Qin Yuanzhang took a deep breath!
Slowly turning his head, he looked at what Qin Yun was holding!
"This is... a property deed? Where did you get it?" Qin Yuanzhang quickly took it.
"These are the deeds for the Little Tea House and Mingyue Wine House. From now on, both these establishments belong to the Qin Manor!"
"These two wine houses belong to our Qin Manor? How is that possible?" Qin Yuanzhang still found it hard to believe.
"Father, the Little Tea House and Mingyue Wine House were opened privately by Min Yueyue. Now that the deeds are in hand and I have successfully changed the names on the deeds, they naturally belong to the Qin Manor!"
Qin Yun smiled. "This is called deception in warfare. Min Yueyue used money from our Qin Ji Wine House to open her own wine houses, so naturally, she had to pay a price!"
"What about the Four Seasons Wine Houses?" Qin Yuanzhang asked curiously.
"Father, those four wine houses merely purchased our fruit wine secret recipe. My abilities are limited at the moment; I cannot control everything!"
Seeing the two additional wine houses, Qin Yuanzhang's expression finally improved.
"How much money was the secret recipe sold for?"
"One hundred thousand taels. I have currently recovered thirty thousand taels, and the remaining seventy thousand taels are still with the Min clan!"
Qin Yuanzhang roughly calculated.
Had Min Yueyue taken a total of six hundred thousand taels from the Qin Manor over the years?
That was six hundred thousand taels!
Thinking of that money, Qin Yuanzhang felt his heart bleed!
Unable to contain himself, he stood up, stepped forward, and kicked Min Yueyue.
Min Yueyue, lying on the ground, was bound and unable to move. Her mouth was stuffed with a sock, rendering her speechless, and she could only glare.
At this moment, Qin Yu also stood frozen. She knew the Min clan had been secretly amassing wealth, but she never expected them to have stolen so much!
"Yun'er, what about that money? Is it in Min Yueyue's courtyard?"
Qin Yun lowered her eyes.
She knew very well that apart from valuable jewelry, the main courtyard held no silver or bank notes.
She had also investigated privately, and Min Yueyue had no other residences besides these two establishments.
Where had Min Yueyue hidden this money?
Qin Yun stroked her chin, looking at Qin Yu intentionally or unintentionally.
She had also investigated Qin Yu, and Qin Yu also had no other residences under her name.
Where exactly was that money hidden?
She had considered extracting a confession through torture, but given the current situation, that method seemed ineffective!
On the contrary... it might backfire!
"Yun'er? Could it be that Min Yueyue and her son have spent all that money?" Qin Yuanzhang knew that Qin Yu and Min Yueyue had large expenses over the years.
Perhaps they had been extravagant and wasteful in private as well.
Upon hearing Qin Yuanzhang's words, Qin Yun had a sudden idea and chimed in, "Father is right. The second branch, the Min clan, has had very large expenditures over the years, frequently purchasing jewelry and ornaments on a grand scale! Those hundreds of thousands of taels might have already been squandered by the Min clan!"
Squandered?
Qin Yuanzhang now believed Qin Yun. If Qin Yun said it was squandered, then it must be squandered!
"In that case, we only gained an extra wine house and a tea house?"
Qin Yun smiled. "Father, we should know when to be content. With the wine houses, we can earn money again!"
Qin Yuanzhang sighed. Given the circumstances, this was all he could do.
"Father, what do you plan to do next?"
Qin Yuanzhang asked confusedly, "You orchestrated all of this tonight, didn't you decide what to do?"
Qin Yun smiled. "Even a wise official finds it hard to settle family disputes. Father, you must also make a decision on this matter!"
If she were to handle the Min clan according to official procedure, obtaining those hundreds of thousands of taels would be very difficult.
This matter involving the Min clan needed to be handled slowly. Perhaps later, she could devise a plan to... lure the snake out of its hole!
The black-clad individual who had fought with Hong Fu had not yet been found.
Perhaps that person was the Min clan's last resort!
And the money might also be with that person!
"I have decided to divorce Min Yueyue tonight! From now on, I will drive Min Yueyue out of the Qin Manor and let her fend for herself!"
Saying this, Qin Yuanzhang called for Fu Bo to bring brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Hearing this, Qin Yun twitched the corners of her mouth speechlessly.
Divorcing Min Yueyue was a foregone conclusion.
If Min Yueyue were driven out of the manor, she would likely be delighted!
Once Min Yueyue left the Qin Manor, she might truly run off with those hundreds of thousands of taels. Was her father so ineffective?
"Cough, cough, cough, cough..." Qin Yun coughed a few times.
Qin Yuanzhang turned and looked at Qin Yun, asking, "Yun'er, what's wrong? Is Father's arrangement not suitable?"
"Father, are you really content to let Min Yueyue off like this?"
Qin Yuanzhang frowned and thought about it. He was indeed not content.
"Then, according to your judgment, how should Min Yueyue be punished?"
Qin Yun scanned everyone in the hall and said sternly, "Naturally, she should be made to wish she were dead, whipped daily, have salt water poured on her wounds, and her face carved with the character 'whore'!"
"Father, what do you think?"
Qin Yuanzhang imagined the scene Qin Yun described, and it sent shivers down his spine. "Indeed, she should wish she were dead!"
The people in the hall, upon hearing this, were already trembling with fear.
They never expected their young master, who appeared harmless on the surface, to be so cruel when pushed to the brink!
With such tormenting methods, the Min clan was finished!
"Father also thinks this is an excellent idea, doesn't he?" Qin Yun said with a smile.
She had gone this far; she didn't believe the person behind the scenes wouldn't show themselves!
Qin Yuanzhang hesitated. Although he was an official, he had never tormented someone like this before.
While Qin Yuanzhang hesitated, Qin Yu, lying on the ground, spoke with a tremble, "No, Father, I beg you to spare my mother. You can drive her out of the manor, but who could endure such cruel methods? How can Mother live?"
Qin Yun smiled. "I almost forgot, there's you too!"
Qin Yu shrunk her neck. "What do you want?"
"What do I want? You... guess?" Qin Yun narrowed her eyes.
Seeing this, Qin Yuanzhang quickly said, "Yun'er, this is all Min Yueyue's fault. Yu'er is innocent. I hope this matter does not involve Yu'er!"
He had only two children in this life, Qin Yun and Qin Yu, and he did not want anything to happen to either of them!
"Fine, let this matter end here for tonight!"
"Someone, take Min Yueyue to the woodshed and confine her there. She is to be whipped twenty times daily, have salt water poured on her twice, and her face carved with the character 'whore'!"
"Yes, Your Excellency!" Two servants dragged the drenched Min clan toward the woodshed.
Min Yueyue wanted to resist but couldn't. She wanted to speak but couldn't utter a sound.
Looking at Min Yueyue, her eyes filled with hatred, Qin Yun felt immense joy within!
Then, she looked at Qin Yu and said, "Take our third young lady to the woodshed as well, so she can witness Min Yueyue's miserable state!"
"No, no, Father, save me, save me..."
Qin Yu was taken away. Qin Yuanzhang wanted to step forward to stop them, but he was blocked by Qin Yun's subordinate.
Qin Yuanzhang looked at the person in front of him, Qing Shan, and said, "Who are you? How dare you stop me?"
"Get out of my way!"
Qing Shan remained silent, his face radiating aloofness.
Qin Yuanzhang turned to look at Qin Yun and said, "Yun'er, what do you mean by this? It's one thing to confine Min Yueyue, but why are you also confining Yu'er?"
Qin Yun stood up. "Father, I know you dote on your precious daughter, but this time... please listen to your child! Qin Yu will be confined for now, but I won't do anything to her yet!"
"Alright, everyone, disperse!" After speaking, Qin Yun prepared to leave.
"Yun'er?"
Unexpectedly, Qin Yuanzhang called out to her.
"Father apologizes to you, and even more so to the ancestors of the Qin family!"