Ye Jingchuan had no intention of starving Ye Chutang to death, but the order to have the guards keep watch over her had indeed come from him. Seeing her words grow increasingly venomous, he quickly interrupted her.
"Chu'er, don’t worry. As your father, I will find whoever tried to harm you and make them pay."
Having said that, he swiftly changed the subject.
"You’ve suffered all these years. Once we return to the Minister's Mansion, I’ll make it up to you."
Ye Chutang’s eyes sparkled. "No need to wait until we’re back. Compensate me now."
Ye Jingchuan: "..."
"How would you like me to make it up to you?"
"First, give me everything valuable you have on you as interest. Then, once we’re back, hand over ten thousand taels of silver for me to spend."
If Ye Jingchuan had been drinking water, he would have spat it out immediately.
"Ten thousand taels?! My monthly salary is only sixty dan of rice. Even if I didn’t eat or drink for a year, my official salary would only amount to eighteen hundred taels!"
(Note: Officials’ salaries were calculated in refined rice. One dan was worth two taels, though prices could rise during famine years.)
And that was after factoring in all the subsidies and allowances from the court.
Of course, he owned fertile farmland and shops, skimmed profits from the Ministry of Revenue, and frequently accepted gifts. Earning ten thousand taels a year wasn’t difficult.
But why should he give his hard-earned money to Ye Chutang?
Ye Chutang didn’t care whether Ye Jingchuan was truly broke or just pretending.
If he wanted her to return to the Minister's Mansion, he had to show some sincerity.
"Minister Ye, I’ve been away for fifteen years. Ten thousand taels spread over that time comes to just a few hundred taels per year. Forget your precious son—just look at Ye Anling. She must have spent at least fifty thousand taels over the years, if not a hundred thousand."
"You claim to have missed me, but in reality, you’re stingy to the bone, full of empty promises. Save your sweet talk for Ye Anling. I don’t want it. Farewell."
With that, she picked up the bundle from the stone table and turned to leave.
Ye Jingchuan thought of Ye Anling, who had been reduced to tears after catching the eye of Eunuch De, and grabbed Ye Chutang’s arm.
"Chu'er, it’s not that I’m unwilling to give you the silver—I truly don’t have that much. How about five thousand taels? That’s all the savings I’ve scraped together after years in office."
Ye Chutang shook off his hand, her smile not reaching her eyes.
"I never imagined Minister Ye was so hard-pressed. I suppose I shouldn’t return and add to your burdens. Goodbye!"
Ye Jingchuan: "..."
"Without a travel permit, where do you think you’ll go?"
"With my looks, I could easily marry a wealthy local landowner. That’s better than returning to the Minister's Mansion to live in poverty."
"Silence! Marrying without parental consent is unfilial. Do you want to be caned?"
Seeing him invoke the law, Ye Chutang guessed his real motive for bringing her back: a political marriage.
Since her scoundrel of a father had ulterior motives, she felt even more emboldened.
"Speaking of marriage, Minister Ye, being the upright and incorruptible official you are, surely you haven’t touched my mother’s dowry of one hundred and twenty-eight chests? Otherwise, the grand Minister's Mansion wouldn’t be left with only five thousand taels to its name."
Ye Chutang’s birth mother, Tang Wanning, was the beloved daughter of the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan.
For her wedding, her father had commissioned the largest chests to hold the finest dowry—each so heavy it took four men to carry.
One hundred and twenty-eight chests in total, filling an entire merchant ship that sailed from Jiangnan to the capital.
On the wedding day, the procession stretched for miles, causing a sensation in the capital.
Ye Jingchuan’s meteoric rise to become Minister of Revenue at a young age was due to two things:
First, his late wife’s dowry paved his way up the ranks.
Second, he helped the new emperor confiscate the Tang Family’s assets in Jiangnan, filling the imperial coffers.
His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he looked at Ye Chutang’s mocking expression.
"I never realized my daughter was so clever, remembering things from when she was barely a year old."
"You flatter me, Minister Ye. It was my grandfather who sent someone to visit me in the countryside and told me about my mother. That’s how I learned even a single item from her dowry was worth a fortune."
A flash of murderous intent crossed Ye Jingchuan’s eyes.
If a wife died without leaving behind children, her family could reclaim her dowry.
That was why he had never planned to kill Ye Chutang.
But now she was eyeing her mother’s priceless dowry!
He needed to get his hands on the last copy of the dowry list and destroy it—only then could he rest easy.
"Chu'er, don’t worry. I haven’t touched your mother’s dowry. But before she passed, she decreed that all her children, whether born of the principal wife or a concubine, would be treated equally. Her dowry is to be divided among all of you."
Ye Chutang didn’t believe a word of it but saw no point in arguing.
"Fine. I’ll go back with you. Once I get my share of the dowry, I’ll leave."
Hearing this, Ye Jingchuan suddenly saw a way to obtain the dowry list.
"Chu'er, the dowry will only be given to you when you marry. When that time comes, I’ll not only give you a larger share but also add to it myself."
The promise was too grand to swallow in one bite.
Just as Ye Chutang was about to retort sarcastically, Ye Jingchuan added,
"You’ve suffered enough all these years. The ten thousand taels you asked for—I’ll find a way to give it to you. Just behave yourself in the Minister's Mansion and learn the proper etiquette. Your mother will arrange a suitable marriage for you."
"Wait—my mother is dead. Are you planning a ghost marriage for me?"
Ye Jingchuan’s temples throbbed with anger.
"Kong Ru is now the mistress of the household. Whether you like her or not, you must address her as ‘Mother.’"
Ye Chutang’s eyes turned icy, her lips curling in disdain.
"I don’t even acknowledge you as my father—why would I acknowledge a mere stepmother? If she wants to be my mother, she can die first."
"No negotiation!"
The coldness in her gaze gave Ye Jingchuan pause.
He sighed. "Fine. You can call her that once you’ve accepted her. But once we’re back, you mustn’t speak so recklessly—it’ll make us a laughingstock."
"I don’t start fights, but I won’t take abuse either. If Minister Ye wants to avoid chaos at home, tell your wives and children not to provoke me."
She held out her hand. "Now, give me the interest."
Ye Jingchuan was relieved he hadn’t brought much silver on this trip.
He handed over the loose change from his purse and two fifty-tael banknotes from his sleeve.
Ye Chutang didn’t complain. After pocketing the money, she slung the bundle over her shoulder.
"Let’s—"
Before she could finish, Chen Zhong rushed into the estate, drenched in sweat.
"Master, disaster has struck!"
Ye Jingchuan frowned. "What’s happened to make you so frantic?"
Catching his breath, Chen Zhong said, "Master, the wheat in the granary is gone."
After gathering information about the young mistress in the village, he had passed by the granary on his way back.
With the recent rains, he’d wanted to check if the wheat had gotten damp.
But when he opened the door, the granary was completely empty—not a single grain remained.
Ye Jingchuan’s mind immediately jumped to one conclusion:
A coordinated theft by the guards!
The granary was guarded in shifts. For all the wheat to disappear without a trace, every single guard must have been in on it.
How dare they steal from him!
Just then, Uncle Fu, the granary keeper, arrived.
Pale-faced and unsteady on his feet, he knelt before Ye Jingchuan, sweating profusely.
"This old servant failed to protect the grain. Punish me as you see fit, Master."
Ye Jingchuan glared coldly at Uncle Fu. "Two hundred dan of wheat—gone just like that?"
(Note: 1 dan ≈ 150 catties; coarse grain sells for 1 tael of silver per dan.)
Ye Chutang watched Ye Jingchuan, who looked ready to devour someone, and thought to herself:
Thank goodness she’d had the foresight to dig a secret tunnel earlier—otherwise, she’d have dragged down the only member of the Ye family who’d ever shown the original host any kindness.
