Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2823 Master Qingsong 41.0
"Wait, wait!" Merlin interrupted their conversation, looking puzzled. "I didn't quite understand what you were saying. The Ma family was set up in the first place, so how did they suddenly go from being victims to perpetrators?"

“You obviously weren’t listening carefully, but don’t worry, I’ll help you sort it out.” Jin Miaomiao patted Mei Lin’s arm. “The Ma family was indeed set up in Ma Xin’s case; they are the victims. But they also benefited from it. They used this case to prove themselves. People from the Ma family are not swindlers; they have real skills. It’s just that their attitude was bad, that’s all.”

“Hmm, I understand now. Actually, they used this case to get their colleagues in Huzhou to vouch for them, right?” Seeing Jin Miaomiao nod, Mei Lin shrugged. “Isn’t this the end of it? What they should do is improve their attitude and not let people misunderstand them in the future.”

“If they had thought that way, then what happened later wouldn’t have happened.” Jin Miaomiao sighed. “The Ma family is considered a prominent family in the area. They own very large shops, and their main clients are high-ranking officials and famous merchants. It’s really not easy for ordinary people to hire them, and they are unwilling to lower their status.”

"Hasn't Ma Xin been invited?"

"Thinking about it now, someone in the Dark Fragrance Path must have pulled some strings for him; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find the Ma family." Jin Miaomiao looked at Song Yaojia. "Right?"

"That's about it." Song Yaojia nodded. "It's truly an exception that Ma Xin was able to invite someone from the Ma family."

"But it was this exception that made them see a business opportunity?"

“Yes!” Jin Miaomiao sighed. “They feel that in addition to serving those who are rich and powerful, they also need to pay attention to those things that they used to think were unimportant. And these people can help them open up a new path, a path to make money quickly.”

"So, in other words, they're actually starting to plan to make money off the ordinary people they used to look down on, right?"

“That’s right.” Jin Miaomiao looked at Merlin’s disgusted expression and couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t be so disgusted. It’s only human nature, right? The richer people are, the more they love making money.”

"They looked down on us before, but now they're all sidling up to us. How shameless," Merlin scoffed. "But even so, they can't really be considered liars."

“They have many large shops, and with so many disciples in one family, it’s normal for their abilities to vary, right? There are those with exceptional abilities and talents, those who are neither the best nor the worst, and those who are just average at best and simply coast along.” Song Yaojia chuckled. “Except for those who are just coasting along, none of the others are frauds, right?”

“So,” Merlin thought for a moment, “they want to find jobs for those who are just coasting along, so they can go out and support themselves, and put those ordinary people they used to look down on in charge, right?” She sighed softly, “Won’t this ruin their reputation?”

“Of course not.” Shen Cha shook her head gently. “In the beginning, they will definitely have experienced people guide them, and they will slowly make a name for themselves before considering other things. Moreover, they must have made some adjustments within the family before that.”

"Are you adjusting the personnel?"

“That’s right!” Song Yaojia snapped her fingers. “I heard that in families like theirs, jobs are divided into different grades.”

"Huh?" Jin Miaomiao blinked. "Royal relatives, members of the imperial family, meritorious officials and loyal ministers are in the first class? Merchants are in the first class, and ordinary people are in the second class?"

"That's a rough breakdown. There are probably further subdivisions within them, but that's irrelevant to us," Song Yaojia smiled. "The group that Master Qingsong and Gongsun Yue uprooted included about ten people who were originally dealing with merchants. They came here to run errands after an internal reorganization. You could say these ten or so people are the core of this group." "They're not exactly swindlers, right? They're quite capable."

"I do have some skills, but not many; I'm somewhere in the middle." Song Yaojia smiled. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been assigned to lead those thugs, right?"

“I understand now.” Merlin nodded. “It’s a mix of truth and falsehood, right? Their reputation is also a mix of praise and criticism, right? Some people say they are capable, while others say they are frauds. They don’t argue. This kind of reputation is what they need most.”

“Yes, so by the time they ran into Master Qingsong and Gongsun Yue, they had already become quite powerful.” Song Yaojia thought for a moment, then looked at Meilin and asked, “Is there anything else you don’t understand?”

“There’s one last one.” Merlin held up one finger. “Your Highness, how did the Ding family get involved?”

"Good question!" Song Yaojia gave Meilin an approving look. "The Ma family's changes could not be kept secret from their biggest partner and in-laws. The Gong family found out quickly and demanded a reasonable explanation from the Ma family."

"The Gong family discovered it themselves?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “The Ma family was already prepared and wanted to make a name for themselves before talking to the Gong family. But the Gong family has many eyes, and they knew as soon as the Ma family made a move. So, they also wanted to get involved. At this time, the Ding family had already become in-laws with the Gong family, and they were also dragged into the matter by the Gong family.”

"The Gong family dragged the Ding family into this mess simply so they'd have an extra way out if things came to a head. After all, they're the Empress's family; they'd always leave themselves a way out." Shen Cha sighed softly, looking at Song Yaojia. "The late Empress Dowager intervened in this case just because it involved the royal family and Empress Ding? That can't be right, can it?"

"Not only that, because the same problem has also occurred on the side of the late Empress Dowager's maternal family."

"Did they go to Yangzhou and cause a ruckus?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “And it even resulted in a murder.”

"Another murder case?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "This time, at least it wasn't a setup, was it?"

“Yes, this time they made the move.” Song Yaojia sighed and said, “The victim is related to the late Empress Dowager, she is her cousin, but they are beyond the fifth degree of kinship. There was a period of great unrest in that cousin’s family. The maids and servants in the family mentioned that they saw a white shadow passing by in the middle of the night. At first, the Empress Dowager’s cousin did not pay attention to it, until someone in the family was frightened, then he began to take it seriously.”

"Taking it seriously means hiring a conman?" Shen Cha frowned slightly. "Regardless of how distant the relationship is, he's still the late Empress Dowager's cousin. Surely it's not worth hiring this conman gang from the Ma family?"

"Although the fraud gang initially targeted the needs of ordinary people, once they gained a reputation, they became extremely rare and expensive, just like other members of the Ma family, and very difficult to access."