Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 551 Escape
Xie Yuyan looked at the servants, and two servants stepped forward and pressed the merchant back into the chair.

"Sit still and behave yourselves," Xie Yuyan said. "It hasn't even been half an hour yet."

Before this, no one could leave this place.

The merchant's face flushed red as he looked to Chen Yixiu for help, but Chen Yixiu couldn't think of a good way to turn the situation around either.

They bought porcelain from Han Si last year, but didn't take it out of the capital. Instead, they stored it in the warehouse of the storage yard, waiting for a shortage of porcelain in the capital so they could raise the price... Xie Yuyan was absolutely right about all of this.

The porcelain was moved from the east to the west, and with almost no manpower or resources, a large sum of money was made.

But last year was just a small test; they originally planned to go all out after the market opened this year.

When the time comes, a large number of porcelain pieces will be transported to the market, and with their deliberate hoarding, the market price of porcelain may double.

In this way, they not only made money but also embarrassed the market administration.

It should be understood that the imperial court established the Market Regulation Bureau to stabilize market prices, but it failed to achieve its goal in the end, so the Market Regulation Law naturally had to be questioned.

Unexpectedly, after Han Si fell from power, Xie Yuyan discovered all this...

Xie Yuyan continued, "You've gathered so many people to force the porcelain shops to hand over their porcelain, isn't it just so you can watch me continue to buy porcelain at high prices?"

"I'll be the one driving up market prices then."

Zhang Sanlang from Yaozhou raised his eyes, a look of surprise flashing across his gaze.

Compared to Zhang Sanlang, many merchants in the room did not understand the meaning of these words, but fortunately Xie Yuyan immediately explained.

"What? Don't you understand?"

"The porcelain warehouse is short of porcelain. Some of the porcelain you took away was purchased with money by me. As long as a contract is delivered to the porcelain shop, I will buy porcelain to replenish the porcelain warehouse. You will take the porcelain away, but you will not let it enter the market. In this way, the price of porcelain will become more and more expensive in a short period of time."

"I'll be the one who gets sued for going to the market."

"You've made money and brought me into the position of an elder, which is a win-win situation."

"Should I retaliate against you all for scheming against me like this?"

The room erupted in an uproar.

Some merchants only wanted to make some money, which is why they followed Chen Yixiu and others to coerce the old man; they hadn't considered this aspect.

The one with the worst expression was Zhang Sanlang. He felt that Xie's words were meant for him. When Guan Fenglin and Chen Yixiu came to the Zhang family, they didn't promise money, but rather the position of elder statesman.

They said that Xie would definitely make mistakes in order to stabilize the current situation.

The mistake Xie made was that he unintentionally inflated the market price of porcelain.

Of course, the Zhang family did not agree to join them in dealing with Lady Xie. They had only come to see what was going on, but now it seems that this decision was a mistake.

If this matter is kept secret, the Zhang family can still make plans in private. But once it's brought into the open, if the Zhang family continues to insist, they will have to break ties with Madam Xie.

No matter what, Lady Xie had already ascended to the position of senior official, and there would be a suitable excuse to pull her down. At first glance, she was just a woman of seventeen or eighteen, and her husband's family, the Yang clan, were just ordinary merchants in Daming Prefecture.

Such a person seems easy to deal with. But upon closer examination, the fact that such a person can control the porcelain industry is truly terrifying.

Without the means, how could this be achieved?
The Zhang family only saw what was beneficial to themselves... and ignored the danger. This alone should have made him wary.

The Zhang family has become so obsessed with securing their position as elders that they have lost their minds.

If we continue to be confused, something bad might happen.

Thinking of this, Zhang Sanlang stood up and respectfully bowed to Xie Yuyan: "Elder Xie, I am a member of the Zhang family from Yaozhou. I did not come to the capital to buy porcelain from the porcelain shop, nor do we have such a contract."

Xie Yuyan remained silent, so Zhang Sanlang had no choice but to continue: "We originally intended to discuss the follow-up arrangements with the porcelain merchants regarding the trade at the border market."

"But after arriving in Beijing, I heard about the replacement of Elder Xing... and I became suspicious. I wondered what kind of person Elder Xie was. So I mingled with the crowd to check the situation. Now it seems that Elder Xing is honest and upright, which is truly admirable."

“The Zhang family’s failure to immediately reveal their identities offended Elder Xing, which was truly inappropriate. On behalf of the Zhang family, I apologize to Elder Xing and ask for his punishment.”

As he spoke, Zhang Sanlang bowed deeply again.

Xie Yuyan looked at Zhang Sanlang, neither refusing the courtesy nor offering any words of comfort, but instead asked, "Is Zhang Sanlang the only one from the Zhang family to have come to the capital?"

“No,” Zhang Sanlang said, somewhat surprised. This Master Xing had even skipped the formalities and acted with remarkable composure. A man who could intimidate people and also accept courtesy was truly unfathomable. “My father is a little slow and is still outside Bianjing City. I will go to meet him now and then we will visit Master Xing together.”

Xie Yuyan nodded: "After I leave the porcelain shop, you can do as you please."

Zhang Sanlang was taken aback again. Xie Niangzi's actions were once again beyond his expectations. He had already humbled himself so much, but Xie Niangzi still did not give the Zhang family any face and did not let him go immediately.

He couldn't help but frown. Was Lady Xie doing this because she was certain that the Zhang family would be completely devoted to her orders?

Is she just too capable, or is she a bit arrogant?
Although Zhang Sanlang was dissatisfied, he still sat down properly. The angrier or more dissatisfied a person is, the more "magnanimous" they should be, and they should not be controlled by their emotions. He had long understood this principle.

Yu Mama, who was next to Xie Yuyan, took a close look at the Zhang family. The Zhang family probably felt that the eldest daughter-in-law was being unreasonable and deliberately suppressing them, but in fact, the eldest daughter-in-law would not waste her energy on them.

The reason the old lady did this was because that chair was where the Zhang family should be. Those who were persuaded to come and help were, in her eyes, nothing more than useless lackeys, no different from the merchants below.

Later, the Zhang family will understand that what they need to do is not to show off their status in front of the eldest daughter-in-law, but to make her appreciate their abilities and motivate them to do things.

Even members of the Zhang family couldn't leave the porcelain shop, let alone others. Thinking this, several more merchants couldn't sit still and stood up to pay their respects.

“Master, I never rented a storage yard. Last year I did come to the porcelain shop to buy porcelain, but... it really was transported out of Bianjing,” the merchant said, then added, “I did bribe Han Si, but it was only through Han Si that the price of the porcelain was lowered, so that I could make more money.”

“I did not hoard goods for profit. I was deceived this time, which is why I came to force Mr. Xing.”

The merchant looked at Chen Yixiu as he spoke. Although he did not explicitly say who had deceived him, who did not know?

“I know who rented the storage yard.”

Another merchant stepped forward.