strictlysupreme Chapter 105 Standoff
Chapter 105 Standoff
The tens of thousands of taels of silver that Old Madam Qiao received from the Shen family were enough to get Shen Shi'an beheaded in the street.
The Shen family of Ganzhou had been merchants for generations and had accumulated a considerable fortune. By the time of Shen Shi'an, several of his peers had pursued education and entered officialdom.
The Shen family was successful in both official and business circles, and became one of the wealthiest and most prominent families in Ganzhou.
It was precisely because the Shen family had connections in both official and commercial circles that Shen Shi'an dared to engage in this high-interest lending business.
In Ganzhou, far from the emperor's reach, and with the Shen family's powerful influence and deep background, naturally no one dared to investigate him.
But now that he's in the capital, who recognizes Shen Shi'an?
Hearing Qiao Qingshu's words, he became even more frightened.
Looking at the stunningly beautiful woman before him, he asked in bewilderment,
"You are... Miss Qiao?"
He met Qiao Qingshu when he came to the Qiao family to propose marriage; at that time, she was a little girl with a missing tooth.
Holding pastries in her hand, she blinked her big eyes and hid behind Bai Shi, looking like an innocent and naive child.
In just a few years, she has blossomed into such a stunning beauty.
Her demeanor and bearing exude an air of elegance and nobility, making one feel insignificant and inferior in her presence.
Shen Shi'an realized that he was timid by shrinking his neck, so he straightened his back to boost his confidence.
Qiao Qingshu didn't look at him, but slowly waved her hand and said,
"Bring Qiao Chunli up here."
Before long, a disheveled Qiao Chunli was brought up. As soon as she saw Shen Shi'an, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.
"Husband, you've finally come! You have to help me get revenge! That wretched girl Qiao Qingshu has me locked up and won't give me any food. She's going to starve me to death!"
Qiao Qingshu raised an eyebrow. She had been bringing Qiao Chunli three meals a day to her room, but Qiao Chunli refused to eat them, throwing chopsticks and smashing bowls. Now she dared to accuse her of not feeding her.
Shen Shi'an pushed Qiao Chunli away with disgust. How long had it been since this woman had taken a bath? She smelled sour all over.
He never liked Qiao Chunli; he only married her to curry favor with the Qiao family of the Marquis of Jing.
But who would have thought that after Old Master Qiao died, the Qiao family became increasingly impoverished under Old Madam Qiao's management.
He had lost patience with Qiao Chunli, and the couple's relationship had already become quite distant by the second year of their marriage.
In an effort to repair her marital relationship, Qiao Chunli offered to help Shen Shi'an with his business by acting as a middleman.
Over the years, Qiao Chunli not only cheated Old Madam Qiao, but also cheated all of Qiao's relatives, profiting more than 200,000 taels of silver.
For this reason, Shen Shi'an reluctantly went to her room two or three times a month, coaxing her to continue serving him.
Now that this money-making tool has been gone for half a month and hasn't returned, Shen Shi'an is anxious to find someone.
He was still waiting for Qiao Chunli to continue helping him earn money.
Pushing away Qiao Chunli who was pressing against him, he covered his nose and questioned Qiao Qingshu.
"On what right do you detain my wife without authorization?"
Qiao Qingshu calmly found a chair, sat down, straightened her sleeves, and slowly raised her eyes to speak.
"Then what right does your Shen family have to collude with Qiao Chunli to swindle money from my Qiao family?"
Old Madam Qiao, who had been sitting on the couch, frowned and straightened up when she heard Qiao Qingshu say that she was cheating people out of money.
"What! You're saying Chun-Li cheated the Qiao family out of their money!?"
The money was lent out, so how could it have been swindled by the Shen family?
Old Madam Qiao coughed violently, eager to know what had happened.
But none of the people in the room glanced at Madam Qiao.
Now she's bedridden, powerless, insignificant, and penniless. Who would even glance at her?
Qiao Jizhou also frowned in surprise and said,
"Shu'er, what exactly happened? Did the Shen family embezzle the money?!"
Shen Shi'an looked at everyone with a sly eye, feeling a little nervous. How could Qiao Qingshu know the inside story of this matter?
Her grandmother hadn't noticed their scheme for over a decade, so how could Qiao Qingshu know so clearly?
His eyes swept over Qiao Qingshu. This girl was only seventeen years old. As a young lady from a noble family who rarely left her home, she couldn't possibly know about the cunning tricks of merchants.
This girl is probably just trying to trick him.
He narrowed his eyes with certainty, knowing that as long as she denied it, the girl would have no way to prove that he had embezzled the money.
He jumped up and shouted.
"Qiao Qingshu, you brat, you're spouting nonsense and slandering my Shen family!"
"It wasn't us begging your old lady to lend money in the first place. She was just jealous of the money we made and kept pestering Chunli to make money together."
"We felt bad refusing her because she's an elder, so we took her along to play!"
"Doing business is all about making and losing money! She never shared any of her profits with me, so how come it's my Shen family's fault when we lose money? What kind of unreasonable family is this!"
Hearing these harsh words, Old Madam Qiao almost buried her head in the blanket.
When the younger generation spoke ill of her as an elder, she couldn't find any words to refute them, and her increasingly ashamed face turned dark red.
She lost so much money to the Qiao family, and now that fact is enough to make her unable to hold her head up in front of everyone.
Qiao Qingshu smiled contemptuously; she knew this unscrupulous businessman wouldn't admit it so easily.
He waved his hand and shouted at Butler Lai, who was guarding the door.
"Butler Lai, please invite them in."
Suddenly the curtain was lifted, and a dozen or twenty people poured in, instantly filling the entire Fushou Hall to capacity.
Looking at these familiar faces, Qiao Chunli leaned to the side, trying to hide behind the curtain.
But Qiao Qingshu grabbed her and dragged her out in front of everyone as a public spectacle.
"Qiao Chunli, open your eyes and take a good look! These are all people you've fooled!"
The people standing in the room were all members of the Qiao family clan, either from collateral branches or from the main line, all of whom had the surname Qiao.
Qiao Chunli almost tucked her head into her stomach, unable to face this reality.
All of these people have been scammed by her.
She visits her parents' home about four or five times a year, and each time her schedule is packed. She always makes sure to attend any banquets or gatherings she encounters.
She tricked many members of the Qiao family into lending money to her. She would let them have a taste of success the first couple of times, and then she would reap the rewards all at once. These people would come to her for money, and she could always send them away with a few words.
Her explanation was simply that doing business involves both profits and losses, and she herself had lost a large sum of money.
Most people, seeing Qiao Chunli's miserable face, believed her and stopped making a fuss, considering their money was wasted.
Qiao Chunli was not entirely stupid; she hadn't swindled too much money from these distant relatives, ranging from four or five hundred taels to two or three thousand taels.
I didn't dare to lie too much, for fear that these people would expose the truth.
Of all the people, it was Old Madam Qiao who was the most deceived.
Seeing that her family was wealthy and that Old Madam Qiao doted on her as her youngest daughter, Qiao Chunli was really ruthless, taking out tens of thousands of taels of silver at once!