Chapter 347

Chapter 348: Tang Rong’s Calculations

Steward Wei Chun’s words turned Tang Rong’s face ashen; if they were true, it meant the theft from his birth mother’s dowry would make his already meager purse even thinner.

He gave his order, voice clipped: “You will investigate this matter. I am giving you two days.”

At this moment he already had targets in mind; in the earlier years, his birth mother’s dowry had been in Madam Wang’s custody, and he knew exactly how much had been spent. Later, once the dowry chests were moved to Chun Rong Courtyard, only Tao Yi Ran and he himself had handled the keys. He knew Tao Yi Ran’s temperament and she would never stoop to theft, so the first person to suspect was Auntie Cai.

He did not interrogate Auntie Cai immediately, acting as if nothing had happened and waiting for Steward Wei Chun to make everything clear before punishing everyone together.

Xin An, teasing the chubby little one without even looking up, gave a quiet instruction: “Let the news slip to Cai Quan.” [What a pity.] She had planned to play the Auntie Cai piece on the board two days later, yet Tang Rong’s people discovered the issue first. That blunted Auntie Cai’s usefulness and would cause Tang Rong little real harm. So long as he wept poverty convincingly enough, Grand Matron would certainly compensate him, and Tang Gang would not sit idly by. [In the end he might receive more than he lost and even turn a profit.] What a pity.

Steward Wei Chun quickly traced the trail to Cai Quan. Upon receiving word, Cai Quan fled first, vanishing without a trace with his son and his lover. Before he ran, he swept up all the money, and Auntie Cai remained completely unaware. When Tang Rong opened the storeroom, she even sidled up of her own accord, ready to accuse Madam Wang the moment anything broke.

Several large chests were carried into the courtyard one after another and opened in turn. Some were only half-filled, some contained items that were obviously worthless, and there were even empty chests. At the instant the lids were lifted, Tao Yi Ran was genuinely shocked, and she blurted, eyes wide: “Where are the contents?”

Auntie Cai was even more theatrical as she first cried out, then hastened forward to peer inside, lamenting loudly: “These are not the madam’s dowry pieces. Heaven above, what on earth has happened?” She added, voice rising: “Back then every item in the madam’s dowry was carefully chosen by the master and the old madam, all exquisite things. How have they all been replaced by these?” She pressed on, frowning toward the head of the household: “Heir Apparent, these are wrong. The late madam’s dowry has been in the present madam’s safekeeping all these years. Could the madam, being so busy, have mixed things up by mistake?”

Unaware of the inside story, Tao Yi Ran followed the hint and began to suspect Madam Wang. It was not uncommon for a second wife who controlled a late wife’s dowry to swap items or simply embezzle them, and she did not think Madam Wang would be the rare exception.

She had expected Tang Rong to be led by the nose, but he only stared coldly at the opened chests and said one sentence, each word distinct: “When these chests arrived, I personally opened and inspected them. Every single chest was filled to the brim, and the gold, silver, and jade were all of the finest grade.” He turned his gaze, voice cool: “Auntie Cai, Auntie Liu, you two are the steward aunts of Chun Hua Courtyard. Explain what is going on.”

Auntie Cai looked utterly stricken. No one knew better than she exactly how much had originally been packed into these chests and what the contents were. [Why would the Heir Apparent say such a thing?]

Auntie Liu spoke first, sharp and quick: “Since the Heir Apparent saw them with his own eyes, it can only mean there is an insider thief in Chun Hua Courtyard. The keys for these chests were originally kept by the young madam, but she never touched those few chests, let alone opened them to look. Later, the Heir Apparent kept the keys. The Heir Apparent placed them in his study, which means only those who could come and go from the study at will would find it easy to act.” She added, looking around: “So many items cannot be carried out of the courtyard at once. The thief must have smuggled them out little by little.”

At that, every eye settled on Auntie Cai. Panic seized her and she dropped to her knees, pleading and knocking her head to the ground: “Heir Apparent, please see clearly. This old servant has followed you for many years and has never betrayed you.” She pressed her palms to the floor and cried: “This old servant never touched those chests.”

Tang Rong did not waste words. He only sent Qing Mo to fetch someone, and soon Cai Shun was dragged in bound hand and foot. Cai Shun had already left the city but had grown uneasy about the courtesan he had been keeping these past days; he wanted to go back to take the top beauty with him. The moment he returned, Wei Chun’s men seized him. After a bout of harsh interrogation, Cai Shun confessed to everything.

In the past few days he had become infatuated with the leading beauty of a brothel. To win her favor he posed as a rich young master, showering her with fine silks, jewels, and good wine. He soon squandered everything, then, egged on by the beauty, borrowed from loan sharks and quickly went out of control. With nowhere else to turn, he begged Auntie Cai for help, and she grew ever bolder and more frequent in her raids on those chests.

The entire theft case was not difficult at all. The truth surfaced completely. Auntie Cai’s face turned the color of ash, while Tang Rong’s expression grew darker still. Wei Chun had been a step late and Cai Quan had escaped.

Auntie Cai finally found her voice and cried as she kowtowed: “Heir Apparent, Heir Apparent, please, for the sake of the many years I have served you, forgive me.” She sobbed, words tumbling out: “Heir Apparent, you have been deceived. There was never that much in these chests, and what was inside was not that valuable. They were switched long ago.”

What she said was true, but Tang Rong intended to use this chance to settle accounts. He knew precisely how much had originally been in those chests and where the good things had gone over the years, but knowing was one thing and saying it aloud was another. It would sound ugly if repeated outside. The Wei family had never been truly wealthy; when their daughter married into a marquis’s household that year, they scraped together a decent-looking dowry. In truth it was not especially valuable, and after the spending of these past years, aside from a few good pieces, the rest was only there to make up the numbers. [He had to use this chance to refill his purse.] A pity that Cai Quan had fled, costing him a sum.

He looked down at the kneeling woman and pronounced, tone like ice: “Mother is kind and careful. Under her safekeeping there was not a single error, and she handed everything over to me intact. It has not been that long since then, and yet under your theft almost nothing remains.” He added, gaze turning glacial: “Even now you will not admit fault and would drag Mother down with you. I cannot keep you.”

Auntie Liu seized the chance to kick the one already fallen: “Auntie Cai, at this point you had better confess clearly. The Heir Apparent personally saw every item in those chests. Do you mean to say the Heir Apparent would lie?” She pressed, voice cutting: “Even now you try to strike back and trap the Heir Apparent in wrongdoing. What a poisonous heart.”

Auntie Cai was now truly without words. She could not understand why the Heir Apparent would lie. Beside her, Cai Shun knocked his head to the floor begging for mercy, but he knew nothing of whatever Cai Quan had done, and Tang Rong saw no value in him at all.

He issued brisk commands: “Lock them in the woodshed and report to the yamen, saying the marquis’s household has a runaway bondservant. Request the authorities’ help in the pursuit.” He continued, turning to his men: “Inventory the chests, then search the Cai family residence.”

Gagged, the mother and son were dragged away. Looking at the few chests, Tao Yi Ran felt her heart go cold again as she asked, voice low: “Can we recover what was pawned?” She had never cared for such things before, but now this man no longer interested her. If she did not get some silver into her own hands, what pleasure would there be in the days ahead?