Chapter 440: The Marquis is Truly Noble and Upright

Chapter 440: The Marquis is Truly High-Minded and Virtuous

"Miss Cen, please—"

A maid frantically tried to stop her.

Cen Yueyi didn't even lift her eyelids, her voice cold: "Currently, the public accounts are deeply in debt, the inventory in the public warehouse doesn't match the records, and many ledgers contain fabricated figures! Since the Marchioness is imprisoned and I am in charge of the household, I have the right to investigate these matters!"

With that, Cen Yueyi waved her hand, instructing the Pozi she had brought to drag the maid away.

The private treasury of Lady Zhao, the Marchioness of Jiangtai, was secured with a large bronze lock. The maid in charge of the key refused to hand it over, so Cen Yueyi ordered someone to bring an axe to break it open.

Upon entering the treasury, not only Cen Yueyi but also Xingxing, who had seen the dowry list, recognized many items that were listed on Cen Yueyi's mother's dowry list.

Cen Yueyi was hardly surprised by this.

"Cen Yueyi—" The Marquis of Jiangtai rushed over upon hearing the news, his headgear askew. He initially wanted to lash out, but upon seeing the young lady from the Yu family also present, his tone softened, becoming more amiable. "...After all, she is your stepmother. If word gets out that you forcibly entered her private treasury, what will happen to your reputation?"

Cen Yueyi pointed to a crystal mountain displayed on the shelf: "This crystal mountain, when my room lacked such a decoration, I asked Lady Zhao for it. She insisted that a few years ago, my father had given it away to grease official palms... So, Father, please tell me, what is this then?"

The Marquis of Jiangtai was speechless, dumbfounded.

He genuinely couldn't recall, but there was a time when he did take many items from his late wife's dowry to smooth over relations. Perhaps there were some lapses...

"Father, do you know," Cen Yueyi said coldly, "that the bandits Lady Zhao hired charged exorbitantly, and she sold many of my late mother's belongings to gather enough silver. That's why, recently, Cen Yuehua suddenly became frugal. Instead of questioning Lady Zhao in prison about her ruthlessness, Father is here stopping me from opening her private treasury to check the accounts?"

The Marquis of Jiangtai felt his face flush with shame, especially with the young lady from his in-laws' family present.

He was conflicted, on one hand feeling he should be a kind father, especially since his eldest daughter's marriage was very advantageous, but on the other hand, he was irked that his eldest daughter's actions had brought disgrace to their marquisate, turning them into a laughingstock in the capital.

Although Lady Zhao and Yuehua had gone too far, she wasn't harmed, was she!

Why make family relations so tense!

"After all, we are a family..." The Marquis of Jiangtai could only squeeze out this sentence with a stiff face.

Cen Yueyi glanced at the Marquis of Jiangtai indifferently and said nothing.

Xingxing, however, widened her eyes: "Marquis, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but on a small scale, the Marchioness of Jiangtai and your Second Miss have harmed the legitimate daughter of the marquisate; on a medium scale, they have colluded with bandits to commit evil; on a large scale, they attempted to ruin Sister Cen's reputation and then replace her in this imperial marriage—what is this, it's the crime of deceiving the emperor! At such a time, the Marquis still does not cut ties with the Marchioness and insists on being a family with that criminal woman, what a noble sentiment that is!" Xingxing praised sweetly, "The Marquis is truly high-minded and virtuous, self-sacrificing, and admirable!"

At the mention of "self-sacrificing," the Marquis's face darkened, and he no longer had the heart to stop Cen Yueyi. He hastily made an excuse and hurried away.

Cen Yueyi watched the Marquis's hurried and somewhat awkward back disappear at the courtyard gate, her expression unchanged, only a faint sneer flashing in her eyes.

She turned around and continued to calmly direct the maids and Pozi, using her mother's dowry list as a reference to compare the items in Lady Zhao's private treasury.

Xingxing also came to help.

The group worked all morning, and it was truly shocking to see the comparison.

In Lady Zhao's private treasury, almost every decent treasure had been taken from Cen Yueyi's mother's dowry.

And these items were marked in the public accounts as "given away as gifts."

Given away, to Lady Zhao's private treasury, right?

Besides these, there were also many items that Cen Yueyi mentioned, which Lady Zhao had sold to hire assassins.

Cen Yueyi and Xingxing spent most of the day organizing the account books.

As dusk fell, under the cover of night, an unmarked carriage quietly entered the Marquis of Jiangtai's residence and stopped outside the moon gate of the inner courtyard.

Coincidentally, Cen Yueyi was just seeing Xingxing off when she noticed someone stepping out of the carriage with the help of a maid.

It was Lady Zhao, the Vice Minister of War, who had previously tried to arrange a match between Cen Yuehua and Yu Yonghuai.

Lady Zhao was the elder sister of her younger sister, and her purpose for coming was self-evident.

Sure enough, as soon as Lady Zhao saw Cen Yueyi, her eyes welled up with tears, and she stepped forward to grasp Cen Yueyi's hands: "Good child, my foolish sister has put you through so much."

She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, then turned to Xingxing with a warm attitude: "Xingxing is here too."

Xingxing curtsied properly to Lady Zhao: "Greetings, Madam."

Lady Zhao discreetly appraised Xingxing: "Good child, I've heard all about it—was it really you who took down those bandits all by yourself?"

Xingxing let out an "Ah," having been with Cen Yueyi all day, she had no idea how exaggerated the rumors had become, nor that in the current street gossip, she was already a legendary hero rumored to have three heads and six arms, a green face, and fangs.

"Not... exactly?" In the night, the little girl, rumored to have three heads and six arms and a green face with fangs, was mostly wrapped in a fluffy cloak, looking somewhat round and adorable. She stated factually, "I just happened to have some sedatives on me for self-defense, and I took advantage of that."

Lady Zhao continued to praise Xingxing a few more times.

Xingxing stood there, listening to Lady Zhao's praises, and then modestly deflected the compliments.

Lady Zhao then turned to Cen Yueyi, hinting: "Yueyi, there's something I need to talk to you about..."

Cen Yueyi had already guessed Lady Zhao's intentions.

Lady Zhao certainly wasn't here to join her in berating her younger sister.

"Lady Zhao, I was just about to go to the Yu family. How about we speak here?" Cen Yueyi took Xingxing's hand.

Lady Zhao's expression froze.

Cen Yueyi was understanding: "If it's inconvenient, we can talk in a couple of days when it suits you and I'm home—it's the same."

Lady Zhao, however, was growing increasingly anxious.

How could it be the same!

In a couple of days, her sister might be completely broken in jail!

Besides, if the Ministry of Justice convicts her, it might be too late!

Lady Zhao gritted her teeth: "Yueyi, you're a good child—let's talk here. After all, I'm here to apologize for my incompetent sister. The things she's done—even I, her sister, am filled with hatred just hearing about them!"