Chapter 176 The Ragged Flow Throws a Cup
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the dining hall froze instantly.
Yuwen Yuan keenly sensed something amiss, glanced up at Aunt Hui, then followed her shifty gaze to Shang Ruyi, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shang Ruyi immediately said, "Father, there's something I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Now that Mother's funeral is over, it's time for you to know."
After saying that, she recounted the theft that occurred in the tea room.
The more Yuwen Yuan listened, the more his brows furrowed.
Yuwen Ye had been preoccupied with keeping vigil for the past few days and was unaware of what had happened in the tea room. Now, hearing Shang Ruyi's account, he frowned and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Shang Ruyi said softly, "I don't want you to worry about what happened to you those days."
Yuwen Ye said, "But—"
Before he could finish speaking, Yuwen Yuan interrupted him, asking, "Ruyi, why did you have Changwan locked up? Do you believe she stole the things?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "Locking up Changwan was just a temporary measure. At that time, the house was full of guests. Some came to mourn the mother, and others came later to congratulate the husband. In any case, it was a respectable thing. Although the theft in the tea room is a small matter, it is not respectable. If word gets out, our Duke's Mansion will lose face."
Yuwen Yuan nodded: "You did the right thing."
Aunt Hui, who was standing to the side, smiled and said, "Young Madam is indeed mature for her age. She resolved the matter as soon as she arrived. However, since the cup cannot be found, we can only give the Duke another cup to use today."
Yuwen Yuan glanced down at the white porcelain cup in his hand and frowned slightly.
Shang Ruyi said, "It's not necessarily true that we can't find it."
"...?!"
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the dining hall changed once again.
Even Yuwen Cheng, who had been eating with his head down, looked up at her and asked, "Second sister-in-law, how did you know where the cup was?"
Aunt Hui said, "Could it be that the young mistress is now going to search the mansion?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and shook her head, saying, "I said I would search the mansion in the tea room that day, but so many days have passed. Whoever took that cup must be worried about being found out. They probably dealt with it long ago. How could we find anything if we search now?"
Aunt Hui said, "If we don't search, how will we find it?"
Shang Ruyi looked up at the sky outside again and said, "It seems that Aunt Hui is also worried. How about this, let's search her room and dispel everyone's suspicions. We don't need to make a big fuss. Since everyone suspected that Chang Wan stole the things, let's search her room."
As she spoke, she looked up at Yuwen Yuan and said, "Father..."
Yuwen Yuan waved his hand calmly: "Send your men."
"yes."
Shang Ruyi then turned around and instructed Tu She'er and Wo Xue. The two immediately turned around and went downstairs. They returned after about the time it takes to eat a meal. Tu She'er reported, "We have thoroughly searched Chang Wan's residence, and there is indeed no cup there."
Wo Xue said, "This servant has even checked the cracks in the wall, but there are no loose bricks."
In wealthy and powerful families, there are often thieves who, when they steal something and are in a high-profile situation, cannot easily make a move. Instead, they find a secluded spot, loosen a brick, cut off a piece, hide the stolen item inside, and then seal the brick back up. It's a flawless operation, and very difficult to find during a search.
Surprisingly, this girl knew this.
Shang Ruyi glanced at her, smiled and nodded, then turned to Yuwen Yuan and said, "As soon as the incident happened, my wife had Chang Wan locked in the woodshed. If she really stole it, there would have been no time to hide it or deal with it. So, at least most of the charges against her can be cleared."
Yuwen Yuan said, "So that's why you immediately had her imprisoned."
Shang Ruyi said, "Father, please rest assured, my wife has not allowed anyone to mistreat her. She has been receiving tea and meals these past few days, but the weather is cold, and she has still suffered a bit."
Yuwen Yuan waved his hand: "Go and release them in a bit."
Aunt Hui sighed, "Although she is cleared of wrongdoing, someone else will take action. It's a pity that so many days have passed, and that person has probably already disposed of the items. That cup is probably hard to find."
Shang Ruyi said, "Aunt Hui, don't worry. Since the cup is Father's beloved possession, I, as a junior, must do my best to find it."
Aunt Hui smiled and said, "Really? Then how does the young mistress plan to find her?"
Shang Ruyi said, "We're looking for it."
"Um?"
Aunt Hui was stunned, and the people at the table were also stunned. Yuwen Ye turned around and glanced at her, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to look outside the dining hall. The people who usually followed him were nowhere to be seen at this time.
Yuwen Ye's eyes flickered, and he immediately understood.
Aunt Hui asked, "What does it mean that the young mistress said they are searching? Is anyone still searching the manor right now?"
Shang Ruyi shook her head and said, "As Aunt Hui just said, so many days have passed. The person who took the cup must have disposed of it long ago to avoid me searching the mansion. So, if you want to look for it, you can only look outside."
"Outside?"
Hearing this, Yuwen Yuan was also puzzled: "The outside world is vast, how are we supposed to find it?"
Just as Shang Ruyi was about to say something, suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside. She turned around and her face immediately lit up: "We found it!"
Everyone turned to look outside, and saw Mu Xian rushing over. He walked to the entrance of the dining hall, cupped his hands in greeting to the people inside, and said, "Greetings, Duke."
Yuwen Yuan narrowed his eyes, looking at the page of a book in his hand.
So he asked, "What's that in your hand?"
Mu Xian hurriedly handed the paper to him. Yuwen Yuan took it, squinted at it, and saw that it was a torn bill with only two simple lines on it. He read aloud: "Dengfeng Store, No. 1, South Street, Metropolis, December 26th, lost a cup in the ragtag slum..."
At this point, he pointed at the bill with annoyance and cursed, "This is utter nonsense. How could it be considered junk that was lost?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at it from a distance and said with a forced smile, "Father, don't get angry with those idle people in the market. That cup is from Yue kiln. Even if the pawnshop staff are not good at recognizing things, they won't mistake it. However, they know it is a good thing and they are sure that the person who pawned it will not dare to redeem it. In order to lower the price, they deliberately said that the thing is junk."
Yuwen Yuan looked up at her from the bill: "Ruyi, you even know about pawnshops?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi felt a little embarrassed—after all, she came from a prestigious family, and a lady from a prestigious family shouldn't know too much about money, especially about such a low-class pawnshop. She could only say perfunctorily, "I heard it from the servants before."
Yuwen Ye turned to Yuwen Yuan and said, "I've mentioned these things to her as well."
Shang Ruyi looked up at him, but didn't say anything. She just lowered her head gently.
Yuwen Yuan didn't pay attention to this undercurrent and continued looking at the bill, saying, "What a scoundrel, he only pawned it for thirty taels of silver!"
At this moment, he was not angry that his things had been stolen or pawned, but rather that his beloved possessions had been tarnished and discarded like trash. Fortunately, Yuwen Ye comforted him, saying, "Didn't Ruyi just say that people deliberately lowered the price because they knew it was a good item?"
Yuwen Yuan was slightly annoyed, then looked up at Mu Xian: "Why did you only bring back this bill? Where are the other things?"
Mu Xian said, "It was the young mistress who instructed us to take the money and go check the cup first. We confirmed that it was the Yue kiln cup that the Duke had lost, but we only took the money to buy this bill and left the cup untouched for the time being."
Yuwen Yuan frowned slightly and turned to look at Shang Ruyi: "What does this mean?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "It's easy to redeem the cup, but once it's redeemed and the pawnshop clears the debt, it will be impossible to find out who actually took the cup."
"oh?"
Yuwen Yuan seemed to understand something as well. He raised his hand and handed her the bill, saying nothing more, only gesturing for her to continue. Shang Ruyi took the bill and glanced at it quickly. In fact, what Yuwen Yuan had just read out was already the most important information, and there was nothing else worth looking at. So she looked up at Aunt Hui and smiled, "Aunt Hui, please call the tea room staff over."
Aunt Hui glanced at her, said nothing, and turned to call her herself.
A short while later, several tea servers arrived at the dining hall.
Clearly, Uncle Gui was covered in cold sweat and nearly tripped over the threshold when he came in.
Shang Ruyi looked at them and then said, "I think you all remember the theft at the teahouse that day. I said at the time that we would dig three feet into the ground to find the cup. Now we know where the cup is. However, we need someone to come forward and identify who took it and gave it to Dengfeng on Metropolitan South Street."
She paused for a moment, but no one spoke.
Shang Ruyi then said gently, "If someone confesses, it will be considered a confession. Although they will be expelled from the manor and no longer employed, there will be no punishment. But if they don't confess, then they are determined to be thieves. Since they are thieves, they will inevitably be punished."
The maids and servants looked at each other.
Some were surprised, some were terrified, and the tallest man, Uncle Gui, wished he could bury his head in his shoulders and curl up into a ball.
She glanced around at them, but no one answered. Shang Ruyi sighed, seemingly disappointed, and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll just call on someone directly."
Aunt Hui chimed in, "Young Madam, this bill only lists the items and the money, not the names. How do you know who they are?"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "Of course I know."
After saying that, she turned her head and said, "Hu Hua."
As soon as he finished speaking, the servant standing in the crowd looked astonished. He stared at Shang Ruyi in surprise and said, "Young Madam, although I serve in the tea room, I have never been dishonest. Besides, my name is not on the pawnshop's books. Why do you say it was me?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Although your name is not on the books, it is written between the lines."
Hu Hua was completely bewildered and could only say, "I'm illiterate and don't understand what you're saying, young mistress. In short, to catch someone in the act, you have to catch them red-handed. If there's no evidence, I'd rather die right here than admit it!"
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