Shen Feng was severely scolded by Shen Zhuo but didn't dare to talk back. He just waited for Shen Zhuo to calm down quickly.
After scolding his son, seeing Shen Feng looking submissively remorseful, Shen Zhuo let out a long breath and asked, "During these days when you were in contact with that Boss Du, did you notice who he often associated with?"
Shen Feng thought for a while. Unfortunately, he had only dined with that Boss Du a few times and gone to the gambling house with him. He didn't know much about other things regarding Boss Du.
Seeing Shen Feng shaking his head, Shen Zhuo felt the anger that had just subsided rising again. "Alas! Feng'er, Yuwen and Yuhao are not kids anymore. How come you, as a father, still act so irresponsibly all day long!"
After saying this, seeing that Shen Feng still seemed not to have taken it to heart, Shen Zhuo could only sigh helplessly and say, "It's all my fault and your mother's for spoiling you too much. That's why you've been deceived until now!"
Old Lady Zhu didn't like to hear Shen Zhuo's words, but she was also afraid that if she continued to make a scene, she would really annoy Shen Zhuo. So she didn't argue with him anymore.
Seeing that neither Old Lady Zhu nor Shen Zhuo mentioned the thirty thousand taels of silver she had once given to Shen Feng, Shen Shi couldn't help but say, "Feng'er, is there any of the money you took out for business left?"
Hearing this, Shen Feng immediately looked up at Shen Shi and said, "Sister, didn't I tell you before? All that money is with that damned Boss Du! Now that Boss Du has disappeared, I don't know where he took the money!"
Hearing this, Shen Shi looked frustrated. "Then... then... what about my thirty thousand taels of silver? What should I do with that silver?"
Shen Feng shrugged helplessly. "Sister, I can't do anything about this either! Blame that Boss Du for being too cunning. He knew we wouldn't report this to the authorities for this matter. After scamming our money, he just slipped away immediately."
Shen Shi frowned tightly. "Feng'er, think of another way. See if you can find that Boss Du! That thirty thousand taels of silver was for Miao'er's dowry!"
"Sister! I've already led people to search once, but I didn't find him. Do you want me to turn the whole capital upside down?"
"I didn't say you should look for him in a big - fanfare way! Lead people to search more carefully. Maybe you'll find him. Are we just going to let those tens of thousands of taels of silver disappear like this?" Shen Shi angrily slapped the table and shouted at Shen Feng.
"Father, Mother, look at the way she is now!" Shen Feng stood up straight from the ground and pointed at Shen Shi, saying to Shen Zhuo and Old Lady Zhu, "Now she's blaming me! I didn't cry and kneel to beg you to give me the money back then. I don't know who it was. As soon as they heard there was a profitable business, they immediately rushed over. Now that something has gone wrong, they come to blame me!"
Shen Shi suddenly stood up from her chair. "Shen Feng, what are you talking about! When you asked me for the money back then, you weren't like this! You said it was a sure - fire and highly profitable business, and you could bring back several times more silver than the original amount in half a month. You said a whole bunch of nice things."
"Now look! You were even counting the money for the scammer after being deceived. You didn't even find out the other person's background clearly before giving tens of thousands of taels of silver to others. Only someone as brainless as you could do such a thing!"
"Shen Wanru, how dare you scold me? What right do you have to scold me? The business was something you wanted to do, and the money was given by you. I didn't put a knife to your throat and force you!"
"Shen Feng, you ungrateful wretch!"
"Enough! Shut up both of you!" Shen Zhuo roared at Shen Feng and Shen Shi who were already arguing, "Look at the two of you now. Is this what you should look like? Just because of some silver, you two siblings are arguing non - stop!"
"Father, you should know my difficulties! That's not a small amount of money. That thirty thousand taels of silver was for preparing Miao'er's dowry! Now the money is gone. What should I do about Miao'er? I'm really out of options!" Shen Shi wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief and said with a sad and helpless look.
Hearing this, Shen Zhuo fell silent, and even Old Lady Zhu didn't say a word. For a moment, the only sounds in the hall were Shen Shi's sobs and Shen Miao's soft words of comfort.
After a while, Shen Zhuo said, "Wanqiu, Miao'er's matter is of great importance! Don't worry. Since this matter concerns Miao'er's dowry, we must take it seriously. Well, next, I'll ask Shen Feng to lead the servants at home to search again to see if we can find that person. Then everything will be solved, right?"
Shen Shi didn't immediately accept Shen Zhuo's offer. She knew that this matter had to be clarified today, otherwise it would just be shuffled back and forth until it was eventually left unresolved.
"Father, what if we can't find that swindler? Miao'er's dowry can't be worse than that of other noble ladies who are going to marry into the royal mansion! She'll be laughed at for a lifetime for this."
Regarding Shen Shi's attitude of not wanting to let it go so easily, Shen Zhuo's face darkened completely. "Miao'er is also my granddaughter. I will surely give her an explanation. But this matter is not solely Feng'er's fault. As his elder sister, you didn't do your duty in restraining him. Instead, you even joined him in his foolish deeds!
"Well, if the money can't be found in the end, I'll decide to return half of the silver to you!"
Shen Shi didn't want to completely fall out with Shen Zhuo. She knew that fifteen thousand taels of silver was the biggest concession the Shen Mansion could make, so she agreed.
"Okay, Father! You can rest assured! When Miao'er gets married, she will surely not forget your kindness! After all, we are a family. Only by being united can we develop better, right, Father!"
In response to Shen Shi's words, Shen Zhuo just let out a cold snort.
......
"Where have you been? Why do you look so pale?" Shen Yuhang was wheeled to the door by the servant behind him. Looking at Shen Simin, who looked panicked and terrified, he asked with concern.
"Nothing!" Shen Simin's face did look rather bad at the moment, pale with a hint of anger. After she finished speaking, she suddenly turned to look at Shen Yuhang and said, "Brother, I have something to tell you!"
After all the servants had left, Shen Simin walked up to Shen Yuhang and whispered to him, "Brother, I just passed by the main hall. I heard grandfather, grandmother, aunt, and uncle... They said... said that uncle was involved in smuggling salt with someone, and the money was all scammed away!"
After hearing this, the shock on Shen Yuhang's face was hard to conceal. He paused for a moment to digest the information in his mind and then asked, "What's going on? Tell me in detail what you heard."