I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 14 Conjecture
The crowd grew larger and larger, and the people spoke one after another, and instantly interpreted dozens of versions of the story. Without exception, they all showed that the stepmother treated the original wife's children harshly.

The lawyer tried several times but to no avail, so he simply didn't clarify, as he thought so anyway.

After the officers cleared the shop and sealed it, they hurried to the next shop.

As night fell, all the oil lamps in the Duke of Wei's mansion were lit.

The official from the Ministry of Revenue was so hungry that he ate several pieces of peach blossom cakes to fill his stomach.

Yin Wei came over and asked, "What's going on?"

"Your Excellency, the inventory has been roughly completed," the official from the Ministry of Revenue choked and quickly drank several sips of tea. After recovering, he said, "I am waiting for the list of lost property."

Speak of the devil, the devil appears, "Sir, the list of lost property has been compiled."

Yin Wei took the list and saw that it was filled with five full pages.

The lost property alone is enough to buy a large piece of land in the most prosperous area of ​​Luoyang.

Yin Wei looked at it carefully, and the more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong. "I think I've heard of this golden hairpin made of Heju agate and Ruyi somewhere before."

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were in awe, thinking that the lord also knew about women's hairpins and rings.

Yin Wei paced back and forth, clapping his hands vigorously, "I remember now."

Some time ago, when his wife attended a plum blossom viewing banquet, she saw Mrs. An, the member of the Ministry of Rites, wearing a hairpin on her head. After returning home, she missed it for a long time. He spent all his private money to buy a similar hairpin to appease her.

Yin Wei recalled the valuable items worn by the members of the An family, the Minister of Rites, and indeed found them all on the list.

This is not a loss, it is clearly a theft!

Yin Wei was furious and went to Tang Wen to ask, "Manager Tang, how do we deal with the lost property?"

In just one afternoon, Tang Wen developed three or four ulcers in his mouth. He mumbled, "Sir, it's been a long time, so it's normal for things to get lost occasionally."

"Common sense!" Yin Wei cursed. "Lost? They were all lost to my stepmother's family, right?"

"I'm telling you, if this were the Duke of Wei's family affairs, I wouldn't have interfered. But now, these belong to the national treasury!" Yin Wei said angrily, shaking the list. "If any of these items were truly lost, it would be fine. But if you've secretly hidden them, once I discover it, I'll punish you for theft!"

"!" Tang Wen's head was buzzing, "Please wait a moment, sir. I will go ask again."

"Go!"

Tang Wen stumbled and ran to the backyard.

"Madam, something terrible has happened," Madam Zhao called out again, "the money and property you sent to your parents' home has been seized by the prefect of Luoyang!"

"What?" An was shocked. "How did Yin Wei find out?"

"Oh, my lady, this is obvious," Madam Zhao slapped her thigh, "the things you send back to your parents' home are all first-class treasures. Master, young master, lady, and young lady, when you get them, you must show them off!"

If we show off like this, everyone in the world will know about it!

"I've already given it to my parents, are you asking me to take it back?" Seeing that Madam Zhao didn't say anything, An knew that this was exactly what she was thinking, and she shouted sharply, "Why? I won't go! I don't have the nerve to ask for something back that I gave to my parents' home!"

"Wow, wow, wow, my parents will scold me to death, my brothers and sisters will laugh at me, and those illegitimate children will find ways to get into the mansion and make trouble for me!"

"My lady, the prefect of Luoyang is watching closely. You must first overcome the difficulties ahead," Nanny Zhao coaxed. "As for ridicule and mockery, haven't you endured enough from childhood? As long as you are the wife of the Duke of Wei, even the old master and the old lady will bow before you!"

An was crying bitterly, unwilling to give up, "Can't you just not ask for it?"

They've already emptied out most of the warehouse, and you're still not satisfied? "Looking at the prefect's attitude, I'm afraid he'll take away everything on the dowry list. Madam, you'd better get the things back as soon as possible and send the officials away," Madam Zhao whispered.

"Madam is in the backyard. I don't know what people are saying about us outside. Those words are unbearable to hear. If the Duke knew..."

An was so frightened that she stopped crying immediately, "Mammy, please go for me."

Zhao Ma was speechless. "Madam, you know the temperament of the old master's family best. How could this old servant ask for it?"

An was reluctant to leave. Then the maid from the old lady's yard came and said, "Madam, your carriage for your parents' home is ready."

An didn't dare to delay any longer and got on the carriage reluctantly.

In the front yard, Tang Wen heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that his wife had finally agreed to return to her parents' home. He greeted her, "My lord, you've worked hard all day. Would you like to have dinner at home?"

As we all know, asking this question usually means to send someone off in a tactful way.

"Then I'll trouble you, Manager," Yin Wei nodded and said to the officials and runners who had been busy all afternoon, "Everyone, the Duke's Mansion is hosting guests. Please have dinner before continuing!"

"Yes!"

Tang Wen: ...

He smiled and said, "Please move to the dining room."

That night, all the kitchens in the Duke of Wei's mansion were busy, and the chefs' cooking spatulas were flying sparks. After all, they had to feed more than 300 people, which was quite a large project.

Just as Yin Wei was treating the officials and servants to good food and drink, An also arrived at the residence of the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

As soon as she entered the hall, she saw Old Master An and his family happily enjoying dinner. An was furious and irritated, shrieking, "Father and Mother, how comfortable they are! They can still eat even when disaster is imminent."

This daughter married the best and helped to raise several incompetent sons. Although they only became minor officials, they were still members of the gentry.

Therefore, even Mr. An, who was deeply influenced by the patriarchal ideology, could not help but love his daughter a little more. But this did not mean that a woman, or a younger generation, could ridicule him to his face.

Old Master An put away the smile on his face and scolded in a deep voice, "Why are you running back to your parents' house instead of staying at home to take care of your pregnancy? And in the middle of the night, if something happens, will you still want to keep your chastity?"

"Reputation, my reputation has been completely ruined!" An thought of the people's comments and scolding along the way and cried loudly.

The eldest brother of the An family, Master An, who was now the head of the An family, asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"

The person he asked was An, but the person he looked at was Zhao Ma.

Madam Zhao immediately told her everything that had happened today and what she had heard on the way. After hearing the first one, Madam An said sharply, "That little bitch? How dare she?"

As he spoke, he complained to Old Master An, "I told you to just kill that little bitch, but you insisted that it would be too obvious and that it would be better to leave her on the farm to fend for herself! Now, look what's going on. Not only is that little bitch not dead, she's even married into the palace, and now she's stabbed us in the back!"

Old Master An glanced at his wife and asked An, "Are you sure it was that little bitch's idea?"

"If not her, then who else?" An insisted.

"That's not necessarily true. If that little bitch had such ability, why didn't she use this trick when the southern floods hit three years ago?"

An sobbed, "What does father mean?"

"I guess that the Xuanwang Mansion must be behind that little bitch."

(End of this chapter)