Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1074 Whose Name Should Be on the Contract?

Madam Su choked, never expecting that a mere servant would dare to contradict the wife of a fifth-rank official. Her face flushed red with anger.

"Hmph, what's wrong with us Su family coming along to watch our shop sale? It's none of your business, an outsider. Ha, with your attitude, are you trying to drive down the price?"

A shop costing three thousand six hundred taels is indeed unaffordable for most families. Madam Su thought about it and immediately thought of the price. She looked Xianglan up and down a few times. She was dressed quite well and seemed to be a maid from a wealthy family. Then, she rolled her eyes and provoked her, saying, "If you can't afford it, don't make promises you can't keep. You've lured people here and then you don't show up. What kind of show are you putting on?"

Xianglan ignored her and turned to Madam Su: "Madam, you must be the seller, right? My lady said that the price is three thousand six hundred taels, not a penny less, to be paid on the spot. If Madam has no problem, then we will proceed with the formalities."

Xianglan ignored Madam Su, who slammed her hand on the table: "What do you mean by 'take care of'? My master is here today. Whether to sell or not is entirely up to him. How can you, a servant, be so blind as to bypass the head of the Su family and arbitrarily discuss the fate of our Su family's property?"

When Madam Su saw her sister-in-law making things difficult for the buyer, she said angrily, "I finally found a big buyer who is willing to buy it without even haggling over the price. Don't try to interfere." After saying that, she took Xianglan's hand and said, "Miss, I'll take care of the formalities right away."

"Wait!" Lord Su, who had been silent until now, spoke coldly, his eyes filled with displeasure as he looked at Madam Su.

“Sister-in-law, I’m not trying to be mean, but you’ve been living in the inner quarters all your life and don’t know much about things. She says not a penny less, but is it really not a penny less? You have to count the silver or banknotes before you can sign and put your fingerprint on them.”

Madam Su was a little impatient: "The officials are all here, do you think they would refuse to pay?" She looked at Lord Zhao: "Please write us a receipt and complete the formalities."

Lord Zhao smiled and said, "No problem, no problem. The templates are ready. All you need to do is fill in the location of the house, its size, the names of the buyer and seller, and the amount of money." After saying that, he got up and walked to the table, watching a clerk write the contract. Once the contract was finished, he could affix his seal to the new property deed.

Lord Su also got up to watch, and when he saw that the seller's name had to be written, he quickly said, "The seller's name must be written. That shop is the property of my Su family. Now that my elder brother is gone, it is natural to take the property back to the Su family. If it is sold, it will be bought from the Su family. I am the head of the Su family, so write my name."

Upon hearing this, Madam Su realized that if her second uncle's name were written on the property, his family might extort even the remaining eight hundred taels of silver. She quickly said, "No, this shop belongs to my late husband. It should naturally be registered under my name. How can it be registered under my second uncle's name? Besides, we have already divided the family property. Our eldest son's property belongs to our eldest son's family and cannot be collectively referred to as the Su family."

Lord Zhao agreed, "Lord Su, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only Madam Su indeed has the authority to handle this shop. What do you think…?" he inquired. Such a simple matter shouldn't be complicated. After all, they are officials appointed by the court; surely they are familiar with the law?

Lord Su said coldly, "It was indeed my father who gave the shop to my elder brother to manage back then, but I was busy with official duties and had no time to manage it. Over the years, because I was an official in the capital, I made many conveniences for my elder brother in doing business. If it weren't for the Su family, could my elder brother have done it? After my elder brother passed away, my sister-in-law has been living in the mansion with her niece, and we have taken care of her with all our heart. This shop, no matter how you look at it, is the common property of the Su family. The seller's name must be on the deed, and the money can only be distributed by me."

Madam Su was so angry she almost couldn't stand up, and Su Xing's face turned red with anger: "Second Uncle is wrong about what he said."

Her small body stood in front of her mother, shielding her behind her: "The house my father left to my mother and me was tricked into selling by my second uncle, leaving us no choice but to move into the main house. We didn't complain about the house, because when my father was sick, he needed to hire famous doctors, and it was all thanks to my second uncle's help. But this shop is registered in my father's name in black and white, and now it should be sold through my mother, which is only right and proper. How can it be registered in my second uncle's name? We accept that my second uncle wants to take 80% of the money, but the proper procedures should be followed properly!"

Lord Su narrowed his eyes: "When officials are handling matters, what right do you, a child, have to interrupt? Get out of the way!"

Su Xing argued forcefully: "The officials are all here, please judge for yourselves. Am I right, a mere child? If the proper procedures don't include my mother's name, what if my second uncle denies it later and doesn't even give us our 20% of the money? Wasn't our family's house lost in the same inexplicable way before?"

Lord Zhao glanced at Lord Su and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Lord Su, your niece is right. They're an orphan and a widow, and this is their only shop. You see..."

Lord Su glared at him: "I have the right to dispose of my elder brother's property. My widowed sister-in-law will need the Su family's help in the future, and my niece will also need a family to support her. What, you want to use the Su family's influence in the future? Why don't you pay your respects now? Humph, enough nonsense, write my name down and get it done as soon as possible, don't waste my time."

Lord Zhao was somewhat embarrassed. He looked at Madam Su, thought for a moment, and said, "How about I write another document for you two under my witness, stating that Lord Su voluntarily pays Madam Su 20% of the proceeds from the sale of the shop, totaling eight hundred taels of silver? Then the name will be on Lord Su's name, and we can get it done as soon as possible?"

"What eight hundred taels? The shop is three thousand six hundred taels, so two-tenths is only seven hundred and twenty taels. Oh, right, we also have to pay the middleman fifty taels. This was negotiated by my sister-in-law herself; our Su family didn't agree to it. This commission has to be paid by my sister-in-law alone. Let's draw up an IOU and give my sister-in-law six hundred and seventy taels. The remaining fifty taels will be handed over to the broker on the spot." As soon as Lord Su opened his mouth, Madam Su, who had already backed down and was about to agree to Lord Zhao's method, instantly became angry again.

"No way. The brokerage commission is for helping find buyers. Since you took the lion's share of the profits after the shop was sold, are you really going to refuse to pay even this small amount? Why are you bullying my daughter and me to this extent?"

Lord Zhao tried to smooth things over, saying, "That's right, Lord Su, let's not hold it against him anymore. Can't you just be more straightforward?" Have you no shame as a man? Wearing this official robe, you're really acting like a tyrant!

"no!"

"no!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously: one was Lord Su's rebuttal, and the other was a woman's voice from outside the door.

Everyone looked towards the entrance and saw a graceful and beautiful lady slowly walk in, accompanied by a young and pretty woman.

Lord Su suddenly felt that the lady in front of him looked familiar, but although he was a fifth-rank official in the capital, he had always been in a sinecure and had no opportunity to enter the palace to meet His Majesty and the Empress, so he naturally did not remember who the person in front of him was.

He glanced at Tao Yanyan, but his words were meant for Lord Zhao: "I will not pay the fifty taels commission, it was not my decision."

Lord Zhao was speechless, then looked at Tao Yanyan and asked, "May I ask if you, Madam, are the buyer of the shop?"

Tao Yan smiled faintly and said, "It's me." She walked straight to the chair and sat down. "Does Magistrate Fang of the Capital usually manage things so laxly? Doesn't he often assess the professional competence of his subordinates and their familiarity with the laws of the Great Zhou?"

Upon realizing the conversation was turning sour, Lord Zhao quickly stepped forward and said, "Madam has some doubts about my professional competence, which I cannot refute. However, my suggestions just now were all for the purpose of completing the contract as soon as possible."

Tao Yanyan looked at him: "I heard what you said. What that young girl said is right. Proper procedures should be followed properly. If you don't know whose name should be on the seller's name, please ask your landlord to come over and tell you who it should be."