The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

After the news of Yubei Dilong's comeback spread throughout the capital, Manyuelou's business became quiet for a while. The ministers in the court had their own thoughts, and the ladies did not dare to come to Manyuelou to have fun.

The emperor asked the Ministry of Revenue to pay money and grain, but the Minister of Revenue, Lord Qiu, made various excuses and even had an argument with the ministers in the court, insisting that the treasury was empty and there was no money.

Mrs. Pei had already gone to the hot spring manor, and Qian Da had also been sent out by her. Now all her information channels came from Manyue Tower. At that time, she had invited Yan Niang to collect information, and it turned out to be correct. The amount of information Yan Niang collected was so much that even Xia Mianwan had to sigh.

Business at Manyue Tower has been slow in the past two days. Xia Mianwan originally wanted to close Manyue Tower for a few days, but it would be difficult for Yan Niang to get any information if the building was closed. There were several forces intertwined in the capital, and the disadvantages of having no foundation were fully revealed at this time.

Xia Mianwan thought for a long time and finally came up with an idea.

"Ruzhu, prepare the horses, I'm going to Manyue Tower." Xia Mianwan said.

"Yes!"

At this time in Manyue Tower, Madam Sang was considering whether to reduce the scale of the storytelling dance, as business had been slow in the past two days.

"Sister Sang." Xia Mianwan entered Madam Sang's study and took off her fiery red fox fur cloak.

"Mianwan, why are you here at this time?" Madam Sang put down her pen and walked forward.

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "Isn't this a new idea? This time I'm going to make the person who's shirking responsibility pay."

"You say." After closing the door, Madam Sang pulled Xia Mianwan to sit down and listened carefully to what she had to say.

"Sister Sang, you will start rehearsing a dance today. The music should be inspiring and exciting, with the theme of disaster and rebirth. After rehearsing, it would be best if you can perform it tomorrow, and then auction the limited edition jewelry you usually bring. The wives of officials have no intention of coming to Manyue Tower to listen to operas recently, but the wives of merchants are willing to come. Usually they dare not compete with the wives of officials, but now they are all merchants, so they are not afraid of anything.

Before the auction, you will announce that all the proceeds will be donated to the people of Yubei. At that time, we will also record the money you have contributed, so that everyone can see that although we are all ordinary people, we all want to serve the country. I have written down what I will say, and you have to read it in a more sensational way. "

Xia Mianwan explained to Madam Sang as she spoke, and Madam Sang completely understood what Xia Mianwan was going to do.

"But... will this silver be enough? How much grain can it buy? Will the grain shops in Beijing be willing to sell it?" Madam Sang was a little worried.

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "This is just on the surface. When the time comes, you can ask Yan Niang to find some people to create momentum. Don't be too conspicuous. Then I will come out to donate silver. Will the old ministers in the court still be able to sit still? Sister Sang, you have been rewarded by the emperor for your righteous deeds. You should also come out to donate some silver. In this way, even if the old ministers in the capital can sit still, can the grain merchants sit still? When the emperor is angry, not everyone can bear it."

"Will it be a bit risky... Will it affect you?" Madam Sang was a little worried that Xia Mianwan would become the target of public criticism.

Xia Mianwan said nonchalantly, "Since Zheng Xiaoyun and I started to fight, I have few options left. Zheng Xiaoyun has already sent people to Yubei. It is impossible to expect a man who would team up with the Japanese pirates for a little personal grudge not to use this natural disaster to make a fuss."

Xia Mianwan stood up and said, "Since we have to fight, we have to strike first. I have done everything I can, so I believe Pei Yanxu will be able to turn the tide.

As for being the target of public criticism, what's so scary about that? As long as Pei Yanxu can maintain his position, I can maintain it. As long as I maintain my position, no matter what others say, they can only feel uncomfortable, but they can't do anything to me. "

Madam Sang laughed, "You are still the same you. Even if you become Madam Pei, you still have the same personality."

Xia Mianwan smiled but was thinking in her heart, since she was here, she couldn't come in vain.

After Xia Mianwan and Madam Sang had discussed all matters, Xia Mianwan said, "Sister Sang, as for your donation, it will be deducted from our profits and paid for by Manyue Tower."

Mrs. Sang's face darkened now, and she turned her head away unhappily, "Mian Wan, what are you talking about? Am I such a short-sighted person? I have the guts to exchange my reputation for someone's life, how can you think I would be reluctant to give up this little money?"

Xia Mianwan knew that Madam Sang was angry, so she held Madam Sang's shoulders and said, "Good sister, listen to me, I have my own plan for doing this. Although we are as close as sisters and have a deep bond, we are not sisters after all. If something really happens, the money of Manyue Tower and your personal money will be completely different.

If there is any mistake, just say that I asked you to donate, and the money was taken from Manyuelou's account. This is also a way of saying it. Sister Sang, you, Chengze, Xiaowu, and Sister Yang have been with me for a long time. I know that you are all ambitious people in your hearts, and you will not be content with mediocrity. You also value loyalty and don't care about yourselves.

But I have to make preparations for you. Even for Xiaowu and Chengze, I won’t let them set off without being fully prepared.

Moreover, this time is different from before. The more firepower I attract in Beijing, the more breathing time I can buy for Pei Yanxu, Xiaowu and Chengze.

So, Sister Sang, just listen to me." Xia Mianwan said.

Knowing that Xia Mianwan had other plans in her mind, Madam Sang did not act pretentiously. Indeed, since they were good sisters, there was no need to argue about this.

After Xia Mianwan left Manyue Tower, Madam Sang started to rehearse the dance by beating drums and gongs. The time was very tight, but the dance had to be loud.

The feelings of the people are always the simplest.

When they saw people in other places suffering from disasters, it touched their hearts.

The neighbors who originally had some complaints about Manyuelou's singing and beating drums at such a time, when they heard that it was to raise funds for the disaster in Yubei, began to donate generously and even spread the word by word of mouth.

For a time, Manyuelou's reputation reached a new level, and everyone would praise Boss Sang, who is a righteous man!

The performance at Manyue Tower lasted for three days. Xia Mianwan appeared at Manyue Tower on the third day and donated five thousand taels of silver in public. This move pushed the heated discussion about Manyue Tower to its peak.

Manyuelou and Xia Mianwan have been in the limelight in the capital these days, and this trend has also spread to the court.

After hearing about Xia Mianwan and Manyuelou's heroic deeds, the emperor's tense face finally relaxed. "Even women have the heart to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country. What about you? You are loyal to the emperor. What have you done?"