The Duke of Yu laughed.
“That old fellow only dared to send such an important item to the capital through your hands because he knew you were about to marry into our family. This way, no one would notice anything.”
He waved his hand.
“Good. Just pretend you never saw this thing.”
“Yes. Granddaughter-in-law understands.” Jiang Lingyuan secretly let out a sigh of relief. She had made the right decision.
She had already guessed that the Duke of Zhenguo intended to use her as the means to deliver the tiger tally to the Duke of Yu’s manor.
Without this half of the tiger tally, there would not be too much chaos in the northwest.
As for where the Duke of Zhenguo had gone, Jiang Lingyuan still had no idea. However, she had left some people in the northwest to secretly investigate.
The Duke of Yu asked, “Back then, your grandmother relied on the Duke of Zhenguo’s household to support her businesses, yet she chose to arrange a marriage alliance with our family instead. Did your grandmother ever tell you why?”
Regardless of the reason, their family had undoubtedly gained a great treasure.
Jiang Lingyuan shook her head, “My grandmother never told me.”
However, she had her own guesses.
First, her grandmother probably did not want to put all her eggs in one basket.
Second, every man in the Duke of Zhenguo’s household pursued a military path. If her grandmother’s wealth was added into the equation, it might easily make the emperor suspicious.
Meanwhile, the Duke of Yu’s manor had changed its approach more than ten years ago. Only the direct branch continued the military tradition.
Even Lu Yun, despite being the legitimate son of the eldest branch, followed the path of the civil examinations because he was not the eldest son.
That made him a much more suitable marriage candidate.
When Jiang Lingyuan left, her steps were noticeably lighter.
Sure enough, carrying everything alone was exhausting.
Now that she had handed this matter over, she finally felt at ease.
“This child truly deserves to have been raised by Lady Ruyi,” the Duke of Yu said. “Even as the future mistress of a great household, she is more than capable.”
This was also why he had been so willing back then to agree with Lady Ruyi on a marriage between their two families.
The Old Madam nodded.
“She truly is a good child. The only question is whether A-Yun knows how to cherish her. Right now, that child probably hasn’t even taken A-Yun
to heart.”
Not to mention, she had already suffered grievances after entering their household.
The Duke of Yu, however, was not worried.
“A-Yun has always been proud. He resisted this marriage at first because he did not understand it. But once he learns more, he won’t think that way anymore.”
The Old Madam gave her husband a sideways glance.
“Do you think I don’t understand that? What I’m worried about is that this child may not think highly of A-Yun.”
The Duke of Yu burst into laughter.
“How could that be? You should have more faith in our A-Yun. He is a gentleman as flawless as jade. How could he possibly fail to make her heart move?”
On the day Lu Yun returned, Jiang Lingyuan was discussing with Nanny Rong how to renovate the embroidery tower in the third courtyard.
There was a waterside pavilion connected to it, and she wanted to transform it into a stage for performances.
When she learned Lu Yun had returned and was already at the Old Madam’s courtyard, Jiang Lingyuan was surprised.
“Wasn’t his rest day tomorrow?”
She knew Lu Yun would be coming home during this break, but she had assumed he would only return tomorrow morning.
She never expected him to arrive that very afternoon.
Nanny Rong said,”I’ll go check the kitchen. No matter what, he should eat something after returning.”
“Tanqiu, prepare clean clothes for Fourth Master. Go ask Shuanghua what Fourth Master usually wears.”
Jiang Lingyuan had not spent much time with Lu Yun, so she did not know whether he would want a bath after returning.
Still, it was better to prepare in advance.
Shuanghua had made many handkerchiefs and socks for Jiang Lingyuan before, so Jiang Lingyuan remembered her somewhat.
Nanny Jin also learned that Lu Yun had returned.
She immediately told Xiangxue,”Hurry and dress yourself. We’ll go see Fourth Young Master together later.”
Xiangxue was delighted, “Alright, I’ll go prepare right away.”
She knew she could not compare with Jiang Lingyuan in terms of beauty. But Fourth Young Master was unwilling to touch Jiang Lingyuan anyway. Perhaps today would be her chance to get close to him.
Neither Nanny Jin nor Xiangxue knew what was waiting for them.
However, Jiang Lingyuan waited for a long time without seeing Lu Yun return.
She couldn’t help wondering, “Is Fourth Master still at Furui Courtyard?”
During these days, Xunxia had already uncovered the details of Eldest Madam’s background.
Although Eldest Madam was the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Changping’s household, she was only the legitimate daughter of the third branch.
Originally, Eldest Master Lu had been betrothed to the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis of Changping’s household.
But after Eldest Madam met Eldest Master Lu once, she became deeply attached to him.
She even used certain methods to make Eldest Master Lu insist on changing the marriage arrangement.
At that time, the Duke of Yu had beaten Eldest Master Lu more than ten times with a whip.
It was said that even now, marks remained on his back. Yet in the end, the marriage partner was still changed.
Because of this, the relationship between the main branch of the Marquis of Changping’s household and the Duke of Yu’s household had remained distant all these years.
Both families had kept the matter hidden.
Therefore, after Eldest Madam married in, she never received control over the household affairs. Even her children were raised by the Old Madam.
Strictly speaking, Lu Yun was not particularly close to Eldest Madam. Yet now, Lu Yun still had not left Furui Courtyard.
At that moment, Eldest Madam looked at the pieces of evidence Lu Yun had laid out before her and simply refused to acknowledge them.
“Lingyuan complained to you, didn’t she? I knew she had bad intentions. Nanny Jin has always been my person. How could she possibly do such things?”
Lu Yun had always known his mother could be somewhat stubborn. But at this moment, he was not particularly angry.
He merely spoke calmly,”Mother may not know this, but ever since Nanny Jin entered my courtyard, she has never behaved honestly.”
“As for Lingyuan, she didn’t actually do anything. She merely used a tactful way to make me understand the prices of daily necessities, the lives of ordinary people in Great Yue, and also the fact that Nanny Jin has embezzled nearly ten thousand taels of silver from the household allowances over these years.”
“She used that money to lend out at high interest.”
“High… interest lending?”
Eldest Madam was stunned.
If Nanny Jin had only stolen money, it would not have been such a serious matter. But lending money at predatory interest was something that absolutely could not be touched.
The imperial court investigated such matters strictly.
If discovered, the consequences would be fatal.
If a servant of the Duke of Yu’s manor was found to be doing this, and outsiders discovered it and reported it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Especially since her son had not yet entered official service. His reputation could be severely damaged.
Eldest Madam was furious and shocked, “I trusted her so much. How could she do this?”
This was also why Lu Yun had returned so quickly.
“Fortunately, she only started last winter. She had only recently begun and was careful, so outsiders haven’t discovered it yet.”
“If I had not investigated, she could have hidden it for some time.”
“Now we can quietly deal with it.”
At this point, Lu Yun could not help admiring Jiang Lingyuan’s careful planning. He now completely understood that he could no longer underestimate her.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. A-Yun, I’ll listen to everything you say.”
Eldest Madam still couldn’t understand.
Nanny Jin had clearly been the person she trusted most. How had things turned out this way?
Meanwhile, Lin Feng had already arrived at Jiang Lingyuan’s side.
He came with Lu Yun’s personal attendants, Yu Bai, Yuancang, Fuguang, and Ling Su.
These four were Lu Yun’s most capable people.
Jiang Lingyuan was slightly surprised to see all four of them.
Moreover, she noticed that they were all extremely respectful toward her.
Lin Feng said,” Fourth Young Madam, Fourth Young Master has ordered us to search Nanny Jin and Xiangxue’s rooms.”
So Lu Yun had understood the hidden meaning behind the things she sent?
Jiang Lingyuan thought that Lu Yun probably did not want her to know too much about the matter.
Immediately, she said,”Steward Lin, proceed as you see fit.”
Lin Feng clasped his fist respectfully and left with the others.
Soon after, noises came from the rear courtyard.
There were cries, shouting, and angry reprimands.
Half an hour later, Xunxia came to report.
“My Lady, Nanny Jin and Xiangxue have both been taken away.”