The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 69 Let Others Help with the Wedding
Cheng Mian and Shang Mingshu were of the same blood, so he didn't feel Shang Mingshu was being rude at all. He defended her and said, "I wouldn't dare either."

Shi Houqiong's face darkened, and the Shi family members behind him shouted angrily: "What are you talking about here? Where did the Japanese pirates come from in my third uncle's family?"

"Mrs. Shang San, today is the Double Ninth Festival, a big day for ancestor worship. I will treat you with courtesy. If you insist on coming to my house and being rude and presumptuous, don't blame me for ordering people to beat you out of Jiekou Town!" Shi Houqiong also warned coldly.

"The Shi family had Japanese pirates, and it was Mr. Shi who spread the news himself. How could I be rude in saying that?" Shang Mingshu said innocently. "You should know that these Japanese pirates dared to break into Mr. Shi's private garden and kill an official in public. They also broke into the Shi family's old house and seriously injured Mrs. Shi. They were so cruel and unscrupulous. I value my life and dare not enter the Shi family mansion. What's wrong with that?"

"Mrs. Shang San!" Shi Houqiong gritted her teeth, "Are you here deliberately to bring bad luck to my Shi family?"

"No, I'm here to seek justice." Shang Mingshu didn't care about the increasing number of people gathering, and she wasn't afraid that this was the Shi family's territory. "I was rudely driven away in the mountains and even attacked. If it weren't for the skills of Mr. Cheng and me, I'm afraid I would be dead now."

"Miss San is right. These people said with their own mouths that they wanted to leave more unidentified corpses in the wilderness." Cheng Mian stepped forward and blocked Shi Houqiong, who had a bad look on her face, with his tall and slender body.

Shi Houqiong's eyes were sinister. "That is indeed the land I rented. I am a rude servant. If I have offended you two, I will definitely come to your house with gifts and apologize someday."

"Okay, okay. As long as Mr. Shi can prove that this is your vicious dog, Mr. Cheng and I won't bother with it." Shang Mingshu's words were very sharp.

"Mrs. Shang San, your father is a scholar after all. You speak so recklessly. Aren't you afraid that others will criticize your upbringing? It will ruin your father's reputation?" Shi Houqiong wanted to block Shang Mingshu's mouth. Every word he said was harsh to him.

"I call those who want to kill me a vicious dog. What's wrong with that?" Shang Mingshu was surprised. "My upbringing is certainly not as good as Madam Shi's. She calls even a hobbled old man a pariah. At least I only use harsh words against those who hurt me, unlike Madam Shi who insults everyone she dislikes."

"Shang Mingshu!" Shi Qingyu's pretty face was twisted with anger. She wanted to rush up and tear Shang Mingshu's mouth, but was stopped by the maid.

"Mrs. Shi, please be careful. If you fall, your precious little feet will tear the ground in front of your house." Shang Mingshu's eyes fell on Shi Qingyu's three-inch golden lotus.

What Shi Qingyu hated most was her feet. If she had been born in a family of dignitaries where foot binding was considered beautiful, she would have felt superior when she saw women like Shang Mingshu who did not have bound feet, and would have looked down on the vulgarity of Shang Mingshu and the others.

But she happened to be born in a merchant family. Foot binding was practiced in merchants' and commoners' families, but it was rare. She grew up among the ladies of the merchant families and suffered a lot because of foot binding. She seemed like an alien and hated being mentioned the most.

"Shang Mingshu——"

"Third Madam, these are the lease documents you want!" Shi Houqiong raised her hand to stop her daughter from rushing towards her. Just at this moment, the steward took the documents from Mrs. Shi and handed them over.

Shang Mingshu took the document and looked at the date on it. The corners of her lips curled up: "Mr. Shi, I'm afraid this land doesn't belong to you."

"This is an official document, how can it be forged?" Shi Houqiong snatched the document back.

"Official documents cannot be forged, but they can be invalidated." A clear and arrogant voice interrupted.

Shang Mingshu turned around and faced Shang Zishu, who had been revealed by the crowd.

"I arrived in time." There were sweat stains on Shang Zishu's forehead. When Shang Mingshu went down the mountain, she ordered He Sui to go down the mountain quickly to invite Shang Zishu, and asked her to find Shang Zishu and come over as soon as possible.

"Just in time." Shang Zishu squeezed her sister's hand and unfolded a document in front of Shi Houqiong: "This is a document drafted by the prefect a month ago when I was in the city. All the land with these tea trees in Huangshan will be leased to the Shang family."

Shi Houqiong looked at the document and saw the date in front of him.

"This is the land of She County..."

"Mr. Shi is mistaken," Shang Zishu interrupted him. "The land I'm leasing isn't limited to She County. It also covers Taiping County, Xiuning County, and Yi County. It's precisely because it involves several counties that I went to the prefectural capital to find the prefect to sign the lease."

"Mrs. Shang's document was signed before Mr. Shi's, and it was signed by the prefectural government. If Mr. Shi has any objections, he can appeal to the government office, and the prefect will make the decision." Cheng Mian compared the documents from both sides and said, "But Mrs. Shang's document has the seals of the county offices involved, including She County. Why did Mr. Gao later issue a copy for Mr. Shi?"

"I'll have to ask Master Gao about this." Shang Mingshu admired Shi Houqiong's expression and glanced at the few people they had brought down from the mountain. "That's the land that my Shang family rented. The Shi family is looking for someone to guard it and even shouting at me to be killed. Mr. Shi's ability to confuse right and wrong is really impressive."

"Mr. Shi not only confuses right and wrong, but also robs people." Shang Zishu followed Shang Mingshu in mocking, "I discovered this new tea tree at the beginning of the year. Even the prefect and the provincial governor can testify to the tea I made. But Mr. Shi said it was discovered by the young master of the Shi family."

"Second sister forgot that Shi Dalang was tricked into falling off a cliff on the mountain. Maybe he discovered it at that time?" Shang Mingshu revealed Shi Guangchao's injuries.

"No wonder you've been sneaking around with me for several days." Shang Zishu crossed her arms.

"This is a misunderstanding. Something must have gone wrong. Since it was Shang's who rented it first, it naturally belongs to Shang's. I will withdraw the people right away." Shi Houqiong held back her anger and said calmly.

"Do I need to say thank you?" Shang Zishu blinked at Shang Mingshu.

"Second Madam is proving her own land. I have never received any gratitude, so there is no need to thank her." Cheng Mian chimed in.

"There is still something going on in the mansion. If you three have nothing to do, please go ahead." Shi Houqiong turned away and went back to the mansion.

Shang Mingshu and Shang Zishu were so angry that they smiled at each other and left with Cheng Mian.

Back at the merchant's old house, Shang Zishu tactfully went in first.

"Did Third Lady deliberately bring me here to climb the mountain today?" Cheng Mian couldn't help but ask.

"I have been planning today's events for a long time. Even without you, I would have taken this step." Shang Mingshu said frankly, "It's just that you came, and I haven't changed my plan."

The new tea trees on the mountain were leaked to Shi Houqiong by Shang Mingshu on purpose, after she got the lease documents from Prefect He shortly after the assassination at the literati gathering.

In She County, she deliberately bypassed County Magistrate Gao and went to find the County Magistrate, the superior's document. As the County Magistrate, he could use the seal when the County Magistrate was not there. He did not tell County Magistrate Gao about this, so County Magistrate Gao would issue another lease document for Shi Houqiong.

She just wanted Shi Houqiong to send someone to help her find more places with such tea trees.

(End of this chapter)