Time Travel: The Noble Family
Chapter 435 - 157: An Incident

Chapter 435: Chapter 157: An Incident

Lady Mo and the others left, and she grabbed the teacup in her hand and smashed it to the ground.

With gritted teeth, Lady Mo said to the incoming Nanny Lau, "Investigate for me, find out who leaked this matter to the Old Master." Only a few close confidants knew about this; it must have been one of them who betrayed her.

Nanny Lau’s heart skipped a beat; the suspects included her. Her mind raced, and she quickly said to Lady Mo, "Madam, the people within the mansion should be fine. What I’m afraid of is..." She dared not finish her sentence. Their actions have always been covert; if there were an issue, it would more likely be from Uncle Master’s side. Of course, this secrecy was only relative; the significant movements regarding Madam’s dowry to cover the deficits were evident. Anyone who was observant could notice something odd.

Lady Mo’s face turned ashen, and in her heart, she agreed with Nanny Lau’s reasoning. The chances of one of her confidants betraying her were slim; it was quite possible, as Nanny Lau suggested, that the issue lay with her brother, Mo Jun.

When Mo Jun came to mind, it pained Lady Mo. If only she had listened to Yuehuan’s council that day and sold the lip rouge directly, she would have made a lot of money. But she followed Mo Jun’s advice to collaborate with Yu’s store, not expecting the lip rouge formula to leak. Now, even selling the improved formula to Yu’s store didn’t fetch a satisfactory price. If Mo Jun hadn’t persistently claimed the business was extremely profitable and encouraged her to buy more, she wouldn’t have invested her entire fortune.

Yueyao probably never imagined that her actions, initially intended just to cause a rift between Lady Mo and Lian Dongfang, would actually lead to estrangement between Lady Mo and her brother.

Nanny Deng, having received the message passed along by Yueyao’s messengers, was astounded. She never expected Lady Mo to dare borrow usury to engage in maritime trade.

Naturally, Nanny Deng reveled in Lady Mo’s loss. At the same time, she was concerned, knowing Lady Mo was aware of the young lady’s possession of tens of thousands in ready silver, as well as Madam’s dowry. Lady Mo had lost all her money now, even unable to save her dowry. Given Lady Mo’s character, she would undoubtedly target the young lady next.

After much deliberation, Nanny Deng decided to expose the issue. The young lady had always been reactive; it was time for her to take initiative. Before Nanny Deng could act, Peng Chun’s Wife came to find her, revealing that the money allocated from the front courtyard to the back courtyard’s accounting room each month had not decreased.

Peng Chun had worked in the accounting room before. Though he had never handled important tasks, spending so much time there and being an astute person, he eventually built a good relationship with an Accountant. Determined to investigate, he discovered the issue.

Nanny Deng was overjoyed at this news; it was as if a pillow had arrived for her drowsiness. If the transferred funds had not changed while the staff reduced by over a third, where did that part of the money go? It was certainly intercepted by Lady Mo.

Theoretically, as the money belonged to the Lian family, Lady Mo, as the Lady of the house, could use it as she saw fit without question. However, Lady Mo had cited frugality when laying off staff, and now the saved money had all gone into her own pocket, which would tarnish her reputation once word got out.

Maternal Aunt Chen was the first to lose patience. After receiving the news, she immediately ordered an inquiry. Naturally, she couldn’t uncover Lady Mo’s business losses, but she could find out about the front courtyard’s financial allotment. Maternal Aunt Chen directly approached Lady Mo, demanding an explanation.

Lady Mo was so angered she nearly spat blood. In her fury, she had an old nanny escort Chen out of the main house. She ordered Maternal Aunt Chen to be confined to her yard without leaving.

Crying, Maternal Aunt Chen exclaimed, "Madam, if the money from the front courtyard has not decreased, why dismiss so many people? Where has the money saved from these dismissals gone? Madam, there must be justice in everything; you can’t confine me just for asking you about it."

With Maternal Aunt Chen making such a fuss, word of the incident spread throughout the mansion. Most of the Lian Mansion’s servants were family-born; their connections were deeply interwoven. The drastic staff cuts by Lady Mo had already sown fear. Now, knowing the mansion’s finances didn’t warrant the layoffs but rather, Madam desired to line her own pockets, Lian Mansion suddenly became rife with dissension.

Servants must follow their master’s commands, but when their master’s actions are dishonorable and bring discontent, life becomes difficult for the master as well. At this point, Lady Mo felt the strain.