eurekapd Chapter 93 Collecting Debts
Chapter 93 Collecting Debts
Qiao Qingshu looked around the room and smiled slowly.
"Cousin, you can't stay in Lanxiang Pavilion anymore."
Liu Wan'er was startled, straightened up, and exclaimed.
"Why! Why are you kicking me out of Lanxiang Pavilion?"
Qiao Qingshu stepped forward and reached out to touch the brocade bed curtains on the carved bed. Xu Biyun and her daughter had been living such a life of luxury for decades, and now it was time to take it back.
She grabbed the curtains and ripped them hard, the sound of tearing fabric piercing her eardrums.
Qiao Qingshu's voice, as cold as ice, rang out.
"Liu Wan'er, are you worthy?"
"I'm telling you clearly today, your years of wealth and luxury in the Qiao family have come to an end!"
"Someone come here!"
A group of soldiers rushed in, lifted Liu Wan'er off the bed, and were about to take her away.
Liu Wan'er screamed in terror.
"Ah!! What are you doing, arresting people like this! Let me go!"
Qiao Qingshu approached and spoke slowly.
“Cousin, stop yelling. We’ve found witnesses to your accusation that Mother Zhou poisoned the village. Someone saw you with their own eyes. You can’t escape now. Go to jail.”
Liu Wan'er's eyes flashed with resentment as she angrily yelled at her.
"Why are you arresting me like this? I want to see the old lady! I want to see the second master!"
"You can't just arrest me like this!"
The old lady and the second master are currently having a mother-son feud, so how could they possibly care about Liu Wan'er?
Qiao Qingshu waved impatiently, signaling the soldiers to take the person away.
Liu Wan'er kicked her legs angrily and shouted, but to no avail, and was dragged away by the soldiers.
Qiao Qingshu glanced at the magnificent house and casually instructed Zhou Mama.
"Move what needs to be moved, smash what needs to be smashed, and burn what can't be smashed. In a couple of days, we'll find someone to demolish this Lanxiang Pavilion and rebuild it."
Qiao Qingshu is determined to completely erase all traces of Xu Biyun and her daughter from the Qiao family! Not a single trace will be left.
Mrs. Zhou nodded respectfully in agreement.
Inside Fushou Hall
Madam Qiao and Qiao Jizhou were completely unaware that Liu Wan'er had been taken away by the soldiers, and the mother and son were angry with each other.
"Mother, all these years, I've entrusted the family to you with complete trust, yet you've used the Qiao family's money to subsidize the Miao family. How could you do this?!"
Old Madam Qiao frowned, rubbing her hands, unsure how to explain. After a long while, she finally managed to utter a sentence.
"They come to me for help, so how can I refuse? They're all family, why bother with such trivial matters?"
Qiao Jizhou slapped his thigh in anger and shouted,
“Now that my career is stalled, I urgently need money to bribe officials. When I ask you for money, you always say there’s no money in the family account! It seems all the money has been spent on your family! Mother, how can I dare to entrust the family to you after such behavior!”
Although Madam Qiao has stopped taking the poison, it will not be easy for her to recover her health overnight.
The doctor said that her constitution was damaged and she would probably need to quietly recuperate for three to five years to fully recover.
Her health was failing, and even her spirits seemed to have waned. She sighed and said...
"I'm not in charge of the household anymore, so you don't need to argue with me. I won't be providing any subsidies from now on."
Seeing her mother say this, Qiao Jizhou, who was holding back his anger, couldn't vent it any longer, and could only shout,
"Give me a thousand taels of silver first. It's coming up soon that it's Chief Minister Lin's birthday, and I need to make some arrangements."
Old Madam Qiao turned her back to her.
"Go ask whoever is in charge of the household for money now; I don't have any."
Qiao Jizhou slammed his fist on the table in anger and stormed out.
As Madam Qiao sat alone, a strange sense of unease crept into her heart.
Over the years, she has done far more than just support her family; she has also incurred over 100,000 yuan in debt. Currently, it's all hidden in the accounts, so it might not be exposed.
But the hole in the hole has been there all along, and if it's not filled sooner or later, something terrible will happen!
Now, her son is getting so angry with her over such a small amount of money. If he finds out that she has lent out loans that she can't collect, wouldn't Qiao Jizhou sever his mother-son relationship with her?
Madam Qiao's brows furrowed more and more. It was her youngest daughter who introduced her to this lending business. A couple of years ago, she could get back 50,000 yuan for every 30,000 yuan she lent out.
She thought it was a good way to make money, so she secretly lent out more than 100,000 taels of silver. But now the borrower has disappeared, and the more than 100,000 taels is a hole that can't be filled.
She was filled with anxiety; if this matter were discovered, how could she possibly spend her later years in peace?
After much deliberation, he summoned Lai Da into the inner courtyard.
Zhuqingxuan
Qiao Jizhou angrily went to Qiao Qingshu to withdraw the money.
Qiao Qingshu asked softly, and Qiao Jizhou couldn't help but complain to her about Old Madam Qiao for a few minutes before speaking.
"Shu'er, quickly take out some silver so your father can use it to make some money. These days, it's becoming increasingly difficult for your father to get along in the officialdom."
She took all the silver she had taken from Xu Biyun and gave it to her father. "We're still short three hundred taels," Qiao Qingshu said with a smile.
"By the way, I've found buyers for those three estates. They'll be sold for three hundred taels each. Father, please take a look."
Qiao Jizhou waved his hand, unwilling to look. He knew those three estates were already abandoned land; he would be grateful if they could be sold. He didn't care about any of that.
"Shu'er, now that you're in charge of the household, you don't need to explain these trivial matters to me."
Qiao Qingshu then told him about Liu Wan'er being sent to the government office, but Qiao Jizhou still maintained an indifferent expression.
"It would be better if he died in jail! Otherwise, he would still be sponging off my Qiao family!"
Xu Biyun is dead. Qiao Jizhou had always wanted to get rid of Liu Wan'er, and now that she has been arrested by the government, it's good that he won't have to play the villain.
Qiao Qingshu smiled brightly as she looked at her father, who seemed to care about nothing.
"Yes, Father. I will send the remaining three hundred taels to your study later."
Only after hearing these words did Qiao Jizhou leave satisfied.
After seeing Qiao Jizhou walk away, Wanqiu leaned close to Qiao Qingshu's ear and whispered,
"Young Miss, all matters have been settled, and these three estates are now under your name."
Qiao Qingshu smiled and nodded, clutching the land deed with a happy grin.
"Put them in my dowry; I need to take these three estates with me."
Wanqiu smiled, nodded, and withdrew.
Qiao Qingshu looked refreshed and hadn't felt this good in a long time. She got up briskly, wanting to take a stroll in the courtyard.
They ran into Steward Lai, who was hurrying out of Fushou Hall, looking very anxious.
Qiao Qingshu stopped him and asked,
"Butler Lai, why are you in such a hurry?"
Upon seeing that it was Qiao Qingshu, Butler Lai hesitated for a moment with a bitter expression, then said evasively,
"It's nothing, the old lady just asked me to go out of town to take care of some business."
He was somewhat hesitant to reveal the truth: in fact, Old Madam Qiao had just instructed him to go to Gansu and Anhui provinces to collect debts.
That place is remote and the locals are unruly. Lai Da went there a few years ago and got a bad experience. He didn't get his debt back and was even beaten up by those thugs.
He didn't want to run into a wall again, but Old Madam Qiao got angry and said that if he didn't get the money back, she would sell Lai Da to Huizhou to settle the debt.
Lai Da's expression was clearly seen by Qiao Qingshu.