Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 14 Key
In the kitchen, Yang Qin squatted to the side adding firewood, the firelight making his eyes shine.

Zhang felt much more relaxed. She wasn't quite sure what to do tomorrow, but with Xie Yuyan by her side, she felt inexplicably at ease.

"Mother," Yang Qincai said after a long while, "I will definitely study hard with my sister-in-law and be able to help her more in the future."

Zhang nodded, and as she turned her back, she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. Sixth Brother was gone, but he had brought Xie Yuyan to her and Qin'er, so their lives would surely get better and better from now on.

After a whole day of fussing and commotion, Xie Yuyan felt extremely exhausted. After taking a bath, she lay down on the bed and quickly fell asleep. She slept very soundly. When she woke up, she subconsciously reached out to ring the bell, thinking that she was still in Cixi Palace.

Xie Yuyan didn't fully wake up until she turned her head and saw the sunlight streaming in through the window.

The house of the Yang family's third branch was very dilapidated, but the sunlight was brighter than that of the Cixi Palace.

Having survived a brush with death, I never imagined I would be able to return to this world.

Xie Yuyan's lips curled up into a smile.

A clean set of clothes was placed beside the bed, obviously put there by Zhang.

The Yang family had two rooms, and Zhang lived with her. Last night, before she fell asleep, she seemed to hear Zhang getting up with some rustling sounds. She thought Zhang was worried about Yang Qin and wanted to go check on him, but she didn't expect that Zhang was altering her clothes overnight.

Hearing noises inside, Zhang knocked on the door before entering.

Xie Yuyan took off her bright red wedding dress, washed off her makeup, and let her hair down. Without any adornment, her skin appeared as delicate as jade, her eyes were bright and captivating, and her lips were painted a perfect shade of rosy red.

Xie Yuyan seemed lost in thought, slightly absent-minded. Coupled with the fact that he had just woken up and was still a bit sleepy, he slowly yawned.

Seeing Xie Yuyan's appearance, Zhang couldn't help but smile. Xie Yuyan's skills yesterday were too impressive. Only now did Zhang realize that the midwife had examined Xie Yuyan and found that she was only sixteen or seventeen years old.

"The dress fits perfectly," Xie Yuyan thanked Zhang, "Thank you for your hard work, Mother."

Zhang didn't feel tired at all; as long as Xie Yuyan was dressed well, she was happy.

"After the mourning period is over, I will take you to buy some good fabric to make clothes."

Xie Yuyan nodded: "Has the clan been informed? When should we bury Liu Lang?"

Mentioning Sixth Brother, Zhang's eyes reddened again, and she lowered her eyes to hide it: "We need to ask the fortune teller to come and calculate the date again." In fact, Zhang had already figured it out; the burial would be just an empty coffin, and for the clan, it was just for show.

After washing up, the two sat down at the table to eat.

Zhang said, "Qingge'er went out early this morning to wait for the registrar at the yamen."

"Qinge has also put away the list you wrote. He said he will definitely get everything you need."

They had already discussed it yesterday and decided to split up. Yang Qin would go to the yamen to see Wang Hechun, while they would stay at home and deal with Madam He.

Zhang led Xie Yuyan to the South Courtyard, deliberately taking a long detour to familiarize Xie Yuyan with the layout of the Yang family's ancestral home.

“There are still farmlands outside the city,” Zhang said. “A few houses have been built there, where we can rest when we’re working. There used to be two porcelain kilns, but we don’t use them anymore.”

The Yang family didn't own a huge estate, but their houses and land combined made them one of the top households in the city.

Xie Yuyan asked, "Why is the porcelain kiln no longer in use?"

Zhang shook her head and said, "I only know that we can't make good porcelain. In the past, the eldest son's family was in charge of these things. After the eldest son's great-grandfather passed away, the products made became worse and worse. No merchants were willing to buy them. They weren't worth much money when sold at the market. Opening the kiln required a lot of firewood, so it wasn't worth it no matter how you looked at it. The second great-grandfather decided to close the kiln."

"Later, the eldest son secretly opened the kiln again, but the things fired this time were even worse. The second patriarch was so angry that he ordered the clansmen to dismantle the kiln."

Xie Yuyan frowned slightly: "Tear it down?"

“The eldest son’s family tried their best to stop it, but they couldn’t finish demolishing it. However, it was still mostly destroyed,” Zhang said, pausing for a moment. “The porcelain kiln was originally very good. When our third son’s family was in charge, they even sold the porcelain produced by the eldest son’s family to the sea. The master valued the porcelain kiln very much.”

When Zhang mentioned this, her eyes were filled with complex emotions. After all, it was her husband who sold the porcelain. However, even the people in the Yang clan did not believe it. Whenever she mentioned it, she only saw contemptuous ridicule.

Of all the money lost in the porcelain kiln, only the eldest and third sons still remembered it fondly.

"arrive."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the south courtyard, where Madam He and two stewards were already waiting at the entrance of the small storeroom. Seeing this scene, Madam Zhang immediately knew that Xie Yuyan had guessed everything correctly, because one of the stewards waiting there was helping the clan with its accounts.

Zhang bowed to He, but Xie Yuyan stood there motionless, calling out to He, "Second Madam," and that was the end of it.

The head maidservant beside Madam He was so angry that her face turned pale. If she hadn't been afraid of ruining her mistress's plans, she would have definitely reprimanded Madam Xie.

What is this? A woman of unknown origin, acting as if she comes from a noble family, refusing to even bow easily. What? Is she afraid of being struck by lightning after bowing?

Madam He didn't seem to mind. She affectionately pulled Madam Zhang over and wanted to reach out to Xie Yuyan, but for some reason, she subconsciously resisted.

Madam He looked at the small storeroom: "I met with my third brother's wife here today because I wanted to give her the key to the small storeroom for safekeeping."

Zhang looked surprised and stared blankly at He: "This...how can this be?"

Zhang's reaction was exactly as He had expected. No one in the family understood the women of the third branch of the family better than her. After all, when the third branch was in charge of the household, the old lady of the third branch had taken her under her wing, intending for the sisters-in-law to work together to manage the family well.

Madam He coughed and continued, “My illness will require some time to heal. The doctor said it won’t get better until spring. My fourth sister-in-law has been helping me before… I was confused. With my third sister-in-law here, why should I entrust it to someone else? My third sister-in-law, there’s no need to refuse. Everyone in the clan knows your character. We’ll give you the key to the small storeroom; everyone will feel at ease.”

"Besides, there's also the dowry of Sixth Brother's daughter-in-law in here."

Zhang was about to refuse when Xie Yuyan grabbed her sleeve.

He smiled inwardly; as expected, Xie couldn't hold back any longer.

As soon as Xie entered the Yang family, she brought up her dowry, saying she would hand it over to the yamen as evidence, but in reality, she was only after the money.

Although He Shi did not fully understand Xie Shi, she had a general idea. The third branch of the family was so poor, how could Xie Shi have endured such hardship?

Just when Madam Xie was worried about money, she offered such a great benefit, so Madam Xie would definitely accept it.

Madam He continued, “If I have done anything wrong in the past, please don’t take it to heart, Third Sister-in-law. I will try to make amends in the future… Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law… When they return from the yamen, they will apologize to Third Sister-in-law. This is all the wish of the Old Master and the Old Madam.”

These were He's flattering words.

If Xie Yuyan hadn't informed Zhang beforehand last night, even if Zhang knew the second branch of the family wouldn't genuinely repent, she would have thought they were trying to downplay the matter.

Seeing that Zhang was no longer in a hurry to refuse, He looked at the steward beside her and said, "Two stewards, please help witness this. We will first take stock of all the items in the storeroom. If my third sister-in-law thinks there is no problem, then we can take the key."

"If your sister-in-law is still worried, add another lock to this door."

Last night, Zhang came up with a plan to deal with the situation: first, she would ask someone to be a witness, and then she would add another lock. However, He had already revealed it to her.

Zhang couldn't help but look at Xie Yuyan, who nodded. Only then did she say, "Let's invite Mr. Xu from the accounting department as well. There are some calculations I'm not very good at, so it would be better to have another manager." Since He had arranged two people, she also needed to add one she trusted.

Madam He readily agreed and immediately sent someone to invite him.

Before long, a servant brought over an elderly gentleman who looked to be in his forties or fifties.

Once everyone had arrived, Mrs. He took out her key and opened the door to the small storeroom.

Looking at the items piled up in the small storeroom, Zhang felt a mix of emotions. Although the Yang family had more than one storeroom, she had only been in charge of the keys when the third patriarch was still alive.

"Mother, let's go inside!"

Compared to Zhang, Xie seemed to be more eager.

Madam He looked at the scene before her with satisfaction. The third branch of the family thought that with the steward as a witness and everything being accounted for, everything would be foolproof. Little did they know that from the moment they stepped into the small storeroom, they were destined to lose.

The subsequent inventory surprised Zhang even more. Apart from a few small items that were damaged due to improper storage, the rest of the items were exactly as recorded in the register.

Zhang was even more confused. Where exactly had He tampered with things? Thinking this, sweat beaded on her forehead. Xie Yuyan had given her a heads-up beforehand, yet she still couldn't find the problem. She had actually accepted the key without thinking, and then things went wrong...

As she was thinking this, Zhang felt her sleeve being tugged.

"Now that the inventory is complete," Xie Yuyan said, "let's take the keys!"

Please continue to leave comments and recommendations!
Please give us your support!
(End of this chapter)