Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 31 Making a fuss
What Madam Yu said were just snippets of conversation she overheard when she went to report to the Second Madam.

But she couldn't possibly tell the second wife.

For so many years, the second daughter-in-law had been suppressed by the second patriarch and the old lady. Every time she resisted, she was quickly appeased. Although the second patriarch was the clan leader, he was still afraid of the second patriarch in his heart. Not only would he not support the second daughter-in-law, but he would also advise her to let things go.

If she informs on someone, the inevitable result will be that she is punished.

Things are different now. The Xie family in front of her frightens her, and she can no longer calculate the pros and cons.

Mother Yu said, "I once went out of town to buy charcoal for the family and found that village. The village... wasn't very big."

She also had to remind Xie Yuyan that even if things got out of hand at such a small estate, the second master could use his own money to cover the losses, and in the end, he might end up with nothing.

Xie Yuyan looked at Madam Yu: "Are there any fertile fields around that estate?"

Mother Yu pondered for a moment, and then said, "There are fields, but... not many, and it's very close to the mountains, surrounded by forests. The first time I went there, it was summer, and I almost couldn't find the little village."

"I guess the second old man must have his eye on those timbers and plans to raise them for a few years before selling them for a good price."

Xie Yuyan continued, "How many people do you see on the estate?"

Mother Yu said, "About ten...maybe...six or seven. This is just my wild guess. I didn't see many people. I only saw the clan's carriages and horses parked outside the village."

That's all that Mama Yu saw, and that's all she could say.

Xie Yuyan remained calm, revealing no emotion: "The matter is still too minor. Even if the investigation is successful, it can easily be covered up. The Second Grandfather and Second Grandmother have money and don't necessarily have to use the clan's resources. I'm afraid we can't use this incident to punish them within the clan. What we want is for them to never have the face to interfere in clan affairs again."

The couple feared Xie Yuyan would back down; they were all in the same boat now, and if things just ended like this, wouldn't they be the ones who suffered?

Thinking of those wicked servants outside, they were even more frightened.

The bigger these things get, the better.

While they were pondering this, the men and women began to speak up.

“Don’t underestimate this small estate. It might be a hiding place for stolen goods. They’re sending things from the clan over and over again. In the end, it’ll become the private property of the two old masters and the old lady. If we can find evidence on the estate, they won’t be able to deny it.”

"A place to hide stolen goods?" Xie Yuyan read these words aloud, looking at the man and woman who had spoken. "Do you think that's why you bought a manor in such a remote place?"

The man's wife was pleased with herself for thinking of this: "That's for sure. The second master is so shrewd. Even if he's buying a manor, he'll buy one with fertile land, whether it's outside the city or in the mountains..."

"Even if the land is cleared, a heavy rain can destroy it all in one go."

Another woman said, "The old master would definitely not choose that. All of the old master's private properties are fertile fields."

Xie Yuyan said, "Mother Yu said it might be for selling timber."

Following Xie Yuyan's words, the couple thought about it and their eyes lit up: "Then we don't need ten or so people. The forest doesn't need anyone to water it."

Everyone nodded again.

They were quite familiar with the task of starting a fire; as long as they kept adding firewood, the stove wouldn't get cold, and they could always find a way to keep it warm.

A few people were whispering among themselves when suddenly a young woman had a flash of inspiration: "Didn't we say before that the Second Master and the others used the clan's carts and horses to transport goods?"

Several pairs of eyes turned to the young man and woman who had secretly reported the storage room.

The woman pursed her lips: "But I only saw them storing goods in the storeroom. Those goods are all gone now. Besides, this has nothing to do with the manor outside the city."

Xie Yuyan said, "I remember you said it was October this year. What happened in the city in October?"

When Xie Yuyan asked this question, someone remembered: "In October of this year, several checkpoints were set up in the north city. It seems that because of the war, merchants going north and west will be checked. Our family has made some arrangements to repair the ancestral hall outside the north city, and that's how we got the document to leave the city."

"The goods..."

The man and woman understood: "They temporarily stored it in the clan's storeroom so they could sneak out of the city, and then use our carts to transport it out. This way, they can save themselves the trouble of bribing the government and getting a separate permit."

"Under the guise of repairing the ancestral hall and transporting timber, the second master secretly smuggled goods out of the city and then stored them in a small village outside the north city."

"If we want to sell them later, we can just get them from the small village outside the north city."

The couple knew in their hearts that these were all wild guesses, in other words, they were all false. But if they made such a fuss in the clan, the two old masters and the two old ladies would not be able to easily exonerate themselves. They couldn't really make a scene in the yamen.

The second wife will most likely have to suffer this injustice in silence.

Once someone starts guessing, others dare to continue speculating.

"So, those goods made a lot of money?"

"That's right! The government is cracking down hard, and many merchants have been detained. The prices of goods going to the Northwest have risen considerably. If this debt is settled, will the clan members let the Second Master and the Fourth Master off the hook? We will definitely not let them interfere in clan affairs in the future."

"We might even have to pay a sum of money in compensation."

If the clan recovers these valuables, they will also receive a share. If it really works out, it will be an unexpected windfall. Xie Yuyan said, "Since we want to use these to blackmail the Second Master, we can't skip any steps. You only saw the valuables going in and out of the storeroom, and you know that the Second Master has a manor in the North City where these goods can be temporarily stored, but you're missing the people who help the Second Master and the Fourth Master transport the goods."

“I know,” another woman said. “There are several people in the clan who have frequent dealings with the Fourth Master, and they… have much more money than we do.”

“Outsiders may not know, but do you think we can’t see it? Those families’ food and supplies, all those things they’ve exposed, the money the clan gives them isn’t enough.”

Being from the same clan, people inevitably compare themselves to each other, and the husbands and wives often gossip about which family is doing particularly well.

Xie Yuyan looked at Mother Yu: "Write it down, so we can try to find out about them."

Mother Yu responded and hurried to grind the ink.

As the list was written down, Yu's mother slowly frowned. This was meant to be used to blackmail the two old masters and mistresses. The things about selling goods and hiding stolen goods were all guesses they had, but... for some reason, the more these schemes and connections there were, the more panicked she became.

It seems like it's about to become a reality.

The second and fourth masters did indeed use the pretext of the Yang family repairing their ancestral hall to transport smuggled goods out of the city, and that small village was their hiding place for goods and transshipment.

What goods need to be secretly sent out of the city? Is it really just to save money on bribing the city gate guards?

Thinking this, Yu's mother's hand trembled, and a drop of ink fell onto the paper.

Something doesn't seem right, but she can't figure out exactly what's wrong.

Xie Yuyan looked at the hourglass beside him.

Judging by the time, it should be about right.

She took the thick stack of notes her mother had written in her hands and bent down to look through them. When she arrived at the Yang family, she only had Zhang Shi and Yang Qin with her. Now that she had these helpers, everything was indeed much easier.

She doesn't need to put in much effort; just a few words of guidance and she's all set.

Before Xie Yuyan had finished reading the note, she heard Yang Qin's voice: "Mother, sister-in-law, where are you?"

Zhang had long forgotten that she had come to the flower hall to help out, and stood there in a daze, watching Xie Yuyan handle the household affairs, until Yang Qin ran in, at which point she came back to her senses.

Yang Qin was covered in sweat from running, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his mother and sister-in-law were both safe and sound in the house.

"Sister-in-law..."

Just as Yang Qin was about to speak, Xie Yuyan interrupted, "Have Inspector He and Registrar Wang arrived yet?"

Yang Qin nodded: "They're here."

"Where is he?" Xie Yuyan asked. "Take me there."

……

The two old men sat in the carriage, their faces gloomy and unpleasant.

Yang Ji, standing beside him, also frowned. The two of them were supposed to have a banquet at Lu's house before returning home, but a servant came to report that something had happened at home.

Yang Ji couldn't understand how so many troubles could have arisen when he had only been away from home for a little over an hour.
"It's all garbage."

The second old master rarely spoke like this. He was dressed in a long gown and behaved like a refined scholar. If you didn't know him, you would think he was an old scholar.

“He dared to hand over the power of housekeeping to Xie and even asked Xie to investigate the storeroom and frame his wife for theft.”

A look of surprise flashed across Yang Ji's face as he muttered to himself, "She actually knows to send someone to the patrol to fetch people."

The second old master snorted coldly: "Once we get home, we'll send the patrolmen away. This is a matter for our Yang family. Even if we want to send them to the yamen, we'll wait until the clan has verified it before we do so."

"Is such a trivial matter worth their meddle? Aren't they afraid of making a scene and becoming a laughing stock?"

"The second son, the clan leader, can't even control a woman."

Yang Ji whispered, "Won't this attract Inspector He to the Yang family?"

"So what if we attract them?" the second old man said. "I'll just gather all the old folks from the neighborhoods and show them that the newly established patrol office of the imperial court is here to meddle in other people's family affairs. If they do this, what's the use of having a clan head?"

Yang Ji looked more relaxed.

As the carriage turned into Yong'anfang, Yang Ji lifted the curtain to look out and his eyes widened. He saw several horses right in front of his house. These were not horses used by ordinary people, but real official horses.

Something really happened.

Yang Ji took a deep breath: "Grandfather, let's invite a few of the elders who are close to us in the family now! We may really have to deal with the patrol and inspection authorities."

(End of this chapter)