The subtle fragrance of cotton needles

Chapter 188 The Manager Must Be Replaced

Tu Ling, Shen and others returned to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion without greeting Tu Song in advance. Tu Song was quite surprised to see them come back, but also very worried. He looked the three of them up and down several times, and only felt relieved when he was sure that nothing had happened in the Xia Mansion.

Tu Song called Tu Xiao into the study room: "How is this going?"

"The Minister and the Second Aunt seized some of my aunt's shop and belongings, falsely claiming that the shop had caught fire and the account books were lost. The belongings were then given away as gifts by the Second Aunt." Tu Xiao found it unbelievable when he said this. They could even come up with such a poor excuse.

Tu Song was not surprised: "Xia Liu is greedy, otherwise she wouldn't have hooked up with Prince Yuan so early. As for the Second Aunt, well, it's not surprising for a concubine to be greedy for money."

"My aunt and mother mean that these things should be taken back."

"Of course. They are greedy, but that doesn't mean our Tu family will satisfy their appetite." Tu Song snorted coldly and then started to deal with business.

"You have been staying in Xia Mansion for a few days. Nothing happened, right?"

Tu Xiao pondered for a moment and said, "On the first night, Xia Jianxiang sent a servant to try to break into Ao Yanxuan, but was caught by Sister Yanxiang."

"Breaking into Ao Yan Xuan at night?" Tu Song frowned immediately, "Is Xia Jianxiang so bold?"

"It should be that no one was behind this. The Minister and the Second Aunt were obviously unaware of this matter. Moreover, we also got a confession from the servant that it was indeed Xia Jianxiang who was behind this."

"What a fool." Tu Song laughed disdainfully, not caring. "What happened next?"

"Later, Sister Yanxiang only asked Xia Jianxiang to apologize and did not pursue the matter. However, Lord Shangshu and Second Auntie should have taught Xia Jianxiang a lesson later."

Tu Song didn't say anything else, just smiled and shook his head.

No matter how reluctant Xia Liu was, he had to think about his future and his reputation with Mo Yuyang.

The account books of those shops were indeed burned by people sent by Yang Jin, so they could not be taken out, but the land deeds were handed over honestly.

As for the items, when Yang Jin was in charge, he did give some away behind Tu Ling's back, but they were all unimportant, and the valuable ones were all kept by Yang Jin.

Even though the item didn't belong to Yang Jin, he really treasured it and was reluctant to give it away.

But since Tu Ling had already guessed that she had hidden it, could she still play dumb?

Xia Liu knew Yang Jin's character and guessed that these things must have been embezzled by Yang Jin.

"Count the things and return them to Tu."

After considering it for two days, Xia Liu finally explained to Yang Jin during dinner.

Yang Jin was originally serving Xia Liu dinner, and now he suddenly heard Xia Liu mention this matter, and he immediately felt unhappy: "Master, what does this mean?"

"Do you really want to let Mrs. Tu brag everywhere that you embezzled her dowry?" Xia Liu certainly didn't want to return it, but he had to be on guard against rumors.

Especially now that Xia Liu has been targeted by many people in the court, he must not give those people any handle.

Yang Jin put down the chopsticks in his hand, his face looked very ugly, but he still insisted: "Give them all back?"

Xia Liu’s attitude was very firm: “Give it back!”

Yang Jin asked about the shop unwillingly: "The shop's account book is gone, and the deed has been returned. What should I do with the revenue?"

"Then don't worry about it. There are so many accidents anyway!"

Although Yang Jin listened to Xia Liu's words, she also had her own little thoughts.

Three days later, Yang Jin brought the items to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Yang Jin did not bring a visiting card when he came, so only Shen and Tu Ling were in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

"Madam, these are all your belongings. We will return what we should return, but some of the small items may hurt Madam's reputation. What the master means is that since Madam was once the mistress of the Xia Mansion, if you are so fussy about it, it will be bad for your reputation and the Xia Mansion."

Yang Jin prepared all the excuses and handled all the things that could not be taken out in the best way.

Tu Ling smiled meaningfully, and now he guessed why Yang Jin didn't hand in the visiting card first and then came: "Your Excellency Shangshu is right, small items are indeed not a big deal, but if other valuables cannot be taken back, I will not agree."

"Of course. It's your dowry after all."

Yang Jin said as he asked someone to bring the things up: "Most of the things have been brought back, but some items have been stored for a long time, some are damaged, and some were lost due to previous accidents. Madam also knows about this."

Unexpectedly, Yang Jin still intended to embezzle Tu Ling's dowry, but these excuses were still reasonable.

Tu Ling did not interrupt Yang Jin. Shen tried to interrupt several times, but was stopped by Tu Ling with his eyes and actions.

Tu Ling took a quick look and found that not much was missing, except for two more expensive items.

"Butler Tu, go and take a look. It's the real thing." Tu Ling picked up a cup of tea and drank it casually.

After receiving the order, Butler Tu immediately went forward to check.

Yang Jin was not panicked and stood there confidently.

Since Yang Jin dared to come and return the money, he didn't think of lying.

Butler Tu went forward to count for a moment, then turned around and saluted Tu Ling and Shen, saying, "Miss, Madam, these are all Miss's dowry."

"Yeah." Tu Ling put down the teacup and started to sort out another matter. "Now that we have finished counting the items, let's talk about the shop."

"I have already explained the matter of the shop to my madam last time. The account books were burned due to a fire." Yang Jin was not at all panicked. Since Xia Liu said so, she would of course do as Xia Liu said.

"Things in life are unpredictable. Some accidents are unavoidable. Madam, don't you know that?"

Tu Ling sneered: "Of course there will be accidents, but I remember that the manager of that shop was replaced by someone from the Yang family a long time ago. I'm afraid I have to take care of this."

There was a hint of viciousness in Yang Jin's eyes.

Unexpectedly, even though she did it so secretly, she was still discovered by Tu Ling.

"When I got married, these shops were managed by my dowry. Although the owner changed later and the shops were given to you by Xia Liu as a property, since I want to divorce, of course I have to check these details."

"Although I have always been in charge of the backyard, I am not confused." Even though Tu Ling was only in charge of the backyard, she was actually raised by the empress dowager. She just didn't want to take charge of things in the past, but that didn't mean she was blind.

"Madam is right." Although Yang Jin wanted to strip Tu Ling of his flesh and blood, he still pretended to agree on his face.

"Since the land deed has been taken back, the manager must be replaced. However, if I change the manager rashly, I won't be able to find someone to take over. It's better to let them continue to work for the time being until I find the right person."

"Second Aunt, you won't be reluctant, right?"

Tu Ling looked superior in Yang Jin's eyes, but Yang Jin had no choice but to agree.

"That's natural."