HCB Chapter 339 The Wen Family
Chapter 339 The Wen Family
[This is Wen Bai, the Lord of Hao City, he is 40 years old and comes from an aristocratic family.]
The system mechanically explained, ignoring Qian Qian's embarrassment, [Over the years, Da Xia's attitude towards the noble families has been up and down. ]
[The Wen family is very strict with their children, and the family tradition is generally good.]
Qian Qian took off his veil, rubbed his forehead, and looked at the people and soldiers who were crawling on the ground in front of him. His voice sounded a little tired, "Stand up."
He walked into Haocheng weakly surrounded by a group of people and ordered the secret guards around him, "Take me to see Zhang Tianzhen."
"Yes."
Wen Bai was completely ignored...
He stood up expressionlessly and quickly followed His Majesty.
Qian Qian turned his head to look at the uncle and quickened his pace, [Tongzi, what does this Uncle Wen want to do? ]
[Um, I want to borrow your power. ]
[He has been patient with the Lin family for many years. Now that you are here, he wants to completely eradicate the Haocheng Lin family.]
Qian Qian paused, turned around and looked at Wen Bai.
"Master Wen," he rolled his eyes at him and ordered in a deep voice, "Take people to search the Lin Mansion."
Wen Bai bowed slightly and accepted the order.
Qian Qian had a gloomy face and walked towards the small courtyard where Zhang Tianzhen lived.
[Tongzi, this Wen Bai really likes to act on his own. I feel very uncomfortable.]
The system laughed, [Then take this opportunity to let someone else take over as the Lord of Hao City. ]
【Oh?】 Qian Qian raised his eyebrows, 【Is there anyone suitable?】
[Yes,] the system explained, [the Wen family in Haocheng is a century-old family with a relatively upright family tradition.]
[The men in their family are trained to be the head of the family, and the girls are trained to be tools for marriage. ]
【In this era, this can be said to be normal. 】
[But you have seen how Wen Bai behaves. He doesn't take women seriously. Even if you are the empress, he still looks down on you.]
Qian Qian snorted coldly, [Yeah, I felt it, so I’m unhappy. ]
The system chuckled twice, [But Wen Bai has a little cousin named Wen Miao, who is only seventeen years old this year.]
[He is well-read and has a talent for management. He is also fair and smart. He is more suitable to be the city lord than Wen Bai. ]
Qian Qian nodded, [But the Wen family probably won't allow girls to be out in the limelight and pursue careers? ]
[Yes,] the system said with a little regret.
[Not to mention that she is the ruler of a city with great power. The Wen family is very opposed to the idea of a woman holding power. ]
[No problem,] Qian Qian curled her lips, [Is there anyone in the Wen family who can catch the little braid? ]
The system was amused. [What a coincidence, Wen Miao's father and brother, Wen Bai's great uncle and his family, have been secretly lending money at high interest rates since last year.]
【Loan sharking?】
[Hmm,] the system sneered, [In this era, it is private lending.]
Qian Qian wondered, [Is Wen Miao's family very poor? ]
[No,] the system said with disdain, [Wen Miao's mother is a merchant's daughter, her dowry is very generous and her mother has a high talent for business.]
[The dowry business that used to be run by Wen Miao's mother has been thriving these years, with the annual revenue increasing more than tenfold compared to before.]
[Fortunately, Wen Miao's mother is a woman who knows what's going on.]
[Firstly, she knew that she was the second wife, and she only had one daughter, Wen Miao.]
[Secondly, the marriage between her and Uncle Wen was just a common business marriage, each getting what they wanted.]
[Therefore, Wen Miao's mother never took Uncle Wen to heart, and naturally never used her dowry to support the Wen family.]
[When Wen Miao was five years old, she began to teach Wen Miao how to do business, do accounting and manage the household, and told Wen Miao that all her properties would belong to Wen Miao in the future.]
[Whether it is Wen Miao's brother, father, grandparents, or even grandparents, none of them can covet Wen Miao's property. ]
Qianqian's bad mood finally improved after meeting Wen Bai.
[Mother is very clear-headed. No wonder Wen Miao is such an outstanding girl who is capable of holding real power in a city.]
[Yes,] the system also sighed, [From childhood to adulthood, Wen Miao's mother never suppressed her children's nature.]
[As long as Wen Miao wants to do something, no matter how unrealistic her idea is, her mother will fully support it.]
[So Wen Miao learned a lot of things and read a lot of books that girls in this era were not allowed to read.]
[She even disguised herself as a female teacher and went to the orphanage to teach younger children.]
[I also secretly visited the nursing home and the villages and towns around Haocheng to understand the people's sentiments.]
The more I listened to Qian Qian, the more excited I felt.
[Oh my god, my chosen city lord, how could he let me go so easily? 】
After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Does Wen Miao's mother know about the loan sharking by her father and brother?"
[I don't know,] the system sneered, [The reason why the Wen family's uncle and the eldest son lent money at high interest is because they don't trust the merchant girl.]
[Wen Miao's father did not let Madam Wen, the mistress of the family, take charge of the household, but instead handed the family business over to his legitimate son early on.]
[But his legitimate son has no talent for business at all. One could even say that he would do anything that doesn’t make money.]
[Over the years, not only has the shop been profitable, but several shops have even been sold.]
[Their eldest family was really unable to make ends meet, and Uncle Wen, as the head of the family, couldn't bring himself to talk to his wife about it.]
【So he adopted his eldest son's suggestion and secretly lent money at high interest. 】
[But they also know that Wen Bai is a man of integrity and uprightness, who always stands for what is right and not for his relatives.]
[They were very secretive and careful about lending money.]
[But truth cannot be hidden. Once something is done, it will definitely leave traces. ]
[Qianqian, I'll tell you the clues. I guarantee that you'll find the answer right away.]
Qian Qian lowered her eyes, [Where is Wen Bai? Is he still at the Lin family?]
[Yes,] the system eats melons, [the old man at the city gate just now has met his daughter.]
[Both father and daughter are very grateful to City Lord Wen. Wen Bai intends to crush the Lin family in one fell swoop this time, so he investigates very carefully.]
[Okay,] Qian Qian narrowed his eyes, [Besides Uncle Wen and his son, are there any other family members involved in the Wen family's lending of money?]
[Hehe,] the system mocked, [Even Wen Bai's elderly mother knows this.]
[And his biological father also secretly covered for Uncle Wen and his son.]
Qian Qian stopped and blew a whistle to call the secret guards.
He lowered his voice and gave an order, "Listen carefully, you must cooperate with Haocheng Skynet. I want irrefutable evidence of the crimes of Uncle Wen and his son."
"Yes."
The secret guard bowed and accepted the order.
Qian Qian waved her hand and walked happily towards Zhang Tianzhen's residence.
As soon as I entered the small courtyard, I saw Zhang Tianzhen, dressed as an old farmer, waving a hoe and loosening the soil in the corner.
"Zhang Tianzhen," Qian Qian said in a clear voice, "What are you doing?"
Zhang Tianzhen paused and looked back at Her Majesty the Empress.
He calmly put down the hoe with both hands and quickly walked towards Qian Qian to greet him.
Qian Qian asked him to excuse himself, "Why, are you planning to retire to the countryside?"
The smile Zhang Tianzhen managed to force froze on his face, his eyes turned slightly red, and he lowered his eyes without saying a word.
Qian Qian sighed softly, but at this moment the system spoke, [Qian Qian, let Xiao Erdan come out of the space.]
[I ate the melon, Xiao Erdan and Zhang Tianzhen are destined to be together. ]
Before Qian Qian could speak, a secret guard came to report, "Your Majesty, Wen Bai comes to apologize for his crime."