8 Counterattack Wang Family Hemoptysis

ny unexpected accidents. Indeed, Ah Jin had done it with great consideration."Ah Jin, I'll take your prince back. You stay here and keep an eye on him. When it gets light enough, wake up those who bro...The Imperial Capital Ode 8: Counterattack and Lady Wang's Regret

8. Counterattack and Lady Wang's Regret

"Look at the good job you've done!"

The old lady, with a grim expression, threw the account book at Lady Wang’s feet. Lady Wang couldn’t have imagined that what she intended to punish Ye Li for would be turned against herself by Ye Li's words. As she continued flipping through the account book, Lady Wang's hands trembled more and more. She deeply regretted underestimating this maid in the past. Even though she had never taught her about managing household affairs or wielding power, there was nothing she could hide from Ye Li on this ledger. Not even the hidden accounts of their stores were concealed. Clearly, Ye Li’s methods of dealing with people were no ordinary ones. "Old Lady… Master, I…"

The old lady coldly snorted and said, “No wonder you claimed that the estate couldn’t spare money for your dowry; it turns out that all the money was going back to support your own family.”

"Old Lady, I'm innocent! It’s all due to those below me being greedy. I didn't know about any of this…"

"Didn’t know Didn’t you know that your cousin is managing accounts at the Shende Hall Didn’t you hurry to replace managers at several shops" The old lady glared at Lady Wang. The old lady had devoted her entire life to the family and hated most when Lady Wang used Ye Family’s money to support her own relatives, something no mother-in-law could tolerate. Moreover, Lady Wang was not a formally married wife but one who had been elevated from a concubine status. "Miss Li, where are those traitorous scoundrels"

Ye Li lowered her gaze and respectfully replied, "Li'er took the initiative to detain those people. Those who signed indenture contracts received ten strokes of the cane each, while the hired employees are being prepared for delivery to the government office."

The old matriarch frowned and said, "That girl is still too soft-hearted. Ten strokes can't be a big deal. Have someone bring up the managers of Shende Hall and Cangzhen Pavilion." Shende Hall dealt in antiques while Cangzhen Pavilion sold ornaments; these two stores were among the twelve most profitable shops, almost accounting for half of all revenue.

Soon, several people bound with ropes were dragged in. The Wang manager started wailing upon seeing Lady Wang, "Sister! Brother-in-law! Save me!" Minister Ye's face turned ashen and he glared at Lady Wang but said nothing. Enraged and furious, Lady Wang repeatedly said, "Rebel! Quickly untie Lord Uncle!" Ye Li apologetically smiled and said, "So it is truly Lord Uncle from the Wang family; Li'er thought that my fourth sister was joking. Although the Wang family isn't a major household, they still have quite a few officials in court, so how could he possibly be managing Shende Hall But... The master craftsmen and employees at Shende Hall accused Manager Wang of embezzling over 80,000 taels of silver from Shende Hall in the past few years. I wonder..."

"This must definitely be a lie; how could my cousin possibly embezzle money" Lady Wang firmly declared.

Ye Li glanced at the old matriarch and did not refute, saying, "Since Madam is willing to vouch for Manager Wang, Li'er naturally believes it. We shall have Manager Wang, the master craftsmen, and employees of Shende Hall meet with the magistrate in charge of the capital city shortly."

Lady Wang's face changed, hurriedly saying, "It’s just a minor matter; there is no need to involve the magistrate!" The newly appointed magistrate, Qin Mu, was known as the Iron-Faced Judge; it wouldn’t be easy for him if he fell into his hands.

Ye Li smiled reassuringly at Lady Wang and said, "Madam can rest assured. If Lord Uncle truly is innocent, I will personally kneel before him to apologize. Servants, take this traitor outside and give him fifty more strokes!" Turning around, Ye Li coldly pointed towards the Cangzhen Pavilion manager lying on the side. The manager who had just received ten strokes earlier turned ashen faced, "Third Miss, please spare me! Third Miss... Madam, save me..." Lady Wang’s face darkened and she said nothing. The old matriarch squinted her old eyes slightly and calmly instructed, "Follow Third Miss's instructions." She looked at Ye Li with a deeper meaning; Ye Li naturally knew the old matriarch was sizing her up but didn’t mind, coldly staring at the manager and saying, “You are different from Manager Wang. You sold yourself to Xu Family as a servant for my mother’s dowry. Mother treated you well in life, yet within just a few years, you dared betray your master like this. Even if I kill you, no one would dare say half a word! Beat him fiercely!" The manager collapsed on the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. Everyone present was also somewhat unnerved; they had originally thought that the inconspicuous Third Miss was an easy target with no guile, only to realize they were mistaken.

"No... Madam Third Junior Miss, spare my life! Lady, save me... Lady, most of the money I acquired was given to you, you can't just stand by and watch!"

"Rubbish! What nonsense are you talking Drag him out at once," Lady Wang called out in a fit of anger.

The shopkeeper was dragged out, and soon cries of agony could be heard outside. The hall fell silent, until Ye Li's refined voice faintly sounded: "Qingshuang, send for Manager Wang and everyone from Zhen De軒 to the capital’s city prefecture office. Let them inform Minister Qin that he is known for his impartiality, and we hope Minister Qin can give our Ye family justice."

"Wait..." said Ye Ying as she stepped forward: "Grandmother, Father, this absolutely cannot be done. If we go to the yamen, Lady Imperial Concubine and the Li王府’s reputation will surely be tarnished... I... won't have any face to marry either. Please reconsider, Father and Grandmother..."

"Mother…" Secretary Ye looked at his mother; he naturally didn’t agree with going to the yamen either. What was most important now were Imperial Concubine Lady and Ye Ying’s marriage.

The old lady sized up Ye Li with a frown, then looked at Manager Wang in disgust: "Since we are all relatives, it wouldn't be good for both sides to break off relations completely. But the shop belongs to Li'er; we can’t just let this slide either. The missing silver must be made up as soon as possible, after all... the Li王府 can’t offend, and we must also account for ourselves in front of the Ding王's mansion."

"Make up for it!" Lady Wang cried out. Over 100,000 taels of silver was no small amount. How could she possibly make up for it

"Hush! As a concubine who embezzled the dowry of her predecessor, do you think that sounds good You don’t have any shame, but Fourth Miss still does, as does Consort Zhao in the palace. Bring me the household accounts and I’ll see how exactly you’ve been managing the family!" Lady Wang’s face was deathly pale; the Old Lady intended to strip her of her authority over the household finances. "Old Lady…"

Ye Li stepped forward and interrupted, saying softly, "Old Lady, Wang Family is after all the maternal home of Second Miss and Fourth Miss. Originally there would be nothing wrong with giving them this money. Only… Mother instructed that some should be kept aside to show respect for Grandmother and some left for my sisters as dowries. I think we don’t need too much, since only Fourth Sister, Fifth Sister, and Sixth Sister are still unmarried girls, so one ten thousand taels per person would suffice. There’s also three ten thousand taels set aside for Grandmother’s personal expenses. In all that makes six ten thousand taels." Finishing her speech, she turned to the side and smiled at Zhao Madam, "Madam, rest assured. If there are any younger brothers or sisters in the future, I will make up for their dowries myself." Zhao Madam was surprised; originally feeling somewhat regretful and unwilling, when she heard Ye Li’s words her heart warmed and she covered her mouth as she smiled, "Then I’ll take Third Miss’ blessing. It is truly deserved that Third Miss is our Ye Family’s legitimate daughter; she indeed has the bearing of a great lady." Whether or not Ye Li would fulfill her promise in the future was yet to be seen, but Zhao Madam was already pleased by just hearing these words.

Six ten thousand taels seemed insignificant compared to over 100,000 taels, but Ye Li knew that most of that money had either been squandered or used for bribes to further the Wang Family’s political careers. Now demanding six ten thousand taels from Lady Wang in one go would be enough to make her bleed internally. So long as Imperial Consort Zhao still existed and Ye Ying remained Princess of Lai, no matter what the Old Lady couldn’t actually do anything to Lady Wang. It was fine if she bled inside.

When Minister of State Ye heard this, he indeed felt that Ye Li’s generosity was praiseworthy, nodding in approval. "What Ye Li said makes sense; let’s go with it then." Although he couldn’t do anything to Lady Wang for the sake of the family, deep down he still resented how she had used household money on her own mother instead of his wife as per tradition. He thought back to his first wife who always made sacrifices for their Ye Family and looked at Ye Li even more kindly.

The Old Lady was also in favor; this way the two families’ dignity would be preserved, while several ten thousand taels of dowry money could be saved as well. As for the Wang Family… they were still incapable of competing with the Ye Family and had originally been at fault anyway. Even if Imperial Consort Zhao had given birth to her in the Wang Family, she was still ultimately a daughter of the Ye Family. He wouldn’t point out any bad aspects of his own family either. Looking at Ye Li fondly, he nodded in approval: "Ye Li is very capable; indeed she has the bearing of a matriarch. When you enter Duke Ding’s household, I need not worry about anything. The Xu Family does have good household education." Lady Wang looked even worse when she heard this; if the Xu Family had good household education, then that meant her own Wang Family did not Ye Ying glanced at Ye Li and lowered her head in shame. Lady Wang was still intending to argue but the Old Lady glared at her coldly: "Are you really thinking of taking a trip to the capital’s prefectural office"

"This concubine will comply and quickly make up for the silver," Lady Wang ground her teeth as she unwillingly said.young man dressed in loose dark red clothes leaning against the railing. She rolled her eyes at the lecherous man beside her, who was staring in shock and drooling, before turning to the flirtatious y...