"Cousin, the business you are talking about is loan sharking!"
Gu Qingcheng showed a hesitant expression.
When she mentioned the words "usury", she even showed a disrespectful and insensitive look of disdain.
From ancient times to the present, loan sharking has not been a good business and has a bad reputation.
Gu Qingcheng has not forgotten her own personality: although she is excellent and always causes trouble for her son, she is really doing it for her son's good.
This is probably where Zhao Qingyun is most helpless——
His mother is not bad, nor does she not love him, she is just stupid!
He can always do even more stupid things when he already feels powerless.
"This, this is not good! My Qingyun is a scholar, so we can't get a bad reputation!"
Gu Qingcheng explained awkwardly, her attitude was a bit humble.
It's not that she doesn't want to cooperate with Qian's cousin, and it's not that she doesn't know what's good and bad, but she doesn't want to get involved in such a bad business.
"What's wrong with loan sharking? The imperial court allows it!"
Qian had already expected that Gu would hesitate and prepared her words in advance.
She pretended to be confidant and whispered, "I know you are doing it for Dalang's good! I am his aunt, and I don't want to ruin Dalang's reputation."
"That's why I asked you to give me the money, and I will cooperate with my concubine."
"It's also my name on the deed. Just wait and collect the interest."
Gu Qingcheng raised his eyebrows slightly, oh well, this Qian family is not a mindless deceiver.
The loopholes in the "deed paper" were actually closed, and the reason was still so "intimate".
"As for me, I will write you an 'IOU' to prove that I did take the money from you."
Qian said it so openly and aboveboard, as if she really had no selfish motives at all and was just doing it for her relatives!
But Gu Qingcheng waved her hands quickly, "No! No! We are relatives, how can we still write an IOU?"
Seeing that she was so easy to deceive, Mr. Qian felt even more proud.
Mrs. Qian pretended to be serious, "Cousin, I know you believe me! But, brothers will settle the score."
"Relatives are relatives, rules are rules, we should do whatever we want!"
The more she behaves like this, the more "convinced" Gu Qingcheng becomes.
"Oh, how bad is this!"
Gu Qingcheng said something bad, but her face showed eagerness to try.
When Qian saw this, his smile became even brighter: Hey! Done!
However, while Qian was waiting for the cashier, Gu Qingcheng suddenly said coyly: "Cousin, um, can I go see that concubine?"
"Don't get me wrong, I, it's not that I don't believe you! But, I want to ask my concubine in person about the county magistrate's preferences!"
"Cousin, you just said that next year's college examination will be hosted by the county magistrate. Who can pass and who can't pass will be decided by the county magistrate, so I was thinking..."
When Gu Qingcheng got to the end of his words, he stopped embarrassed.
However, her expression was so straightforward that her thoughts were almost written on her face.
Qian, a "human spirit" who is good at deceiving others, naturally saw through Gu Qingcheng at a glance.
I cursed secretly: I lied to you, but you actually took it seriously! Forget it!
Cursing in her heart, Mrs. Qian showed an "understanding" expression, "Cousin-in-law, I understand what you are thinking! Oh, my concubine is also a noble person. How can I see her whenever I want?"
When she said this, she deliberately fanned the wind with her hands.
Her palm looked like a fan, but in fact it moved up and down, as if she was weighing something.
Gu Qingcheng stared blankly. For a long time, Qian couldn't help but "prompt" directly before she seemed to react.
"What about that? I know it's embarrassing for my cousin. Let's do this. When things are done, I, I'll give my cousin a big red envelope!"
Isn't it just painting a big pie? Gu Qingcheng, who was involved in government affairs in his previous life, couldn't be too skilled!
"Oh, cousin, look at what you said, what a big red envelope, we are relatives!"
Mr. Qian said kind words, and his eyes turned into slits with laughter.
The person in front of me is famously easy to deceive in Zhaojiazhuang.
Huoshui: ...Ahem, it’s what later generations would say is that people are stupid and have too much money!
"No! The more relatives I have, the less I can let you suffer!"
Gu Qingcheng had a "serious" look on his face, which in Qian's eyes was absolutely "cute".
"Okay! I'll go find my sister-in-law and ask her to see if she's free any day, and then I'll take you to say hello to her."
"Okay, I'm sorry to bother my cousin. I'll take the silver when I go to see my concubine, okay?"
Gu Qingcheng deliberately looked "calculating".
Qian became even more amused when he saw it: Tsk, such an idiot actually knows how to play tricks.
However, Qian prides himself on being shrewd.
The stupider the other party is, the more "frank" she has to be.
"...I'll write an IOU to my cousin first. We are family members, so we don't need to do the 'pay with one hand and deliver the goods with the other hand' thing."
Sure enough, the more magnanimous Qian showed, the more ashamed and convinced Gu Qingcheng became.
It's just that when people are "rarely" smart, they are more persistent.
I received the IOU but didn't give any money, so I waited for Qian's help to invite my concubine.
Seeing Gu Qingcheng's persistence, Qian knew that her son was the most important thing to her.
For the sake of her son's future, Mrs. Gu would believe any nonsense.
Well, that would be easier to do.
Qian left Zhaojiazhuang and went straight to the county instead of going home.
I came to the back corner gate of the county government office and begged my mother-in-law to call my sister-in-law.
The sister-in-law and sister-in-law hid in the corner and chattered a lot. After Qian finished speaking, he gave his sister-in-law a basket.
There were several dishes on the basket, and underneath the dishes were silver pancakes and silver ingots.
This is the money she defrauded from other criminals.
"Sister-in-law, you still do things smoothly! I will have a talk with my aunt later!"
"Don't worry when you are working for my aunt. Not only the dividends, but also my nephew's future will definitely be good too!"
The sister-in-law took the heavy basket with a satisfied smile on her plain face.
"The child's aunt, Gu's matter——"
"Let me think about it. Tomorrow afternoon, my concubine is going to the silver building to buy jewelry. How about this? You bring Gu to the silver building, and my concubine takes the time to say a few words to her!"
The sister-in-law should be the person my aunt needs to be around. She made the arrangements for her without asking for instructions.
"Okay! Okay! Then I'll bring Gu over here tomorrow afternoon!"
Mr. Qian nodded repeatedly.
Seeing her sister-in-law's anxious look, her sister-in-law originally wanted to warn her, but gave up after thinking about it.
Anyone who can be deceived by his sister-in-law is not a smart person at all.
Then Mrs. Gu is an ignorant country widow, so she probably won't have any trouble.
If you have to remind yourself of big and small things, you will lose respect.
The eldest sister-in-law prides herself on being smart, but she probably won't listen to her words.
In that case, why should she bother?
…
"Cousin, let me tell you, I have wasted a lot of effort in getting my concubine to take time to see you this time."
"Who is my concubine? Although she is a concubine, she is the most beloved woman of the county magistrate."
"She also gave birth to a son and a daughter to the county magistrate. Even the county magistrate's wife thinks highly of her."
On the way to the Silver Tower, Qian kept talking, mainly to demonstrate his merit and show how powerful he was.
Gu Qingcheng perfectly played the role of a naive and easy-to-deceive villain, perfectly matching Qian's showoff.
Qian gradually lost herself in Gu Qingcheng's envious and adoring eyes.
She was always shrewd, but she didn't notice that Gu looked a little different today.
She was still wearing plain white mourning clothes, but she was a little less pitiful and a little more "pretty".
There is still no makeup on the face, but it is a little less haggard and a little more soft.
Gu Qingcheng: ...the clothes remain the same, just a change of eyes or a movement can turn a dignified lady into a charming lady!
When she arrived at the Silver Building, Mrs. Qian entered the door first and saw her sister-in-law waiting on the stairs on the first floor.
When her sister-in-law saw her, Qian nodded quickly and whispered, "Are you here?"
The sister-in-law nodded and pointed to the second floor.
Then, my sister-in-law said softly, "Wait a moment, I'll go up and report back to my aunt!"
Qian hurriedly responded obediently.
Thump thump!
My sister-in-law quickly climbed up to the second floor.
After a while, she stomped down again.
"Let's go! My concubine is in a good mood right now. Just say a few words to Mr. Gu!"
"Sister-in-law, just a few words. You have agreed with Mrs. Gu to pay attention to your identity and don't talk nonsense!"
The sister-in-law stood in the front, acting like a powerful servant of an official family.
Qian nodded repeatedly and waved to Gu Qingcheng, gesturing for her to follow her quickly.
Gu Qingcheng lowered her head and hunched her back, pretending to be cowardly and ignorant.
The sister-in-law took a quick look and saw that the Gu family was full of arrogance and was as unworthy as she had guessed, so she didn't take the Gu family seriously.
She led the way, Qian followed closely behind, and Gu Qingcheng fell at the back timidly.
The group went up to the second floor, where a beautiful young woman sat on a chair by the window.
She wore a skirt with exquisite embroidery and dazzling rubies and red gold jewelry on her temples.
The way he moves his hands and feet seems to be very particular.
But as a daughter of a real aristocratic family, Gu Qingcheng saw her pretentiousness and imitation at a glance!
Gu Qingcheng could roughly see his concubine's temperament after just one meeting.
Well, it was pretty much what she had guessed before.
She was from a low background and had low self-esteem in her bones. She was favored by her beauty, but she was also wary of it.
What would my aunt be afraid of?
Of course, someone new will copy her "road to success" and squeeze her out.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingcheng slowly raised his head, revealing his beautiful face.
There are no gorgeous clothes or dazzling jewelry, just a face is enough to be radiant and touching.
After the concubine saw Gu Qingcheng's appearance clearly, she was shocked at first, and then felt deeply uneasy.
No, I can’t let the master see this woman.
The concubine stood out from the crowd of maids by virtue of her good looks and became a concubine that even the head wife was afraid of.
And her beauty is simply not worth mentioning in front of this pretty widow.
Such a beautiful woman, once she develops ambition, will definitely confuse a man.
By then, will there still be a place for her in the county magistrate’s office?
(End of chapter)
