I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 13 Closing the shop

The door of the storehouse in Duke Wei's mansion burst open.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue divided the work and cooperated with each other. Some checked gold, silver and jewelry, some checked toys, calligraphy and paintings, and some checked farms and shops.

Check the belongings one by one and pack them after ensuring they are correct.

The officers from the Wucheng Bingmasi worked in pairs to lift the boxes and load them onto the cart.

The first car was full and left, and the next car followed, and the huge convoy stretched out endlessly.

*****
On Zhengyang Street, the clerk in the grain shop yawned lazily.

"Boss, if our grain store doesn't sell grain, how can we do business?"

"What do you know? There are too many people in Luoyang and too little rice. It's winter now, so it's difficult to transport food. The more time passes, the more expensive it will be."

The shopkeeper fiddled with his abacus and said, "In a few days, the price of grain will skyrocket. If we sell the grain we have stored at several times the price, everyone will have to rush to buy it."

If the shop makes good profits, not only can I show off my achievements in front of my wife, but my wallet will also be full, killing two birds with one stone.

The clerk flattered, "The shopkeeper is indeed far-sighted. If he shows his face in front of the lady in the future, he will definitely become a big manager!"

The shopkeeper smiled comfortably.

Seeing the shopkeeper's happiness, the clerk wanted to applaud him a few more times, but then he saw a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar and an official from the Five Cities Military Department enter the grain shop.

"Where is the shopkeeper?"

Upon hearing this, the grain shop owner immediately stepped out from behind the counter, quickly sized up the visitor, and said with a smile, "It's me, you gentlemen. I wonder what business you gentlemen have here?"

The middle-aged man dressed like a scholar replied, "I am the legal advisor of the Luoyang government office. I have come here under the orders of the Lord of the government to repossess the shop and all the goods within."

The shopkeeper restrained his smile and said, "Master, please don't laugh. This grain store belongs to the Duke of Wei's mansion. Your Excellency has no right to control it."

"The property of the Duke of Wei's Mansion?" the lawyer asked back.

"That's right. This is the dowry shop of the wife of Duke Wei. The owner is surnamed An! If you gentlemen want to rob property, you should also consider the Duke's Mansion!" The shopkeeper sneered.

"Hahahahahaha," the lawyer laughed until tears came out. "I haven't heard anything so funny in a long time! What do you think the name of this shop is? An?"

"You are just a servant, so you may be ignorant. But I, your advisor, would like to tell you that this grain shop is indeed the dowry shop of the Duke of Wei's wife, but the surname is not An, but Song!"

"Song!" The shopkeeper was shocked. He was the dowry manager of the An family, so he naturally knew that the late Duke's wife's surname was Song.

The lawyer said, "That's right! It was the dowry from the Duke of Wei's first wife, Mrs. Song. After Mrs. Song passed away, her estate was inherited by the Duke of Wei's eldest daughter. The eldest daughter was kind and had used all of Mrs. Song's dowry to provide relief to disaster victims, including this grain store."

"Please, gentlemen, be careful with the warehouse and move the rice."

Upon hearing this, the officers from the Five Cities Military Department immediately walked towards the warehouse, counted the items lightly, and began to move them out.

Seeing bags of rice being carried away, the shopkeeper was so anxious that he almost fainted. "Sir, sir, please wait a moment while I report to the madam!"

The lawyer stroked his beard and said, "What a joke! I've lived for fifty years, and this is the first time I've heard of the whereabouts of the original wife's property needing to be explained to the second wife."

"After occupying the magpie's nest for so long, it thinks it's its own," he sneered. "No wonder he keeps saying the shop's surname is An. He's so audacious!"

The shopkeeper's eyes went dark.

The mountain of grain attracted many people to gather, and they pointed at the grain store. "Hey, didn't the shopkeeper say there was no grain? How come there is still so much?"

"That's right. I went to buy food this morning, but the guy insisted there was no food left. Who are you kidding? How could such a big store be out of food?"

"I did buy some a couple of days ago. It was thirty-five cents per pound! Too expensive, but my rice jar is empty, so I couldn't bear to buy it."

"Oh, thirty-five cents a pound! This is going to drive poor people like us to death."

"This grain store is such a jerk. They have so much rice and they claim they don't have any. They're trying to kill us."

"Why not do business if you have one?" some people were suspicious.

"Why? They're just hoarding goods!" an elderly man complained. "When the rice at home is gone in a few days, they'll sell it for whatever price they say!"

"This is a blood-soaked bun!"

"Good job! The officials should clean out this shady shop!"

The shopkeeper's legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

The people's discussions reached his ears, and the lawyer quickly came out to clarify, "Fellow villagers, please listen to me."

There were cases almost every day in the Luoyang government office. The prefect never stopped the people from watching when he was in court. As the prefect's most capable assistant, the legal advisor often appeared in court, so the people all recognized him.

Someone brave enough asked directly, "Master Qian, are you raiding this shady shop on the orders of the Lord?"

The master clasped his fists and said in a clear voice, "Fellow villagers, Luoyang has been hit by a snowstorm, and victims are everywhere. Although you haven't been affected by the disaster, you have also suffered greatly. The Luoyang government office has been ordered by His Majesty to collect donations for disaster relief."

"The Fifth Young Lady of Prince Xuan's Mansion and the Eldest Young Lady of the Duke of Wei's Mansion were kind and charitable. They actively responded to the court's call and were the first to donate money and property. They donated their entire dowry and that of their late mother, the Duke of Wei's first wife, to the court for disaster relief. I, under the order of the Lord of the Mansion, have come personally to collect the donated property."

"But I heard that this shop was given as a dowry by Madam An from Duke Wei's Mansion. Does the young lady have the right to donate it?" A young girl in the crowd questioned loudly.

The lawyer explained, "This young lady may have remembered it wrongly. This shop was indeed a dowry for the Duke's wife, but not the current second wife, but the original wife, Mrs. Song."

"This shop's name is clearly written on Madam Song's dowry list, and it's stamped with the Luoyang government seal. It can't be faked."

Seeing the lawyer say this, the people all believed it. However, one person raised a question, "If it is the original wife's dowry, why is it managed by the steward of the second wife's dowry? I also heard that this is the dowry left by the second wife to the second daughter of the Duke's Mansion. Can the original wife's dowry be left to the daughter born to the second wife?"

When these words were spoken, everyone was in an uproar, and some people even confirmed that they had indeed seen the second daughter of the Duke of Wei's mansion come to inspect the shop two days ago.

The shopkeeper slumped on the ground, not knowing how to refute.

The master said leisurely, "Maybe the stepmother remembered it wrongly."

"Master, you can't lie to us common people. What woman can't tell her dowry apart?"

"Exactly, how could this be a mistake? He clearly wanted to take it for himself!"

"How heartless!"

"I heard that as soon as this stepmother came into the family, she drove the original wife's child to the farm, saying it was for her to recuperate! How could someone on the farm, who was starving and lacking food, possibly recover from illness? I think she was just deliberately torturing them!"

"Isn't it? She stayed at the manor for ten years. We finally brought her back and even sent her to Prince Xuan's mansion to bring her back to health! Fortunately, this young lady had a good fortune and was able to bring her back to life. Otherwise, wouldn't she have been a widow?"

(End of this chapter)