Chapter 16: The Heart is Truly Biased Beyond Measure

Chapter 16: This Favoritism Is Beyond Ridiculous

Madam Pei whipped her head around. "*What* medicinal herbs?!"

She signaled to Nanny Li beside her, who hurried into the room and retrieved the brocade box containing the deer antlers. Upon opening it, they found it empty.

Madam Pei's face turned deathly pale, and Nanny Li went just as pale, furiously yelling at the servants in the room, "Which lowlife servant dares steal from Madam? Who’s got the guts?!"

"It's..." The reporting maid hesitated, glancing at Pei Yun. "I—I don’t know Zhao Fu personally... I heard it was Zhao Fu from the Second Master's courtyard."

Madam Pei's eyes widened in shock, then she cautiously asked, "Are you certain?"

"I—I don’t know Zhao Fu personally," the maid stammered. "But that’s what others in the household said..."

Pei Yun asked, "Where is he now?"

"The household guards have tied him up. Shu Yan didn’t know how to handle it, so she sent me to seek my lady’s instructions."

Madam Pei leaned back in her armchair, rubbing her prayer beads with a deep frown. Though her initial fury had subsided, her expression remained troubled. Clearing her throat, she spoke slowly, "In my opinion, we shouldn’t air our dirty laundry. Besides, the Crown Prince is still in the residence. It’s best to suppress this matter for now and deal with it after His Highness departs."

"Grandmother is right," Pei Yun said solemnly. "But this case is different. The servant stole medicinal herbs bestowed by the Crown Prince. If we delay punishment and fail to give His Highness an explanation, he might get pissed upon learning of it later."

Pei Wei stayed silent, listening.

Regardless of her grandmother’s bias, she also felt it best to postpone the matter. But hearing her elder sister’s reasoning, she jumped in to agree without question, "Yes, Grandmother. We wouldn’t want His Highness to think the Duke of State Stabilization’s household disrespects his gifts."

Madam Pei was a coward at heart, and she feared offending the Crown Prince. With both nieces speaking thus, her resolve wavered.

Pei Yun added, "Let’s make an example of him now while Second Uncle and the others are still accompanying His Highness. Punish the servant severely, along with any others involved. Even if His Highness hears of it, we’ll have a proper explanation. What does Grandmother think?"

Madam Pei pondered for a long moment before nodding. "Very well, let it be as you say."

With that, she glanced at Nanny Li, who understood and followed the maid out.

Before long, the maid rushed back in, reporting that Zhao Fu had refused punishment, yelling that it was Wang Shi who ordered him to steal and that she had bribed Nanny Li to hand over the herbs. When Wang Shi heard the news, she flew into a rage, ready to kill Zhao Fu on the spot, but Shu Yan intervened.

At a loss, Shu Yan was now bringing the group to the main hall.

Shortly after the maid’s report, a mob of seven or eight people entered the room.

Zhao Fu was forced to his knees, while Shu Yan presented a plain wooden box. After bowing to the assembly, she briefly recounted the events.

Inside the box was a bundle of red silk, within which lay the stolen deer antlers.

In their haste, the thieves had simply taken the silk from its original box—one corner even had a distinctive plum blossom seal, which Pei Yun had ordered Sheng Xi to stamp on all items from the Eastern Palace during inventory.

Zhao Fu was dead to rights.

Wang Shi, her eyes red, stood beside her freshly dolled-up daughter, Pei Qian. She stepped forward urgently, addressing Madam Pei, "Mother, don’t buy his lies! He acted alone—this has nothing to do with me!"

Nanny Li also dropped to her knees, screaming she’d been framed.

Madam Pei’s face turned thunderous. These two, whom she had trusted deeply, were now accused of colluding to steal from her and deceive her.

"Madam, this servant isn’t lying!" Zhao Fu, seeing no way out, decided to lay everything bare. "If not for the Second Madam’s orders, why would I risk stealing from *you*? She’s done this before! The previous batch of deer antlers and that hundred-year ginseng given by the Crown Princess—they swapped them out and ordered me to sell them!"

Now that the cat was out of the bag, Zhao Fu held nothing back, revealing all of Wang Shi’s misdeeds.

Madam Pei’s face turned stormy. Everyone present except Pei Yun was floored—no one had expected Wang Shi to be a repeat offender.

Wang Shi's voice trembled with rage, "You wretched cur! Who put you up to slandering me like this?"

"Mother, I would never—why would I do such a thing? You know me, I’ve always honored and cared for you."

Madam Pei pursed her lips, silent.

Zhao Fu pressed on, "Madam, think about it—the medicinal herbs were kept by Nanny Li from the moment they were bestowed. Unless she’d given them to me directly, how could I have gotten them so easily? And as for Second Madam, she claimed to personally brew them for you and urged you to take them, but in truth, she was afraid you’d notice the deer antlers had been swapped out for fakes. She wanted to destroy the evidence..."

At this, Madam Pei’s sharp gaze snapped toward Wang Shi. "Wang Liuniang,* is this your gratitude—bottomless greed?"

"Mo-Mother..."

Wang Shi tried to defend herself, but suddenly, a figure rushed forward and knelt beside her. "Grandmother, please calm your anger! Mother only did this because of Brother Chian... she had no choice!"

Pei Qian flinched but held her ground, "Grandmother, Brother Chian owes hundreds of taels in gambling debts. The creditors swore that if the debt wasn’t repaid today, they’d barge into our home. If they really came, the Duke of State Stabilization’s household would be a joke across the whole city! And with His Highness still here, where would Mother get so much money? That’s why she resorted to stealing your medicinal herbs to sell..."

Wang Shi’s mind worked quickly. Seizing the opportunity, she threw herself at Madam Pei’s feet.

"Mother," she sobbed, "it truly was because of Chian. Those people tricked him into gambling—he didn’t realize it in time and ended up with massive debts. I had no other choice..."

She bawled pitifully, as if she truly had been forced into this, burdened with helplessness.

Absurdly, Madam Pei’s face thawed slightly. "You fool! If something like this happened, why didn’t you come to me? Chian is my grandson too—did you think I wouldn’t help him?"

"Mother’s health has been poor lately—how could I trouble you with such distressing matters?"

Snot and tears smearing her face, Wang Shi cried even harder.

After rebuking Wang Shi, Madam Pei sighed deeply and turned to Pei Yun. "Your aunt had no choice—it wasn’t for selfish reasons. Your second brother is naïve; it’s only natural he’d be deceived. As for His Highness, scapegoating Zhao Fu and Nanny Li should cover it..."

Nanny Li, still kneeling below, went limp. She’d long known her mistress... was ruthless, but never to this extent—throwing her to the wolves without a second thought to shield Wang Shi.

Pei Yun’s expression remained neutral, but inwardly, she scoffed.

She knew her grandmother was biased, but she hadn’t realized just how far that bias went.

Perhaps because she had watched Pei Chian grow from birth, Madam Pei had always favored him over the grandchildren of the main branch, coddling him into a brat.

Naïve?

What a joke. Ever since Pei Chian arrived in the capital, he had done nothing but whore and laze around. In her past life, nearly two years later—after Madam Pei had already passed—his "simple and kind" grandson had bullied an innocent girl to death. Someone made a stink, spreading the scandal until it became the talk of the capital.

Had Pei Chian not drunkenly stumbled and drowned soon after, it might have caused serious trouble for the Duke of State Stabilization’s household—and for her.

Ha!

In the midst of this tense atmosphere, a laugh rang out, startlingly out of place.

And the one who laughed didn’t hold back, adding, "That’s rich, Grandmother. This time, the theft was to pay off gambling debts—were the previous times the same? Second Brother isn’t naïve, he’s just stupid, getting fooled over and over. And what, were the gambling dens holding a blade to his neck, forcing him to bet? Was he always so reluctant and unwilling?"

Pei Wei had had it with Grandmother’s favoritism toward Second Uncle’s family, and now, she couldn’t help but speak her mind.

Madam Pei’s glare was sharp as a blade, her dislike for Pei Wei plain on her face.

Her eldest was slow but obedient—how’d his kids end up so disrespectful?

Her expression darkened, and she demanded a straight answer from Pei Yun.

*Footnote: Wang Liuniang is a derogatory form of address, implying disrespect or disdain toward Wang Shi.

Pei Yun went quiet for a beat, her expression troubled. "Grandmother, it's not that your granddaughter is heartless or unwilling to let this matter go. But Second Aunt's actions were truly excessive. Who knows how much of your valuable medicine she’s taken? I cannot simply overlook this."

Seeing that Pei Yun refused to spare her, Wang Shi burst into tears again. "Madam, we are all family! Must you drag this out and destroy us?"

She spoke like Pei Yun was the one in the wrong.

Madam Pei's voice also turned stern. "Yun'er, that's enough. Your Second Aunt has already admitted her fault. We’re family—we’ll need each other someday. Besides, I’ve chosen to let it go. Why must you stir up trouble?"

Pei Yun watched quietly as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law presented this united front, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

"Very well."

Her tone was light, almost indifferent. "Since Grandmother is so magnanimous, then your granddaughter shall relent. As for Second Aunt’s attempt to poison you... I guess I’ll just pretend I never found out."