Glory

Wen Tao had been working as an accountant under him for over a decade. Initially, he was just an accountant at the Gathering Fragrance Pavilion. Later, Ye Chongming, recognizing his excellent accounting skills and good character, promoted him to chief accountant.

His salary was higher than that of ordinary accountants, yet his work was quite relaxed, requiring only monthly audits.

"Why would he do this?" he asked.

Ye Yaming shook her head: "There's no conclusion yet. Please don't rush; let's observe for now. Perhaps I'm mistaken?"

Ye Chongming knew that although Ye Yaming was young, she was very experienced and never acted rashly. If she said Wen Tao had a problem, then there must be one.

But he couldn't understand why Wen Tao would betray the Ye family. What benefit would Wen Tao gain from it?

"Besides Wen Tao, we should also look into the others. I want to know whether these accountants made mistakes intentionally or unintentionally. If it was unintentional, he would surely believe his ledger is correct and wouldn't come to Wen Tao with a guilty conscience; if it was intentional..."

Ye Yaming didn't finish her sentence, but Ye Chongming understood her implication.

"Please remain calm and observe slowly. The two in the capital haven't made a move yet," Ye Yaming added.

"The ones in the capital also have issues?"

Ye Yaming nodded.

Ye Chongming was speechless.

At this point, he had to consider replacing the accountants: "If we replace all of them, aside from Mr. Jiang, who else is reliable?"

Over the years, he had considered sending loyal household serfs to learn accounting from these accountants. But how could they easily teach their livelihood skills? They naturally are perfunctory and taught superficially. The two apprentices he sent still couldn't handle accounts independently.

"Don't worry, I will solve this problem. Please be patient and wait," Ye Yaming said.

Ye Chongming had no choice but to suppress his impatience and see what trick Ye Yaming had up her sleeve.

A few days passed. After Ye Yaming finished drawing the furniture designs for the new residence and handed them to the carpenters for production, a rumor began circulating among the servants and staff of the Ye residence, tea house, and tea shops. It was said that Third Miss Ye's status was now vastly different from before, and she intended to find faults to replace the old staff favored by Old Master Ye with the newly purchased servants she had trained at the estate.

Once this rumor spread, not only the accountants and housekeepers panicked, but even the servants grew apprehensive.

Li Fu came to see Ye Chongming and reported the rumor to him.

Seeing Ye Chongming lost in thought, neither questioning the rumor nor showing anger, Li Fu couldn't help but call out: "Old Master..."

"Hmm? What is it?" Ye Chongming snapped back to attention.

"This... this is causing widespread anxiety. Isn't it bad? If it's not true, could you ask Third Miss to clarify? If it is true, you..." Li Fu hesitated, "Are you just letting Third Miss do this? Your health is still robust; you could manage the household for another ten or twenty years without issue."

Ye Chongming stared at this old housekeeper, whom he had employed for twenty years, and remained silent for a long while.

Li Fu felt as if needles were pricking his back under that gaze, growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Who told you these things? Where did the rumors start? Have you investigated?" Ye Chongming asked."This..." Li Fu's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. "It's just... they all came to ask me. I felt something was wrong and hurried over immediately, not having time to investigate thoroughly."

"Sh-should I go investigate now?" he asked again.

"Very well, go ahead."

Li Fu breathed a sigh of relief, quickly bowed, and withdrew.

No sooner had he left than Ye Hongchang entered: "Father, there are rumors among the servants that Ming'er intends to replace all your trusted aides."

Ye Chongming stared at him: "Li Fu just told me. Do you believe it? What are your thoughts on this matter?"

Ye Hongchang shook his head: "Impossible, this is definitely a rumor. If Ming'er wanted to replace people, she would do so directly. Why would she allow such rumors to spread throughout the manor? Moreover, she would definitely discuss it with you first."

Only then did Ye Chongming feel relieved.

If there were problems with the accountants, they could be replaced. But if Ye Hongchang had ulterior motives, trying to use this opportunity to undermine Ye Yaming and sow discord between the two family heads, that would be a much more serious issue.

Fortunately, that wasn't the case.

"I will investigate this matter, you needn't worry," he said.

Seeing that Ye Chongming had the situation under control, Ye Hongchang felt reassured. Given his current position, inquiring too much into this matter would be awkward and could easily be exploited to create more trouble.

As he was about to take his leave, Ye Chongming asked: "Who told you about this?"

"My page. He only learned of it after hearing the servants discussing it."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chongming waved his hand, indicating for Ye Hongchang to leave.

Shortly after, Ye Hongrong arrived.

But before he could speak, Ye Yaming entered.

Ye Chongming signaled Ye Hongrong to remain silent and asked Ye Yaming: "Who is stirring up trouble?" Without waiting for her answer, he continued, "Is it Wen Tao?"

Ye Yaming neither confirmed nor denied: "Didn't you ask Steward Li to investigate? Let's wait until he presents his findings."

Ye Chongming looked disappointed: "The moment you start auditing the accounts, someone jumps out to drive a wedge between you and me. What else could this be but guilt? If it were Shen Zhongyi or Xu Shen, the rumors would only circulate outside, not within the manor. With everyone feeling insecure now, it can only be Wen Tao."

Ye Hongrong, standing nearby, was startled.

Ye Yaming shook her head: "Wen Tao isn't that unskillful. Even if he were to spread rumors, he would only have Shen Zhongyi and Xu Shen do it while he stays behind the scenes giving advice."

After a moment of silence, Ye Chongming said: "Summon them here."

Ye Yaming raised an eyebrow.

If it were up to her, she wouldn't go through all this trouble. She would directly call the accountants in, question them, then dismiss or punish those who deserved it.

After all, according to her audit, none of them were innocent.

The only reason she was handling it this way was out of consideration for Ye Chongming's feelings. These were people Ye Chongming had employed for many years, especially Wen Tao, who was his most trusted aide. Now that problems had emerged, Ye Chongming must be feeling quite distressed himself.

Now that Ye Chongming could make a decision, she naturally wouldn't delay any longer.

She nodded: "Alright."

Before long, Wen Tao and the others were "invited" to the Ye residence by the Manor Guards.

All three looked very uncomfortable. Particularly Wen Tao, who had always enjoyed favor in Ye Chongming's presence, started complaining the moment he entered: "Old Master Ye, what is the meaning of this?"As soon as the words fell, he spotted Ye Yaming seated in the lower position, and his gaze instantly turned cold: "So it's Third Miss. Quite the imposing manner. Now that you've become the Madam Heir Apparent of the Xuanwu Marquis, you're starting to throw your weight around and disregard Old Master Ye? Even the Emperor emphasizes filial piety—aren't you afraid this reputation will spread to the capital and draw His Majesty's displeasure?"

At that moment, not only were Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming in the room, but all the men of the Ye family were also present.

Ye Hongsheng, being fiercely protective of his own, couldn't bear to hear Wen Tao speak of his daughter in such a manner. His expression darkened, and he was about to rebuke him.