Chapter 50 Every family has its own rules, every country has its own laws

The pawn ticket clearly stated the item being pawned. Cheng picked up the first one and saw the words "one gold filigree earring" written on it. She was so angry that her chest felt tight and she could hardly breathe.

If others saw this pawn ticket, they would only wonder why only one of the earrings was pawned when there were two of them.

Only Cheng knew that the earrings were an old piece of jewelry she had rarely worn in her early years. One year, she suddenly remembered them and asked Xue Yuan to retrieve them, but was told that only one was left; the other was missing. She briefly considered it, figuring it was just an old item from her parents' home, not particularly valuable, so she let it go without further investigation.

Unexpectedly, the lost one had already been lying in the pawnshop.

Cheng looked through the items one by one, finding that they were all of this kind of things, not particularly valuable, but still worth a ton of silver. Sometimes a hairpin would be missing a bead, or a piece of cat's eye would fall off a hairpin. She'd dismissed it as age and worn-out craftsmanship, and not really care. But she never imagined that the Snow Kitten Civet Cat would replace the Prince, and she'd send all of them to the pawnshop.

Now, Xue Yuan wasn't the only one who was affected. Nanny Li, who had thought she had escaped, trembled with fear and pleaded with tears and snot, "Madam, Madam, all of this was Xue Yuan's idea! She had me and my wife tamper with the charcoal room so that you would consider putting her in the young master's room. She said that if it worked, we would gain your trust and our family would all be better off. That's why my wife got the job in the front yard."

As she spoke, she tugged at Cheng's skirt, as if grasping at a lifeline. She had long since disregarded her alliance with Xue Yuan and completely betrayed her: "Xue Yuan said that once she enters the West Courtyard and becomes a concubine, not only will my husband be the steward of the front courtyard, but he will also be the chief steward of the mansion! Madam, I was bewitched by a ghost and drank the magic potion of Xue Yuan!"

"Please, please, for the sake of following you since I was a child, please let my family go!"

It would have been better if Nanny Li hadn't said anything. But once she did, she not only exposed Xue Yuan's activities, but also revealed Cheng's thoughts that she had not yet made clear to her son.

When Cheng heard this, her face turned red and white, she felt ashamed and annoyed, and she shouted angrily: "You are a traitor! I will sell you all out one by one!" After that, she raised her foot and kicked him.

Xue Yuan collapsed to the ground, her face pale. She had never imagined that something she thought she had hidden so well would be thoroughly uncovered by the young master. Seeing the mistress's furious expression as she examined the pawn ticket, she knew she was at the end of her rope.

This library was built by his second uncle during his lifetime. Du Heng did not want the cries of Du Shun's family and the angry voices of his mother to disturb the tranquility of the library.

He turned to look at Xue Yuan, whose face was as pale as paper, lying on the ground. Not wanting to delay any further, he said, "We have all the evidence, what else do you have to say?"

When Cheng and Nanny Li heard this, they immediately fell silent. Depending on the severity of the crime, those who stole their master's things would either be made into menial servants or be expelled from the mansion and sold. However, Du Heng's question seemed to be different from the two.

Xue Yuan lowered her head and remained silent, staring at the ground, as if her heart was dead.

Du Heng refused to give in and said coldly, "The pawn ticket has been in existence for three years, and the amount owed is over a hundred taels. Every family has its own rules, and every country has its own laws. This is beyond the Du family's control."

"Qingquan, immediately hand over those involved in the case to the authorities for investigation. The rest who are not involved in theft will be exiled to the outer courtyard to serve as menial servants to see how they perform."

If she were to be sold, with her looks and figure, she could be sold to a wealthy family and start a new life. But could she be sent to the government? Xue Yuan fainted upon hearing this.

Nanny Li also opened her mouth in surprise. It was not until Qingquan ordered someone to escort her away that she reacted and started crying and making a fuss. But Qingquan immediately stuffed the cloth that had just been stuffed into Xiaoque's mouth back into her mouth.

Qingquan worked efficiently and after a short while, the library returned to its former tranquility, with only Du Heng and Cheng's mother and son left.

"Mother!"

Du Heng knelt on his knees in front of Cheng. When Cheng saw him, she quickly stretched out her hands to help him.

Unexpectedly, Du Heng remained unmoved. He kowtowed three times to his mother before slowly raising his eyes. His sharp gaze was as upright as ever, making Cheng feel guilty and afraid to look him in the eye.

"For so many years, mother has worked so hard for the Du family, for Wanyi and me, that she is becoming increasingly exhausted. Please rest in the East Courtyard for the time being. I will ask my grandmother to intervene in matters concerning the family mansion."

Cheng never expected that after her son kowtowed to her, he would ask her to give up the power of household finances.

"Brother Heng, you!"

She was so angry that she couldn't speak clearly. She just pointed at Du Heng and trembled constantly.

Du Heng seemed to have anticipated his mother's reaction. His expression remained unchanged as he explained the pros and cons to her one by one: "Mother, have you ever thought about what would happen if you really kicked Su Ying out of the house today? Expelling Second Aunt's niece from the house without any evidence, relying on the servants' frame-up, and without any reason, would completely offend Second Aunt!"

After my second uncle passed away, my second aunt asked to move from the west courtyard into the side courtyard. My grandmother couldn't persuade her, but what about you? After a few days of demurring, you quickly agreed to my second aunt's request, helping her renovate the side courtyard and also remodeling the west courtyard, and then letting me, still a naive person, move in.

Your actions at the time were met with considerable disapproval from both Grandmother and Father, but Second Aunt privately sought Grandmother's help, and the matter was finally dropped. Years later, when my son had grown up, my father mentioned this to me. While this matter was a private affair within the palace, the women of the imperial families interacted with each other frequently. If Second Aunt hadn't sought to avoid suspicion, the reputation of the Du Mansion's mistress harshly criticizing newly widowed sisters-in-law would have spread throughout the capital.

You also said that Second Aunt sent Su Ying here in order to find a good husband for her. If you listen to the servants' words today and really give her a bad reputation, will Second Aunt let it go?

"My only question is, mother, all you think and do is for your son's future, but have you ever considered that if the Du family's reputation is damaged, what difference will that make to your son's personal morality? What future will your son have?"

Du Heng spoke one sentence after another, and every word was so powerful that Cheng was unable to refute him.

"The servants stole without your knowledge. As I said before, this has been going on for three years, which shows that the mansion has long been corrupted. Du Shun's wife also said that Xue Yuan manipulated the situation and knew your intentions well. The mistress has been treated like a puppet by her personal maid for years, but you never noticed. Today, she framed our cousin, but what about tomorrow? Will it be Wanyi's turn sooner or later?

If my mother thinks that as long as I pass the imperial examination, all this is unimportant, then what about Wanyi? If her mother is incompetent at managing the household, harshly criticizes her sisters-in-law, and indulges her servants, do you think Wanyi will be more likely to find a good family with her good calligraphy? Or will she be more likely to be criticized for her family's bad reputation?

Before Du Heng finished speaking, he stood up and continued, "Please ask Mother to return to the courtyard and think carefully about this. If you agree, I will accompany Mother to the main courtyard tomorrow morning and ask Grandmother to take care of the household chores on your behalf. If Mother insists on not complying, I will report everything that happened today to Grandmother. I believe she will not sit idly by."

After hearing this, Cheng slumped down in the only chair in the library, her thoughts long gone.

The son used both soft and hard tactics, and the power of household affairs had to be handed over no matter what. But did she want this dignity or not?

She had no choice!