Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2770 Madam Shi 10.0
They looked at each other, a hint of regret on their faces, and sighed in unison.

Madam Shi, a business prodigy, might not have had her life become a tragedy if she had been placed in a better environment, in a family with a strong sense of family values.

It is often said that human nature is inherently good. When a child is first born into this world, he is like a piece of pure white jade, untouched by the dust of the world, unaware of good and evil, right and wrong, or black and white. How a child becomes depends entirely on how his parents, teachers, and other elders teach him.

Just like Madam Shi, who, in the corrupt atmosphere of the Shi family, slowly transformed from a piece of white jade into a piece of black jade.

Thinking of this, Shen Cha sighed softly and said, "If she hadn't been so insistent on taking a son-in-law as her husband, if someone had stood up to oppose her idea of ​​trafficking young boys and girls, perhaps everything would have been different."

"Oppose?" Xiao Fengqi shrugged. "That's absolutely impossible. In their eyes, this isn't some heinous crime."

“That’s right.” Chu Han nodded. “That time we destroyed Mian and the Tanuki Project, and captured all the core figures of the Shi family, including the head of the Shi family who planned and implemented the Tanuki Project. At the end of the interrogation, we asked him very seriously whether he regretted doing such a thing.”

So what? Do you regret it?

“No.” Chu Han shook his head slightly. “They don’t see anything wrong with it. In their eyes, those people are just commodities that can be bought and sold, with prices clearly marked.”

“This…” Jin Miaomiao sneered, “I actually heard that when I was little. To be precise, apart from those famous aristocratic families, everyone else is just merchandise, including those unknown small families or those families that have to rely on powerful families to survive.” She sighed softly and said, “Back then, the Jin family wasn’t very famous in Jiangnan, but we were still a scholarly family, a family of upright officials. But didn’t we still get schemed against and ruined? It was just because that family that once hated us climbed up to a powerful family and had the ability to frame us, that they used it all against our family.” Seeing that Third Master and Chu Han were both frowning, she smiled, “It’s all in the past. The other party has already received the punishment they deserved.”

"I've heard your master mention this. When your family was in trouble, it was your master who happened to be there and saved you and your siblings, right?"

“What my uncle says is true, that’s exactly what happened.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “Later, when I grew up, I learned that the reason his family hated my family was because my father and uncle refused to help them and wouldn’t allow their disciples to cheat for them, so they held a grudge.”

"To act as an accomplice or to cheat" means...

"Because their family members are all uneducated and incompetent, yet they still wanted to participate in the imperial examinations." Jin Miaomiao glanced at Chu Han. "Our two families aren't exactly respectable aristocratic families; at most, we're just scholars with some years of experience. We don't meet the standards of an aristocratic family, so participating in the imperial examinations isn't a problem for us. But that family, down to my father's generation and mine, were basically all good-for-nothings. When we were studying at the academy, we slept all day and were constantly punished by the teacher, having to bring our parents to the academy to be scolded every day. Later, they realized this couldn't continue, because every time they brought family members home, they would get beaten, so..."

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"The person who went to the academy with my father was also the head of that family later."

"Oh!" Shen Cha nodded. "In other words, bad students want to cheat on tests with good students, but the good students refuse, so they hold a grudge."

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Plus, our families live close by, we’ve known each other for a long time, and we have a pretty good relationship.” Jin Miaomiao spread her hands. “If you ask me, this kind of person is just a born bad seed.” “You can’t say that.” Third Grandfather patted Jin Miaomiao and gave her a warning look. “Don’t talk nonsense, watch your mouth.”

"Yes!" Jin Miaomiao stood up, bowed respectfully three times to the east, muttered a few words, probably apologizing for speaking like that. After finishing the bow, she sat down again and said, "The more you know someone well, the easier it is for them to stab you in the back once they hate you."

“That’s true.” Shen Cha nodded. “These people are ignorant and incompetent, but they have enough patience. They’ve held onto their childhood grudges for so many years.”

"I remember that person's face back then, so smug, like a petty person who had gotten his way." Jin Miaomiao sneered. "However, his family didn't end up well either. Whatever his family did to our family, other families did to them." She raised an eyebrow slightly. "Of course, I must admit that my brother and I were involved in this, it was all for revenge."

"More than that!" Shen Cha chuckled. "After all, it was the Qin family and the Miao family who acted at the same time. Otherwise, not only would we not be able to avenge you, but we might also be bitten back."

"The Miao family?" Xiao Fengqi's ears twitched, and he looked at Shen Cha. "Do you know anyone from the Miao family?"

“We kept in touch when we were kids.” Shen Cha looked at Xiao Fengqi. “Why that expression? Do you know him?”

“The Miao family and the Xiao family are also relatives, not in the way of marriage, but legitimate relatives.” Third Grandfather chuckled. “If you really count it, the current head of the Miao family is Feng Qi’s cousin.”

"Miao and Xiao," Shen Cha nodded. "Their surnames do have some connection, but I've never heard of them before!"

"Because they were afraid of retaliation!" Chu Han stretched and said, "Back then, when the powerful clans in the north were about to be purged, it was the Miao family who tipped them off. Because of this, the Miao family was retaliated against several times, and they eventually disappeared and hid in the mountains for several years to escape."

"So that's how it is. No wonder the Miao people's businesses are all somewhat related to the mountains."

"A large area of ​​mountains and forests outside Yangzhou Prefecture belongs to his family. Anyone who wants to rebuild or repair their house or mansion has to buy things from his family." Chu Han smiled and looked at Xiao Fengqi, "What, is the Miao family related to the Shi family?"

“No, I just remembered that my great-aunt mentioned that she spent some time with Madam Shi when she was about four or five years old.” Xiao Fengqi took the second bowl of duck soup from Xue Mu, thanked him, and continued, “My great-aunt’s father and mother brought her and her brother to Da Xia to visit relatives and discuss business.”

"Visiting relatives?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Xiao Fengqi curiously. "Is it the Miao family?"

“Yes!” Xiao Fengqi nodded. “The first time I met Madam Shi was when the elders of both families took her and the Miao family’s children to Tianxiang Restaurant for a meal. Unfortunately, the two sides met in the lobby of Tianxiang Restaurant.”