The Capital Rhapsody 7: Accusation and Counter-Accusation

  7. Accusation and Counter-accusation

  "Hahaha..."

  In the carriage, Feng Zhiyao laughed so hard that she was bent forward and backward, her elegant demeanor nowhere to be seen. When she finally stopped laughing, she raised her head and said to Mo Xiuyao beside her: "Xiuyao, this new queen is really interesting. Haha... I didn't see Mo Jingli's face earlier, what a pity..." Mo Xiuyao's warm eyes had a hint of deep thought, apparently the future queen's performance was beyond his expectations. Even if he didn't know what she looked like, with Ye Shangshu as her father and one of the four beauties of the capital as her mother, Ye Li's appearance wouldn't be too bad even if it wasn't top-notch. What was even more unexpected was that her way of handling things didn't seem to match the rumors about a woman without talent or virtue.

  "But Ye San Miss is really generous, the Guanyin statue worth over 5,000 taels was given away just like that. Isn't she afraid that Mo Jingli won't give her the silver?" Mo Jingli is the current emperor's younger brother, if he defaults on the debt, Ye San Miss would be helpless.

  Mo Xiuyao smiled calmly and shook his head: "Mo Jingli is a man who values his reputation the most. He will never let people say that he owes others something without paying back."

  "Feng Zhiyao smiled and raised an eyebrow, saying: 'Then there will be a good show to watch. According to what I know, last month Mo Jingli took away a genuine work of the former dynasty's Grass Saint from Shende Hall, which is worth tens of thousands of taels when combined with the other item. This time...the Emperor is still quite kind to you, at least your new queen is quite wealthy.' Speaking of Mo Jingli, he really isn't a good person, on one hand abandoning someone and breaking off an engagement, while on the other hand taking things from their store without paying. It's fortunate that he comes from the imperial family, otherwise he would be even more shameless. Mo Xiuyao glanced at him and said: 'As for being wealthy, who dares to compare with your Feng family?' The Feng family is one of the four great merchant families in Da Chu, and also the only one among the four that has lived in the capital for generations, naturally having a few more advantages and powers than the other three. Feng Zhiyao helplessly waved her fan and said: 'That's my father's money, it has nothing to do with me. Who doesn't know that I'm a useless good-for-nothing who's fallen on hard times?'"

  As soon as Ye Li returned to the mansion, she was summoned by the old lady's maid and stepped into Rong Le Hall. It was rare for the whole family to gather at a time that wasn't for paying respects, and even Ye Shangshu, who was busy with official duties, didn't miss it. He sat glumly next to the old lady, staring at Ye Li as she entered. Ye Ying was nestled in Wang Shi's arms, sobbing pitifully, her eyes red from crying, making her look weak and vulnerable, evoking sympathy.

  "Lier greets her grandmother and father. She has met the lady and all the aunts..."

  "You wicked girl, don't you dare kneel down!" Just as Ye Li was about to finish speaking, a loud crash was heard as the teacup in Ye Shangshu's hand smashed onto the floor beside Ye Li's feet.

  Ye Li fell silent for a moment, then calmly took a step back and said: "I don't know what the daughter did wrong, please enlighten me, Father."

  She saw that she didn't seem to want to admit her mistake, and Ye Shangshu was about to get angry again. The old lady on the side coughed and interrupted his anger, saying: "Lier, today at Shende Hall, you were rude in front of King Lei. If it gets out, others will think that our Ye family doesn't know how to teach girls manners. When your fourth sister returns home after her wedding, you'll go and apologize to King Lei. For now, just stay in your own courtyard." Ye Lier glanced at Wangshi, who was smiling with a hint of amusement as she hugged Ye Ying, and looked up at the old lady with a confused expression, saying: "Grandmother, please forgive me. If Grandmother says I'm wrong, then I must have done something wrong. However, I'm stupid and still don't know what I did wrong. Please enlighten me."

  The old lady was stunned, looking at Ye Li who had a bewildered expression and couldn't say a word.

  Wang Shi supported Ye Ying to sit properly, got up and walked in front of Ye Li, smiling warmly: "Li'er, Wang Ye is the current emperor's younger brother. You made Wang Ye unhappy today. If Wang Ye blames us, our family can't afford it. Apologize sincerely to Old Madam and Master, we won't blame you."

  Ye Li blinked, pursed her lips and thought for a moment, the puzzled expression on her face deepened. "Angered the prince? But I didn't say much to the prince either. The prince wanted to buy the Jade Guanyin, but he didn't have enough silver on him, so I had someone bring it over for him to take away. I didn't intentionally make things difficult for him. Why would the prince be angry? Could it be... could there be something wrong with that Jade Guanyin?"

  Everyone was speechless, and on one side, Zhao Yiniang suddenly covered her mouth and chuckled: "Third Miss, what the madam means is... how can you accept King Wang's money?" Li Wang went to buy things but didn't bring any silver, who would believe it if he said so? It was clear that he hadn't planned on giving any silver in the first place, but Ye Lian had caught him off guard with her words. Even the usual things she bought required additional silver, how could she not be angry?

  "What's going on, Aunt Zhao? Would the king care about such a small amount of money? Besides... Shen De Xuan is doing business openly. Not to mention it's the king, even if it were the emperor himself, there's no reason not to pay, right?" Ye Li asked in surprise.

  Aunt Zhao didn't get angry either, and chuckled: "Third Miss is right. Even when buying things in the palace, you have to pay money for them. If no one pays... who would still do business?"

  "Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about!" Ye Shangshu glared at his concubine, Zhao Yiniang, who had just entered the room and was still basking in his favor. Zhao Yiniang blinked her seductive eyes and wisely stopped speaking.

  Ye Li's face suddenly lit up with realization, and she turned to Wang Shi: "Could it be that Master Wang is really angry about this? Is it not the case... that all the merchants in the capital never collect silver from Master Wang? If so, then I, Ye Li, have indeed done wrong. As long as Grandmother and Father are at ease, that's all that matters. I'll instruct someone to return the silver immediately, and add another 3,000 taels as an apology to Master Wang." Wang Shi hastily grabbed hold of her, his heart filled with unspoken bitterness. If Ye Li were to do this, it would likely spread throughout the capital that Master Wang never paid for anything he bought. Ye Li didn't care about Wang Shi's face, and with a mix of worry and resentment, she said to the old lady: "If that's really the case, then it would be better for Shen De Xuan and these shops to close down sooner rather than later."

  Ye Shangshu coldly said: "Cuidexuan is your dowry, why lock it up? When you marry into the Dingguo Wangfu, it won't look good either."

  Ye Li furrowed her brow and said, "However... the profit of Shen De Xuan for one month is less than 1,000 taels. Every time Your Highness comes to look at things, they are all over 3,000 taels. If Your Highness comes once a month..."

  Upon hearing this, the old lady and Ye Shangshu were both taken aback, and they couldn't help but look at Wang. Shen De Xuan is one of the top antique shops in Beijing, how could its monthly profit be less than 1,000 taels? And this Li Wang is really something, as a prince, he occasionally goes to the store to take things, it's already a big deal, and he often takes things like that. Even the emperor doesn't have the reason to frequently take things from his subjects for free.

  Madam Wang was taken aback, biting her teeth and not daring to speak as her face began to turn pale. The old lady stared at Madam Wang in a low voice: "What's going on?" It is worth noting that the income from these shops has been used for household expenses over the years. If someone were to embezzle funds, it would be equivalent to stealing money from the Ye family. When Madame Ye was seriously ill, Old Lady Ye had also taken charge of the household for a period of time and naturally knew that Shendexuan was one of the two most profitable shops in Madame Ye's dowry, with monthly profits of at least 3,000 taels.

  "Tell Old Lady Wang," she said in a low voice, gritting her teeth, "that for the past two years... perhaps business hasn't been too good..." How dare she say that all the money had gone into her own private treasury.

  Ye Li bowed to the old lady and said in a low voice, "Madam, you're busy with household chores every day, how would you know about things outside? The old lady doesn't know, but our family has been suffering at the hands of those below. These past few days, I've carefully checked the accounts of each shop. Take Shen De Xuan for example, in reality, the annual profit is at least over 30,000 taels, but from three years ago, the annual payment to the household was less than 10,000 taels. More than half of it has been embezzled by those below! Originally, Mother had entrusted me before she passed away that these twelve shops, as long as they were managed properly, would yield a profit of at least 250,000 taels before I got married. Apart from the household expenses, she also wanted to provide for her sisters and brothers' dowries. Who would have thought... Mother's efforts have all been in vain. These past few years, the silver paid to the household was less than 100,000 taels. Here are the account books, please take a look, Grandmother." At this point, not only Ye Shangshu and the old lady but also the other young ladies' and madams' faces changed. Suddenly, tens of thousands of taels had vanished into thin air, including the dowry for their own daughters. The main hall immediately erupted in noise, "Father, Mother, Madam had thought of us sisters and younger brothers before she passed away, Father must definitely punish those heartless people!"

  "They're really a bunch of black-hearted scoundrels, even daring to embezzle money from our own household."