The day after Qiu Yanfu had been sent away, Qiu Lilong rushed to beg to see Wu Shi with a sullen look.
When Wu Shi heard the maid's report, she instructed, "Tell Young Master Biao that I am not feeling well enough to see any guests." Qiu Yanfu had made her lose all her face. She now regards the Qiu family as severe floods and fierce beasts whom she was unwilling to get involved with any longer.
When Qiu Lilong heard that Wu Shi didn't want to see him, he toughened his scalp to find Han Jingyan. Now, only this uncle could save him.
Qiu Lilong's personal page reported, "Young Master, the Third Lord has gone to the yamen and is not at the residence. We can't go to the yamen office to look for him, can we? "
Qiu Lilong gritted his teeth and ordered, "Then, let's go to the yamen."
When Han Jingyan heard at the yamen that someone was looking for him and that person was his nephew, he thought of Qiu Lilong. His face immediately became rather unpleasant. If it were before, he would not have minded. But with what happened to Qiu Yanfu, he felt disgusted with the Qiu family to the core.
When Qiu Lilong saw Han Jingyan, he was pretty calm. But when the two walked to a nearby teahouse and were inside a private room, Qiu Lilong cried and begged, "Uncle, you must save me. If you don't, I'll be dead."
Disgust flashed across Han Jingyan's eyes as he asked coldly, "What the hell is going on?"
The matter was straightforward. The Eldest Young Master Wang had screwed Qiu Lilong. The two had agreed on a deal, and to achieve his goal, Qiu Lilong not only took out the 100,000 capital he brought with him but also went to a private bank to borrow 50,000 of usury. And just today, Eldest Young Master Wang flipped out, saying that he cancelled the deal and that Qiu Lilong would not get back any of the money he had invested.
Han Jingyan, who mixed with official circles, could hear that there was something wrong at first hearing, "What deal have you made with Wang Shaoqi?"
Qiu Lilong began to stammer, but when he saw Han Jingyan throwing up his hands and preparing to leave, he became anxious. "Eldest Young Master Wang said he could help me by providing the salt certificate." Salt certificates were a lucrative business. If he could get a salt certificate, in less than three years, their family would be the richest in Hebei, and it was this temptation that made Qiu Lilong lose his usual mind.
Han Jingyan looked coldly at Qiu Lilong and asked, "How much value of the salt certificate did Eldest Young Master Wang promise you?"
Qiu Lilong felt so weak from Han Jingyan's stare that he toughened his scalp and replied in a low voice, "Half a million."This amount is not particularly large, but it is not tiny either.
Han Jingyan let out a laugh. "When you took so much money to bribe him, you didn't expect this day to come?" Salt trading was a profitable business, and without a strong background, one could not get a salt certificate. But this guy was so greedy that he wanted a piece of the action.
When Qiu Lilong saw his uncle laugh, his heart seeped with fear. "Uncle, if I don't pay back the money, the people of the private bank will beat me to death. Uncle, you can't just leave me to die!" He didn't have many relatives in the capital, and the only ones he could rely on were Han Jingyan and Wu Shi.
Han Jingyan frowned and said, "Wait until I get off work. You go back and wait first." If this matter were left unattended, it would be unsightly if Qiu Lilong really died in the capital.
Qiu Lilong could not see that Han Jingyan wasn't just making an excuse, so he hurriedly suggested, "Uncle, can you lend me the money first? When I return to Hebei, I will immediately return your money. Uncle, I beg you. You are the only family I have left in the capital. If you don't help me, I'll have to die here in the capital." Today, two fierce debt collectors stopped him and told him to pay back the money. When they heard that he had no money, they beat him up and said that if he didn't pay within three days, they would take off his arm, and if he didn't pay within ten days, he would be thrown into the moat.
Qiu Lilong was afraid of dying. Life was so beautiful, and he hadn't had the chance to enjoy it yet, so how could he be willing to die? But if Han Jingyan were to wash his hands of him, he would only have one road that led to his death.
Han Jingyan still said, "I will give you an answer to this matter after I have discussed it with your aunt when I am off my duty." After saying that, he went back to the yamen.
Qiu Lilong went back to the State Residence and tried to see Wu Shi, but she did not want to see him. So he could only worry in his own room.
No matter how long her hands were, Yuxi was unable to reach out to the front yard. But Yuchen was much better than she was, and someone soon told her about Qiu Lilong's unusualness. [+]
Yuchen sneered. "Such a greedy thing." Was the salt certificate so easy to get? Without any diamond cutter, one didn't have to try to mend porcelain wares.
Momo Gui inquired, "Miss, this Qiu Lilong has gone to seek the Lord. Do you think the Lord will go and seek out the Wang family?"
Yuchen shook her head and said, "Unlikely." The Qiu family was just a merchant family. There was no way her father would go and sell his face for Qiu Lilong.
When Momo Gui heard this, she said nothing more.
That evening, when Han Jingyan returned to the State Residence, he went to seek out Wu Shi directly to tell her about Qiu Lilong.
Wu Shi's hatred was so intense that she was gnashing her teeth. Each of her niece and nephew had come to disgrace her. She should have never let Qiu Yanfu accompany her to the capital. "My Lord, what do you think should be done about this?"
Han Jingyan's solution was simple. They would step in to help Qiu Lilong pay off the usury and then let him go back to his hometown to get the money to pay off his debt. Han Jingyan was not worried that the Qiu family would renege on the debt.
It was not that Han Jingyan couldn't go to Wang Shaoqi to get back the money Qiu Lilong had put in. Even if he didn't get back half of it, he could always ask for it. Obviously, it was a pit, but Qiu Lilong had been confused by the huge profit. But, as Yuchen had predicted, Han Jingyan was reluctant to come forward because he felt ashamed. Besides, he had nothing to gain from this. Thus, he was unwilling to sell this favour.
Wu Shi shook her head as she asked, "My Lord, where are we going to gather so much silver?"
Han Jingyan already had an idea. "As much as we can scrape together and borrow from the private bank if we don't have enough." Han Jingyan was not talking about borrowing usury but about taking out a loan in the usual way. But, of course, he would not be the one to borrow the money.
Wu Shi actually wanted to shake it off, but Han Jingyan threw the matter to her, so she couldn't even shake it off even if she wanted to. "Then let's put it all together."
Han Jingyan was still more generous. "I'll send 15,000 taels of silver over later." He meant that Wu Shi could raise as much as she could, and if she didn't have enough, she could borrow from the private bank. As for the interest, it was natural for the Qiu family to pay for it.
With Han Jingyan's 15,000 taels and Qiu's own 10,000 taels, 25,000 taels were raised, leaving a shortfall of 45,000 taels, with the extra 10,000 taels being the interest.
The next day, Wu Shi took Qiu Lilong to the private bank to borrow money. Wu Shi was the Third Lady of the State Residence. Thus, the people of the private bank were not worried about her not having the money to pay them back. So with Wu Shi as the guarantor, the process of borrowing money went smoothly.
The moment Qiu Lilong got the money, he paid off the private bank soon after. Then, despite the cold winter months, he left the capital directly with his page. As for whether he would return to Hebei safely among the wind and snow, that was still unknown.
When Qiu Lilong left, the matter also broke out. When Qiu Shi heard this, she resentfully said, "Serves you right." There was not a single good one in the Qiu family. The more bad luck for them, the better!
Mama Li, on the other hand, felt that something was wrong. "My Lady, why would the Eldest Young Master Wang family cause Qiu Lilong to get into a pit? Is there some kind of conspiracy happening here?"
The way Qiu Shi thought of things was straightforward. "Maybe he was too flashy, so people couldn't stand to see him and wanted to teach him a lesson. I guess if it weren’t for the signboard of the State Residence, his corpse would have been gone. In any case, it's good for him to leave finally so as not to be heard and an eyesore." She had been thinking for the past two days about what excuse she could find to kick this Qiu Lilong out. Well, now that he had gone, there was no need for her to think of any more excuses.
The only one who knew the truth was Yuxi. Hearing the news that Qiu Lilong had left, Yuxi smiled. This method was neither better nor worse.
Zisu exclaimed, "I thought the Third Miss would make this Qiu Lilong suffer skin and flesh!"
Yuxi said, "The Qiu family is rich in Hebei. I guess they have a fortune of 230,000 taels tops. This matter will cause them to lose 170,000 to 180,000 silver, which will definitely break their bones." Even though the Qiu family would be breaking their bones, it wouldn't hurt the Third House's interests. [T/N]
Qiu Lilong's affair was like a pebble falling into the water, where it made a small splash and soon drowned.
The time for Han Jianye's wedding was getting closer and closer, and with the wedding and New Year coming up, the State Residence was getting even busier. Hence, Qiu Shi simply asked Ye Shi to get busy preparing for the New Year, while she asked Yuxi to take care of Han Jianye's wedding together.
Looking at Qiu Shi, who was busy, Yuxi was pleased. In her previous life, when her Er Ge had to marry Qiu Yanfu, the wedding had been held coldly and quietly, with only a few relatives being invited symbolically to have a drink. And throughout the wedding, her aunt was in tears. People who didn't know thought it was a funeral service! But now, it was different. When Er Ge got married, the residence was decorated with lights and decorations, and Qiu Shi had sent out invitations to all friends and relatives a month ago. Her aunt had been busy for more than two months. Although there was a look of exhaustion in her eyes, she always smiled. [+]
Sensing that Yuxi was looking at her, Qiu Shi smiled and asked, "What, do I have something dirty on my face?" This period could make her extremely tired. But she was still relieved to think that once her youngest son got married, he would become a real adult from now on. Of course, the most important thing was that Lu Xiu was going to enter their gate, and it would not be long before she could hold her grandson. She had been looking forward to her grandson since Ye Shi joined the family, but she was still unsure where he was, so she was very anxious. The good news was that her youngest daughter-in-law would soon enter the family and her grandson was just around the corner.
Yuxi smilingly said, "Eldest Aunt, you look tired. You'd better have a rest. Don't get yourself too tired!" The wedding had a fixed procedure, and they had done everything that should be prepared. The remaining days were mainly for checking. If there was any mistake, they could quickly make up for it.
Qiu Shi shook her head and responded, "I'm not tired." She felt like she had more energy than she could usually muster!
Just then, Mama Li brought over a bowl of ginseng tea. Qiu Shi took it and finished it in a few sips, then went back to work. [T/N]
Mama Li whispered to Yuxi, "Miss, you don't need to persuade the Lady. I don't know how many times I've persuaded her, but it's no use. Since the Second Master is getting married and Madam is happy, just let her be busy!" It was only for a few days anyway. Once the Second Master married, her Lady would be able to rest for a few days. After the New Year, then she would be completely relaxed.
Yuxi smiled at this piece of advice, gave up her persuasion plan and stepped forward to help instead.
Noob Translator's Musing
Since the Qiu siblings had been chased away from the Han Residence, it's time for Han Jianye and Yuru's wedding.
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi