vrcanaries Chapter 293: Past events
Chapter 293: Past events
Chapter 293: Past Events
A year ago, the Hong family's money exchange was doing quite well and had a good reputation; people trusted the Hong family. The head of the Hong family was also a kind man who often helped the poor, so people outside often heard about the Hong family head's good deeds.
Business gradually improved, but who would have thought that good business would attract envy? One afternoon, a woman came to Hong Family Money Shop with three thousand taels of silver, saying she wanted to deposit the money there. The shopkeeper noticed that the woman had a nice face and was dressed in fine silks and satins, and carefully examined her.
The money lending business is tough; sometimes you'll encounter people who use tricks. So, it's best to remember what customers look like so you can easily find them if anything goes wrong later.
The woman originally said she would come to collect the money in a month, but she came to collect the silver only seven days later, saying that she needed it urgently for household expenses. The shopkeeper didn't think much of it and gave her the silver.
The next day, the south of the city was in an uproar. A woman stood on the bridge by the river, with gleaming silver at her feet. She seemed to be going crazy over something, muttering to herself that she had deposited 10,000 taels of silver in the Hong family's money shop, but when she got it, she found that there was only 3,000. As a woman, she didn't dare to reason with them and could only let it go. A little while later, she cried and said that it was her lifeblood.
A large crowd gathered by the river, discussing the incident. They later discovered that the woman had jumped into the river and disappeared along with the silver. Words can be deadly, and the matter became the talk of the town. Because the incident occurred in the south of the city, while the Hong family's money shop was in the north, the Hong family sent a servant to investigate.
When the servant arrived at the south of the city, he found that everyone had already dispersed, and the woman was nowhere to be seen. From then on, the Hong family's money shop had no business, and even close acquaintances refused to do business with them. The head of the Hong family spent some money to bribe the government, and the matter was thus suppressed.
But the person was dead, and with no one to corroborate the story, the case became a closed one, even though a life had been lost. No one wanted to set foot here anymore, and the people in this alley gradually moved away. Only this shabby money exchange remained.
A month later, the shopkeeper saw the woman who had gone to the money exchange that day in the south of the city. She was dressed in rags and wandered the streets. The shopkeeper was a little surprised to see her, thinking that the woman had long since died and her body had not been found. He was very happy to see the woman and took her back to the money exchange.
The head of the Hong family discussed with her the possibility of her testifying to bring justice to the Hong family. However, the woman knelt before the head of the Hong family and refused to get up, repeatedly kowtowing and begging the wealthy man Hong to let her go. From the woman, it was learned that her son, who worked as a servant in the Li household, had made a mistake, and the Ji household was going to send him to the authorities.
The woman went to the Ji family to plead for mercy. The Ji family patriarch asked her to do one thing and then wouldn't hold her son accountable, which she immediately agreed to. This incident later led to the decline of the Hong family's money exchange business. Seeing the woman's pitiful state, the Hong family head didn't pursue the matter and allowed her to leave the money exchange.
Several days later, on the street, the shopkeeper saw the woman who had been run over by a carriage. The shopkeeper went over to help her up, but the woman clung to him tightly and uttered three words, "Ji Xiangyang," before dying.
Seeing her pitiful state, Master Hong instructed the shopkeeper to give the woman a proper burial. Afterwards, whenever Master Hong encountered the Ji family, a surge of resentment rose within him. He hated the Ji family for treating human life like a game, but he was powerless to defeat Ji Xiangyang, a man of unfathomable cunning. He had no choice but to give up, and from then on, he treated the entire Ji family with contempt.
"That's why the shopkeeper looked hostile when he heard my surname was Ji," Ji Meiqing said calmly after hearing the whole story.
"Miss Ji, I'm so sorry, we've been negligent," Master Hong said apologetically.
"I am the second daughter of the Ji family, the one that's been the talk of the town," Ji Meiqing said without any concealment. Master Hong didn't react much. He was aware of the rumors. Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet Ji Xiangyang wanted to kill his own flesh and blood. The second daughter of the Ji family had already severed ties with the Ji family.
Hearing Ji Meiqing's frankness and lack of concealment, one instantly had no reason to believe her.
And so, the two parties reached an agreement: five hundred taels, no matter how long it took. They went to the front hall, wrote a contract, and signed it, thus concluding the matter.
Just as Ji Meiqing was about to hand over the silver in her bundle to the shopkeeper, someone suddenly came in and said, "I don't agree to this deal." The person was Ji Xiangyang, who was already out of breath as he got off the carriage.
"Oh? What gives you the right to decide my affairs?" Ji Meiqing's cold gaze swept over Ji Xiangyang, who still trembled uncontrollably.
"Just because your surname is Ji," Ji Xiangyang said without batting an eye, which made Ji Meiqing find it somewhat amusing.
"Don't forget, I'm no longer a member of the Ji family," Ji Meiqing said calmly, though her anger was burning inside.
"As long as your surname is Ji, you are a member of the Ji family, and your things naturally belong to the Ji family..." Before he could finish speaking, Ji Xiangyang was thrown out of the bank by Lu Yu. Ji Xiangyang continued to curse outside the door, but Ji Meiqing remained unmoved. In her opinion, a dog that barks should be thrown out.
After handing the silver to the shopkeeper, Ji Meiqing left the money exchange. Ji Xiangyang was still lingering at the door, which made Ji Meiqing a little angry, but she pretended not to see him and walked away.
"Ji Meiqing, you little bitch, you ungrateful wretch..." Ji Xiangyang continued hurling insults from behind, but Ji Meiqing didn't stop walking. Lu Yu, standing nearby, used his light-footed skill to stand in front of him, a short knife pressed against his neck. Ji Xiangyang, a coward who feared death, was wealthy and didn't want to die before enjoying his rich life. He wisely shut his mouth.
Lu Yu whispered in his ear, "If you keep barking like a dog, I'll sew your mouth shut myself." Lu Yu spoke in an icy tone. Ji Xiangyang looked at Lu Yu as if he were a demon from hell, trembling so much that he didn't dare to say a word.
Lu Yu removed the knife from Ji Xiangyang's neck, twisted his hands behind his back with a snap, and Ji Xiangyang screamed in pain, but dared not utter a sound. Lu Yu threw Ji Xiangyang to the ground, kicked him, and chased after Ji Meiqing in the direction she had left.
Ji Xiangyang stared in the direction Lu Yu had left, ignoring the pain of his dislocated hand, his grip clenched tightly, his eyes filled with hatred. He vowed to make them all die a horrible death, to make them pay a terrible price for everything he had suffered. Seeing Ji Xiangyang's miserable state, the wealthy man Hong and the manager of the money exchange felt a sense of relief, finally able to vent their anger.