When Ye Zhen returned to her courtyard, it was already late at night. After washing up, she went to bed.
The next day, after breakfast, she had her steward summon all the dozen or so head stewards to her courtyard.
Ye Zhen stayed inside the room and instead had the stewards go in one by one to question them individually.
After all the managers finished their conversation, more than half the day had passed, and Ye Zhen still hadn't made a move.
But early the next morning, he took Wanxing and Chaolu out the door. They didn't even need a coachman; Wanxing drove the carriage and didn't return until dark.
The same thing happened on the third day.
Xie Jinyao finally moved the Marquis of Zhongyong with his portraits and was pardoned on that day, returning to his own courtyard.
She overheard the servants talking about Ye Zhen's actions these past few days and became curious about what Ye Zhen had said to the stewards.
He then ordered his men to find two of the Lady Hou's trusted stewards. Both stewards said that Ye Zhen had only asked them in detail about their daily duties.
Xie Jinyao was used to being high and mighty, and she was certain that the managers wouldn't dare to lie to her.
He felt more and more that Ye Zhen was not good at managing the household, which was why he needed to learn from the stewards in the mansion.
He's probably out looking for someone and asking for help these past few days.
He chuckled inwardly, feeling that he had a better chance of winning, so he didn't even bother to rest and went to Xie Lanzhou's courtyard.
She knew that the Marquis of Zhongyong would come to see Xie Lanzhou these days, so that her father could see that she was a good older sister who loved and cared for her younger brother, which would surely win back some of her father's affection.
Xie Jinyao wanted to press her advantage.
As she expected, the Marquis of Zhongyong came to visit his younger brother after learning that his daughter had left the ancestral hall, and was very pleased.
When he arrived, Xie Jinyao was patiently teaching Xie Lanzhou how to fold paper boats. Two figures, one tall and one short, came into view, and the affection in the eyes of the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage was almost overflowing.
"Father."
Xie Lanzhou was overjoyed to see him.
Without his mother by his side, and with the loyal and brave Marquis's devoted companionship these past few days, he has become less afraid of the Marquis and more affectionate towards him.
Seeing him come, she ran to his side, hugged his leg, and looked up excitedly, saying, "Daddy, my sister taught me how to fold paper boats, but I want Daddy to take Lan'er riding a big horse even more."
Marquis Zhongyong noticed that his youngest son was afraid of heights, so he often carried him on his shoulders these past few days to train his courage.
Xie Lanzhou went from being afraid and clinging to the head of the Marquis of Loyalty and Courage, to gradually experiencing the fun and taking the initiative to ask for help.
Marquis Zhongyong felt quite accomplished and said cheerfully, "Alright, let's ride a big horse."
As he spoke, he grabbed the young child under the armpits and lifted him onto his shoulder, "Flying~"
Xie Jinyao's envious eyes fell on Zhongyong Hou, making him feel guilty.
When his daughter was young, he rarely had the opportunity to spend time with her. Now that she's grown up, and as the saying goes, "a grown daughter keeps her distance from her father," he'll likely never have such an intimate opportunity again in his life.
She thought that after spending time with her son, she would play chess and chat with her daughter, but then she saw Xie Jinyao curtsy and obediently say, "With Father accompanying Brother Lan, Yao'er is relieved and will go back to rest first."
They didn't compete or vie for favor, nor did they try to curry favor.
As she turned to leave, she limped slightly, a result of kneeling for so long.
Marquis Zhongyong felt very sorry for Xie Jinyao, and upon returning to his study, he had someone send the imperial ointment to her.
Xie Jinyao revealed a smug smile.
Ye Zhen went out in the morning and returned at sunset for three consecutive days, which made even the Marquis of Zhongyong curious about what she was doing.
Just as he was about to send someone to summon Ye Zhen for questioning, Ye Zhen placed a stack of incriminating evidence in front of him.
Those are evidence of wrongdoing by several stewards in the mansion, including the old steward.
They either disregarded human life, colluded with outsiders to betray information about the Marquis's residence, or took advantage of the Marquis's residence's location to oppress the people...
After reading it, the Marquis of Zhongyong's face darkened. "Is this all you've been doing these past few days?"
"yes."
"How did you find out about these things, or did you already know all along?"
The Marquis of Loyalty and Valor stared at her fiercely.
As far as he knew, Ye Zhen had only looked at the account books, and the account books could not reveal so much.
If Ye Zhen knew all along but concealed it, it would be tantamount to aiding and abetting evil.
Ye Zhen did not dodge or avoid the question, saying, "My daughter-in-law obtained the information from the questioning that day."
Marquis Zhongyong expressed his doubts.
Most of these stewards were old servants in the mansion, and Ye Zhen had not been valued in the mansion before, so how could those stewards easily reveal his secrets?
Ye Zhen explained to him, "My daughter-in-law made them report on each other..."
It turned out that she had asked for nearly three months' worth of account books from the mansion that day in order to find evidence of embezzlement by the stewards.
They then used this evidence to blackmail the corrupt officials into reporting the misdeeds of other officials, or else they would hand the evidence over to the Marquis of Zhongyong.
As Marquis Zhongyong thought, these stewards were all veterans in the manor, but those who were promoted to stewards by the Marquis's wife had all signed a death contract and entered the slave system.
Even if the amount of embezzlement is small, according to the laws of the Great Abyss, one can still be beaten to death or sold into slavery.
With the threat looming, Ye Zhen promised them that if they behaved well in the future, their descendants would have the opportunity to be freed from slavery.
In Da Yuan, once someone was registered as a slave, they remained a slave for generations to come.
People of slave status were forbidden from taking the imperial examinations, engaging in commerce, and had no chance of advancement unless their masters freed them from slavery.
Between death and the future of their descendants, some people choose the latter.
Ye Zhen then used the information they provided to blackmail other managers, and in this way, the intelligence grew like a snowball.
Of course, there were also those who dared not report it, but since Ye Zhen had something on them, they dared not reveal Ye Zhen's true conversation.
Therefore, Xie Jinyao didn't get anything out of him. While she was underestimating her opponent, Ye Zhen was gathering evidence.
She recounted the events to Marquis Zhongyong, saying, "Father, those who only embezzled money and did not commit any other evil deeds, I would like to give them another chance."
If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If she punishes all the managers who have committed offenses, it will only provoke public anger.
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