Qiu Jingyuan, stripped of her usual arrogance, wore mourning clothes. Only two plain silver hairpins adorned her head. Her pale face made her sunken eyes appear even larger, especially with the bloodshot rims and the grayish-blue smudges beneath them from lack of sleep. The ten-year-old girl looked as weary and aged as an old woman.
"Third Cousin," her voice was hoarse and barely audible. Qiu Jingyuan looked pleadingly at Qiu Huaixin, and as tears welled up in her eyes after calling out, coupled with her slender frame, anyone would feel a sense of sympathy and pity.
Qiu Huaixin disliked Qiu Jingyuan's arrogant and ruthless behavior, but looking at the girl who barely reached his chest, with her father imprisoned and her mother dead, Qiu Huaixin said, "If you can find the people, these items can be returned to you."
These one hundred and twenty items were of considerable value, but their provenance was questionable. They were essentially gifts of respect from those who sought favors from the third branch. Even if Qiu Jingyuan tried to find them, those people would not come forward to testify, leaving these items to be confiscated by the yamen.
Lowering her head to hide her unwillingness, Qiu Jingyuan said softly, "These are all my mother's things. Although they weren't officially registered, it was due to the servants' oversight. My father's private collections were kept in his storeroom and were taken away during the confiscation."
What Qiu Jingyuan said was half true and half false. Hu Shi had served as a senior maid beside Dou Shi in her early years. After marriage, she was sent away. However, Hu Shi had a difficult life. Her husband died unexpectedly, and her in-laws accused her of being a jinx. Although they dared not do anything to her, Hu Shi's life in her in-laws' home was very unpleasant, and she had no children. Later, she sought help through connections and returned to serve in the third branch.
Hu Shi was deeply trusted by Dou Shi, who allowed her to manage her storeroom. Everything that entered the storeroom was recorded by Hu Shi, including the time and the person who sent it.
However, some items were illicit, collected by Dou Shi privately.
For instance, the coral tree that Zhan Feiyu had seen earlier was a gift from a merchant's wife to Dou Shi. Her son had committed a crime in Qianzhong Circuit, not only forcibly abducting a commoner girl but also accidentally driving the girl to commit suicide by jumping into a river.
After Dou Shi accepted the valuable coral tree, she had the second steward use Qiu Tai's name to visit the Fengchang county yamen.
Subsequently, the aggrieved party withdrew the case, and the merchant's son also paid one hundred taels of silver. The girl had drowned herself, which was considered an accident, and the matter was closed.
This coral tree could not be officially registered. A simple note was made in the storeroom, and Hu Shi put the item away. Dou Shi did have a private ledger, but after the third branch's incident, Dou Shi immediately burned the private ledger in a charcoal basin.
"Reporting to Third Young Master, it is all my fault. Madam had many items in her storeroom, and coupled with Madam's kindness in never checking, I, your servant, was sometimes lazy and forgot to register them." Hu Shi knelt on the ground with a thud, confessing her mistakes and taking all the blame upon herself.
"Third Cousin, these are all my mother's遗物 (yíwù -遗物), I wish to take them back." Qiu Jingyuan watched as the yamen runners carefully put the items back into boxes, her eyes reddening again. She seemed to want to rush forward and snatch the items back, but her reason restrained her from acting impulsively. She could only watch helplessly.
Although Zhan Feiyu was not solely devoted to scholarly pursuits, she was unclear about the prices of these items. She quietly asked He Nuan beside her, "What is the value of these things?"
Dou Shi's dowry was also substantial, filling four boxes with miscellaneous items. However, in terms of true value, it still couldn't compare to these one hundred and twenty items.
"I have made a rough estimate. Dou Shi's dowry might be around eight thousand taels, but these items are worth at least ten thousand taels. Many are rare treasures, hard to come by." He Nuan looked at the coral tree, the white jade lotus, and the several jade ornaments beside them.
Not only was the craftsmanship exquisite, but more importantly, the quality of these jade stones was excellent, very difficult to find in the market. For those who liked antiques and jade, even one item could fetch a thousand taels of silver.
Qiu Jingyuan spoke pitifully, but while Qiu Huaixin didn't know about the other items, the white jade lotus definitely did not belong to the third branch. It was a gift from her father to Lord Mei, and perhaps Lord Mei had even lost his life because of it.
Qiu Huaixin's expression turned cold, and he sternly rejected Qiu Jingyuan's plea, "The state has laws, and the family has rules. If you cannot explain the origin of these items, then they must be confiscated by law and returned to the court."
Qiu Jingyuan lowered her head and remained silent, her shoulders trembling slightly, seemingly weeping silently.
Xu Shi on the side opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. Although she was reluctant to part with these items, as He Nuan had said, these were not just silver but rare treasures that money couldn't buy. In the future, if her children studied for the imperial examinations, these items could help them maintain their standing.
However, Qiu Huaixin was unyielding, and no matter how Qiu Jingyuan pleaded, it was useless. Xu Shi, being a distant aunt and adopted, dared not offend Qiu Huaixin, even for the sake of her children who were still studying.
"Third Young Master is correct. Even imperial relatives, if they commit a crime, are subject to the same punishment as commoners!" Lord Tao said sinisterly. His words seemed to praise Qiu Huaixin.
But Lord Tao's mocking expression made it seem as if he was ridiculing Qiu Huaixin for being a coward, for not daring to use Lord Qiu's influence to keep these one hundred and twenty items.
Lord Teng and a group of yamen runners lowered their heads in silence. If the third young master Qiu truly dared to abuse his power, he would be falling into Lord Tao's trap. If news of this reached the capital, the Censorate would definitely impeach Lord Qiu for breaking the law.
The yamen runners worked quickly. All one hundred and twenty items were carefully collected and placed back into boxes. A scribe was also applying paste to the seals and affixing them to the boxes. They were waiting for Lord Tao to sign and affix his official seal later, along with Lord Teng's signature and seal. From then on, unless both lords were present, no one could open the boxes privately.
Suddenly raising her head, Qiu Jingyuan suppressed her hatred for Qiu Huaixin and looked at Zhan Feiyu, saying, "I only want half of these one hundred and twenty items, and I'll let you pick first!"
Qiu Jingyuan spoke with resentment, her hands clenched tightly into fists beneath her sleeves. But one had to bow their head when under someone else's roof. If she didn't give up half the items, then all one hundred and twenty items would go to the yamen, and she would get nothing.
Upon hearing this, Xu Shi also looked at Zhan Feiyu. The young girl studied under Scholar Gu, but it was rumored she was greedy. Her close association with Jiao Lianping was also for money. It was said that Zhenwei Xuan had given her five thousand taels of silver at once, and later, after treating the severely injured Jiao Lianyü, Prefect Jiao had promised a reward of fifty thousand taels.
Whether this was true or not, Xu Shi had no way of finding out the news now.
But as the saying goes, where there's smoke, there's fire. The fact that Young Master Jiao was severely injured was true, and it was possible that Zhan Feiyu was extorting money. Prefect Jiao couldn't possibly sacrifice his son's life for money.
Lord Tao remained silent, his eyes narrowed as he observed Zhan Feiyu. Qiu Huaixin lacked the courage, and he wanted to see if this young girl was audacious enough.
Zhan Feiyu smiled, looking at Qiu Jingyuan, who was reluctant but had to steel herself. "This box is probably full of ill-gotten gains. Miss Qiu, consider it as accumulating merit for those who died unjustly because of your third branch. These items will be returned to the court and used for the people in the future."
"You really don't want them?" Qiu Jingyuan gritted out the words, her eyes glaring fiercely at Zhan Feiyu. "My aunt once mentioned my mother's dowry and said that many of them were kept as treasures, telling me to preserve them well in the future."
As soon as these words were spoken, Qiu Huaixin's expression changed, and even Lord Tao looked surprised. Could the token be in this box?
But with one hundred and twenty items, which one was the token? Logically, the token should not be too large, otherwise, it would be too troublesome to carry. Of course, this was just speculation.
Amused by Qiu Jingyuan's crude provocation, Zhan Feiyu looked at Lord Tao, who was in deep thought, and suddenly said, "My Lord, I have a humble suggestion. I wonder if you would be willing to hear it?"
Lord Tao maintained his composure, his face stern as he remained silent for a long time. "Speak!"
If Zhan Feiyu dared to use Scholar Gu's name to have the Imperial Guards seize the items, Lord Tao would dare to submit a secret memorial to the Emperor, causing Scholar Gu to suffer a setback.
"I believe Your Lordship knows how dangerous it would be to bring this entire box back to the capital." Zhan Feiyu gestured meaningfully towards the now-sealed large box and continued with a smile, "As the saying goes, open blades are easy to dodge, but hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Qianzhong Circuit is thousands of miles away from the capital. Along the way, bandits and rebels will appear one after another. Even if your guards are highly skilled, they will be exhausted from dealing with them."
"And so?" Lord Tao was not intimidated. He was not just the Minister of Revenue; he also had powerful backing. Since he was returning to the capital, Lord Tao would naturally arrange his escape route. Of course, what Zhan Feiyu said was not entirely unfounded.
Zhan Feiyu continued, "Why doesn't Your Lordship arrange a sale in Qianzhong Prefecture, displaying these one hundred and twenty items one by one? The highest bidder wins. This way, the proceeds from the sale will go to the Ministry of Revenue, which is also a great merit, and it will also avoid the dangers Your Lordship faces on the journey back to the capital."