Chapter 15: Don’t Worry Yet—The Time to Worry Will Come
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Du Sheng stood silent, his face pale.
You Bing Yue, seething with anger, snapped, “Stop spouting nonsense! Du Sheng is just an ordinary servant. When I met him half a month ago, he was being bullied by the Chief Steward. How could someone like him embezzle funds?”
Yu Zhi Yi raised her eyebrows, her tone sharp. “Are you sure he was being bullied because he’s innocent, and not because his greed made the Chief Steward suspicious, prompting him to press Du Sheng for the stolen funds?”
Yu Zhi Yi’s words hung in the air, her disdain barely concealed. She took a sip of tea, trying to wash down the bitter taste left by her observations.
Chancellor Du no longer appeared amused. At first, he had been mildly entertained by the gossip surrounding You Bing Yue. But now that it seemed Du Sheng might actually have wronged the family, his mood turned grim.
“Summon the Chief Steward,” he ordered.
Moments later, Du Hai, the Chief Steward, arrived, his expression puzzled.
Chancellor Du wasted no time. “Du Hai, did you confront Du Sheng about anything half a month ago?”
The Chief Steward straightened and immediately replied, “Yes, Master. I discovered discrepancies in the accounts handled by Du Sheng. I wanted to ask him about it, but just as my men restrained him, Miss You barged in, knocked us down, and threatened that if we dared to trouble Du Sheng again, we’d regret it.”
You Bing Yue scoffed, her voice icy. “A group of burly men ganging up on one servant—any decent person would intervene.”
The Chief Steward looked aggrieved. “I explained! It was because Du Sheng’s accounts were suspicious. But Miss You refused to listen.”
Madam Du slammed her hand on the table. “Such a serious matter—why wasn’t it reported to us?”
The Chief Steward grew even more distressed. “Madam, at the time, we were preoccupied with preparing for the young master’s wedding. Besides, Du Sheng was later assigned to the Moon Gazing Pavilion by the young master himself. I assumed the young master had tacitly allowed the situation, so I didn’t pursue it further.”
Du Zi Heng frowned. “This matter is still unresolved. We cannot be certain of Du Sheng’s guilt.”
Yu Zhi Yi stifled a yawn, clearly uninterested in prolonging the discussion. “There’s a hidden compartment under his bed. Inside, you’ll find receipts from Hui Feng Bank. Take those to the bank, and you’ll see how much he’s embezzled over the years.”
She paused, then added lazily, “As for witnesses, ask the butcher, the cloth shopkeeper, and the general store clerk he frequents. They can testify to the prices he paid them versus the prices he charged the mansion.”
Chancellor Du immediately sent people to investigate.
Two hours later, the investigators returned with the shopkeepers and account books in tow.
Du Zi Heng personally examined the records. His expression darkened as he flipped through the pages. While the general store lacked detailed records, the cloth shop and butcher had meticulous logs.
The records revealed glaring discrepancies. Coarse cloth, priced at fifteen coins per foot, was listed in Du Sheng’s accounts as costing twenty. Fine cloth, normally fifty coins per foot, was marked up to fifty-five. Pork, priced at ten coins per pound—or seven coins with bones—was recorded as costing fifteen and twelve coins respectively.
While minor price fluctuations due to seasonal factors were understandable, the consistent five-coin markup on every item was undeniable.
Considering the household’s large number of servants—over two hundred including estate workers—such discrepancies added up quickly. Even a modest amount of cloth for seasonal uniforms yielded thousands of coins in stolen profits. Over the course of a year, Du Sheng pocketed over twenty thousand coins from clothing alone.
The food expenses were equally alarming. The mansion purchased nearly a hundred pounds of meat daily to ensure the servants had meals that included meat. Du Sheng siphoned off an additional five hundred coins per day, amounting to over ten taels of silver each month.
Du Zi Heng flung the account book at Du Sheng, his face livid. “You wretched servant! The mansion has treated you generously. Even as a home-born slave, you were paid two taels a month—more than some small household masters! Yet you dared to steal from us?”
Yu Zhi Yi yawned again, her tone light but cutting. “Don’t get too worked up yet, young master. You’ll be even angrier when you see what’s hidden in his cupboard.”
Soon, the servants who searched Du Sheng’s room returned, their faces uneasy.
A sense of foreboding gripped Du Zi Heng as one of the men handed over a stack of paintings.
Snatching them up, he barely glanced before his vision went black. The paintings depicted none other than You Bing Yue, wearing a pale grey narrow-sleeved dress she had worn when she first arrived at the mansion. The dress had long since been discarded after being damaged, making it impossible for anyone to use it to frame Du Sheng.
The evidence was damning. This lowly servant had harbored indecent thoughts about the young master’s woman!
Furious, Du Zi Heng roared, “Throw this insolent wretch into the dungeon!”
The dungeon, known as the water prison, was a place of misery. Its ankle-deep water and damp, dark conditions made even a short stay unbearable. Few who entered emerged unscathed.
Du Sheng panicked. “Young master, please! Spare me! I was wrong—I admit my mistake!”
You Bing Yue, initially shocked by the paintings, quickly composed herself. Despite Du Sheng’s pleas, she said nothing, her expression unreadable.
Yu Zhi Yi tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. “I thought you weren’t allowed to harm servants arbitrarily. Isn’t that what you said, young master?”
Du Zi Heng’s face burned as though slapped.
You Bing Yue sneered. “Mercy? This man deserves his punishment.”
Yu Zhi Yi nodded, seeming to agree. “True. But aren’t you disregarding the legal authorities here?”
You Bing Yue frowned. “What?”
Who would bother involving the authorities for a servant’s crime? Was this woman insane?
Reading her thoughts, Yu Zhi Yi smirked faintly. “I never said you could harm servants freely. That was your assumption. I merely stated that I would handle them as I saw fit. Surely, as a top scholar, you can distinguish between discipline and outright killing, can’t you, young master?”