Chapter 10: A Single Sin Must Be Punished as Ten

Chapter 10: Turning a Single Sin into Ten

A-Wei pondered over the situation with Aunt Sang.

Over the past ten days, she had interacted quite a bit with Aunt Sang and Nanny Yao.

Whether it was the list of offerings they had previously agreed upon, the kitchen’s flavor preferences, or the trivial new troubles A-Wei had conjured up, Nanny Yao had been extremely cooperative.

Every stone cast produced a sound; every matter had a response. What could be done was done immediately, and what couldn't be settled right away had a plan in place, with progress appearing after a few days.

Nanny Yao’s attitude was, in effect, Aunt Sang’s attitude.

Even if A-Wei and Lu Nian had intentionally tried to find fault with Aunt Sang, they wouldn't have been able to find any for the time being.

Moreover, their current goal was to win Aunt Sang over, not to sabotage the relationship.

The only thing that remained stagnant was the five thousand taels in silver notes and the three crates of medicinal herbs.

There were excuses, of course: they needed to search the archives, question the people involved, and it would take time to sort through the details. Once there was a result, they would report it immediately.

As far as handling affairs went, this procedure was reasonable and logical.

After hearing Nanny Yao’s news just now, A-Wei understood the reason even better.

"If Aunt had tampered with things, she would have to clean up the mess before giving us an answer. If she is completely innocent, then it is nine times out of ten the work of the Cen woman," A-Wei said. "But since it happened during the handover, she was essentially forced into it by the Qiubi Garden. It’s hard to say if the Cen woman didn't dig a pit for Aunt’s people. Aunt has to investigate it herself before handing it over to us, lest we investigate and find her own people buried in the pit. Then she would have gained no money and yet still be saddled with the crime."

Lu Nian sipped her tea. "It’s not the money I’m pursuing. Even if Aunt Sang swallowed it all, what does that have to do with me?"

A-Wei smiled slightly.

Judging from their perspective, that was certainly true.

All the greed and wrongdoing belonged to the Cen woman; every single sin must be magnified tenfold!

They were fighting over family matters, not presiding over a case in a government office. If they could add one more charge against the Cen woman, they absolutely would not settle for less.

However, Aunt Sang clearly couldn't afford to do that.

If she were the one who had embezzled the money and couldn't cover it up, no matter how much she tried to pin it on the Cen woman, once Lu Nian and her mother finished off the Cen woman, they might just use that leverage to finish her off next.

Aunt Sang was a woman who had married far away into the capital; her actions were at a disadvantage, and she was isolated.

Lu Nian had suffered too much from being weak and unsupported, so she understood this all too well.

"If she has the ability and the means, that is for the best," Lu Nian set down her teacup, her fingertips stroking the rim with considerable force. "We aren't counting on borrowing anyone's strength; we just fear having a fool drag us down!"

A-Wei thought for a moment. "Aunt has been married into the family for over ten years and has a son, yet she only began managing the household the year before last. Looking at it this way, she is definitely not an impulsive person."

Lu Nian understood what A-Wei meant. "Lu Jun doesn't seem to be annoyed by her."

Lu Jun was a filial son. If Aunt Sang had fought fiercely with the Cen woman, their relationship as husband and wife would have soured long ago.

"Yes," Nanny Yao continued, "The only thing that has given the Heir’s wife a headache all these years is the eldest young master."

The eldest young master referred to Lu Zhi.

A-Wei had seen him at the mourning hall and the welcome banquet; she heard he was mediocre in both literature and martial arts.

It seemed he was just enough, yet not quite useful enough—especially as the eldest grandson of the Dingxi Marquis Mansion. Aunt Sang only hoped he could be more ambitious.

He couldn't compare to the child prodigies outside, but at the very least, he shouldn't lose to his younger cousin in the mansion, Lu Mian.

Lu Mian was the Cen woman’s own grandson, only seven years old, yet his studies were quite impressive, which gave the Dingxi Marquis a great deal of face.

The Cen woman had one son and one daughter.

Her daughter, Lu Si, did not survive and passed away at the age of two.

Her son, Lu Chi, was Lu Mian’s father. Besides this seven-year-old eldest son, he and his wife had another four-year-old daughter and a son who had just turned one.

Compared to Lu Jun, who only had one son, Lu Chi could be considered quite fortunate in terms of children.

However, in Lu Nian’s words, Lu Chi was just like his mother, the Cen woman—neither of them were good things.

"A mediocre eldest grandson versus a clever second grandson," Lu Nian toyed with her fingers. Her nails were sharp, immediately leaving a red mark on her fingertip. She didn't feel the pain, nor did she care, continuing, "The Cen woman has lost control of the household; won't she pin all her hopes on Lu Mian?

"As a step-wife, in order to win over the father and Lu Jun, she spent years pretending to be virtuous and kind. A good reputation is the foundation of her life, so she couldn't do something as self-destructive as ruining Lu Jun to help Lu Chi rise to power.

"But if Lu Zhi is incompetent and far inferior to Lu Mian, then that can't be blamed on the Cen woman.

"Lu Zhi is raised by Lu Jun and his wife themselves; if they can't teach him well, they can only blame themselves."

"Being merely mediocre is not enough to lose the title," A-Wei took Lu Nian’s hand calmly. "It is hard to teach well, but easy to teach poorly. If Aunt doesn't keep a tight rein on him, sooner or later, there will be trouble."

Lu Nian had no fingers left to play with, but she didn't argue. Her thoughts were entirely on Lu Zhi, her face full of mockery and disdain. "To put it bluntly, Lu Jun is useless! When it comes to raising a son, a mother living in the inner courtyard is always a step removed; no matter how attentive she is, there will always be oversights. To teach him well, one must rely on the father, but the father himself is muddled."

A-Wei agreed wholeheartedly.

She couldn't remember most of what happened during her childhood in the capital, only faint, subtle fragments that surfaced from the depths of her memory.

She was the apple of the Jin family’s eye, but she had few playmates. Her cousins from other branches were many years older than her and had long since begun their schooling.

She remembered wanting to find her brothers to share her new toys, but they were either in the schoolroom, being tested on their lessons by their uncles, or being called away by their grandfather for guidance.

This left a deep impression on A-Wei: once you grow up, you have to study and never have a moment of leisure.

It frightened her so much that she didn't want to grow up at all; this "fear" was what made her remember.

Now that she was older, she naturally viewed scholarship differently than before.

In Lu Zhi’s case, diligent study might not guarantee brilliance, but a lack of strict discipline and mediocrity would certainly not be the end of it.

"Aunt has the ability and the means, but she doesn't dare to tear off the mask," A-Wei thought for a moment and continued. "She doesn't dare to tear it off with the Cen woman, nor does she dare to with her husband. She is hesitant and afraid of the consequences."

Lu Nian laughed at this.

"Afraid of the wolf in front and the tiger behind—I’ve seen plenty of people with that temperament in the Yu family," she said, her eyes gleaming. "Then we shall tear it off for her. Everything else is empty; the interests held in one's own hands are what’s real. As long as she isn't incredibly stupid, she should know which knife to grasp."

Lu Nian was never afraid of holding a knife, nor was she afraid of being the knife.

The blood licked from the tip of the tongue was the most real thing of all!

The next day was a rare sunny day.

The sun hung high, dispelling the dampness of the previous ten days. Once the gloom dispersed, people felt much more at ease.

As A-Wei stepped out of her room, she saw that the maids and nannies working in the courtyard all looked much more relaxed.

These were all people assigned by Aunt Sang.

One couldn't say how much loyalty they had to A-Wei and the others, but they didn't slack off or neglect their duties, which was enough for the moment.

As for useful and capable talent from the outside, the only person she could count on for the time being was Nanny Yao.

A-Wei spoke to her softly, "Nanny, keep an eye on Lu Zhi these few days. He’s been stifled by the rain for ten days; now that it’s finally cleared up, he likely won't have the patience to stay honestly in the academy."

Thank you to book friends Chunhua Qiuyue and Xiaoyuanzi for the tips.

(End of chapter)