Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1073 Things Aren't Going Well

She originally thought that the deed for a shop would be processed quickly, since it was a straightforward transaction of money and goods. However, Tao Yanyan waited for three days, and the new deed still hadn't been delivered to her.

Eager to open her business, she invited Hua Yuerong to go out of the palace with her to inspect other businesses and inquire about the sale of the shops.

When the brokers saw them arrive, they greeted them as if they were their saviors.

"Madam, young mistress, you must be getting impatient, right? Alas, we didn't expect things to go so badly."

The brokers immediately began complaining upon seeing the two: "The deed to that shop definitely only lists the name of the deceased owner, but when we went to the yamen to process the new deed, the Su family jumped out and said that the owner's wife had no right to dispose of the shop. If we wanted to sell it, we had to give 80% of the money to the Su family, saying that the shop originally belonged to the Su family. The lady was furious and has been arguing with the Su family for the past few days. The two sides have been arguing non-stop, which has caused the delay."

Hua Yue Rong frowned deeply. If she were to look for another shop now, she feared it would be difficult to find one in a short time.

"Don't you have any connections in the government? Such a simple case, can't the government step in to negotiate?" Hua Yuerong didn't want to reveal her identity or use her power unless absolutely necessary.

The broker gave a wry smile: "The government has approached them and negotiated with them, asking the Su family not to be so calculating and to accept a 10% share, but the Su family refuses. The current head of the Su family is also an official, a fifth-rank official in the capital, and we... cannot afford to offend him."

Hua Yurong looked at Tao Yanyan. A fifth-rank official in the capital was abusing his power and bullying others. If it were up to him, it would be an easy thing to deal with.

Tao Yanyan pondered for a moment and said, "My time is precious. Since I'm out today, I want to settle things. Here's what we'll do: you go and tell the Su family to go directly to the yamen with the property deed. My daughter-in-law and I will wait for them there. Tell them that no matter how important the matter is, they must come today, or I'll give up on the shop. It's not easy to find such a straightforward buyer like me for such a large shop."

After Tao Yanyan finished speaking, she took Hua Yurong to inspect the shops first, giving the brokers time to notify people.

There was a department in the capital city government that specialized in handling such property transfers. Having been notified that a distinguished guest was coming, they arrived early. When Lord Su arrived, seeing the official in charge personally waiting, his eyes gleamed with a hint of arrogance: "Oh, Lord Zhao, why are you being so polite today, waiting for me to come and process the property transfer?"

Lord Zhao didn't know who he was waiting for. He only heard the Prefect of the Capital come to deliver a message, telling him to make sure the matter was handled properly, so he obediently waited there. When he saw Lord Su, a fifth-rank official, arrive, he was a little suspicious, thinking that Lord Su's official rank was two ranks lower than the Prefect of the Capital, so why would the Prefect of the Capital need to give him special attention?

Looking around, but seeing no one else besides Lord Su, he smiled and said, "I heard there's a property deed to be transferred today, and our lord is taking it very seriously, which is why he sent me to personally oversee it. What, is Lord Su planning to acquire property?"

Lord Su coughed lightly and waved his hand: "It's not about purchasing, it's about selling. My elder brother had a shop he wanted to sell, and to prevent my sister-in-law from being deceived, I came here in person."

After saying that, he looked around but didn't see any buyers, and his brows furrowed.

He thought to himself that this buyer was even more arrogant than him. How come the buyer was late when he had already shown up? It seemed that the transaction couldn't be completed easily; he would have to give the buyer a few jabs and then raise the selling price appropriately. After all, the buyer was more fussy than him, a high-ranking official of the fifth rank. This was blatant disrespect!

When traveling in the capital, one must be mindful of one's reputation. If the Su family is disrespected, they must be taught a lesson.

Su Xing looked rather unwell. It was clearly a shop left by her father, but her second uncle's family insisted on taking 80% of the silver. Her mother argued with them for three days and even fell ill from anger.

Today, we received a message from the buyer that if we didn't come to complete the transfer of ownership today, they wouldn't buy it. After much deliberation, my mother realized that if she missed this big client, she might never find another buyer. If things dragged on, my second uncle's family might take over the shop, and my daughter and I would have nothing left. So, my mother steeled herself and reluctantly agreed to my second uncle's unreasonable demand: two-tenths, two-tenths, that's almost eight hundred taels of silver.

With eight hundred taels, the mother and daughter could buy a small courtyard and live independently, no longer having to live a life of dependence on others.

Seeing their second uncle chatting animatedly with the official, the mother and daughter exchanged a glance, both feeling a pang of sorrow. Having lost their husbands and fathers, they were truly at the mercy of others.

Madam Su glanced at her sister-in-law and niece and chuckled, “It’s fortunate that Master came today. Otherwise, with these complicated procedures, I’m afraid even you wouldn’t be able to figure it out and might get scammed without even knowing it. Please sit down, Master will take care of all the procedures in a moment. You can just watch from the side.”

Mother Su clenched her handkerchief and pulled her daughter to sit down beside her. For the sake of eight hundred taels of silver, she could only swallow her anger.

With the agreed time fast approaching, Tao Yanyan and Hua Yurong were still eating, so Tao Yanyan asked Xianglan to take the silver notes and go with the broker to complete the formalities. When Xianglan arrived, Lord Su was immediately displeased to see that the person in question was just a servant.

"Your master is quite arrogant, making the Su family wait here for so long. Not only is he late, but he also only sent a servant to do the job. What does this mean? Is he trying to make a fool of me?"

Lord Su has been immersed in officialdom for many years and has a great deal of official power. If an ordinary commoner saw him, he would probably be so frightened by his words that he would kneel down and beg for forgiveness. But Xianglan has been by the Empress's side for more than ten years and has seen all kinds of high-ranking officials.

She glanced at Lord Su indifferently and gave a slight curtsy: "Please don't take offense, Lord Su. My wife and young mistress will arrive later. If things go smoothly, my wife's presence will not be necessary."

Hearing Xianglan's disdainful tone, Lord Su felt that he had been slighted.

"Outrageous! We sent the brokers to inform the Su family that no matter what they had to do, they had to come. But we came, and your master didn't. How can you acquire property like this? Humph, you're neglecting us. Did you even consider that we might refuse to sell to you?" Madam Su questioned Xianglan, noticing her husband's displeased expression.

Xianglan looked at her, then at the mother and daughter sitting beside her, and frowned, saying, "As far as I know, this shop is put up for sale by the owner's wife. May I ask which owner's wife you are?"

Madam Su felt instantly annoyed and glared at Xianglan: "No, I came with my sister-in-law."

Xianglan smiled and said, "My lady only invited the lady of the Su family's owner to come and handle the formalities, she didn't invite anyone else. If you come along and it takes up your time, it's not my lady's fault at all. The actual seller hasn't said anything, but you two... seem to be in a hurry."