“Look what you’ve done!”
The Old Madame threw the account books at Lady Wang’s feet with a dark expression. Lady Wang had never imagined that what was meant to be Ye Li’s punishment would turn back on her with just a few words from the girl. As she held the accounts and kept turning pages, her hands trembled more and more. She deeply regretted having underestimated this girl before – though she had never been taught household management or wielding authority, nothing in these account books could escape her notice. She had even uncovered the secret ledgers, clearly showing unusual skill at handling people. “Old Madame… Master, I…”
The Old Madame snorted coldly: “No wonder when asked about the dowry, you claimed the household couldn’t afford it. So the money all went to support your natal family?”
“Old Madame, I’ve been wronged! It was the greed of those below us – I knew nothing of this…”
“Knew nothing? You didn’t know your cousin was managing Shende Pavilion? Didn’t know about hurriedly replacing all the shop managers?” The Old Madame stared at Lady Wang. Having devoted her life to this family, what the Old Madame hated most was Lady Wang using Ye family money to support her own family – something no mother-in-law could tolerate, especially since Lady Wang wasn’t even a proper primary wife but had been elevated from a secondary position. “Li’er, where are these disloyal servants?”
Ye Li lowered her eyes and respectfully answered: “I took the liberty of having them detained. Those who signed contracts of servitude received ten strokes each, while the hired ones are ready to be sent to the authorities.”
The Old Madame frowned: “You’re still too soft, child. What good are ten strokes? Have the managers of Shende Pavilion and Hidden Treasures Gallery brought here.” Between them, one dealing in antiques and the other in ornaments, these were the two most profitable of the twelve shops, accounting for nearly half of all revenue.
Soon, several people were dragged in, bound hand and foot. Manager Wang, seeing Lady Wang, began wailing: “Sister, brother-in-law, save me!” Minister Ye glared at Lady Wang with an iron-gray face but said nothing. Lady Wang, both angry and anxious, called out repeatedly: “How dare you! Release my uncle at once!”
Ye Li smiled apologetically: “So he is from the Wang family – I thought Fourth Sister was joking. Though the Wang family isn’t prominent, they do have several officials in court. How strange that one would become Shende Pavilion’s manager. However… the craftsmen and clerks at Shende Pavilion have accused Manager Wang of embezzling over eighty thousand taels over the past few years. I wonder…”
“This must be slander by those lowly people. How could my cousin embezzle money?” Lady Wang declared firmly.
Ye Li glanced at the Old Madame without arguing: “Since Lady Wang vouches for Manager Wang, how dare I disbelieve? We’ll just have him and Shende Pavilion’s craftsmen and clerks visit the Capital Prefecture for a face-to-face confrontation.”
Lady Wang’s expression changed as she quickly said: “How can we trouble the Capital Prefecture with such minor matters? The new Prefect Qin is known as the Iron-faced Judge – nothing good will come from falling into his hands.”
Ye Li smiled reassuringly at Lady Wang: “Don’t worry, my lady. If we’ve wronged Uncle, I’ll personally kowtow in apology. Guards, take this traitor out and give him fifty more strokes!” She turned and pointed at the Hidden Treasures Gallery manager lying to the side, her voice cold. Having just received ten strokes, the manager’s face turned ashen: “Third Miss, mercy! Third Miss… Lady Wang, save me!”
Lady Wang kept her face dark and said nothing. The Old Madame’s aged eyes narrowed slightly as she calmly ordered: “Do as Third Miss commands.” Her gaze at Ye Li carried a deeper meaning. Ye Li naturally understood the Old Madame’s scrutiny but paid it no mind, coldly staring at the manager: “You’re different from Manager Wang. You were sold to the Xu family and came as part of Mother’s dowry. Mother treated you well when she was alive, yet in just these few years you dare betray your masters. Even if you’re beaten to death, no one would dare say a word! Beat him hard!”
The manager collapsed to the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. The others present couldn’t help but feel a chill – they had thought this unremarkable Third Miss was naive and easy to bully, but they had misjudged her.
“No… Third Miss, mercy! Lady Wang, save me… Lady Wang, most of the money I took went to you! You can’t abandon me now!”
“Nonsense! What are you saying? Take him away quickly!” Lady Wang shouted in panic.
After the manager was dragged out, miserable howls soon echoed from outside. As the hall fell silent, Ye Li’s refined voice rang out softly: “Qingshuang, have Manager Wang and everyone from Shende Pavilion taken to the Capital Prefecture. Tell Prefect Qin that we’ve heard of his impartial justice and ask him to give our Ye family justice.”
“Yes!” Qingshuang responded crisply.
“Wait…” Ye Ying stepped forward: “Grandmother, Father, this absolutely cannot happen! If we go to the authorities, this will ruin both Noble Lady Zhao’s and Prince Li’s reputations… I… I won’t be able to show my face at my wedding. Please, Father and Grandmother, reconsider…”
“Mother…” Minister Ye looked at the Old Madame. He naturally didn’t support going to the authorities either. The most important things now were Noble Lady Zhao in the palace and Ye Ying’s marriage.
The Old Madame examined Ye Li, then frowned with disgust at Manager Wang: “Since we’re all relatives, we shouldn’t completely fall out. But the shops are Li’er’s, and we can’t just let this go. Make up the missing silver quickly – after all, we can’t offend Prince Li, and we must give Prince Ding’s estate a proper accounting.”
“Make it up?!” Lady Wang cried out. How could she make up over a hundred thousand taels?
“Silence! As a second wife, embezzling the primary wife’s dowry – isn’t that shameful? If you don’t care about face, Fourth Miss does, and Noble Lady Zhao in the palace does! Bring me the household accounts – I want to see how you’ve been managing things!” Lady Wang’s face turned ashen. The Old Madame was about to strip her of household authority. “Old Madame…”
Ye Li stepped forward, interrupting Lady Wang softly: “Old Madame, the Wang family is still Second Sister and Fourth Sister’s maternal family. Originally, giving them this money wouldn’t matter. However… Mother specified before her death that some should be set aside to care for Grandmother and some for the sisters’ dowries. I think we needn’t ask for too much – the household now has only Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Sisters unwed, so let’s say ten thousand taels each. Plus thirty thousand taels for Grandmother’s private purse. Sixty thousand taels in total should suffice.” Turning to Concubine Zhao with a smile, she added: “Don’t worry, Aunt. If there are future brothers or sisters, I’ll naturally provide their share as well.”
Concubine Zhao started, her previous regret and dissatisfaction turning to joy as she covered her smile: “Then I’ll take Third Miss’s lucky words to heart. Third Miss truly lives up to being our Ye family’s legitimate daughter – such refined manners.” Whether Ye Li would fulfill this promise later was another matter; her words alone were enough to please Concubine Zhao.
Sixty thousand compared to over a hundred thousand taels seemed little, but Ye Li knew much of that money had been used by the Wang family to smooth official paths or had been squandered. Demanding sixty thousand taels from Lady Wang now would be enough to make her spit blood. In any case, as long as Noble Lady Zhao remained in power and Ye Ying became Prince Li’s wife, the Old Madame couldn’t do anything to Lady Wang. Let her suffer a bit.
Minister Ye, hearing this, found Ye Li quite magnanimous and nodded approvingly: “Li’er speaks sense. Do as she says.” Though he couldn’t act against Lady Wang for the family’s sake, he still disliked her using family money for her natal family. Remembering his first wife who had always looked out for the Ye family, his gaze toward Ye Li grew even warmer.
The Old Madame also strongly approved – this preserved both families’ faces while saving several tens of thousands in dowry silver. As for the Wang family… they lacked the power to oppose the Ye family, especially when they were clearly in the wrong. Though Noble Lady Zhao was born to the Wang family, she was still a Ye daughter and wouldn’t speak against her own family. She looked at Ye Li fondly and praised: “Li’er handles matters with proper measure, truly showing the virtue of a family matriarch. Your maternal grandmother need not worry about you entering Prince Ding’s household. The Xu family’s teaching was indeed good.”
Lady Wang’s face darkened further at these words – if the Xu family’s teaching was good, did that mean the Wang family’s teaching was poor? Ye Ying glanced at Ye Li and lowered her head pitifully. As Lady Wang tried to speak again, the Old Madame gave her a stern look: “Or would you rather visit the Capital Prefecture?”
“I will obey and make up the silver as quickly as possible,” Lady Wang said through gritted teeth.
“Ying’er will marry soon. Spend these days in your quarters teaching her the ways of being a wife.”
“Yes.” This effectively confined her, leaving no chance even to complain to Noble Lady Zhao in the palace.