Chapter 97 Prefect
When Ye Minghui and Ye Mingxuan saw Ye Mingyu, they were both a little surprised. Ye Minghui asked, "Why didn't you tell me in advance that you were back?"

"I'm in a hurry to come back," Ye Mingyu lied without changing his expression, "I rode so fast that I didn't even drink a few sips of water on the way, so how could I have time to tell you."

If the two of them knew that Ye Mingyu had returned three days ago and had just been making trouble in Xihua Tower for three days, I wonder what their expressions would be.

"Why did you come back just now?" Ye Mingyu asked, "It's already dark, and there's no one in the mansion."

"We..." Ye Mingxuan was about to answer, but when he saw Jiang Li sitting opposite Ye Mingyu, he swallowed the words.

Jiang Li understood what they were talking about. They had to be on guard against her as an "outsider", but it was nothing. Jiang Li guessed that they were going to talk about the Ye family's business. Now she knew what was going on with the Ye family's business troubles. So she stood up and said with a smile: "Uncle Mingyu, you guys can chat. I'm going back to my room."

Ye Mingyu smiled and said, "Okay."

Seeing that Ye Mingyu and Jiang Li seemed quite close, Ye Minghui and Ye Mingxuan looked strange.

After Jiang Li left, Ye Mingxuan and Ye Minghui sat down beside Ye Mingyu. Before they could say anything, Ye Mingyu spoke first. He said, "Brother, brother, you are really too much to a little girl. How can this be? She came back specially to see her mother, but you didn't let her see her. She was still on guard against others when she said something. Even I can see how fragile the little girl is. I'm afraid you have seen it a long time ago and she is sad, but you just don't let you know and put on a forced smile. I say, you are so old, why are you still bullying little girls?"

Ye Mingxuan was so angry at Ye Mingyu's words that he almost lost his breath. He said, "We bully her? Which eye of yours saw us bullying her?"

"I saw it with both my eyes!" Ye Mingyu pointed at his own eyes. "Even if she didn't see anyone, Ah Li understood and went back to the house on her own initiative. It's just that the little girl is soft-tempered. If it were me, I would have made a scene a long time ago."

"Make a fuss, make a fuss," Ye Mingxuan said, "make a fuss as soon as possible. You think you are still a young master in your teens, but you don't even look at your age. You should apply this sentence to yourself!"

"Have you talked to her?" Ye Minghui asked calmly.

"I told you." Ye Mingyu asked, "Why?"

"What do you think of her?"

"Good!" Ye Mingyu slapped his thigh, "I think A Li is not an ordinary official lady. You should all learn from her knowledge and speaking skills. The kaleidoscope I brought back from the fleet, I'm not saying that any of you would not know what it is or how to use it, but she knows! She can use it! The peacock feathers I found are only known by her. Most importantly, this girl is righteous! Unlike some girls who are old and petty."

"Honest?" Ye Mingxuan asked, "Why do you say she is righteous? What did she hide for you?"

Ye Mingyu cursed in his heart that Ye Mingxuan was really cunning, he heard it all. Ye Mingyu said Jiang Li was righteous, naturally because Jiang Li did not tell him that he had returned to Xiangyang Guangxihualou a long time ago, and had no intention of telling him. This is not righteous, this is too righteous!

Ye Mingyu cleared his throat twice and covered up by saying, "Nothing. Anyway, you haven't told me where you went and why there is no one in the house?"

The two brothers looked at each other, and Ye Minghui said, "Something happened in Lizheng Hall. We are going to Lizheng Hall."

"I just talked about this with Ali. Has this matter not been resolved yet?" Ye Mingyu asked.

"Did you tell her?" Ye Mingxuan asked loudly.

"Ah." Ye Mingyu nodded.

"You... you really are..." Ye Mingxuan held it in for a long time before uttering one word: "Nonsense!"

……

Jiang Li returned to the yard and sat down at the table.

Tong'er and Baixue were busy moving the box of "peacock feathers" into the house. The box was very heavy, but when they opened it, the tiny luster of the shells was very dazzling. Although they were shells, they were as beautiful as pearls and jade.

Tong'er and Bai Xue were watching in amazement, but Jiang Li was a little absent-minded.

It turned out that the Ye family's business was in trouble because of this. The Ye family originally started out as a weaving business. Over the years, the business outside has gradually decreased, and even the jewelry store Hongxianglou has closed. The Ye family's weaving is famous throughout Beiyan, and the ancient fragrant satin is unique and can only be produced by the Ye family.

If there was really something wrong with the Ye family's fabrics, it would be a huge blow to the Ye family's business, and it might even be unable to recover. If the reputation was ruined, the Ye family's business would really be ruined. In this case, even if the Ye family had a fortune, it would all be lost, and the Ye family would be left penniless.

I don’t know what went wrong with the cloth. As Ye Mingyu said, the weaving factory is in Xiangyang, and Ye Minghui and Ye Mingxuan are watching over it on a daily basis. There have been no problems for so many years, but something suddenly went wrong. Is it a coincidence?
But Jiang Li had a feeling that this was no accident. Apart from anything else, Ye Shijie had just entered the government, which was the starting point of his official career. If something went wrong with the Ye family, and someone wanted to use the Ye family to do business with Ye Shijie, Ye Shijie's official career would almost be controlled by others.

Thinking of this, Jiang Li was suddenly shocked. Could it be true? The troubles in the Ye family's business were really caused by someone, and the ultimate goal was to use the Ye family to contain Ye Shijie, or simply control the entire Ye family? You know, the wealth of the Ye family is a wealth that makes people jealous. If you really control the Ye family, at least many things will be easy to do.

The Ye family can provide a steady stream of wealth.

Jiang Li's heart suddenly tightened. She was not the real Second Miss Jiang. In fact, it was not worth it to say that she had a deep relationship with the Ye family. But when the nest is overturned, all the eggs will be intact. Besides, she hoped to use the power of the Ye family to do her own things in the future. It was for her own sake, but also to preserve the Ye family.

But the enemy is in the dark and I am in the light, so it is difficult to act comprehensively.

After thinking for a while, Jiang Li said, "Tong'er, go out tomorrow and ask around at a few clothing stores in Xiangyang City. Ask if they have clothes made of ancient fragrant satin recently."

"Okay." Tong'er agreed and asked Jiang Li, "Why do you want to know this, young lady?"

"The Ye family's business is in trouble, and the ancient fragrant satin is the key. I don't know how many people know about the problem with the ancient fragrant satin, and how big the trouble is. But the better clothing stores in Xiangyang must have had dealings with the Ye family in the past, regarding the transactions of ancient fragrant satin. If these clothing stores now start to stop accepting ancient fragrant satin, this matter will be serious."

There was one more thing Jiang Li didn't say. At least in Yanjing City, no one knew that there was a problem with the ancient fragrant satin. In other words, the news that there was a problem with the fabric had not spread yet. If these garment shops all stopped wanting ancient fragrant satin, there must be something hidden. It is very likely that someone had already warned them about it.

"When you ask, pay attention to the attitude of these shopkeepers. See if they say that there is no stock recently, or they directly tell you that there is a problem with the ancient fragrant satin." Jiang Li instructed.

Tong'er wrote it down carefully.

Doing business, especially doing business with the Ye family, is of course not a one-time deal, it is a long-term relationship. Even Ye Mingyu is not sure whether there is really a problem with the fabric. If the shopkeeper wants to do business with the Ye family in the future, he will naturally help the Ye family cover it up. But if he is eager to announce it to the world immediately and directly say that there is a problem with the fabric, then it is almost certain that these clothing stores have received someone's intention to deliberately harm the Ye family.

Did the Ye family offend someone? Jiang Li wondered.

After thinking about it over and over again, she still had no clue. After all, there were not many clues at the moment. Jiang Li couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she tried. It was only after Bai Xue persuaded her to go to bed early that Jiang Li gave up.

The next day, Tong'er followed Jiang Li's advice and went out to the clothing store to inquire about the news. Jiang Li asked Bai Xue to go with her because Bai Xue was strong and safer on the road. She couldn't find anything to do in the yard, so she planned to talk to Ye Mingyu. Ye Mingyu was the only one in the Ye family who was not on guard against him. Jiang Li learned so much from Ye Mingyu yesterday, and she thought that maybe she could get more news from Ye Mingyu today.

Jiang Li didn't know which courtyard Ye Mingyu lived in, so she just wanted to go to the front hall and ask the servant to invite him. But when she got to the front hall, she unexpectedly found Ye Jiaer and Ye Rufeng there too.

Ye Jiaer paced back and forth, looking very worried. Ye Rufeng also frowned, as if he had encountered some trouble.

Jiang Li paused for a moment, walked in, and called out, "Cousin, cousin."

Ye Rufeng charmed her. Seeing Jiang Li coming, Ye Jiaer smiled, but the smile also looked a little melancholy. She said, "Cousin, you are here." After a pause, she apologized, "Uncle Zhao and Uncle Zhuang suddenly came to Lizheng Hall yesterday, leaving you alone. I am really sorry."

"It's okay." Jiang Li smiled and said, "My cousin is busy with work, and I was thinking of walking around by myself. I had a lot of fun walking around."

"That's good." Ye Jiaer said.

The people in the hall fell silent. Ye Rufeng was angry with Jiang Li, so he naturally wouldn't take the initiative to talk to Jiang Li. If it was Ye Jiaer normally, she would also chat with Jiang Li for a few words, but today Ye Jiaer seemed to be preoccupied and didn't pay attention to Jiang Li. I don't know what she was thinking about.

Jiang Li thought for a while and asked softly, "Is cousin worried about Li Zhengtang's affairs?"

Ye Jiaer was stunned, and forced a smile: "Yes, it's just that there are some small troubles in business."

"It's a problem with the ancient satin, right?" Jiang Li looked at her. "Now that there is a problem with the ancient satin, do many clothing stores know about it?"

Ye Jiaer was startled. Ye Rufeng asked, "How do you know? Did you eavesdrop on our conversation?"

His tone was unkind.

"Uncle Mingyu told me." Jiang Li looked at Ye Jiaer, "But he only said that some people said that there was something wrong with the ancient satin, and it was related to the garment shop. I guessed it." She smiled and said, "There are so many garment shops in Xiangyang, and many of them get the ancient satin from the Ye family. If the ancient satin really has problems, these garment shops will be reluctant to take the fabric."

"My cousin is a very kind-hearted person. She guessed it right at once." Ye Jiaer said. She thought that since Ye Mingyu had already told Jiang Li, there was nothing to hide. Jiang Li already knew about it anyway, and hiding it would be the petty nature of the Ye family. Besides, even if they wanted to hide it, could they? This matter had become more and more serious and difficult to deal with. Jiang Li would sooner or later learn about it from outsiders.

"The Ye family has a lot of business with the garment shops. Now, one after another, the garment shops have stopped taking materials from the Ye family. It's not just one or two, but all of them. In the past few days, the shop owners of the garment shops come to Lizhengtang every day to stop buying goods. As my cousin saw, Uncle Zhuang and Uncle Zhao who came yesterday have done business with the Ye family for decades. They came to Lizhengtang yesterday and said they would stop buying fabrics immediately." Ye Jiaer sighed.

"We have been doing business for decades and we are old acquaintances. Are you still going to kick us when we are down?" Jiang Li asked.

"It can't be said to be kicking someone when they are down, it's just human nature." Ye Jiaer didn't feel resentful, and patiently explained: "It's just that the cost of weaving ancient fragrant satin is high. These shopkeepers didn't mention it before. This batch of ancient fragrant satin was woven and no one bought it. Even if it was left there, it would be a huge loss for the Ye family."

"What kind of human nature is this? It's just adding insult to injury." Ye Rufeng snorted coldly, "They begged us to supply them first before, but now something has happened and they want to stop supplying them immediately without investigating. Decades of friendship are nothing compared to profit!"

Ye Jiaer sighed and said nothing. Although Ye Rufeng's words were harsh, they were not entirely unreasonable. It was indeed despicable to change one's attitude according to the situation. Not to mention that he had been doing business with the Ye family for decades.

Jiang Li was not thinking about this matter. These garment shops took the ancient fragrant satin from the Ye family for profit. Since they had been doing business for decades, it was obvious that this business was very prosperous. The purpose of businessmen doing business was to make money. Now, even if there was a problem with the ancient fragrant satin, before the matter was fully understood, these garment shops would not terminate the transaction with the Ye family so quickly, because terminating the transaction with the Ye family would also cut off the possibility of continuing to make money in the future.

What could make a merchant willingly give up making money? Either there is a greater benefit, or there is a greater threat than money.

"In fact, it's OK to lose money on this batch of antique satin. The Ye family has tried to stop losses in time before. What we are afraid of is that if the news that there is a problem with the Ye family's antique satin gets out, the reputation of the Ye family will be ruined. Once the Ye family's brand is damaged, it will be difficult for the Ye family to get back on its feet. Could it be that the century-old foundation will be destroyed in an instant?" Ye Jiaer was very sad.

The richer the family, the more they care about their reputation. A thousand-mile dam collapses because of an ant hole, and a single mistake can lead to a complete loss. Therefore, the Ye family has always been very careful with fabrics, but they didn't expect such a big mistake to happen this time.

"Don't worry, cousin," Jiang Li comforted her. "Why would you get a rash after wearing clothes made of ancient fragrant satin? We can't be sure that it's the material that's the problem. It's just a rumor, and we haven't reached the end of our rope yet. As long as we find the real reason, the Ye family can be cleared of the grievances and their reputation can be restored." "That's easy to say," Ye Jiaer shook her head. "We can't find the reason. There's clearly nothing wrong with the ancient fragrant satin produced by the weaving mill, but there are problems with the clothes made of ancient fragrant satin in the clothing shops everywhere."

"Maybe it's not because of the ancient satin," Jiang Li said, "Maybe it's because of those ready-made clothing stores."

"It's not a big deal if it's just one shop. There won't be any problems with all the clothing shops in Xiangyang." Ye Jiaer said, "I know what my cousin wants to say. She wants to say that the Ye family was framed. But although the Ye family is not an official family in Xiangyang, no one dares to provoke them on weekdays. Who would be so bold to frame us? Someone who is so bold must be in a high position. What is his purpose in harming us like this?"

"Besides the Ye family, are there any other weaving factories in Xiangyang?" Jiang Li asked.

Ye Jiaer shook her head.

Then we won’t be business rivals.

Jiang Li sighed. As the two were talking, Ye Minghui and his two brothers came over. Seeing Ye Jiaer and Jiang Li talking, Ye Mingyu called out, "Jiaer, Ah Li!"

"Uncle Mingyu." Jiang Li nodded to him.

Ye Minghui looked at Jiang Li, and seemed a little hesitant, but he finally spoke, saying: "A Li, I didn't let you see the old lady a few days ago. The old lady was not in good health. You have been in Xiangyang for more than half a month, and the old lady's health is gradually getting better. You can meet the old lady today."

Jiang Li was surprised, and seeing Ye Mingyu's satisfied look, she realized that it was Ye Mingyu who helped and persuaded the two brothers, so Ye Minghui made up his mind to let Jiang Li meet Old Madam Ye right away.

It was an unexpected move.

In fact, Jiang Li didn't want to see Old Madam Ye so urgently, but since someone else had proposed it, she naturally agreed without hesitation, and then showed a hint of happiness at the right time, saying, "That's great."

Ye Mingxuan and Ye Mingyu looked at Jiang Li. Jiang Li's happiness did not seem fake. Although they were busy with the affairs of Lizhengtang these days, they did not relax their observation of Jiang Li. The maids of the Ye family who served Jiang Li said that Jiang Li did not do anything out of the ordinary these days. She was very quiet and had a gentle temper. The two brothers of the Ye family gradually put their minds at ease.

"Then let's go now." Ye Mingxuan said.

Jiang Li nodded.

Just as they were about to leave, Guan and Zhuo suddenly came in from outside. Guan and Zhuo didn't care much about business matters, but the Ye family was so big that they had to take care of everything, so Guan and Zhuo were very busy on weekdays. The Ye family was very special. The power of the housekeeper was not concentrated in the hands of one person, but Guan and Zhuo were the joint housekeepers. It seemed that their relationship was quite good, otherwise they would have been fighting for power. In other words, if Ji Shuran and Lu were allowed to be the joint housekeepers in the Jiang family, the Jiang family would have been in trouble.

Guan said, "Master, Prefect Tong has sent someone over."

"Prefect Tong?" Ye Minghui was puzzled. "Why did he send someone here?"

"I don't know either." Guan seemed a little anxious. Before she could finish her words, she saw a group of officials coming in. They all wore long swords on their waists and rushed into the front hall without any scruples. They asked, "Are the first and second masters Ye here?"

Ye Mingxuan said: "Yes, what can I do for you, sir?"

"Master Tong asks you to come over," the leading officer said, "Two gentlemen, please come in."

"Leave? Where to? What have you done wrong?" Ye Mingyu was not afraid of the officials and immediately stood up and asked, "Why did you only invite these two? What's the point?"

The officer looked Ye Mingyu up and down. Ye Mingyu was dressed like a peddler and had a bit of gangster air. It was not known whether those people recognized him as Master Ye San or they simply thought that Ye Mingyu was insignificant. He just said, "I'm just doing my job. Please discuss these issues with Master Tong, both masters." He was a little arrogant.

Jiang Li felt strange. Although the Ye family was not feared by everyone, they were definitely not bullied. As a local official, the so-called Tong Zhifu had no need to be so rude to the Ye family. The officials always acted according to the situation. This attitude must be because Tong Zhifu conveyed the message that the Ye family was not to be feared.

Why did Prefect Tong act like this? He seemed to be fearless.

Ye Mingyu was about to make a scene, but Ye Minghui stopped him. Ye Minghui was the eldest son of the Ye family, and he was calmer than others. He bowed to the official and said, "Since the official is here to do the job, we will just go there. Please let me and my family know what you want to do."

He first looked at Jiang Li and said, "I wanted to take you to see the old lady, but I didn't expect this to happen. Ah Li, I can only ask you to wait a little longer."

"Nothing." Jiang Li smiled.

He looked at Ye Mingyu again and said, "Mingyu, you don't have to take care of the business, so just protect the Ye family. If there is anything in Lizheng Hall, let Jiaer and Rufeng handle it. This is also a good opportunity for them to exercise. As for Mingxuan and I, don't tell the old lady that we are going to see Tong Zhifu, remember."

Zhuo looked at the official and said, "Sir, this...when will my elder brother and husband be able to come back?"

"I don't know even if you ask me." The officer asked Ye Minghui: "Master Ye, have you explained clearly? If you have explained clearly, then you can leave."

Ye Minghui said nothing more. He comforted Guan and Zhuo a little, telling them not to worry, that he and Ye Mingxuan would be back soon, and then left with the team of officials.

After the officers left, the Ye family was at a loss for a moment.

This happened so suddenly that no one expected it. Ye Jiaer murmured, "My father and uncle...are they okay?"

"It's okay." Jiang Li comforted her: "Uncle Minghui said he will be back soon."

"No." Ye Jiaer shook her head. "Uncle never said these words before, let alone told me anything. But today he specifically told me and Rufeng to take care of the affairs of Lizheng Hall... He felt that he would not be back too soon... He had this premonition."

That's true. Ye Minghui's later words and the arrangements in his words seemed to have confirmed that he would not return to the Ye family for the time being.

"What on earth is going on?" Zhuo asked, "Why would Governor Tong come to our house out of the blue?"

Although I don't know what happened, sending soldiers to my house to pick someone up can't be a good thing. It can't be that Governor Tong invited them to have tea and talk.

"It must be about the ancient fragrant satin incident." Ye Rufeng gritted his teeth. "Before, the clothing stores suppressed it, so few people got into trouble when wearing ancient fragrant satin. But now... other clothing stores no longer have dealings with Li Zhengtang. Sooner or later, the matter of ancient fragrant satin will spread out. Once the people know about it, they will definitely not let it go. In order to stabilize the people, the prefect will definitely take action against the Ye family."

Jiang Li looked at Ye Rufeng with a new eye this time. She thought Ye Rufeng was quite childish, impulsive, and his emotions were all shown on his face. He was not as smart as Ye Shijie. Now it seemed that Ye Rufeng also had a clear mind and could see the whole story at a glance.

The three grandchildren of the Ye family are not mediocre. Ye Shijie is well-educated and talented in being an official. Ye Jiaer is generous and steady, and can control the situation. Ye Rufeng is also quite smart. With this, the Ye family will not fail. Having the Ye family as a backer is also a good choice.

"My cousin is right." Jiang Li said, "I guess it's because of Lizhengtang's incident."

Ye Rufeng snorted.

"But this Tong prefect, is his name Tong Zhiyang?"

"How do you know?" Ye Mingyu asked. Jiang Li was a lady from Yanjing and had never been to Xiangyang. It was surprising that she knew the name of the Xiangyang prefect.

"He has a brother-in-law," Jiang Li said with a smile, "who works as the bell officer in Yanjing City."

"What does Officer Zhong do?" The Ye family was a merchant family and they were not very clear about the ranks of officials.

"He is the person in charge of minting coins." Jiang Li explained.

The Ye family finally understood. Ye Mingyu said, "I didn't expect you even knew about his brother-in-law. Ah Li, Tong Zhiyang is not a high-ranking official, right?"

"Not really." Jiang Li said with a smile: "I'm in the Jiang family, so it's inevitable that I'll hear some of it."

She secretly thought in her heart that Tong Zhiyang had a brother-in-law who was the most important official in Yanjing City. Most importantly, his brother-in-law was a subordinate of the Right Prime Minister and was very close to Li Lian.

After all, Tong Zhiyang can be said to be a subordinate of the Right Prime Minister.

……

In a courtyard in Xiangyang, people were talking in the house.

"Sir, Tong Zhiyang has already taken action." Lu Ji said.

Ji Heng was sitting on a chair, reading a scroll. Hearing this, he paused and said, "It's a little early."

"I also think it's a bit early." Lu Ji stroked his beard, "It is said that they rushed directly into the front hall of the Ye family to arrest people. It was quite a commotion. Now the matter cannot be concealed. The whole Xiangyang knows about it."

"As expected." Ji Heng laughed, "We have to do this for Li Lian to see. We have to make a big move."

"I heard that Miss Jiang was there at the time." Lu Ji said, "But Miss Jiang didn't make any move. Miss Jiang probably can't get involved in this plan, so there won't be any trouble." According to common sense, Jiang Li would definitely not be able to get involved and would not be able to turn the tide, but Jiang Li had ruined the situation several times before and after, so Lu Ji didn't dare to be too sure in his heart. Miss Jiang couldn't be treated like an ordinary person.

"Not necessarily." Ji Heng smiled, his eyes moving clearly. He put the scroll in his hand aside, "Don't underestimate her."

"I don't dare to underestimate her." Lu Ji smiled and said, "As for the Ye family, Li Lian has already started planning. Now that Ye Minghui and Ye Mingxuan are not here, the Ye family is in disarray, and that Ye Mingyu can't play a big role. Once the news that there is something wrong with the ancient fragrant satin gets out, Li Zhengtang will be in danger. The next step is that the Ye family will be forced to the point of desperation, and the Li family will have an opportunity."

“Lu Ji, don’t treat everyone as a fool.” Ji Heng gently shook the folding fan in his hand. The golden peony blossomed and flowed with the movement of his hand, creating a large area of ​​swaying beauty.

"The Li family's idea is not perfect, and it is not necessarily that no one has thought of it."

"I can't say the show was wonderful until the end." He smiled gently.

(End of this chapter)