Prime Minister Pei, who was fined a year's salary and made the entire Pei family the laughing stock of the imperial capital, was in a very bad mood these days.
Today, with Aunt Wang waiting beside him, Prime Minister Pei's mood has relaxed a lot.
Aunt Wang plays the pipa very well, and it is precisely because of this skill that she was admitted to the mansion.
Pei Youxiang closed his eyes, lying on his side on the warm couch, listening to Aunt Wang playing and singing Qinhuai tunes, his head moving leisurely from side to side.
After the pipa song ended, Aunt Wang came to Pei Youxiang's side, peeled a grape and fed it to Pei Youxiang's mouth.
"My lord, I am just a woman in a big house and don't know much. But today Erlang returned all the dowry to Yan Mingzhu, and that bitch took advantage of it. My poor Ran'er is still lying in bed recovering from his injuries.
And my lord, you were also fined a salary by His Majesty, our Pei family was laughed at, but Yan Mingzhu escaped unscathed, this bitch is really too cheap, isn't it?"
Mentioning Yan Mingzhu, Pei Youxiang opened his eyes, with a fierce look in his eyes, "If it weren't for the man named Wei who impeached me in front of His Majesty, some of the courtiers I recommended earlier were also found to be corrupt.
, how could I be punished by His Majesty for such a trivial matter."
Outsiders thought that Prime Minister Pei was fined because of Yan Mingzhu's incident, but in fact, how could Emperor Zhao take care of such a family matter.
The main reason is that I don't know where Wei Zhongcheng found out that several of the courtiers recommended by Prime Minister Pei were involved in corruption cases.
Wei Zhongcheng took the evidence and read it in front of Emperor Zhao, and then revealed the scandal in the family of Youxiang Pei.
Emperor Zhao felt that Pei Youxiang was not doing things well, so he fined him a salary as punishment.
But no matter what, these unfortunate events were all caused by Yan Mingzhu's troubles, and this debt should all be placed on Yan Mingzhu's head!
"Yan Mingzhu will naturally not make it easy for her, but Wei is keeping a close eye on the dowry, so it is better to return it first, lest Wei impeach the truth in front of His Majesty again and cause unwarranted disputes."
Just as Aunt Wang was about to say something else, she heard footsteps outside. Pei Duqin pushed the door open and walked in. He saluted You Xiang Pei first, "Father."
Then he raised his hand and said: "Take Aunt Wang away."
The servants on both sides immediately stepped forward to arrest the person. Seeing that the momentum was not right, Aunt Wang immediately threw herself into the arms of Right Prime Minister Pei and shouted: "Erlang, what are you doing! My lord, my lord, please save me!"
Right Prime Minister Pei stopped him with his hands and asked with some displeasure: "Qin'er, what are you trying to do with this mighty posture?"
"Father, you will know what good things Aunt Wang has done by asking her. Listen to what tricks she did on Yan Mingzhu's dowry!"
Aunt Wang's heart skipped a beat, knowing that she had stuffed the fake goods into the dowry and tried to pass them off as inferior goods.
But of course she couldn't admit it and hugged Pei Youxiang's thigh tightly, "Master Mingjian, I have already put back all the dowry according to Erlang's wishes. I really don't know that Erlang rushed in with murderous intent and questioned me.
What does the body mean?"
Just as he finished shouting "Unjust", a voice rang out: "Ms. Wang, you are really determined to reach the Yellow River. Since you are so stubborn, you will be arrested, imprisoned until the house is demolished, and severely interrogated!"
With that said, Mrs. Pei walked in from the door with sharp eyes, "What are you still doing? Arrest me!"
When the servant grabbed Aunt Wang, Pei Duqin suddenly took a step forward, raised his hand and plucked off a piece of Aunt Wang's hair.
Pei Yourang's face immediately darkened, "Qin'er, what are you doing? Even if Mrs. Wang made a mistake, she is still your aunt. How can you touch the personal things on her head?"
In response to Prime Minister Pei's question, Pei Duqin did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked carefully and found clues on the buyao.
Turning it over and showing it to Pei Youxiang, "Father, this step rocker is engraved with the word "bead". Yan Mingzhu said that when the Yongyi Hou Mansion prepared these dowries, it engraved the word "bead" on every piece of gold and silver jewelry.
Such words.
It can be seen that the Wang family did not return all the dowry, but instead took it for themselves and took some defective items and put them in the dowry in an attempt to hide it."
Upon hearing this, Pei Youxiang turned to look at Aunt Wang, "Is everything Qin'er said true?"
Now that things have happened, Aunt Wang naturally knows that she can no longer quibble, so she uses her trump card.
The tears fell as soon as he said it, and the pear blossoms were crying like rain, "Master, I can't help myself. As you know, my wife is in charge of the middle minister, and the monthly salary I can only receive is so little."
However, unlike Erlang, who has an official position, his monthly salary is not enough, and he has to ask the concubine, the mother, for what he wants. As for He'er, a girl, the cost of buying those rouges and gouache is even greater.
Furthermore, Yan Mingzhu married into the Pei family, and as a concubine’s daughter-in-law, it was only natural that her dowry should be used to honor me as my mother-in-law. Who would have thought that she would suddenly go crazy and be so audacious as to have sex with Ran’er?
Leave!"
Mrs. Pei said coldly: "You mean you blame me for giving you too little monthly salary?"
Aunt Wang immediately denied it: "Madam, I misunderstood, how dare I mean this..."
Before she finished speaking, Mrs. Pei sneered and interrupted directly: "What are you afraid of? As a concubine, the food and clothing expenses are no worse than that of my main wife. I carried a lantern and went to Manchu City to look for it.
In the big mansion of a noble family, which concubine can live as comfortably as you?
Now you are still not satisfied. You have used other people's dowry and failed to pay it back. You have used defective products to try to hide the truth. You have shamed the Pei family! Husband, now King Dingbei has intervened in this matter. If you can't help it,
If all these dowries are found, the whole city will be made aware of it. It is up to you, husband, to make the decision."
When Aunt Wang heard this, she was so frightened that she tried her best to break free from the servant's restraints, rushed to Right Prime Minister Pei, and hugged his thigh.
She cried and said: "Master, I did not consider this matter carefully. I beg you to give me another chance. I have given birth to children for you. Even if I have no merit, I still have to work hard!"
Does the Lord want to punish me for Yan Mingzhu's little bitch? It is clear that I am also a victim, but he is still lying on the bed. The rest of his life will be completely ruined. My life is so hard.
!”
Youxiang Pei took a deep breath and said, "Where have you hidden Yan Mingzhu's dowry? If you hand them over, I will not punish you."
Aunt Wang's eyes drifted, "This...it's been so long, I can't remember clearly..."
Before she could finish her words, Mrs. Pei said sternly: "If you can't remember clearly, just drag me down and beat me until I remember!"
At this time, Aunt Wang was completely panicked and tried everything: "I... I said! Those more expensive jewelry are all in my and He'er's room, and the rest... were all pawned.