Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 137 Ulterior motives
If Xie Chonghai were to make the selection, he wouldn't want to clash with Madam Xie again; maintaining his business was the most important thing. But since they had previously sought help from the Liu family, they no longer had the final say.

After thinking for a long time, Old Master Xie said, "No matter what, we must save our family's porcelain."

"We can reply to Liu Erniang like this."

Xie Chonghai's face lit up with joy.

"However, in doing so, the Liu family will also think that we are intentionally using the porcelain to blackmail and evade responsibility."

Old Master Xie's words resonated with Xie Chonghai.

“Besides saying that, we need to think of another way,” said Old Master Xie. “Let’s ask the Liu family if they can acquire a few new pottery kilns to fire clay stoves.”

That's a good idea.

Xie Chonghai's eyes lit up: "Father means..."

Old Master Xie said, "If Liu Erniang agrees to let us buy the pottery kiln, we will have the broker help us acquire it."

The brokerage firm used was naturally related to the Liu family. Although this relationship could not be made public, it was common knowledge among the merchants of Daming Prefecture.

With these people involved, there's no fear of not being able to buy a pottery kiln.

The previous incident of being cheated by Xie Yuyan will naturally not happen again.

Xie Chonghai thought it was a good idea. He turned to look at Tian Shi and said, "Go to the Liu family first thing tomorrow morning and tell Liu Erniang this."

After the brokerage firm came in, any profits from the deal would naturally be shared with the Liu family.

Even if the Liu family doesn't care, it can be used to get rid of those who work for the Liu family. As long as they do a good job, they can get back all the thousands of coins that Xie Yuyan swindled from them.

……

Liu Erniang got up in the morning to pay her respects to the elders in her family, then had breakfast with her father and mother before returning to her room to read.

She needs to prepare more poems so that she can compose them with her sisters when they have a family gathering.

New Year's Day is nice, but unfortunately there aren't many novel things to see.

The poems and lyrics mostly revolve around themes of plum blossoms, snow scenes, and festivals, and there are only a few of them.

How could she become more famous? This was something Liu Erniang had been pondering.

"Where is my second sister?"

A crisp voice sounded.

Jia Si Niang, a relative by marriage to the Liu family, strode into the room.

“Second sister,” Jia Si Niang said as she walked, holding something in her hand, “I knew it, second sister must be writing. Quick… I’ll show you something interesting.”

Liu Erniang suddenly remembered that when she was at the Liu family's house, Liu Si Niang had mentioned that there would be something fun coming up soon. Could it be...?

“I stayed at Fourth Sister’s house last night, and this morning Liu Erlang had someone deliver this to the inner courtyard.”

Jia Si Niang handed the things in her hand to Liu Er Niang.

It was a larger piece of paper, but the words on it were printed on instead of being handwritten. It wasn't a book, and on the far right of the paper were written the words: Daming Prefecture Gazette.

Liu Erniang subconsciously read it aloud: "Daming Prefecture Gazette".

“Yes, it’s a tabloid,” Jia Si Niang said enthusiastically. “The things written in it are really interesting. Look at this case… it’s the Yang family ghost marriage case in Daming Prefecture. It’s written very clearly, much more credible than what we heard in the teahouse. And this… the case of two families fighting over a child…”

"This case of murdering her husband is a bit frightening. However, this woman was originally engaged, but after her parents died, her heartless uncle arranged for her to marry someone else. The woman resisted to the death, and during an argument with her husband, she accidentally pushed him to the ground and killed him. I wonder how the yamen will handle this case?"

"Look here... Why did a water shop suddenly open in Daming Prefecture these days, and even start selling lotus root charcoal? It turns out that this lotus root charcoal is not made by the Yang family, but is related to Baode Temple."

"It is clearly written here that Yang Liulang's wife, Xie, survived a great calamity and went to the temple to deliver incense. The abbot of Baode Temple, Monk Zhiyuan, taught her how to make charcoal." "Seeing that many people could not use charcoal, Xie vowed to make lotus root charcoal, which is why lotus root charcoal sells for three coins per pound."

“Look, there’s a note written by the author on the back of this document: ‘Bodhi compassion, Buddha charcoal as lotus root charcoal.’ I think this should also be called Buddha charcoal. The holes on it are more like the ordination scars on a monk’s head than lotus root.”

"And... at the market outside the Imperial Camp, the most popular food is called Bo Xia Gong. Two big pots are cooked every day, and the soldiers of the Imperial Camp go there to buy it after they finish their training."

"Do you know how much this costs? It's just how much you can scoop out with one spoon. If the market weren't so crowded, I'd like to take a look too."

"Here, let my driver go and scoop some up and see if it's worth it."

"And here... Look, on the second, third, fifth, and fifteenth of the lunar month, there will be a temple fair at the foot of Baode Temple to celebrate the construction of a new hall at Baode Temple next year. They say there will be food and toys for sale."

"When digging for coal in the Baode Temple Pagoda Forest, a bell was discovered with scriptures written on it. On the second day of the lunar new year, at Chenshi (7-9 AM), six monks struck the bell to pray for blessings."

"Just because Baode Temple is so compassionate, we should go and see it. Praying there will surely be effective."

"The most interesting story here is called 'The Journey to the West by the Buddhist Master,' but unfortunately only one part is written. If you want to read the rest, you'll have to wait for a tabloid."

As Jia Si Niang spoke, she flipped through the pages, making Liu Er Niang's eyes dazzled.

The newsletter was published in two parts this time, both densely covered with writing. They were both quite interesting at first glance, and I wanted to read them carefully.

Besides what Jia Siniang mentioned, Liu Erniang also saw some different notices: the Yang family's mine, water shop, and porcelain kiln in Yong'anfang were recruiting workers, with a daily wage of one hundred coins.

Liu Erniang frowned and found another line of small print at the beginning of the tabloid: Printed by Yong'anfang Bookstore.

"Who put this tabloid out?"

This is what Liu Erniang is most concerned about.

After thinking for a while, Jia Si Niang said, "I heard from Si Niang that it seems to be the case of the victim in the Yang family's ghost marriage, which was handled by Madam Xie."

really.

Liu Erniang's gaze immediately turned cold. She looked at Jia Siniang and said, "You wait here. I'll be right back after I go out for a bit."

Without waiting for Jia Si Niang's response, he picked up the tabloid and walked outside.

Prefect Liu and his eldest son were discussing state affairs in the study when they heard their daughter's voice from outside: "Are my father and eldest brother inside?"

Prefect Liu glanced at his steward, who understood and opened the door.

Liu Erniang walked in quickly.

"What's wrong?" Prefect Liu looked up. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

His daughter, who always paid great attention to her manners, was clearly acting strangely today.

“Father,” Liu Erniang handed over the tabloid in her hand, “someone actually dared to distribute this kind of thing on the street. Are you going to do anything about it? If there are any inappropriate words, shouldn’t you arrest the person and interrogate them carefully?”

“This is clearly a copy of the imperial court’s official gazette. In my opinion, it is really inappropriate.”

Prefect Liu picked up the tabloid and examined it closely. After a moment, he looked at Liu Erniang and asked, "Is this something sold in our Daming Prefecture?"

Liu Erniang nodded.

Prefect Liu stroked his beard, handed the tabloid to his eldest son, and then asked, "Did you see any inappropriate words in it?"

Liu Erniang frowned even more: "No, but the person who wrote this tabloid has ulterior motives."

Prefect Liu looked at his daughter: "Where did you get that idea?"

(End of this chapter)