The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 38 A God-given Opportunity
"Second Brother Cheng, Third Brother Cheng." The next day, Cheng She asked her to meet him at the teahouse again. She happily attended the meeting, and Cheng She brought Cheng Mian with him.

"Third Madam." Cheng Mian quickly stood up and returned the greeting with a happy face.

Cheng She had no choice but to follow his brother and return the greeting: "Madam San, please take a seat."

Shang Mingshu sat down with the two brothers. He Sui brought a food box. Cheng Mian's eyes lit up: "What delicious food did the Third Lady prepare?"

"A few snacks to go with tea." He Sui took out a plate and introduced it one by one: "A matcha candy, Yuting cake, Tangguozi, and Longjing rice cake."

The first two are pastries unique to Huizhou Prefecture and are sold in the market. Shang Mingshu made slight improvements based on her own preferences. The last two are not common in Huizhou Prefecture, and Shang Mingshu learned them from the cook who returned home from Shuntian Prefecture.

"Sanniang's cakes are so beautiful that they are as pretty as flowers..." Cheng Mian was amazed. The shape of the Yuting cakes emerging from the wooden flower molds was like brightly colored blooming flowers with a rich fragrance.

The gladioli have various shapes, and the peonies, chrysanthemums, and lotus flowers are all lifelike.

Like Shang Mingshu, Cheng Mian likes the exquisite and gorgeous Yuting Cake and Tang Guozi, while Cheng She prefers the simple and unpretentious Matcha and Longjing Rice Cake, perhaps because these two cakes have a tea flavor.

"I'm here today to see Miss San because I have something to tell you." Cheng She disliked pastries; he wasn't fond of sweets. Shang Mingshu's pastries had a lingering tea flavor, a delicate aroma lingering on his teeth. He unconsciously ate a few more pieces before realizing what was happening. He quickly spoke in a serious tone, "The case of the robbery of a wealthy family in the suburbs is about to be closed. News has come from the capital that the emperor wants to rectify the businesses in the Jiangnan area and stop exploiting them."

"So soon?" Shang Mingshu was a little surprised. She couldn't help but ask, "Could you tell me in detail, Brother Cheng?"

She knew nothing about the court's movements, so she did not reject Shang Jinliang's idea of ​​marrying her into an official family. She knew very well that businessmen must always grasp the court's movements in order to seize the greatest business opportunities.

"Let Sanlang tell you." Cheng She was secretly pulled on the sleeves by his brother, and he looked at him eagerly.

Shang Mingshu turned her gaze to Cheng Mian, who sat upright, "This matter has had many twists and turns. First, the large number of muskets outside Fengyang Prefecture caused panic among the people. The court sent the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple and the Doctor of the Ministry of Justice, who are still on their way. Then the Governor of Shuntian Prefecture found a clue related to the case. It was the 100,000 strings of cash that Shang Shishu gave me, and the bill was issued from my family..."

At this point, Cheng Mian paused, pursing his lips to suppress a delighted smile. He felt that this was also his fate with Shang Mingshu. "Yesterday, my second brother and Uncle Shang were summoned to the government office. Several officials inquired about the origin of the money. The money was given by Uncle Shang. They went to my bank to withdraw the coupons. There were many witnesses. The person Uncle Shang gave the money to was murdered. The person who withdrew the coupons didn't match the code. Moreover, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture conducted a thorough investigation and found that the person who withdrew the coupons was just a servant. The money was returned to the original owner on the spot."

After explaining why he returned the money to Shang Jinliang, Cheng Mian lowered his voice and said, "Mrs. Sanniang, that servant is the servant of Minister Zhao's brother-in-law. Five days ago, a group of Shanxi merchants beat drums in Shuntian Prefecture to protest their grievances, holding up a blood letter, saying that someone was using the name of the court to defraud them of their hard-earned money, and one family was destroyed because of this..."

The conversation stopped there and Shang Mingshu's eyelashes drooped slightly. She didn't expect there was such an important part.

Trade was developed in this dynasty. Merchants whose ancestral home was Huizhou Prefecture were called Hui merchants, and merchants whose ancestral home was Shanxi were called Shanxi merchants.

Some things don't need to be covered up. Everyone in the court knows what's going on. Although His Majesty is obsessed with Taoism, he won't tolerate the corrupt officials in the court so blatantly exploiting the people's wealth. They may even have a group of people who secretly store firearms...

Therefore, the order for rectification was issued to appease the merchants in both places and to deter some restless people.

"Sanniang, during the imperial court's rectification, those sins that could be covered up in the past will now be subject to double punishment." Cheng She suddenly gave a meaningful reminder.

Cheng Mian nodded in agreement: "Mrs. San must inform Uncle Shang Shi to discipline the clansmen and regulate the tea business."

Shang Mingshu glanced at Cheng She imperceptibly. She could tell that Cheng She was not asking her to be careful about her family. It seemed that she had not concealed the matter of Wang's Rice Shop that she asked Shang Wenshu to investigate from Cheng She.

She already had evidence that Wang's Rice Shop was secretly trading large quantities of rice, and was looking for a good opportunity to expose it. Sixty strokes of the cane would be too easy for them.

Isn’t this a godsend opportunity?
Her heart surged with emotion as she thanked the two brothers a few words. She ignored Cheng Mian's wistful expression as he hesitated, wanting to talk to her a little longer, and decisively stood up to say goodbye. Cheng Mian could only watch Shang Mingshu disappear down the long street, then turned and stared at his brother gloomily.

"If it weren't for my brother, I would not give you such a good opportunity." Cheng She reached out and took a piece of Longjing rice cake.

Cheng Mian walked forward silently, quickly put several plates of cakes into the food box that he had not taken away, and left with the food box without saying a word.

It was Cheng She who watched his brother's cold and ruthless back as he walked away.

Suddenly I wondered if I had gone too far.

As soon as he said that, he knew Shang Mingshu would understand. With Shang Mingshu's vengeful nature, she would be eager to make arrangements...

Cheng She ate the cakes bite by bite in silence, then stood up and left with an expressionless face.

Cheng She chased back home and ran into Cheng Qin who was about to go out: "Brother, where is my younger brother?"

"My younger brother just came back to his room with a food box in his arms, and greeted me. He wasn't even willing to open the box to let me take a look." Cheng Qin knew that Cheng She had taken Cheng Mian to see Shang Mingshu, so he winked and asked, "Is this a food box from the Third Lady? Did she have a quarrel with the Third Lady?"

After saying this, he suppressed a frown and said, "It shouldn't be like this. How can a little brother quarrel with the Third Lady?"

If his younger brother insisted on becoming an official, Cheng Qin felt that Cheng Mian would rather be a son-in-law of a businessman. As long as the Third Lady was around, who else could see his face except the Third Lady?

"There was no quarrel, it's just that the third lady came and went in a hurry." Cheng She explained to his brother.

Cheng Qin suddenly understood, and then he admired Sanniang even more: "Sanniang is a woman. We merchants don't care about those red tapes, but it's not appropriate for her to stay with you two brothers for a long time. It can be seen that Sanniang is a person who knows etiquette."

The Cheng family is the most protective of their own people. Everyone in the family knows that Cheng Mian is fond of Shang Mingshu. As long as Shang Mingshu does not burn down the Cheng family ancestral hall or dig up the Cheng family's ancestral graves, Cheng Qin and his wife will find ways to praise her for whatever she does.

Cheng She nodded perfunctorily and headed towards Cheng Mian's yard.

The window of the study was propped open, and Cheng Mian sat behind the desk and began to review his lessons.

The most precious desk in the past, the long study desk where nothing else was allowed except for pens, ink, paper and inkstone, now has two identical food boxes occupying a corner.

When Cheng Mian saw Cheng She, he deliberately turned his back to him.

Cheng She, who had intended to take a look, knocked on the door, but Cheng Mian did not answer.

"Third brother, I'm coming in." Cheng Mian didn't refuse, and Cheng She pushed the door open and walked in.

　First time posting pictures, Huizhou Yuting Cake

　　
　
(End of this chapter)