The most beautiful lady in the harem

Chapter 350 Eat inside and outside

Yan Shouyu pursed his lips and then drank the wine in the cup.

Shaking his head, he said, "My son originally wanted to give her dignity in this matter. It would be best if they divorced peacefully. Her dowry has not been used by our family. We can give her some more when the time comes, so that the love between husband and wife over the years will not be in vain."

After all, if he divorced his wife and gave her a letter of divorce, it would be bad for Shi Qiuwu's reputation and it would not be good for her to remarry.

The two of them quarreled, and during the quarrel, although Yan Shouyu told her that he wanted to divorce his wife, in fact, he still wanted to divorce amicably on the surface.

Yan Shou expected that a husband and wife would be bound by a hundred days of grace, so he wanted to leave some hope, but he didn't expect that Shi Qiuwu was lying to him again.

"Why is that?" asked the Duke.

Yan Shouyu sighed and said, "The Shi family is a traitor. They colluded with local branch officials to collect private salt from the cooks, make private salt, buy salt transportation and get salt permits. They mixed official and private sales and made huge profits."

"The Shi family's annual income is probably no less than my father's and my salary!"

When the Duke heard this, his face turned green and his chest heaved. He seemed to be so angry that he couldn't speak for a while.

The salt industry was a heavy tax for the country. The salt industry in the eastern Huai River region alone could earn more than 16 million taels of silver a year. Half of the salt tax had to be turned over to the national treasury.

There is no need to say much about the national salt industry.

Shi Qiuwu's hometown is in Shanxi. It is generally difficult to produce salt in the inland. Ordinary salt merchants get salt from the official salt fields in the coastal areas. The cost of each ton of salt plus taxes and other fees is about two taels.

But if it is transported from the east to the inland, each load can be sold for more than ten taels, which is five or six times the price. What a huge profit.

And this still requires long-distance transportation.

Although there are few salt fields in Jin, it is not without production. There is Neihu, which produces salt, and it is also a government salt field. There is no need to travel long distances, and there is no transportation cost, not to mention the profits.

There are many brothers in the Shi family, but few of them are outstanding.

After Shi Qiuwu married into the Duke's Mansion, Yan Shouyu found jobs for Shi's brothers in the salt field and local areas.

He placed Shi Qiuwu's two and three brothers in the position, thinking that they would have a job so that even if they could not take the imperial examination, they could live a good life and not be idle all day long.

Unexpectedly, they were so disloyal and did things that were unworthy of the emperor.

"Every year, the country faces major events such as natural disasters, famine, and river defense works... All of these expenses must be covered by the salt tax, but they are bold enough to use it to enrich themselves!" The Duke was so angry that his beard was about to be crooked.

But the Duke was still a respectable man after all. He paused, calmed down, and stroked his beard and said, "Qiu Wu may not know about this matter. It was her father and brother from her mother's family who caused the trouble, so there is no need to blame her. Whoever did it should take the responsibility. Besides, she is already a member of our Yan family. She is just her mother's family compared to the Shi family."

Yan Shouyu laughed twice, and then said, "Nowadays, the government controls the salt industry. Although there is private salt, it is also strictly controlled. There are also salt inspectors from the Salt Inspection Office, and they are all transferred to the Salt Transport Envoy to be in charge."

"The Shi brothers can bribe their subordinates, but the reach of the salt transport envoys is not that long."

Upon hearing this, the Duke's heart was lifted up, and his hands were raised, trembling slightly, "You mean..."

The Duke did not dare to say the following words, because he did not expect that Shi Qiuwu would be so bold.

Yan Shouyu shook his head and said, "She used my seal to communicate with her family, and also wrote a letter and asked her family to pass it on to the salt transport envoy... If you don't know, you might think I'm betraying my family."

When he said this, Yan Shouyu was laughing. He finally understood what it meant to seek wealth and honor through risk.

"If the emperor hadn't been so observant, my son would have almost become a criminal."

The Duke was already so angry that his head ached. When he heard that Emperor Yongjia also knew about it, his heart sank. He slammed the table heavily with a "bang" and his eyes widened, "What did you say? The Emperor knows about this?"

Yan Shouyu took a deep breath, raised his hand to pour himself a glass of wine, took two sips, and clicked his tongue twice, "My son is incompetent and can't handle the affairs of the inner court. He is blinded by one thing. The emperor should have informed me of this matter, otherwise, my son would still be kept in the dark."

The Duke has lived for most of his life and has become a veteran and an old hand.

Upon hearing what Yan Shouyu said, he keenly realized that Emperor Yongjia knew about this matter and was intentionally favoring their family and did not blame his son.

I specifically informed him because I wanted to give him a chance.

For a moment, the Duke was almost heartbroken, but then he finally felt a little relieved.

I asked Yan Shouyu to come tonight because I originally wanted to teach my son a lesson, but I didn't expect that he would tell me such a secret.

This was like a raging storm, rolling back and forth in the Duke's heart, and even made his back a little cold. Because Shi Qiuwu did this, it was like he wanted the entire Duke's Mansion to be buried with their family.

Fortunately, this raging wave was only surging in their hearts, otherwise if it had rolled out, it would have swept away their entire Duke's Mansion.

Since Emperor Yongjia had traced back to the Shi family and the salt fields, it meant that Emperor Yongjia wanted to root out these parasites as soon as possible, which was why he arranged for him in advance.

If the Shi family does this, they will certainly be sentenced to death, and if a disturbance arises, their Duke's Mansion might also be implicated.

Although the Duke is lenient to the younger generations, what he carries on his shoulders is the glory and future of the entire Duke's Mansion and the entire Yan family.

He was the first one who didn't want to be roasted on the fire knife by the Shi family like this.

"Now that she has married into our Duke's Mansion, she is also a member of our Yan Family and the clan leader of our Yan Family. How could she be so disloyal? We have treated her well!" The Duke was really puzzled.

Even if Shi Qiuwu had selfish motives and wanted to help her brothers from her mother's side to succeed, everything had to be done in moderation.

If you want to make money, there are other ways. How can you be so desperate and do such crimes that harm the country and the people? The salt industry and the mineral industry are all under the control of the government and cannot be touched. If you touch them, it will be a serious crime.

Yan Shouyu was also very angry and confused when he learned the news from Emperor Yongjia.

Because Shi Qiuwu married into the Duke's Mansion, she was a member of the Yan family. If this matter was exposed and she did not intervene, even if the brothers of the Shi family were caught, she could just draw a clear line and say it had nothing to do with her.

But it happened that she was the one who used her own name to make connections with her mother's family.

Now, even though she had no involvement originally, she was in a dilemma and dead end that she had brought upon herself.

He originally thought that Shi Qiuwu's relentless pursuit of Yuan Jiuer was just jealousy and intrigue among girls, but he never expected that she, a girl from the rear house, would dare to interfere in these state affairs.

What a wolfish ambition and how ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.

He really thought that he could cover the sky with one hand just by relying on his title of a great general. The whole world belongs to the emperor. It all depends on whether Emperor Yongjia wants to pursue it.

Yan Shouyu came out of the Duke's study, looked at the full moon in the sky, and felt that time had passed. He didn't even want to go back to Shi Qiuwu's room. Now, he didn't even seem to want to quarrel with her.

……

Although Shi Qiuwu claimed to be ill and had been lying in bed for nearly half a month, the next day was the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, a day for family reunion, and a family dinner was held in the Duke's Mansion.

It was set up in the old ancestor's house, with one table for the men, one table for the women, and one table for the younger generation of the family. It was very lively.

Shi Qiuwu naturally went as well. She was a clan member, so how could she not go to such an occasion?

However, this was also her last time to appear at the family dinner of the Duke's Mansion as a clan wife.