She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 263 - 262: The Family Business of Three Generations

Chapter 263: Chapter 262: The Family Business of Three Generations

Having heard Hu Jing’s explanation, Zhou Bingyi’s mind eased. If the intention behind the trial was not to impose unjustly harsh sentences but rather to conduct legitimate legal proceedings, that was much easier to handle. To have managed to reduce a case inciting civil unrest to a common lawsuit was already quite an achievement. Given the current dynasty’s practice of using silver to reduce sentences—provided the crime involved neither politics nor serious offenses—allowing Liang Qiyuan to spend more silver wasn’t necessarily bad. It would be good for him to face some financial hardship, to better understand himself and for his family to live a safe and peaceful life.

Consequently, the trial concerning Liang Qiyuan was reopened, and his confession was the first piece of evidence examined.

Liang Qiyuan, having learned from Zhou Bingyi that even his brother-in-law, a prefectural magistrate of considerable status, was unable to intervene in matters of inciting rebellion and civil unrest and could even be implicated and dismissed from his position, immediately lost his backbone. On the dais in the courtroom, he answered every question put to him.

The case was straightforward, having already been tried once before. This time around, apart from guiding the proceedings with Liang Qiyuan’s confession, there were few changes, so the retrial concluded quickly.

Discarding any unknown underlying reasons and beginning simply with Lady Qi’s refusal to make pastries upon request, followed by the Liang family’s unwillingness to accept this and subsequent disruptions to the Qi family’s business operations, what ensued was a gradual escalation, resulting in a basic civil dispute.

As for the true reason, Liang Qiyuan wouldn’t dare say at this juncture that he wanted his daughter to marry into or be carried into Sixth Master Rong’s Mansion, and therefore invited Qi Ye over to make pastries in hopes of facilitating an encounter between his daughter and Sixth Master Rong. Naturally, he would only reiterate in court what the Yamen officials prompted him to say.

The gist of this case hinged upon the verdict. The county government office sentenced Liang Qiyuan to compensate the Qi family’s small food shop for operational losses incurred before and after the disturbance, totaling eight hundred taels of patterned silver. Considering that the hooligans involved did not cause serious consequences, they were given a light sentence. Liang Qiyuan was to surrender all the silver used to bribe the hooligans, who themselves were to receive thirty lashes each as punishment. Liang Qiyuan, the instigator of the incident, was sentenced to fifty lashes and five years of labor service.

All of this was settled with silver. The Qi family’s payment was, of course, evident; the eight hundred taels had to be paid forthwith.

Regarding the confiscation of the hooligans’ tainted silver, having endured prison for such a long period and with their earnings taken by the Yamen, they would naturally seek recompense from Liang Qiyuan upon release. The Yamen ruling had made it clear: once the hooligans paid back the full amount of tainted silver, they were prohibited from causing further disturbances, or else those involved would face heavier penalties. The subtext was that Liang Qiyuan must settle the matter himself.

Liang Qiyuan was now as skittish as a spooked bird, dreading the possibility of incurring a capital sentence. To prevent the hooligans from causing further trouble, he would certainly have to pay out more silver.

The greater burden lay in the five years of labor service. The Old Master of the Liang family had never performed such servitude, and the labor required of a criminal was far harsher than that required of ordinary citizens, which in turn meant the silver required for his substitution in service was exponentially greater.

Therefore, when Liang Qiyuan was led out of the Yamen by the bailiffs, it was no surprise that he looked ashen, weak, and unsteady on his feet. Similarly, the people from the Liang Residence who came to receive him were downcast; including just a coachman and a steward, the retinue was notably sparse.

Liang Qiyuan had endured fifty lashes, but with Zhou Bingyi’s intervention, the beating wasn’t serious; at worst, there was bruising and minor skin lacerations. Nevertheless, fifty lashes were no light matter, even if the executioner had been lenient.

Supported by the aging steward, Liang Qiyuan struggled to climb into the carriage and leaned against two headrests inside. Shaking, he asked the steward seated on the driver’s seat, "Why have only two people come? Where are the others?"

The steward’s back stiffened and he turned to respond, "Master, today being your return home, the main wife has been busy directing the servants with their tasks, leaving no others to spare. Therefore, we had no choice but to come alone."

Entering the Liang Residence’s main gate had felt routine, but as the carriage drove unceasingly towards the backyard, Liang Qiyuan sensed something was amiss and asked the steward, "Why are we taking this route?"

By the time Liang Qiyuan realized something was amiss and managed to voice his concerns, the carriage had already arrived at the back courtyard’s gate. The steward alighted first, then turned back to help Liang Qiyuan down.

Liang Qiyuan didn’t move, looking at a Second Gate that was not the original one he knew, and asked the steward, "Why have we stopped here? How did the eldest madame arrange things so early? She can’t possibly expect me to walk back to my room in this state, can she?"

With a pained expression, the steward said, "The Old Master, this place has become our Second Gate. In order to gather the silver needed for the corvée tax, not only the inner court but also the back and side yards have been sold."

"Sold..." Liang Qiyuan repeated subconsciously, his already pale face turning even uglier, "What about the servants, have they all been sold too?"

The steward replied, "The eldest madame said, with no courtyard left, there would be nowhere for the servants to live even if they were kept. Most have been sold, the rest are our hereditary servants and a few useful people. Even many of those hereditary servants have been sent to the countryside to work, after having laid off the original workers there."

No place for the servants to live? Indeed, if the yards to the north and east of the inner court had been sold, there wouldn’t be many rooms left. Liang Qiyuan’s voice trembled as he asked, "What about the farmland and the shops, how much is left?"

"All three shops have been sold. Only half of the farmland is left, the good land; the rest has also been sold," the steward said with difficulty. He was a hereditary servant of the Liang family and knew just how hard it had been to accumulate their family assets—efforts of three generations, just vanished.

"Has our home really fallen to such depths?" Liang Qiyuan’s voice became lower and lower. The strain he had been enduring for days, coupled with the beating he had just received and now this news, finally broke him. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

......

The eight hundred taels in silver notes were brought back by Nanny Jin, which Ye Xinyan looked at, feeling genuinely sick at heart. Even the intricate patterns on the silver notes that she normally liked seemed extraordinarily unpleasant to her now.

She asked Nanny Jin, "Roughly how much silver have our shops lost before and after?"

Nanny Jin replied, "There haven’t been many patrons in our shop recently, yet the kitchen has been tirelessly working. The sales from Great Crane House have increased by quite a bit. The loss isn’t much, just tens of taels."

Ye Xinyan, disgusted, pointed at a few silver notes and said, "What about this excess? What should we do with it?"

Nanny Jin said, "What to do with it? It’s what we rightfully deserve." Nanny Jin stopped Ye Xinyan from speaking further, "I understand what you mean, Ye Zi. We have properly run our business, and you have also done your duties at home. Yet, all of this has been disrupted by that Liang something. The losses of the shop cannot measure what we’ve endured. Just for the Liang family having the audacity to summon Ye Zi to their residence to serve snacks, even if they offered their entire estate as compensation, it wouldn’t be enough to cover their debt."

The more Nanny Jin spoke, the angrier she became. What status did the Liang family have, and what status did the young miss have? To think they would have the young miss serve them was practically courting death.

Alright, alright, ancient people’s ways of thinking are different from hers. Seeing this stance, Ye Xinyan quickly backed off. But she still found the silver notes objectionable, "You handle these silver notes as you see fit, Nanny Jin. They can be used for tipping officials if needed. Just recently, it’s best not to expand the shop front, as it wouldn’t look good."