The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 169 Enemy or Friend
"My lady, the Han family's direct descendants are now dwindling..." Shang Mingshu received the information she wanted that very night.

The old master of the Han family passed away ten years ago. At that time, the old lady made a ruthless decision to drive away her husband's favored concubine and illegitimate son. Unexpectedly, in the following two years, her three sons died unexpectedly one after another. She had no choice but to let her eldest grandson, who had lived under the protection of the family since childhood and was pampered, support the family before he was fully grown.

The current head of the Han family, the eldest grandson of the old lady Han, is lazy, fond of drinking and women, but not a bad person. His wife, Miao, is said to have been known as the most beautiful woman in Yingtian Prefecture.

Born into a humble family, whose ancestors ran a restaurant, her father was mediocre and squandered the family business. The old lady looked down on such a family and also despised Miao's petty nature. When it came to the marriage of the eldest grandson, the future wife who would support the family, the old lady carefully selected a wife, but alas, she could not win against the powerful.

The grandson threatened suicide, and the whole of Yingtian Prefecture was abuzz with gossip. In the end, the old lady gave in, and the new bride entered the family. She caused quite a few laughs and offended many people, so old friends gradually drifted apart, and the Han family gradually fell into decline...

"Grandma Han..." After a quick glance, Shang Mingshu knew where the problem lay.

She mentioned the Miao family's name, and He Mai handed over another prepared letter. He Sui was as meticulous and thorough as ever. This letter contained all the results of her investigation into the Miao family. With a large sum of money, all secrets were exposed.

The news that came back was that after the New Year, Grandma Han had been in close contact with a merchant. The person in charge was a young widow who had been married for less than half a year. Her husband had passed away, and she had no one to rely on. She took on the family business herself, traveled all over the country, spent lavishly, dressed luxuriously, and had quite a fortune.

“Madam Tang’s husband’s family are Fujian merchants, and the journey is long, so it’s difficult to find out their whereabouts in a short time.” He Sui quickly explained when Shang Mingshu saw that Madam Tang, who had close ties with Grandma Han, was reading about it. “I only heard that her husband is a local tycoon, and his business mainly deals in silk and porcelain. He came to Yingtian Prefecture two months ago to buy cotton cloth, and there are rumors that she is going to open a pawnshop in Yingtian Prefecture.”

“This Mrs. Tang… is no ordinary person.”

It is extraordinary that a widowed woman could take over such a large family business. She did not hide her wealth when she came to Yingtian Prefecture, otherwise how would everyone know that her husband's family was a wealthy merchant?
Pawnshops are not places that ordinary people can get involved in. In addition to having a huge amount of money to support them, they also need to have someone backing them up, and they themselves need to be shrewd and have a wide range of knowledge in various industries in order not to make mistakes and lose money.

Shang Mingshu thought it over carefully and realized that her family had no prior conflict with the Fujianese merchant surnamed Tang. There was no conflict of interest between them, and if Madam Tang wanted to open a pawnshop, Shang Mingshu would still be her target customer.

Perhaps it has nothing to do with this Mrs. Tang; perhaps she is just overthinking things?
Suppressing her baseless speculations, Shang Mingshu closed the letter: "I will go to the Han residence tomorrow to investigate and then make a decision."

Whether it's because Grandma Han is too tactless or someone is playing tricks on her behind her back, we'll find out tomorrow.

The next day, Madam Han specially sent someone to wait for her and personally received Shang Mingshu.

Not only did Shang Mingshu investigate the Han family, but Old Madam Han also inquired about who Shang Mingshu was. Hui merchants were all over the world, and Old Madam Han learned about Shang Mingshu's deeds from several wealthy Hui merchants.

Not much is known, but there are many stories about how the Shang family dealt a heavy blow to the Shi family's dominance, received awards from the imperial court, and became the top tea merchant in Huizhou Prefecture. The most common thing about Shang Mingshu is that her incense trading company became famous in the capital and was very popular among the noble ladies in the inner quarters.

She also obtained some of the tea sold by the incense seller from her friends. She recognized it at a glance as part of the Tiger Hill Tea from the Liu family business. Considering that Shang Mingshu dared to come to her door, she figured she had no connection with the Liu family.

She admired Shang Mingshu's meticulous actions and was happy to see someone disgusting Liu's Trading Company.

Therefore, he was particularly gentle with Shang Mingshu: "It's kind of you to be so thoughtful at such a young age. I loved flower tea when I was young, but for some reason I haven't been able to drink my favorite flower tea for twenty years. Now that I'm old, I've rediscovered this favorite taste. When you open your tea shop, please send me an invitation. Also, please let me know if you have any new teas in the future. I will definitely support you."

Madam Han expressed her support for Shang Mingshu, telling her to focus on selling tea and that the Han family wouldn't mind.

Shang Mingshu handed the generous gift she brought to Madam Han: "I heard that you are a Buddhist. This Guanyin statue was personally consecrated by the abbot of Chongxiao Temple. It is a small token of my appreciation."

The Guanyin statue was carved from the finest white jade, making it a treasure in both quality and craftsmanship. Moreover, the abbot of Chongxiao Temple was not someone an ordinary person could afford. The preciousness of the statue was a sign of respect, but it also made the Han family feel indebted to him.

The consecration of Chongxiao Temple is both a demonstration of its power and a veiled warning.

Previously, Madam Han had been dismissive of Shang Mingshu because of yesterday's neglect and because she thought Shang had embarrassed the Liu family. Now, however, she had to change her attitude and showed a hint of intimacy in her gentle tone: "The gift from Madam Shang is extremely valuable and I should have declined it. However, this gift is truly to my liking, and I cannot refuse it. I can only accept it with a sense of shame."

Talking to smart people is so convenient. Shang Mingshu didn't want the Han family to refuse this gift. The Han family was the local bigwigs in Yingtian Prefecture, and she naturally had to greet them when she came here. The gift was the basis for both parties' promise to respect each other.

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam."

Madam Han really liked Shang Mingshu, so she called her favorite granddaughter to accompany her. Thinking about Shang Mingshu's appearance and abilities, she even considered whether there was a suitable young man to match her.

Unable to find anyone worthy of her, he couldn't help but sigh; the Han family had indeed fallen on hard times.

"She's gone?" Madam Miao glared angrily at the maid who came to report.

She had been waiting here for Shang Mingshu to come with lavish gifts to curry favor with her, and she had already figured out how to get back the face her grandmother had lost for her yesterday.

To everyone's surprise, Shang Mingshu ignored her, the matriarch of the household, and turned to leave!

The maidservant replied tremblingly, "After Madam Shang delivered her gift to the old lady, she sat for half an hour before the eldest mistress saw her out..."

"Crack!" Before the maid could finish speaking, Madam Miao flicked her sleeve, and the teacup on the table flew off, shattering into pieces of white porcelain on the floor.

Enraged, Miao gritted her teeth and said to her confidante, "You ungrateful wretch, give the order, I'll make her pay!"

The confidante returned anxiously after going out: "Madam, the old lady has ordered that no one in the Han family is allowed to make things difficult for the Shang family."

"You old, shameless wretch!" Miao was so angry that her face turned ashen.

The confidant hurriedly looked around and whispered a reminder: "Madam, be careful what you say."

Miao was even more upset, but she didn't continue to speak recklessly. She said bitterly, "Go and stand guard at the door. When the master comes back, tell him that I am seriously ill!"

No sooner had Shang Mingshu returned to the inn than she received a letter from the Han family: "After the lady left, a broken teacup was found in the courtyard of the eldest mistress of the Han family."

"Keep an eye on the Miao couple."

Let her see whether this Mrs. Tang is a friend or foe.