"Mother Concubine, these lowly servant girls are so bold that they dare to greed so much money. The huge palace was emptied by these moths. My daughter-in-law asked Mother Concubine to order someone to raid the homes of these people, and they must let them Spit out all the greedy money."
Xiao Qin'er was so angry that she almost took the initiative to ask Ying to search the house.
Gu Jiu looked at Xiao Qin'er with a half-smile, and knew that when the money was mentioned, the other party would jump out of her own initiative.
Mother Qin's face turned pale.
She really didn't expect that Gu Jiu would go to check the accounts, and check that Mrs. Zhu and the others were greedy for ink.
After all, in such a short period of time, the people around Gu Jiu are not familiar with the palace, so they have no way to check it.
The servants of the palace are all relatives and relatives, and no one dares to talk nonsense.
However, she still underestimated Gu Jiu's ability.
There is no need to go to the kitchen to investigate, and there is no need to take witnesses.
Directly call up the kitchen account book, compare prices, black and white, no fake.
As long as you are careful enough, you can check all the tricks in the ledger.
After all, he has so much money in greed, he must find a way to settle the account.
If you can't make something out of nothing, then increase the volume and increase the price.
A penny worth of eggs, with an additional price, becomes twenty pennies.
One tael of mutton, with a price increase, becomes five taels.
One hundred chickens, if you change the number, it becomes two hundred chickens.
Anyone who has been on the street and paid attention to the price will know the problem at a glance.
This move is really ruthless.
What frightened Nanny Qin even more was that the fourth wife, Xiao Qin'er, jumped out to join in the fun and urged the concubine to ransack the house.
Nanny Qin is still hesitating whether to stand up and speak out, but Mrs. Pei has already made up her mind.
If only a few hundred taels or thousands of taels are greedy for ink, Mrs. Pei would just turn a blind eye.
But a rough calculation shows that in the past few years, let alone greedy ink has cost tens of thousands of taels, or even three to forty thousand taels, and Mrs. Pei can't bear anything.
She immediately ordered, "Wen Zhong."
"The old slave is here."
Wen Zhong is Pei's servant.
Mrs. Pei said sharply: "Immediately take the guards, go to these houses, and copy the inside and outside of this princess, not leaving a single piece to these moths. All the items are registered and recorded. Afterwards, the princess took out two Success, reward you."
Wen Zhong bowed to accept the order, "This old slave obeys the order, and I will definitely live up to my mother's entrustment."
After finishing speaking, Wen Zhong looked at Mother Qin who was standing behind Mrs. Pei, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
Mother Qin's heart turned cold, and she had a bad premonition.
She hastily said: "Your Majesty, why don't you go over and watch with Eunuch Wen?"
Mrs. Pei glanced at her, "No need. You just stay by my princess's side."
Mother Qin is in a hurry, what should I do.
Master Shi hurriedly came to the Chunhe Hall, the family order of the Wangfu, "I will see the princess."
Mrs. Pei threw the ledger directly in his face, "Jialing, tell my princess what's going on with these ledgers? Don't tell my princess, don't you see the tricks in it
The moths in the kitchen have been greedy for tens of thousands of taels of silver in just a few years. As the master of the family order, you should play the role of supervision.
But what did you do? You pretend you didn't see it? Is it possible that you also have a share of the money that the kitchen is greedy for ink? "
The royal family ordered to open the account book, and the markings on it were clear and clear.
When he saw it, he knew it was Gu Jiu's handwriting.
Only the eldest lady has the ability to check all dozens of ledgers in just one or two days.
He closed the account book, bowed and said: "The supervision of the lower officials is not good, please punish me."
"Of course my concubine will punish you. But you should clarify the matter first. Why do you turn a blind eye to such a serious corruption of ink? Why has my concubine never heard you mention this matter?"
Pei Shi was really angry.
How dare he covet her money, it's still tens of thousands of taels, courting death.
Concubine Shen suddenly spoke out, persuading: "Your Majesty, calm down. Maybe the Master Family Order has some unavoidable difficulties."
"Shut up!" Pei sternly scolded Concubine Shen.
Concubine Shen made a fuss, it was really embarrassing.
Concubine Luo secretly laughed, mocking Concubine Shen for being out of season.
Mrs. Pei pointed to Master Jia Ling, "Today you must explain the matter clearly, otherwise, this princess will report to the lord and hand you over to the Prisoner of the Shaofu, who will interrogate you."
The royal family ordered a sigh. So far, he can only tell the truth.
"Reporting to the empress, it's not that the lower officials are not effective in supervision. The lower officials have reported the corruption of ink in the kitchen several times, but they were all stopped by the people around the empress. They also said that the empress already knew about it, and the empress knew it well. The lower official thought, Maybe the empress didn't touch the kitchen because she had other intentions. Therefore, Xiaguan Quan pretends not to know about it."
Pei Shi was slapped in the face now.
She was obviously stunned for a moment, "You said that you reported the greedy ink in the kitchen several times, why is this princess not aware of it at all."
After she finished speaking, she looked at several confidant maids beside her.
The maidservants all lowered their heads guiltily.
"Tell me! Who is it that blocked the family order? And who passed down the princess' order?"
Pei was out of anger.
OK!
Take precautions against everything, house thieves are hard to guard against.
After checking and checking, it turned out that the source of the matter was beside me.
No wonder when Gu Jiu moved the kitchen, everyone below jumped out to excuse the kitchen staff.
If Gu Jiu hadn't checked the ledger and found evidence of ink corruption in the kitchen, Mrs. Zhu's group would have been saved by them.
hehe!
Pei sneered coldly.
But no one spoke.
Pei's face was distorted, and he asked sharply: "Master Jialing, you tell this princess directly, who will pass on your words to the servants around this princess? Who will pass on this princess' order falsely?"
The servant of the Wangfu bowed and said: "I want to report to your majesty, Xiaguan and the four maidservants beside your majesty, as well as Mother Qin, have all come into contact with each other. But every time, they stopped them.
Originally, the official wanted to report to the prince, but Mother Qin said that the empress had already made up her mind on this matter, and told the official not to disturb the prince with internal affairs.
The lower official was confused, believed what the nanny said, and suppressed the matter. "
"You're talking nonsense!" Nanny Qin jumped out in a hurry and pointed at the palace order, "I have no grievances with you, why did you want to kill me? Did the eldest lady tell you to say that? Eldest lady, you have a high position and authority!" , you don’t want to be as knowledgeable as a slave.”
Nanny Qin knelt on the ground, weeping and crying, feeling extremely wronged.
Gu Jiu remained expressionless, "Nurse, why do you come to bite my wife when the lord orders you to identify you? Or is it in your eyes that my wife is easy to bully when you are not around?"
"No slaves. Da Furen, you can't wrong slaves."
Gu Jiu sneered, "Have you been wronged? When Eunuch Wen comes back from raiding the house, the truth will come to light. Or is it that Mammy can't wait for that time, because you know that Eunuch Wen will definitely copy things that are not good for you, right?" ?”
"No, it's not."
"Then you should explain the matter clearly. The Master Family Order wants to meet the princess, why do you block it, and dare to pass on the princess' order? Are you not afraid of death?"
The word "death" shocked Nanny Qin.
She looked carefully at Mrs. Pei.
Pei's face turned livid, "What else do you have to say
Qin Nanny cried: "Princess Mingjian, slaves are really wronged!"
The family order of the Wangfu said: "The last time the official asked to meet the empress, and wanted to mention the matter of greedy ink in the kitchen, was on the second day of the eldest son's wedding last year. It was in the outer courtyard of Chunhe Hall. At that time, Nanny Qin would The lower officials blocked it and came back. Chen Liangyuan and Xu Cairen will testify about this matter. Your Majesty can send someone to thoroughly investigate this matter."
The time, place, and witnesses are all there.
How will Nanny Qin retort now
Qin Nanny's face turned pale, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I will never dare again in the future, please give me another chance, Your Majesty."
"shut up!"
Mrs. Pei was very disappointed and very angry, "It's in vain that my princess values you so much, she relies on you in everything, and she treats you well on weekdays. In the end, you actually cheated on this princess together with these maids. You really think that this princess is a dead person , can I let you handle it?"
The four maidservants knelt on the ground together and kowtowed to plead guilty.
Pei said angrily: "My concubine has been cultivating herself for the past few years, and I will tell you to handle everything. This concubine trusts you and usually does not ask carefully afterwards.
In the end, you relied on my concubine's trust to run amok and connive at corruption. These are just the things that were found out. I don’t know how many things you have committed in private that have not been found out.
This concubine is really blind, she would reuse things that you pigs and dogs are not as good as. Someone, drag them out and hand them over to Chang En. "
Chang En is the servant next to King Ning, and used to work as a servant of the execution department in the palace.
None of those who fell into Chang En's hands could survive intact. Undead is also disabled.
All in all it ended badly.
When the maids and Nanny Qin heard that they were going to be delivered to Chang En, they were all scared.
Several people kowtowed frequently, their scalps were broken.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, please forgive me!"
"The servant girl will not dare again, please forgive me once."
"The servant girl exposed the report and begged the empress to spare her life."
"The slaves also revealed that Concubine Shen and Concubine Luo were involved with the wives in the kitchen. Many of the money that Mrs. Zhu and the others were greedy for ink went into the purses of the two concubines."
"I'll kill you, you bastard."
Concubine Shen and Concubine Luo jumped up together and beat the maid who made the report.
The attack was extremely vicious, as if he was about to slap the opponent to death.
"Presumptuous! Dare to do it in the face of the real princess. Do you still have this princess in your eyes? Come, take care of Concubine Shen and Concubine Luo. In addition, invite the prince."
Concubine Shen said angrily: "Your Majesty, just relying on a servant girl who didn't know the truth or falsehood, ordered us to be guarded. I don't accept it. Concubine Luo and I also have the Jade Butterfly Gold Book in our hands, and we are high-ranking people. Such treatment will never be accepted.”
Concubine Luo nodded again and again, "May I ask you to take back your order. This servant girl was eager to get away and deliberately grabbed us, so she must not be forgiven lightly."
"The servant did not lie, this matter is absolutely true. If the servant has a lie, he will be struck by lightning when he goes out."
The maid named Tangerine swears and swears, her expression firm and resolute. It seems that he has made up his mind to take the road of reporting and exposing and getting away.
The other maidservants still hesitated and did not act.
Concubine Shen scolded angrily, "Baby maid, who gave you the guts to make you grab and bite at random. Do you know that you will be shot with a stick if you frame up a random frame?"
The servant girl Miju said with a firm expression: "I have not framed anything, and everything I said is true."
Ouyang Fu suddenly stood up from her seat and walked to Mi Ju.
"Miju, I know you. Your brother works as an errand in the village, and your sister-in-law works in the kitchen. My nephew learns from the steward. Even if you don't think about yourself, you should also think about your family. Do you know that slandering the master is not only You have consequences, and it will implicate your family."
It's a good trick to intimidate and lure.
Gu Jiu looked at Ouyang Fu with a half-smile. For the mother-in-law, Concubine Shen, Ouyang Fu really did her best.
Ouyang Fu doesn't care about anyone's eyes, she can't let Miju continue to bite.
What she said was not only a warning to Tangerine, but also to others. Keep your mouth shut, and you can survive. If anyone dares to speak nonsense, not only will he be shot, but his family members will also be implicated.
The threat worked.
The few maids who were still hesitating all retreated, just apologizing, and did not dare to bite other people.
Only Tangerine, standing in the air, can't go up or down.
She was pale and looked frightened.
Xiao Qin'er snorted, "Second sister-in-law, you dare to threaten others in front of my mother and concubine, what is your intention?"
have to!
Before Pei's fight with the two side concubines was over, Xiao Qin'er and Ouyang Fu, the sisters-in-law, started fighting again.
Ouyang Fu looked back at Xiao Qin'er, "Fourth brother and sister, you can eat indiscriminately, but you can't talk indiscriminately. I just kindly reminded Miju to be careful when she speaks. Don't open your mouth to talk nonsense, it will be very dangerous."
Xiao Qin'er chuckled, "Mother Concubine, take Miju down here and let people have a trial for themselves. It's clear at a glance whether it's true or not. No matter who it is, as long as they are greedy for money, they will spit it out."
Ouyang Fu smiled softly, "Fourth brother and sister, I remember last month that the sewing room was damaged, saying that a batch of silks and satins were eaten by moths. By the way, how do you deal with the damaged silks and satins? Today, in front of the concubine mother , the fourth sibling might as well teach us."
Xiao Qin'er's face changed slightly, she gritted her teeth at Ouyang Fu.
Ouyang Fu smiled contemptuously and fought with her, Xiao Qin'er was still a little tender.
Gu Jiu looked at this scene with a half-smile.
She knew that if the two fought, Xiao Qin'er would definitely suffer.
Xiao Qin'er is too impatient and takes money too seriously. In these two points alone, she lost to Ouyang Fu.
In addition, she was not thorough enough in her work, and her method of corruption was too rough, no wonder she was caught by Ouyang Fu.
Xiao Qin'er didn't complain about the loss.
After learning the lesson, Xiao Qin'er did not dare to speak recklessly.
However, in my heart, I made a serious note.
Mrs. Pei has been watching all these farces indifferently, and she is very clear about Xiao Qin'er's greed for ink. For Liu Yi's sake, Mrs. Pei has always turned a blind eye.
It's just that she didn't expect Xiao Qin'er to be so careless in her actions that Ouyang Fu caught her and exposed her old background in public.
Pei was very disappointed.
Xiao Qin'er is too unmotivated.
Pei said angrily: "Has my concubine allowed you to speak?"
When she said this, she glanced at Ouyang Fu, obviously hitting him.
Ouyang Fu returned to her seat, her brows were lowered, she changed from her previous aggressiveness.
Xiao Qin'er snorted coldly: Pretend! See how long you can hold it.
Mrs. Pei continued: "My princess will definitely investigate the corruption of ink in the kitchen to the end. No matter who it is, as long as it is involved, it will not be lightly forgiven."
At this time, the servants who went to invite King Ning came back.
"Reporting to the concubine, the prince said that he would not come here. He asked the younger one to tell the empress that in troubled times, one more thing is worse than one less thing. The servants who commit crimes should be beaten or killed, and it is up to the empress to decide what to do. In addition, the prince He also said that he would invite Lord Shen and Lord Luo to drink some other day."
Concubine Shen and Concubine Luo burst into smiles when they heard this.
He lowered his head, secretly happy in his heart.
The Shen family and the Luo family are both officials and eunuchs with backgrounds.
Concubine Shen and Concubine Luo's father and brother are also court officials.
In other words, both the Shen family and the Luo family are supported by King Ning.
That's why King Ning turned a blind eye to side concubine Shen and concubine Luo's greed for ink, and regarded it as pocket money for the two concubines.
Pei knew this would be the result.
However, she was still annoyed.
It really doesn't make sense.
Mrs. Pei ordered directly, "From now on, Mrs. Shen and Mrs. Luo, you two will no longer be in charge, and hand over all the keys to the cards in your hands."
Concubine Luo refused to accept, and defended a few words in a low voice.
Snapped!
Mrs. Pei patted the table, pointed at Concubine Luo, and angrily reprimanded, "My concubine has not died for a day, this palace is my concubine's final decision. If you don't accept it, then get out."
Concubine Luo was very embarrassed, covered her face, and ran out crying.
Mrs. Pei snorted coldly, "Who else refuses to accept my concubine's arrangement?"
No one said anything.
Pei Shi calmed down a little.
After thinking about it, she still couldn't hand over Sister Qin and the others to Chang En.
If a few maids can't bear the torture, some of them all confide in the ears of the prince, it will be troublesome.
Pei made a decision, and when Wen Zhong came back, she handed over all the maids and Nanny Qin to Wen Zhong.