Shen Yuning's eyes were cold and stern. She looked up at Zhang Dachun. "Tell me all the charges against her."
Zhang Dachun took a deep breath. "Two women claimed that the embroidery workshop was not a proper business. They said it secretly forced them to receive customers."
Old Man Zhang flew into a rage. "Nonsense! How could our embroidery workshop do such evil things? We've rescued so many women. We taught them to raise silkworms and grow mulberries, to weave and embroider, so that they could earn a living. How could we possibly force them into prostitution?"
Zhang Dachun looked embarrassed. "I know that, but the officials have solid evidence... I don't know where a group of women came from. They were doing immoral things in a nunnery and claimed that our embroidery workshop recruited them."
Shen Yuning knew it wasn't the time to find out the details. She quickly asked, "I've told you all that whenever we recruit a female worker, we must register with the government. Since the government has the records, how could they end up in the nunnery?"
Zhang Dachun hesitated and didn't say a word. Shen Fugui slapped him on the shoulder. "Dachun, it's this critical moment, and you're still holding back? If you don't tell us, how can we come up with a solution? This is not just about Miss Cen. If this gets out, do you think we can escape? Not only our family, but the whole Xiaoshu Village won't be able to either."
Hearing this, Zhang Dachun gritted his teeth and stammered, "At the beginning of the year, there was a whole village of women who set up red lanterns and pink curtains on the mountain. There was a girl, only fifteen years old. Miss Cen felt sorry for her and went to talk to the women on the mountain. She told them that women nowadays don't have to be oppressed by men and they don't have to do such jobs. I remember at that time, I was just patrolling there. She even told me that those women were not ashamed but rather proud..."
Actually, as the Rongchang Commercial Firm had developed to this stage, they had encountered such situations in many places. Although prostitution was a despicable business, it made money quickly. Many people who only cared about money didn't mind their reputation.
Shen Fugui quickly asked, "And then?"
"Then I told Miss Cen not to interfere. After all, if those women were not willing, it was no use forcing them. At that time, I even sent a letter to the yamen, saying that there were women doing such things on the mountain, but the yamen didn't pay much attention. Later, I knew that Miss Cen felt sorry for the little girl and went to visit her from time to time. She also tried many times to persuade the women there to turn over a new leaf, but she failed. It was only in summer that Miss Cen was very happy. She said that those women were willing to organize themselves to grow mulberries, raise silkworms, and weave. Miss Cen ran around for their business for a long time. She even went to the prefectural yamen seven or eight times and finally settled their matter."
Hearing this, Old Man Zhang nodded repeatedly. "If so, those women had the means to make a living. Why would they go to the nunnery to do such things?"
Zhang Dachun sighed helplessly. "I regret it now. I was a bit surprised at that time because I once heard a woman speaking rudely to Miss Cen. She said that they could..."
He looked up at Shen Yuning and Weirui, hesitated for a moment, and then changed the topic. He said vaguely, "She said that they could earn easy money. Why work so hard... So I thought they were not reliable people. But I was too busy at that time. We opened five new shops, and I was busy back and forth. I thought it would be a good deed if Miss Cen could persuade them, so I didn't investigate further."
"I didn't expect that Miss Cen was so muddle - headed that she stamped on their contract... I went to take a look. The contract clearly stated that they were gathered for prostitution."
Shen Fugui thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. He said nervously to Shen Yuning, "Could it be that those women knew that Dachun had reported them and were afraid of being investigated by the government? So they found Miss Cen and tricked her into stamping on the contract, making that shameful business seem more legitimate?"
But if that was the case, why did the families of those women report their embroidery workshop?
Shen Yuning slowly shook her head. "Everything is so well - planned. They took advantage of Miss Cen's soft heart and good - nature. I don't think it was just because they tricked her into stamping the contract because she was illiterate. I'm afraid that some of them deliberately pretended to be pitiful, and Miss Cen couldn't bear it for a moment, so she stamped the contract for them."
Zhang Dachun quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes. When the official bribed by Miss Cen secretly found me, he said so. Miss Cen said that this disaster was all caused by her, and she was willing to take all the responsibility... So, boss..."
Shen Yuning sneered. "Take all the responsibility? How can she? Such a crime is not something that a mere supervisor can bear alone, is it?"
For a moment, everyone in the room didn't dare to make a sound. Looking at Shen Yuning's cold and fierce face, they couldn't help shivering.
Shen Fugui thought that Shen Yuning was blaming Miss Cen for acting on her own. He whispered to comfort her, "Yuning, Miss Cen couldn't have expected that things would turn out like this."
"It's not her fault. It's mine." Shen Yuning got off the kang and walked to the table to sit down. "I knew Miss Cen had a soft personality. I should have only let her manage the shops. But I was lazy and didn't want to investigate others. I handed over all the affairs to Miss Cen, which led to today's disaster."
Zhang Dachun lowered his head embarrassedly. "It's my negligence."
Shen Yuning shook her head. "You're married, and I heard that your wife is pregnant. You have to take care of your family, so you naturally don't have so much energy. In the end, I shouldn't have let Miss Cen manage such a large area in the Northeast, just like I let Xi'er do whatever she wanted."
At that time, she had hesitated. Xi'er had more experience, was straightforward and decisive, and had a clear sense of love and hate. She saw the world more clearly. That was why she had also sent Zhang Dachun to the Northeast, and let the two sons of Uncle Zhang assist Xi'er in the South of the Yangtze River.
Shen Yuning tapped her fingers on the table. The more anxious she was, the faster she tapped, until everyone's hearts started to pound.
After a long time, she stood up. "This matter can't be this simple. I don't know who is behind it and what their intention is. But obviously, they are targeting our entire commercial firm."
Shen Fugui hesitated for a moment. "Could it be... Xiaorou?"
"She doesn't have the ability. Besides, the Xue family won't let her do such a thing. Although her husband's family, the Cheng family, has a relatively lower status, it's still a noble family. They won't allow her to do such things."
Shen Yuning thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. She looked up. "I once said that I didn't want to go to the capital. It seems that I don't have a choice now. This snow is expected to stop the day after tomorrow. I'll leave for the capital the day after tomorrow."
The storm was coming, and she couldn't avoid it if she wanted to. In the past two years, she had seen a lot of things and met a lot of people. She increasingly felt that only by facing difficulties head - on could she make further progress and have the possibility of liberating all the women in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
It was just that in the past, she had always been wondering what the opportunity would be. Now it seemed that she couldn't wait any longer.
Zhang Dachun quickly stepped forward. "I'll go with you."
Zhang Dachun's wife lived not far away. But since he had been here all year round, he had also brought his mother here. Mother Zhang was extremely happy to have a rich and official - related in - law family. She even said a lot of sarcastic remarks in front of Old Man Zhang, which made Old Man Zhang so angry that he wanted to drive Zhang Dachun away.
However, Dachun's wife was a smart woman. She had been spoiled since childhood and couldn't stand any restraint. Facing such a fussy mother - in - law, she used all her skills to fight wits with her every day. Mother Zhang was no match for the beloved daughter of a deputy magistrate. She was quickly defeated.
When Mother Zhang saw that her son had forgotten his mother after getting married, she was so angry that she boasted in front of her daughter - in - law about how affectionate Dachun and Shen Yuning used to be. She said that if she hadn't looked down on Shen Yuning's merchant status, her daughter - in - law wouldn't have had the chance to marry into the Zhang family and act so arrogantly.
But Dachun's wife wasn't stupid. She sneered and said that Boss Shen was a township lady bestowed by the emperor. Mother Zhang's words were too exaggerated.
When Dachun learned about this farce, he quickly told his wife all the past events in detail. He also swore that Boss Shen looked down on him. After he gave up his feelings for her, he had never thought about her again.
What happened later didn't reach Shen Yuning's ears. Anyway, Dachun and his wife were still in love, and his wife soon became pregnant. However, his wife didn't like his mother, and his mother always caused trouble. Dachun was afraid that she would make Shen Yuning unhappy. So he found an opportunity to send her back to Xiaoshu Village and never mentioned bringing her here to enjoy a happy life again.
At this moment, Zhang Dachun just wanted to atone for his mistake. He thought that this incident was his fault of negligence.
But Shen Yuning wasn't an inhumane person. Dachun's wife was about to give birth. It would be unreasonable for her to take Dachun away at this critical moment.
Old Man Zhang patted Dachun on the shoulder. "Now that Miss Cen is in trouble and Yuning is going to the capital, but there are so many shops in the Northeast. There must be someone to watch over them. We don't trust others. You grew up under my nose. We know your character and ability well. It's most appropriate to leave the shops to you."
Zhang Rong also advised, "Pregnant women tend to be emotional. If you leave at this critical moment, you won't be able to see your child being born."
Hearing this, Zhang Dachun thought it made sense. He quickly swore that he would strictly discipline the supervisors in all places and would definitely not let such a thing happen again.
On the third day, Shen Yuning first asked Zhang Dachun to send letters to the shops in various places, asking them to check the workers in their hands. Whether male or female, they must be innocent, and the contracts must be reasonable to prevent others from taking advantage of the loopholes.
However, she didn't immediately set off for the capital. Instead, she first took Shen Fugui to visit several shops managed by Miss Cen. The shops were already closed. Shen Yuning found the former embroiderers and they each pulled her, telling her how hard - working Miss Cen was and asking her to find a way to save Miss Cen.
Then, Shen Yuning disguised herself and secretly went to the village that reported Miss Cen. She also observed the women who set up pink curtains in the wild.
After everything was clear, Shen Fugui was quite worried. He whispered, "I think this incident is not simple. Miss Cen may not be saved."
Shen Yuning didn't comment. "I won't sacrifice a pawn to save the king. Their target is me. I'm going to face the difficulties and see who I've offended."