Free Web NovelChapter 365: Chapter 144: A Vexing Matter (3)
"Let’s tell the Zhao Family elders about this and let them handle it. We shouldn’t report it to the officials."
Xu Su Ying nodded. "That’s what I was thinking, too. Our business employs members of the Zhao Family, giving them an extra source of income. Mr. Zhao values this business highly."
To be more precise, what Mr. Zhao truly valued was the business’s support for Zhao Jing’s future in the imperial examinations.
Zhao Jing was the backbone of the Zhao Family. Whether the family could rise in status and how far they could go depended entirely on him. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Ruining the Moonlight Fragrance business meant ruining Zhao Jing’s future, and Mr. Zhao had zero tolerance for anything that threatened it.
If Mr. Zhao found out someone was tampering with the Moonlight Fragrance, he would, at the very least, expel the young wife from the incense-making team. In a more severe case, he might even have the clan force her husband to divorce her.
That would create enemies. And if the young wife were truly sent back to her family, her future would be grim, and they might even end up with a death on their conscience.
Neither option seemed right, but they certainly couldn’t just let the matter drop.
Chen Wanqing said, "She should have thought about the consequences when she did this. She probably even counted on us being hesitant, guessing that we couldn’t do much to her even if she were exposed. Someone like that—so brazen, with no regard for rules—if we let her stay, who knows what kind of disaster she might stir up if someone with ill intentions decides to use her. Mother, we have to bring this out into the open. We need to tell Mr. Zhao and the others."
"Alright."
This incident also made the mother-daughter duo reconsider their arrangement for hiring people to make the incense.
Back then, they couldn’t afford to buy servants, and they had considered the high risk of hiring outsiders to make the incense. That was why they had opted to cooperate with the women of the Zhao Family.
But this arrangement had its downsides. Over time, seeing her rake in profits, the others were bound to get jealous. Furthermore, they were all close relatives, and mostly elders, which made them difficult to supervise.
"Now that Jing is a Scholar, why don’t you buy a few young maids? They could serve you in name, but you could have them make the incense in secret."
Chen Wanqing was tempted, but that solution wasn’t quite right either.
"If we had maids, we wouldn’t need the clan members anymore. They’ve gotten used to this work to supplement their family incomes. If I suddenly take their jobs away, it will surely breed resentment."
"That’s true."
The mother and daughter thought it over and concluded that now was not the right time to change who made the incense. They could only wait for a better opportunity to reconsider their plans.
After Chen Wanqing returned home, she told Zhao Jing and Mrs. Zhao about the matter. The two of them then took the issue to Mr. Zhao and the Second Uncle’s wife, respectively.
Shi Lanhua was summoned for questioning. She naturally denied everything, but the clan members found a small chest in her room. It was hidden under her bed and contained a half-full box of Moonlight Fragrance incense pills.
Her own brother was in jail, and with both a witness and material evidence against her, Lanhua couldn’t deny it any longer. Finally, blushing with shame, she confessed.
But she didn’t feel she was guilty. At most, she had just taken advantage of Chen Wanqing, which was a bit improper. She offered to repay the Silver Coin she had earned and promised to never do it again, hoping Chen Wanqing would be the bigger person and let it go.
The Second Uncle’s wife thought of the two young children at home waiting to be fed, and her heart softened. She looked toward Chen Wanqing.
Chen Wanqing glanced around before speaking slowly, "I can overlook this matter..."
Mr. Zhao suddenly cut in, his chest heaving with anger. "Jing’s wife is good-natured, but you can’t take advantage of her good nature to bully her! I will handle this! You will compensate Jing’s wife for triple the losses, and your family is forbidden from helping with the incense making from now on."
Lanhua thought the punishment was too harsh. With a defiant look, she retorted, "We can just give it back! Triple the compensation? We couldn’t afford that even if you sold us! If you don’t let me make incense, how am I supposed to feed my children?"
Her husband and mother-in-law, however, were reasonable people. Their faces flushed with shame, they started dragging Lanhua outside.
"When you were secretly gloating over the dirty money you made, why didn’t you think about your children? Having a mother like you and an uncle like him... our children would die of shame!"
"What have we done to deserve marrying a woman like you into our family! All you ever think about is your own family, even helping your brother with something so wicked. What are you still doing in the Zhao Family? Go back to your parents!" freewebnσvel.cøm
Lanhua shrieked and wailed while her husband cursed and her mother-in-law lamented their fate. Mixed in were the terrified cries of the children. It was a complete and utter farce.
And Chen Wanqing was the one who had set this whole farce in motion. Even though Lanhua had brought this upon herself, many of the clan members still felt that Chen Wanqing had been too cruel, and they began to look at her with disapproval.
