Chapter 16: Investigate for Me!

As soon as Ye Qingyan stepped into Wang Feifei’s “Splendid Garden,” she saw Wang Feifei seated in the main position of the courtyard. Several favored concubines and housekeepers who were usually close to her flanked her sides, forming an imposing tribunal-like scene.

The moment Ye Qingyan entered, all voices abruptly fell silent.

In this tense instant,

[Imperial Edict: How despicable! A mere servant dares to show attitude before my favored consort! Why trouble ourselves with such petty villains? My enemies shall be justly executed! Bring the poison!]

“Your Majesty, please do not act rashly! To cause a death in broad daylight is no trivial matter!”

She was just about to stop it with her willpower when suddenly, a delicate white jade porcelain bowl appeared in her hand out of thin air.

Ye Qingyan: “Uh…”

She inwardly chuckled and replied, “Your Majesty, this poison smells rather like a health tonic. Is it that crane’s bile soup again from last time?”

[Hmph! This is a secret palace formula, greatly replenishing vitality. She’s lucky to get it! What I mean is: with my gift, crush her spirit! To infuriate her to death is also just punishment!]

So that was the plan.

Ye Qingyan smiled slightly, a scheme forming in her heart.

Wang Feifei was about to speak and attack, words poised on her lips, but was interrupted by Ye Qingyan’s sudden move.

“Auntie.”

Ye Qingyan’s voice was clear and melodious, her face adorned with an innocent smile.

“What is this about?” Wang Feifei frowned, her eyes full of suspicion.

“You work tirelessly for the Ye family, day and night. Qingyan has noticed and feels deeply for you.” Ye Qingyan extended the bowl of soup forward with a humble posture, her eyes shining brilliantly. “This is a nourishing elixir I specially requested before the Buddha for you. Please try it while it’s hot.”

Everyone knew that Wang Feifei had arranged this grand banquet to suppress the newly empowered legitimate daughter.

Who would have thought this daughter would defy convention and offer a bowl of soup first?

Wang Feifei was caught off guard by these words, her complexion flickering between pale and sallow.

To accept or not?

If she accepted, the mountain of reproaches she had prepared would have no just cause.

If she refused, her filial piety would be publicly denied, and rumors would reach the old lady and master, accusing her of mistreating her children.

Aunt Zhang beside her hurriedly tried to smooth things over: “Miss really means well. But Feifei sister is healthy, so this tonic…”

“You’re mistaken, Aunt Zhang.” Ye Qingyan cut her off with a smile before she finished. “Auntie is naturally healthy, but recently she has been overworked and overstrained.”

“Auntie must take better care of her health! Qingyan has heard that you recently even took out your personal savings to fill the family’s financial gaps. That’s truly admirable! The Ye family is blessed to have an auntie as understanding and selfless as you—it’s a fortune that spans generations!”

At these words, the faces of the housekeepers in the courtyard instantly displayed a spectrum of reactions.

Wang Feifei’s secret of withholding the monthly allowance and filling her private coffers with the estate’s silver was already an open secret in the inner residence.

Now, publicly “praising” her like this, Ye Qingyan’s words were laced with biting sarcasm.

What did “filling the family’s financial gaps” mean?

When did the estate have any gaps? If there were any, they were dug by Wang Feifei herself!

What did “taking out personal savings” mean?

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You call embezzling our money your personal savings—have you no shame?

Wang Feifei clenched the armrest tightly; this bowl of soup had turned into a hot potato.

To drink it was to admit her “greatness,” thus tacitly acknowledging the misappropriation of funds.

To refuse was to show guilt and confirm her corruption.

Ye Qingyan smiled brightly at her, holding the bowl steadily, and so the standoff continued.

“Auntie? Why aren’t you drinking? Could it be… you dislike Qingyan?” Ye Qingyan’s tone carried a hint of grievance.

“No… no,” Wang Feifei squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she could only extend a trembling hand to accept the bowl.

“Good child… you’re considerate.”

She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and drank the warm “poison” in one gulp.

The servants around bowed their heads but their shoulders twitched slightly, clearly suppressing laughter.

Wang Feifei slammed the empty bowl heavily on the table.

Bang.

Ye Qingyan, as if oblivious to her anger, clapped her hands with an innocent face.

“Wonderful, Auntie drank it. Now Qingyan can rest easy.”

She blinked, tilted her head, and asked with a very puzzled tone, “By the way, Auntie, is my mother’s dowry list kept with you?”

Wang Feifei’s heart skipped a beat.

“Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I just suddenly thought of it.” Ye Qingyan wore a look of “concern for the family.” “I heard from the servants that my mother’s dowry was a grand spectacle—ten miles of bridal finery, magnificent beyond compare. If the estate is truly short on funds, selling some of it might ease your urgent troubles, right? Auntie, you can’t always be the only one dipping into your personal savings. As your juniors, it pains us to watch.”

Her words struck like thunder above Wang Feifei’s head.

Her greatest secret was the massive dowry of Ye Qingyan’s mother, long missing!

Over the years, she had sold some unregistered precious antiques from it to cover countless financial gaps and lived a comfortable life.

“That wretched girl, why bring this up now!” she thought.

Panic overwhelmed her, shattering her usual composure.

“Nonsense!”

Wang Feifei suddenly stood up, voice sharp, scolding fiercely: “You don’t understand! Your mother’s dowry… was almost all used up long ago… during your father’s official engagements and to cover losses!”

Her overreaction exposed her guilt.

Everyone was stunned by Wang Feifei’s outburst.

The mistress’s dowry was private property; using it to support the husband’s family was a kindness, not an obligation. If the family was in decline and needed to use the dowry, there should be clear accounts.

Wang Feifei’s behavior only made her look more suspicious.

This was precisely the admission Ye Qingyan wanted.

Her eyes reddened, tears streaming down her cheeks.

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“So… so it is like this…” Her voice choked with emotion, filled with “gratitude” and “guilt.” “It’s Qingyan’s fault for being thoughtless and wrongly blaming Auntie. To think you and father have sacrificed so much for this family… even my mother’s belongings…”

She stopped speaking, covered her face with her sleeve, and ran out, crying as she went, “No, I have to tell Grandmother! I want Grandmother to know how great Auntie Wang truly is! We should all thank her!”

Watching Ye Qingyan’s fleeing figure, Wang Feifei felt the world spin.

It was over.

She collapsed into the chair, her whole body icy cold.

Half an hour later, in the Old Lady’s “Ci’an Hall.”

The Old Lady sat solemnly on the dais; Wang Feifei knelt below, trembling violently.

The accountant and several housekeepers stood nervously nearby.

“Madam Wang, Qingyan said you sold off her mother’s dowry to cover the estate’s deficits?”

“I… Old Lady, I…” Wang Feifei broke out in a cold sweat, unable to form a complete sentence.

“Qingyan also said she was deeply moved and wishes to see the old accounts to honor her mother’s belongings.” The Old Lady’s gaze was like a blade. “Since it’s for the family, the accounts should be clear. Bring them for me to see.”

Wang Feifei had no accounts to show!

The Old Lady had long been suspicious of the estate’s finances under her stewardship; Ye Qingyan’s commotion gave her just the excuse to act.

“Investigate!”

At the Old Lady’s command, several trusted maids immediately went to the storeroom and accounting office.

In less than an hour, evidence surfaced.

Though only the tip of the iceberg, proof of Wang Feifei’s private sale of the mistress’s dowry and embezzlement was ironclad.

“You truly have great audacity!” The Old Lady slammed a forged ledger onto the table before Wang Feifei. “You have disgraced the Ye family’s name!”

In the end, for the sake of the children, the Old Lady did not immediately strip her of her stewardship.

But the severe reprimand and a three-month salary deduction utterly ruined her dignity in the Ye household and dealt her the first heavy financial blow.

…

Night.

Splendid Garden.

She swept all the porcelain from the table to the floor, yet her overwhelming hatred could not be quelled.

“Ye Qingyan…”

“I will not let this go so easily.”

“If once is not enough, then twice. Next time, I will never give her a chance to speak.”

A true killing game was quietly brewing in the shadows.