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墨書 Inktalez
Seeing that his wife and son had no idea how serious the situation was, he let out a heavy sigh and lamented, "It's my fault. If I had explained the situation about the Merchant Alliance to Ming'er earlier, this wouldn't have happened... This Merchant Alliance suddenly emerged three years ago..." He recounted everything the Merchant Alliance had done over the years, then with a face ashen as death, he said, "Dealer, this time, there's no escape."
"Can the Merchant Alliance really control all the merchants in the world?" Zhuang Youlan's eyes widened in shock, her mouth agape in disbelief.
"How could that be possible?" Zhuang Mother scoffed, thinking he was being overly cautious and worrying for nothing.
Zhuang Jianming remained silent, his heart racing with anxiety. He feared that what his father said was true—that the Dealer truly was inescapably doomed.
"You woman, what do you know?" Zhuang Father glared at her resentfully and then dejectedly continued, "When the Merchant Alliance first appeared, no one took it seriously. But those who got involved with the Merchant Alliance or engaged in any shady dealings ended up being acquired by them. The fortunate ones returned home with their retirement savings, while the unfortunate ones lost everything and ended up on the streets!"
These were all things they had always avoided as merchants. Even people from the Marquis Residence dared not casually involve themselves with the Merchant Alliance's regulations for fear of misfortune—caught in an awkward position of looking down on merchants while relying on business for a luxurious life. If the Merchant Alliance decided to act against them, they would be left speechless and suffering.
"Father, please think of a way! I don't want to end up on the streets..." Upon hearing this, Zhuang Youlan disregarded everything else and began to cry at the thought of becoming homeless.
"Lan'er, stop crying," Zhuang Jianming shouted in frustration at her incessant wailing.
"Why are you yelling at me?" Zhuang Youlan complained indignantly. "You're a grown man and can't even handle a woman; how can you yell at me? It's so embarrassing..." She thought about how Zhu Qingluan could have been her sister-in-law. With her status, she could have had anything she wanted. But now, they were on the verge of losing their home, and she vented all her resentment onto Zhuang Jianming.
Zhuang Jianming's irritation flared as he listened to her complaints. His eyes blazed with anger as he stood up abruptly and mocked her: "Zhuang Youlan, I've seen shamelessness before, but I've never seen anyone as shameless as you..." He had always tolerated her because she was his sister, but seeing her behave so unreasonably made him lose his temper. He directly pierced her heart with his words: "Now you look at Zhu Qingluan differently and think I'm useless. Didn't you say she wasn't worthy of the Dealer back then? Ha! Now it's she who looks down on the Dealer... Or perhaps she was just watching a joke unfold while you humiliated her without realizing you were being humiliated yourself!"
After Zhuang Jianming finished speaking, there was an eerie silence in the Dealer household; no one dared to speak. Three pairs of shocked eyes glared at Zhuang Jianming...
"Woo...," Zhuang Youlan's eyes turned red from being ridiculed as she cried out, "Mother, I don't want to live anymore! Brother is blaming me; it's all my fault!"
“Ming'er, for a woman you don't even want to deal with, you're scolding your sister like this? Are you still Lan'er’s brother?” Zhuang Mother gasped, nearly fainting from anger.
“Hmph…” Zhuang Jianming coldly laughed when he saw them still confused about the situation, remaining silent.
Zhuang Father looked at his indifferent son, then at his crying daughter and bewildered wife, and sighed heavily, muttering, “Dealer, it’s really over…”
As soon as Zhuang Youlan heard her father say this, she exploded in anger. “Father, it’s just a Zhu Qingluan! Don’t you have any other options? She’s just a woman; does she really think she can go against the officials?” She couldn’t bear the thought of living like a beggar; that would be worse than death for her.
“No one can intervene; even the officials can’t do anything,” Zhuang Father shook his head, feeling defeated. “The Qiu Family is finished too!”
“What?” Zhuang Youlan was genuinely frightened now. “Father, are you joking? The Marquis's Residence is not an ordinary family; how dare she act against them?” Did Zhu Qingluan really underestimate her?
Zhuang Father didn’t answer her; he just lowered his head and sighed repeatedly, regretting that the worst decision he ever made was to cancel the engagement with the Chen Family. When Zhu Qingluan returned to the capital, he had a bad feeling but never expected her to be so decisive.
Indeed, if she could take action against the Chen Family, how much more so against Dealer?
“Brother, go plead with her! Just tell Zhu Qingluan that you’re willing to marry her; she will definitely…” Zhuang Youlan’s eyes lit up with an idea as she urged Zhuang Jianming.
“I would rather die,” Zhuang Jianming glared at Zhuang Youlan in resentment and coldly replied, “Did anyone ask me when you canceled the engagement? It was Lan'er and Chen Yan'er who conspired in secret, and as a result, the engagement was called off. Now that there’s trouble, you push it onto me. I’m telling you, I will never go…” After saying this, he turned and left, disappearing from then on. No one saw him again or knew whether he was dead or alive.
Later, when Qing Luan learned of this, she simply remarked lightly: “It seems this person still has some conscience; he just lacks the courage to take responsibility.”
The engagement was canceled by others’ doing, but if he had taken responsibility, he should have insisted on it. Yet he didn’t. Later on, when Dealer fell from grace, this son disappeared too—also lacking in responsibility. Qing Luan felt fortunate that she had married Zhuang Jianming; otherwise, with a troublesome sister-in-law and a man without backbone, life would have been unbearable.
Dealer has truly fallen. Within just a few days, they found themselves in dire straits, beginning to sell off their possessions and dismissing their servants. Anything that Dealer offered was purchased at an extremely low price. The people of Dealer were unwilling but had no choice; they had nowhere else to turn.
As for the Qiu Family, all that remained was a thin veneer of their former glory. However, the disgrace of Madam Marquis selling her dowry had already spread throughout the capital, and her plans had come to naught. As for the substitute Fourth Miss from the Chen Family, she had been sent away long ago after the Chen Family fell from grace.
Ultimately, this situation shook the Huang Family and even caught the attention of the Emperor.
The Huang Family was fearful, while the Emperor was enraged. He could not believe that Xuanyuan Rui would choose such a way to slap him in the face; he wished he could eliminate him immediately. The older he got, the stronger his desire for power became, and he increasingly despised being defied. His anger was palpable.
Initially, upon receiving the news, the Emperor should have summoned Xuanyuan Rui directly. However, an incident occurred that delayed matters and introduced a twist to the situation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~···
Just when I thought I was nearing the conclusion, I suddenly realized that I hadn't written about Zhu Qingluan, that second sister. Oops! She went missing; I must find her... Alright, time to bring her home!
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