When the old lady arrived at Qu Zhizhen's study, Qu Zhizhen had already received the news. After welcoming the old lady in and sitting down, he looked at Hailan who had already knelt in front of him and said with a gloomy face: "Tell me about this matter in detail."
Aunt Hailan did not dare to hide anything and told it in detail, including what Yu Qian said about asking the old woman to come in and ask her.
"Mother, this was done by Yu's people themselves." Qu Zhizhen said affirmatively after listening.
"I know, and you know it too, but this matter concerns our mansion after all. Think about it, others will think that this Yu guy has no guts to deceive the people in the Duke's Mansion, unless he has someone to rely on behind him." The lady's brows were full of worry, and she sighed.
"You go down first." Qu Zhizhen ordered coldly.
Aunt Hailan hurriedly retreated.
"Mother, even we wouldn't dare to lie to the people in Duke Yu's Mansion." Qu Zhizhen said calmly.
It is true when you think about it. Even if the Duke of Yu's Mansion has fallen into decline, he was once the emperor's most trusted person, and it is said that he is still the most trusted person now. Moreover, Qu Zhizhen also received news that the emperor is going to reuse the Duke of Yu. Whether it is now or in the future, the Duke of Yu's Mansion cannot be compared with the Qu Mansion.
"What should we do now?" the lady asked anxiously.
"Mother, let me take care of this matter. I will go to talk to Duke Yu about this matter and explain it clearly." Qu Zhizhen thought about it. Although it seemed that the Qu Mansion was behind this matter, if you think about the strength of the Qu Mansion, it is no match for the Duke Yu Mansion, and it does not seem like they can outwit the Duke Yu Mansion.
It should be explainable.
Seeing that Qu Zhizhen had taken over and seemed to understand the situation, the lady breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What about the man named Yu?"
"Let the people from the Ministry of Justice deal with him. He was originally Yu's man. After Yu fell ill, he had other ideas. I don't know who he found to plot in secret. He actually plotted against the original master. What's the point of keeping such a person?" Qu Zhizhen said coldly, rubbing his brow with his hand. He was really upset.
He became more and more disgusted with Yu. Not only was he useless, but even the people he hired were useless. At this time, he caused such a thing and made the people in the capital laugh at his family.
It must have been my fault for letting Yu into the mansion!
"Okay, then you can handle this matter." The lady nodded, and suddenly remembered what happened before, and said to her son, "I gave all the Yue dowry in Yu's hands to Ying girl. These were originally hers, and the shop that was in trouble now is also hers."
"Are they all from the Yue family?" Qu Zhizhen really didn't know this and asked in surprise.
"Yes, they all belonged to the Yue family. Now they have all been returned to Ying girl. From now on, let Ying girl handle it herself. It doesn't matter whether she uses new people or old people. After all, they will all be hers in the future. When she gets married, she will have to take them with her and try to get started first."
The lady nodded.
"After all, she is still young, so mother should help and bear more of the responsibilities." Qu Zhizhen thought about it and agreed. He didn't care about these things.
Since it belongs to the Yue family, it should be left to Qu Moying.
Seeing that her son agreed directly, the lady was relieved. She was afraid that her son would force these things to stay and leave them to his grandson. Although a grandson would be good, these were shadow girls and did not belong to his grandson.
Son, he should not take what he does not deserve.
The lady would never allow the fourth girl to suffer any loss again.
The lady was very satisfied that her son had agreed to this. She asked him about Qu Zhizhen. Seeing that he looked very tired, she stood up and took Hailan back to the inner courtyard. As for Qu Moying, she also informed her and asked her to visit the shops in the next few days, especially the clothing store.
After the lady left, Qu Zhizhen rubbed his brows with a headache, stood up and walked to the back window, looked out the window, there was wind blowing in, a faint lotus fragrance, there was also a pond of lotus outside his window, it was the time when the lotus flowers were in full bloom, blooming beautifully, although there were not many, but when the wind blew, the lotus fragrance was still leisurely, very pleasant.
Qu Zhizhen looked at the lotus flowers in the pond, curled the corners of his lips silently, then closed his eyes and rested for a while. He already had an idea in his mind.
He opened his eyes again, turned around and strode away. This matter sounded like a trivial matter, but it was better to be dealt with sooner rather than later, otherwise it would inevitably affect the reputation of the Qu family.
As for Yu and the people around her, Qu Zhizhen would no longer let them appear in public, so as to avoid them always holding him back.
That day, what his son said to him touched his heart, and he thought about releasing Yu eventually, after all, he still had a son and a daughter.
But now, this idea has faded. Yu is a troublemaker. Not only her but also the people around her are the same. None of them are useful.
Coincidentally, he met Duke Yu in the palace today, which should be the Duke Yu’s Mansion in the capital.
After getting on the carriage and arriving at Duke Yu's Mansion, he asked someone to deliver the note.
The gatekeeper took the note and passed it inside. After a while a young man came out. He was about fourteen or fifteen years old, but very tall, as if he was seventeen or eighteen years old, and handsome. He was the prince of the Duke of Yu, who came to welcome the guests on behalf of his father.
Qu Zhizhen had met this Prince of Yuguo when he was a child, and had not seen him again since then. This Prince of Yuguo was very low-key, just like his parents. He would not usually show up except at some necessary banquets.
Maybe it’s because I’ve seen him when I was a child, and I feel a sense of familiarity between his eyes and brows.
"Minister Qu, please." Mo Yixuan stepped forward and saluted, very naturally, which showed that he had done this many times.
"You are too polite, Prince. Is Duke Yu here?" Qu Zhizhen walked in with a smile, looking at the young man next to him with admiration. Even though his own son was very outstanding, he had to admit that the prince of Duke Yu in front of him was even more outstanding.
His behavior is decent and calm, and he is friendly in dealing with people, making people feel that he is neither too far away nor too close, but not too arrogant.
This kind of bearing is not something that ordinary people can compare to. He is indeed worthy of being the son of Duke Yu.
Mo Yixuan walked with him while talking, and sent him to a study room. Then he stopped, bowed to him and said, "Minister Qu, please come in. My father is waiting inside."
"Thank you, Prince." Qu Zhizhen also bowed with a smile.
This young man is really good, and he has the demeanor of Duke Yu in his past.
Mo Yixuan turned and left. Qu Zhizhen walked in and saw Duke Yu sitting in the middle. He hurriedly stepped forward and saluted with a smile.
Yuguogong Mo Nianheng's eyes fell on Qu Zhizhen's face, and he smiled slightly, and waved his hand: "Minister Qu, please take a seat!"
He is a handsome middle-aged man.
One can vaguely see his appearance when he was young. He was very handsome and had a bearing different from that of ordinary civil servants. Although his murderous temperament has faded over the years, he still gives off a sense of majesty.
Qu Zhizhen sat down in the guest seat without beating around the bush. He heard that the Duke of Yu hated beating around the bush the most, so he got straight to the point and said, "Duke of Yu, I'm here today because of a dispute between the servants of our two families. Originally, I shouldn't have come here for this matter, but my wife is seriously ill and can't get up, and I heard that the Duke of Yu's wife is not in good health either."
Since this matter has been brought to the Ministry of Justice, Duke Yu must also know about it.
"What is going on?" As expected, Duke Yu did not hide it too much and nodded.
Qu Zhizhen smiled bitterly, "My wife is seriously ill and has no intention of managing the store. The shopkeeper has other ideas and wants to seek higher positions, so he caused such a scene. I don't know who made him do this. The Ministry of Justice is still investigating. But no matter what, this matter was caused by our family, so we should compensate for the losses of our family."
As Qu Zhizhen spoke, he took out a silver note from his bosom. This was the money Hai Lan had inquired about before. It was the money given to Yu Qian to buy the shop. It also represented the Qu family's well-intentioned and tactful apology.
After all, Yu Qian was the person sent by the Yu family to manage things, so the Qu family cannot escape the guilt.
"Who did Minister Qu offend?" Duke Yu asked bluntly.
"I don't know, but as an official... there are always a few people who are not in harmony." Qu Zhizhen's smile became more bitter. "Before, when I was at the Great Compassion Temple, my mother brought my two daughters there. The maidservant around the eldest daughter was bribed, and the reputations of the two daughters were damaged."
He was talking about Madam Qing's matter. He asked about that scoundrel, but no matter what he said, he only said that Madam Qing asked him to come and do this, and he only knew Madam Qing. He also said that it was Madam Qing's master who asked this old woman to say so. As for other things, there was nothing else.
Qu Zhizhen had no other choice but to execute the man secretly.
"I wonder who did it?" Duke Yu was surprised.
"I don't know, maybe this matter is also related to us, but no matter what, this matter is related to us, and we have implicated Duke Yu. I hope the Duke will forgive us." Qu Zhizhen lowered his head, distressed.
"Since there is something else, please ask Minister Qu to take the banknote back, but we have to wait and see the results of the investigation by the Ministry of Justice." Duke Yuguo declined.
This meant that they would not pursue the matter with the Qu Mansion. Qu Zhizhen was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, Duke, for your generosity. I will definitely give an explanation to the Duke Mansion after I have investigated thoroughly."
He didn't expect that Duke Yuguo would be so easy to talk to, and he felt relieved.
"Minister Qu, you are too polite. If you have nothing else to do, please go back. I still have to go out of the house to see my wife." Duke Yu looked at Qu Zhizhen and said lightly.
This is an order to expel you, but Duke Yu has this status, and the matter has indeed been resolved, so there is no need to waste time here. I heard that Duke Yu has a deep love for his wife, so it must be true.
"I happen to have something else to do. Sorry to trouble you, Duke Yu. Bye!" Qu Zhizhen stood up tactfully and bowed to Duke Yu.
"You are too polite, Minister Qu." Duke Yu waved his hand and watched Qu Zhizhen leave. His eyes flickered slightly, and then he called the servant beside him, "Go and invite the prince over."