Chapter 20 Blocking the Door
Aunt Li's son, Sun Changsheng, is addicted to gambling. No matter how hard it is for my mother to raise him alone, let alone the poverty of the family, if Aunt Li is not from Prince Liang's palace, Sun Changsheng would like to sell her too.
But even so, Aunt Li still couldn't bear to ignore her son.
Sun Changsheng disappeared a month ago. At first, Aunt Li thought that he did not come home because he was gambling like crazy. But after not seeing anyone for several days, Aunt Li felt anxious. At this time, Gui, a loan shark in the casino, Li Atai went to the back door of the palace and said that Sun Changsheng owed two thousand taels of gambling debt, and now he was in their hands, so he asked Aunt Li to raise money to redeem him.
Ever since Sun Changsheng learned how to gamble, he would have people come to his door every now and then to ask for debts. Aunt Li had also met this Guili Atai several times.
Therefore, Aunt Li had no doubt that without him, what else could happen? It must be that her eldest son was in trouble again.
But this time it was two thousand taels, not two hundred and twenty taels. No matter how much money Aunt Li could make, she was just a cook in the palace. It would take her twenty years to earn these two thousand taels without eating or drinking!
Aunt Li did not dare to let other people in the palace know about her son's gambling debts. There were countless people who were eyeing her position overtly or covertly.
She handles those precious medicinal materials. If people know that her family owes a huge debt, even if there are one or two medicinal materials that are not right, they will be regarded as selling them to pay off the debt. Not only will she be kicked out of the palace, but she may also be repaid. There's going to be a lawsuit.
Of course, this is not a secret, but you can keep it secret for as long as you can, and try to pay back the money before it reaches the palace.
Aunt Li had something on her mind, so she could only force a smile when she returned to the palace. She only dared to borrow twenty taels of silver from Nanny Zhang, who she had a good relationship with, and Nanny Zhang offered to help her raise the money.
Like her, Nanny Zhang was not born at home. She was the dowry maid of her concubine Nie Qionghua. She married with Nie Qionghua, followed Nie Qionghua back home, followed Nie Qionghua to Prince Liang's Mansion, and later married a steward of Prince Liang's Mansion. Filling the house, but unfortunately less than three years after getting married, the steward died of illness, so Grandma Zhang returned to Nie Qionghua's side as an errand.
Nanny Zhang's two stepsons believed that she had killed their father, so they ignored her. In addition, Nie Qionghua was mean, and Nanny Zhang had no friends in the palace, only Aunt Li and her. able to talk to.
The next day, Grandma Zhang's little maid Chan'er brought her a message, saying that Grandma Zhang asked her to go to her house after her shift.
Aunt Li was very happy, thinking that she had some clues about Aunt Zhang helping her raise money, so she took the snacks brought from the palace, went to East Street to buy roast chicken, and went to Aunt Zhang's home in the back alley of the palace.
The people living here are all servants of the palace. Aunt Li came, but the door of Nanny Zhang's house was locked. She waited for a while, and happened to be seen by the Wang family's daughter-in-law who lived next door, so she took her to sit at home.
Although the two were not familiar with each other, they had spoken several times before because the Wang family's daughter-in-law's maiden name was also Li.
But as soon as she entered the house, she was restrained from behind and a kitchen knife was placed across her neck.
Aunt Li didn't dare to resist, so she could only obey. Then, Aunt Li saw Sun Changsheng, who was tied up!
Faced with Sun Changsheng's pleading, Aunt Li could not dare to say no.
The next day, Aunt Li saw Aunt Zhang and found out that Aunt Zhang had never dated her at all, but the little girl named Chan'er fell into the lake and drowned.
Aunt Li was scared to death, knowing that she couldn't get away, so she just kept doing it and told Taofen and Libai's mother-in-law and sisters-in-law how much they were favored and how many rewards they had received.
In fact, Taofen and Libai have indeed received many rewards, but they are completely different from what Aunt Li said.
But their family members believed it to be true and became even more unscrupulous when talking to Aunt Li about their daughters. From what they inadvertently revealed, Aunt Li was sure that Taofen and Libai must have stolen a lot of things to support her family.
Everything in Shun'an Palace, even a cup, is registered in the books. If something is missing, you can know it by just checking it. It depends on whether these two people have tampered with the account books.
Aunt Li tried to find an opportunity to defraud them. However, Taofan was not deceived, but Li Bai was fooled and cried and begged Aunt Li not to tell anyone.
Aunt Li threatened Li Bai with this incident, and Li Bai simply followed suit and pulled Tao Fen in.
That day, Princess Jiayi and Prince Consort Xiao came to the house as guests, and the small kitchen of Shun'an Palace was idle. Aunt Li had nothing to do, so the Wang family's wife asked someone to call her home.
These days, Sun Changsheng has not been released, and Aunt Li can only wait obediently for the instructions of the Wang family's wife.
The Wang family’s daughter-in-law gave her a packet of medicine and asked her to wait for Prince Liang to come back and find a way to make Prince Liang drink it.
So she did it, and Taofen and Libai also cooperated very well. The three of them worked together to send the noble Prince Liang to the west.
As soon as Aunt Li confessed her daughter-in-law to the Wang family, Zhao Shiqing personally led people to capture the Wang family's daughter-in-law. She asked clearly on the way that the Wang family's daughter-in-law was the stepmother married by Manager Wang in the palace. She did not have a bond of sale and could not be regarded as a servant of the palace.
Manager Wang is in charge of Prince Liang's shop in Hongcheng, and only returns to Liangdu once every two or three months. The Wang family's daughter-in-law does not work in the mansion, and usually does housework at home.
When Zhao Shiqing arrived at Steward Wang's house, the house was already empty. After asking the neighbors, he found out that Wang's wife had gone out with her brother a few days ago, saying she was going to Hongcheng to visit Steward Wang.
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Because it happened to be a funeral in the mansion, everyone was very busy. What's more, the Wang family's wife and her brother were not servants of the mansion, so no one cared where they went.
Zhao Shiqing reviewed Aunt Li's confession, then without saying a word, kicked towards the door of Nanny Zhang's house!
Aunt Zhang made an appointment with Aunt Li, but Aunt Li was threatened by the Wang family's daughter-in-law. After Chan'er delivered the letter once, she fell into the lake and drowned. Aunt Zhang had something to do with it!
Nanny Zhang is alone. She only comes back when she is not on duty, and is by Nie Qionghua's side most of the time.
Zhao Shiqing searched her house and found nothing, so she took people back to the palace.
Nie Qionghua lived in a separate courtyard when she first arrived at the palace. In recent years, Prince Liang rarely stayed overnight in Suining Palace, so Nie asked Nie Qionghua to move in with her.
Zhao Shiqing could kick down the door of Nanny Zhang's house, but she could not rush into Suining Palace to arrest people. She was sure that Nanny Zhang was in Suining Palace at this time, so she sent someone to the guard camp to report the news to Zhao Yunnuan, while she took Lingbo station with her. At the entrance of Suining Palace, no one was allowed to go out.
One of the servants tried to force his way in, but was pecked by the little boy. He cried for his father and called his mother to go back and report the news.
When Mrs. Nie heard that Zhao Shiqing blocked her door and let an eagle peck at her person, she was so angry that she sent someone to call Zhao Yunnuan. When she learned that Zhao Yunnuan was not in the palace, she sent someone to call Zhao Tingxuan.
(End of chapter)