On the rosewood table in the main hall of the Lu Mansion lay an oily-looking IOU. Lu Jingyuan stared at the Zhusha handprint on the IOU, his fingertips rubbing against the characters "one hundred thousand taels of silver," suddenly recalling the secret report he received early this morning: the steward of the Right Prime Minister's Estate had been seen entering the rice shop in West City last night.
"Heir Lu," said Boss Wang, the merchant representative, shrinking his neck, the peony pattern on his brocade vest crumpled into a ball, "this humble one has no wish to make things difficult for you, but if this debt is not repaid soon, my rice shop will be sealed up!"
"Boss Wang is joking." Lu Jingyuan put down the IOU, his voice sounding as though it were dipped in ice water. "The contract between the Lu Mansion and your establishment clearly states that the repayment deadline is the Dragon Boat Festival next year. Today is merely the Spring Equinox, so where does this talk of 'demanding payment' come from?"
Chapter 211