CHAPTER 565: CHAPTER 554: THE MARCHIONESS’S MAID

"Mother, how much money do you still have at hand?" Zhong Lang’s heart sank as he saw the upset look on his mother’s face, unlike his sister who was less concerned.

Aunt Wei stammered, unable to speak in front of her two children.

Zhong Lang’s face darkened, and his voice grew louder: "Mother, are you still unwilling to tell the truth? If you can’t make up the shortfall in three days, you will go to prison. Eldest Brother is not someone who will be lenient, and the money will still have to be recovered."

Zhong Yin’s face changed upon hearing this: "Eldest Brother really is ruthless, I didn’t expect him to be so heartless."

However, Zhong Lang thought of all the things his mother had done to Eldest Brother and his sister over the years. If it were him, he might not have endured for so many years! But it was precisely because she had endured all these years that her boldness grew, to the point where she almost fell into Hell.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but suspect whether all this was deliberately done by Zhong Jue.

However, Zhong Lang didn’t think about it himself; if Aunt Wei hadn’t been so scheming and greedy from the beginning, even if Zhong Jue had thousands of tricks, he wouldn’t have been able to harm Aunt Wei.

"Tell me, how much silver do you really have at hand now?" Zhong Lang grew impatient and roared.

Aunt Wei was so frightened that she dared not look her son in the eyes, and then whispered, "Thirty thousand taels."

"What did you say?" Zhong Lang widened his eyes, as if he couldn’t believe this news.

Zhong Yin couldn’t help but stare at her in surprise: "Mother, didn’t Eldest Brother say there was a shortage of ten thousand taels? And some antiques and paintings are even worth more than ten thousand taels?"

Facing the accusations of her two children, Aunt Wei started crying again: "What do you two know? I’m just a concubine, and both of you are bastard children. If I didn’t spend more money, would you have such good days? Lang’er, where do you think your Hui Ink and Duan inkstone came from? And Yin’er, aren’t all your pieces of jewelry trendy?"

Zhong Yin was somewhat embarrassed by her words, but Zhong Lang didn’t find it as simple as Aunt Wei said: "Mother, are you still unwilling to tell me the truth? My ink, paper, inkstone, and Yin’er’s jewelry don’t cost over a hundred thousand taels. What did Eldest Brother mean when he said our uncle took our belongings and sold them? Did you use that money to help the Wei Family?"

Aunt Wei’s eyes flickered and she remained silent, evidently admitting it by default.

Zhong Yin could no longer sit still, condemning her mother: "Mother, are you foolish? Don’t you know how greedy the Wei Family is, a bottomless pit?"

Hearing her son’s accusations, Aunt Wei silently shed tears: "What can I do? That’s my maternal family, my own younger brother, can I watch them suffer?"

"Suffer? Where is the Wei Family suffering? Over a hundred thousand taels of silver, Mother, ask yourself, would our Zhong Family spend that much in three years?" Zhong Lang gritted his teeth, feeling both that his mother was foolish and somewhat detestable.

"I will go and take it back." He stood up, his face ashen as he spoke.

Aunt Wei grabbed her son’s sleeve: "Lang’er, can’t we just let it go? How can you take back something that’s been given away? Where would I put my face?"

"Face? You are about to go to prison, and you are still concerned about your face?" Zhong Lang pressed again, "Mother, tell me the truth, over the years, how much have you given to uncle’s family?"

Aunt Wei remained silent for a while, still not speaking.

Zhong Lang laughed furiously, "Fine, if you won’t speak, then I will simply have to shamelessly take everything back from the Wei Family. If they refuse, I will accuse them of stealing our Zhong Family’s property. There are records and witnesses to prove that he has been selling our possessions. He won’t be able to escape even if he wants to."

After saying this, he flung off the hand Aunt Wei had on his sleeve, his face filled with ferocious determination.

Aunt Wei, frightened by her own son, hastily said, "I’ll speak, I’ll speak. Just don’t do anything rash."

In the end, Zhong Lang left with a list, and Aunt Wei collapsed limply to the ground.

However, Zhong Yin, his daughter, did not tend to her distressed mother. Instead, she angrily said, "Mother, I never imagined that Uncle and his son would be more important to you than my brother and me."

After speaking, she too left, no longer paying any attention to her heartbroken mother.

This time, Aunt Wei truly fell ill, which was different from her previous feigned illnesses. She nearly couldn’t leave her bed. Ever since Zhong Jue confined her, those servants who used to flatter her had disappeared, wanting to stay as far away from her courtyard as possible, leaving only one old maid consistently by her side.

"Lady, guess what news I heard today?" One day, Yang Chun entered Zhong Lan’s Qingfeng Courtyard with a face full of glee, barely able to suppress her smile.

Nowadays, Zhong Lan’s belly had grown more prominent, and she was walking slowly in the courtyard with the support of Ye Qiu and Shen Dong, her face wearing a gentle smile, "What good news?"

"It’s about Aunt Wei’s natal family, the Wei Residence. I heard that this morning the Second Young Master had a falling out with them and later somehow moved everything from their place. They even almost reported it to the officials!" Yang Chun said triumphantly, "The scene was said to be quite intense; it’s a pity I missed it by just a step."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Lan asked somewhat puzzled, "Why would Zhong Lang go to the Wei Residence to move things?"

At this point, Ye Qiu smiled ambiguously and speculated, "Could it be that Aunt Wei’s steward has been embezzling a significant amount of silver from the residence these past three years? Was it discovered by the Eldest Young Master who then ordered the Second Young Master to retrieve it? The Wei family has been declining these years, with no income but still spending lavishly. I guess Aunt Wei must have been using the residence’s silver to subsidize the Wei Residence."

"Sister Ye Qiu, you really hit the nail on the head," Yang Chun gave Ye Qiu a thumbs up, her eyes shining, "The news I heard matches exactly. It must be correct. The Eldest Young Master is so domineering, he immediately suppressed Aunt Wei and the Second Young Master’s arrogance."

"Is that so?"

"Lady, let’s just wait and see. Once things settle down on the Eldest Young Master’s side, he will surely come and tell you."

Zhong Lan blinked, her expression not too worried, "Hopefully, it all ends soon."

It’s true that Zhong Jue was no longer the unsupported Eldest Young Master he had been. Since Zhong Lang had caused a scene at the Wei Residence, Duke Wei had even deliberately "bumped into" Zhong Huaiwen after leaving the court, putting even more pressure on Zhong Huaiwen because of Zhong Lang.

Upon returning from the Wei Residence, Zhong Lang checked the silver and antiques against the accounts and found a significant discrepancy, his heart sinking.

"Yin’er, your brother is sorry for failing you. I will compensate you for your ornaments and jewelry later," Zhong Lang eventually sold off his and Aunt Wei’s things, and finding them insufficient, turned to Zhong Yin’s belongings.

Zhong Yin looked incredulously at her elder brother, never expecting him to target her own possessions.