Chapter 266 – Who Owned The Deed Of The Shop?
Chapter 266 Who Owned the Deed of the Shop?
“Moying, did you find anything?” Qu Xuexin whispered into Qu Moying’s ear.
Qu Moying raised her eyebrows and looked at Qu Xuexin. She shook her head and pointed outside, signaling Qu Xuexin to continue listening.
The matters outside had basically been dealt with. Hai Lan could do nothing except follow the Ministry of Justice’s official.
After the people outside left, Qu Xuexin and Qu Moying came out from behind the folding screen.
The two of them sat down on both sides of the Old Lady.
“Grandmother, what shop were you talking about? Is it Madam’s own shop?” Qu Moying looked up and asked.
In fact, Yu didn’t have her own shop. She entered the mansion as a noble concubine. How could she have any shops?
Qu Moying’s words reminded the Old Lady, and she said, “Granny Wu, go and find out which shop Yu is in charge of. Where did she get the deed of the shop?”
The mansion was in charge of a number of shops, which were recorded in a booklet. However, there were no shops under Yu’s name. None of them was Yu’s private property.
For so many years, Yu had been in charge of the property of the mansion. However, at the very beginning, the Old Lady had deliberately kept some of Yue’s property. Although it seemed to be controlled by Yu, it was still in the hands of the Old Lady because these were all Yue’s. At that time, Yu wanted to kill Granny Zhou through Qu Zhizhen’s hand because she coveted Yue’s property.
When Granny Zhou went to Earl Ling’an’s Mansion, she specifically told the Old Lady about Yue’s private property. She asked the Old Lady to help Yue keep her private property, saying that it was for Qu Moying.
At that time, the Old Lady also agreed. After that, the property was locked up by the Old Lady, but most of it was taken away by Yu because the Old Lady was too old to effectively guard against her. Later, Yu controlled the internal affairs of the entire mansion. However, she couldn’t find the deeds of some shops in Yue’s property because the Old Lady had placed them well early.
After that, the Old Lady handed Yue’s shops and the mansion’s shops over to Yu and let her manage them. However, the Old Lady still kept the deeds of the shops.
However, others didn’t know about this, and they all thought that Yu had the deeds.
The shopkeeper Yu Qian thought so, and even Qu Moying thought so. Therefore, when she heard the Old Lady’s words, she raised her eyes, looking surprised and touched. She felt complicated, “Did grandmother keep Mother’s things to herself long ago?”
If this was the case, it would be way too beneficial for her!
Sure enough, Granny Wu found out in a while.
“Your Ladyship, it’s ex-Madam’s shop. It’s a clothing store.” Granny Wu soon checked it out.
The Old Lady was silent for a moment before ordering Granny Wu, “Go to Third Lady’s place and bring over the account books of all the shops that belong to Fourth Lady. In the future, those will all belong to Fourth Lady.”
Looking at the account book in her hand, Granny Wu hesitated for a moment and asked, “But what if Third Lady asks about it?”
Yue left behind many shops, and none of them was lost. They were managed together with the mansion’s shops, and they were now managed by Qu Qiuyan because she had managed the accounts before. Although Qu Qiuyan was locked up and punished to copy Buddhist scriptures, she was still dealing with some matters. Although she could not come out, the manager could go into her place to report the accounts.
Moreover, such accounts basically didn’t need to be reported too frequently. They were reported once a month, sometimes once every three months, and even once every half a year.
The account books were all in Qu Qiuyan’s hands. She might not be willing to hand over the account books of so many shops. Although Granny Wu worked for the Old Lady, Qu Qiuyan might not listen to her at this time.
“Ying, you go with Granny Wu. Your mother’s shops should indeed be for you. However, I forgot about them before. This accident reminded me. In the future, you can take care of them yourself. You can promote the people you like, but if you think the previous managers are alright, you can keep them.”
The Old Lady said.
Qu Moying raised her head, bit her lips and asked. “Grandmother, is it my mother’s shop that is involved in the incident?”
“Yes, it’s your mother’s shop. It’s my fault. I should have given it to you a long time ago.” The Old Lady sighed, her expression gentle.
It was indeed her fault. After Yu’s incident, Qu Qiuyan was temporarily in charge of the mansion. Later, Qu Moying also took care of the business in the mansion. At that time, the Old Lady should have settled this matter. If so, perhaps this dispute would not have happened.
The Old Lady forgot this thing because she was busy with different things. If Qu Moying didn’t say those words just now, she would think that the shops in Yu’s hands were the mansion’s shops.
“Thank you, grandmother.” Qu Moying lowered her head and bowed respectfully to the Old Lady. Her eyes welled with tears.
It was really not easy for the Old Lady to do this for Yue and her.
“Go!” The Old Lady nodded with a smile.
Qu Moying turned to leave.
“Grandmother, I’ll go with Moying.” Qu Xuexin suddenly said.
Qu Moying raised her head and looked at Qu Xuexin in shock. She did not expect that Qu Xuexin, who had been crying these past few days, would bother to take care of her business.
“Alright, then you may go with Moying.” The Old Lady thought about it and nodded because she thought that Qu Xuexin was gentle, so if Qu Qiuyan and Qu Moying quarreled, Qu Xuexin could stop them.
Qu Xuexin, Qu Moying, and Granny Wu said goodbye to the Old Lady. Then, they headed towards Qu Qiuyan’s Furong House.
Qu Xuexin was still distressed. When she spoke to Qu Moying, she had been frowning. Qu Moying knew that Qu Xuexin was in a bad mood, so she didn’t mention anything that might upset her. She only talked about some trivial things in the mansion. Qu Xuexin had been helping Luo manage East Mansion’s affairs, so she knew some things.
As they spoke, they had already arrived at Furong House. The old maid guarding the gate had already gone in to report their arrival to Qu Qiuyan. When they entered the yard, the curtain at the door of the room was lifted high, and a maid was already waiting there.
Qu Moying and Qu Xuexin entered the room and saw Qu Qiuyan sitting in the middle. Seeing them, Qu Qiuyan appeared somewhat gentle.
They all sat down.
“Third Lady, Her Ladyship asked me to come and get some account books.” Granny Wu said with a smile.
“What account books?” Qu Qiuyan’s expression changed slightly as she glanced at Qu Moying.
“The account books of a few shops. These are not our mansion’s shops, and there are a total of six shops.” Granny Wu gave a paper with the names of the shops on it to Qu Qiuyan.
Qu Qiuyan took it and glanced at it. Her face darkened. Her hands holding the paper trembled, and she asked, “Granny Wu, what is the meaning of this?”
These shops were nearly half of West Mansion’s shops, and they happened to be the shops that her mother promised to give her as dowry.
Qu Qiuyan had already taken these shops as her own.
“Third Lady, Her Ladyship said that these shops belong to Fourth Lady, so these account books should also be Fourth Lady’s. Third Lady, please tidy up the account books and give them all to Fourth Lady.” Granny Wu said with a smile.
Qu Qiuyan was stunned. She suddenly looked at Qu Moying and gritted her teeth. “Moying, what did you say to grandmother? Did you ask her to give half of the property of the mansion to you? Are you preparing dowry for yourself?”
“Qiuyan, speak properly.” Qu Xuexin raised her head and scolded softly.
However, Qu Xuexin’s words did not cool Qu Qiuyan down. Instead, Qu Qiuyan got even angrier. Her hands on the table were clenched into fists.
Her voice became sharp. “Didn’t I speak properly? Since when is it Moying’s turn to inherit anything in this mansion? Father has only one son. Even if the shops were to be passed down, they would be my brother’s. Why are Moying having them? Did Moying say anything to grandmother that grandmother did such an unreasonable thing?”
Qu Qiuyan was so anxious that her words were harsh.
These shops were originally hers. How could she be willing to let Qu Moying take them away? After she entered Lord Jing Mansion, these would be her foundation. With these, she could have a more promising future. With these shops and other properties as her dowry, she was sure that most of the noble ladies in the capital couldn’t compare with her in terms of dowry.
Even the noble ladies from large aristocratic families could hardly compare with her. Although these families were wealthy and influential, they had too many sons and daughters. If they distributed fortune like this, their future descendants would have fewer and fewer properties.
Hearing Qu Qiuyan’s sharp words against her, Qu Moying couldn’t hold it in. She looked up at Qu Qiuyan, took the teacup at hand, took a sip gracefully, and slowly put it down under Qu Qiuyan’s angry gaze.
Only then did she look at Qu Qiuyan with contempt. “Third Sister, what you said is so unreasonable. They were originally mine. Why can’t grandmother give them to me? Do you think she should leave them to you?”
“They belong to the mansion. Even if they are not for me, they are for my brother. Why should I let you take them away? My brother and I have the same parents, so I take care of them for him. What’s the problem?” Qu Qiuyan glared at Qu Moying.
“Qiuyan, these are really Moying’s. How can you say that to Moying? Grandmother has agreed to it.” Qu Xuexin continued to persuade Qu Qiuyan.
Qu Moying glanced at Qu Xuexin, her eyes deep.
“Why are they hers? They are clearly my brother’s. Everything in this mansion belongs to my brother. How can they be hers?” Qu Qiuyan couldn’t hold back anymore and glared at Qu Moying.
“Qiuyan…”
“Eldest Sister, please stop.” Qu Moying interrupted Qu Xuexin. She looked up at Qu Qiuyan and said coldly, “Qiuyan, these were originally my mother’s dowry, how can they be Second Brother’s? Don’t tell me that I shouldn’t have my things and that I should leave them to Second Brother!”
The dowry of an aristocratic family’s madam was left for her children. If she passed away when she was still young and did not have any children, her parents’ family could get her dowry back, just like Earl Ling’an’s Mansion getting back Ji Hanyue’s dowry.
Yue’s dowry was just a prelude, and Ji Hanyue’s dowry was her real goal. However, this matter had to start from Qu Mansion. After all, Qu Moying could not do it righteously with her current identity.
Those who had high status in Earl Ling’an’s Mansion would not speak up for her. Those who had low status in Earl Ling’an’s Mansion could not help in this…
