Yu Wei was a cautious man. Upon receiving the boxes, he didn’t inspect them immediately. Instead, he personally carried them to his room, ordered everyone to keep their distance, and only then began his examination.
He randomly selected one box to open and found it filled with silver notes, all in denominations of fifty taels.
Even though they were just fifty-tael notes, this full box contained quite a substantial amount.
Looking at these silver notes, Yu Wei couldn’t wait to open another box. He saw a letter placed on top, with nothing but indentures underneath.
Yu Wei first picked up the letter and read it carefully. The letter was written simply, and Yu Wei finished reading it in just a few moments.
Of course, this letter wasn’t written by Jiang Wanwen herself but by her attendant Ruhua—a precaution against anyone using the letter for malicious purposes.
After reading the letter, Yu Wei immediately burned it and sat silently in deep thought.
Although the Wangfei didn’t specify what had happened in the letter, Yu Wei sensed that something major had occurred.
Yu Wei mentally reviewed all possible major incidents that could have befallen the Wangfu before reaching out to examine the indentures. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became.
Not only were the indentures of second-class, third-class, and lower-ranking servants here, but also those of all the attendants serving the masters—except for the two senior maids Ruhua and Ruyue, whose indentures were missing. Everyone else’s was present.
Even the top document was his own indenture.
The Wangfei had made it clear in the letter: this was her way of telling them to secretly go their separate ways and seek their own futures.
Having risen to the position of Chief Steward of the front courtyard, Yu Wei was no fool. From the Wangfei’s instructions, he deduced that the higher authorities must be planning to eliminate the Wangfu now that their Wangye had died—like killing the donkey after it’s done grinding.
But Yu Wei had served by the Wangye’s side since childhood. He was someone the Wangye had picked up from a border town near the battlefield. While the Wangye was alive, Yu Wei’s loyalty belonged solely to him.
Now that the Wangye was gone, his master was the Wangfei. As for the Shizi, he had his own established circle of followers, and Yu Wei felt no need to join that crowd.
Yu Wei guessed that the Wangfei must have gone to Yongning. He decided to carry out this task flawlessly, giving the Wangfei a pleasant surprise as his pledge of loyalty.
Having made up his mind, Yu Wei began sorting through the boxes, first selecting those he believed were most loyal to the Wangfu. Then he picked out those he knew were spies planted in the Wangfu by others.
After this busy work, Yu Wei looked at the pile of indentures he had selected—just the spies alone numbered about thirty.
Yu Wei himself was shocked. Staring at these spies, he let out a malicious chuckle.
This wasn’t really the original owner’s fault. Their Pingwu Wangfu had essentially been held in Shengyang as hostages. If the Wangfu had been managed as tightly as a sealed iron barrel, the imperial family would have eliminated them immediately.
So the original owner had merely tried to keep these people away from the masters and key positions.
Yu Wei didn’t act immediately either. He secretly ordered provisions to be prepared. On the second night, he sent away those loyal to the Wangfu who had no attachments, directing them to Yongning to seek refuge with their masters.
He even returned their indentures to them—if they changed their minds along the way, they could choose to settle down as ordinary commoners.
But Yu Wei still believed that only going to Yongning would ensure their safety. Who knew if they might be tracked down otherwise?
On the day after these people left, someone naturally came to ask him where they had gone.
Yu Wei had long prepared his explanation, breaking from his usual reticence: “The masters plan to observe mourning for His Highness at the estate for a period. That estate is closer to Baohua Temple, so it would be beneficial to receive some Buddhist blessings.”
Most people believed this account, and some informants faithfully relayed this information.
Their masters saw no issue with this arrangement, as observing mourning at an estate was common practice—some even returned to their ancestral homes for such periods.
Over the following days, Yu Wei used the pretext of delivering supplies to the estate to send all the hereditary servants out of the city. Their subsequent choices were beyond his control.
After all, any sensible person would know to distance themselves as far as possible from Shengyang. As for fools—well, no amount of good advice can save those destined for doom.
On the morning the hereditary servants were dispatched, Yu Wei gathered his pre-packed belongings and departed with a merchant caravan heading toward the prefecture adjacent to Yongning.
Regarding the indentures of those remaining in the Wangfu, he had summoned them before his departure and returned all documents.
His stated reason was: “Now that His Highness is gone, the Wangfu must observe mourning and maintain discretion. We no longer require so many menial servants. The Wangfei, in her benevolence, waives their redemption fees and returns their indentures. Additionally, she provides silver rewards based on their years of service. They should now seek their own paths.”
After delivering these instructions, Yu Wei paid no heed to their reactions, immediately shouldering his pack and departing.
He exited Shengyang’s city gates without pause, joined the awaiting merchant caravan outside the walls, and promptly left.
Informants monitoring the Wangfu found these actions perplexing but could only relay the information.
By the time various households received the news and reacted, most shrewd servants had already left the city.
Yu Wei, meanwhile, changed into pre-prepared matron’s garments within the caravan and styled his hair in a matron’s fashion.
He applied cosmetics to his face until he resembled a middle-aged woman perfectly.
As for his family, they had benefited from Prince Pingwu’s favor years earlier and had already relocated to Yongning.
Thus, Yu Wei needed only to ensure his own safety. For travel documents, he possessed forged credentials—not directly to Yongning, but to the prefecture beyond it, since the route would pass through Yongning anyway.
In fact, not only he but all key personnel in the Wangfu held such documents. While serving the Wangfu, their safety had been considered to some extent.
Whether they could reach Yongning safely depended on their individual capabilities. Those who had secured positions in the Wangfu were no fools, each devising their own methods.
Ultimately, many successfully evaded imperial pursuit to live peaceful lives, while numerous others reached Yongning to rejoin their masters.
When Jiang Wanwen later learned how flawlessly Yu Wei had executed these tasks, he immediately secured a firm standing in her regard.
The Wangfu was besieged three days after Yu Wei’s departure. Despite informants’ reports, the imperial family and nobles needed time to investigate what had transpired in Pingwu Wangfu.
After all, they could not possibly besiege the establishment merely because the Pingwu Wangfei had gone to an estate for mourning and manumitted some insignificant servants.
When the Wangfu was besieged, Jiang Wanwen had already been away from Shengyang for fifteen days. Traveling day and night without rest, she had long left the boundaries of Shengyang and was nearly through the neighboring prefecture.
Jiang Wanwen had no intention of taking the shortest route to Yongning, for if the Emperor sensed something amiss, he would undoubtedly dispatch pursuers to hunt them down.
Those who held grudges against Pingwu Wangfu would likely send people after them as well. Thus, Jiang Wanwen and her group took a circuitous path.
However, they could no longer rely on carriages afterward. During the day, the party led their horses along the outskirts of the mountains, detouring around main roads. At night, they returned to the official routes and galloped on horseback.