Jiang Yuwei saw that this Granny Li was quite good at making a scene, so she let her shout and spread the word throughout the Prince's mansion about what kind of disgusting things Aunt Lin had done.
A servant, perhaps fearing that Li Mama's shouts would disturb his master, tried to stop her from speaking, but Li Mama bit him hard, causing him to bleed profusely.
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly spoke up:
"Go down and bandage her up quickly. Don't gag her. Let her shout. I want to see who she can summon."
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she turned to the maid beside her and instructed her:
"Go quickly and invite the young master and Consort Lin to the front courtyard. Tell them that something has happened in the manor that requires their decision!"
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she turned to look at Wang Ma and smiled:
“Wang Ma, I would like to trouble you to go as well, so that you can be a witness.”
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei called over several servants to push all the cartloads of vegetables to the front yard.
After arranging things here, he and Wang Ma hurried to the front yard.
Just as the two arrived at the front yard, the young master and Consort Lin arrived one after the other. Jiang Yuwei sat down with great interest to observe Consort Lin's expression.
She stared intently at the two kneeling figures on the ground with a gloomy face, then reluctantly sat down.
Jiang Yuwei spoke first once everyone had arrived:
“A few days ago, the princess checked the accounts and found that there were significant discrepancies in the kitchen’s accounts. Today, she specifically ordered me to go to the kitchen to investigate. As a result, I was surprised to find that the food the kitchen was serving to the masters was mixed with stones and branches.”
As she spoke, Jiang Yuwei looked at the two people kneeling on the ground and continued:
"I thought that the dishes that Prince Jing's mansion bought at several times the market price must be the best of the best, but I didn't expect them to be of such poor quality. You servants are quite good at deceiving your superiors!"
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she turned to look at Aunt Lin, whose face was stiff, and smiled:
"Now the masters of this palace are being completely fooled by you bunch of filthy bastards."
Jiang Yuwei paused, and seeing that Aunt Lin had no intention of speaking, she continued:
“Aunt Lin, these two are old acquaintances of yours, aren’t they? Just now, Lin Zhou was quite imposing, saying that you, Aunt Lin, are going to be the head of the Prince’s Mansion. The Princess Consort is a sickly woman, so we don’t need to worry about her.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lin's face flushed red and then turned pale. She clenched the handkerchief in her hand and looked up at Ning Zixuan, who was sitting in the main seat. She felt guilty and beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Jiang Yuwei turned to ask Lin Zhou again.
"By the way, Linzhou, didn't you just say you had a relationship with this Aunt Lin? I forgot to ask, what is your relationship?"
Lin Zhou realized the seriousness of the problem and naturally dared not speak casually. He looked at Aunt Lin with a pleading expression.
Aunt Lin was quick-witted; knowing she couldn't hide the truth any longer, she got up, walked to Lin Zhou's side, and slapped him hard across the face.
"You damned devil, do you still remember how you begged me to give your family a way out? I thought you could learn well, so I introduced you to the business in this palace. I never expected that this is how you repay me!"
As Aunt Lin spoke, she glared at Lin Zhou and cursed:
"Tell me! What exactly happened with the dish that was mixed with stones! Don't drag me into this mess when you're not on the right track yourself!"
Seeing this, Lin Zhou hurriedly spoke up:
"Aunt Lin, it wasn't you..."
Before Lin Zhou could finish speaking, Aunt Lin slapped him again.
"I shouldn't have felt sorry for you that day. A poor relative like you who doesn't know how to repay kindness deserves to let your whole family starve to death!"
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly smiled and got up to help Aunt Lin.
“Aunt, please don’t get angry. No matter what mistake he made, you should let him finish speaking.”
Aunt Lin turned around and glared at Jiang Yuwei with disgust, then turned to Ning Zixuan and said:
“Your Highness, you must understand. I am a distant relative of Linzhou. Last winter, his family was starving and came to me for help. I thought I could help him in his time of need but not in his long-term life, so I told him to find some work to do.”
As she spoke, Aunt Lin picked up a handkerchief and began to pretend to wipe away her tears.
"Later, he found a job delivering vegetables and came to me again, saying he wanted to deliver vegetables to our Prince's Mansion. I thought that the Prince's Mansion does need to eat every day, and since we can buy vegetables from other people anyway, I might as well help my poor cousin."
Aunt Lin paused for a moment and then continued:
"So I introduced him to Granny Li, and after that I knew nothing at all."
As she spoke, Aunt Lin sighed with regret:
"Who would have thought that he would say such things and do such things today? It has truly chilled my heart! I never imagined that my small act of kindness would harm the Prince's Mansion for so long."
Seeing that Aunt Lin had started sobbing and wiping away tears, Ning Zixuan said coldly:
"What you said needs to be verified. You don't need to cry in front of me. After all, I'm not my father, and I won't soften my heart just because I see you crying."
When Aunt Lin heard Ning Zixuan say that, she seemed to choke for a moment. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she hurriedly stopped crying in embarrassment. Then, she turned around and glared at Lin Zhou and Granny Li before slowly returning to her seat.
Seeing that Aunt Lin was no longer stirring up trouble, Jiang Yuwei returned to her seat and then looked at Ning Zixuan and said:
"The princess said that the kitchen's accounts have been increasing month by month since last winter, and they have increased even more during holidays. Now it matches what Aunt Lin said. Ever since Linzhou started sending vegetables to the manor, the manor's expenses have increased significantly."
Ning Zixuan looked coldly at Lin Zhou and said:
"How dare you! You actually dared to cheat our Prince Jing's Mansion! How many lives do you have to do this?! And that whole talk about Aunt Lin taking over the household—was that something Aunt Lin told you?!"
When Aunt Lin heard Ning Zixuan say this, she was so frightened that she stood up and waved her hand, saying:
"Your Highness, you wouldn't dare speak so carelessly. I have never said such a thing, nor have I ever had such a thought!"
Seeing that Aunt Lin was so eager to defend herself, Jiang Yuwei spoke up:
"How do outsiders know so much about what's going on in this mansion? It must be because when Aunt Lin went back to her parents' home, she talked a lot about the Jing Prince's mansion. Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, you, Aunt Lin, have already gained the power to manage the household, while the Princess Consort is just an empty shell."
Jiang Yuwei couldn't help but laugh as she spoke.
"I've heard that you, Aunt Lin, have all your servants call you Princess Consort in your own courtyard."
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