Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2850 Master Qingsong 68.0
"Your Highness means," Jin Miaomiao thought for a moment, "that one hundred taels is simply not enough for Gong Sheng and Gong Wu, and they want more?"

That's exactly what I mean.

"Aren't their appetites a bit too big?" Jin Miaomiao curled her lips in disdain. "So, what are they planning to do? Wait until the day they come to perform the ritual, then observe the situation on the spot and figure out where they can swindle some more money?"

"Basically the same." Song Yaojia nodded. "These kinds of people do this kind of business, they have no morals to speak of, so don't be so overly respectful of them."

“That’s true. These kinds of swindlers don’t just fool people once; they fool them multiple times.” Jin Miaomiao nodded in agreement. “But is this their idea, or the idea of ​​the other people in the Gong and Ma families?”

"I think so. The suggestion was made by someone else, but they didn't object."

"No objection means they agree, right?" Jin Miaomiao snorted and rolled her eyes. "No objection means they think the same way. They really are insatiable, willing to risk their lives for money."

"Like I said, that's exactly what they do; they value money more than their own lives." Song Yaojia sighed. "After they were arrested, they actually breathed a sigh of relief, as if a weight had finally been lifted from their hearts. I asked my uncle why he reacted that way, and he said..."

“Because they’re free.” Shen Cha interrupted Song Yaojia before she could finish her sentence, saying, “Whether it’s the Gong family, the Ma family, or other swindlers, their nature isn’t necessarily to be swindlers; most of them are forced into it.”

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “There’s always a reason why someone is pitiful, but conversely, there’s also a reason why these people are pitiful. Even though Gong Sheng is the nephew of the Gong family head, there are too many nephews. He’s not the most outstanding or the most valued one, and his parents aren’t valued either, so…” He spread his hands, “he’s practically dispensable. He said that if he didn’t do these things, not only would the other members of the clan look down on his family, but even the servants would boss them around. But because he did these things, his parents, his younger siblings, and he’ll receive preferential treatment. They’ll have clothes and shoes for all four seasons every year, and they’ll receive their due monthly allowances, which won’t be taken by the wicked servants. They’ll have fresh meals, fruits, vegetables, and snacks every day. Things that look like they’ve been sitting out for days, or that look like leftovers, will never appear in their yard again. His parents, brothers, and sisters will also move to a better-equipped yard. For these reasons, even if he’s unwilling, he has to do it. After all, the Gong family has a large population; if he doesn’t do it, there are plenty of others who will.”

"In other words, when he came out to do these things, his parents and his siblings were left in the Gong family as hostages. If he resisted in any way, his parents and siblings would fall from the clouds to the mud."

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia nodded to Jin Miaomiao. “It’s not just him who’s in this situation. Everyone who was arrested that time, especially big families like Gong Ma, is in almost the same situation. According to them, big families don’t support idlers.”

"They really are ruthless, showing no mercy even to their own people." Jin Miaomiao shook her head helplessly. "It's better to destroy a family like that as soon as possible, so that so many people don't have to suffer because of a family head like that, right?"

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia sighed and continued, “However, my uncle was very interested in their plan to trick Gongsun Yue and Master Qingsong. He specifically asked the guards who were keeping an eye on them what they were up to.”

"What kind of plan could they possibly have?" Merlin rolled his eyes. "They'd just have to deal with whatever comes their way!"

“It really isn’t.” Song Yaojia held up a finger and waved it at Meilin. “Gong Sheng told Gong Wu to tell those thugs who were keeping watch in Jinyangfang not to just keep watch for nothing these days, but to mainly gather information about this family. For example, what do these two people do today? How many people are in the family? What do the family members do? What kind of business do they have? Are these businesses profitable?”

"They seem to know quite a lot about it."

"Don't rush, it's not over yet!"

"Anything else?" "Yes!" Song Yaojia couldn't help but laugh when she saw Jin Miaomiao and Meilin's shocked expressions. "We also need to find out who these two people, Gongsun Yue and Master Qingsong, have been deeply involved with these past few days. By 'deeply involved,' I don't mean the kind of people you go shopping with or chat with small vendors. It means people you can tell have a good relationship with and get along well with. We need to see what we can find out about the people who are close to these two. If they're not afraid of hard work, they can visit a few more places."

"They've thought of everything. They not only want to make money off Gongsun Yue and my advisor, but also off their relatives and friends."

"It's not over yet."

"Not over yet?" Merlin exclaimed in surprise. "What other dirty tricks have they come up with?"

"Because some people are worried that once Gongsun Yue and Master Qingsong come to their senses, they might change their minds."

"Change their minds?" Jin Miaomiao understood. "That means they might come to their senses and realize they've been tricked, right?"

"Yes, they suggested that if these two people were to go out, they should deliberately create some minor troubles, such as a vase falling on their heads or being startled by a carriage. These are all controllable. In short, they wanted to make these two people believe that they were indeed starting to have bad luck and were going downhill, just like Gong Sheng said, so that they wouldn't regret it and leave them with nothing."

"I was really looking forward to this for nothing," Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes. "What's the difference between this and going to the She family to play tricks? Aren't they exactly the same? That's all they're capable of."

"Sigh, aren't these scammers always using the same tricks? It's just the same old thing in a different guise." Shen Cha smiled. "But, were Gongsun Yue and Master Qingsong already aware of their schemes?"

"Of course, these guards aren't just keeping watch for nothing. They'll naturally write down all the plans of the Gong and Ma families and send them to Gongsun Yue. Not only that, Jin Yi from the Ministry of Justice, Ning Zhou and Yan Chen from the Court of Judicial Review also have the same record."

"Does Your Highness mean that the three officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review have also gotten involved?"

“Of course.” Song Yaojia nodded. “This case just happens to fall under their jurisdiction, so it’s a good achievement for them. If they don’t care, it would be a dereliction of duty on their part.”

"But if someone is watching from the outside, wouldn't this kind of interaction be inconvenient?"

“No, they won’t know what happened here.” Song Yaojia stood up and walked to Jin Miaomiao’s side. “For example, you are Gongsun Yue, Xiao Linzi is Jin Yi, next to Jin Yi is Ning Zhou, and next to Ning Zhou is Yan Chen. These houses are actually next to each other. And the walls connecting these houses all have a small gate like the Duke’s Mansion and the Marquis’s Mansion, which allows the owners of these houses to come and go freely without being known by outsiders.”

"Huh?" Jin Miaomiao was taken aback by Song Yaojia's words. "Is Gongsun Yue really that close to these people? Didn't they say he doesn't come to this house often?"

"This door," Shen Cha touched her chin somewhat embarrassedly, "wasn't installed by any of them; it was already there in the house."