Chapter 72: Passing the Test (Mysterious Western Xia + 3)

  Zheng Suxin's fingers unconsciously tapped on the table for a long time before she finally said, "Let them go."

  "But..." Bai Ju was about to speak but stopped herself. She knew that the Tianxia Pharmacy was actually relying on their Wu Guo Gong Fu, and Zheng Dainai was their backing.

  Since Shennong Fu's Sheng family fell, the three shopkeepers have been relying on Zheng Suhui, the only closed disciple of Old Master Sheng.

  Although Zheng Suxin did not have a share in Tianxia Pharmacy, the annual filial piety given to her by these three shopkeepers was never lacking, and the amount was as much as they used to send to Shen Nongfu's Sheng family as dividends.

  "Go ahead and do as I say." Zheng Suhui gave Bai Zhi a look, calm but authoritative.

  Bai Zhi hurriedly lowered her head and softly responded, then turned around to send away the three shopkeepers.

  Zheng Suxin walked into the house and took out a thick stack of silver bills from the secret compartment at the bottom of her dresser.

  She looked down and put it back casually.

  Sixteen years of dividend payments added up is already a staggering amount.

  Zheng Suxin didn't know that Old Man Wu had secretly given Sheng Qiye a thousand taels of silver, but she knew that the Sheng family was now coming with great momentum, and it seemed they were going to settle accounts for the wealth that had been taken from them over the years.

  But what does this have to do with Zheng Suxin?

  Those filial piety were Zhao, Jin and Mao three big bosses who voluntarily gave them to her, thanking her for using the Wu Guogong Fu's power to protect their business for sixteen years.

  Otherwise, Tianxia Pharmacy would have been squeezed out of business by the local authorities long ago, how could it still exist?

  The Sheng family is too greedy, relying on the support of Empress Dowager to go against her everywhere!

  Zheng Suxin thought of Sheng Siyan's trick on Wu Chanjuan today. Her eyes sparkled, and she smiled lightly: "Pretty impressive..."

  After some thought, Zheng Suhui took out the three shopkeepers' respects and went to see Wu Laoye in the outer courtyard.

  Mr. Wu is still having fun calculating abacus in Zhi Le Tang.

  Zhen Su Xian has arrived. He nodded and said, "Sit down."

  Zheng Suxin put the silver notes in front of Old Man Wu and said, "Father, this is the tribute from Tianxia Pharmacy to our Wu family over the years. I was thinking, should we return it to the Sheng family? This originally belonged to the Sheng family, I was just keeping it for them."

  Old Wu smiled and looked at her, saying: "In these years you have also made great efforts for the Tianxia Pharmacy, there is no merit but hard work, it's only right to receive some pay."

  Zheng Suxin was greatly surprised. She had thought that Old Master Wu would make her return all these silver notes to the Sheng family! Unexpectedly, she could still keep them... She hastily said: "Father, actually I didn't do anything, they relied on the power of the Wu family..."

  Old Mr. Wu nodded and said, "That's right. Without the Wu family, how could they wait for that little scoundrel Sheng Qi to return? This hard-earned money is indeed ours to collect." As he spoke, he actually reached out and took the stack of silver bills from Zheng Suqin's hand, counting them with an abacus.

  The eastern wing of Zhi Le Tang was filled with the sound of abacus beads clicking away.

  After a while, Wu Lao Ye's cheerful voice rang out again: "Great! A total of 9.2 million taels! - My warehouse just happens to have an empty space, let someone exchange all these silver tickets for silver and bring them back!"

  Zheng Suxin's heart skipped a beat as she stared blankly at Old Man Wu.

  "What's wrong? You don't want to? Alright, take it away then. Anyway, this silver doesn't belong to the Wu family. It belongs to the Sheng family, you handle it as you see fit." Old Man Wu said with a smile.

  Zheng Suxin understood it very clearly.

  Old Mr. Wu reminded her that if this money was not used for public purposes in the Wu family, it would have to be returned to the Sheng family...

  "Although our Wu family has provided shelter for the pharmacy, it's nothing but a small favor between our Wu and Sheng families. Let's just return this silver to the Shengs." Zheng Suxin said with a smile.

  Old Wu let out a cold breath, "This is 9 million taels of silver! Not a small amount! You just gave it away like that?"

  Zheng Suxin smiled warmly, "When I was at my parents' home, my father taught me from a young age that a gentleman loves wealth, but takes it in a proper way. These things were originally the property of the Sheng family, and I'm just taking care of them on their behalf. When Old Master Sheng took me as his closed-door disciple and passed down the Sheng family's medical skills to me, I had no way to repay him, so helping them manage the pharmacies across the land is still within my abilities."

  "Wu Lao Yezi listened quietly for a long time before saying, 'Su Xiang, you have this kind of heart, it's truly rare. Since that's the case, hurry up and return these to the Sheng family. They've just regained their title, they don't have anything at home, and are relying on this silver to get by.'"

  "Uh, something urgent came up in Dengzhou and I need to take care of it. When I get back from Dengzhou, I'll personally deliver them myself. I also want to thank Master Sheng for his protection over the years." Zheng Suhui said tentatively.

  Old Mr. Wu laughed heartily and said, "Nothing, nothing! Our four families are connected by a common breath, it's not just talk!" As he spoke, he ordered someone to help Zheng Suhui up.

  Is this indicating that Old Man Wu is no longer completely unaware of the Sheng family's Tianxia Pharmacy?

  Zheng Suxin's heart sank again. She left Zhi Le Tang with those silver tickets in her sleeve, and walked back to her own courtyard in silence.

  Only after entering the house did she realize her back was drenched in sweat.

  Every time she talks to Old Man Wu, she has to muster up her spirit.

  This time, she knew she had passed again.

  Nine million taels of silver tickets may seem a lot, but compared to the Wu family, it's nothing.

  Zheng Suxin came back to her senses, and then put the silver ticket into a brocade box. She ordered Yu Gui and Bai Zhi to pack their things and set off with her to Dengzhou.

  After a few days, the case of Zhao, Jin and Mao, the three shopkeepers who embezzled the Dong family's store, was tried in the prefectural yamen.

  Zhao, Jin and Mao families asked to see Zheng Suyin but were rejected, so they knew that the situation was unfavorable. However, over the past 16 years, the huge profits of the pharmacy had fattened their appetites, making them more accustomed to being masters rather than servants. Therefore, even if Zheng Suyin refused to see them, they still wanted to take on the Sheng Guo Gong Fu in court.

  This case didn't need to be tried. Because Sheng Qiye was the heir of the Sheng family appointed by the Empress Dowager, it's common knowledge that Tianxia Pharmacy has always been a property of the Sheng family. It's never been heard that when the master is gone, the apprentices can take advantage of the chaos and occupy the pharmacy for themselves.

  The Wang family had warned them many times, but these three were blinded by greed. They refused to hand over the property and took the lawsuit all the way to the Ministry of Punishment.

  These three shopkeepers relied solely on the contract papers that had been filed with the government office to prove they were the owners of the Tianxia Pharmacy.

  However, what Sheng Qiye took out was the original contract and seal of their ancestors who founded the first pharmacy in the world a thousand years ago.

  At the time of the prefectural government, these three families gave the prefect a lot of silver, and the prefect actually said with his eyes open that the original contract had been replaced by a new one and was no longer valid.

  So the Shengguo Gong Fu had no choice but to report it all the way to the Ministry of Punishment.

  Wang had originally made thorough preparations and was ready to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.

  The result was met in the Ministry of Justice with Chen Shilang, known as Iron Face without Private. After reviewing all the evidence, he waved his big pen and sentenced the Tianxia Pharmacy to be returned to the Sheng family, and also let the three shopkeepers hand over the 16-year dividend of 9 million taels of silver. If they couldn't come up with it, their houses would be confiscated to compensate the Sheng Guogong Mansion.

  The three shopkeepers were as if they had lost their father and mother, and suddenly fell to the ground in the Ministry of Justice.

  All these years, they have been living a comfortable life with the profits of Tianxia Pharmacy, and the extra dividends. They had already given their respects to Zheng Dainai, where else would they go to find 9 million taels of silver?!

  It's probably just enough if they were all robbed of their three families...

  But this is the family business that they have accumulated through hard work for several generations. How can they bear to scatter all their wealth at once?

  At this stalemate, Zheng Suhui rushed to the Ministry of Justice with a brocade box. She said to Chen Shilang: "Shilang, please listen. The profits of all the medicine shops in the world are actually here with me. I helped the Sheng family keep them. Sir can count them." Zheng Suhui said, presenting the brocade box to Chen Shilang.

  Chen Shilang ordered someone to count it. Indeed, there were 9.2 million taels more, and he said with great emotion: "To be unmoved by such a large sum of silver is truly the demeanor of Zheng Dàniáng." As he spoke, he awarded this silver to the Shi family.

  The three shopkeepers saw Zheng Su-hen finally appear and even used silver to guarantee their property. Suddenly overjoyed, they kowtowed to thank her.

  Zheng Suxin took a step back and said calmly, "Your affairs have nothing to do with me. All these years, I've been taking care of the Tianxia Pharmacy because of my master's face, not because I want to be involved in your dirty dealings." She turned around and walked to the front of Sheng Qiye, bowed her head and said, "Sheng Qiye, Suxin has arrived late. This silver should have been returned to you long ago, but worldly affairs have delayed me. Now that it's back in its rightful place, I hope you can forgive me."

  Niu Xiaoye followed behind Sheng Siyan and Wang Shi to watch the commotion, seeing Zheng Dainai say this, she couldn't help but curl her lip and say: "Zheng Dainai is really a busy noble. This lawsuit has been going on for over a month, and you've only just remembered now. If it weren't for the Sheng family reporting to the Ministry of Punishment, I reckon you would have forgotten that you needed to return the silver to the Sheng family!"

  Sheng Siyan knew that Niu Xiaoye was a straightforward person who spoke her mind, and although she had caused some trouble for her in the past, most of the time she still lived up to the four words "speaking out for justice".

  Her words were sharp today, so sharp that Zheng Suheng turned around and looked at her with a frown, asking: "Who are you?"

  "She's my friend, always straightforward and tells the truth, but sometimes hurts people. Madame Zheng is magnanimous, don't generalize us younger ones." Also subtly stabbed Zheng Suhui with a sentence.

  The people in the hall thought about it and indeed, that's what happened. What did Zheng Danni do early on? Now that she sees the lawsuit is going to lose, she comes out to be a good person, and her gaze at Zheng Suhui is somewhat subtle...

  Wang also thought so, but as an adult, it would be too petty to say so, whereas Sheng Siyan and Niu Xiaoye were different.

  Zheng Suxin smiled and said softly, "Sheng Dagu, you're a good person, but your eyesight for choosing friends isn't very good." Then she turned her head to Chen Shilang on the trial platform and said, "I reported to Your Honor, I went to Dengzhou to purchase goods a month ago and only returned to the capital yesterday. I just heard about this matter this morning, so I'm late. I hope Your Honor will be lenient."

  The third update of Xian Yun Yuan is brought to you by the alliance leader Enigmayan. Additional updates are seeking pink tickets and recommendation votes!

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