Shen Lixue frowned. The main warehouse contained mostly medicinal herbs and precious silks, while headdresses and jewelry were almost all stored in the small warehouse. Lei Shi kept finding reasons to prevent the inventory of the small warehouse. Was she trying to give Aunt Zhao a hard time, or was there something wrong with the small warehouse?
“The small storeroom has always been independent and managed by the Madam’s people. It’s safe and secure. Aunt Zhao only has one month of management authority, so she shouldn’t be involved. But now that Aunt Zhao is in charge, the items in the large storeroom don’t match up. It’s very possible that the servants mistakenly put them in the small storeroom. Even if the Madam doesn’t let Aunt Zhao take inventory of the small storeroom, she should at least let her go in and look for those valuable items. If they really were put in the small storeroom, and Aunt Zhao is blamed for dereliction of duty, wouldn’t that be unfair to her?”
"The small warehouse is my private warehouse, and it has nothing to do with the things in the Prime Minister's residence. The things in the large warehouse will never be in the small warehouse, and Aunt Zhao has no right to look at them!" Lei Yarong stood at the door, looking down at Shen Lixue and Aunt Zhao Liang with a slightly arrogant and superior expression. How could she allow her lowly and despicable concubine to count or touch her precious dowry?
Aunt Zhao's face turned pale instantly; Lei Yarong was about to accuse her of dereliction of duty in managing the household.
Shen Lixue smiled coldly. She hadn't said anything, yet Lei Shi reacted so strongly. The small warehouse was very suspicious: "When Madam married Father, she became a member of the Prime Minister's household. Madam's dowry also belonged to the Prime Minister's household. Aunt Zhao manages the entire Prime Minister's household, and the small warehouse is also under her jurisdiction..."
The implication was that discussing it with Lei Yarong was a way of respecting her; if she insisted on not handing over the keys, Aunt Zhao could have simply broken down the door and forced her way into the small warehouse.
Lei's face darkened, and he stared coldly at Shen Lixue: "Are you threatening me?"
"This is not a threat, but a persuasion. As long as Madam opens the door to the small storeroom and lets Aunt Zhao find those items, the matter can be easily resolved!"
Shen Lixue smiled sweetly, which was as refreshing as a spring breeze. But in Lei Shi's eyes, there was a strong sense of pride and provocation: "What if someone is dishonest and takes the opportunity to embezzle my dowry and jewelry? Wouldn't I have nowhere to seek justice?"
"If Madam is worried, she can send someone to help search for those items!" Shen Lixue just wanted to see if Lin Qingzhu's jewelry was in the small warehouse. Even if Lei's people followed, it wouldn't matter.
"The steward must take on the responsibility of managing the household. The small warehouse is also under his jurisdiction, so let Aunt Zhao go in and check it!" Shen Minghui, who had not spoken until now, frowned and spoke up. He did not understand the affairs of the backyard, but he knew that the items had to be cataloged, categorized, and clearly counted. How could he manage the Prime Minister's residence if he was confused and unclear about everything?
With Shen Minghui speaking personally, Lei Shi could no longer refuse. She glanced at Shen Lixue and Aunt Zhao; whether they truly cared about the lost valuables or had other reasons, she wasn't worried about them tampering with the small storeroom. Once they came out empty-handed, well…
"Granny Mi!"
"Yes, Madam!" Granny Mi stepped forward, took a bunch of keys from Madam Lei, and expressionlessly led everyone to the small storeroom: "Aunt Zhao, Eldest Miss, please follow me!"
The small warehouse was used to store Lei's dowry. It wasn't placed too far away, but in the west wing of the elegant garden. When the sturdy door was opened, a hundred large chests came into view. Shen Lixue saw a deep sense of amazement flash in Aunt Zhao's eyes.
Upon entering the warehouse, Shen Lixue casually opened a box and was immediately struck by its dazzling display of various golden and glittering hairpins, earrings, jade bracelets, and other jewelry, which filled the box and were a sight to behold.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. Grand Commandant Lei was truly well-off, giving such a generous dowry to the Lei family. After carefully examining the various pieces of jewelry, she did not see any familiar markings. Shen Lixue closed the lid and continued to look at the next box.
Aunt Zhao stood beside a box of jewelry, staring in a daze. Ai Qu stood there without moving. This box of dowry was enough for her to live on for a lifetime. Lei Ya Rong actually had nearly a hundred boxes. She was truly blessed!
"Young Miss, Madam's dowry is very valuable, please do not touch it casually!" Shen Lixue opened a box and was about to examine the patterns on the jewelry when Granny Mi's arrogant reminder rang out from the side.
Shen Lixue straightened up and looked at her coldly: "Granny Mi, the few items that went missing from the main warehouse were mixed in with these dowry items. If they were buried at the very bottom, how could we find them without searching carefully!"
The jewelry was very delicate and was arranged in layers, one by one, very neatly, so that it was easy to see at a glance. Shen Lixue had been looking at the jewelry without touching it. The earrings at the bottom were placed at the very back, and the patterns were covered up so she couldn't see them. She was thinking of pulling some out when Granny Mi immediately came to stop her. Did Lei Yarong cherish these jewelry, or did she look down on others because of their low status and thought they were not worthy to touch her hairpins and earrings?
"These pieces of jewelry are worth nearly a thousand taels of silver, extremely valuable, and cannot be made to the slightest mistake. If Miss wishes to see them, I will fetch them!" With that, Granny Mi carefully and slowly took out the jewelry, moving as slowly as a snail, as if handling precious treasures, carefully and cautiously presenting it to Shen Lixue, only to find that Shen Lixue had already finished looking at the next box of jewelry...
Granny Mi deliberately delayed, hoping to anger Shen Lixue. This way, Granny Mi could find an excuse to stop inspecting the small warehouse. But Shen Lixue was not fooled by such a silly trick.
"Young Miss!" Granny Mi called out loudly, holding the earrings in her hands, reminding Shen Lixue that she was waiting for her to check them.
Shen Lixue's gaze fell on another box of jewelry. Without turning her head, she waved her hand lightly and said, "Put it in!" The moment Granny Mi took the jewelry, she had already seen the pattern on it and realized that it was not the jewelry she was looking for.
Granny Mi went to great lengths to take out the earrings, but Shen Lixue didn't even look at them and told her to put them back. She was clearly playing a trick on her!
Shen Lixue was the mistress, and Granny Mi was the servant. She dared not contradict Shen Lixue too much. Two clusters of anger flashed in her old eyes as she glared at Shen Lixue hatefully before slowly putting the earrings back into the box.
Seeing Granny Mi's anger and resentment, Shen Lixue smiled coldly and continued to open the box to examine the jewelry.
After an incense stick had burned, Shen Lixue and Aunt Zhao returned to the courtyard after they finished looking at the small warehouse.
"Have you found the missing items from the main warehouse?" Madam Lei looked down at Shen Lixue and Aunt Zhao, her eyes flashing with a cold light. Her warehouse and the main warehouse were completely unrelated, and there was no way she would find anything from the main warehouse. Aunt Zhao, Shen Lixue actually dared to forcibly search her warehouse; they were truly audacious.
"Found it!" Aunt Zhao displayed a set of South China Sea pearl jewelry in front of Madam Lei and smiled, "This is the set of jewelry that was lost from the main warehouse!"
Seeing Lei's gloomy face, Aunt Zhao felt extremely pleased. Fortunately, she had listened to the eldest young lady's advice and secretly hid this set of jewelry as a shield. Otherwise, Lei would have punished her severely if she hadn't found anything.
"Madam, you must take stock of this small storeroom every now and then. Even if the servants accidentally put away the South China Sea pearl jewelry by mistake, they should be able to find it when they take inventory of the jewelry. Why has no one said anything?"
Shen Lixue smiled slightly, knowingly asking the question, while secretly condemning Lei for knowing the truth but not reporting it, and for trying to embezzle the South China Sea pearl jewelry and frame Aunt Zhao.
"I've been busy lately and haven't checked for a while..." Lei glanced coldly at Shen Lixue, casually brushing her off, secretly annoyed. There's no way there would be anything in the small warehouse. This set of jewelry must have been brought over by Aunt Zhao. Didn't I ask Granny Mi to keep an eye on them? How did they still manage to frame her?
Granny Mi knew that Shen Lixue was cunning and kept a close eye on her, but she never expected that Shen Lixue would deliberately attract Granny Mi's attention so that Aunt Zhao could secretly do something.
"So that's how it is!" Shen Lixue nodded in understanding, looking at Lei Shi with a half-smile: "As the mistress of the Prime Minister's residence, Madam has kept the things in the Prime Minister's residence and her own belongings in such a clear order for so many years. You are truly amazing. If things in the Prime Minister's residence hadn't been a bit chaotic, these South Sea pearl jewelry pieces wouldn't have been mistakenly put into the small warehouse!"
Shen Lixue's praise successfully darkened Shen Minghui's face. He stared coldly at Lei Shi. After so many years of marriage, he had always trusted her and entrusted her with all the affairs of the Prime Minister's residence. But Lei Shi had always been wary of him. The Prime Minister's residence's main warehouse contained the family's belongings, while her small warehouse contained her dowry and jewelry. She was guarding it very carefully.
Startled, Lei saw that Shen Lixue was sowing discord. She looked up at Shen Minghui and said urgently, "Master, I..."
"I'm tired!" Shen Minghui interrupted Lei's explanation angrily, stood up, and strode out without looking back. Shen Yingxue called out to him anxiously from behind, but he pretended not to hear.
"The jewelry has been found, so I won't bother you any longer, Madam. Farewell!" Aunt Zhao smiled, curtsied, and turned to leave smugly. Just thinking about Shen Minghui's gloomy face made her laugh uncontrollably.
Lei Yarong actually angered the master so much that he also disliked the second young lady. Now that the power of housekeeping is back in his hands, hehe, just wait and see.
"Shen Lixue, what exactly do you want to do?" Shen Lixue turned to leave, but Lei called out to her in a cold voice, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger. She had been fighting with Aunt Zhao for many years and knew Aunt Zhao's capabilities. She would never think of such a way to force her way into her small warehouse. She must have been instructed by Shen Lixue.
Shen Lixue stopped and smiled slightly: "I want to help Madam take stock of her dowry and register it to avoid any oversights!"
"You're really that kind?" Lei looked at her with a mixture of mockery and sarcasm.
"Whether I have such good intentions or not, Madam can see it all. There are still half a month left before Madam is released from confinement, so I won't disturb Madam from copying the Peace Sutra. Farewell!" Shen Lixue smiled lightly and walked out of Ya Garden without looking back. Even after she had walked a long way, she could still feel Lei Shi's cold gaze directed at her.
Shen Lixue slowed her pace, her brows furrowing slightly. She looked through all the jewelry in the small warehouse and only saw a pair of earrings and a jade pendant with Lin Qingzhu's jewelry mark. These two items were the finest of the fine, much better than the jewelry from the Lei family.
Shen Yingxue's clothes and jewelry were all managed by the Lei family. High-ranking nobles often prefer to have their jewelry and clothes custom-made, but they will also buy beautiful finished products. Fifteen years ago, Lin Qingzhu sold half of her dowry. That purple hairpin might be a finished product sold by Baozhai. Go and check it out yourself.
Shen Lixue arrived at Baozhai Store by carriage. A waiter quickly stepped forward and greeted her with a smile: "Miss, please come in. What kind of jewelry would you like to see?"
"I want to see some of the finest jewelry." Lin Qingzhu's jewelry is all of excellent quality; it would be the best in any store. If you want to find her jewelry, you have to see the very best.