Chapter 15: Really

Madam Zhang still felt hesitant, but upon hearing Xie Yuyan’s words, she took the keys from the stewardess.

The stewardess smiled and said, "Please keep them safe, Third Mistress."

Once the keys were in her hand, Madam Zhang gripped them tightly.

Madam He could roughly imagine Madam Zhang’s feeling of recovering something lost. After all, even she hadn't expected to let the Third Branch get their hands on these things again. But this was only temporary; what she could give away, she could naturally take back.

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

Everyone’s gaze involuntarily fell upon Xie Yuyan.

Xie Yuyan raised her eyes and said indifferently, "Now that the keys are with the Third Branch, the small storeroom must have its rules reset."

The two stewards and Mr. Xu immediately exchanged glances.

They knew that the small storeroom would inevitably cause some trouble, but they hadn't expected it to come so quickly.

Xie Yuyan looked at the stewards: "The accounts for items entering and leaving the storeroom must be revised, and the names of the items recorded must be consistent throughout."

"A lotus-petal patterned plate is later written as just a 'patterned plate,' and in between, it was swapped for a different one. Who is responsible for that?"

"And this tripod flowerpot stand—there is purple glaze and blue glaze. Today it is recorded as ten purple-glazed and twelve blue-glazed, but tomorrow you ask me for twelve purple-glazed ones."

"Since everyone is here, let’s re-record everything in the storeroom."

"For this furniture, cabinets and cupboards must be recorded separately."

"Screens cannot be written so simply either; today you say 'screen,' tomorrow it will be 'double-sided screen'."

"Fabrics must be categorized by color, pattern, and material..."

"There isn't much gold and silver in the small storeroom, but it must be re-weighed with a scale to be clear."

The steward felt his head spinning. The small storeroom didn't look like it had many things, but if they organized it like this, it would probably take several hours.

There was no brazier in the storeroom, and after standing for a while, one could feel the chill rising from the soles of their feet.

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

"No need to look at the Second Aunt," Xie Yuyan said. "The one in charge here now is the Third Mistress."

With the matter brought to Madam He, she had no choice but to respond: "The Sixth Son’s wife is right. The small storeroom has been handed over to the Third Branch."

Whoever it is handed to, that person calls the shots—this was the rule of the clan. She couldn't just change her tune right after handing over the keys. Even if she were unwilling, she had to help the Third Branch set the stage.

Hearing this, the steward had no choice but to look at Madam Zhang: "Third Mistress... can we tidy up slowly? Or perhaps we could find some more hands?"

Xie Yuyan said indifferently, "How many people do you need for just a small storeroom? If people see that, they’ll think we are using public funds to support idlers."

If they were idlers, they would be driven away.

Hearing this, the steward dared not speak another word.

Xie Yuyan continued: "From now on, every time an item enters or leaves the storeroom, the time must be recorded, along with who took it, who returned it, and whether there is any damage."

"Only when all of this is done can you leave the small storeroom."

This final remark truly made the stewards and the accountant widen their eyes.

Must it all be done?

Now Madam Zhang understood why Xie Yuyan had told her to eat more during the meal, and why they had each tucked a small hand warmer into their clothes—it was all leading up to this.

Madam He refused to speak, and Madam Zhang was even more obedient, so the two stewards knew there was no room for negotiation. If they didn't do it, the Third Branch would use it as an excuse to replace them, and their hard work in the inner residence would have been for nothing.

With no other expectations in their hearts, they began to work efficiently.

Madam He covered her mouth and nose to cough twice, intending to find an excuse to leave, but she heard Xie Yuyan beside her say, "Thank you for staying here to accompany us, Second Aunt. With your guidance, we feel much more at ease."

The words were of gratitude, but they were laced with other meanings.

Unless Madam He wanted to tear off this mask, she had no way to leave early.

Madam He said, "Don't be so formal with me. Back then, the Old Mistress of the Third Branch taught me hand-in-hand just like this."

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

Madam Zhang checked the ledger one by one again and found no errors or omissions, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

When everyone left, the door of the small storeroom was secured with the Third Branch’s heavy lock.

After a few polite exchanges, everyone returned to their respective courtyards.

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

"That Xie woman is truly good at tormenting people," the steward wiped his red nose. "I fear our days ahead will not be easy."

After drinking two cups of hot tea and holding two hand warmers, Madam He felt a bit more comfortable, but her feet were still numb from the cold.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she experienced such things.

If it weren't for the sake of plotting against the Third Branch, she would have felt like a bullied young daughter-in-law today.

"It doesn't matter," Madam He raised the corners of her mouth slightly. "You will soon be able to return to the Second Branch. When that time comes, I will transfer you to the clan’s main storeroom, and your monthly allowance will increase significantly."

The two stewards were immediately overjoyed and hurriedly bowed to Madam He: "Thank you for your favor, Second Mistress."

Madam He instructed: "During this time, do your work well. Whatever the Third Branch says, do it. Don't let them catch any leverage."

Madam He smiled lightly after speaking. The Xie woman was clever; after such a setup, ordinary people wouldn't be able to tamper with things. But the Xie woman was young after all and had never managed a household; some things were bound to be overlooked. The big gift she had prepared for the Third Branch was still left in the small storeroom. Thinking of Xie Yuyan’s bossy demeanor, Madam He was looking forward to it—what kind of expression would be on her face when everything was revealed?

...

At this very moment, Madam Zhang stared wide-eyed at Xie Yuyan: "What did you say? There is still a problem in the small storeroom?"

That was impossible; she had clearly checked it several times.

Xie Yuyan said, "Take a water skin, we are going back to the small storeroom."

Opening the two locks, they stepped into the small storeroom once again.

Madam Zhang bolted the door from the inside and followed Xie Yuyan straight to the chests where the fabrics were stored.

Xie Yuyan opened a chest, took out a bolt of silk, nimbly tore open a corner, picked up the water skin to sprinkle water on it, and scraped it a few times with a bamboo strip, and then...

Under Madam Zhang’s very eyes, the threads of the silk snapped one by one, and a round hole soon appeared.

Madam Zhang’s eyes widened, her heart feeling as if it were about to jump out of her throat: "It breaks as soon as it’s pulled after getting wet... this... this has been eaten by moths."

Xie Yuyan nodded.

Madam Zhang pointed: "Could it be that all of these are like this?"

Xie Yuyan said, "At the very least, the silk used for the clan’s 'Winter Offering' is all like this."

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

"When they were talking about the purpose of this silk," Xie Yuyan said. "I said it long ago: if they want to deal with the Third Branch, they must start with the Third Branch’s reputation. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, if the Third Branch is found to have embezzled the 'Winter Offering' silk, would the clansmen let it go?"

Madam Zhang felt cold all over; she could almost imagine the clansmen venting their anger on her. Even if she argued, how could she compete with so many mouths?

Once such news spread, their reputation would naturally be ruined along with it.

But she soon regained her composure. Since Xie Yuyan had known for a long time, she must have a way to deal with it.

Madam Zhang said, "What should we do? Should we report it to the officials now?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Madam He could easily push a servant out to take the blame. Besides, this small storeroom was supposed to be managed by the Fourth Mistress before, right?"

For the sake of their reputation, the Second Branch would try to suppress this matter; in short, it would be all thunder and no rain, and Madam He wouldn't be touched by a single fault.

That was not what Xie Yuyan wanted.

"Then..."

Xie Yuyan said, "There is still more than a month until the 'Winter Offering,' so why is Mother so worried? Before the 'Winter Offering,' no one will touch this small storeroom."

Xie Yuyan threw the silk back into the chest and moved to the box where the gold and silver were kept, reaching out to open it.

The gold and silver in this box were all of poor quality and lacked purity; otherwise, they wouldn't have been thrown into the small storeroom. But even if the quality was poor, they could still be taken out and exchanged for copper coins, just fewer of them.

Xie Yuyan took a piece of silver.

Madam Zhang was puzzled: "This silver..."

Madam Zhang had become a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, fearing that this silver was also fake.

"I told you, Mother," Xie Yuyan said, "we need to do something with this new policy, and if we want to do things, we need money."

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

"Why not?" Xie Yuyan looked toward the direction of the silk. "They have already prepared to frame us with the silk; would they even bother to check the silver in the storeroom?"

"But didn't you say," Madam Zhang said, "that the gold and silver must be weighed with a scale regularly?"

Xie Yuyan said, "Whatever we take out, we just throw in fakes. Since we are using a scale, everyone will only care about the weight of the silver, not whether it is real or fake."

Madam Zhang swallowed: "What you did just now..."

"Was to make Madam He think that we were calculating how to manage the small storeroom well," Xie Yuyan said. "Would she expect us to take things from it?"

Madam Zhang shook her head. Naturally not; otherwise, why go to such great lengths?

So, everything that happened just now was for the Second Branch to see.

Xie Yuyan didn't care about the items in this small storeroom at all, nor did she intend to actually manage it well.

"Madam He has managed the household for a long time, so she is still capable; she didn't waste any time," Xie Yuyan said. "Tomorrow we can go and purchase the items."

Madam Zhang was still in a daze. Before coming to the small storeroom... what did Xie Yuyan say? What were the keys for? Wasn't it to make it convenient to take wealth from it?

It turned out those words were actually true.