Shipin Dalizheng

Third Master Du reined in his horse and stopped. "Young Master, weren't those eight shops rented to the Chu family? Why are they selling them again?"

"Of course I'm short of money! What else could it be? I can't force you to do this. If you can help me, please help me. If you can't, I'll find someone else..."

"Alas, alas, young master, I have to go back and discuss this matter with you. The last time I bought this farm, I subtly offended Prince Rui. Are you trying to pick a fight with the Chu family again and use our Duke Du's Mansion as a stepping stone?"

"Look at you, you're narrow-minded, aren't you? Am I that kind of person? I'll sell the shop to you, you collect the rent, and then you can sell it to me in two years. It won't be a loss."

Mr. Du San thought what he said sounded nice, but in fact he didn't believe a single punctuation mark. First of all, Rong Tang himself was not short of money, and secondly, the Chu family was not short of money either. Why didn't he sell the shop directly to the Chu family?

This time, he has to be more careful and not offend people for no reason.

When Rong Tang returned to the mansion, he saw Nanny Xi looking a little absent-minded and walking around in circles.

"Mammy, what's the matter?"

Nanny Xi's face was horrible, but she couldn't help but say, "I was returning from the official media office, buying some dried fruits and snacks on the way, when I happened to see a woman who looked very much like the Madam entering and exiting a small doorway. The shopkeeper said that the owner of the house was a scoundrel who had recently hooked up with a wealthy lady who was paying him money... Damn it, I didn't see it clearly, and I was afraid that if it was true, our mansion would lose face."

Rong Tang thought to herself that an old lady like her should not make random guesses, after all, Rong Xiu was also the elder of the head family.

"After you came back, did you ask where the lady was going?"

I asked, and the maid in her courtyard said she went to watch an opera."

Rong Tang asked Rong Zhan to call the few people who were responsible for following Rong Xiu. When they asked them, the servant said, "The Madam and Madam Yao really did go to the opera. They booked a room in the Fulai Opera House and go there every few days."

"Are you sure they really went into the compartment?"

"I'm sure."

"Have you been watching them in there?"

The servant hesitated, "That's not the case."

"So even if someone left in the middle, you wouldn't know?"

The servant was a little bewildered. "I was just waiting at the theater gate. I returned when the Madam and Madam Yao came out and got on the horse to pull them off."

Rong Tang asked Nanny Xi again, "You only saw one person?"

Nanny Xi hesitated a little, "I just happened to turn my head and saw a figure. I'm not sure if anyone went in before."

Rong Tang waved his hand to let them leave, and went to the yard where Rong Xiu lived. From a distance, he could hear Rong Xiu and Mother Yao talking about a play, talking back and forth, and having a very lively chat.

Rong Tang had the maid report, and Rong Xiu invited him in, looking radiant and smiling, "Tang'er, you've been working hard these past few days. The New Year is almost here, and I thought the mansion hadn't been this lively for years. Why not invite a troupe to perform at home? I've also invited Madam Tang and the Sima family's wives to join in the fun."

Rong Tang said softly, "Madam, that's a good idea, and it's what you deserve. I see you've been in a good mood lately, and I think you've figured out a lot of things. This is good, and you know how to live a good life."

Rong Xiu forced a smile and said, "I just couldn't get over it before. In the past few months, Mother Yao has enlightened me a lot, and I don't have so many knots in my heart anymore. Life is only a few decades long, so why make it difficult for yourself? Didn't Tang Ge'er advise me the same thing?"

Rong Tang smiled, "That's right. It's late, Madam, you should go to bed early. If you're cold, add more charcoal."

In fact, Rongxiu's room was not cold at all. Silver charcoal, which cost several hundred coins per pound, had been kept in her room since the beginning of winter.

After leaving Rong Xiu's courtyard, Rong Zhan said, "From what they said, it seems like they really went to watch an opera."

Rong Tang smiled indifferently, "If they had really gone to see the opera, they wouldn't have come home and kept talking about it. Judging from their familiarity with the opera, they've obviously been to many performances and have memorized every detail. They even deliberately raised their voices to tell me."

He has studied psychology for so many years, how could he not know what "trying to cover up something only makes it more obvious" means?

Rong Zhan's face was solemn. "What should we do? She is the Madam..."

Rong Tang snorted through his nose, "She thought something was wrong and wanted to embarrass me? Of course, if there is no actual evidence, I won't wrongly accuse her. Go do something, don't do it yourself, let Rong Yi and the others do it."

That night, Rong Yi sent out five people to clean out Yao Decai's house, even scraping away the rat holes by several inches.

The things they found filled the entire room. You would be shocked if you didn't see them, because many of the items were not something that ordinary people could own.

Nanny Xi saw familiar cloth and fabric among the pile of items. They should have been neatly stacked on the shelves in the warehouse. Her face darkened, "Young Master, this..."

"Take inventory of the warehouse tomorrow to see if there's anything missing."

When I first arrived at the Bo Mansion, the large warehouse had been destroyed by the Jin family, leaving only half of it, and many things were missing. Housekeeper Tao reorganized the inventory and put Rongxiu in charge for a few months. During these months, Nanny Xi was in charge, but Rongxiu still had certain rights.

Rong Zhan didn't care how much Rong Xiu ate and spent, but it was hard to tolerate her taking things from the Bo's house to support a man outside her family.

This matter was handed over to Rong Zhan to follow up throughout the process, because Rong Tang had no time to take care of it during the day.

First, Mr. Cui sent him an invitation to his house for a chat, and then, Prime Minister Wang’s family also sent someone to invite him. The attitude was so positive that he had to go immediately and had no choice but to go.

Rong Tang had no choice but to keep the appointment. When he arrived, he found out that both families invited him for the same thing, which was to empty the Cui family's grain store in that small poor county on the way south.

Rong Tang clapped his hands and said to the Cui family's grain store manager who had come to question him, "Didn't you give me the grain willingly? I was thinking of asking His Majesty to issue an imperial decree in a couple of days to commend the Cui family grain store. Taking the initiative to lower grain prices during a famine is truly a righteous act."

The shopkeeper suppressed his anger and said, "You used the token of the eldest son of our Cui family's direct branch to force me to do this. I didn't do it willingly."

"Look, this isn't reasonable! I said if you give me the food, I'll tell you the whereabouts of your Cui family's eldest son. Did I keep my promise? Didn't Cui Xian send back the news? Mr. Cui, didn't you verify it later?"

Mr. Cui glared at the shopkeeper and said, "He can't talk. Over the years, in order to find my nephew, I've spent tens of thousands of taels of silver, not to mention tens of thousands of taels of grain. Even real money and silver has cost me hundreds of thousands of taels. It was a voluntary exchange, and there was no loss or taking advantage. If Earl Annan wants to report his achievements to the Cui family, I don't dare to accept it."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

It was a well-respected steward of the Wang family who said, "Ahem! Earl Jian'an, somehow our eldest son was implicated in this. This shopkeeper insists that it was our eldest son who robbed them... and exchanged their food for it. Patriarch Cui even wrote a letter to complain. Could you please explain yourself?"

Rong Tang looked at the shopkeeper, "When did I ever tell you that I was the son of the Wang family?"

The shopkeeper said, "It was the county magistrate who said that. He sold our grain very cheaply and even gave us credit. We were losing a lot of money. When we went to him to argue, he said that it was Prince Wang who told him to do it. He made me think..."

The shopkeeper was furious. He had believed that it was Prince Wang who had stolen the grain, so he hadn't dared to confront the county magistrate. He was really at a loss. When he reported the matter to the county magistrate, the owner of the shop wrote to Prime Minister Wang, who then realized that it was a big mistake. Prince Wang had never left Shangjing.

Rong Tang turned away silently, then turned back, "I really didn't mean to say anything nonsense. I just said he was your Majesty's nephew, but who knew it would be misunderstood."