Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 30 Suspicion
Ye Youyu saw that Wu Chengjian had made up his mind, but thought that if she opposed this matter without any compromise, there would be rifts between Wu Chengjian and Cai Qiaozhu, and between the first and third houses.
After all, she was Ye Dalin's daughter. Although she inherited her mother's kindness and was not as utilitarian as Ye Dalin, she inherited Ye Dalin's ability. The Ye family had never had an environment of "harmony brings prosperity". If it was external or internal calculations, she could probably come up with seven or eight strategies, but for this kind of family affairs, the important thing was how to "harmonize" rather than how to "win", which was what Ye Youyu was not good at. Therefore, after worrying for a whole night, she still couldn't come up with a good solution.
The next morning, Wu Chengjian came to Lirongyuan.
Cai Qiaozhu did not sleep well the previous night, but she got up very early today and was full of energy. She was cutting wedding paper and stopped scissors when she saw Wu Chengjian coming. She called out happily, "Haoguan." She said to Lianqiao, "Go and call Guang'er to see Third Uncle."
Wu Chengjian said: "No need, I'll have a chat with my sister-in-law."
Cai Qiaozhu nodded, let Lianqiao and Bitao go out first, and asked, "You came so early, have you had breakfast?"
Old Mrs. Wu had passed away for many years. She was like a sister-in-law to her, so she was used to asking about her daily life. Wu Chengjian felt uneasy and for a moment, he couldn't say some of the tough words he had planned.
"have eaten."
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Early this morning, my mother sent over the date for the inspection." She put down the paper-cut, took out a piece of yellow paper, and handed it to Wu Chengjian: "Officer Hao, take a look."
Wu Chengjian glanced at it and saw four or five dates on it, with a comment under each date, the earliest of which was tomorrow. Although Wu Chengjian had seen yesterday that Cai Qiaozhu attached great importance to this matter, he did not expect her to be so enthusiastic. However, the more this was the case, the more he could not back down.
After all, he had experienced two life and death experiences, so Wu Chengjian hardened his heart and said, "This ancestral hall will not be opened."
Cai Qiaozhu's hand trembled twice before she put down the yellow paper, and she froze there, as if she didn't hear clearly, and asked: "What?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Guang'er, I will find a good opportunity and a reason to return this position to you..."
Cai Qiaozhu's mind went blank for a moment. When she heard a clang, she realized that she had lost her composure. When she came to her senses, she found that the coffee table in front of her had fallen over. Wu Liu and Wu Qi outside the door stuck their heads inside and then retracted them at the same time.
Cai Qiaozhu was a well-known virtuous person in Manxiguan. She had almost never lost her temper in her life, so when she suddenly reacted like this, not only Wu Chengjian was surprised, but even she was shocked. She took two deep breaths, calmed herself, and asked, "Hao Guan...you are angry with me, angry that I didn't discuss this with you, right?"
Yesterday, Wu Liu was tricked by Wu Qi and he told Cai Qiaozhu when he got back. Cai Qiaozhu felt guilty when she first heard it, but then she thought that the matter would be exposed anyway, so she just let it go. When she met Wu Chengjian today, she was prepared for him to question her, but she didn't expect that Wu Chengjian would dismiss Guang'er from his official position without saying a word!
In fact, no matter how angry Wu Chengjian was with her, Cai Qiaozhu felt that there was something wrong with her and she shouldn't have hidden it from Wu Chengjian. After all, Wu Chengjian was her uncle and the head of the family, so she would have to bear the blame if he wanted to.
But if Guang'er's official position were to be dismissed... that would affect her son's future. Cai Qiaozhu could tolerate anything, but she could never tolerate her son's affairs.
"Sister-in-law..." Wu Chengjian said, "I am a little annoyed about this, but I want Guang'er to resign from this official position, not for this, but for this official position. You can't take it!"
"Can't have it? Why?" Cai Qiaozhu said sternly, and her voice became higher unconsciously.
It is said that although a woman is weak, she is strong as a mother. Wu Chengjian had never seen his sister-in-law like this before. He was a little confused for a moment, but he managed to calm down and said, "How did Guang'er get this official position? Sister-in-law, do you know?"
Cai Qiaozhu frowned slightly.
It was Cai Shiqun and his wife who suggested that Guang'er get an official position. There seemed to be a middleman involved behind the scenes, as well as a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Personnel in the capital who did not want to reveal his name, but Cai Qiaozhu only knew this much - she was not a stupid person, but she had lived in the inner house all her life, and matters in the outside world had never been the focus of her attention. Occasionally, if something happened, the brothers Wu Chengjun and Wu Chengjian would take care of it before it bothered her. Therefore, she was good at taking care of her family but not good at external affairs. When asked by Wu Chengjian about it, she just remained silent.
Wu Chengjian said, "Sister-in-law, the one who gave you this idea was Uncle Cai, right? Then do you know who the middleman Uncle Cai found was? He found Wei Laoshi."
Wei Laoshi and the Cai family of Daxing Street are relatives, so Cai Qiaozhu also knows this person: "So what?"
Wu Chengjian said: "In addition to being a relative of the Cai family, Wei Laoshi is also a relative of the Pan family. He is the cousin of the seventh concubine of the old man of the Pan family."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "So what?"
Wu Chengjian said: "This man has such a connection with the Pan family, so there is no guarantee that his idea was proposed by Qi Guan. What benefit can Qi Guan's idea bring to our Wu family!"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Are you saying that Qi Guan wants to deal with our Wu family?"
"Humph!" Wu Chengjian said, "Now that Pan and Wu are both in power, Qi Guan must be unwilling to accept this. For the Pan family, it would be best if the Wu family splits up - as long as the Wu family splits up, the Pan family will be the only one in power again within ten years. Not only that, if my uncle and I become enemies and fall into internal strife, who knows, our family's fortunes may plummet from then on."
Cai Qiaozhu said: "Do you have any evidence or is it just your guess?"
Wu Chengjian remained silent.
Cai Qiaozhu said, "On Xiguan Street, who among the Thirteen Hongs is not a distant relative? If everyone is so on guard, no one will be able to interact with each other."
Wu Chengjian said, "Qi Guan used Wei Laoshi to influence Uncle Cai and Aunt Cai, and then used Uncle Cai and Aunt Cai to influence Sister-in-law, and then interfered with our Wu family. This is not the first time. Sister-in-law, do you still remember that I was imprisoned two years ago? When you told me about that, didn't Uncle Cai and Aunt Cai say something to you? If so, you can ask later if it was also Wei Laoshi's idea! If I had listened to this idea and switched sides, what would have happened to our Wu family today - Sister-in-law, look at the ending of Zhu Gui, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi who was just forced to leave!"
Cai Qiaozhu's heart was slightly shaken.
Wu Chengjian and Zhou Yijin did not mention the burning of Thirteen Hongs afterwards - not even to their family members, not even to Wu Guoying. Wu Guoying had a keen eye and guessed it but did not reveal it, so Cai Qiaozhu was not completely clear about the operation of that round. When Wu Chengjian brought up the old incident, she could not help but secretly feel shocked and said, "Are you saying that Wei Laoshi has evil intentions? He wants to harm our Wu family?"
"He is just a small character, a middleman." Wu Chengjian said: "He just takes money to do the work. The one who really harbors evil intentions is the person behind him."
"The person behind this? Pan Youjie?" Cai Qiaozhu said, "But no matter how I look at this matter, I can't see how it can be bad for our Wu family."
Wu Chengjian said, "Guang'er got the position of Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Revenue this time. Sister-in-law, do you know what kind of position this is? Qi Guan inherited the influence of Yuehai Jin'ao, and he is also the largest guarantor of the Thirteen Hongs. He has flourished and has a deep foundation. After so many years, he has only been given a fifth-rank doctor. I have survived twice in a row, breaking the situation and setting up a situation, and dragged the Wu family to the point of competing with the Pan family. It has been reported to the emperor, but now he is only a fifth-rank doctor. In addition to the two of us, is there a third person who has been given an official position in the Thirteen Hongs? No! Guang'er is not even an adult yet. A child with no merit or virtue, he got a fifth-rank Yuanwailang, which is second only to the two of us, in just a few months. Just looking at the official position, he is the third person in the entire Xiguan. Is this normal?"
If it was Wu Guoying, he would have waved his hand and stopped asking questions, but Cai Qiaozhu asked, "Then... is there something wrong with this official position?"
Wu Chengjian said: "I have sent people to Beijing to investigate. It is impossible to get a reply in ten days or half a month, but from various clues, it seems that the person who approved this matter was most likely Heshen."
"He Zhongtang!" Cai Qiaozhu said with surprise and delight, "Isn't this a good thing? People in the streets are saying that he is the second emperor. If he gets on board He Zhongtang's big ship, Guang'er will have a bright future."
Wu Chengjian's chest was choked by Cai Qiaozhu's words, but he still held back and said, "As the saying goes: Flowers don't stay red forever, people don't stay good forever. Things will turn around when they reach their extremes, and prosperity will eventually decline. How can Heshen, a minister, be so arrogant and domineering? If Guang'er approaches him at this time, if something happens to Heshen, Guang'er will definitely be implicated."
Cai Qiaozhu frowned. Wu Chengjian's statement was also what everyone said when Emperor Jiaqing first ascended the throne, so everyone rushed to flatter Zhu Gui. What was the result? The court was harmonious, but Zhu Gui was demoted. Since then, two voices have emerged:
One theory is that the relationship between He Zhongtang and the new emperor is definitely not what the outside world has said. In which dynasty did the old and new emperors have no old ministers? Some of them are like the old ministers who are dismissed as soon as the new emperor comes to power, but some are like the old ministers who are dismissed as soon as the new emperor comes to power. However, some are like the old ministers who are dismissed as soon as the new emperor comes to power because the new emperor lacks prestige and has to rely on the old ministers to suppress the situation. Now it seems that He Zhongtang is obviously the second type.
Another voice sneered and said, "Just wait and see. The emperor is just enduring it. After a period of endurance, he will naturally deal with Heshen."
The two voices were originally equally powerful in the first year of Jiaqing, but one month passed, three months passed, half a year passed, a year passed... and in the blink of an eye it was the third year of Jiaqing, Heshen and the adults were still sitting firmly in Beijing, so the second voice was slowly drowned out by the first.
Cai Qiaozhu originally tended to believe the second statement and was worried about Wu Chengjian. However, as time went by, she felt that the first statement was correct. She thought that if not, how could her third uncle, who was so smart, still cling to Heshen?
As a result, Wu Chengjian brought up the second theory in order to convince her to give up Guang'er's position. She frowned again and said, "If Third Uncle thinks that Heshen will fall and Guang'er will be implicated, then why don't you resign? Your official title also came from Heshen."
"This, this..." Wu Chengjian was speechless for a moment - it was not that he could not refute, but Cai Qiaozhu's words were like a basin of cold water poured down from the top of his head, so cold that his heart almost cramped!
My sister-in-law is suspicious of him!
My sister-in-law is suspicious of him!
He lost his mother when he was young, and Cai Qiaozhu often controlled his daily life under the order of her husband. Wu Chengjian also lied to her many times, but those were all unimportant things like coming home late and sleeping in the willows and flowers. After being exposed, he let his sister-in-law scold and punish him. There was no suspicion between the uncle and the sister-in-law. When did they ever suspect each other in serious matters? No!
How could my sister-in-law doubt my intentions when I didn't let Guang'er get involved with Heshen? How could she!
Cai Qiaozhu saw that Wu Chengjian was speechless and thought that he was stumped by her question, completely unaware that Wu Chengjian's heart was aching at this moment.
