei prison?!"

In just a moment, the eight men's knees softened, and they knelt down with a thud, begging for mercy: "Butler Zhang, please spare us, butler Zhang, please spare us, we are willing to make up for all the money we have, and we will not deduct a single cent from your family."

"Hey, you guys think it's easy, just pay the money and forget about it?" Zhang Fu sneered, then suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "If you say so, then wouldn't our house become a den of thieves?"

"Double. We are willing to double the compensation." Everyone looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. One of them stretched out two fingers and said in a trembling voice.

Zhang Fu brushed off his embroidered robe, closed his eyes, and leaned back in the chair.

Seeing this scene, everyone became anxious, and turned to look at Zheng Xier who had been silent, begging for mercy, "Madam Zheng, I know I was wrong, please forgive us this time."

"If I do the same thing again in the future, Madam Zheng, you tell me that I will report to the government."

Zheng Xier's phoenix eyes slanted slightly as she stared at a lean man and sneered, "I'm just a woman. It's not my turn to be the head of the family. Don't you agree, Shopkeeper Yang?"

"Ah?!" The man was so shocked by the shout that his forehead touched the ground and his buttocks were raised high. He begged for mercy, "Madam Zheng, I am blind. I am blind. Please give me a chance."

Without waiting for Zheng Xier to speak, Zhang Fu shouted outside, and two officers in black boots came in, grabbed Manager Yang and walked out.

Shopkeeper Yang twisted his body desperately and begged for mercy.

However, as a commoner, he was no match for the Jinyiwei and was dragged out in no time.

Now, the seven people in the room were shaking even more violently, with beads of sweat the size of beans on their foreheads.

Zheng Xier smiled and looked at Zhang Fu. Zhang Fu nodded. Zheng Xier then opened her red lips and said without a trace of emotion: "This will not happen again. You must pay back the embezzled money twice as much and fine you three months' wages, and then this matter will be over."

"If you do it again in the future, I will not forgive you."

"Thank you, Madam Zheng. Thank you, Madam Zheng. Thank you, Butler Zhang. Thank you, Butler Zhang." The seven people breathed a sigh of relief, and their heads banged against each other's shoulders.

Zhang Fu waved his hands with disgust on his face, saying, "Go away, go away. If you dare to be sneaky again, watch out for your heads. This time, Madam Zheng spared you. If you dare to gossip behind my back again, I won't be here to talk to you."

Several people kept saying "I dare not" and kowtowed a few times. Then they stood up, held their crotches together, and ran away.

"If it weren't for your plea, we would have put all these guys in prison." Zhang Fu said bitterly as they left. Zheng Xier smiled and explained, "These people are quite capable. If we dismiss them all at once, it will affect our business to some extent, and others will also say that we are ungrateful."

She only needs to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and then she can shock the remaining people.

Of course, if they dare to do it again in the future, they can't blame anyone else.

After figuring out this, Zheng Xier only dealt with the most domineering person among them, and gave the rest a beating and then released them.

Zhang Fu also felt that it made some sense, so he nodded in agreement, then smiled and reminded her, "Sister Xier, according to the news sent by Han San's men, the young master has already arrived in the suburbs of Beijing, and he will probably be back in a day or two."

"Really?!" Zheng Xier's brows lit up with joy.

"Ah."

Zhang Fu nodded and was about to speak again when a member of the Imperial Guards suddenly rushed in.

As soon as they met, the flag bearer shouted at the top of his voice, "Butler Zhang, Master Zhang and the Third Master have already reached a place fifty miles outside the capital. It is estimated that they will be able to reach the capital before tonight."

"The Third Master sent me here to ask you, the housekeeper, to make preparations early to welcome the young master."

"understood."

Zhang Fu waved his hand with a red face, and Xiaoqi turned and left.

Zheng Xier's face was full of smiles. She paced back and forth in the room, feeling both surprised and worried: "Why is it so soon? We are not prepared at all. Isn't it a disrespect to the young master?"

"Butler Zhang, why don't we go out of the city now and wait for the young master thirty miles outside the city."

"No, no, no." Zhang Fu smiled and shook his head, then smiled flatteringly, "Sir, I will go pick you up myself. You should wash up and dress up now, and I will pick you up and come directly to your place."

"Ah."

Zheng Xier responded softly, and a blush appeared on her pretty oval face.

The sun sets in the west and the sky is filled with sunset clouds.

Suddenly, carts filled with iron boxes appeared at the gate of Beijing, with hundreds of Jinyiwei guarding on both sides.

At the front, Zhang Yunxiu, looking exhausted, was walking side by side with Zhang Fu.

"Sir, you've made a fortune on this trip. Just from looking at it, I'm afraid you've made at least 400,000 or 500,000 taels of silver." Zhang Fu said with a flattering smile as he walked, "Just for this reason, your position in the emperor's eyes cannot be shaken by anyone."

"Okay, okay, my legs are shaking from exhaustion now, so stop talking nonsense to us." Zhang Yunxiu was a little annoyed. He waved his hands repeatedly and just kept moving forward.

Zhang Fu originally wanted to flatter the horse, but ended up hitting the horse's hoof. He blushed and quickly changed the subject: "Everything is ready. Sister Xier is waiting for you. Otherwise, where else can you go directly?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu looked up at the sky, and seeing black fog in the sky, he did not refuse.

He turned around and said to Han San, "Han San, take your men to deliver the 200,000 taels of silver to Eunuch Wei first, and transport the rest to our warehouse and wait for a few days to deal with it."

"As ordered."

Han San agreed and left.

(End of this chapter)