Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 385 The Real Owner

Xie Chengrang continued reading, his brows furrowing even deeper.

The Duan family did indeed own restaurants and teahouses in Huaizhou, and also traded medicinal herbs. However, when the Duan family was collecting herbs last spring, their steward colluded with outsiders to buy a batch of inferior herbs, causing them to lose a considerable amount of money.

Instead of compounding the mistake, Master Duan deliberately sold off that batch of medicinal herbs, thus preserving his family's reputation. He gradually weathered the crisis by relying on his other businesses, so not many people knew about it.

Xie Chengrang looked at his confidant: "Is this information accurate?"

The confidant said, "It's definitely not wrong. We found the pharmacy that does business with the Duan family and checked their accounts. The Duan family lost at least several hundred catties of medicinal herbs, including some precious ones. They lost at least several thousand strings of cash."

"The steward who harmed the Duan family has not yet been caught, but there is a case file in the yamen."

"The Duan family's drug-collecting incident occurred in Yuzhou, and the case file can only be found in Yuzhou, so the Xia family overlooked this news."

Xia Ziqiao wasn't careful enough. If we had investigated further, we could have uncovered this whole thing.

Xie Chengrang asked, "Didn't the Duan family sell shops and land during that period?"

“No,” the relative said. “The Duan family has been in business for two generations and has some savings. We don’t sell land to make up for the losses.”

The people sent out learned the news and told their confidants the important parts. When Xie Chengrang read the letter, if there were any questions, his confidants could answer them.

Xie Chengrang read the letter again: "Even if they didn't sell the land, the Duan family wouldn't spend too much money in Bianjing. The letter says that it is Master Duan who is good at business. Even if the Duan family intends to make a big splash in Bianjing, it should be Master Duan who comes in person."

The confidant responded, "I also find it strange. The people who inquired said that Master Duan is in good health and is preparing to go to Yuzhou to personally oversee the collection of medicines."

“It’s clear that the Duan family still focuses on the medicinal herb business,” Xie Chengrang said, his hand tightening unconsciously as he held the paper. “The perfume business in Bianjing is doing so well, and more perfume shops are opening one after another, but Master Duan seems to be doing nothing about it and continues to run his business in Huaizhou.”

"Either the Duan family has lost their minds, or..."

Or perhaps these transactions in the capital didn't actually belong to the Duan family.

Xie Chengrang believed the latter more.

The Duan family is covering for others.

So, who exactly pulled this trick right under everyone's noses?
This person is very capable and can get people to work for him willingly. There must be many people with this ability, so why is he hiding his identity?

They shouldn't be merchants from Bianjing, otherwise there should have been some word about it. It would be that they are merchants from outside coming to the capital. He had never heard of any powerful merchants coming to Bianjing to do business.

A thought flashed through Xie Chengrang's mind, and he suddenly stood up.

This action startled his confidant, who exclaimed, "Second Master!"

It's not that it doesn't exist...

Xie Chengrang kept repeating this sentence in his mind.

She was not only good at business, but also knowledgeable about coal. The water shops and charcoal shops she ran in Daming Prefecture all used coal.

How could he not have thought of something as similar as a water shop and a perfume shop?

This person disappeared without a trace outside Bianjing, but it was after that that a perfume shop appeared.

“Go investigate,” Xie Chengrang said. “Go to the South City Wharf immediately… no, go to the government office to investigate when the perfume shops at the South City Wharf bought those lands, and who the landowner was.”

She wouldn't buy land in her own name, but if those lands were purchased after she arrived in Bianjing, then he was 60% certain... he had guessed the true identity of the perfume shop owner.

It's the Xie family from Daming Prefecture.

After dismissing his trusted confidants, Xie Chengrang sat down and looked again at the note in his hand. Perhaps the Xie family had already made many preparations before they even realized the truth.

Xie Chengrang thought of the land outside Yunqi Temple again. The Xia family and he had secretly invested money in this deal. It seemed that he and the Xia family were plotting against the owner of the perfume shop. What if... they were wrong? After all, they were in the open, and she was in the dark.

Xie Chengrang felt he couldn't wait any longer. Even if it wasn't confirmed yet, he had to inform Xia Ziqiao. Xia Ziqiao could use the Xia family's connections to investigate more quickly.

Nothing else matters right now; exposing Xie to the public is the most important thing.

Xie Chengrang thought of slipping the letter into his sleeve, then immediately ordered his men to prepare a horse and head straight for the Xia family, only to find that Xia Ziqiao was not at home.

“My fifth son has gone out,” said the Xia family steward. “Now that the examination hall is open, several students who know my fifth son have been given a special banquet by him.”

Not only was Xia Wulang absent, but Minister Xia also did not return home.

When Xie Chengrang returned to the Xie residence, he found that his father had also gone out.

The imperial court has been busy until very late every day in preparation for welcoming the envoys from Western Xia.

Xie Chengrang suddenly had a thought: Could it be that the Xie family had calculated this?
Logically speaking, a merchant wouldn't have the ability to incorporate major court affairs and the imperial examinations into her calculations. Unless she has someone behind the scenes devising a plan.

Sitting back in his room, Xie Chengrang realized that, apart from sending his trusted confidants out to gather information, he could only wait for Xia Ziqiao and his father.

He held no official position, was not the eldest son of the emperor, and could not rely on the court or his family for support; this was his tragedy.

He could only tell himself that so many days had already passed, and a few more hours wouldn't make a big difference.

……

After leaving Yunqi Temple, Xie Yuyan did not return to the South City Wharf, but went to the house that Yang Xiaoshan had bought. She would wait for news there tonight.

Yang Xiaoshan and Tang Xing, along with their men, kept a close watch on Yunqi Temple. They would return to report to her as soon as there was any movement.

It was getting dark.

There was a knock at the door. After the old servant unlatched the door, Yang Xiaoshan eagerly slipped into the courtyard.

“Madam,” Yang Xiaoshan said breathlessly, “there’s movement over there, and Yang Dong is still keeping an eye on things.”

Xie Yuyan nodded and reassured Yang Xiaoshan, "Don't worry, the night is still long."

They're all fish on the chopping block, with no chance of escape. Now it's up to us to use this incident to catch more of the ghosts hiding behind it all.

Let her see what Bianjing is like now.

Xie Yuyan looked at Madam Yu: "Prepare a set of men's robes for me, I might be going out tonight."

……

Yunqi Temple.

After checking her disciples' homework, Abbess Mingzhen returned to her residence. Every day at this time, she would be alone in her room, and the other nuns in the temple would not come to disturb her.

The temple gradually returned to tranquility. Master Mingzhen, who was sitting cross-legged on the couch, opened her eyes. The calm and indifferent expression that had been on her face disappeared, and her eyes were filled with anxiety and resentment.

She dimmed the oil lamp on the table, then quietly got off the couch, opened the door, and went out.

Hearing that shops were to be built on the land outside the temple, she sent a letter to try to stop it, but she never received a reply.

Today, she watched those people digging everywhere and finally couldn't hold back any longer and went to stop them. Fortunately, she managed to force them to fill the soil back up. Otherwise, if they had continued like this, the bones underground might have been exposed to the public.