Matriarch Rules, Scumbag Begs - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Cutting Off the Arm

The book Shen Qiuci held up high, Pei Yuanzhou recognized it at a glance.

It was the account book of the Shen family’s gold shop.

General Shen was a brave and skilled warrior, who had made great contributions to the founding of the dynasty, and had received numerous rewards from the court.

Over the years, the accumulated salary and rewards had become a substantial amount, and the Shen family had used this wealth to buy land and open shops, managing their business in an orderly manner, and had become a wealthy and influential family in the capital.

In the past, when Shen shi¹clan name, Shi is added to a married woman’s surname to indicate that is her maiden name’ was in charge of the household, she would often use her own money to support her husband’s family.

Otherwise, with just the salary and a few pieces of land from the Marquis’s mansion, it would be impossible to maintain the luxurious lifestyle they had today.

When they saw Shen Qiuci presenting the account book to the court, Pei Yuanzhou and Xue Yinshuang looked at each other, and both of their faces turned ugly.

The yamen runner presented the account book to Prefect Liu,

After examining it carefully, Prefect Liu discovered that almost every month after Shen Qiuci married into the Marquis’s mansion, a large amount of silver was withdrawn from the account to give to the Marquis’s mansion, ranging from five hundred taels to over a thousand.

He looked up at Shen Qiuci in surprise: “The Marquis’s mansion takes away such a large amount of silver from your family every month?”

“Those were all voluntary donations!”
Before Shen Qiuci could respond, Pei Yuanzhou became anxious first:

“Most of the silver taken by the Marquis’s mansion was used for her own expenses. Prefect Liu should know that a young lady like her, who was spoiled and pampered, is very particular, and anything less than the best can’t meet her standards.”

A basin of dirty water was splashed directly onto Shen Qiuci’s face.

She had just experienced how shameless someone could be when they didn’t care about their dignity, and how they could say anything without hesitation.

She remembered that Xia Shang had told her more than once that since her father and brother died in battle three years ago, the entire Marquis’s mansion would ask her sister for money every day,

One time, the Old madam even said:

“Your father and brother are dead, what’s the point of keeping so much silver in your family? You’re just a widow, how much can you use?”

“You’ve already married into the Marquis’s mansion, the money in the Shen family will eventually belong to your husband’s family.”

“I think it’s too much trouble to take silver every month, why don’t you just hand over the keys to the account books of your family’s gold shops and let us manage them for you?”

“After all, we’re family, you shouldn’t worry about it.”

Just listening to Xia Shang’s retelling of these words made Shen Qiuci’s ears feel uncomfortable.

Sometimes she really couldn’t understand,

Why just for the sake of chastity and virtue, and the three obediences and four virtues, her sister was willing to endure in this demonic den for so many years?

Chastity and virtue, three obediences and four virtues, these were just empty words,

A shackle imposed on women by men,

They used it to constantly force, demand, exploit, and devour,

Hating that women couldn’t be born guilty, and never be able to rise again.

Fortunately, Prefect Liu wasn’t someone to be trifled with, he flipped through the account book for a few pages and asked:

“Then how do you explain the accounts for the past two years? She was bedridden and couldn’t even move, but the Marquis’s mansion still took away so much silver every month. Could it be that it was spent on ghosts?”

“This…”

Pei Yuanzhou couldn’t think of an excuse and was momentarily speechless.

Shen Qiuci immediately said:

“Every expenditure in the gold shop has the recipient’s signature at the end. If you look carefully, you’ll see that during the two years and six months I was bedridden, there was only one person who took silver from the gold shop…”

Her sharp gaze swept across Xue Yinshuang:

“That person is Xue Yinshuang.”

Xue Yinshuang met her gaze and was so scared that she avoided eye contact and buried her head in Pei Yuanzhou’s chest.

Shen Qiuci continued:

“As the Heir’s official wife and the mistress of the Marquis’s mansion, I should be of one mind with the entire Hou’s mansion. When the old marquis passed away last year, if the Marquis’s mansion really encountered difficulties, as his wife and daughter-in-law, it is my duty to help.”

She paused and fixed her gaze on Pei Yuanzhou, who looked increasingly uneasy:

“But what I don’t understand is, Xue Yinshuang took away so much silver from the gold shop, did the young master know about it? If he did, there should be detailed records of every expenditure. Can the Heir show them to me?”

These simple two sentences almost made Pei Yuanzhou sweat.

Records?

How could he possibly keep records?
When the old marquis was still alive, he was able to manage the household to some extent,

But since he passed away, the Hou’s mansion has become chaotic.

The Old madam was like a den of poison, addicted to opium, consuming at least five taels of silver per day;

Pei Yuanzhou loved to gamble and always lost, and after losing, he would gamble again and lose again;

The second sister, Pei Yingchun, married a third-rank general, who lost half his leg in battle two years ago, and now stayed at home with a depressed spirit, Shen Qiuci had to take silver from the Hou’s mansion every now and then to support her husband’s family;

The rest of the concubines also loved luxury, and would throw tantrums if they didn’t get the best food, clothing, and other things.

Not to mention the entire household of servants that needed to be supported,

From inside to outside, which aspect didn’t require a steady flow of silver?

Pei Yuanzhou’s monthly salary of 300 taels, and the rent from the ancestral land, what could it possibly cover?
He couldn’t possibly record in the accounts that the silver taken from the Shen family was used by the Old madam for opium or by him for gambling.

Now that the court was in session, with so many commoners watching from outside, Pei Yuanzhou couldn’t possibly admit that he had used the Shen family’s silver.

He stood frozen in place for a long time without responding to Shen Qiuci, which caused the onlookers to start murmuring and speculating.

Caught in a dilemma, Pei Yuanzhou steeled himself and glanced at Xue Yinshuang, whispering so only she could hear:

“Xue Yinshuang, the Marquis’s mansion’s reputation can’t be tarnished. You have to take the blame for this today, and when we get back to the mansion, we’ll settle scores with her!”

Xue Yinshuang hadn’t fully grasped the meaning of his words when, to her surprise, Pei Yuanzhou slapped her across the face with all his might:

“You wretched thing!”

He knocked Xue Yinshuang to the ground with one slap and pointed at her, furiously reprimanding:

“The dignified Danyang Marquis’s mansion needs to be subsidized with money from the wife’s and concubine’s family? How dare you do such a thing behind my back?”
“Heir, I…”

“How dare you speak!” Pei Yuanzhou glared at her, hinting with his eyes:

“If you’re lacking anything, you can tell me, we can afford it, why do you need to reach out to others?”

Even if Xue Yinshuang wasn’t smart, she understood Pei Yuanzhou’s intention at this moment.

She felt wronged, but considering the bigger picture, she could only endure.

So she grabbed Pei Yuanzhou’s clothes and cried:

“Heir, please calm down, I know I’ve made a mistake!”

Pei Yuanzhou immediately followed up:

“You’re so incompetent, when we get home, I’ll definitely discipline you according to the household rules and teach you some manners!”

Then he apologized to Prefect Liu with a smile:

“Our family’s dirty laundry is being aired in public, I’m sorry to make Prefect Liu laugh. I’ll take Xue Yinshuang back to the mansion and discipline her severely.”

After saying that, he quickly helped Xue Yinshuang up and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Shen Qiuci quickly stepped forward and blocked their way:

“The country has its laws, and the family has its rules, since she admitted to theft in court, this matter can no longer be considered a family affair.”
On the high platform, Prefect Liu also responded sternly:

“That’s right. Today, I’m afraid the Heir can’t take her away just yet.”

Pei Yuanzhou gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes blazing with fury as he glared at Shen Qiuci, almost forcing the words out between his teeth:

“What exactly do you want?”

Shen Qiuci didn’t respond, instead, she clasped her hands together and bowed to the heavens:

“The laws of the Qi dynasty are strict, even the emperor is subject to the same laws as the common people. According to the law…”

She turned her gaze to Xue Yinshuang,

Suddenly, her eyes flashed with determination, and her words were firm and resolute:

“A thief should have one arm cut off as a warning to others!”

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