The old lady's face didn't look good either. Over ten thousand taels of silver was no small sum.
However.
"The marquis serves in the Ministry of Justice. It's normal for him to need to grease some palms on a daily basis," the old lady said.
Since the old lady had said so, the others didn't dare to say more. But over ten thousand taels of silver gone just like that—of course it pained them.
But who could they blame? Their sons just weren't up to the mark.
The second aunt and the third aunt each had a biological son. The second aunt's son was the only child of the second branch. Just like his father, he was a complete playboy.
The third aunt's son had passed the imperial examination and ranked in the second tier. Now he was serving as a county magistrate in a remote place. He had only been away for a bit over a year, and it would be a long time before he came back.
The third branch also had two daughters, but they were both concubines' children and were already married off.
There really weren't many places where these two branches needed to spend money to curry favor.
With this in mind, the old lady even forgot about finding fault with Shen Qing. She took a deep breath, looked at Shen Qing, and said, "According to what you said, these shops have been running at a loss for a long time. Just handle them the way you did before."
"That's exactly what I was thinking, Mother," Shen Qing replied with a bitter smile on her face. "But I used my dowry to cover these losses before. I thought that since the marquis and I are husband and wife, ten thousand taels wasn't a big deal. But who would have thought that when I inspected the shops yesterday, I found that the marquis had also taken quite a large amount of money from my accounts..."
The second aunt asked, "How much did the marquis take?"
Shen Qing lowered her head. "Nearly twenty thousand taels."
Everyone in the hall gasped. That added up to thirty thousand taels of silver! What on earth did he need so much money for to grease palms?
"The business has been bad this year. My shops have also suffered quite a lot of losses. I really don't have any extra money..."
In fact, her shops hadn't lost that much. But if they were to investigate the money Xu Yanchi had taken from the mansion's accounts, it would surely be more than what she had said. Once she said this today, the old lady would surely send someone to investigate.
What had Xu Yanchi used the money for? He must have used it to support his mistress!
If they were to find out more, it would be even more interesting.
After exposing Xu Yanchi's secrets, Shen Qing curtsied and left, keeping a low profile.
After leaving the Renshou Hall, Shen Qing asked Yingxiu, "Did you manage to call the people I asked you to call yesterday?"
Yingxiu nodded. "Don't worry, Madam. They've all arrived and are waiting in the Zhuoying Courtyard."
Shen Qing nodded. She went back, changed her clothes, and after getting everything in order, she called the people in.
The one who came was Wu Xing, the manager of the Jinyu Pavilion.
"Your humble servant, Wu Xing, pays respects to Madam," Wu Xing said.
Shen Qing was holding the account book of the Jinyu Pavilion. "Manager Wu, there's no need for such formalities. I called you here just to ask you some questions."
Wu Xing bowed obsequiously. "Madam, please ask away. Your humble servant will tell you everything I know!"
Shen Qing curled her lips. "Good. I'll ask you. According to the account book, last month the marquis of our mansion took five hundred taels of silver on credit from the Jinyu Pavilion, and the month before last, he took a thousand taels. These are no small sums, and the accounts weren't settled in time. Manager Wu, who gave you permission to let him take the money on credit?"
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Wu Xing's forehead. He quickly said, "Your humble servant thought that the Marquis of Guangping was Madam's husband, so..."
Shen Qing slapped the table. "The Duke Protector's Mansion has always been strict in its household management. Even if I went, I wouldn't be able to take such a large amount of money on credit. Just based on your assumption, you can break the long - established rules?"
Wu Xing was so scared that he immediately knelt down. Miss had always been kind to them old servants, but this kindness had made some of them develop other ideas. Juanlian was one, and Wu Xing was another.
Shen Qing's fingers tapped on the table rhythmically. The sound wasn't loud, but it felt like it was tapping on Wu Xing's heart.
"I remember you're Uncle Wu's nephew, right?"
Uncle Wu was a man who had fought on the battlefield with her grandfather, the old Duke Protector. He was extremely loyal.
Wu Xing lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to even raise his head. "Yes, Madam has a good memory. Uncle Wu is indeed my uncle. The person who delivered the goods broke his leg last year, so I took over his job."
"That makes it easy. Yingxiu, since he has broken the rules, give him twenty strokes of the cane and send him to the estate."
Wu Xing's face turned ashen. He didn't expect that just for doing a small favor, he would be punished so severely.
"Madam, please spare my life, Madam!"
Shen Qing's face remained unmoved. She didn't believe that Xu Yanchi had taken the money on credit by himself. She had seen it with her own eyes yesterday, and there must have been more such cases when she wasn't around.
She could turn a blind eye to his mistress, but if he wanted to use her money to support her, don't blame her for exposing his true face!
Yingxiu waved her hand, and the servants dragged Wu Xing outside. Wu Xing struggled and shouted:
"Madam, I'm an old servant of the Duke Protector's Mansion. You can't treat me like this!"
"Stop," Shen Qing said. Just when Wu Xing thought he had a chance, Shen Qing continued:
"Since he claims to be a member of the Duke Protector's Mansion, there's no need to send him to the estate. Send him back to the Duke Protector's Mansion directly after the beating. Yingxiu, you go with him and report the whole thing to my mother."
"Yes."
The color immediately drained from Wu Xing's face. If being sent to the estate still meant he had a chance to live, then being sent back to the Duke Protector's Mansion meant he was as good as dead!
The rules of the Duke Protector's Mansion were extremely strict. If Yingxiu went back with him, considering how much the Duchess doted on Miss, he would surely be kicked out. For people like them, the Duke Protector's Mansion was like their second home. Being kicked out of the Duke Protector's Mansion was more painful than being killed.
This time, Wu Xing couldn't struggle anymore and was directly dragged away.
After dealing with things for the whole morning, Shen Qing was exhausted. Yu Zhen came up to massage her shoulders and said with a pained look on her face:
"Madam, you've worked hard. Later, this servant will go and tell the kitchen to stew some tonic soup for you."
"What tonic soup?"
Xu Yanchi had just walked in, scaring the two of them.
Shen Qing stood up. "Marquis, why are you here?"
Xu Yanchi said somewhat uneasily, "I just remembered that I haven't had a meal with you for a long time, so I came to take a look."
In fact, he had been thinking about Shen Qing's spear - dancing this morning all morning. He had made several mistakes in the tasks his superior had assigned him. His heart was itching. He wanted to ask her why she had hidden her skills from him. So as soon as he got off work, he came here.
Shen Qing's face remained calm. "Yu Zhen, go and tell the kitchen to add two more dishes."
She didn't ask Yu Zhen to pour tea for Xu Yanchi, but Xu Yanchi didn't mind. He poured himself a bowl of tea, sat down, and said to Shen Qing, "When did you learn how to use the long spear?"
Shen Qing replied indifferently, "I learned it with my grandfather when I was young. Marquis, is there something wrong with that?"
"Not at all. You danced it very well."
Shen Qing took a sip of tea from her cup, actually hiding the mockery at the corner of her mouth. If Xu Yanchi knew that his true face had just been exposed by her, she wondered if he could still talk to her about such meaningless things.
Lunch was served quickly. Just as Xu Yanchi was about to start eating, a little maid came to report that Jiang Chan had come.
Shen Qing heaved a sigh of relief.
Jiang Chan came in and paid her respects. "Cousin, Aunt has prepared lunch in the Renshou Hall. She asked me to come and call you."
Xu Yanchi was confused. He put down his chopsticks. "Got it. I'll go right away."
He looked at Shen Qing. "You eat first. I'll come back tonight."
After Xu Yanchi and Jiang Chan left, Shen Qing quickly asked Yu Zhen to open all the doors and windows of the room for ventilation.
Her eyebrows were tightly knitted.
What was wrong with Xu Yanchi?
Had he already forgotten what had happened at the Grand Princess's mansion so quickly?
He didn't seem like a man who liked to wear the cuckold's hat. How could he still say that he would come back tonight to her?
It was so disgusting.
Anyway, she was disgusted.