The Abandoned Wife of a Military Family: Your disguise has been exposed again.

Chapter 17 A hot potato

"The accountant...can't withdraw the money," the maid stammered.

She was Shen's dowry maid, and only today did she learn that the Li family was so poor that they didn't even have the money to make purchases.

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen immediately looked at Yun Wei.

But she had already walked away.

She belatedly realized that she had taken on a hot potato.

How could the Li family be so poor?
Ms. Shen was utterly astonished.

Two years ago, the Li family came to propose marriage and offered a very generous dowry. If the Li family was so poor, where did they get the dowry?

She gripped the handkerchief tightly.

Thinking of something, her gaze immediately turned to the thousand taels of reward money, and she cautiously said, "Mother, the account office is out of money. Do you think... we could use some of my elder brother's reward money first?"

Madam Li's face was grim as she looked at the thousand taels of silver, feeling a pang of heartache.

At one time, a mere thousand taels of silver meant nothing to her.

But now, this thousand taels is indeed the only asset the Li family has left.

Thinking of this, she looked sternly at Madam Shen and said, "This thousand taels cannot be touched for the time being. You can go to the shop to withdraw the money for the purchases."

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen was somewhat displeased.

The mother-in-law was unwilling to use the thousand taels of silver, which must have been intended for Chen Yuniang and her son.

She was furious that he wouldn't contribute any money to organize the banquet.

But she could only hold back and decided to go to the nearest shop to take a look first.

However, before she could even leave the house, the shopkeepers of several shops came looking for her.

Madam Shen was overjoyed and quickly said, "You've come at the right time. Give me the shop's earnings for this month."

Their arrival was just in time, saving her a trip.

Several shopkeepers said with worried expressions, "Second Madam, all the income from this month's business has been used to settle accounts, and there's no money left in the books."

"What?" Madam Shen was shocked.

One of the shopkeepers sighed and said, "I don't know what's going on, but several shops that used to supply our shop have stopped supplying us. They had agreed to settle accounts at the end of the year, but now they're not willing to do that. They've come to our door these past few days, asking us to settle the debts we owe for previous purchases."

In order to settle the accounts, all the shop's income for the month has been used up, and now there is no extra money in the shop.

Furthermore, we need to find new suppliers, and they might not be willing to extend credit. Therefore, we've come to consult the owner about our future plans for the shop.

Shen was already annoyed and had no money to buy anything, and after hearing what the shopkeeper said, she was in a real bind.

“The shop was previously managed by the Earl’s wife, so I don’t know anything about it. You should go and find the Earl’s wife.” Madam Shen pushed the matter to Yunwei.

It's all a mess left by the Yun family, why should she clean it up for them?
No wonder the Yun family so readily handed over the management of the household to her this time; it turns out they wanted to find someone to take the blame.

She had mistakenly thought that Yun Shi had been heartbroken by Li Yaoting, which was why she had quit.

Ms. Shen was filled with regret.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeepers looked troubled. "But didn't the Lord's wife already hand over the management of the household to the Second Madam? I'm afraid the Lord's wife won't take charge."

"I don't care about that, you all go find her," Shen said angrily.

The shopkeepers looked at each other in bewilderment.

Having no other choice, they went to Yunwei, but Yunwei only held the power to manage the Li family, which was not in her hands, and she dismissed them.

The shopkeepers had no choice but to go to Madam Li again.

While Madam Li was discussing the matter of taking Chen Yuniang into the family with Li Yaoting, several shopkeepers came over. After hearing what they had to say, Madam Li also felt a headache coming on.

Li Yaoting asked in confusion, "According to what you said, those merchants have been cooperating with our shop for three years. How can you just stop cooperating now?"

One of the shopkeepers said cryptically, "Three years ago, the shop had no money to buy new goods, so it could only sell old stock, and business was declining. It almost had to close down. Later, after the Earl's wife took over, she found several shops to buy goods from. Their goods were not only good, but also inexpensive. They were also willing to give us credit. After we bought their goods, business improved."

Unexpectedly, the day before yesterday, those suppliers came to our door to terminate their cooperation, saying they would no longer supply us, and that all previous debts would be settled in one go.

Li Yaoting understood. This meant that the shop's revival was all thanks to the Yun family, and the merchants were only willing to pay them low prices because of the Yun family's influence.

His expression darkened.

He refused to believe that the Li family's shop couldn't continue operating without the Yun family.
"Which shops are you referring to?" he asked in a deep voice.

"It's Longtai, Guangfeng, and Xingsheng—these are the largest suppliers in the capital," the shopkeeper replied.

Upon hearing this, Li Yaoting's expression relaxed. "Businessmen are driven by profit and would never turn away business. Go to them again and tell them that the shop is under the name of the Marquis of Jing'an."

In his view, businessmen are only interested in profit. Yesterday, before he was rewarded, they didn't care about him. But today, he has received the emperor's reward. As long as he spreads the word, those merchants will definitely flock to him. Why worry that they won't buy goods for the Li family's shops and buy on credit?

Perhaps the purchase price can be even lower than before.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeepers' eyes lit up.

Yes, the Crown Prince is now the Earl of Jing'an, a far cry from what he used to be.

Having received the tip, the shopkeepers left with delighted expressions.

Madam Li gave her son an approving look.

It was her son who was capable and remained calm in the face of adversity.

Shen, who originally intended to hand over the management of the household, suddenly understood upon seeing this.

Yes, Li Yaoting is already the Earl of Jing'an. So what if the accountant is out of money? Just because of the title of Earl of Jing'an, those merchants wouldn't dare to make things difficult for them.

It's just buying some vegetables, right? The vegetable vendors would probably scramble to serve them as soon as they heard that it was for the Earl of Jing'an.

Why didn't she think of that?

Without further hesitation, she led the group away happily.

Having resolved a matter, Li Yaoting was in a good mood.

He had just come out of Qiutong Courtyard when he saw the steward hurriedly coming to greet him.

"My lord, people from the Regent's Palace have arrived," the steward reported, his breath unsteady, clearly quite frightened.

Li Yaoting was taken aback, his face full of surprise, "People from the Regent's Palace?"

"Yes," the butler replied hastily.

A hint of joy appeared on Li Yaoting's face.

Today's reward is unexpectedly high. Could it be that the one who bestowed the reward upon him is actually the regent?

Has he caught the Regent's eye?
Everyone in the Great Wei Dynasty knows that the Regent's achievements overshadow the Emperor, making him even more intimidating than the current Emperor!
Upon realizing this, he was jolted, feeling both surprised and delighted.

The Li family's reputation will be carried forward and glorified under his leadership.

"Take me there quickly, don't neglect them."

Li Yaoting arrived at the front hall in high spirits.

Sure enough, a young man dressed as a eunuch, holding a whisk, was sitting there.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, sir. May I ask your name?" Li Yaoting suppressed his excitement and stepped forward to ask in a humble manner.

Sang Qing looked up and glanced at her. "What, it's you? Where's your wife?"