Chapter 187 Xier Wants a Child
When Xiao Jun saw Mengxi asking him to write a divorce letter in the name of "no children" , he stood up and walked to her side, lowered his head and asked:
"...Xi'er, are you bringing this up today because you're blaming me for not doing anything for you in the past two years?"
After hearing what the Second Master said, Meng Xi's heart was pounding with shock. She only knew what the Seven Reasons for Divorce were, and she really didn't read the specific provisions behind each one carefully. She couldn't find a reason for the Second Master to divorce her, so she brought up this one. Now it seems like she shot herself in the foot.
Especially the last sentence of the Second Master, which made her tremble with fear. She gritted her teeth, suppressed her pounding heart, and looked at the Second Master calmly.
Seeing that she was silent, the Second Master continued:
"Xi'er, are you anxious? Do you want an heir to my Xiao family? If you really want one, I am willing to help you. Let's study the issue of heirs now!"
"Second Master, you misunderstood. That's not what I meant."
"What does Xi'er mean?"
Facing the Second Master's eyes that were blazing with flames, Mengxi dared to swear that if she gave an answer that went against Second Master's wishes, Second Master would definitely eat her up the next moment. She secretly regretted that she had always thought that Second Master was a gentleman who would not do anything to her, so she let Zhiqiu go.
Mengxi didn't dare to say another word at this moment. She watched the Second Master's face getting lower and lower, and the next moment it would be at her lips. Mengxi sat there stiffly, her heart pounding, and she almost couldn't help getting up and running away.
The two were facing each other when Zhiqiu pushed the door open and replied:
"Replying to Second Master, Second Madam, Hongzhu came over and said that Xiao Xia wanted to see Second Master for something urgent."
Seeing Zhiqiu coming in, Mengxi felt relieved. As the saying goes, the situation is stronger than people. If you challenge the Second Master at this time, it would be courting death! After hearing what Zhiqiu said, Mengxi said:
"Second Master, if you have something to do, I will not keep you here. Second Master, your business is more important."
Seeing that Mengxi no longer insisted, Erye didn't say anything. He slowly stood up, glanced at Zhiqiu, walked out, walked two steps, turned back to Mengxi, bit her ear and said word by word:
"Xi'er, listen to me. If you dare to ask me to divorce you again because you have no children, we will close the door and study the issue of having children. I will let you out of this room only when we have children!"
After the Second Master finished speaking, he met Mengxi's surprised eyes. Feeling guilty, he turned around and strode out.
…
When Xiao Xia saw the Second Master coming in from behind the screen with a gloomy face, he couldn't help but groan inwardly. He knew that if he found the Second Master from the east wing, the Second Master's face would definitely be gloomy. He only regretted that he was a step too slow and didn't stop Hongzhu.
It turned out that Xiao Xia was ordered to check Xiao An's accounts. He didn't know until he checked. He was shocked to find that Xiao An was really bold. He only checked three manors and found that he had embezzled tens of thousands of taels of government silver. Xiao Xia also felt that the matter was of great importance and did not dare to continue the investigation. He hurried back to report to the Second Master and asked him to decide whether to continue the investigation. Seeing that the Second Master was not in the study, he went directly to the upper room. Because he was anxious about something, he did not ask whether the Second Master was there. He directly told Hongzhu that he had an urgent matter and asked her to pass on the message. Seeing Hongzhu walking out, he remembered to ask:
"Isn't the Second Master in the East Room?"
Hongzhu walked out and said:
"The Second Master went to the East Wing. I will go find him right away."
When Xiao Xia finally digested the news, he also realized that no matter how important the matter was, he could not disturb the Second Master at this time. He chased out and tried to call Hongzhu, but Hongzhu had disappeared. He had no choice but to sit there anxiously waiting for the Second Master to come back.
What you fear will come true. Just when she was worried, the Second Master came in with a dark face. Xiao Xia was so miserable that she stepped forward and saluted the Second Master:
"Hello, Second Master. Second Master asked me to inquire about the manor and there has been some progress."
The depressed Second Master's eyes lit up when he heard this. He raised his hand to signal Xiao Xia to stop talking. He looked at Hong Zhu and Hong Xing on the side and said:
"Let's go to the study."
After the Second Master finished speaking, he turned around and walked out without waiting for Xiao Xia to speak. Xiao Xia saw that the Second Master did not lose his temper unexpectedly, and secretly rejoiced while following the Second Master happily.
After entering the study and sitting down, Xiao Yan had already served tea. The Second Master took a sip of the tea and asked:
"What's going on?"
"Second Master, I obey your orders and the first thing I checked is the Polygonum Garden that Second Master bought near Luding Mountain last year. Last year, it was changed into a Lotus Garden by the First Master and renovated and expanded. The First Master also ordered people to dig a large piece of open space in the garden into a lake and plant lotus. I hope that after the renovation is completed, I can accompany the old lady, the first wife and others to stay here every year when the lotus is in full bloom, so that we can enjoy the lotus and pick lotus seeds, and visit the infinite scenery on Luding Mountain."
"I know about this, stop talking nonsense!"
"The renovation of Guanhe Garden is under the charge of General Manager An. I have checked and found that Guanhe Garden was only completed this spring. General Manager An, the foreman Jia Changshui who was in charge of the renovation, and Sun Sanjin, the general manager of the timber company and the stone factory, colluded to embezzle money. They first raised the prices of wood, stone and labor, and then paid General Manager An in cash after the silver bills from the Xiao Mansion came. I have checked and found that the materials provided by Manager Sun to the Xiao Mansion during the same period were nearly twice as expensive as those provided to other places. Foreman Jia also falsely reported the number of workers and collected wages more than twice the normal price. Just for these two items, the renovation of the entire Guanhe Garden cost nearly 8,000 taels of silver. As for whether the 8,000 taels of silver went into General Manager An's pocket, we have to find Foreman Jia and Manager Sun for further verification. I am afraid that if I find these two people now, it will alert the enemy, so I came here first to report to Second Master and ask him to make the decision."
Xiao Jun was also shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect that Manager An was so bold. It seemed that he was doomed. He glanced at Xiao Xia and said:
"Go on, what else?"
"My Lord, after the construction of Guanhe Garden was completed, with the permission of the eldest master and the eldest mistress, Manager An bought a group of servants to be placed in the garden to take care of the garden on a daily basis. I went to count them and found that there were a total of 37 maids, old women and servants in the garden, but Manager An reported 70 people every month. Assuming that each person received an average of one or two taels of monthly salary, he would have received an extra 33 taels of silver every month, which would be more than 100 taels of silver in these four months. I heard from the accountant that the monthly salary of the servants in the other gardens outside was shockingly high, and they were all collected by Manager An himself. It is possible that those gardens also had similar situations. I guess that all the silver should have gone into Manager An's pocket. I checked the other two gardens that Manager An handled and found similar situations. One garden received more than 5,000 taels of silver, and the other garden, which was larger than Guanhe Garden, received an extra 10,000 taels of silver. These three gardens alone received an extra 23,000 taels of silver, and the others have not been checked yet."
Xiao Jun stood up, paced back and forth in the study room for a few times, and finally stopped and said:
"Put aside the other gardens for now. Once you have confirmed these few places, bring more people tomorrow morning to secretly arrest Jia the foreman and Sun the shopkeeper for interrogation. Find out where the extra 23,000 taels of silver from the Xiao Mansion went. If it is confirmed that they gave it to Manager An, you will take my name card and send them directly to the government, and ask the government to come to the Xiao Mansion to arrest them."
"This matter involves serious matters. Second Master, should you report it to the eldest master first and then deal with it? Steward An has a special bond with the old lady, the eldest master, and the eldest wife. I'm afraid the eldest master will not let Steward An see the official just for 180,000 taels of silver. This is one reason. Second, I have been thinking these past few days that it is impossible for Steward An to be so bold. Who knows who Steward An might have given the silver to? The foreign affairs that Steward An handled were all highly recommended by the eldest wife."
There was something behind Xiao Xia's words. He had always guessed that the First Wife also had a share of the money that Manager An embezzled. However, the First Wife was the Second Master's biological mother and the mistress of the household. He couldn't say this without real evidence. But if his guess was right and the First Wife was really involved, and if Manager An was allowed to see the official without prior notice, the consequences would be very serious.
To put it bluntly, what Xiao Jun did was extremely unfilial. If the first wife really lost face, the mother and son might even fall out over this matter. That's why he reminded the second master in a subtle way, hoping that he would understand the seriousness of the matter and not act rashly.
How could Xiao Jun not understand what Xiao Xia meant, but he thought about more. 20,000 taels of silver seemed like a large amount, but it was just a drop in the bucket for the Xiao family. If he really wanted to avenge his father, considering his father's affection for Manager An, and his mother's fuss, the matter would surely be left unresolved. At most, he would be punished and the embezzled silver would be recovered, and Xiao An would still be the manager of the Xiao family.
But it was different when he met the officials. According to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, embezzling 20,000 yuan of government silver was punishable by death. If his mother really had a share of the 20,000 yuan, then Manager An knew it well. If he admitted it himself, his mother would definitely protect him and find a way to save him. But if he betrayed his mother and damaged her dignity, his father and mother would no longer care about their years of friendship and would execute him directly. In order to save his life, Manager An should know what to do.
In any case, he dealt with Xiao An using Lei Ting's methods today without telling his parents. When his parents found out about this, it was too late to make amends. Even if Manager An was saved by his mother, he was at least exiled to a foreign land, which also served as a way to vent Xier's anger. As for his mother being embarrassed, it was not because he was unfilial. When he realized that his mother was involved in corruption, he felt a little disappointed with her. His mother's actions had shaken the image of a loving mother that had been engraved in his heart since childhood.
After thinking for a long time, he looked up and said to Xiao Xia:
"Just do as I say. Remember a few points. First, when you catch those two people, you must be ruthless and quick. You must be resolute and decisive. You must not let Steward An get the news and seek protection from the first wife in advance to avoid unnecessary trouble. Second, you must bypass the first master and the first wife in this matter. You must not let them smell anything in advance. Third, once the two people admit that they gave the extra money to Steward An and have them sign An's seal, you can directly take my name card and send them to see the officials, and ask the government to come to the Xiao Mansion to arrest them. At the same time notify me, and I will take Steward An to look for him first so that the government can arrest him."
When Xiao Xia heard what the Second Master said, he fell to his knees and begged:
"Second Master, Steward An cannot be touched. Not to mention that he has been with the old lady since he was a child, the old lady will protect him first. The eldest master was raised by Steward An, so the relationship is different from that of others. What's more, the eldest lady may... Please think twice, it would be bad to hurt family ties for this."
After hearing what Xiao Xia said, the second master's face turned cold and he said coldly:
"It's nothing bad, you can go down."
