Chapter 405 The Theft of One Hundred Taels of Gold
While the Cheng sisters were counting their gifts, Zhao Ergou and Cao Yingying had already finished serving tea.
The elders of the Zhao family all prepared red envelopes, more or less, just to give as a token of their appreciation. Cao Yingying also prepared gifts for her elders, younger brothers, and sisters.
The elders were given nothing more than clothes and shoes, while the younger siblings received purses filled with loose silver.
Mrs. Sun held the shoes in her hands, admiring them dearly. They had a thousand-layer sole, a silk upper, and camellia blossoms in full bloom—classic embroidered shoes. She had never worn such delicate shoes before.
"Ergou's wife, these shoes are really beautiful." Sun Shi held Cao Yingying's hand affectionately. "After you married into Dahe Village, will you be managing the mulberry orchard over there?"
Cao Yingying replied obediently, "There are too few mulberry leaves in spring, so we haven't raised many silkworms. Kong Xiu Niang is fine over there. I'll officially take over after a while."
“Why don’t you have Donghua come and help you then…” Mrs. Sun said shamelessly, “We’re all family. With Donghua’s help, you’ll save yourself some trouble, won’t you…”
"Third son's wife!" Old Mrs. Zhao's temple throbbed with anger. "I think you've been having too much of a good time lately, thinking about all sorts of nonsense all the time..."
Sun lowered her head guiltily: "I'm just trying to find a way out for the child. Donghua, tell me yourself, do you want to go help out at the mulberry orchard?"
"I don't want to go," Donghua shook her head directly. "I'd rather learn to read with Erwang."
After she finished speaking, she ran away in a flash.
Sun was so angry that her lips twitched. This girl always used the excuse of learning to read to slack off. She really hadn't been disciplined enough.
"Grandpa and Grandma, Second Uncle and Second Aunt, Third Uncle and Third Aunt, Yingying and I will go over first."
Zhao Ergou greeted them and led Cao Yingying out of the old house.
As soon as I went outside, I saw Qiuhua and Donghua sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard, emptying the money from their purses. When they saw that it was loose silver, the two maids' eyes lit up.
"It's silver!" Donghua licked her lips. "I can buy lots of delicious food."
Qiu Hua put the silver back: "I'll give it to my mother."
"Third sister, are you stupid?" Donghua grabbed her wrist. "With money in your own hands, you can buy whatever you want. If you give it to your mother, you'll have nothing left. With so much money, we can still find ways to make more."
Qiu Hua paused, then asked, "How do we make money?"
"Come here and I'll tell you."
The two girls hid in the corner and went to plot.
Cao Yingying laughed: "Although Donghua is a bit greedy, she is actually quite smart."
Zhao Ergou wholeheartedly agreed: "She has her own ideas, but sometimes it's a bit annoying to have to ask people for food."
The two walked back slowly, chatting. The scenery of Dahe Village was beautiful in the early morning, with the glow of dawn spreading everywhere, birds flying across the sky, and everything growing in the farmland.
“I really like it here.” Cao Yingying breathed in the fresh air. “I’m so lucky…”
Zhao Ergou couldn't resist putting his arm around her waist. He glanced around and, seeing no one passing by, quickly kissed her on the forehead.
Cao Yingying's face turned so red it was almost bleeding. She quickly walked forward, leaving her husband far behind.
As soon as the two entered the courtyard, they sensed that something was amiss.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the main room, while Cheng Yuanyuan counted the congratulatory gifts. The three Wei siblings stood anxiously to the side, and San Niu and Si Dan also looked solemn.
"What happened?" Zhao Ergou walked in. "Mother, is there a problem with the wedding gift?"
Cheng Wanwan raised her eyes and said calmly, "Yingying, go and check your dowry to see if anything is missing."
This warehouse contains Cheng Wanwan's belongings, as well as the wedding gifts received yesterday. Cao Yingying's dowry wasn't as much as expected; four trunks were placed in the bridal chamber.
She knew something might have happened, so she immediately went into the new house to check, and came out a short while later: "Everything is there, nothing is missing."
"The congratulatory gifts were not lacking either." Cheng Wanwan's voice slowly turned cold. "What's missing is the hundred taels of gold bestowed by the imperial court."
She was promoted from the ninth rank to the seventh rank, and the imperial court rewarded her with one hundred taels of gold. This was something that everyone in Dahe Village knew.
"Our house has been robbed?" Zhao Ergou asked in disbelief. "Big Black, Little Black, and Little Dot are all here. There's no way anyone could have gotten close to the warehouse. How could this have happened?"
Zhao Sidan stuck out his tongue: "Yesterday I fed the three of them tendons. My sister-in-law said that this dish has Shaoxing wine in it, and the three of them were drunk all night."
Zhao Dashan frowned: "This person is quite bold to dare to make a move in Dahe Village. I'll go find Uncle Wang and arrange for the patrol team to investigate..."
"I'm afraid it will be difficult to investigate," Zhao Sanniu sighed. "The wedding banquet had good wine and food, and most people were drunk, so there's no way to investigate."
“Auntie, I have something to say.” Wei Xiaohai came out. “I came out in the middle of the night because I needed to pee. I saw a dark figure running out of the house with a bundle in his arms. I called out to him, but he ignored me and pushed open the gate and left. The figure looked a bit like my aunt’s husband.”
Cheng Yuanyuan's body trembled.
Ever since she learned that the hundred taels of gold had disappeared, she had a vague suspicion in her mind, but she never dared to think about it in that direction.
“It must be my father!” Liu Daya clenched her fists. “Last year, my grandmother’s house lost one or two taels of silver, which was stolen by my father.”
Liu Erya gritted her teeth: "My father was a lazy good-for-nothing. He slept until the sun rose every day. He suddenly passed away in the middle of the night. He must have done something wrong."
"Second Aunt, let's report this to the authorities," Sanmao said slowly. "A hundred taels of gold is no small sum."
Cheng Wanwan curled her lips into a smile.
Yesterday, she deliberately placed the hundred taels of gold in the most conspicuous place in the storeroom, so that it could be seen as soon as one entered. The main reason was that the gold had an official seal on it. Only gold and silver bestowed by the imperial court would have such a seal. Such silver was rarely circulated in the market hundreds of miles away from the capital. It would be too easy for her to find it. Moreover, stealing official silver of such a huge amount was a capital offense. She wanted to make sure that Liu Kui would suffer a great loss, even if he didn't die.
She looked at Cheng Yuanyuan: "What do you think we should do about this, eldest sister?"
Ultimately, how to deal with Liu Kui depends on the eldest sister's decision. After all, the two have been married for over twenty years, and she fears that if she interferes too much, she might become the villain.
Cheng Yuanyuan raised her head, her usually weak eyes now filled with determination and resolve: "He loves petty theft. He's robbed every household in Liu Family Village, even stealing the dried fish people leave out to dry. But he's surnamed Liu, and he's the eldest uncle in Liu Family Village, and the clan chief is his grandfather. His crimes have all been covered up by the village head and the clan chief. Stealing in Liu Family Village is one thing, but now he's even reaching into Dahe Village, and he's even targeting my own sister! Sanmao is right, we must report him to the authorities, we absolutely must report him to the authorities. Whatever the magistrate says, we'll deal with him accordingly. He deserves what he gets!"
Cheng Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that they could put aside their own family ties for the greater good, which meant that their affection for each other had almost run out.
However, before reporting to the authorities, the marriage between the two should be dissolved first.
She stood up and said, "The magistrate is very busy. Before reporting to the authorities, let's go to Liujia Village to find evidence. San Niu, call four men from the patrol team to come with us."
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