“Miss! They are simply too much!”
Seeing her arrive, Qiao’er poured out her words like beans from a bamboo tube:
“Among the private assets Second Master is supposed to hand over, there is a key to a warehouse on North Street, filled with all the treasures he has embezzled over the years!”
“Today was originally set to move the items from that warehouse back, but who knew Steward Liu transferred all the manpower away! I wondered why I saw Second Master whispering with him earlier—they are deliberately stalling for time! They want to transfer as much as they can from inside while they have the chance!”
Steward Liu drooped his eyelids, unhurriedly saying:
“That’s not true at all. One must speak with evidence; you can’t convict me based solely on your malicious accusations.”
Yun Qingqing understood.
Although the Yin-Yang Ledger had been seized, given Yun Zhiping’s style, many valuable items might not have been recorded in the ledger. They were likely directly stored in the warehouse. Now that the matter was exposed, he had seized this loophole to buy time and transfer as much property as possible.
North Street needed manpower, but all the able-bodied laborers in the estate had been transferred to South Street. Reassigning them would take at least an hour or two.
Whether hiring people from the streets or seeking help from the Regent’s Mansion, it would also require time. By then, even if the warehouse wasn’t completely emptied, it would be mostly gone.
She sneered and asked Qiao’er:
“How long has Yun Zhiping been gone?”
“About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. He should be almost at the warehouse by now.” Qiao’er said angrily.
Yun Qingqing nodded and smiled calmly:
“Just a warehouse full of things; it doesn’t require that many people. Let’s go and take a look.”
“…Huh?” Qiao’er looked utterly confused.
Yun Qingqing had already walked to the stable, led out a sleek black horse, and mounted it in one swift motion.
“As long as we reach the warehouse before them, it’ll be fine. Come on, I’ll take you for a ride.”
“Miss… you don’t know how to ride a horse.” Qiao’er said gloomily.
A moment later.
The black horse charged out of the Yun Estate’s gate with two young women on its back. Qiao’er clung tightly to her mistress’s waist, screaming with her eyes shut:
“Miss, slow down, ahhh…”
They raced like the wind and soon arrived at the North Street warehouse gate, where they encountered a group of laborers carrying large and small boxes, about to leave.
“Who told you to touch the Young Miss’s belongings? Put them down now!”
Seeing this, Qiao’er forgot her trembling legs, jumped off the horse, and blocked the entrance, angrily scolding them.
Yun Zhiping was directing the laborers in the courtyard and had never expected Yun Qingqing to arrive so quickly. His eyelids twitched as he hurried over with an apologetic smile:
“Qingqing, don’t misunderstand. Your Second Uncle just saw that you’re busy preparing for the grand wedding and might not have time to handle these trivial matters, so I specially brought people to help.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Yun Qingqing crossed her arms and sneered at the lead laborer:
“Then you tell me, where did he ask you to move these things?”
Seeing that even the employer was being polite to this young lady, the lead laborer saw no reason to doubt and replied:
“Answering the noble lady, it’s…”
“Of course, it’s to move them back to the Yun Estate and store them in the estate’s warehouse!” Yun Zhiping hurriedly gave the lead laborer frantic looks and cut in.
“The inventory of the items in this warehouse has been checked. Once they’re moved back, you can verify them as you please. Your Second Uncle’s work is absolutely trustworthy!”
Yun Qingqing took the thin few pages of ledger he handed over. Without even flipping through them, she knew it was just a random selection of items to placate her. Did he really think she was foolish?
She smiled slightly, “Why wait until we return to check? I’ll finish verifying everything right here before moving them.”
Yun Zhiping’s expression stiffened slightly:
“But packing these things has already taken considerable effort. Opening them all again for inventory would make all that work pointless.”
The head laborer also grumbled gruffly:
“Going through all this trouble again will cost extra.”
“Do I look like I can’t afford it?” Yun Qingqing remained unmoved. “We’ll take stock right here.”
She was somewhat surprised. Yun Zhiping clearly feared her checking the accounts, yet he didn’t seem particularly anxious.
As if answering her suspicions, Yun Bai Lian’s voice suddenly came from behind:
“Sister, why did you come here? I’ve been looking all over for you!”
Yun Qingqing turned around to see Yun Bai Lian hurrying over with a palace maid in tow.
“Her Majesty the Empress has summoned both of us to the palace. Let’s go quickly and not keep Her Majesty waiting.”
…No wonder Yun Zhiping wasn’t worried at all—he had this waiting in the wings!
Yun Zhiping looked smug, the wrinkles on his face creasing with laughter:
“Since Her Majesty the Empress has summoned you, Qingqing, you should hurry along. If you’re uneasy about this place, we can simply postpone the move. We’ll leave everything as is until you return to take inventory, how about that?”
“Rest assured, everything will match the account books exactly!”
As for anything beyond the account books, heh…
“That won’t be necessary,” Yun Qingqing said, smiling at his triumphant expression.
She directly instructed the group of laborers:
“Put the things down for now, all of you, and step outside!”
Yun Bai Lian’s face turned cold:
“What do you mean by this? Are you determined to waste time here? How much longer do you intend to keep Her Majesty the Empress waiting?”
Yun Qingqing replied with a cheerful smile:
“This young lady needs to tidy her attire to avoid appearing disrespectful before Her Majesty the Empress! It won’t take long. What ulterior motive do you have for trying to stop me?”
“…” Yun Bai Lian hadn’t expected her to also invoke the Empress’s name to pressure others and was left speechless.
Yun Qingqing had the laborers set down the boxes, drove everyone out, and slammed the warehouse door shut with a loud clang.
Yun Zhiping and Yun Bai Lian exchanged glances, discussing that if she didn’t come out after counting to a hundred, they would break the door open and have the palace maid pressure her to leave in the Empress’s name.
In any case, as long as they managed to pull off this operation today, all the wealth they had painstakingly accumulated would be laundered clean. Even the Regent King wouldn’t be able to openly seize it back!
The two were vigilantly keeping track of time when, before they had even counted to fifty, the warehouse door cracked open slightly.
Yun Qingqing slipped out through the gap, brushed off her skirt, and immediately pulled Qiao’er along as she mounted her horse. With a cheerful smile, she said:
“Since Her Majesty the Empress is urgently summoning me, I’ll take my leave first. See you at the palace later!”
She tugged the reins, and the black steed galloped off in a cloud of dust, leaving only Qiao’er’s string of screams behind.
“Ahhh! Miss, I’m scared! Ahhh…”
Yun Bai Lian looked bewildered:
“She… just left like that?”
Yun Zhiping snorted coldly:
“Hmph, just a naive young girl. She probably thinks she’s made it big now that she’s become the Princess Consort and doesn’t even care about these trifles.”
Yun Bai Lian frowned:
“Father, don’t let your guard down. What if she runs off to seek the Regent King’s support?”
Yun Zhiping suddenly realized and hurriedly called to the laborers:
“Come, come, hurry up and continue moving! Aside from the items already inventoried earlier, pack up and move everything else for me. Don’t leave a single thing behind!”
The laborers pushed open the warehouse door, then turned back wide-eyed:
“Sir, are you joking with us? This place is clearly empty. What do you want us to move?”
Yun Zhiping and Yun Bai Lian rushed over to look, their faces turning pale with shock.
Where were the gold, silver, treasures, antiques, and paintings that had just filled the warehouse moments ago?
How could everything be gone!
…