Reborn to Be A Noble Wife - Chapter 277

Chapter 277 Aunt Yang Was Reinstated

Qu Moying did not directly return to Qu Mansion. Instead, she went to Yue’s Clothing Pavilion. After being locked up for several days, Yue’s Clothing Pavilion’s entire business was halted. Not only was the shopkeeper arrested, but many of the shop assistants were also taken away for questioning. Although they were all released at this time, many of them ran away.

They were here to make a living. Who would have expected that they were sent to prison? Therefore, some of the shop assistants ran away.

However, some of the shop assistants stayed behind. Qu Moying asked Granny Miao to deal with the aftermath. After a brief inquiry, Granny Miao was very happy. She took the register and entered the former shopkeeper’s office.

“My lady, most of the people who stayed behind were old people hired by madam when she was still alive. Two of them were brought by madam from her hometown.”

The people who ran away were all hired by Yu later on, especially the people who worked under Yu Qian. Now that Yu’s patron was gone and Yu Qian was in prison, these people naturally ran away like rats that deserted a sinking ship.

“Two people brought by Mother? Let them in!” Qu Moying said with a smile.

This was a surprise. She had originally thought that the people from before were all gone. Unexpectedly, some of them remained. Since Yu kept them, they must be quite capable.

A middle-aged woman and a lean middle-aged man entered the room.

“Greetings, my lady.” The two of them bowed respectfully to Qu Moying.

“Are you brought to the capital by my mother when she married? What did you do in the shop in the past?” Qu Moying asked after sizing them up.

The middle-aged woman at the front had an extremely respectful expression. After hearing Qu Moying’s question, she bowed sideways and replied, “My lady, my surname is Yang, and I indeed came to the capital with madam. However, thanks to madam’s great kindness, we regained our citizenship and were no longer hereditary servants. After that, we have been working in the shop. I used to be the shopkeeper of this shop, and standing next to me is the accountant, Mr. Wang.”

They were no longer Qu Mansion’s hereditary servants after regaining their citizenship. This should be one of the important reasons why Yu could not do anything to the two of them.

When Qu Moying heard this, she already understood the situation.

“Aunt Yang was the shopkeeper that madam appointed in the past, but later… after the Second Madam took over the shop, Aunt Yang became Yu Qian’s assistant. In fact, everything in the shop was done by Aunt Yang. Yu Qian was just the shopkeeper in name and he usually did not do anything.”

Mr. Wang said indignantly.

“Yu Qian used to be idle in the past?” Qu Moying asked curiously.

“That’s right. In the past, Yu Qian would only go to the Second Madam to flatter her. He would leave everything for Aunt Yang to do. If Aunt Yang wasn’t so capable, he would have driven her away long ago.” Mr. Wang said. He was a veteran in this shop, so he naturally saw the situation clearly.

Yu Qian was making use of Aunt Yang to do things for himself. On the surface, everything seemed to be done by him, and that was why Yu appreciated him.

“Aunt Yang…” Qu Moying said.

“My lady, you are my master. Don’t address me like that.” Aunt Yang hurriedly shook her hand.

“You were originally my mother’s dowry maid. Now that you are no longer Qu Mansion’s servant, I should naturally address you like this. Aunt Yang, you don’t have to be so modest. From now on, you will be Yue’s Clothing Pavilion’s shopkeeper. You can restore the original shop name when my mother was alive. I wonder if you can do the job well?” Qu Moying said softly with a smile.

Aunt Yang’s eyes turned red when she heard that the little master appointed her to such an important position. Her voice choked with sobs. “My lady, back then, madam was afraid that this shop would be taken over by the Second Madam, so she specially ordered someone to restore our citizenship. This way, we wouldn’t be controlled by the Second Madam. I… I have been guarding this shop for so many years just to wait until the day my lady is in charge.”

As Aunt Yang spoke, she turned to Mr. Wang and nodded at him. Mr. Wang also took a step forward. “My lady, I have been in charge of the accounts all these years. I specially kept an extra copy of the accounting books for you. I had wanted to show you the accounts when I had the chance. Now, I have finally been able to repay madam’s kindness.”

Qu Moying’s heart skipped a beat. “What? Could it be that you have kept all these years’ accounts?”

He was really too considerate.

It was not easy to make another copy of the accounting books under Yu’s eyes. If Yu Qian, who was Yu’s confidant, knew about it, something big would definitely happen.

There were also accounting books in the mansion. Every store sent people to deliver accounting books every year. However, when Granny Yan checked them before, she said that some accounting books were missing. After so many years, it was somehow normal that some accounting books were unavailable. Generally, it was not a big deal. However, for some reason, Qu Moying felt that something was wrong.

The accounting books that were missing were not made in the first few years. They were all made in recent years. Besides, not just a single shop had this problem. Some other shops also lost their accounting books that were made in recent years. Apparently, someone might have taken the accounting books away.

However, when she asked about the missing accounting books, nobody could explain it clearly. It had been a long time, and there was no one to watch over them. After the accounting books were placed in the warehouse, they had been left there unattended. No one had sorted them out. Now, there was naturally no way to find the missing accounting books.

Unexpectedly, there was a surprise in front of her.

“I have kept all of them, including the general ledger, my lady. If you want to check the accounts, I will go and get them now.” Mr. Wang nodded.

Qu Moying smiled and expressed her gratitude. “Thank you, Mr. Wang. Yu Dong, go and help Mr. Wang bring the accounting books over. I will take a look.”

Yu Dong nodded and left with Mr. Wang.

Qu Moying then asked about the business of the shop. She knew that the business of the shop was good. On one hand, the shop was located in the bustling sector of the city. On the other hand, most of the goods that she learned about came from the South. The shop also had a business relationship with the Yue Family in the South.

Yue Family’s lady married into the Qu Mansion. Although the Yue Family’s lady was gone, she still had a daughter. Although the two families had not been in contact for so many years, the Yue Family in the South would still offer help. Some of the goods of Yue’s Clothing Pavilion were supplied by the Yue Family. This was why Yue’s Clothing Pavilion’s business was so good.

The situation in the gold shop on the side was different. Yue’s Gold Pavilion was also in Ji Hanyue’s hands in the beginning. Qu Moying clearly knew that most of the people that Yue’s Gold Pavilion hired were local gold craftsmen. Few goods in the shop were from the South. The craftsmen in the shop made fashionable jewelry and accessories. They were all things that were popular among the ladies in the capital.

But occasionally, some fashionable jewelry pieces that were especially popular in the South were sent to the shop with the help of Yue.

The two shops were actually still related to the Yue Family in the South. This was another important reason why Yu did not dismiss Aunt Yang and Mr. Wang.

After all, they were the best options to keep in touch with the Yue Family.

“What should we do in the next few days to improve the situation?” Qu Moying pondered for a while and asked Aunt Yang.

This was also a dilemma. Such a scandal was also fatal to the shop. Who would be willing to buy things in a shop that was involved in a lawsuit? That would make customers feel unlucky.

Qu Moying had thought of several plans before, but she couldn’t make up her mind at the moment. She wanted to hear the opinion of this shrewd Aunt Yang.

“My lady, now that something like this happened to the shop, everyone in the capital knows about it. Even if you want to hide the fact, it won’t work.” Aunt Yang said. When she heard that Fourth Lady Qu was going to take charge of this shop, she had an idea. She was both excited and happy. She wanted to help Fourth Lady Qu get the shop back to track.

She had promised madam that no matter what happened, she would keep watch over the shop and assist the little master when she grew up and took charge.

“What’s your plan?” Qu Moying raised her eyebrows with interest. At a sight, she knew that Aunt Yang had really thought of a plan for her. She was both surprised and moved.

“My lady, we have to get the South to send a new batch of goods over. The goods must be the most fashionable ones this year. I heard that the South has a new kind of material called ‘five-color brocade’. It is very good, but it is very rare. If we can get the materials and match them with exquisite embroidery, we will inevitably attract many customers.”

Aunt Yang suggested.

This idea exactly echoed with Qu Moying’s plan. It was indeed a little difficult to purchase the five-color brocade. However, if she wrote a letter to her maternal grandparents’ family in the South, she should be able to purchase some. The influence of the Yue Family was a little weak in the capital, but it was indeed a big family in the South.

“What about the embroidery?” Qu Moying nodded and agreed with Aunt Yang. She felt that this matter had to be considered carefully.

Yue’s Clothing Pavilion’s best goods were ready-made clothes.

“Regarding embroidery, I can find the best embroideresses who used to do embroidery in the shop. It would be even better if we could find two more embroideresses in the South. The South has always been very famous for its embroidery, but it is not easy to find a good embroideress in the South.”

Aunt Yang hesitated for a moment and said. Originally, she would not discuss the issue in detail, but seeing the confident look of her little master in front of her, Aunt Yang said everything that was on her mind. Previously, she thought that if she really did not have any other option, she could only use the previous embroideresses. The shop used to have some embroideresses, and she could pick the most outstanding ones.

“It’s not easy to hire outstanding embroideresses from the South. I will send a letter to ask about it first. If there are embroideresses available, my maternal grandparents’ family may recommend one or two.” Qu Moying thought about it and said. She had to ask for help from her maternal grandparents’ family. With her current ability, she really could not find outstanding embroideresses in the capital who came from the South.

After all, the South was famous for embroidery. When outstanding embroideresses from the South entered the capital, they were immediately reserved by people.

When she was Ji Hanyue in her previous life, she heard her mother say that when Yue was in the South, she seemed to have many skilled embroideresses working for her. If one or two of them happened to be available, that would be great.

Hearing the clear and logical explanation of Qu Moying, the last trace of hesitation in Aunt Yang’s heart dissipated. Although Fourth Lady Qu had never been in charge of the shop before, she was extremely intelligent. With just a brief hint, she immediately understood the key issue. It was really a pleasant surprise. If the deceased madam saw her daughter was so intelligent, she would definitely be happy.