spoiled brat

Chapter 96, Section 95: Self-Salvation (Part 5)

The room was small, with two candles lit on the table. By this dim light, she could clearly see all the furnishings and objects in the room, but there was indeed no trace of the baby... Her last bit of hope was dashed, and she stood there blankly.

Seeing her pale face, Yuan Yue assumed it was from overwork and pointed to the chair beside her, saying, "Come, sit down and talk." She then had a maid serve tea and snacks and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Zhao composed herself, took out the ledger, and turned to the marked pages: "Please take a look, Miss."

This ledger records grain purchases.

Zhao Zhao pointed to the harvest of a certain top-grade (Heavenly) field, and then pointed to the harvest of a certain second-grade (Human) field:

"Better soil, water, and seeds, but the harvest is about the same."

After flipping through a few more pages, which touched on sericulture, textiles, and winemaking, the gist of it was that even a rabbit can't outrun a tortoise; the same agricultural work, but the wealthy and powerful farmhands couldn't produce as much as the tenant farmers.

Yuan Yue sighed helplessly: "You are meticulous. But this is not a mistake, but a bad practice that exploits tenants."

"Outdated customs?"

"Outsiders are divided into different classes, and the farmers in the village are also divided into two categories. One category is the collateral relatives of the master family and the servants born and raised outside the manor, who are called farmhands. The other category is the tenants who rent the land. The steward in charge of collecting rent is considered to be a relative of the farmhands. How could he collect the full amount? But there is a fixed amount of rent to be collected each year, and the shortfall in rice and grain can only be squeezed from the tenants."

It's unfair for people to trample on each other.

Zhao Zhao didn't say much, and opened another book: "Putting that aside, there are also errors in the warehouse's income and expenditure."

Yuan Yue picked it up and looked at it. There were no obvious mistakes or omissions, just some messy handwriting.

It's perfectly normal that she couldn't see through it. If Zhao Zhao hadn't received instruction from the innkeeper, she certainly wouldn't have been able to spot the deception either. After everything was explained, the maid angrily said, "It's one thing to falsify the shop's accounts, but to dare to lie and cheat about the storeroom's accounts?"

Everyone knows that Fanjiazhuang is incredibly wealthy, with more than ten large warehouses, the contents of which could buy half of Xiangyun County.

When Yuan Yue took over the estate, summarizing the population and land was secondary; the most important thing was to take stock of the money and grain.

But now all I have are a bunch of messy accounts, falsified figures, and I don't even know how much stuff is in the warehouse. I don't know what to do next.

“It’s all my fault for this illness; I don’t have the energy to investigate carefully.” Yuan Yue looked at the sky outside the window and sighed, “I’m bedridden every day, and I’ve been deceived in vain.”

Zhao Zhao asked, puzzled, "The handover between the old and new governments is troublesome enough. Why not bring more people from the manor?"

She was good at accounting and had no connection with Fan Jin, so Yuan Yue's hiring of her was practically a done deal, and she wasn't on guard at all.

“I would like to as well. But we don’t have enough manpower. Our royal estate has been in the north for more than ten years, and all the farmland we have accumulated is less than half of the royal land we have been granted this time. Naturally, there are even fewer people who know how to manage the land. This time, all the royal land has been granted at once, piece by piece, and we don’t have enough people to handle it.”

Zhao Zhao realized that she had the title of a prince, but was actually powerless. They were currently short-handed, and the elders in the manor were certain she wouldn't drastically dismiss them, which was why they dared to be so dismissive and perfunctory.

Zhao Zhao remained silent, and Yuan Yue, thinking she had something on her mind, comforted her:

"Now that I'm here, I need to get rid of the unsuitable people. If any of the older folks bully you, just tell me. You only need to manage the accounts, don't worry about anything else... The old clerk in the village gets five taels a month, but he can't use it all. I'm short-staffed, so you'll have to do a lot of work. How much monthly salary do you want?"

As long as she could stay in the village to find Aheng, Zhaozhao didn't care about the money: "Old clerks only give five taels, and I'm already very satisfied with five taels from you. I'm just afraid that more will cause trouble and make things difficult for you. If you think I'm useful in the future, you can give me more."

She was thoughtful, and Yuan Yue smiled and immediately signed the contract, letting Zhao Zhao settle in first.

A thin piece of paper—it was nothing to Zhaozhao. She rose to take her leave, retrieved a lantern from under the eaves, and trudged towards the servants' quarters. After walking a short distance, she suddenly heard someone call out behind her, "Miss, please wait!"

Startled by the shout, Zhao Zhao realized that the lantern in her hand was not lit at all. She was so preoccupied with how to find Aheng that she lost herself in her thoughts.

"I've been calling you all this way..." The maid ran up, holding a bright lantern, panting, and pointed behind her: "Over there...over there! You're going the wrong way!"

Zhao Zhao forced a smile, thanked the maid, and was led back by her maid. Passing the small courtyard again, she heard a baby crying inside. Zhao Zhao abruptly stopped, wondering if she was hallucinating: "...What's crying in the courtyard?"

The maid helped Zhao Zhao walk forward and said with a smile, "This is my third young lady. You just left and Li Mama came to deliver medicine, and she also brought a baby. The third young lady always cries at night and only feels better when she is with Miss Yue."

"Miss Third?"

"Yes, Miss Yue is the second in line. There is a real lady above her who is the deputy steward in the Prince's mansion."

Zhao Zhao's eyelids twitched: "Judging from the crying, the Third Miss seems to be quite young. Why isn't she being properly cared for in the Prince's Mansion? Why does she have to come to this small country estate?"

The maid was stumped by the question, and after a long pause, she managed to stammer out, "Well... it's all for the child's good."

They arrived at the servants' quarters in the blink of an eye. The maid chose the cleanest and tidiest room for Zhao Zhao, gave her a few words of advice, and left. Zhao Zhao sat blankly at the table, staring at the flickering candlelight, recalling the crying she had just heard… There was no mistake, absolutely no mistake. Even after months apart, she could recognize that it was Aheng.

Why did the maid try to cover it up, saying that it was her third young lady, not an abandoned baby she had picked up?

After a moment's thought, Zhao Zhao blew out the candle and decided to go back in the dark to try and find the crying sound again.

Before she even got close, she saw that the courtyard was dark and quiet, and Yuan Yue was coaxing Aheng to sleep. Zhao Zhao turned to leave, but the door opened slightly, and a woman stepped out, holding a medicine pot in her hand, looking around furtively.

Zhao Zhao sensed something was wrong with the woman and tiptoed after her. She watched as the woman meandered and finally disappeared behind the artificial hill. A man was already waiting there; his voice sounded young, and with a few words, he made the woman seem both angry and annoyed. If it were just a casual fling, Zhao Zhao would find it cloying, but the woman was saying, "That wild girl cries and cries all the time, it's really exhausting. Miss Yue took her in, but instead of taking care of her, she's making me suffer."

Zhao Zhao paused, realizing it was indeed Aheng!
Just as she was about to rejoice, the man said, "If you find it noisy, give the medicine to that child, and I guarantee she'll be just like that Yuan guy, unconscious for eight out of twelve hours a day."

...Medicine? It's the hottest time of the year right now, and Zhao Zhao thought Yuan Yue's lethargy and excessive sleepiness were due to summer fatigue, but little did she know that she had been tricked.

Zhao Zhao was on tenterhooks as she listened to the woman say, "I dare not. This medicine is fine for adults, but how can it be used on a baby? If the baby dies in my hands, Miss Yue will not forgive me." She then mentioned that a few days ago, she had left the swaddled baby outside because she thought Aheng was too noisy. The baby smelled of milk and was almost eaten by wild dogs.

"Good sister, just bear with it for a few more days. Once everything is shipped out, we'll... elope with you and make sure you live like a god every day!"

After spending some time together, the man straightened his clothes and left. The woman soon appeared as well, turning into a side path to return to her residence.

Zhao Zhao quietly followed, patiently waiting for her to reach a quiet, secluded spot, where she tossed out a few copper coins.

The woman turned around at the sound, thinking that money had fallen out of her pocket. She bent down to pick it up, but a dark figure suddenly darted out of the bushes and rushed to her side in a few steps. She tried to run away, but was knocked unconscious by a stone that came flying towards her and collapsed to the ground.

The medicine pot in his arms rolled away, spilling herbs all over the ground.

Zhao Zhao squinted and saw that none of the medicinal herbs had been boiled. Could this be the medicine that made people feel drowsy and weak?
She was confused and couldn't make a judgment. Being new to the area, she couldn't very well drag someone who was unconscious into filing a complaint; Yuan Yuexin couldn't say for sure who to sway.

After much deliberation, Zhao Zhao carried the woman to the outside of Yuan Yue's courtyard. Under the cover of darkness, she tore off the woman's outer garment and tied her to the ground under the big tree by the courtyard gate.

As for the medicine... she originally wanted to write "poisonous" on the side of the jar, but being illiterate, she could only draw a big X.

Amitabha Buddha, I only hope that someone can understand this.

-

Not long after dawn, Zhao Zhao went to Yuan Yue's courtyard to say hello. From afar, she saw that there was no one under the tree, and the courtyard gate was tightly closed. She wondered what was going on inside.

She knocked on the door, and a maid opened it, looking gloomy. "You've come at a bad time," she said. She stepped aside to let her in, saying as she walked in, "Whatever you see later, don't tell anyone."

"What happened?"

"The old maidservant, I don't know who bewitched her, actually added something to Miss Yue's tonic. Although it's not poisonous, it makes her weak and lethargic. The young lady has been listless every day since entering the manor, and that's why." The maidservant sighed, "When asked who instructed her, she wouldn't say. The young lady originally didn't want to use family discipline, but..."

They had already reached the eaves while they were talking. An interrogation was taking place in the main room, but the two of them did not go in.

Zhao Zhao recalled what the man had said: smuggling goods and running away. Who else could it be but the old folks in the village?

She knew the truth but didn't want to say it outright. Fortunately, Yuan Yue was clever, and a questioning voice came from inside the house: "Mother Li, you watched me grow up, so you're practically family. If you're willing to confess, I won't pursue this matter any further and will give you some money to send you away."

No matter how Yuan Yue tried to persuade her, Li Mama remained silent. Finally, Yuan Yue had no choice but to order the matter to be handled according to the rules of the Prince's mansion. Upon seeing the cane, Li Mama panicked and yelled, "What do you mean by half a relative! You still treat me like a servant! Would you hit your own mother like that!"

Yuan Yue remained silent, closing her eyes as she was led to the beating. The boards pounded on flesh with a resounding thud, and screams of agony echoed out the door. Old Mrs. Li, her frail body unable to withstand the beating, soon confessed: "...I'll talk! Miss Yue, I'll talk!"

When the conversation reached a crucial point, the maid subtly pulled Zhao Zhao away, maintaining a distance. Zhao Zhao understood and asked casually, "Then who will take care of the Third Miss from now on?"

She wanted to take the opportunity to recommend herself, but the maid said, "She's been given to another maid. Once this busy period is over, Miss Yue wants to take care of her herself..."

With a thud, the main room door was kicked open. Yuan Yue hurried down the steps and urgently instructed the maid, "Call everyone up and go to the granary!"

Including Zhao Zhao, there were only about twenty or thirty people in the courtyard, mostly old women and maids. The other boys were still young and didn't make much of a splash when they were all together.

Ironically, when the group stormed into the warehouse, the guards weren't afraid at all, and instead cursed, "Why aren't the women and maids at home taking care of the children? What are you doing here?"

They were yelling and trying to kick people out.

Yuan Yue stepped forward, holding up the sign for the Prince of Ning's residence, and said coldly, "Open the granary. I want to inspect the grain."

The warehouse staff were all bewildered. Logically, they should have sorted out the accounts first and figured out how much grain each warehouse should have before opening the warehouses. Why did Yuan Yue skip the previous step?