Ye Xinyan giggled as she flattered Duke An, "You see, I told you so, Grandfather is the most understanding and reasonable person."
"When did I ever say that I am understanding and reasonable?" Duke An started to feel a headache coming on with such a granddaughter. It’s true that having a descendant that’s incredibly tireso can be very troubling.
"You’re grown up and sensible now, no longer the rash girl you used to be. Handle this matter yourself. If you stir up any trouble, you’ll have to find a way to clean it up yourself. I, this old man, won’t get involved. I’ll also tell Yin Long, that old fellow, he’s not allowed to ddle either."
Duke An’s thinking was simple: since he had great hopes for this granddaughter, he couldn’t always think about having his elders clean up after her. Putting so pressure on her to experience things on her own would make her truly useful in the future.
Ye Xinyan was stunned for a mont, then dismissively said, "Tch! If you won’t help, then don’t—I’m not impressed." Just because you say you won’t help, does that an I’m no longer Duke An’s granddaughter? People will still have to treat as a formidable person from a prestigious noble household.
Ye Xinyan raised her eyebrows haughtily and glanced at Duke An with disdain, performing a perfunctory curtsy before turning around and walking away. Her carefree and resolute silhouette clearly conveyed to Duke An that there was no need to be so respectful toward a grandfather who couldn’t provide strong backing.
Duke An huffed and puffed but ultimately was helpless. It seed You Chenghui’s calculations were dood to fail—not because he didn’t want to settle matters peacefully but because he was powerless to intervene.
If his granddaughter were so easily managed, she wouldn’t have ended up in such a dire situation back then, and naturally, she wouldn’t possess the lethality she had today.
Well, after all, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, so it’s still good.
......
Therefore, You Chenghui felt extrely unlucky. The two copied pleas he thought would smooth over the situation had both sunk without trace. There was not the slightest response from Prince Fu, nor did Duke An send a reply.
There was no choice but to accept the official complaint and start a formal trial. As for administering justice impartially, that was hard to say, especially since he truly didn’t know what would constitute impartial justice.
Trials at the capital’s yan did not always require a great fuss, with all the banging of the gavel and the threatening rattling of staffs making an earth-shattering commotion.
Like this ti, with Miss Ye as the plaintiff, she lacked the self-awareness of other ladies in the capital, without any inkling to avoid showing up and not considering it disgraceful to appear in court. She didn’t delegate the matter to a manager but personally ca to the hearing.
But he, the Prefect, who was skilled in worldly affairs, had more to consider; it would be better to keep the affair quiet and conclude the case quickly.
Thus, outside the yan, various governnt officials were on guard but did not allow the crowd to look on. Although a few officials were also guarding on both sides of the hall, they neither shouted "Be mighty!" nor struck the ground heavily with their sticks.
You Chenghui sat on the high platform with an advisor by his side and two scribes on the other side to record testimonies.
You Chenghui and his advisor exchanged glances, looking at Miss Ye standing down below; she seed very much at ease, unlike his worry and agony. Behind her followed an old woman servant and a maid. There was also said to be a Qi family steward, sternly guarding the entrance to the main hall.
That was a guard who had made a na for himself serving under General Huwei. You Chenghui felt his temples throbbing with pain again.
In fact, You Chenghui wanted to offer Miss Ye a chair to sit on, which would make her a bit more comfortable, and perhaps lessen his, no, the Prefect’s, pressure.
However, although Miss Ye ca from a prominent family, she herself had no official status, and sitting in the public hall seed sowhat improper.
The two shopkeepers followed by two governnt officials entered the public hall; the officials stood aside, and the shopkeepers knelt to the Prefect above, "Your humble servants pay respects to the Prefect."
You Chenghui shifted uncomfortably in front of the steward of Prince Fu’s Mansion and still asked in a raised voice, "Who is present in court?"
Ye Xinyan rolled her eyes, the thod of conducting trials hadn’t changed over the years, they knew exactly who the person being interrogated was, yet they asked again.
"The humble one is Xu Jirong, the shopkeeper of Prosperous Bank."
"The humble one is Liu Gu, the shopkeeper of Changlong Bank."
You Chenghui asked, "Are you aware of your cris?"
"Your Honor’s wise discernnt, I have always abided by the law and truly do not know what cri I have committed."
Both were stewards of Prince Fu’s Mansion, of course, they had status, and if it were not on the public court, standing as an accused, even You Chenghui, upon eting them, would have to offer a smile.
But this was a court, and one had to put on a certain deanor.
Though they did not repeatedly kowtow, they still placed their hands on the ground and bent deeply at the waist, crying out their injustice.
This was all a common routine, and You Chenghui certainly knew it, so he continued to demand, "Today, a woman from the Ye Family has accused both of you of stealing Qi family’s craftsmanship, manufacturing equipnt that rightfully belongs to the Qi Family, for profiteering purposes, is there such a matter?"
The two shopkeepers raised their heads; the man nad Xu Jirong clasped his hands together, held them high above his head, and shouted, "Your Honor’s wise discernnt, I have been wronged, I have been wronged indeed! The rchandise sold in my two stores cos from our own workshop, or through legitimate channels. I dare not utter false words; Your Honor may send soone to inspect the accounts in the store; the records of all rchandise transactions are clearly noted."
You Chenghui glanced at Ye Xinyan, feeling even more unease, as things were indeed heading in the direction he had dreaded.
He continued to inquire, "The Ye Family woman has accused you both of recently selling construction equipnt in your stores that steals from the craftsmanship of Qi Family chanical Workshop. Do you have anything to say?"
Both stewards heard the question with a calm deanor, quite composed, and did not look at Ye Xinyan.
Xu Jirong answered, "Your Honor, it is true that my shop has recently sold construction tools, and the business is not bad. But those items are made by our own workshop and have nothing to do with the Qi family."
You Chenghui took another look at Ye Xinyan, which was precisely the complication he was concerned about.
Indeed, the Qi family was the first to manufacture those tools, but once they entered the market, who could control others from imitating them?
The key point was, if it was just imitating one or two pieces, or only selling a small quantity without affecting Miss Ye’s business, then it wouldn’t matter much. Or if the Qi family had been in business for a long ti and Miss Ye had already earned enough silver taels from her tool sales, then imitation and widespread retail would be irrelevant.
But who was Prince Fu? Having managed the Ministry of Works for so many years with nurous talents and a large team of craftsn, it seed that the tools produced by Prince Fu’s workshops even outnumbered those from Qi Family’s own production, and the Qi Family Workshop was just starting.
If this continued, Prince Fu’s workshops would inevitably dominate and control the market for construction tools, with the Qi family, the original owners, left with nothing but to stare blankly.
The laws of the Great Xia Dynasty did not restrict the manufacturing of tools, otherwise, wouldn’t it an that all tools could only be made and used by one proprietor, a constraint extrely detrintal to the developnt of Great Xia’s public works and agriculture?
It could be said that Miss Ye was decidedly at a disadvantage with this silent loss.
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