Chapter 9

“How could this be possible?”

Shen Wei softly refuted, furrowing her brows. “Every master in our household has a specified monthly allowance. Besides, if Second Sister-in-law wanted to take something like a jade ruyi, she should have informed me first. Moreover…” As she spoke, her previously furrowed brows tightened even further, and her tone became slightly heavier. “Steward Li from the accounts office never mentioned anything about this to me.”

Hearing Shen Wei’s words, the expression on Old Madam Xie’s face darkened further.

She didn’t say anything but returned to her luohan bed and then sternly ordered Yi Nan, “Go to the accounts office and bring Steward Li along with the account books.”

Yi Nan, not daring to delay, quickly responded and bowed to the two women before retreating to carry out the order.

Due to this incident, the atmosphere in the room grew tense again. The maids and older women serving them all lowered their heads, not daring to speak. Eventually, Shen Wei walked over, refilled Old Madam Xie’s tea, and softly reassured her, “Please don’t be upset. There might be a misunderstanding here that we’re not aware of.”

Old Madam Xie looked at Shen Wei’s youthful face and sighed.

She said nothing but patted Shen Wei’s hand gently, then spoke softly, “Alright, you sit down too. Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we’ll find out when they arrive.”

Seeing this, Shen Wei didn’t say more and sat with her.

—-

Yi Nan was efficient in her task. It wasn’t long before she returned with the account books and brought Steward Li from the accounts office.

The steward likely already had some inkling of the situation. Upon entering the room and seeing Shen Wei and Old Madam Xie seated on the Luohan bed, his face turned even paler. He lowered his head and walked forward shakily. As he stepped onto the intricately patterned carpet, he nearly stumbled.

Seeing this, Old Madam Xie’s already poor complexion darkened further. She ignored Steward Li’s greeting and extended her hand towards Yi Nan.

Understanding her intent, Yi Nan quickly handed over the account book she was holding, along with a small booklet. She respectfully explained, “A servant from the affairs office gave this to me, saying it was for you to see, so I brought it back together.”

Old Madam Xie responded with a light “Hmm” and lowered her head to flip through the account book. The records were very clear, detailing what items each master took and when. However, the last entry, dated the seventh day of the first month, indicated that the second lady had taken a jade Ruyi scepter. The handwriting was fresh, with the ink still smudged, indicating it had been added hastily.

Having spent many years managing the household, Old Madam Xie could easily understand the minds of those below her.

Without a word, she turned to the other booklet. It, too, listed what items were taken and by whom, but included many more items than the original account book. Since the fourth day of the first month, the West Courtyard had taken various flowers, vases, and ancient paintings, as well as numerous hairpins and jewelry.

The more Old Madam Xie read, the darker her expression became.

Sitting beside her, Shen Wei noticed the change in her face. She turned slightly and asked with concern, “Mother, what’s wrong? Is there a problem with the accounts?”

Old Madam Xie didn’t respond verbally. Instead, she handed the two booklets to her.

Shen Wei hurriedly took them and began reading. With each page, her face grew paler. By the last page, she was incredulous. “How can this be possible?” She knelt down, admitting, “This is my fault. I failed to manage the household properly, allowing such deceit. Please, mother, punish me.”

“This has nothing to do with you,” Old Madam Xie reassured, helping her up. “Even with the best intentions, you can’t prevent deceit from those below. Now, get up; the floor is cold.” She held Shen Wei’s hand gently, “I will handle this. Don’t worry.”

The storeroom held many items, and unless someone checked each item against the inventory, who would know what was missing? If not for the jade Ruyi scepter and this booklet, even she wouldn’t have known how rampant Wang’s actions had become.

She felt a renewed sense of resolve.

Turning to the trembling steward, she asked calmly, “Steward Li, you’ve been with this family for years. Do you know how the allowances are distributed among the households?”

Hearing this, Steward Li shuddered more violently and quickly replied, “Yes, I know.”

“Then why—”

Old Madam Xie’s face darkened further, her voice growing colder. She slapped the redwood table hard and scolded, “Who do you think you’re deceiving?”

Her rare display of anger startled everyone in the room. All the servants knelt down, and Steward Li, trembling, begged for mercy, “I was wrong. I made a terrible mistake. Please forgive me, considering my years of service.”

Old Madam Xie remained unmoved, her voice icy. “The Lu family does not tolerate disloyal servants.” She ordered, “Take this deceitful servant out, give him fifty lashes, and throw him out. Let everyone see the consequences of deceit.”

Immediately, several strong women came in and dragged the still-pleading steward away.

After a while, when his cries had faded into the distance, Old Madam Xie dismissed the other servants and turned to Shen Wei. “Remember, as the head wife of the family, no one should dare to deceive you.” She handed Shen Wei the two booklets again, “In the future, if something like this happens, punish the offenders without consulting me.”

Shen Wei responded, “Thank you for your guidance, mother. I understand now.”

After a pause, she added, “This incident is partly my fault. If I had been more attentive, it wouldn’t have happened. While it’s one thing to deal with a few servants, our second sister-in-law is older and was just punished. If she faces further punishment because of this, it might strain our relationship.”

“As for the jade Ruyi scepter—” She paused briefly, “I’ll have someone find another one for you.”

Old Madam Xie finally smiled a bit, patting Shen Wei’s hand gently. “Silly girl, there’s no need to go to such trouble. At my age, I’ve seen plenty of good things. As long as you’re all well, I’m satisfied.”

“But as for Wang—” Her voice grew serious again, “If she has any sense, she should understand why this happened.”

After the two of them had exchanged a few more words, Shen Wei, who still needed to meet with the steward, excused herself and left.

After Shen Wei left—

Wei Mama entered from the outer room, refilled the tea, and then began to massage Old Madam Xie’s shoulders while speaking, “Although the Second Madam has always had some small thoughts, she hasn’t been this overboard before. Now, though…”

“She’s always had grievances towards me, especially since she believes that the Second Son has earned the Emperor’s favor, which has raised her own status as well. She’s only become more arrogant because of that…” Old Madam Xie said, finishing with a sneer, “She doesn’t stop to think about why the Second Son was appointed—if it weren’t for Bu Wei fighting outside, our Lu family would have lost its former glory by now.”

After speaking, Old Madam Xie resumed fiddling with the Buddhist beads in her hand and continued, “But Suishui’s actions this time did surprise me.”

Wei Mama paused in her actions, then tentatively asked, “Are you saying that the First Madam knew about what Steward Li did?”

Old Madam Xie didn’t respond immediately. She just kept turning the beads in her hand and said, “Perhaps it’s a good thing. I always feared she wouldn’t be able to control herself, but now it seems she’s truly grown up.”

Seeing that Old Madam Xie wasn’t upset, Wei Mama resumed massaging her shoulders and spoke gently, “In the past, with the Master and you both doting on her, the First Madam’s naivety didn’t matter. But now that the Master is gone, you can’t be so biased, and the First Madam can’t continue like before.” She added quietly, “Besides, I see that the First Madam has truly put effort into that person. If that person remembers her kindness, the First Madam will still have good fortune in the future.”

“As for that person’s temperament…”

Old Madam Xie paused, then slowly opened her eyes and looked outside the window, speaking softly, “Whether being remembered by that person is a blessing or a curse, I don’t know.”

—-

In the Western Courtyard.

Wang Shi sat in front of the bronze mirror, selecting jewelry from a box. After a while, she chose a gold hairpin shaped like a cloud and a ruyi and handed it to An Xiang. An Xiang smiled as she took the pin and fixed it in Wang Shi’s hair, then complimented her, “The madam’s complexion looks even better now.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Shi raised her eyebrows slightly, and the smile on her face grew wider.

As she compared her reflection in the mirror, she said, “A blood swallow is indeed different from an ordinary one. If only I could eat one every day, that would be perfect.”

An Xiang, hearing this, recalled the recent events involving the madam and hesitated. She dismissed the servants in the room and lowered her voice to speak, “There have been many good things sent over from the accounts office recently. Although they haven’t been logged, if someone were to investigate…”

“What are you afraid of?”

Wang Shi shot An Xiang a sideways glance. As she stood up, her hand rested on An Xiang’s arm, and she nonchalantly replied, “Our Duke’s manor has so many good things, it would take a lot of effort to investigate. Besides, Steward Li has said that these items haven’t been logged—who would be able to find out?”

After speaking, she glanced toward the eastern side with a mocking tone, “The person in our Eastern Courtyard doesn’t have that kind of brain.”

An Xiang helped her walk outside, but her words still carried hesitation, “The other things are fine, but that jade ruyi…” She glanced at the jade ruyi on the high table, recalling that a few days ago, she had accompanied the madam to the accounts office, where Wang Shi had immediately taken a liking to the jade ruyi.

She had privately advised the madam that such a jade ruyi was clearly not an ordinary item. If it were casually taken, it would surely cause trouble if someone found out.

But the madam…

Wang Shi had been in a particularly high-spirited mood recently, and now, with An Xiang repeatedly disturbing her, her face inevitably darkened. She withdrew her hand from An Xiang’s arm and said coldly, “You’ve become more and more timid lately. Are you telling me that I can’t even use a jade ruyi now?”

“If the jade ruyi had truly been claimed by someone, it should have been taken by now. Since no one has said anything after all these days, it seems there’s no problem…” She finished speaking, dismissing the matter as unimportant, then casually sipped her tea. “You don’t need to serve me anymore. Leave.”

An Xiang, seeing her mood, dared not say anything further. She bowed and quietly retreated.

—-

Not long after—

An Xiang hurriedly entered again, parting the curtain.

Seeing her enter, Wang Shi frowned. However, seeing the expression on An Xiang’s face, her heart skipped a beat. An Xiang had been with her for many years, and rarely had such a look. Realizing this, Wang Shi placed her teacup down and asked, “What happened?”

“Madam, something serious has happened.”