Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 15 Really
Zhang was still hesitant, but upon hearing Xie Yuyan's words, she took the key from the steward.

The head housekeeper smiled and said, "Third Miss, please take it."

Once the key was in her hand, Zhang immediately gripped it tightly.

Madam He could roughly imagine Madam Zhang's feelings of having something lost and then regained. After all, even she hadn't expected the third branch of the family to get involved in these matters again, but it was all temporary; if she could give it away, she could naturally take it back.

Just as Madam He was about to speak to Madam Zhang, she caught a glimpse of Xie Yuyan walking to the door of the small storeroom, and then... she reached out and closed the door.

All eyes turned to Xie Yuyan.

Xie Yuyan raised his eyes and said calmly, "Now that the key has arrived at the Third Office, the rules for the small storeroom also need to be re-established."

The two stewards and Mr. Xu immediately looked at each other.

They knew something was bound to happen in the small warehouse, but they didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Xie Yuyan looked at the steward: "The accounts for the entry and exit of goods need to be revised, and the names of the items recorded on them need to be consistent throughout."

"The lotus petal pattern plate is written as a pattern plate on the back, and the middle has been replaced with other pattern plates. Who is responsible for this?"

"And this three-legged flowerpot stand, there are purple glaze and blue glaze. Today I remember there are ten purple glaze pieces and twelve blue glaze pieces. Tomorrow you need twelve purple glaze pieces from me."

"Since everyone is here, let's re-record the items in the warehouse."

"These pieces of furniture should be recorded separately for cabinets and cupboards."

"Even a screen cannot be described so simply. Today we talk about screens, tomorrow we'll talk about screens again."

"Fabrics are categorized by color, pattern, and material..."

"The small storeroom doesn't have many gold and silver items, but they still need to be weighed and calculated again using a steelyard."

The manager was completely bewildered. The small storeroom didn't seem to have many items, but if things were organized like this, it would probably take several hours.

There was no brazier in the warehouse, and you could feel the cold air rising from the soles of your feet after standing there for a while.

Thinking of this, both stewards looked to Madam He for help.

“No need to look at Second Aunt,” Xie Yuyan said, “Third Sister is in charge here now.”

When the topic turned to Madam He, she could only reply, "Sixth Brother's wife is right, the small storeroom has been handed over to the Third Branch."

Whoever gets the key has the final say; that's the rule of the clan. She can't just take the key and then change her attitude. Even if she's unwilling, she has to help the third branch of the family set up the stage.

Upon hearing this, the steward had no choice but to look at Madam Zhang: "Third Madam... can we take our time cleaning up? Or should we find some more help?"

Xie Yuyan said indifferently, "How many people do we need for just a small storeroom? People will think we're using public funds to support idlers."

Since they are idlers, they will be chased away.

Upon hearing this, the steward dared not utter another word.

Xie Yuyan continued, "From now on, every time an item enters or leaves the warehouse, we must record the time, who took it, who returned it, and whether it was damaged."

"Only after doing all of this can we leave the small warehouse."

These last words truly made the steward and the accountant widen their eyes.

Do we have to finish them all?
Now Zhang understood why Xie Yuyan had urged her to eat more during the meal, and why the two of them had each brought a small hand warmer – they were waiting for her there.

He refused to speak, and Zhang was completely obedient; the two stewards knew there was no room for negotiation. If they didn't comply, the third branch of the family would use this as an excuse to replace them, and they would have wasted their time in the inner quarters.

When you have no other expectations in your heart, you become more efficient in doing things.

He coughed twice, covering her mouth and nose, and was about to leave when she heard Xie Yuyan say, "Thank you for staying here with us, Second Aunt. With your guidance, we feel much more at ease."

They expressed their gratitude, but there was something else hidden within it.

Unless He exposes his true colors, he cannot leave early.

Madam He said, "Don't be so polite with me. Back then, the old lady of the third branch taught me in the same way, step by step."

It took almost two hours for the two stewards and Mr. Xu to reorganize the small storeroom.

Zhang checked the booklet again, and finding no errors, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When everyone left, they put three large locks on the door of the small storeroom.

After exchanging a few polite words, the group returned to their respective courtyards.

As soon as Madam He stepped into the main house, she couldn't help but sneeze, and the two stewards felt as if they had been skinned alive.

“That Xie family member really knows how to cause trouble,” the steward said, wiping his red nose. “I’m afraid our lives will be difficult from now on.”

After drinking a couple of sips of hot tea and holding two hand warmers, Mrs. He felt a little more comfortable, but her feet were still numb from the cold.

She couldn't remember the last time she had experienced these things.

If it weren't for scheming against the third wife, she would be like a tormented little wife today.

"It's alright," Madam He said with a slight smile. "You'll be able to return to the second branch of the family soon. At that time, I'll transfer you to the clan's main storeroom, and your monthly allowances will increase significantly." The two stewards were immediately overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to Madam He, saying, "Thank you for your kind words, Second Madam."

Madam He instructed: "During this period, you should handle things carefully. Do exactly what the third branch of the family says, and don't give them any leverage."

After speaking, Madam He smiled gently. Madam Xie was clever; with such a scheme, ordinary people wouldn't be able to tamper with things. However, Madam Xie was still young and had never managed a household before, so she inevitably overlooked some things. The grand gift she had prepared for the third branch of the family was still left in the small storeroom. Thinking of Madam Xie's imperious manner, Madam He was somewhat looking forward to seeing what kind of expression Madam Xie would have when everything was revealed.
……

At this moment, Zhang stared wide-eyed at Xie Yuyan: "What did you say? There's still a problem with the small storeroom?"

That's impossible; she checked it several times.

Xie Yuyan said, "Take a water bag and let's go to the small storeroom again."

After unlocking the two locks, I stepped back into the small storeroom.

Zhang locked the door from the inside and followed Xie Yuyan straight to the chest where the cloth was stored.

Xie Yuyan opened the box, took out a piece of silk, neatly tore off a corner, then picked up a water pouch and poured water on it. He then gently scraped it a few times with a bamboo strip, and then…

Right under Zhang's nose, the silk threads on the silk fabric broke one by one, soon revealing a round hole.

Zhang's eyes widened, her heart pounding in her throat: "It's wet, it'll break if you pull it, this... this has been eaten by insects."

Xie Yuyan nodded.

Zhang pointed and said, "Could these be all of these?"

Xie Yuyan said, "At least the silk used for the 'winter gifts' in the clan is like this."

Zhang's hands clenched together, her voice trembling slightly: "When did you find out?"

"When they talked about the uses of these silks," Xie Yuyan said, "I already said that if they wanted to deal with the Third Branch, they would start by attacking its reputation. In full view of everyone, the Third Branch had embezzled the silks from the 'winter gift,' how could the clansmen let it go?"

Zhang felt a chill run through her body. She could almost picture the anger of her clansmen being directed at her. No matter how much she argued, how could she possibly withstand so many mouths?

Once this news got out, their reputations were naturally ruined.

But she quickly came to her senses. Since Xie Yuyan already knew, he must have a way to deal with it.

Zhang asked, "What should we do? Should we report it to the authorities now?"

Xie Yuyan said, "He Shi can easily find a servant to take the blame. Besides, shouldn't this small storeroom have been managed by Fourth Madam before?"

For the sake of her reputation, the second wife would try to suppress the matter. In short, it would be all bark and no bite, and Mrs. He would not be able to get the slightest blame.

That's not what Xie Yuyan wanted.

"That……"

Xie Yuyan said, "There is still more than a month before the 'La Ci' ceremony, why are you so worried, Mother? Before the 'La Ci' ceremony, no one will touch this small storeroom."

Xie Yuyan tossed the silk back into the chest, then moved to the box containing the gold and silver and opened it.

The gold and silver in this box are of poor quality and lack purity, otherwise they wouldn't have been thrown into the small storeroom. But even though the quality is poor, it can still be exchanged for copper coins, just for less.

Xie Yuyan took out a piece of silver.

Zhang asked in confusion, "This silver..."

Zhang became extremely nervous, fearing that the silver was also fake.

“I’ve spoken to my mother,” Xie Yuyan said. “We need to seize this opportunity presented by the new policies to do something. And if we’re going to do something, we need money.”

Zhang took a deep breath: "You want to use the money from the small treasury?"

"Why not?" Xie Yuyan looked in the direction of the silk. "They've already prepared to use the silk to frame us. Do you think they'll check the silver in the treasury?"

“But didn’t you say,” Zhang said, “that gold and silver should be weighed regularly with a steelyard?”

Xie Yuyan said, "Take out whatever amount you want, and then throw in fakes. Since we're using steelyards, everyone will only care about how much silver there is, not whether it's real or fake."

Zhang swallowed hard: "What you just did..."

"We want Madam He to think that we're only concerned with managing the small storeroom," Xie Yuyan said. "Will she expect us to take things from it?"

Zhang shook her head, "Of course not, otherwise why would I go to such lengths?"

Therefore, all those things just now were done for the second wife's benefit.

Xie Yuyan didn't care about the items in the small storeroom at all, nor did he intend to manage it properly.

“The He family has been in charge of the household for a long time, so they are quite capable and won’t waste any time,” Xie Yuyan said. “We can go and buy supplies tomorrow.”

Zhang was still completely bewildered. Before coming to the small storeroom... what did Xie Yuyan say? What was the key for? Wasn't it just to make it easier to take valuables from there?
It turns out that what they said was true.

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(End of this chapter)