The evil mother-in-law does not whitewash, she only abuses her children

Aunt Tang shook her head.

Lian Hengruo said, "My aunt will definitely think that Aunt Tong and I have a relationship and she is using this to get benefits from us. But has my aunt ever thought that the Lu family is Aunt Tong's in-laws, and what does our 20,000 taels of silver mean to the Lu family? Aunt Tong is willing to give us this opportunity to get the money, and it is a business that is sure to make money, so she deserves the word loyalty."

Aunt Tang looked regretful and said, "I was mistaken."

Then he clapped his hands and said self-deprecatingly: "Otherwise, why do you say that I can only be someone's concubine? My vision is not as good as yours, Ruo'er."

Tong Huaqiong did want to give part of the profits to Aunt Tang.

But she didn't do it for nothing. She asked Aunt Tang to pay the money after analyzing the pros and cons in her mind.

There is a high probability that Prefect Yao and Lian Heng can be together. It is okay for the Prefect's wife to do other business, but if she interferes in the military supply business, it will bring hidden dangers to Prefect Yao. Not to mention that Prefect Yao will disagree, even the Yao family in Shengjing will not agree to it.

Now that Tong Huaqiong has joined the game, she wants to tighten this relationship, and the best way is to let Aunt Tang join in.

Aunt Tang just needs to pay the money, and Tong Huaqiong will be responsible for cotton picking, weaving workshop, material transportation... In this way, Lian Hengruo will not have to take any risks and can still get a share of the pie.

Moreover, Tong Huaqiong had another selfish motive. If there was any blame in the future, it could not be easily thrown to her. As long as Lian Hengruo was there, the blame would not be laid on her.

Tong Huaqiong thought that this was to pave the way for herself and her son in the future, and it was also a way of repaying the protection of Governor Yao.

Mr. Lu did not return to the city with Prefect Yao.

He had a prejudice against Prefect Yao, and Tong Huaqiong estimated that this prejudice could not be resolved until he drank the Prefect Yao's wedding wine.

Mr. Lu and Lu Zhaozhao stayed behind to discuss something with Tong Huaqiong.

"Mother-in-law, in the summer you asked Dashu to tell me that this winter would be extremely cold and asked me to stock up on charcoal." Old Master Lu said, "But I don't think the weather looks like a warm winter at all."

It is already late autumn, and the temperature is the same as usual, with no signs of extreme cold weather coming.

However, Mr. Lu respected Tong Huaqiong very much. He always felt that a peasant woman from the countryside could be so successful in business in a short period of time, so she must have some outstanding qualities.

In addition, his grandson had just entered the official career and it was time for him to accumulate political capital. If he really encountered extremely cold weather, he would stockpile a large amount of charcoal to save the people. Wouldn't this bring good reputation to his grandson's early career?

So when Gu Dashu brought him a message asking him to stock up on charcoal, he did so. He not only stockpiled charcoal, but also a large amount of cotton.

The Lu family is a wealthy family, and they have hoarded these unshakable funds. However, winter is about to come, and there are no signs of the so-called extreme cold weather. Therefore, when they saw Tong Huaqiong this time, they couldn't help but ask.

Tong Huaqiong said: "Old man, believe me, in two months, there will be extremely cold weather."

Seeing that Tong Huaqiong didn't seem to be joking, Mr. Lu asked, "Have you told County Magistrate Liu and Prefect Yao?"

Tong Huaqiong shook her head. She didn't dare to take the risk. This kind of extremely cold weather existed in Tong Dajiao's memory of her previous life and had not yet arrived. She was afraid that if she took the initiative to tell Prefect Yao, it would make him suspicious and start investigating her whereabouts.

To be honest, Tong Huaqiong was not sure. After all, many things changed when she wore Tong Dajiao's clothes. Who knew if the weather would change accordingly?

She asked the Lu family to stockpile charcoal because she knew that the Lu family had the financial resources and that even if there was no extreme cold weather, Mr. Lu would not blame her.

Just like now, Mr. Lu did not ask her how she knew that extreme cold weather would come in two months, but asked her if she had told Prefect Yao, which shows that Mr. Lu trusts her.

Tong Huaqiong shook his head: "No. Old man, you know that we farmers depend on the weather for our livelihood. Which village doesn't have someone who can read the weather? If you ask me how I can be sure that there will be extremely cold weather, I don't have a specific explanation. In this case, how can Governor Yao believe it?"

It was magistrate Yao's generosity not to accuse her of spreading rumors to mislead the public.

Mr. Lu was silent for a while, then said, "I will write to Zhaoyang and ask him to consider this matter."

In other words, Lu Zhaoyang will remind Prefect Yao.

After all, Ningcheng really encountered extremely cold weather, and the price control of charcoal, the resettlement of refugees, and reminding people to reinforce and keep their houses warm... all needed to be undertaken by Governor Yao alone.

Speaking of Lu Zhaoyang, Mr. Lu lowered his voice and said to Tong Huaqiong: "Zhaoyang has been transferred to the Ministry of Revenue for training."

After saying this, he looked worried.

Tong Huaqiong was surprised: "Isn't Zhaoyang working as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy?"

The compiler is specifically responsible for drafting imperial edicts for the emperor, and is no different from the emperor's personal secretary. Any new scholar who can obtain this position is a big shot in the eyes of the emperor.

When the news of Lu Zhaoyang's whereabouts came, Gu Jingzhe excitedly explained to Tong Huaqiong that the cabinet ministers of this dynasty were all selected from the Hanlin Academy, and that cabinet minister meant being able to become the prime minister, the highest official in the country.

Coming from a merchant family, Lu Zhaoyang's career can be said to be brilliant.

How come he was taken to the Ministry of Revenue in such a short time?

Tong Huaqiong didn't understand why the emperor's favorite fell in an instant.

It is true that living with a king is like living with a tiger. You should know that this king will even kill his own son when he gets ruthless.

At this time, Mr. Huang came over and heard it, and said, "It is said that the princess has taken a fancy to Zhaoyang, who has already married. The princess asked Zhaoyang to divorce my Jingshan, but Zhaoyang scolded her in the street. The princess was unyielding and sent secret guards to assassinate Jingshan. Fortunately, Zhaoyang discovered the clues and wrote a letter to let the whole court know about it, which severely offended the princess. No matter how much the emperor likes him, he can't stand the fact that the princess is his own daughter..."

Tong Huaqiong couldn't help but sigh. No matter how rich the Lu family was, they were just a poor family in the eyes of the real powerful. If a mere newly crowned top scholar dared to offend the princess, who else would she punish?

Mr. Huang was originally very happy to have a son-in-law who was the top scholar, but he was coveted by the princess.

If Lu Zhaoyang had not been so upright and devoted to Huang Jingshan, he would have strangled his original wife with a white silk scarf and tried to marry someone better.

"Zhaoyang is suffering because of Jingshan." Mr. Huang sighed.

Mr. Lu said, "Your words are really heartbreaking. No one would divorce his wife to marry someone higher up."

Tong Huaqiong thought to herself, that’s not necessarily true, because in his previous life, Gu Jingzhe had chosen to climb the social ladder.

It can be seen that Lu Zhaoyang has been a decent person from beginning to end.

After all, not everyone dares to refuse the princess's olive branch.

Wait, where did Lu Zhaoyang go?

Household Department.

Tong Huaqiong's heart moved.

Now that Mobei has frequently invaded the border, Dasheng has already dispatched troops there. Su Chengmin analyzed that a fierce war between the two countries would break out sooner or later.

Based on the current troop deployment situation, Su Chengmin speculated that war would break out this winter.

The news of the impending war on the border even spread to Yanguan Town. Merchants from the border closed their doors and said they would go to the border to bring their families over to avoid the ravages of war. Some merchants who had just returned from the border said that Dasheng and Mobei had already assembled their armies and were confronting each other, and war was imminent.

Under such circumstances, no businessman dared to go to the border to do business.

As the saying goes, food and supplies must be sent before the army moves.

Warm cotton-padded clothes in winter are considered food and fodder.

The Ministry of Revenue was responsible for preparing food and fodder.