The Crown Prince Chases His Wife

Chapter 20          Seek Revenge (1/2)

In the front hall of Prime Minister Qin Mansion.

Song Mei sat in the chair, with her brows slightly frowned, and her eyes a little lost.

She held a teacup in one hand and wore jade bracelets with excellent color in the other hand. She held the lid of the cup with her fingertips and gently pushed the tea leaves but didn’t take a sip.

As the summer heat was getting hotter, Li Mama was gently fanning the fan for Song Mei from the side, but the cool breeze couldn’t blow away the dullness in the room.

At this moment, a middle-aged man strode into the hall. This man was dressed in a green brocade robe, tall and thin, elegant and shrewd.

“Fourth Master Qin.” Li Mama saluted him and spoke.

Song Mei snapped out of it, put down the teacup, and hurriedly got up to ask that man, “Fourth Uncle, how’s it going?”

Fourth Master Qin took the teacup handed over by the maid, took a sip of tea, sat down on the chair opposite Song Mei just now, took a deep breath, and said, “Another one opened.”

This was an endless answer, and those who didn’t know won’t know what they were talking about. Song Mei was discouraged after hearing this and returned to her seat.

“What kind of store is it this time?” Song Mei asked with a sigh.

“A restaurant and is still across from our shop.” Fourth Master Qin took another sip of tea, no matter how good the new tea was, he wasn’t in the mood to savor it at the moment. He just took two sips to relieve his irritability.

Putting down the teacup, Fourth Master Qin sighed heavily and said again, “The other party didn’t let go of the shops in our hands with the silk shop, ready-to-wear shop, tea houses, pharmacies, jewelry and jade shops, inns, and the restaurant that opened a few days ago. They all opened at once, and it was very lively.”

The two were silent for a while.

——

This Fourth Master Qin was the uncle of Prime Minister Qin.

Although the two uncles and nephews were of different generations, Fourth Master Qin was only six years older than Prime Minister Qin. The two had similar interests and had a deep friendship since childhood in Yangzhou.

Because Song Mei was Prime Minister Qin’s childhood sweetheart, and the Qin and Song families were family friends, the Fourth Master Qin also took care of Song Mei, who lost both parents and had a declining family for some time, after Prime Minister Qin entered the capital.

At that time, Fourth Master Qin didn’t embark on an official career, rather did some small business in Yangzhou. After Qin Xiang and Shen Shiying got married, Prime Minister Qin invited Fourth Master Qin to the capital and arranged for him to enter Shen Shiying’s shops to help with the businesses.

To avoid suspicion, Prime Minister Qin secured Song Mei’s name under Shen Shiying’s shops and villages after several manipulations in those days. Now the person in charge of these shops and villages was Fourth Master Qin.

——

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Li Mama couldn’t understand what the masters were talking about, but she only found that the atmosphere seemed a little depressing. The maid fanned the fan in her hand and sighed as she watched the two masters sip tea.

After a while, Prime Minister Qin returned from the government office and entered the main hall.

The man and woman who had just sat on the chairs frowning stood up together.

“Prime Minister.” The two said in unison.

“Fourth Uncle is here, sit down.” Prime Minister Qin smiled at Fourth Master Qin. Then, he helped Song Mei, who was in weak health, “Madam, sit down.”

Prime Minister Qin stepped into the main seat, sat down, and took the teacup handed over by the housekeeper, Zhang Quan. The tea was clear, and the rich tea fragrance filled his nose instantly. Prime Minister Qin tasted it, and the taste was sweet.

“Good tea.” Prime Minister Qin put down the teacup with satisfaction.

Zhang Quan on the side said, “Prime Minister, this is the Yuqian Longjing* that was bestowed by the imperial palace on the Dragon Boat Festival.”

(Yuqian Longjing* – green tea leaves that are picked before the Grain Rain season in spring)

“Well, what’s the matter with Fourth Uncle coming here today?” The Fourth Master Qin usually took care of many affairs of the shops and villages, and rarely came to Prime Minister Qin Mansion. He suddenly came today, which made Prime Minister Qin a little puzzled.

Fourth Master Qin and Song Mei looked at each other and said embarrassingly, “Prime Minister, there have been some problems in the shops recently. We didn’t care about it at first, but…”

“Fourth Uncle, says what in your mind.” Prime Minister Qin said.

The Fourth Master Qin’s talent for business was not too high, otherwise, in those years in Yangzhou, he would not have made his own business either dead or alive. However, Fourth Master Qin was the only relative in the Qin clan who was engaged in business, so Prime Minister Qin could only rest assured if he handed over the business to him.

In the past few years in the capital, those shops that were originally owned by Shen Shiying had never encountered any trouble in the business field because they were backed by the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion and the Prime Minister Qin Mansion, which could be regarded as smooth sailing. Therefore, Prime Minister Qin didn’t think that something big could happen to the shops.

——

Fourth Master Qin gritted his teeth. He couldn’t deal with this matter by himself, so he could only inform Prime Minister Qin and make plans.

“Prime Minister, in recent days, many new shops have opened in the West City and East City. Since the opening of these shops, various discounts and gifts emerge in an endless stream during the day, crowded with people every day, and businesses are booming. People are flocking in, making others envy them, but it is hard for the same trade. For example, our shops are in a bad business.”

“At first we thought it was just a common situation when he was competing with his competitors in the business field, but later we found out that these shops opened one after another, all on the same side of our shops, on the left and right sides or directly opposite side or diagonally opposite. The shop they opened next to us has the same business as ours, even the signboard name is almost the same.”

“If these are just coincidences or competition among the same trade, it’s just a matter of making discounts to attract customers. However, they also blatantly cut off our customers. The other party’s products and services are first-class, and the discounts are so big that they can be said to be insane. “

“There are so many shops, making such a big profit, and they are all open next to our shops, besieging us with a big fanfare to grab businesses. Prime Minister, these actions are simply impossible to do business to make money, they just seem to be looking for revenge.”

“However, the shop owned by the second branch of Qin Mansion, Wenxuan’s wife, doesn’t have any of these problems. There is such a big movement here, but they are quite there. Therefore, we suspect that they are targeting Prime Minister Qin Mansion.”