A stew of the Red Chamber

Chapter 41 Prevention is better than cure

Upon arriving at the yamen, Wang Qing gathered his men and headed straight for Huichuntang, where he arrested Manager Hu and all his employees and brought them out into the street.

In order to provide a legitimate reason for cracking down on illegal activities and managing industry and commerce, he ordered people to beat drums and gongs and conduct public interrogations in the street.

At first, Manager Hu refused to admit his guilt, but he couldn't withstand the pressure from his employees and apprentices.

Wang Qing then ordered someone to bring over the doctor who had treated Liu Wu'er, and they confronted each other in public before the final decision was made.

He was clearly not a first-time offender, and there were also victims among the onlookers, but they were unwilling to identify him in public because of Manager Hu's crimes.

However, while we cannot identify the victims, we cannot shirk our responsibility to stir up emotions.

Emotions are easily ignited; once someone starts it, the crowd of onlookers is immediately agitated.

After all, no one can guarantee that no one in their family will get sick, be drained of their savings, or be completely exploited by others. It's inevitable that everyone feels insecure.

Having done all the pretense, Wang Qing struck while the iron was hot, immediately sealing off Huichuntang and ordering a thorough investigation into whether there were any instances of market manipulation, selling inferior goods as superior ones, etc., which drew cheers from the onlookers.

He left several clerks at Huichun Hall to continue collecting evidence, while he himself returned to the yamen.

As soon as he arrived at the yamen, Jia Yun greeted him with a beaming smile: "Sir, the relevant shops in the manor have all brought over their cleaning and maintenance fees."

At this point, he swallowed hard and added, "It's 10% more than originally planned, they said it was specially ordered by Madam and Second Madam..."

Fortunately, Madam Wang arrived in time, allowing me to sense the shift in the situation beforehand and preventing me from trying to seduce Wang Xifeng.

The enemy retreats while we advance; it's time for us to take bigger steps as well.

Wang Qing thought to himself, and gave Jia Yun a knowing look, as he pondered how to use the chips in his hand.

But then a voice came from the entrance of the yamen: "My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

"What happened?"

"Heng Shudian's boss brought people to cause trouble..."

Heng Shudian? Isn't that the Xue family?

Hey!

The Rongguo Mansion was eager to cooperate, yet the Xue family still dared to give them attitude?

Since the Xue family refuses to listen to reason and will instead suffer the consequences, they shouldn't blame us for being ruthless now that we're in power.

Wang Qing cursed under his breath, waved his hand, and led his men who had just returned out of the yamen again.

While we may despise the enemy strategically, we must still take them seriously tactically.

On the way, Wang Qing did not forget to ask the reason.

It wasn't anything major. The Xue family was unhappy that the snow piled up in front of their door was affecting their business, so they led their servants and employees to violently shovel the snow, which led to the conflict with Wang Qing's men.

Wang Qing, knowing that the Xue family were relatives of the Rong family, remained relatively restrained. On the other hand, the Xue family seemed to be deliberately stirring up trouble.

Wang Qing was not surprised by this. Although he had never met Xue Pan, he knew Jia Yun. After leaving Jinxiang Courtyard last night, Jia Yun immediately told him his identity.

It was initially thought that Xue Pan was simply upset about losing face yesterday and wanted to get revenge.

When they arrived at Hengshudian, they found Jia Lian with two servants, arms crossed, watching with glee.

Among those confronting his men were several dressed in the uniforms of servants of the Rongguo Mansion.

It turned out that Jia Lian had gone to the gold shop early this morning to make hair ornaments for Wang Xifeng and to have gold and silver ingots made for the Spring Festival.

But they discovered that outside the Xue family's shop, there was still a pile of dirty snow.

He assumed that Wang Qing had not yet received the message and thought it was an opportunity to humiliate him, so he found Xue Pan. The two hit it off immediately, which led to the scene before them.

Wang Qing had no idea about these things and was taken aback when he saw this.

Last night, after all, he ruined Jia Lian's good time and spoke rudely, which is still understandable.

Today, Lady Wang visited in person, and Jia Zheng also showed goodwill. His attitude couldn't be clearer. Why is Jia Lian still interfering?

But with the die already cast and the arrow already on the bowstring, it's clearly not the time to consider these things.

As luck would have it, Jia Lian and Xue Pan noticed his hesitation and assumed he had some reservations. They exchanged a glance, and Xue Pan, along with several strong servants, grabbed Wang Qing by the shoulder.

Wang Qing neither dodged nor avoided the attack, waiting until the man had a firm grip before shouting, "Assaulting an official of the imperial court is an even more serious crime!"

At the same time, he grabbed Xue Pan's wrist with his other hand, and with a quick flick of his wrist, he dislocated Xue Pan's joint without breaking a sweat.

Immediately, he kicked Xue Pan in the ankle.

Accompanied by a pig-like scream, Xue Pan fell flat on his face.

The subordinates who were facing off were still somewhat surprised and uncertain, but the people accompanying them all knew that the Rongguo Mansion had generously given an extra 10% of the cleaning and sweeping money to support their master. They immediately rushed into the crowd like wolves and tigers, and in an instant, they subdued all the shop assistants and servants.

After subduing Xue Pan, Wang Qing wanted to give Jia Lian a defiant look, but was surprised to find that he had already fled, sensing the danger.

Since Jia Lian didn't step forward, he was happy to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Since it was just a matter of violently sweeping snow, Wang Qing had to give Madam Wang some face, so he didn't send anyone into the shop, and didn't even ask for payment for the sweeping.

Anyway, with Xue Pan detained and the Rongguo Mansion's stance clear, there's no need to worry about the Xue family not backing down; they'll most likely try to get Lady Wang to mediate.

So they escorted Xue Pan and the others back to the yamen in a triumphant manner.

Back at the yamen, after detaining Xue Pan and the others, Wang Qing couldn't help but ponder why Jia Lian was so hostile towards him, disregarding the attitudes of Grandmother Jia, Jia Zheng, and Lady Wang.

Suddenly, my eyes lit up.

He quickly summoned Zhuang Ze, picked up a catalog from the table, and said, "These are the stolen goods from various prefectures. Make several copies and give them to your subordinates so that they can keep an eye out for stolen goods when they patrol the shops."

When he met with Nie Chong, he suspected that Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng were deceiving their superiors and subordinates, using the pretext of the thief to falsely report a deficit.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

Perhaps, this is the crux of the problem.

As for why Wang Xifeng's attitude was completely opposite, Wang Qing felt it was perfectly reasonable.

After all, the usury was kept secret from Jia Lian, which caused the contrast in their behavior.

Although it was only a case of locking the barn door after the horse had bolted, it was hard to guarantee that Jia Lian wouldn't wait until things calmed down before trying to sell the stolen goods.

Offense is the best defense. Since we've already made enemies, there's no need to let Jia Lian have an easy time.

Thinking of this, he summoned Nie Chong and instructed him: "Although things are going relatively smoothly, we must not be careless. The current situation is mainly due to the disappearance of the thieves in the western city. Even if we are dissatisfied, we can only keep it to ourselves."

But while we can impersonate them, others might. If the "Flying Thief" reappears in the West City, all our previous efforts will be in vain, and our men will have to work hard tonight, especially around the Ning and Rong mansions.

Although this method is a double-edged sword, once caught red-handed, one will inevitably suffer the consequences.

But this method not only allows him to get revenge on himself, but also to make a fortune. It's hard to guarantee that Jia Lian won't lose his mind.

Nie Chong knew the matter was serious and quickly said, "Don't worry, sir! I will handle it personally and will make sure no one has a chance to take advantage!"

……