The First Jasmine - Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Lodge a Complaint and Counter-Complain
"Hahaha..."
Inside the horse carriage, Feng Zhiyao laughed so hard he bent forward and rocked backward, any semblance of a cultured gentleman completely vanishing. Only after he had finally laughed his fill did he raise his head to address Mo Xiuyao beside him. "Xiuyao, this new Princess Consort of yours is far too amusing. Haha... it was truly a pity not to have witnessed Mo Jingli's expression just now..." A trace of deeper reflection surfaced within Mo Xiuyao's gentle eyes; evidently, the performance of this future Princess Consort had exceeded his expectations. Even if her exact appearance remained unknown, possessing a father as famously handsome as Minister Ye and a mother who was once celebrated as one of the capital's four great beauties, Ye Li's features would surely not be too lacking even if they weren't peerless. What caught people even more off-guard was that her methods of handling affairs in no way resembled the legendary woman devoid of talent and virtue.
"However, this Third Miss Ye is truly generous with her hand, sending away a Guanyin statue worth over five thousand taels just like that. Is she not afraid that Mo Jingli might genuinely refuse to hand over the silver? Mo Jingli is the current Emperor's biological brother; if he decides to default on the bill, Third Miss Ye truly has no recourse."
Mo Xiuyao offered a calm smile, shaking his head as he replied, "Mo Jingli values face above all else. He will absolutely never permit outsiders to claim that he extorts items from others or leaves balances unpaid."
Feng Zhiyao arched an eyebrow and laughed. "Then there will be a splendid show to watch. From what I know, Mo Jingli also took an authentic cursive script masterpiece from the former dynasty from Shende Pavilion just last month; combined together, the two items amount to over ten thousand taels. This time... the Emperor can be considered to have treated you reasonably well; at the very least, your new Princess Consort is quite wealthy. Speaking of which, this Mo Jingli is truly not a decent sort—on one hand, he abandons the lady and annuls the marriage engagement, yet on the other, he continues to take items from her shop without paying a single copper. To think he hails from the Imperial Family, he is truly utterly shameless." Mo Xiuyao cast a sidelong glance at him. "When discussing wealth, who dares to compete with your Feng family?" The Feng family was one of the four great wealthy merchants of Great Chu, and furthermore the sole merchant family among the four to reside permanently within the capital, naturally possessing several fractions more advantage and authority compared to the other three households. Feng Zhiyao waved his fan helplessly. "That is the Old Master's money; it has absolutely nothing to do with me. Who doesn't know that this untalented, spendthrift son of a family is completely destitute?"
The moment Ye Li returned to the estate, she was invited over by the maidservant residing by the old matriarch's side. Stepping into Rongle Hall, it was a highly rare occurrence where—despite it not being the hour for paying morning or evening respects—the entire family was gathered in full attendance. Even Minister Ye, despite his hectic official duties, had not absented himself, sitting grimly just below the old matriarch as he glared at Ye Li who had just crossed the threshold. Ye Ying was currently leaning into Madam Wang's embrace, sobbing and whimpering continuously, her watery eyes rubbed thoroughly red from weeping, rendering her appearance exceptionally frail and heart-stirringly beautiful.
"Li'er pays respects to Grandmother, pays respects to Father. Greetings to the Madam and the various Aunties..."
"Vile daughter, why have you still not knelt down?!" Before Ye Li could even finish her sentence, a loud ping-pang echoed as the teacup within Minister Ye's hand smashed right by her feet, accompanied by his sharply roared demand.
Ye Li fell silent for a moment, stepping to the side with absolute composure as she replied, "I wonder what this daughter has done wrong; I pray Father will clarify it explicitly."
Beholding her complete lack of any intent to acknowledge a fault, Minister Ye was about to plunge into another wave of rage when the old matriarch to the side cleared her throat, interrupting his anger as she spoke, "Li'er, today at Shende Pavilion, you breached propriety right in front of Prince Li. If word of this spreads, outsiders will assume our Ye family has failed to discipline our daughters properly. Later, on the day your Fourth Sister returns to her maiden home after her grand wedding, you shall go and offer an apology to His Royal Highness Prince Li. For these next few days, you simply remain inside your own courtyard." Ye Li swept a glance over Madam Wang, who was holding Ye Ying while a trace of a smile flashed across her lips. Raising her head to look blankly at the old matriarch, Ye Li replied, "Grandmother, pray forgive me. Since Grandmother states that Li'er is at fault, then it must surely be that Li'er has acted improperly. It is only that Li'er is dull-witted and still remains ignorant of where the error lies. I can only beg Grandmother to guide and instruct me a fraction or two so that I may understand."
The old matriarch froze, gazing upon the completely blank and uncomprehending face of Ye Li, entirely at a loss for words.
Madam Wang assisted Ye Ying into a stable sitting position, rising to walk over to Ye Li's front as she smiled with an air of amiable warmth. "Li'er, His Highness is the biological brother of the current Emperor. Today you provoked His Highness into unhappiness; if His Highness chooses to assign blame down upon us, none of our household can afford to bear it. Properly acknowledge your fault to the old matriarch and the Master, and we naturally will not blame you further."
Ye Li blinked her eyes, pursing her crimson lips as she contemplated for a brief moment, the uncomprehending expression upon her face growing even more pronounced. "Provoked His Highness into anger? But Li'er did not speak much of anything to His Highness. His Highness desired to purchase the jade Guanyin but simply had not brought a sufficient amount of silver on his person. Li'er also instructed people to package the item and allowed His Highness to take it with him, without deliberately causing any difficulties. How could His Highness be angry? Could it be... could it be that there was some flaw upon that jade Guanyin?"
The crowd found themselves thoroughly tongue-tied. To the side, Concubine Zhao let out a sharp pfft, covering her lips as she laughed softly, "Third Miss, the Madam's underlying meaning is... how could you possibly collect money from His Highness?" For Prince Li to go out shopping but fail to bring silver—who would ever believe such a tale if it were spoken aloud? It was glaringly obvious that he had fundamentally never intended to pay any silver, yet found himself trapped by Ye Li's spoken words, to the extent that even the items he usually took with him had to have their balances cleared together; how could he not be enraged?
"What sort of words are those from Concubine Zhao? How could His Highness possibly care about such a mere pittance of petty cash? Furthermore... Shende Pavilion opens its doors to conduct business. Let alone a Prince, even if it were the Emperor himself, there is surely no rationale for not paying for goods, correct?" Ye Li remarked with feigned astonishment.
Concubine Zhao showed no anger, giggling as she replied, "What the Third Miss says is absolutely correct. Even the procurement officers from the imperial palace must hand over silver when purchasing items. If everyone refuses to give money... who would still bother to conduct business?"
"Shut your mouth! What nonsense are you spouting!" Minister Ye swept an ill-tempered glance over his favored concubine, who had only recently entered the estate and was currently enjoying his immense doting. Concubine Zhao blinked her seductive eyes and tactfully refrained from speaking further.
Displaying a face full of sudden enlightenment, Ye Li turned toward Madam Wang and said, "Could it be that His Highness truly became enraged over this matter? Can it be... that every merchant within this capital never collects silver from His Highness? If that is truly the case, then it is indeed Li'er who has acted wrongly. Grandmother and Father may rest easy. Later, Li'er shall instruct servants to deliver the silver back to his estate, and add an additional three thousand taels by way of offering an apology to His Highness." Madam Wang hastily pulled her back, holding a wave of bitter suffering in her heart that she could not voice aloud. If she truly permitted Ye Li to act in such a manner, she feared the reputation of Prince Li never paying a single copper when purchasing items in the capital would instantly spread everywhere. Ye Li cared absolutely nothing for the expression on Madam Wang's face, speaking to the old matriarch with a face full of slight worry and a trace of grievance, "If that is truly the case, it would be best to close down Shende Pavilion and these shops as early as possible."
Minister Ye remarked with a frigid face, "Shende Pavilion is part of your dowry; what would be the purpose of closing it down? It would not look proper by the time you marry into the Prince Ding Estate."
Ye Li knitted her brows and said, "But... the monthly surplus of this Shende Pavilion is not even worth a thousand taels, yet every time His Highness visits, the items he takes a fancy to exceed three thousand taels or more. If His Highness were to visit once a month..."
Hearing this, both the old matriarch and Minister Ye froze instantly, involuntarily shifting their gazes toward Madam Wang. Shende Pavilion was an antique establishment that ranked among the most prominent in the capital; how could its monthly surplus possibly fall short of a thousand taels? Furthermore, this Prince Li was truly something else—as a grand Prince of the realm, it would be one thing to occasionally take an item from the shop once in a while, but what sort of display was it to frequently take items without paying? Even the Emperor had no rationale for frequently taking his ministers' belongings for free. Madam Wang was startled, gritting her teeth and not daring to speak as her face began to turn somewhat pale. The old matriarch stared at Madam Wang and asked in a heavy tone, "Exactly what is going on here?" One must know that over these years, the revenues from the dowry shops of the original Lady Ye were completely funneled into the public funds for the estate's regular expenditures. If someone was secretly causing disruptions from within, it was equivalent to embezzling the silver of the Ye Estate itself. Back when Lady Ye was still gravely ill, the old matriarch had also managed the household for a period of time, and thus knew perfectly well that Shende Pavilion was one of the two most profitable shops among Lady Ye's dowry, with a monthly surplus that sat at a minimum of three thousand taels or more. Madam Wang gritted her teeth and murmured in a low voice, "Replying to the old matriarch, these past two years... perhaps the business environment hasn't been very favorable..." How could she ever dare to admit that all that silver had entered her own personal private vault?
Ye Li offered a formal bow to the old matriarch, speaking in a sorrowful, soft tone, "The Madam is busy with the estate's internal affairs all day long; how could she possibly know of the matters transpiring outside? There are things the old matriarch remains unaware of—our household has been thoroughly harmed and swindled by the servants below. Over these past few days, Li'er carefully audited the ledgers of each shop. Taking Shende Pavilion as an example, the actual surplus each year sits at a minimum of thirty thousand taels or more, yet starting from three years ago, the amount handed over to the estate annually was actually less than ten thousand taels. More than half of it was completely swallowed up by the managers below. Originally, before Mother passed away, she explicitly instructed that so long as these twelve shops were managed properly prior to Li'er's marriage, they could generate a profit of at least two hundred and fifty thousand taels. Aside from the estate's regular expenditures, she considered herself the legitimate mother of the various sisters and brothers within the household, and naturally intended to utilize the funds to add to the sisters' wedding trousseaus. Who could have expected... that Mother's wave of painstaking kind intentions would be entirely wasted? Over these past few years, the silver delivered to the public coffers of the estate falls short even of one hundred thousand taels. These are the account ledgers; I pray Grandmother will look over them." With this single move, not only did the countenances of Minister Ye and the old matriarch shift, but even the expressions of the other young ladies and concubines changed completely. More than a hundred thousand taels of silver had vanished into thin air without a trace, and what was more, this sum included the dowry portions intended for their own daughters! The grand hall instantly erupted into an uproar. "Master, Old Matriarch! The original Madam was so benevolent that even near her end she was still thinking of us sisters, concubines, and the children of concubines; Master must absolutely punish those black-hearted creatures who deserve a thousand deaths!"
"Precisely! They are truly each more black-hearted than the last, actually daring to embezzle even the silver of our own estate.”